“Perry and I had taken off the moment I threw the case, so we actually made it to our car, and I managed to get the engine started. Perry used the emergency beacon in the car to alert our homebase that we were in serious trouble. Then it was a matter of getting out of there, and into a position to get picked up.”

Teren reached for her wineglass again, and Alex noticed for the first time how badly the agent’s hands were shaking. For a moment she wished she’d never asked the question, but then she realized that it was probably the first time Teren had told the story outside of a debriefing. It was a step in her healing, and Alex was gratified that she was the one Teren trusted to share this with.

“The area we were in was full of small hills and valleys, and the roads ran both over and around the hills. Perry told me to stay on the low roads, make them take the higher ones to find us. With the tree cover we’d be a difficult target, whereas they, on the hills, would be visible from a distance. It would have worked, too, if we didn’t run into a truck on the road. I lost control of the car, and we went into a ditch.

“Perry’s arm was broken in the crash, and I wrenched my knee. We weren’t far from the designated emergency rendezvous site. We decided to head out on foot, trying to stay under tree cover. But the site was on the top of a short and rocky hill. We made it halfway up when we were spotted. Mather had a rifle, and we only had our handguns, so he could sit on the next hill over and pick us off, while his troops crawled up the slope towards us. He’d already hit both of us once, me in the arm, and Perry in the back. We were hiding between several small boulders. I was out of rounds, and had taken Perry’s weapon, since he wasn’t able to move very much. We just huddled there, waiting.” She took a deep breath. “And that’s when the helicopter came in over the hills.”

Teren reached up and wiped her forehead. She realized she was sweating, and her stomach was in knots. The glass of wine was in front of her, and she lifted it without thinking, draining half of it without stopping.

“Perry told me I could make it up the hill. He said he had every confidence that I could do it. I asked him how he wanted me to carry him, and he said he didn’t. He told me he couldn’t feel his feet, and the feeling of numbness was growing. The shot in his back had severed his spinal cord, and he could barely lift his arm. He told me I had to go, but first I had to let him go. He took my hand, the one with the gun in it, and he told me to pull the trigger, and run like hell.”

Teren realized she couldn’t see anymore. Her eyes were wet, and she was in danger of crying in front of Alex. That wouldn’t do. She needed to get herself under control.

“So, long story a little shorter, I did it. Perry put the fucking gun in his mouth, and I pulled the goddamn trigger, and ran for the fucking helicopter. I was at the top, and the copter was landing when I felt a pain in my side and stomach, and I fell. The copter crew was yelling at me to move, to get up, and there was gunfire everywhere. I crawled forward, and when I got close enough they dragged me into the chopper. I think I passed out then, because the only part of the ride I remember was them asking if they should go back for Perry, and I said no.”

She was beginning feel sick, and she didn’t want to see Alex’s face. It would be too much right now, and she didn’t think she could handle it. “They flew me to Germany, and then a week later they shipped me to Bethesda.” Teren finished her third glass of wine, and stood up. “Excuse me.” She headed to the restroom, at an almost frantic pace.

Teren just made it inside the stall before losing the contents of her stomach.

Alex sat at the table, staring at the vacant seat opposite her. She had no idea how to comfort the dark woman who had fled a moment before. She’d always prided herself on being able to deal with emotional distress in other people. It was part of what made her a good FBI agent, the ability to handle individuals in extreme emotional pain. But this time, she had no idea what to do.

She had wanted to reach out and hold Teren, even just take her hand. She’d even felt herself begin to move once or twice. But Teren had never shown that she would accept such physical comfort. She had instead seemed to fold in on herself, not looking at Alex at any time during the story. Alex had wanted to tell Teren that this pain would ease, and that she would someday heal from this betrayal. And she wanted to say she was sorry she’d asked, that she’d never ask anything ever again, if only Teren would let Alex comfort her.

But she’d been unable to say anything, and Teren probably wasn’t going to ask her for anything, much less the comfort Alex was wanting to give.

It took several minutes for Teren to return to the table. Alex had begun to worry, and was glad to see the woman emerge from the ladies room. As Teren got closer to the table, Alex could see that all the walls that had come down for that short period, were now back up. If anything, they were reinforced.

“Are you ready to go, Alex?”

“Sure. Are you okay to drive?”

“Yes.” Teren said nothing else. She simply grabbed her coat and headed for the bar.

Miguel joined her there, and she waited while he ran her credit card through the scanning machine. She signed the bill, and strode out of the room, not even looking at Alex. Alex glanced at Miguel, then at his father. Phillipe was behind the bar watching his friend leave his restaurant. As she went through the door, he sighed, and shook his head.

Alex followed Teren slowly. She wanted to take a few minutes before getting into the car. The emotion seeping from behind Teren’s carefully placed walls had been strong enough in the restaurant; Alex didn’t want to think about what it would be like to be in a small enclosure with the volatile woman.

Thankfully, Teren seemed to gain more control as she drove. They were still quite a ways out from DC, but as they slowly got closer, Teren seemed to relax. Finally, Alex felt she might be open to another conversation. She searched her mind for something to ask, and finally came up with one.

“Teren?”

“Yes?”

“Why did you shorten your name from Terentia to Teren?”

The darker woman gave Alex a ghost of a smile. “Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity. Besides, I like the name.”

“Good. You can have it.” She glanced at her passenger, but realized Alex wasn’t going to give up. “I always hated the name. It’s too long. And besides, it just doesn’t fit me.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, didn’t anyone ever tell you what it means?”

“No. Why, what does it mean?”

“Terentia is Greek, and it means ‘guardian.’”

Teren snorted. “Yeah, well, that’s a joke.”

Alex didn’t answer. She thought the name had been very appropriate.

“Alright, I get to ask you a question, Alex.”

“Okay.”

“What kind of a middle name is Edrea?”

“It’s Hebrew. It means ‘powerful.’”

“Is Alexia Hebrew?”

“No, that’s from my mother’s side of the family. They were Jewish, but they lived in Greece for several years.”

“Do you know what it means?”

“Yes. It means ‘aid.’”

“‘Aid?’ As in aiding others?”

“Yes.”

“So, your name means ‘powerful aid.’ That’s appropriate.”

Alex laughed. “Everybody always thought so when I was a kid. I would bring home stray animals, and usually they were injured in some way.”

“Sounds typical. Why didn’t you become a veterinarian?”

“Because I hated biology. Besides, I was much more interested in people than I was in animals. I hated seeing creatures in pain, but I never wanted to play doctor on them.”

“So, why the FBI?”

“They recruited me when I was in college. I thought I could do the job, so I applied for the Academy.”