Chapter 4

Josh sat on a bench,scanning his surroundings for any sign of Cliff. The mall was full of shoppers, and above the annoying canned music, he could hear the delighted cries of kids on the nearby rides around the corner.

Josh preferred the tinkling sound of falling water, not that it was easy to hear above the music. Four benches had been placed around the small fountain that contained maybe an inch of water, its sculpted center an elaborate representation of four leaping fish, thin jets erupting from their mouths and cascading into the shell-shaped receptacle below.

Kinda fancy for a mall.

Definitely too fancy for this mall. Someone was obviously suffering from delusions of grandeur.

He glanced at his phone: 2:56. Still no sign of Cliff.

Ever since he'd received the email, he'd been pondering about what Cliff could possibly have to share that was so urgent. Josh had left the project eight years ago, but not before he'd acquired certain files as insurance.

He hadn't trusted those guys one bit, even if they were the US government. And dealing with Porter did nothing to dissuade him from that distrust.

"Aw, Mom, I wanna go on the train."

The piercing voice shattered Josh's peace, and he jerked his head in its direction. A woman stood by the pillar at the corner of the mall intersection. Her hand was on a stroller containing a baby, and a little kid tugged at her coat, pointing in the direction of the rides.

"Stevie, you'll have to wait." Her patient tone told Josh this was a normal occurrence.

"But there's no one on it now," Stevie protested, tugging harder.

In the stroller, the baby started crying, and she knelt beside it. Stevie cast longing glances along the mall to where a nearly empty trackless train circled the lobby.

Josh peered at his phone: 2:58.

Come on, Cliff, where are you?

"Stevie, will you stop that?"

He returned his attention to the mom and her kids. Plainly she was having difficulties trying to corral little Stevie. Josh scanned the shoppers. There was no one around him who even vaguely resembled what he kind of remembered Cliff looked like, and the mom could probably use a little help.

The heck with it.

He got up from the bench and headed to the pillar where Stevie had shifted his whining into a higher gear.

She sighed as Josh approached, and he listened as she attempted to bribe the kid with promises of treats once the shopping was done.

The least Josh could do was?—

BOOM.

Dix smashed the button,disconnecting his call with Michael.

I'm gonna kill Doc.

He could get away with it too. He had skills from his admittedly short time in the military. Doc probably wouldn't even see it coming. Then again, Dix doubted Doc noticed much anyway, the cute little?—

No, he wasn't about to think sweet thoughts about the annoying bastard. Dix was pissed, and Doc would learn just how pissed he was as soon as Dix got him out of the mall, especially after he'd had to drive like a maniac to get there. It was a miracle the cops hadn't stopped him.

His stomach churned.

Hasn't he learned anything? Gary Cross had gone off on his own and had received horrific, almost fatal injuries. And this whole email business stunk to high heaven. Dix had no doubt Doc knew someone named Cliff Tanner, but the fiasco with Abbas the previous year had taught Dix a vital lesson.

View every event with suspicion. Trust no one.

Who'd have believed Porter would have been capable of such barbarism? And for Doc to drop everything and run off like this?

Yeah, he was gonna kill Doc.

Dix drove into the parking lot, found a space, and switched off the engine. He scanned the vehicles, and it took him a minute to locate Doc's. True to form, it was over in the far corner, away from most of the cars. There was always the possibility that Doc would be leaving the mall to go someplace else, but it was three o'clock, so he might just?—

A loud explosion rent the air, and glass panes shattered, sending shards skittering across the blacktop. A moment later, dozens of people ran screaming from the building, and when more followed, the sight of their bleeding wounds sent his heart plummeting.

Doc.

Dix rushed inside, dodging the shoppers who scurried for the exit, screaming. He ran toward the center of the mall, to the fountain where Doc was supposed to be, panic bubbling through him at the awful devastation that met his gaze. Glass everywhere, bodies of men, women, little kids…. The cries of pain were an assault on his ears, but he couldn't stop.

He had to find Doc.

He has to be all right.

His thoughts of killing Doc slowly were a memory. All he wanted to do right then was bundle Doc up and get him out of there to someplace safe.

When he got to the fountain, he surmised this had been ground zero. Water shot up into the air, and huge chunks of concrete had been blown apart by the force of the explosion. Bodies were strewn under it, likely crushed from the weight. His heart thudded when he had images of Doc being one of the casualties. Then other images came to mind. Doc in the parking lot each morning. His smile.

Please don't be dead.

His breath caught when he caught sight of Doc leaning over a screaming woman. As Dix got closer, he saw a child beneath her, probably no more than five years old, its blond hair matted with blood. A stroller lay on its side, and from it came wails. At least the baby was still alive. The little boy hadn't been so lucky. A red mass pooled beneath his body, coating his mother's hands. Doc had his arm around her, and Dix was dismayed to see blood pouring from Doc's head.

He put a hand on Doc's shoulder. Doc turned his face up, and Dix's heart broke. Tears streamed down, leaving tracks on ash-and-blood-smudged cheeks. There was a gash on his forehead, and it looked bad.

"She was right next to me," he whispered. "She was telling him after they got him some shoes, she'd take him for ice cream and he could ride the train." He turned and clutched Dix.

All Dix could do was hold him. Then his mind cleared. "We need to get out of here."

Doc gaped at him and pulled free of Dix's grasp to cradle the woman. "I can't leave her."

Doc was a good man. Dix was not.

"We need to go," he urged. "This place isn't safe."

Doc's face twisted into an angry mask. "No fucking shit!" he shouted. He pointed at the little boy who would never see another birthday. "Do you think I don't know that?"

Dix caught the sound of sirens in the distance. That figured. Eastern New Mexico Medical Center was about five minutes from there.

"The cavalry's coming. Come on, Doc. Let's get out of here."

Doc glared at him. "You can leave, but I'm staying. I'm going to help if I can. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

There was a set to his jaw that Dix had never seen before, but he'd witnessed it countless times on the faces of others.

Doc was hurting, he was angry, and he was lashing out.

Dix growled. "I will carry you out if I have to."

"Only if you want to break something" came the acid retort. "You wanna go, then go." Doc gave his attention to the woman, kneeling beside her and whispering to her.

The sirens got closer, and Dix tried not to think about the last time he'd heard that wailing sound. About how he'd been sure Gary Cross was dead—and he had died, several times, but they'd brought him back. He didn't want Doc hurt, but it was obvious he was determined to help, so Dix did the only thing he could.

He started lifting the rubble off the bodies, hoping against hope that maybe some of them might have survived and would be able to make it home to their families.

It wasn't looking good.

A minute later, EMTS and firefighters surged into the devastation, and Dix breathed a little easier. He peered at Doc's head wound. "You need to get that seen to."

"I can't leave her," Doc repeated.

A couple of EMTs reached them, and Dix seized the moment. He grabbed Doc's arm and helped Doc to his feet. "Can you walk?" He indicated the EMTs, who crouched beside the woman, tending to her. "She's in good hands. There's nothing more you can do."

Doc gazed at her, clearly wavering.

Dix rubbed his shoulder. "How did you hurt your head?"

He pointed to a concrete pillar next to them. "The blast sent me flying into that."

"Then you've probably got a concussion." Dix looked him in the eye. "Please, Doc." Besides, there were things they needed to talk about.

Things Dix was certain hadn't even crossed Doc's mind, but he had to be told.

Finally, Doc nodded, and relief swamped Dix. He led him carefully through the rubble and pools of water, amid the shouts of the EMTs as they did their best to treat the injured.

Dix didn't want to think about the body bags that would soon be carried out.

He got Doc outside and led him to the nearest ambulance. He gave the EMT the details he had, and stood by while Doc got his head prodded, cleaned, stitched, and bandaged.

"Now sit there till I get back, okay?" The EMT gazed at Doc with obvious concern.

"I'll stay with him," Dix assured him.

The guy nodded and headed back into the mall.

Doc stared at the glass that was everywhere. "Who would do such a thing?"

It was time for a little grim reality.

Dix crouched in front of him. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe this was why you were supposed to come here? What if you were the target?"

Doc's brow furrowed. "But why would anyone want to—" His eyes widened. "You mean… all these people died because of me?" His face was ashen.

Aw, fuck.

"That's not what I'm saying." Except lying wouldn't help the situation, and he knew it. "Well, okay, yes. That is what I'm saying. Maybe." He speared Doc with an intense gaze. "Gary Cross ran off on his own, and he nearly paid the price for it. You knew about that, and yet you did exactly the same thing." He gestured toward the mall. "And now people are dead or injured."

The words were harsh, but Doc needed to know that choices had consequences. Sometimes deadly ones.

"And what if I hadn't showed up? Would there still have been an explosion?" Doc's haggard expression tore at Dix's heart.

Dix had no way of knowing the answer to that. "Maybe, maybe not. They could have timed it to go off at three-fifteen, or someone could have detonated it from a distance once they'd seen you go inside."

Doc crumpled, and Dix felt like a bastard for what he'd done, but it wasn't as if Doc wouldn't hear it from someone else.

Maybe someone else wouldn't have been an asshole about it.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? We need to get out of here. Now." Then Dix saw a police officer heading straight for them, and he knew that wasn't about to happen any time soon.

Six hours later,Dix led Doc out of the Roswell Police Department. He'd sat through a couple of interviews and had made a statement, but then the feds had shown up. Michael had called Dix to warn him about that. The explosion had involved someone on their radar—namely, Doc—and so they'd moved quickly. Both he and Dix had told them everything they knew, including the name of the man who was supposed to have met Doc at the mall. With each passing hour, Doc had become increasingly more withdrawn, and Dix knew it was his fault. He'd pressed when he shouldn't have.

In the end, they'd let them go with an admonition to stay close because they'd probably want to talk again. Doc merely nodded, wincing a little.

"I'm taking you to CrossBow," Dix said in a firm voice, anticipating an argument.

Surprisingly, Doc nodded. "I need to talk to Michael."

Dix huffed. "What a coincidence. I think he wants to talk to you too." He hoped Michael would take it easy on Doc. He'd had a rough day, he was likely concussed, and guilt was probably eating him alive. "Michael said he'd send someone to pick up our cars in the morning. Right now no one is allowed anywhere near there." He got his phone out and organized an Uber.

Doc was way too quiet, but Dix didn't try to fill the void with inane chatter. What Doc needed was a good night's sleep.

Yeah right. As if that's going to happen.

When the car pulled up outside CrossBow's main door, Dix spied Michael waiting behind the wall of glass.

Time to face the music.

Doc stepped into the lobby and walked over to where Michael stood. Before Michael could utter a word, Doc spoke, his voice quavering.

"Someone tried to kill me. I think it was the government."