Matthew came closer. "It doesn't have to end like this," he said.
"I want you to stay with me. I want you to make our future while
I manage the present." He reached out to Peter.
"Don't you come near me!" Peter screamed, flinging his hands into the air. Several of the people in the room jumped in their seats, groaning in agony at what they were being forced to witness.
Their eyes linked for the last time. "You've stolen my life, Matthew." He faced the people seated at he table. But he had nothing more to say. He turned and charged for the door.
Martin Cohn leapt from his chair and started after him.
"Leave him," Hank ordered, fixing his eyes sharply on Matthew.
The door slowly and silently swung inward, sealing the new team together inside the room for the first time without Peter Jones.
Matthew couldn't see Hank's gaze. He was facing the sunlit window, staring down at his clenched fists. He willed them to relax. And as he watched them uncurl, he felt his guilt slip away. And in its place he grasped a new feeling.
Power.
Chapter 4
William Harrell worked through his morning in the usual fashion, attending three meetings, then moving on to his daily correspondence.