Licensed to Kill

Epilogue

There was an incessant beeping coming from my left side and I looked over to see the faint outline of a pulse monitor and a stock of various other medical equipment sitting beside my hospital bed. My vision was blurry and dim. I blinked several times and rubbed my eyes until everything started coming into focus.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up," Matt chuckled from his chair beside the bed.

He was all cleaned up now with fresh clothes on and a small bandage on his right cheek. He had a few bruises, but nothing serious looking, and he appeared to be in good spirits.

"Matt?" I groaned and rubbed my head, a migraine working on developing. "What the hell happened?"

I looked around the room and recognized it from the last time I'd been severely injured on a mission. I'd been shot twice in the leg and spent several days in A.R.T.'s medical division. We had our own miniature hospital with all the basic capabilities of a standard public hospital so that we didn't have to send our agents to doctors and nurses who would ask too many questions. It was much easier this way.

"They sedated you in Barcelona and flew you back here," Matt explained, setting aside the weapons catalog he'd been reading. "I flew back with you right after Jordan left."

The mention of Director Jordan caused everything to come flooding back to memory and two of the monitors I was hooked up to started beeping like they were about to overheat and explode – which was exactly what I felt like doing.

"Where is Jordan?" I borderline shouted at Matt and then immediately felt bad for raising my voice at him. "Is he here? I need to talk to him right now."

One of our medical staffers rushed in to see what was the fuss with my screeching monitors and I demanded she fetch me the director before she could even get one word out.

The short brunette woman opened and closed her mouth in surprise and scurried back out of the room. I hoped she was going to find Jordan for me.

"Tali. Tali, relax. Breathe." Matt tried to calm me down. "Jordan's not here. He went to Tel Aviv with Bartley when we were leaving Spain."

What the fuck was Jordan going to Tel Aviv for?

"Why?" I frowned and began picking at the tape that was covering my I.V.

"He called me right before we taxied out to the runway. Said he was going to see about working out a deal with Bartley. Something about Dallas being arrested for going A.W.O.L. from I.D.A. But I don't know when he's supposed to be back."

While Matt was talking, I peeled the tape off and yanked the I.V. out, proceeding to whatever the next cord was that was stuck to my body. I needed a distraction from the tornado of anger whirling around in my brain or I was liable to blow the whole place up.

All I could think about was losing Dallas again. How could Bartley do this to me – to us twice? How dare he think he had any right to interfere with our relationship! It was brutal the first time. No – brutal didn't even begin to describe it. It was absolute hell. If he thought he was going to put Dallas and me through that again, he was crazy! I wasn't going to lose him again! Bartley could take his desertion excuse and shove it up his ass! Rules be damned!

"Tali, where are you going?" Matt asked when I got up from the bed, slinging all the cords aside that had been hooked up to my arm.

I felt a little wobbly, but I didn't care. "I'm going to find the assistant director! I'm going to shoot somebody! I'm going to – Hell, I don't know what I'm going to do, Matt! But I'm going to make somebody listen to me!"