A World Without Secrets (43 page)

"Step away from the door, Billy, so I can open it."

"Uh, I'm on the floor, Colt. I don't think I can stand up."

"I'm going to open the door." I pushed against the door and realized I was pushing Billy with it. As soon as I got the door opened far enough, I peered in. Billy was covered in blood, and it was spreading quickly on the floor. I knew I had to get in right away, so I pushed the door open far enough to squeeze in. But I had never studied any medical treatment procedures and didn't know where to start. Billy had been hit at least four times. He was bleeding from an arm, a leg, and two places in his torso. I got down on the floor with him and cradled his head on my lap.

"Hang on, Billy. I'm sure help is on the way. This place sounded like a shooting gallery for a few minutes."

"Colt, I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, Billy. You saved both our asses. Your action gave me a chance to pull my backup."

"No, I mean about the gizmo. I flushed it, Colt. I couldn't let those guys get it. I couldn't let them use it for blackmail and stuff."

"You did good, Billy, real good. Now save your strength. Help is on the way."

"I don't think I'm going to make it." He coughed, then said, "I'm cold, Colt. Really cold."

From what little I knew, I figured that meant Billy was going into shock. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to help. "I hear sirens, Billy. Hang on."

"Colt, you're the best pal I ever had," Billy gasped. "I hope you and Kathy will be happy. Give her my love."

That was the last thing he ever said. Billy died then in my arms, his eyes wide open. He was beyond the help that was coming.

"Freeze," I heard from the doorway.

I looked up and saw a uniformed city cop. I didn't know how much time had passed since Billy had died, but it couldn't have been much.

"Drop the gun," he said, his pistol pointed at my face.

"FBI," I said as I calmly put my backup pistol down on the floor. I hadn't even realized I was still holding it.

"Show me some ID."

"The big guy by your feet took it from me after jumping me as I entered my apartment. It's probably in one of his pockets."

The cop looked skeptical, but he said, "Check it, Roy," to his partner without moving his eyes off me.

Through his legs, I saw a pair of arms going through Diz's pockets, then heard, "There's an FBI ID here, a Glock, and a cell phone. Here's the ID."

The cop holding the gun on me took the ID and flipped it open. He glanced down at the picture, looked up to study my face, and then glanced down at the ID again. He finally lowered his pistol and holstered it. "Okay, Special Agent James. What happened here?"

"The two guys by your feet were waiting inside my apartment and jumped me when I got home. I just got back from Europe."

Using his chin to point to Billy, the cop asked, "Who's that?"

"He's— was—," I had to stop for a second to swallow the huge lump in my throat as I looked down at Billy's face. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as I said, "My best friend."

~ finis ~

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    Colton James was just an ordinary man, struggling like the rest of humanity to earn a living from his innate talents and training, until a fateful event in early spring changed his life forever. Before dawn, a reputedly empty five-story apartment building across the street from his flat on New York City's Lower West Side, erupted into a giant fireball. Government agencies later attributed the blast to a gas leak.

    As the massive firefighting and cleanup effort began, Colton collected personal papers and property from a bent and twisted hulk that had, until minutes earlier, been his automobile. A box of photocopies he'd left on the backseat had wound up outside the vehicle and he was forced to sift through assorted street trash to recover as much as possible. Unaware that something extra had gotten mixed in with his personal items, he carried the bundle up to his apartment. When he later began to separate the papers in the privacy of his third-floor walk-up, he discovered something among the detritus that couldn't possibly exist, yet obviously did.