Right To Kill - Right to Kill Part 37
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Right to Kill Part 37

"Don't listen to her," Fontana said. "Focus on me."

"You're a whore! You spread your legs for my brother."

Her finger tightened on the trigger.

"Don't do it, it's what she wants."

Ursula issued more insults and foul language, first in English, then in Spanish.

"Eyes on me, Linda. Tune her out."

"She has to die."

"The price is too high."

"Too high?"

"To yourself, to Nathan."

"I'll gladly pay it."

"You can't."

"She's lying about Glen's rescue."

"Think about it, Linda. In Caracas, Ursula could've shot any of us in that house. We were in the kitchen. I was on your left. Nathan was in the living room, near the television. Ursula lined up on you from the hall right after you shot the old man on the couch."

Ursula twisted on the floor, trying to stare Linda in the eye. "Old man? He was my father!"

Fontana narrowed his eyes.

"You didn't have to kill him. He trusted you, let you into our family."

Linda pistol-whipped the side of Ursula's head.

"The old man on the couch was their father?"

"Why does that matter?"

"But you knew?"

"He was reaching for a gun! What would you've done?"

"The same thing, but I didn't have to make that decision. You did. This is different. You don't have to kill Ursula. You gave us your word. No summary executions."

"Don't you want her dead?"

"Cantrell needs what's in her head. Look, no one will ever know. If you kill her, I won't say anything, but there's one condition."

"What condition? What are you talking about?" She didn't want to hear any of Fontana's bullshit. Ursula had to die. Simple as that.

"You have to use your knife."

"My knife?"

"I'm going to repeat what Holly once told Nathan when he faced the same thing. I wasn't there, but he told me about it."

"I'm in no mood for a lecture, Fontana. Say what you have to say and be done with it."

"I want to see you kill her with your knife. Up close and personal."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You heard me. I want to see you slice her throat from ear to ear. I want to hear the gurgling of her lungs. I want to see her blood spurt onto the walls. Go ahead, show me how tough you are. I want to witness the real Linda Genneken at work. Apparently the woman I thought I knew doesn't exist."

"Spare me the drama, Fontana. I'm in no mood."

"Having the power of life and death in your hands is like heroin to an addict, but there's no twelve-step treatment plan. Once you kill, you can't get that life back. Nate and I fight it every day of our lives. Don't give in to it. You're in a lot of pain and you're losing blood." He nodded to her foot. "Your boot's overflowing. Close your eyes, LG, and focus on my voice. Shut everything else out."

"We don't have time for this." She shuffled back a step and painted the bitch's face with her laser.

"Close your eyes and focus on my voice."

She shook her head. "I can't."

"Life is about choices, Linda. Every day." Fontana took a few strides forward.

"She had Glen murdered!"

"Killing her won't bring him back."

Linda couldn't listen to this. Ursula had to die.

"You need to trust me, like you've never trusted me before. You and I? We've been through life and death together. I'd never lie to you, or try to deceive you. Ursula's not going anywhere."

She could feel her rage radiating like white-hot iron. Killing this bitch was the only way to purge it. Nothing less would work.

"Focus on my voice. Lock everything else out."

She squinted.

"Eyes on me, right here." He pointed to his face. "I know what you're feeling. The anger and rage. It makes you want to scream until your throat bleeds. Killing Ursula won't release it; it only makes it worse. You'll hurt yourself. Hurt your country. Doubt and regret will haunt you for the rest of your life because you did something that can't be undone. The feeling festers and gets worse with time. It'll consume you like cancer."

"I have to kill her. I have to!"

"Is that what Glen would want?"

She didn't answer.

Harvey stepped forward and put a boot on Ursula's neck. She groaned in protest, but he didn't ease off.

"Close your eyes and focus on my voice." He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "This is it, Linda. Your soul's at stake. Everything in your life hinges from this moment forward."

She shrunk away from his touch, then cried out at the pain in her hip. "It's just you and me," she breathed. "No one has to know."

"The price is too high."

"But no one will know!"

"You'll know."

"I can't . . ."

Ursula started another tirade, but Fontana stepped heavily on her throat until she went slack.

"Stay with me, Linda. Close your eyes and listen to my words . . . that's all I'm asking you to do. If you still want to kill her afterward, I won't stop you."

Trying to do what he asked, she forced her eyes shut.

Fontana spoke slowly. "Take a deep breath and set the pain aside. I know it hurts, but focus only on my voice, lock everything else out. Picture yourself in a forest of fall-colored trees."

She shook her head. "I can't do this-"

"Keep your eyes closed and stay with me."

"Please-"

"You're still under the trees. There's a slight wind blowing. A gust frees some of the leaves and they begin to flutter down to the ground. See them as they tumble through the air. Rays of sunlight brighten their colors. Feel the sensation as they brush past your skin and gather at your feet. Each one drains a tiny piece of anger and carries it away."

Fontana's voice held a calming, almost hypnotic tone. She frowned, but kept her eyes closed.

"Hundreds are falling. Then thousands. Hear the sound they make, see their swirling patterns on the ground. Anger doesn't control you; you control it. There're a million reasons to kill her, but only one reason not to."

She relived the fight earlier that evening, the mercenary's bullets piercing Glen's chest. His concern for their dogs. His unconditional love of her. She'd said some horrible things to him over the years when she'd been angry, and he'd always forgiven her. Fontana was right: pulling the trigger would haunt her for the rest of her life. Glen wouldn't want that. His memory would be tainted. She might even blame him for what she'd become.

She felt the tightness in her face ease.

Her free hand unclenched.

And she lowered the pistol.

"Welcome back, Linda."

"Accountability," she whispered and opened her eyes. "That's a damned good trick, Harvey."

"What happened to calling me Fontana?"

"It's been suspended until further notice."

"I can live with that."

"I was going to do it, but I'm glad I didn't. So where did that falling-leaves business come from. You just make it up?"

"Nathan's used it for years. He calls it his safety catch. A company shrink gets the credit."

She sat heavily on the couch, wincing at the lancing pain. "You guys continue to amaze me. Just when I think I've seen it all, you come up with a bunch of leaves. Killing Ursula wasn't going to make me feel better, I know that now. Thanks for talking me down."

"Don't shortchange yourself. The decision was yours alone."

She looked at McBride.

And in that moment, they communicated without words.

Each knew what the other thought and felt.

It was one of those mysterious human experiences that defied understanding.

"Am I that transparent?" she asked softly.

"Actually, LG, you're pretty guarded."

"When I was drugged, did I, you know . . . say anything I shouldn't have?"

"Nathan said you told him you loved Glen."

She closed her eyes against the pain. "I did love him. He was a good man."

"You two had a great life together. You'll always remember the best times. Come on, let's apply Nate's tourniquet again before you bleed to death."

"He's really alive? You weren't just saying it?"

Harvey looked up while he secured Ursula on the floor with plasticuffs. "To quote a line from a movie, Marines are not allowed to die without permission."

They both heard it, an approaching siren. Probably a fire engine.

"We're going to have company soon." He stood and looked at Tomas.

"I didn't have a choice. He was about to shoot Nathan again."

"Don't second-guess yourself. You did the right thing." He came to her side and got the makeshift tourniquet back in place.

"Ouch. I've never been shot before. This really sucks."

"Welcome to the club."

"This is one membership I could live without. We did well, didn't we?"

"Yeah, LG, we did well."