The Korean Intercept (37 page)

Before either man could fire, there was a shot from a third pistol.

A round, black hole appeared in the center of Ugaki's forehead. He crumpled, seeming to curl languidly downward, around the hospital cane, to the ground.

Kate materialized into the fading glow of the flames, lowering a .38 revolver. She wore the military-green coveralls that had been provided for her in Yokohama.

"I owed him," she said. "That son of a bitch caused me a world of trouble. Trev, are you all right?"

He holstered his pistol. "I'm all right."

The truth was, he felt dazed, winded, and it had nothing to do with the scratch where a bullet had creased him. His attention, his very being, telescoped to the fallen form of Meiko, and he went to her. He fell to his knees beside her body.

He eased his arms around her and held her.
For the last time
, he thought. He could not see the wound that had killed her, and for that he was grateful. Her eyes were closed, as though she were asleep.

Police sirens shrilled in the distance, drawing closer from several directions.

Kate stood beside him, touching him delicately. Her eyes were pools of understanding. "Trev, honey."

It was difficult for him to concentrate on anything but the lifeless body in his arms.

"She was a good woman, Kate."

"I know, hon." Her eyes flicked to the sprawl of gangster bodies. "Meiko doesn't deserve to be found with this filth. She was my friend."

Galt thought,
How we love defines who we are
.

He had come halfway around the world to find his wife, to learn how much he loved her. And he had just lost a woman he loved.

He blinked away the emotion and rose to his feet, lifting Meiko with him, cradling her in his arms. When he looked at Kate, he was grateful for what he saw in her eyes.

They withdrew and, before long, left a stand of conifer and bamboo and crossed the road in the light of dawn, to where the rental car was parked.

The sirens were drawing closer.

A gentle, fine mist began to fall.

 

 

Stephen Mertz
has traveled the world as a soldier, adventurer, and writer. His novels, written under a variety of pseudonyms, have been widely translated and have sold millions of copies worldwide. He currently lives in the American Southwest, and is always at work on a new novel.