With a Pull of a Trigger

Chapter Nineteen

“Thank you,” whispered Catherine. To whom her words of gratitude were for, she didn’t know. Perhaps it was for both of them, or maybe it was for herself.

She didn’t know. All she knew was that she had been part of the lucky few who had known both, had been part of the lucky few who had been known by both, and she knew that the end was rapidly approaching.

Catherine gave a sad smile, looked at the field of black stars, and walked away.

Greg glanced to his left and saw Reini with her head bowed. Greg smiled sadly and walked closer to Reini, standing right beside her.

“Do you think Eena was right?” asked Greg in a voice so soft, Reini had to focus to hear him.

“About what?” asked Reini, finally facing Greg.

“About the whole destiny crap she believes in,” said Greg, careful to keep his voice at a minimal volume.

“Believed in, you mean,” corrected Reini, looking straight ahead. It pained her to say it, but she had to acknowledge the fact that Eena was gone, and she wasn’t coming back no matter how much they wanted her to. Reini had hoped that it was all another faked death, hoped that it was another lie, but she knew she had been trying to deny everything that had happened. She had seen Eena die with her own two eyes, and she had seen the star being carved in her honor. She had to stop hiding behind all the lies she had built for herself, and start living in reality once more. It was time to be a grown up now, and she had to stop pretending.

“Of course,” Greg said softly, pain and sorrow hidden underneath all the fake bravado he was trying to show. “I meant that.”

“I don’t know,” answered Reini, shaking her head. “The idea appeals to some people, of course, but not to me. I don’t believe in destiny, and I don’t believe she was destined for this.”

Greg crossed his arms. “All that God’s will crap she believed in…I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of a deity—who, by the way, may not even exist—removing her from this world with just a snap of the fingers and a bad destiny for a good person.”

Reini inhaled deeply, shaking her head. “Destiny or no, nothing’s going to change, Greg. She’s still dead, and there is still nothing for us to do but to avenge her death.”

“How are we going to avenge her death when we don’t even know who killed her? CSU won’t be able to get anything. Everything’s burnt, even the bomb parts, and there were no witnesses as to who installed the bomb in the first place. We’re at a dead end, Reini, and unless her killer shows up and kills someone again, we don’t stand a chance.”

“I know that,” said Reini in a tone that made it clear she was restraining herself from shouting. “I know that, Greg. God, don’t I know that. It’s our only hope, Greg. If we lose sight of that, we lose sight of everything. Don’t you see? This is the only hope we have. This is the only thing we have that will help us move on. This is it. Taking that away…no. We just have to find the strength to move on and do what we do. That’s what Eena would have wanted, and that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to prove that she’s not just another star on the wall. We’re going to prove that she was one of the CIA’s greatest, and we’re going to avenge her death in the process.”

Greg nodded curtly, smiling sadly. “We will?”

“We will.”

Apparently, Reini’s answer was good enough for Greg who walked away with his head bowed.

Reini remained standing there, her arms crossed, her eyes staring at the newly carved star.

“I promise you, Eena. We will.”