SEVENTY-THREE
McGarvey flew Pan Am first-class under his own name direct to Miami. He had taken a shower at the bus depot when they’d arrived in B.A., but his rough clothes were dirty and he needed a shave. Nevertheless it was first-class, he carried a diplomatic passport, and he was treated the same as any man dressed in a business suit and tie.
“All the bother back there was about you, wasn’t it?” the bus driver had said when they’d made it.
McGarvey nodded. “But I’m surprised that the cops in Santiago let you go.”
“Even in Chile they need bus drivers more than they need prisoners.”
He had his first decent meal in what seemed like weeks: a good Argentine steak, a salad and a bottle of Dom Pérignon. Afterward he’d managed to get four good hours of sleep, so that finally back in the States, and aboard an American Airlines flight to Dulles, he was feeling reasonably good, at least physically.
Except for the general’s wife. She’d grabbed for a pistol on the nightstand, and he’d had no other choice. It was something he kept telling himself, but so far it hadn’t stuck, nor had the thought given him any solace.
His mission was a success, the general was dead. But so were two women and his mood was dark.
“I hope you had a good flight, sir,” the stewardess said at the door.
“I did, thanks. It’s good to be home.”
Trotter, dressed impeccably as usual, was waiting for him after passport and customs. He had an odd, almost unreadable expression on his face. “I have a car and driver to take us to Langley.”
“I want to go home first.”
“They want you debriefed. Everybody, including me, wants to know why you went ahead with it, despite orders to the contrary.”
“What orders?”
“When I couldn’t reach you, I left orders with Dick that the op had been canceled, that you were to return home immediately.”
McGarvey stopped him. “I was out of the system, John. Isn’t that what’s taught at the Farm? SOP against disinformation?”
“This was different.”
“Different how?”
“Goddamnit, Kirk, the order to stand down came from the White House. The president himself.”
“I was asked to do a job, and I did it,” McGarvey said. “And now I want to go home. I’ll come out to the Campus in a day or two.”
“Give me your passport,” Trotter said when they got outside. A Caddie limo was waiting at the curb.
McGarvey handed his over. “I have others.”
“We’ll want those too. What about your weapon?”
“I’ll keep it for now.”
Trotter was frustrated. “You’re not listening, Kirk. Good heavens, I’m trying to help out here, even though I’ve been ordered to keep my distance. I’m not supposed to be here like this.”
“Keep your distance why?”
“You’ve been terminated. You no longer work for the Company in any capacity. They’re calling you a rogue. You’ve gone off the reservation. There’s no way to control you.”
McGarvey stepped closer. “You gave me a job and I did it.”
“Brilliantly,” Trotter said. “No one denies it. But it’s over, Kirk. You’re out.” He held out his hand. “Your gun.”
McGarvey handed over his rucksack without a word.
“People are fighting for you. You have six months. Lawrence thinks that you can be rehabilitated. And for what it’s worth, so do I.”
“No.”
“No what?”
“Too many loose ends. Who killed Sergeant Major Carol? Who tried to kill me? What haven’t I been told, John? Because from where I’m standing it seems like the entire Bible has been held back. And what about Janos’s family?”
“They’re on their way back from Florida, safe and sound,” Trotter said. “But I’m truly sorry about the rest.”
“The mole?”
“Exactly.”
“And you want me to come back for six months, giving the bastard another chance?” McGarvey said. “Goodbye, John.”
He walked off to the queue for the taxis.
* * *
Kathleen came to the head of the stairs when he let himself in. “You’re finally back,” she said, coming down. She was dressed in jeans and a pink T-shirt and no shoes. Her hair was a mess, by her standards, and she hadn’t put on makeup, even though it was after one. But she looked fabulous to Mac.
“You are back,” he said. “It’s over now.”
“Yes, it is, Kirk. I can’t take this kind of a life. I’ve had my fill of being worried sick while you jet off on some new adventure, like Don Quixote tilting after windmills.” She said it all in a pent-up rush.
“What are you saying?”
“It’s come to the point where you’ll have to make a choice.”
“Where’s Liz?”
“Elizabeth!” Kathleen screeched. “She’s still at your sister’s. I needed to get this settled with you first. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“No,” McGarvey said, though he did.
“It’s me and Elizabeth or the CIA. You can’t have your job as a spy and still have this family. It’s something even your own sister agrees with.”
They didn’t understand his pain. They didn’t know how much he needed just the kind of helping hand that Katy was refusing to give him. And the hell of it was that he couldn’t explain it to her—he didn’t have the words.
On paper signing up for black ops, and even the training, did nothing to prepare a man for taking the life of another. Not to mention the lives of women. And maybe someday, it had been put to him, the lives of children. Watching the life drain out of a human body, and then taking the insurance shot, was not something that could be explained in any way that didn’t sound like insanity.
“Well?” Kathleen demanded.
It was his first kill. Because of it he had lost the three things that meant the most to him: his wife, his daughter and his job.
“I’ll get my things,” he said.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I always like hearing from my readers, even from the occasional disgruntled soul who wants to pick a bone with me, or point out a mistake I’ve made.
You may contact me, McGarvey, Pete, Otto, and the computer Lou at kirkcolloughmcgarvey@gmail.com. But please understand that because I’m extremely busy, quite often I won’t be able to get back to you as soon as I’d like. But I will make every effort to answer your queries.
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BY DAVID HAGBERG
Twister
The Capsule
Last Come the Children
Heartland
Heroes
Without Honor*
Countdown*
Crossfire*
Critical Mass*
Desert Fire
High Flight*
Assassin*
White House*
Joshua’s Hammer*
Eden’s Gate
The Kill Zone*
By Dawn’s Early Light
Soldier of God*
Allah’s Scorpion*
Dance with the Dragon*
The Expediter*
The Cabal*
Abyss*
Castro’s Daughter*
Burned
Blood Pact*
Retribution*
The Shadowmen*+
The Fourth Horseman*
24 Hours*+
End Game*
Tower Down*
Flash Points*
Face Off*
First Kill*
WRITING AS SEAN FLANNERY
The Kremlin Conspiracy
Eagles Fly
The Trinity Factor
The Hollow Men
Broken Idols
Gulag
Moscow Crossing
The Zebra Network
Crossed Swords
Moving Targets
Winner Take All
Kilo Option
Achilles’ Heel
WITH BYRON L. DORGAN
Blowout
Gridlock
NONFICTION WITH BORIS GINDIN
Mutiny!
*Kirk McGarvey adventures
*+Kirk McGarvey Ebook original novellas
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVID HAGBERG is a former U.S. Air Force cryptographer who has traveled extensively in Europe, the Arctic, and the Caribbean and has spoken at CIA functions. He has published more than seventy novels of suspense, including Flash Points, Tower Down, and the bestselling Allah’s Scorpion, Dance with the Dragon, and The Expediter. He makes his home in Sarasota, Florida.
Visit his website at www.david-hagberg.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
Introduction
Prologue
Part One: Call to Arms
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Part Two: The Mole
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Part Three: First Kill
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-One
Chapter Seventy-Two
Chapter Seventy-Three
Author’s Note
Also by David Hagberg
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
FIRST KILL
Copyright © 2019 by David Hagberg
All rights reserved.
Cover art by Paul Youll
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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ISBN 978-0-7653-3733-7 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-4668-3438-5 (ebook)
eISBN 9781466834385
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First Edition: May 2019