I catch a glimpse of the caldera. Someone gently takes the gun from my hand and places a blanket over my shoulders, then holds on to me as we fly.

I dream of nothing.

66

I WAKE UP IN a hospital bed in Portland, Oregon. Ailes is sitting in a chair reading a book. When my eyes open he gives me a smile.

“There you are, Blackwood,” he says. “Feeling a little more coherent?”

“I hope so. How long have I been here?”

There’s a row of empty paper coffee cups on the sill behind him. “Two days. They had to clean all that stuff out of your system,” he replies. “Your family is here.”

“My family?” The word sounds unusual to me.

“Your father and your uncle. They’re staying at a hotel. I’m not sure how things are with you and them, but I thought it best for them to be close by.”

I’m not ready to deal with my father just yet. Maybe when I have a little more strength. But I’m glad he came. Maybe ten years a little too late. But he came.

“What about the pilot?” I ask.

“He didn’t make it.”

“Damn.” If we could have gotten him to talk, who knows what he could tell us. “What about Haywood?”

“Still sitting there. Not saying anything. If the pilot had survived, we might have been able to play them off of each other.” Ailes’s eyes dart away for a moment as he hesitates.

I’m still cleaning the cobwebs from my head. “What?”

“If there’s one accomplice . . .”

I get it. “You think there might be more.”

“A cult. We still don’t really know what he was going to do in Colorado or Texas.”

“If he’s in custody he’s going to need help to pull it off,” I reply.

“Our mystery shooter who took out the pilot may have been doing Haywood a favor after all.”

I shake my head. I know it was Damian. I can’t come out and say that to Ailes—although I’m sure he knows. Damian tracked me down somehow and took out the pilot before he could kill me. Once again, his protecting me puts his actions under suspicion.

I sit up in my bed. There’s a bouquet of orchids on my nightstand. Orchids . . . a favorite I’ve only told a few people. I reach for the card.

“It’ll take some unconventional thinking to get them,” says Ailes.

I open the card.

Jessica,
Try not to miss me too much, darling. I have to go away for a while. Our devious little friend has started something we’d all be better off if he hadn’t.

I can’t always be there for you. So please keep safe. Lucky for everyone, we don’t all play by the same rules . . .

Love,
D.

I hand the card to Ailes. He reads it and gives it back to me. “What does he mean?”

“He’s going to try to find them before we do. Before they have a chance to get to me,” I reply.