Die Trying

Wrenched the chain out of its trajectory and let it smash and spark into the stones on the floor. He grabbed the driver, one hand on his collar and one hand in his hair. Lifted him bodily across the aisle to Holly’s mattress. Jammed his ugly face down into the softness and leaned on him until he suffocated. The guy bucked and thrashed, but Reacher just planted a giant hand flat on the back of his skull and waited patiently until he died.

    HOLLY WAS STARING at the corpse and Reacher was sitting next to her, panting. He was spent and limp from the explosive force of tearing the iron ring out of the wall. It felt like a lifetime of physical effort had gone into one split second. A lifetime supply of adrenaline was boiling through him. The clock inside his head had stopped. He had no idea how long they had been sitting there. He shook himself and staggered to his feet. Dragged the body away and left it in the aisle, up near the open door. Then he wandered back and squatted next to Holly. His fingers were bruised from his desperate grip on the chain, but he forced them to be delicate. He did up all her buttons, one by one, right to the top. She was taking quick short breaths. Then she flung her arms round his neck and held on tight. Her breathing sucked and blew against his shirt.
    They held each other for a long moment. He felt the fury drain out of her. They let each other go and sat side by side on the mattress, staring into the gloom. She turned to him and put her small hand lightly on top of his.
    “Now I guess I owe you,” she said.
    “My pleasure,” Reacher said. “Hey, believe me.”
    “I needed help,” she said quietly. “I’ve been fooling myself.”
    He flipped his hand over and closed it around hers.
    “Bullshit, Holly,” he said, gently. “Time to time, we all need help. Don’t feel bad about it. If you were fit, you’d have slaughtered him. I could see that. One arm and one leg, you were nearly there. It’s just your knee. Pain like that, you’ve got no chance. Believe me, I know what it’s like. After the Beirut thing, I couldn’t have taken candy from a baby, best part of a year.”
    She smiled a slight smile and squeezed his hand. The clock inside his head started up again. Getting close to dawn.

18
    SEVEN-TWENTY WEDNESDAY MORNING East Coast time, General Johnson left the Pentagon. He was out of uniform, dressed in a lightweight business suit, and he walked. It was his preferred method of getting around. It was a hot morning in Washington, and already humid, but he stepped out at a steady speed, arms swinging loosely through a small arc, head up, breathing hard.
    He walked north through the dust on the shoulder of George Washington Boulevard, along the edge of the great cemetery on his left, through Lady Bird Johnson Park, and across the Arlington Memorial Bridge. Then he walked clockwise around the Lincoln Memorial, past the Vietnam Wall, and turned right along Constitution Avenue, the reflecting pool on his right, the Washington Monument up ahead. He walked past the National Museum of American History, past the National Museum of Natural History, and turned left onto 9th Street. Exactly three and a half miles, on a glorious morning, an hour’s brisk walk through one of the world’s great capital cities, past landmarks the world’s tourists flock to photograph, and he saw absolutely nothing at all except the dull mist of worry hanging just in front of his eyes.
    He crossed Pennsylvania Avenue and entered the Hoover Building through the main doors. Laid his hands palms down on the reception counter.
    “The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” he said. “To see the Director.”
    His hands left two palm-shaped patches of dampness on the laminate. The agent who came down to show him upstairs noticed them. Johnson was silent in the elevator. Harland Webster was waiting for him at the door to his private suite. Johnson nodded to him. Didn’t speak. Webster stood aside and gestured him into the inner office. It was dark. There was a lot of mahogany paneling, and the blinds were closed. Johnson sat down in a leather chair and Webster walked around him to his desk.
    “I don’t want to get in your way,” Johnson said.
    He looked at Webster. Webster worked for a moment, decoding that sentence. Then he nodded, cautiously.
    “You spoke with the President?” he asked.
    Johnson nodded.
    “You understand it’s appropriate for me to do so?” he asked.
    “Naturally,” Webster