Page 154 of The 9th Man

“Or did you think me too stupid to notice?”

“Both.”

“Your protests of a mistake and jumping the gun with Talley didn’t ring right either. You were trained to handle those kinds of situations, not pull the trigger at the first opportunity. Unless, of course, you intended to kill Talley, which you did.” He asked what he really wanted to know.“Who the hell are you?”

“Not that good little marine you once knew, that’s for sure. I grew up. In the real world. Where money rules and power gets things done.”

He faced Rowland. “The perfect person for you.”

“I do appreciate a negotiable individual. So much can be accomplished when everyone is in need.”

“You do realize that you’re done,” Luke said.

“You underestimate me,” Rowland said.

“I think you’re the one doing the underestimating. What did she tell you? That all of Eckstein’s stuff was lost? Surely you know that was a lie.”

“Of course. So either Stephanie Nelle was coming with a warrant to arrest me, or you were coming with perhaps something else on your mind. Let’s be real here. There’s no proof of anything.”

“You see the news coverage yesterday?”

“Superficial. Which spoke volumes. Rumor. Innuendo. If you wanted me, you would have gotten me. No, Mr. Daniels. You were sending a message. Thankfully, I listened and have a lizard skin.”

“No. You don’t. Otherwise none of this would have happened. You would have left it alone. Instead, you care how you’re to be remembered. So much so that people were murdered to protect your reputation. In fact, that is what the entire thing was about.”

“My legacy is fine. You apparently did not share your supposed proof with Stephanie Nelle.”

“Some of Talley’s men survived Wyoming.”

“I am aware,” Rowland said. “But they will be dealt with.”

“I survived,” Luke noted.

Rowland grinned. “And here we are, dealing with each other, face-to-face, and you unarmed.”

“Did you like the little taste I gave you yesterday?” Luke asked.

“Sensationalism never lasts.”

“Eckstein’s film is pretty damning,” Luke said.

“Except it doesn’t show the gun firing,” Jillian added. “And that’s a big problem.”

“Did you kill Benji?” he quickly asked.

“I did. Right before you made your grand entrance. I told Rowland you’d take those guys down, and you did.”

He recalled how the van driver had killed two of the intruders. “Those men dying. All a show. Just to get me involved.”

She nodded. “You had to have a purpose. Superheroes like you always have to have a purpose. So we created one.”

“You took a big chance on Talley or Persik not killing us both.”

“Not really. Persik was kept in the dark. He was after us and the mythical rifle. Just doing his job.”

“Which is why you confessed about the rifle in the hangar?”

“I was just doing what you told me to do,” she said. “Tell the truth.It tied it all together rather nicely, I thought. The problem came with Talley, who was sent to Belgium to watch Persik. Instead, he shot them all dead, which shocked the hell out of me. He could have taken us down in that old hangar too. But he didn’t. He had his own agenda, and he was counting on you to make it happen. What he didn’t know about was me.”