“OK, well, yes, I can see, upon reflection, that what you just said was not something you would have said at the door.” Neal went on, noting the colonel pacing behind his ex-wife.

“That said,” continued Neal in a pensive tone, “as much as I am grateful that you have …. opened up to me about who you are, I must ask that you brace yourself.” She looked at him, puzzled, her instincts pricking in mild alarm. “Because what I am about to tell you is, I am comfortable saying, far more important than anything even you have ever been told before.”

And with that, he set about thoroughly blowing her very experienced mind.

* * *

Thirty minutes later Neal stopped his monologue.

She sat, still holding the probe’s photos of the capsule he had handed to her, and she asked her ex-husband to stop pacing behind her. She was quiet and introspective, but she was also calm. The colonel paused behind her, and Neal could see the officer’s fear and sadness, the tension of the last thirty minutes had clearly taken a toll on him. The colonel had been absolutely explicit on what they must do if they recruited someone who did not immediately completely understand and agree to the enterprise’s strict secrecy.

Neal could see the colonel’s service pistol from here, its black matte metal lethal in his hands, the safety off. He had taken it out after Neal had started talking in earnest, staying behind Ayala and keeping the gun out of sight.

“Barrett,” Ayala said, not taking her eyes off Neal, “you can put your gun away, now.” Neal and Barrett both flinched, “You were right to be cautious, but you need fear nothing from me.” They both held their breath.

“If what you say is true, and from what Neal has shown me it most certainly looks like it is, you had no choice but to send for me, Barrett.”

She stood, turned, and walked slowly over to the shaking colonel. Her left hand came to rest lightly on the gun, as she cupped her right hand softly against his cheek. Something in him seemed to give ever so slightly, and a single tear ran down his face. She took the gun, clicking the safety on with her thumb without taking her eyes off the man she clearly still loved, and he turned, temporarily broken, and climbed the basement stairs without a word.

Neal rose to follow his friend, but she stopped him. “Don’t,” she said quietly but firmly, “leave him a moment. He has spent the last half an hour waiting to see if he was going to have to kill his wife. Let him be for a while.”