Nemesis Chapter 46

"But I thought he was dead," Garcia protested, looking from Christie to Jim and back again.  He looked so confused that Jim could have almost felt sorry for him.

"Apparently not yet," Christie shrugged in condescension, then an evil grin crossed his face, "even though I took care of the rest of his team."

"I wouldn't bet on that," came a voice from the driver's seat of Jim's car.  As Grant climbed out and stared at the two men, both Garcia and Christie looked like they'd seen a ghost.

"Me neither, pal," added Max, as he left his hiding place and walked out of the warehouse doors, causing both Garcia and Christie to spin around in surprise.

"That goes double for me," chimed in Nicholas, emerging from behind Max, still wearing the mask that turned him into Kyle Garcia.

Garcia turned deathly white, and for a moment the team was certain he would faint at the sight of his own face staring back at him.  But instead, he stammered, "What the hell-?"

Then, he abruptly stopped as Nicholas ripped off his mask and shot a look at Christie.  From the way Christie 's expression changed, it was obvious that he recognized Nicholas as the priest from the previous mission.

"You failed again, Christie," Jim advised him, as three carloads of policemen came roaring in, sirens blaring.  "We know about your plans to sneak cocaine into the villagers' food supply."

Jim nodded toward the backseat of his car.  "Your buddy Sanders here is ready to tell the police everything he knows, and I'm sure Garcia there will gladly do the same.  It's over, Christie.  You'll not escape this time."

"Maybe not," admitted Christie as he whipped out a silver shotgun and aimed it at Jim's chest.  "But I'm taking you out first," he advised, just before he pulled the trigger.

*******

Grant spotted the glint of the gun in the evening sunset light.  He reacted with lightning speed.

"Jim!  Down!"  was all he had time to say.

Jim's reaction was more instinct than comprehension about what was happening.  He ducked down beside the sedan, and the car served as a shield between him and Christie.  Grant also got low and scrambled around the car toward his leader, as the bullet from Christie's gun bounced off the sedan's roof and harmlessly away.

As Grant reached Jim's side, they  heard a second - and final - gunshot.  Then there was only the sound of police running and barking orders.

"You all right?"  Grant quickly asked his leader.

"Fine," Jim replied with a wry smile.  "Thanks for the warning."

Grant nodded and laid a hand on Jim's shoulder as the two men tentatively raised up and peered over top of the sedan.  Slowly, they took in the scene in front of them.

Two of the officers were busy arresting Kyle Garcia, who had his hands in the air and a mask of terror on his face.  One officer was leading Sanders, now conscious but still handcuffed, to the back of his patrol car.

Another officer was talking to Max, who was standing at the open warehouse doors and pointing toward the packing machine.  The other two officers were knelt beside a prone figure in the driveway.

For a moment, Jim felt a twinge of worry travel up his spine; he did not see Nicholas at first and was afraid that something had happened to the dark-haired agent.  Then, he emerged from among the officers and walked slowly toward his friends, and Jim breathed a sigh of relief.

Nicholas' face was somber as he spoke.

"Christie's dead," he told them, his voice low.  "He aimed his gun right at one of the officers.  He had no choice but to fire."  Nicholas gazed carefully at his friends.  "You guys okay?"

"Yeah," Grant replied, slapping Nicholas' shoulder affectionately.  Jim remained stoically silent, eyes focused on his now-deceased nemesis.

Presently, Max walked over to his three teammates.  He smiled slightly  at Nicholas.  "That farmer you spoke with is going to make sure all the rice gets bagged and distributed to the poorest families in the village," he reported.  "The police are staying here until it's done, just to prevent any problems."

"Then it's really over," Jim finally said, mechanically, as if in a trance, still fixated in the spot and staring as a white sheet was pulled over Christie's body.

"It's over, Jim," confirmed Nicholas.  "Let's go see Shannon."

Nicholas laid a hand on Jim's shoulder and steered him gently toward the car and away from the scene in front of them.  Jim finally climbed in the back seat, Nicholas beside him, and the four men drove away with Max - as usual - at the wheel.