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to come in and at least say hello
     to your wife? She’s very distraught.”
    “Must’ve got the divorce papers then,” Scott said coolly. He started to walk back in the direction he had come from.
    Glen grabbed Scott by the collar and spun him around. As he did so, he grabbed the younger man’s hand, twisted and applied
     pressure, bringing him to his knees. “She’s the only reason you’re not six feet under. You don’t divorce the Chairman’s daughter.”
    Scott looked up, sure of himself. “Break the arm and I’ll be pretty useless. You may as well handle this damn operation yourself.”
    “Scott, don’t bite the hand that feeds you. He’s the one who told us to bring you back into the fold. You owe him. You’re
     going to do the right thing.”
    “The right thing is to stand up, put a bullet in your head and then one in mine.”
    “Always the charmer. Well, that charm is going to get you killed. You want your son to grow up without a father?”
    Scott pretended that he didn’t hear the voices earlier. “A boy, really?”
    “To confirm there needs to be another reading but Cynthia won’t hear of it. She’s certain it’s a boy, doesn’t care about the
     anomaly in the reading. That’s good enough for me. If you talked to your wife, maybe you’d know that.”
    In the back of Scott’s mind, there was joy but his face showed nothing. His only reaction was to break Glen’s grip and stand.
     If he cared, they’d find a way to use that against him and then it wouldn’t matter if Cynthia was the Chairman’s daughter—or
     the President’s daughter, for that matter.
    Scott looked at his watch. “You said 10:45. I’d better be going. Security can be a nightmare, even with cleared passage.”
    Janet called out from the front porch, “Glen, you coming in?”
    Scott could hear Cynthia’s voice behind her.
    “I think you have a few minutes,” Glen said. “You weren’t there for Christmas. It’s almost New Year’s for crumsakes. You have
     my word that Munich is forgotten. Officially, you’ve been classified as on mandatory paid-leave after being ‘recovered’ from
     hostile ops. Hell, the Chairman’s even written you a citation.”
    “Citation?”
    “It’s in the car. That’s what I was getting out of the car, a framed plaque and everything: Scott Madison Evers distinguished
     himself on December the 1st during the—”Janet called out. “Are you boys ready?”
    “Janet knows?”
    “Janet knows and Cynthia has probably guessed by now what the big surprise is, so you can play this as the biggest ass in
     history or follow my lead.” Glen stepped out of the shadows, moving to the sidewalk and the car. “On the way. Here comes the
     big surprise!”
    Scott followed Glen, his eyes catching Cynthia’s and his heart making his mind forget everything as he ran to the steps.
    “The big surprise,” he said as he wrapped his arms around her. “But I’m afraid it’s out of the frying pan and into a—”Cynthia
     touched a finger to his lips. “The baby’s a boy,” she whispered in his ear. “He’s healthy and strong—a real kicker.
    He’s been waiting for daddy to come home, and so have I.”
    Janet and Glen excused themselves. Scott and Cynthia barely noticed.
    When the two finally decided to go into the house, Cynthia was the one who picked up the box from the steps. She opened it,
     admiring the plaque for a moment before she led Scott away. “Daddy really did come through,” she whispered to herself. “I
     never should have doubted.”

Chapter 4
    Baltimore, Maryland Thursday,
    30 December
    Cynthia lifted her head from the toilet, flushed and pulled herself to her feet. She turned on the shower, waited until the
     water was warm, removed her robe, and then stepped in. Another month, another week, another day, she told herself as she lathered
     up the soap and tried to let the warm water rinse away her disquietude. Her gynecologist told her the morning sickness would