One Shot

remembered had smoothed out and faded and were replaced by newer marks. There were lines in his forehead. Lines around his eyes. But his nose was still straight and unbroken. His front teeth were still there, like trophies. She slid her hand down to his and felt his knuckles. They were large and hard, like walnut shells matted with scar tissue.
Still a fighter,
she thought.
Still trading his hands for his nose and his teeth.
She moved up to his chest. He had a hole there, left of center. Ruptured muscle, a crater big enough for the tip of her finger. A gunshot wound. Old, but new to her. Probably a .38.
    “New York,” Reacher said. “Years ago. Everyone asks.”
    “Everyone?”
    “Who sees it.”
    Hutton snuggled in closer. “How many people see it?”
    He smiled. “You know, on beaches, stuff like that.”
    “And in bed?”
    “Locker rooms,” he said.
    “And in bed,” she said again.
    “I’m not a monk,” he said.
    “Did it hurt?”
    “I don’t remember. I was out for three weeks.”
    “It’s right over your heart.”
    “It was a little revolver. Probably a weak load. He should have tried a head shot. That would have been better.”
    “For him. Not for you.”
    “I’m a lucky man. Always have been, always will be.”
    “Maybe. But you should take better care.”
    “I try my best.”

    ______

    Chenko and Vladimir stayed together and took the north side of town. They kept well away from the motor court. The cops had that situation buttoned up, presumably. So their first stop was the sports bar. They went in and walked around. It was dark inside and not very busy. Maybe thirty guys. None of them matched the sketch. None of them was Reacher. Vladimir stayed near the door and Chenko checked the men’s room. One stall had a closed door. Chenko waited until the toilet flushed and the guy came out. It wasn’t Reacher. It was just a guy. So Chenko rejoined Vladimir and they got back in the car. Started quartering the streets, slowly, patiently, covering three sides of every block and pausing at the turns to scan the sidewalks on the fourth.

    Hutton propped herself on an elbow and looked down at Reacher’s face. His eyes were still the same. Set a little deeper, maybe, and a little more hooded. But they still shone blue like ice chips under an Arctic sun. Like a color map of twin snowmelt lakes in a high mountain landscape. But their expression had changed. Fourteen years ago they had been rimmed red by the desert sandstorms and clouded with some kind of bitter cynicism. They had been army eyes. Cop eyes. She remembered the way they would swing slow and lazy across a room like deadly tracers curling in toward a target. Now they were clearer. Younger. More innocent. He was fourteen years older, but his gaze was like a child’s again.
    “You just had your hair cut,” she said.
    “This morning,” he said. “For you.”
    “For me?”
    “Yesterday I looked like a wild man. They told me you were coming. I didn’t want you to think I was some kind of a bum.”
    “Aren’t you?”
    “Some kind, I guess.”
    “What kind?”
    “The voluntary kind.”
    “We should eat,” she said.
    “Sounds like a plan,” he said.
    “What do you want?”
    “Whatever you get. We’ll share. Order big portions.”
    “You can choose your own if you want.”
    He shook his head. “A month from now some DoD clerk is going to go through your expenses. Better for you if he sees one meal rather than two.”
    “Worried about my reputation?”
    “I’m worried about your next promotion.”
    “I won’t get one. I’m terminal at Brigadier General.”
    “Not now that this Petersen guy owes you a big one.”
    “Can’t deny two stars would be cool.”
    “For me too,” Reacher said. “I got screwed by plenty of two-stars. To think I screwed one myself would be fun.”
    She made a face.
    “Food,” Reacher said.
    “I like salads,” she said.
    “Someone’s got to, I guess.”
    “Don’t you?”
    “Get a chicken Caesar to start and a steak to follow. You eat the rabbit food, I’ll eat the steak. Then get some kind of a big dessert. And a big pot of coffee.”
    “I like tea.”
    “Can’t do it,” Reacher said. “There are some compromises I just can’t make. Not even for the DoD.”
    “But I’m thirsty.”
    “They’ll send ice water. They always do.”
    “I outrank you.”
    “You always did. You ever see me drink tea because of it?”
    She shook her head and got out of bed. Padded naked