3rd Degree

Chapter 108

CHARLES DANKO didn't spray me with ricin. That was what the doctors were saying, hovering over me all morning at the toxicology unit at Mof?t.

And the vice president wasn't going to die. Word was that they had him two floors below me, that he had even been on the phone to his boss in Washington.

I spent several hours with a maze of tubes and wires stick-ing out of me, monitors reading my blood and chest scans. The contents of Danko's canister were identified as ricin. Enough to kill hundreds of people if he had gone undetected. Danko had ricin in his lungs, and he was going to die. I wasn't sorry to hear it.

About noon I got a phone call from the president, as in the president. They stuck a phone to my ear, and in my daze I remembered hearing the word hero about six times. The president even said he was looking forward to thanking me in person. I joked that maybe we should wait for the toxic glow to settle down.

When I opened my eyes after a snooze, Joe Molinari was sitting on the corner of my bed.

He smiled. “Hey. I thought I said `no heroes!'”

I blinked and smiled, too, a little more groggy than tri-umphant, embarrassed at the tubes and monitors.

“The good news,” he said with a wink, “is the doctors say you're fine. They're just holding you for observation a few more hours. There's an armada of press waiting for you out there.”

“The bad news?” I said, hoarsely.

“Someone's gonna have to teach you how to dress for these photo ops.”

“New fashion look.” I squeezed back a smile.

I noticed that he had a raincoat draped over his arm and was wearing the navy herringbone suit I'd seen him in the first time. It was a very nice suit, and he wore it well.

“The vice president's recuperating. I'm heading back to Washington tonight.”

All I could do was nod. “Okay...”

“No” - he shook his head, inching closer - “it's not okay. Because it's not what I want.”

“We both knew this would happen,” I said, trying to be strong. “You have a job. The interns...”

Molinari scowled. “You're brave enough to go after a man holding a canister of deadly poison, but you're not ready to stand up for something you want.”

I felt a tear creep out of the corner of my eye. “I don't know what I want, right now.”

Molinari put down his raincoat, then drew close and put a hand to my cheek, brushing away the tear. “I think you need some time. You have to decide, when things calm down, if you're prepared to let someone in. Like a relationship, Lindsay.”

He took my hand. “My name's Joe, Lindsay. Not Molinari, or Deputy Director, wink, wink. And what I'm talking about is you and me. And not trying to joke it away because you've been hurt before. Or because you lost a really close friend. I know this'll come as a disappointment, Lindsay, but you're entitled to be happy. You know what I mean. Call me old-fashioned.” He smiled.

“Old-fashioned,” I said, doing exactly what he accused me of, making jokes when I ought to be serious.

Something was stuck inside me, the way it always seemed to stick when I wanted to say what was in my heart. “So, you get out here how often?”

“Speeches, security conferences...a couple of national crises factored in...”

I laughed. “We can't help the jokes, neither of us.”

Molinari sighed. “Even you must know this by now: I'm not one of the assholes, Lindsay. It can work. The next step is yours. You have to make a move to try.”

He stood up and brushed his hand over my hair. “The doctors assured me that this is perfectly safe.” He smiled, then leaned over and planted a kiss on my lips. His lips were soft, and mine, chapped and dry from the night, clung on. I was trying to show him how I felt, knowing I'd be crazy not to tell him and let him walk out that door.

Joe Molinari stood and draped the raincoat over his arm. “It's been a privilege and an honor getting to know you, Lieu-tenant Boxer.”

“Joe,” I said, a little scared to see him go.

“You know where to reach me.”

I watched him head to the door. “You never know when a girl might have a national emergency....”

“Yeah” - he turned and smiled - “I'm a national emer-gency kind of guy.”