Children's Crusade

Chapter Ten

The implications of what I'm seeing crash overwhelm me.

I stand there holding the gun, frozen in wonder and horror as the events of eight years ago spool through my head like a movie. Each event, each conversation, is suddenly reinterpreted with new and sinister emphasis.

It this is true then that means… which means that… in which case…

I stagger back from the Speaker's chair as if hit, almost losing my footing. I think maybe I let out a cry.

"Surprise," says the man in the cloak.

The sound of his voice brings me back to the here and now. I refocus my attention on him, steadying my wavering hands and aiming the gun right between his eyes.

"Oh Kate," says John Cooper. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"