"You're okay?"

"Albert's shooting skills are equal to the rest of him," she said dryly. "My right hand needs immediate medical attention. Other than that, I'll live."

"And Special Agent Montgomery?"

"I aimed to kill."

"Glenda – "

"I disabled him with shots to his kneecap and his right hand instead; I know you need answers. Quincy, he says he'll only speak with you. He says he knows where your father is. You need to get back here ASAP. At least, before I change my mind and start shooting again."

"Glenda," he tried again.

"You're welcome," she said. And hung up the phone.

Portland, Oregon

Back at the hotel, Quincy swiftly threw his clothes into his travel bag. Rainie was in the living room, talking to Virginia state trooper Vince Amity on the phone. Kimberly, on the other hand, stood watching him from the doorway, her shoulders hunched as if preparing for a blow. She'd had a run-in with room service while he and Rainie had been gone. Apparently, an overworked bellhop had transposed two numbers and tried to deliver someone else's anniversary surprise to Kimberly's room. The bellhop had hoped for a good tip. Instead, he'd encountered a screaming woman who – fortunately unknown to him – was brandishing a loaded semiautomatic.

The hotel had explained the mixup to Quincy upon his return. He'd relayed the story to Kimberly. She'd smiled in an attempt to find humor in the situation, but Quincy could tell the incident had left her shaken, and news of Glenda's attack had only further frayed her nerves.

"So Special Agent Rodman is all right?" Kimberly asked for the third time. Her voice had taken on the anxious edge he remembered from two days ago. Nothing he'd offered in the last ten minutes seemed to change it.

"Special Agent Rodman is an extremely capable woman," Quincy said, trying a new tack as he rounded up his socks. "She took her training seriously, and when the moment came, that training paid off. She not only met the threat, but she took out Montgomery with two clean shots."

"She must be an excellent marksman."

"I believe she's won a few medals."

"I'm a good shot," Kimberly said. "I practice three times a week."

Quincy raised his head and met his daughter's eyes. He said firmly, "You're going to be fine, Kimberly. Rainie is staying here with you, and you're a capable young woman. You'll be safe."

Kimberly's gaze fell to the floor. She was gnawing on her bottom lip; he couldn't tell if he had reached her or not.

"What about Special Agent Rodman's hand?" she asked.

"I don't know. Montgomery confessed that he sprayed the phone with Teflon to protect the plastic, then applied hydrofluoric acid, which is an extremely corrosive chemical. The acid reacted with the moisture of Glenda's hand, burning her fingers and part of her palm. I'm not sure of the long-term prognosis."

"It's her right hand. She could be permanently damaged, or scarred."

"She's receiving the best medical attention you can get. I'm sure she'll recover."

"But you don't know – "

"Kimberly!" he said sharply. "Albert was going to kill her. You know that, I know that, she knows that. Instead, she controlled her fear and pain and disabled her attacker. This is a triumph. This is a lesson in the value of hard work and proper training. Don't give this victory away. Don't demoralize yourself like that."

"I don't want you to go," she whispered.

Quincy closed his eyes. The irritation drained from his body. He felt simply rotten instead. "I know," he said softly.

"It's just… So you have Albert in custody. So he went after Glenda. There's still something wrong… something else going on. If Albert looks the way you say he does, I can't see him getting anywhere near Mom. Plus, there's the matter of brainpower. If Albert was this clever, he wouldn't have had problems at the Bureau in the first place. Don't you think?"

"He fits the description of the man in Mandy's AA group," Quincy said, though he knew that wasn't really an answer.

His daughter knew it too. She gazed at him miserably, obviously needing more than he was giving. He wished he knew what to do at times like this. He wished he knew how to make his daughter feel safe and confident and strong. And then he really did miss his ex-wife, because Bethie had always been better at these moments than him. He held a doctorate in psychology. Bethie, on the other hand, had been a mom.

"I love you, Kimberly," he said.

"Dad – "

"I don't want to go. Maybe sometimes it seems that I do. Maybe we both mistake my sense of duty for desire. But it is duty. Montgomery has information about Grandpa that I need to know and he claims hell only give that information to me. It's been forty-eight hours, Kimberly. If we don't find Grandpa soon…" His voice trailed off. His daughter had taken law enforcement classes; he knew that she understood as well as he did how the probability of finding Abraham alive decreased with each passing hour. The UNSUB had claimed that Abraham was tucked away safely. Quincy, however, had subsequently learned a new detail. He'd called Everett after he'd gotten off the phone with Glenda. The red Audi TT convertible had been found by Virginia state police at four that morning. It had been left parked in the exact spot where Mandy had hit a telephone pole fourteen months before. Forensic technicians found traces of urine in the passenger's seat, probably from Abraham. Extra personnel had now been brought in to scour the surrounding woods. They were also using dogs – cadaver dogs.

"There's a good chance that Montgomery planned this whole thing," Quincy said now, his voice purposely firm. "He hated me because of the Sanchez case, he plotted revenge. If that's the case, then it's over, Kimberly. You're safe now. Everything will be all right."

"Then why won't you let us go with you?" she protested.

"Because I'm not one hundred percent certain, and I'm not going to risk you without being completely sure! Until we know everything, you're safer here than there."

"But what about you? You're returning to the East Coast, where some man knows all about you."

"I've also had a lot of training."

"Mom is gone!" Kimberly exclaimed. "Mandy is gone! Grandpa is gone! And now you're leaving, and, and, and…"

Quincy finally got it. His daughter wasn't seeking reassurance for her own safety. She was terrified for him. She'd already lost most of her family and now her good old dad was once again walking out the front door into the face of danger. Christ, sometimes he was an idiot about the most basic things.

Quincy came around the bed. He took Kimberly into his arms, and for once, his stubborn, independent daughter did not protest. "I'm not going to let anything happen to me," he whispered against the top of her head. "I promise you that."

"You can't make that promise."

"I am Quantico's best of the best. I can, too."

"Dad – "

"Listen to me, Kimberly." He pulled back enough to look her in the eye, to let her see how serious he was. "I'm a good agent. I take my training seriously; I do not underestimate my opponent. This is a game, but it's a game where the stakes are life or death. I never forget that. And because I never forget that, I'm better at this than most."

Her blue eyes were still watery. He could tell she was on the brink of crying, but she sniffed back her tears. "You won't let down your guard?" she pressed. "You won't be fooled by anything this Albert guy says?"

"I am going to keep myself safe so I can come home to my daughter. And you are going to take good care of yourself and Rainie, so I can come home to you."

"We'll look out for each other."

"Kimberly, thank you."

From the doorway, Rainie cleared her throat. Quincy looked up, and knew instantly from the expression on her face that she had bad news. He took a deep breath… Then slowly, reluctantly, he let his daughter go.