The Project 01 - White Jade

wanted him to do and put himself right where Carter would have to kill him.
    Th e child and the grenade always waited in the back of his mind. Carter knew there wasn't anything else he could have don e , but it didn't help. It was one more death in a chaotic war that could n't be won , in a corrupt and brutal land .
    W orking for Harker gave him a way to bring some kind of meaning to it . It was personal. A way to stop the kind of people who'd sent that child against him . People who thought it was a really good idea to put grenades in the hands of children. People who thought that whatever they wanted was the only right way for everyone . That killing anyone who didn't agree with them was righteous . People who thought God was pleased by that. Carter was damn sure God hadn't told that kid what to do.
    He waited for sunrise.

Chapter Nine

    Sunlight shone on streets wet with early morning rain. Water on the pavement mirrored a clear, bright sky of light blue with scattered white clouds. The heat wave had broken . T he smog had blown away in the night . T he city smelled fresh and clean.
    A black Ford Crown Vic with plain wheels and government plates pulled up where Carter waited outside his building . A man sat in the front passenger seat wearing a gaudy red Hawaiian shirt covered with white flowers . A loose, cream colored linen jacket bulged over his holstered Glock . He was wearing wraparound shades and a pork pie hat . H e looked like he ' d just stepped off the set of CSI Miami.
    Ronnie Peete was a full blooded Navajo , born on the Reservation. His skin was a light, reddish brown. He had broad shoulders and narrow hips and s leepy brown eyes that could spot a hawk or a sniper at a thousand yards. Ronnie had been a Gunnery Sergeant in Nick's Recon unit. Carter considered him the best combat Marine he'd ever known. He was also a friend.
    " How ' s the ear? " Ronnie asked through the open window.
    " Itches like hell. "
    Nick climbed in back. They pulled away. Ronnie looked back over the front seat.
    " They had some great shots on the news last night. Bodies and wrecks on the highway, you covered with blood. How come you have all the fun? "
    " Lucky, I guess. Harker find anything out yet? "
    " Nope. No ID on any of them. The attackers were probably Chinese. Harker filled me in. Maybe it ' s about that book. It ' s too much of a coincidence. "
    " That ' s what I think. "
    " She asked me to ride along to the airport, just in case. "
    They pulled up at the Mayflower. Selena w aited outside with her bodyguard, dressed in jeans and Nikes, a light jacket over a gray silk blouse. She got in the back with Nick . She looked tired, stressed out.
    " Morning ," he said. " Sleep well? "
    " Good morning. Not very. I kept thinking about yesterday. "
    "This is Ronnie. You'll see a lot of him. "
    " Morning. "
    The driver picked his way through traffic. Sele na was quiet, lost in thought. They got to the airport without incident.
    Ronnie left them at the counter. Carter looked at his ticket . B ooked in First Class.
    " How did we luck out with this? I usually end up next to the baggage. "
    " I called in and got us upgraded. I didn ' t see any point in getting squeezed into coach. It ' s a long flight. "
    " Maybe they ' ll have some real food for a change. "
    " I wouldn ' t count on it. I bring my own. The hotel ma de up a package for me. Do you like roast beef? "
    " Any horseradish with it? "
    " I haven ' t looked, but they seem to think of everything. "
    Carter took Selena through private security . There was a discussion about his gun. A look at his ID with the Presidential seal on it and they let him keep it. T hey settled into the comfort of First Class.
    The attendant brought mimosas.
    Selena said, " I was thinking about immortality. If you ' re immortal, what happens to your friends and lovers? Are they immortal? Do you think someone could stay married for, say, a thousand years? "
    " No one could stay married that long. "
    " Have you ever been married? "
    His whole body went tense.
    " No. I was engaged, once. "
    He remembered.

    Megan was laughing, her fine, brown hair blowing in the wind coming off the Pacific. They ' d gone up the coast to Trinidad for the weekend and found a Victorian bed and breakfast, on the cliffs looking out over the water.
    From the deck outside the room they ' d watched the seals sunning themselves on the black rocks out in the ocean.
    They were getting ready to leave. Megan was beautiful, that day,