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Back Angels of Vengeance Save as PDF
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

Estelle seemed unconvinced, but Sofia was satisfied. This was the fourth caller she had heard complaining about unescorted ‘servants’ being allowed to wander around the town unsupervised. That was interesting, thought Sofia. She added it to a growing list of interesting facts she had learned from the radio or gleaned from her conversations with Dave Bowman.

Most interesting of all was the fact that Blackstone lived ‘among his people’. In a simple house on the base.

Yes, that was very, very interesting.

39

TEMPLE, TEXAS ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

The alarm woke Caitlin Monroe at six the next morning, relatively late for her. Tusk Musso had been right, telling her not to set it too early. After a tense start to the evening, the three of them had drunk well into the night. At one point McCutcheon even suggested they pile into a couple of pick-ups – the table had attracted at least a dozen rowdy hangers-on by that point – and all drive over to the Hood for some real eatin’ and drinkin’. That plan went nowhere.

Nobody was sober enough to drive, except for Caitlin, and only she knew that. She’d secretly swapped out her whiskey for iced tea after the second drink. She was tired enough to act drunk, which, in character as the punishing Kate Murdoch, simply meant becoming more taciturn and red-eyed as the night went on. Ty McCutcheon was a natural performer and everybody’s new best friend, encouraging them all to drink up and filling the bar with raucous good vibes and the promise of more to come. Naturally, he made a pass at ‘Katie’ about halfway through the night, but then he made a pass at every woman in the room. Hell, he may even have scored.

When Caitlin excused herself and tottered unsteadily away – a very convincing, if quiet drunk – McCutcheon had two administrative assistants in his lap pouring him tequila lay-backs. The Echelon operator caught Musso’s eye as she was leaving, long enough for him to share a look that told her he thought this might be all for the good. It was a chance for his people to blow off some steam, and maybe to create a little goodwill at the top of the food chain over in Fort Hood. He too switched drinking tactics early in the night, but had resorted to lite beer rather than the complete fake-out she’d pulled. Unless, of course, he’d had ginger ale in those beer cans.