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Back Angels of Vengeance
Chapters (68)
  1. Blurb
  2. CONTENTS
  3. Dedication
  4. CHARACTER LIST
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. 20
  25. 21
  26. 22
  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
  39. 35
  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. 50
  55. 51
  56. 52
  57. 53
  58. 54
  59. TWO MONTHS LATER
  60. ONE YEAR LATER
  61. TWO YEARS LATER
  62. FOUR YEARS LATER
  63. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
  64. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  65. Also by John Birmingham
  66. ALSO BY JOHN BIRMINGHAM
  67. Copyright
  68. Cover

‘Mr President,’ he said wearily, ‘I’m not suggesting we send her down there to whack him. But I am suggesting that unusual circumstances demand unusual responses. Having the FBI roll up on Blackstone’s front door to ask him to come down to the office to answer a few questions isn’t going to work. I don’t see why the justice system should be preferenced when dealing with what is essentially a black operation. New York was a black op. For Baumer. And possibly for Blackstone. Two different operations, maybe, I’ll concede. And maybe Blackstone’s went horribly wrong. There will come a time when we have to address the legal consequences of what happened. But right now, I would argue very strongly that we are still in the operational moment. And that moment demands a Caitlin Monroe, not a district attorney.’

Kip shook his head. He had his anger under control, but he had not changed his mind. ‘No, Jed,’ he said. ‘If our system is not strong enough to do things the right way, it is not worth the effort we put into maintaining it. We either do things lawfully or we’re as bad as Baumer and Mad Jack. Now I want you to get on the phone to the FBI and have them send over a team to take charge of the case you’ve built up. I want that to happen today. Are we clear?’

‘Yes, Mr President.’

Jed checked his watch. Dawn had arrived, but the world outside Kipper’s window looked even darker.

21

EMPORIA, KANSAS

She dreamed again. Not of Texas this time, but Oklahoma. In the strange attenuated temporal landscape of dreams, they had only just escaped the flood. Their clothes hung in rags from them. The horses were all swept away, drowned and torn apart when the raging waters dashed them against rocky outcrops in the accursed valley.

Papa was with her, supporting her on his strong right arm as he helped Adam and Maive escape the pull of the roaring river that had boiled up around them. As terrified as she was, Sofia’s heart swelled with joy at the touch of her father. She felt safe just being with him, knowing that he would let nothing bad happen to her.

And then the river was gone. Not receded, not fallen away – simply gone. They stood on the outskirts of Tulsa, which looked as though an Old Testament God had rained down fire and damnation upon it, smashing it flat, burning the ruins, before smashing a fist down on it again. It was as if they were standing on the verge of a city ruined in antiquity, rather than just a few years earlier. They had come to Tulsa seeking supplies, needing to replace all they had lost in the flood, but instead found themselves staring at a wasteland of ash and desolation.