Part 75 (1/2)
There was no blood. And the blade of the sword hovered in front of her, flat side toward Jenny. She frowned.
What had happened?
Annja looked at Jenny.
Jenny's s.h.i.+rt had two dark, blossoming stains on it. She looked down and gasped. ”What happened?”
Annja groaned. The sword had deflected the bullets and sent them back into Jenny's chest instead of Annja's.
”No,” she said. Annja got to her feet and ran to Jenny. The gun had fallen when the bullets impacted. Annja kicked it away.
She helped ease Jenny down to the ground. Jenny tried to smile but a pinkish stream of blood oozed out of her mouth. ”I guess things didn't work out quite like I wanted them to, huh?”
”I guess not,” Annja said.
Jenny gripped Annja's hand. ”I'm sorry I tried to kill you.”
Annja nodded. ”Forget it. It's done and over with now.”
Jenny laughed. ”You were always the master of the understatement, weren't you?”
”Old habits die hard,” Annja said. ”I'm sorry things turned out this way. I couldn't let you do it. You would have died with regrets.”
Jenny shrugged and winced as she did so. ”I'm not exactly dying with good times etched into my memory.”
”No. I guess you're not.”
”I only wanted what I thought I deserved. What anyone thinks they ought to deserve. Is that so wrong?”
Annja shook her head. ”You did what you thought was best for you. I don't think anyone can find fault with that.”
”Do you?”
”No.” Annja smiled. ”Some of us just don't have the guts to do what you tried to do.”
Jenny smiled. ”I'll tell you one thing.”
”What's that?”
She coughed and Annja could see the pain on her friend's face. ”When I get to the other side, I'm going to have a serious sit-down with the man in charge. I've got a lot of questions I want answers to.”
”Any chance you'll come back and clue me in?”
Jenny started to cry. ”No. I don't think they'd let me even if I wanted to. I've never gotten anything I wanted so far, why start now?”
Annja cradled Jenny in her arms and looked down. Life was rapidly fading from her eyes. ”I'm sorry.”
Jenny shook her head. ”Nothing to be sorry about. I did this all to myself. I guess that's the biggest lesson from all of this, huh?”
”What's that?” Annja felt her eyes starting to well up. Tears rolled down her face.