The Red Herring

Chapter 17

"I'm sorry. I just hallucinated," Beth said. "I thought you said you wanted a divorce."

"I did," Jim replied.

"Don't you think you're blowing this out of proportion?" she asked.

"Tell me you don't miss being an agent."

"Did John put you up to this? Because I said I loved having a mission? That doesn't mean I miss being an agent. It just means I've missed the hunt. Cartoons and juice boxes are fun and all but yes, sometimes I like conversing with adults," she explained.

"If we could go back in time and I wasn't pushing you to retire, would you have stayed in?"

"FBI or CIA?" she asked.

"Either one."

Beth stared at the floor. "Probably."

"I don't want to let you go but I don't make you happy. I'll admit that I put you in a box and tried to keep you to myself because I was terrified you would leave me. But I love you so much and I want you to be happy. If I don't want that, I don't love you. So I'm letting you go. I'll take the kids home with me and you can see them whenever you want. We'll leave in the morning," Jim said.

"What are you talking about?!" she yelled.

"I don't want to go back in. You do. I'm setting you free. Do you know why I called you the white dove?"

"Because of dovetail," she said.

Jim chuckled. "Because I knew you'd always want to fly away."

Dmitry sat on the edge of the bed in his hotel room and looked at Paulina who had remained on the sofa. He removed his gun front the waistband of his pants and set it beside him on the bed. "Talk," he said.

"What would you like to talk about?" she asked.

"You're going to tell me the names of everyone in your group," he said.

"They are no longer my group," she said. "I got out."

Dmitry picked up his gun and aimed it at her. "The names," he said.

"Please," she said. "Do you have any idea the number of guns I've had pointed at me in my lifetime?"

"Tell me the names!" he yelled.

Paulina jumped. If she was wise, she'd start talking. She had no idea how vicious Dmitry could be. Fortunately for her, she remembered who his parents were. "Well, there's me."

"Paulina Kirshov. What was your alias?" he asked.

"Paula Kirshey. Then there's my brother, Vladimir. He went by Vincent Kirsh."

"Go on," coaxed Dmitry.

Paulina sighed. "Your mother went by Katie Holland. And your father's wife, Deirdre Collins, went by Janet Simpson."

"I know there's more," he threatened.

"Yes, there are more. Irina Arazov. I only know she went by Renn. We were never around each other much. And Alex Bazarov. He went by Andy Burrows."

"And Markov," said Dmitry.

"Yes, Nicholai. We called him Nicko. He is a close ally of mine."

"How did he get my passport?" Dmitry asked.

"It was mailed to him. I don't know who sent it. That's all of us."

Dmitry went out into the hallway and called Beth. "I'm in the middle of something," she told him.