“You saved my life, too, so we’re even.”
“When did I…? Oh. When I got him with the chisel.”
“Yeah.” Her scream as she’d jumped out of the elevator echoed through Thor’s mind. “He was about to pull that trigger.”
Her face crumpled. “I wanted tokillhim for hurting you. I aimed for his eye, but I got his cheek instead.”
“I’m glad you missed.” He wasn’t sure how Samantha would have handled having a man’s death on her hands. “It’s not easy to live with taking a life.”
She sniffed. “It was awful—Vasily stabbing Hardin and cutting Vlad’s throat with that switchblade, watching them bleed and die.”
He wiped a tear away with his thumb. “I’m sorry you saw all of that—the fighting, the killing.”
Her lips curved into a wobbly smile. “I certainly appreciate your job now. You’re my hero, Thor Isaksen.”
She stood, leaned down, kissed his forehead.
From beyond the curtains came Kristi’s voice. “He’s awake if you want to see him. Just don’t wear out your welcome.”
Then the curtain was pushed back and Jones and Segal were there, the two of them staring down at him with worried looks on their unshaven faces.
“Hey, brother, how do you feel?” Jones asked.
“Like I got shot in the shoulder.”
“It was touch and go there for a while, man,” Segal said. “You are one tough son of a bitch.”
Then Jones and Segal filled him in.
Life on station was returning to normal. Jones and Segal had liberated the package from Delaney’s office safe, verified its contents, and secured it once again. Lance was no longer confined to his room. Shields was beating herself up over failing to uncover Delaney’s deception. Tower was waiting for Thor to be healed enough for the long journey home before trying to set up extract. Vasily and his buddies had fled the station a few hours ago on an unauthorized flight to Bellinghausen, a Russian station off the Antarctic Peninsula. They’d taken Vlad’s body with them.
“We heard the plane land,” Jones said. “We got outside in time to see it take off.”
“Were they Delaney’s contacts?”
“Delaney’s emails showed that he tried to make a deal with China, but his buyers backed out,” Segal said. “Then he turned to the Russians. Vasily cut a deal with him but intended to kill him. Vasily hoped to get his hands on the components, I’m sure, but we’ll never know what his true motives were.”
“How did Delaney know Samantha and I were in the LO arch?”
“Vlad overheard us and shot Delaney a text to warn him that you and Dr. Park were still alive and headed back into the station.”
“That’s why Vasily killed him—for betraying us,” Samantha said. “I still don’t know whether Vasily is a good guy or a bad guy.”
“Oh, he’s definitely a bad guy,” Segal answered. “But he’s a bad guy who cares about you—and Patty. This time, that’s what mattered.”
Thor remembered Jones and Segal rushing through the doors after Vasily had already killed Delaney. “What took you two so long? How did Vasily and his crew get there first? Didn’t you lock them down?”
“Sorry, man.” Jones explained. “After we left, they overpowered Ryan and his guys, went for their rifles, and ran straight to Delaney. You said you were backtracking to the machine shop, so we went outside and came back in through the door to the LO Arch, thinking we could get ahead of Delaney. But he had already found you.”
“Better late than never.” Thor struggled to keep his eyes open.
“Okay, guys, he needs rest.” Kristi motioned for Jones and Segal to leave. “Samantha, either you get back into your own bed, or I’ll have these two strong men pick you up and put you there.”
“Listen to her!” Samantha stood. “She’s so bossy.”
Thor drifted into a dreamless sleep.
* * *