The Serpent's Kiss

65

Matt Gray watched Stillwater walk away before turning to Jill. She didn’t like the look on his face at all.

“So,” Gray said, voice low. “This is your idea of following orders?”

Jill leveled her gaze at him. “Meaning what, Matt?”

Gray glanced around to make sure nobody was close enough to hear them. “Your job,” he hissed, “was to contain him. I made that perfectly clear to you. We didn’t want him running around loose causing trouble.”

“From my perspective,” she said, “he’s been following the leads that you didn’t think were important enough to put manpower on. And he’s been doing a very good, though unorthodox job. And these were real leads.”

“Bullshit, Jill! Nothing happened here!”

“That doesn’t change the fact that we found written documentation with a terrorism expert’s name on it outlining exactly what we’ve seen here today. Or, for that matter, that this person Stillwater and I have been chasing practically signs his name at the crime scenes and booby-traps the places we might hunt for him.”

“And when he assaulted me? Your job was to bring him in for that assault. Do you have problems with following orders, Agent Church?”

From Jill to Agent Church. She narrowed her eyes. “No, I don’t.”

“Then why haven’t you been following them?”

“Matt, you’re way off base on this—”

”Agent Church,” Gray said, taking a step closer to her. “Did I or did I not give you a direct order to keep him in the dark and keep him out of the way?”

Exact words, she thought. “Yes, that was what you said.”

“And did you?”

“I evaluated Agent Stillwater’s suggestions, decided they had merit and pursued them, while keeping Agent Stillwater with me, so I would, quote, ‘keep him out of the way.’ unquote. I did my job, Matt. This guy’s an expert on biological and chemical warfare and terrorism. He was in Tokyo after the Aum Shinrikyo attacks. Believe it or not, he does know what he’s doing.”

“Did I or did I not give you a direct order to arrest him for assault after his attack on me?”

She didn’t respond.

“I can’t hear you.” Gray’s expression was ugly.

“Yes,” she said through clenched teeth.

“Yes, what, Agent Church?”

“Yes. You ordered me to get Agent Stillwater, bring him back in handcuffs and arrest him for assaulting a federal agent. You implied, and perhaps ordered me directly, to deliver him to a holding cell at the Federal Building until today’s events were completed.”

“And did you?”

She raised her chin. “I did not. I did not deem it necessary. As a matter of fact, Matt, I decided that arresting Derek Stillwater would be counterproductive in our efforts to stop The Serpent from killing more people.”

“Instead,” he said, “you returned with him here, uncuffed, supplied him with crutches and allowed him to wander into a potential crime scene un-escorted.”

Again, she didn’t respond.

“Am I correct, Agent Church?”

She nodded. “Yes. Those are the facts without interpretation or context.”

A sneer crossed Gray’s face. “And,” he said, “I would like to know if you had a warrant when you entered the home of Rebecca Harrington?”

She tensed. “No. I did not. But—”

”But?”

“I was acting on a tip.”

“Who supplied this tip?”

She hesitated. “Agent Derek Stillwater.”

“To your knowledge, did Agent Stillwater have a warrant when he entered Rebecca Harrington’s house?”

“No. To the best of my knowledge, he did not.”

Gray stared at her.

In a soft, menacing voice, Gray said, “Did Stillwater have a warrant to enter William Harrington’s office at the Health Center?”

“No.”

“How about for William Harrington’s house?”

Jill shook her head.

Gray nodded. He looked around, then waved over Roger Kandling, who was talking to Mary Linzey. He approached. “Yes, sir?”

“Agent Kandling,” Gray said. “I have relieved Agent Church of active duty. She is on indefinite suspension without pay pending a review. You have witnessed this.”

Kandling nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Gray turned back to Jill. “Agent Church, you are to return to the Federal Building, type up your statements and leave them with Janice to give to me. I will schedule you for a hearing and inform you of the conditions of your suspension.”

“Are you crazy—”

”Agent Kandling,” Gray said. “Please escort Agent Church from the vicinity. If she resists, cuff her and place her under arrest. Do you understand?”

Kandling’s expression was unreadable. “Yes, sir.”

Jill looked at the two men, then spun on her heel and walked away.