Seeing the human’s discomfort at his words, John lifted his hands as if to downplay what he was saying and went on, “Jack, I’m sorry, I’m not trying to make you feel bad, goodness knows you are putting yourself on the line as well, but when you asked whether I am enjoying myself … I guess … well, I guess I just wanted to set the record straight.”

The two men looked at each other and Jack nodded. They were silent for a moment and then Jack took a deep breath and said, “You’re right, of course. I can’t speak for the others, but I guess I always felt a bit patronized by you and your … well, your charity. Maybe I even resented that we were so dependent on you.” They both smiled ruefully at each other and Jack finished, “For what it’s worth, though, thank you. For all of us, for my family and my friends, and for me: thank you for what you are doing.”

He held out his blistered hand and John’s synthetic hand met it in a firm grasp. One day, Jack hoped, he would get to shake the real hand of the person inside Agent John Hunt, whatever that creature actually looked like. Maybe if they survived the coming war it might happen. Who knows?

Till then, though, Jack vowed never to take this man’s sacrifice lightly again.

Chapter 46: Spread Your Arm(ament)s

It had taken Shahim a long time to recover fully from the fight with John. But John Hunt had not been able to hang around and help the battered Agent repair. After a brief but brutally honest discussion of what they needed to accomplish, John had left, trusting his instincts about the lord of Hamprect and hoping he had not doomed them all.

At first Shahim had found the fact that he was now a traitor a difficult pill to swallow. But the river of doubt and remorse for what he had done in Pakistan ran deep within him, and once its banks were breached there was no way it would be contained again. He had known the Nomadi was right from the moment the Agent had started to berate him for his role in the whole enterprise.

Since that day Shahim had rediscovered a lost sense of pride and meaning as he began to pursue his new mission. Now, as he stood on the soils of Pakistan once more, he knew he was steering the right course. That fateful day in Washington DC was three months and seven thousand miles away now, and any semblance of doubt Shahim might have had in his decision was long since laid to rest.