The Eternity Project

56



Ethan watched as Jarvis and Wilson slowly maneuvered through the cathedral to flank them, and felt a hollow pit form low in his belly.

Donovan whirled, stepping back with Karina still in his grasp so that he could keep everybody in sight.

Wilson stopped near the altar, casting his icy gaze at each of them in turn, before speaking to Jarvis. ‘Perfect,’ he uttered.

Lopez glared at Jarvis. ‘You son of a bitch, you sold out.’

‘There was a price for protecting you from the CIA,’ Jarvis sighed. ‘Their price was Joanna Defoe.’

Ethan felt every fiber in his body prime itself for action. For a moment, nobody else existed in the room but Jarvis, as the weight of the old man’s betrayal crushed down upon Ethan’s shoulders.

‘You knew, all along,’ Ethan uttered. ‘You guided this whole damned thing. You knew who Tom Ross was, didn’t you?’

Jarvis shook his head as he replied. ‘I’ve told you, Ethan, many times now, that sometimes decisions have to be made for which there can be no good outcome. My choice wasn’t a choice at all. It was to protect two people instead of just one, yourself and Lopez instead of just Joanna. We traced Barraclough’s family to Tom Ross not long before you did, as we knew that Joanna would turn up sooner or later.’

‘That’s why you kept disappearing after we got to New York,’ Lopez said in dismay. ‘You’ve been going behind our backs.’

‘I’ve been doing my job,’ Jarvis shot back.

Joanna Defoe stepped forward fearlessly, glaring at Wilson. ‘And now?’

Wilson looked at her for a moment and then down at Tom Ross, who was watching the whole exchange through hooded eyes.

‘You come with me,’ Wilson replied without emotion. ‘We can’t have you running about with all that you know, can we? Don’t worry, you won’t be harmed. We just need to ensure that you forget about everything.’

‘You really think that I’m going to believe that?’ Joanna snapped at him. ‘After everything you bastards did to me?’

‘I don’t care what you believe,’ Wilson replied. ‘It’s not a choice, it’s a requirement. You’re coming with me.’

‘Like hell!’ Ethan snapped, taking a pace toward him.

Wilson reacted instantly, moving his pistol with fluid speed and aiming at Ethan. Joanna swung an arm out to stop Ethan in his tracks, her gaze still fixed on the CIA agent.

‘And what about him?’ she asked, gesturing at Tom.

Wilson, the pistol still trained on Ethan, looked down at Tom.

‘I think that it would be safer for all of us if Mr. Ross were to have a very long rest.’

Karina squirmed against Donovan as she shouted, ‘Leave him alone. Donovan’s already killed Glen.’

Ethan shot a glance at Donovan.

‘Crap,’ Donovan uttered. ‘The kid shot himself.’

Jarvis’s voice reached them from nearby. ‘That’s not what I saw, back at Hell Gate.’

Karina’s eyes flared in surprise and rage. ‘You were there? And you didn’t do anything?’

‘Not our place,’ Wilson said, answering for Jarvis. ‘It’s your mess, you clean it up.’

Donovan appeared equally surprised, and suddenly unsure of who was backing whom as he looked from Jarvis to Wilson and back again. He was struggling to hold onto Karina and trying to keep his pistol both in her side but also available in case Wilson sought to betray him. Ethan looked at Jarvis, who was standing with one hand holding his pistol and the other down by his side.

Jarvis wriggled the fingers of his free hand. Resting on the outside of his pants, Ethan realized that the old man was signaling him. Three fingers. Three seconds? Three minutes? Ethan glanced around the cathedral but could see nothing untoward.

Donovan yanked Karina sideways and shouted across to Wilson.

‘Finish Ross, and then we can deal with the rest of them.’

Wilson glanced down at Tom Ross, who was now being shielded by both Lopez and Joanna. He smiled bitterly as he swung his pistol to aim at them.

‘Is this going to take one bullet, or three?’

Ethan looked at Jarvis and saw a finger disappear into his pants pocket. Two.


‘Go to hell,’ Joanna shot back at Wilson.

‘Just shoot them both!’ Donovan yelled. ‘Get it over with!’

Jarvis retracted his last finger out of sight. One.

Wilson shrugged and shifted his aim to Joanna. ‘Suit yourself.’

Wilson squeezed his trigger.

The gunshot was deafening as Jarvis fired. The shot hit Wilson high on the back of his right shoulder in a puff of blood and he staggered sideways, his own shot flying high into the vaulted ceiling above them.

Jarvis threw himself backwards across nearby pews as Ethan launched himself at Wilson.

The agent’s pistol whipped around to face Ethan and discharged just to the left of his head as he smashed the weapon clear and crashed into Wilson. The gunshot rang in Ethan’s ears as they plunged onto the polished stone flags of the cathedral.

As he hit the ground, Ethan saw Karina Thorne’s head jerk backwards and crunch Donovan’s nose against his face as he aimed at Jarvis. The pair of them fell backwards as Donovan’s shot missed Jarvis and flew high to dislodge a sprinkle of stone from a nearby column.

The bullet ricocheted and crashed through one of the huge stained-glass windows, a shower of multi-colored glass fragments tumbling from the heights to sprinkle the stone floor of the cathedral in shards of glinting light as the entire window shattered and collapsed inward. Whorls of rain poured down into the cathedral from the darkness outside, glowing in the light of the candles.

Wilson hurled Ethan off of him with impressive strength despite his injury, then rolled away and brought his pistol to bear as Ethan scrambled to his feet and swung a boot at the weapon. The impact against his wrist caused Wilson to cry out in pain as the pistol was whipped from his grasp and skittered away across the flags between the pews.

Wilson leaped cat-like to his feet as Ethan fired a left jab at his eyes, a practiced hand scything Ethan’s blow to one side as Wilson drove his left elbow in behind Ethan’s ear. Ethan twisted aside, the blow glancing off his skull as he slammed his right knee up into the agent’s belly.

Wilson growled as he folded over but he did not fall, folding his arms around Ethan’s head and twisting violently. Ethan felt bright pain pulse through his neck and his body spin uncontrollably as he was flipped over and crashed down onto the flags on his back.

He glimpsed Wilson’s face twisted with malice as the agent lifted a boot and brought it down toward Ethan’s face.

Ethan swung his right arm across and the boot slammed instead into his shoulder as Wilson staggered off balance. Ethan lurched upright and drove a bunched fist into Wilson’s groin with as much force as he could muster.

Wilson gagged and staggered backward as Ethan got back onto his feet, his shoulder throbbing with pain and his lungs heaving for air. Wilson glared back at him, coming forward again with his fists raised.

‘That’s far enough,’ Lopez snarled.

Ethan turned to see her holding Wilson’s pistol. He was about to smile when he heard a squeal of pain and turned to see Donovan scramble to his feet, blood caking his face as he aimed his pistol at Tom Ross and Joanna. Karina Thorne was on her back on the flags, blinking as though coming awake from a blow and powerless to intervene.

Joanna hurled herself at Tom Ross and collided with him as Donovan fired.

The gunshot thumped into Tom as he staggered off the pew and dropped to his knees clutching his belly. Joanna landed alongside him and stared in dismay as Tom rolled over and sprawled across the stone flags.

‘No!’ Karina scrambled across the flags past Donovan and grabbed Tom’s shoulders as tears spilled from her eyes to splash across the fallen man’s cheeks.

Ethan saw the kid stare up at Karina, fear poisoning his expression, and then his eyes finally closed and his body fell still.

For a moment, the cathedral was silent.

Donovan lowered his pistol, a grim smile on his face. ‘It’s done. He’s not getting up from that.’

Ethan stared down at Tom Ross’s body and then across at Lopez. Both of them looked at Jarvis, who was standing amidst the pews nearby.

Wilson stood glaring at Lopez.

Donovan turned and aimed at Lopez. ‘Lose the piece, Chiquita.’

Lopez glared at Donovan with unconcealed hatred, but she slowly lowered the weapon. At Donovan’s gesture, she slid the pistol across the flags to Wilson, who lithely scooped it up and aimed it at Ethan.

‘All’s well that ends well,’ he uttered with a grim smile, and then looked at Joanna Defoe. ‘With me, now, or I’ll perforate your friends here.’

Joanna Defoe stood back from Tom’s body and turned to face Wilson.

‘If I come with you, will you guarantee everybody else’s safety?’

‘Don’t do it,’ Ethan said to her.

Wilson’s smile vanished. ‘You have my word,’ he replied.

Joanna stepped out into the aisle, the veils of rain falling from the shattered window behind her and glittering in the candlelight like a silent diamond waterfall. As Ethan watched, and Joanna took a step away from Tom’s body, so the falling rain suddenly rippled as though a wind had gusted through it.

Ethan felt his throat constrict as the falling rain suddenly folded in upon itself and began rising up instead of falling down.