Page 147 of Player

Finn said the same thing earlier, when he ordered me to run away. Considering the circumstances, I didn’t believe him. And now?

God help us. He’s afraid for me, isn’t he?

Because he loves me.

I remember cuddling Christiana in my arms as she passed away. Protecting her and loving her. Hopeless to do anything more.

Is that how Finn feels?

I face his boss. “I won’t lie. I intend to tell this story.”

“Now’s not the time for honesty,” Finn hisses. “Bleeding lie, will you?”

“He erased all my work. With limited visual proof, it’ll be difficult to sell what remains to a major news source. But whatever I can pull together, I’ll give the CIA credit for what’s happened. No faces. No names unless I replace Finn’s name with an alias. But I think you’ll agree that O’Brien is fair game.”

His boss is as easy to read as a marble slab. But he’s listening, and I grasp hold of that fact with both hands as I press on. “I promise strict confidentiality under one condition.”

“Christ.” Finn shakes his head.

“Are we negotiating now?” his boss asks.

I shrug in a very Finn-like way.

“Boss, don’t listen to her. You can see she’s a stubborn beour. I’m asking you nicely to let her be. I’ll figure out a way to silence her without hurting her too much.”

“Don’t you want to hear her out?”

“Feck, no.”

I glare at Finn. He returns it with a warning look. It’s funny because in this moment, our roles have been thoroughly reversed.

“What condition, Clarissa?” says his boss in a velvety-smooth voice.

“I’ll protect you and your men’s privacy while telling the truth if you promise me you’ll find the uranium mine and stop future black market sales.”

Silence. Horrible, stifling silence. It hangs over the space like the burlap bag at my feet. I wait and worry. This man is dangerous. I’m clearly a threat, a woman who knows too much. He could kill me, toss me out of this truck, and leave my lifeless body lying in one of these rolling green hills, and likely never be held accountable. Dare I negotiate with him? I must have bathed in that crazy-infused water he keeps talking about.

“That’s your one condition?”

I jump when he abruptly answers. “Yes. This entire journey was about me producing a meaningful piece of reporting, a true story about the dangers within the world. Real news about real people who are acting on behalf of the common good.”

“Is that what you believe? We were acting on behalf of the common good?”

I think about it. “Yes.”

More silence. Hope springs alive.He’s considering it?I don’t dare look at Finn.

“Boss. I swear on me life she can be trusted. Like I said, I’ve accessed her files and have done what was necessary. Everything except this.” Finn grabs hold of his duffle bag, opens it up, removes my camcorder then hands it over to his boss. “She had to go and get all high-tech on me. Whatever new footage, she’s stored in the cloud. But I know the password in.”

“Impossible.”

His boss looks from me to him. “What is it?”

“Christiana.”

All the blood drains from my face until my cheeks feel frozen. “How could you?” I snarl at Finn.

“A desperate man will do desperate things.” This comes from his boss. My heart thumps loudly in my chest as I watch him press button after button. Even with the weak internet, I can see that he’s online.