8.

Jack Collins stared at the woman, who was dressed in a black ski jacket and had a black woolen hat over her head. His eyes moved from her face to her weapon, which was pointed dangerously at his head. He heard the follow-up car come to a screeching halt behind them, and the armed interloper gave them a command.

"I want everyone to toss their weapons, cell phones or pagers out of their windows to me now, or I will shoot the driver of this car where he sits!"

In the backseat, Henry and Sunday heard these muffled instructions and stared at each other in shock.

"Henry," Sunday whispered anxiously. He looked at her with an equally anxious expression, but placed a reassuring hand on hers.

Agents Jerome Ashton and Chris Harrington also exchanged nervous glances at the sight of the woman brandishing a gun and threatening to shoot Collins. Should they comply with the woman's instructions?

"Collins," Henry whispered as loudly as he dared as he lowered the partition a crack, "you must do as she says. I believe this to be the woman who's been threatening us."

"Which is precisely why I can't do that, sir, and you know I can't," Collins whispered back through clenched teeth.

A loud bang shattered the night silence and the occupants of all the cars jumped at the sudden, unexpected sound. Jack Collins felt a blazing pain shoot through his left shoulder, and realised he had been shot.

"That's for wasting my time!" the woman shouted angrily. "Now, do as I say, everyone, or I swear the next one goes through his head!"

"Collins!" Henry whispered urgently, "just please do as she says. Trust me!"

His vision getting hazy, Collins looked at the woman through the now broken driver's side window. He slowly opened the door and tossed both his and Mendel's weapons and cell phones to the road. Upon seeing this action, Ashton and Harrington followed suit.

The woman kicked the phones into the brush on the side of the road, bent down and picked up the weapon Collins had discarded, then approached the tinted backseat window.

"I know you're there, Henry, my love. I want both you and the woman you call your wife to come out now." The word 'wife', Sunday noted, was full of bitter sarcasm.

Sunday tightened her grip on Henry's hand and he gave her another reassuring squeeze. "You know she'll kill us if we don't get out," she said softly. "The two of us have a better chance outside. We're sitting ducks in here."

Henry nodded and slid his hand into the door handle and pulled it open. The woman's lips twitched in anticipation, and eventually broke into a wide smile, which immediately changed to a scowl as Sunday slid out behind Henry. The look of utter contempt and hatred on her face sent chills down Sunday's spine, and was convinced for a moment that she would be killed right then and there.

As the woman moved behind them when they stood up outside, her gun trained on their backs, Sunday could almost swear she caught a glimpse of a lock of red hair slipping out from under her hat. Heaven help us, it is the woman from Dr. Walsh's office! Sunday thought frantically.

"Move," the woman commanded, "into the woods. Try anything and you're both dead." Henry and Sunday could do nothing but obey. As they crossed the road, the woman called out a warning to the agents. "If any one of you tries to follow us, I'll put a bullet in both their brains!"

As they walked on, from behind them they heard the woman breathing heavily, accompanied by odd clicking noises, as if she were fiddling with something metallic. They continued walking for several minutes, and Henry and Sunday realised the woman was directing them to a particular clearing in the wooded area they were familiar with. They glanced again at each other uneasily, and both knew that the same question was racing through their minds: Just how well did this woman know their property?

***

"Stop here," the woman called out when they finally reached the clearing. "Turn around," she commanded. Obeying, Henry and Sunday turned and saw that the woman chose to remain quite a few paces behind them. In the pale moonlight, they saw her flash Henry another large smile.

"You stay put", the woman icily commanded Sunday, "and I want you to come here, Henry," she said, gun still pointing at them. Giving Sunday's hand a final squeeze, he slowly approached the woman. As he neared, she placed her free hand around the back of his neck and drew his face to hers and kissed him deeply. The first thing that registered on Henry's mind was that the gun was pressed against his chest. Then he became conscious to the fact that his lips were still locked with this strange woman's, and instinctively knew that if he showed any signs of resistance or repulsion, it would mean a death sentence for him and Sunday.

Finally the woman withdrew and inhaled deeply. She smiled at Henry again and said: "I knew you loved me, Henry darling, I knew it. I'm sorry I had to shoot your Secret Service agent, but I think you know I had to. He would have prevented us from being together."

Sunday had clenched her fists together tightly as she watched Henry being kissed by the crazy woman. What was she telling him now? She wished she could make out their words, but they were a little too far away.

"Henry," the woman said, "I want you to do something for me." She reached into her ski jacket pocket and withdrew Collins' weapon.

"What do you want me to do?" Henry asked.

"Prove you love me," she responded.

Henry stared at her quizzically.

"Turn around," the woman said. Henry complied, feeling the barrel of Collins' gun in the small of his back. He saw Sunday rooted to the spot she had been instructed to remain, and noted the worry in her eyes. He felt cold metal in his right hand. He looked down and saw the woman had placed her own weapon there.

"Prove you really love me," she repeated, "by killing the woman who forced you to marry her." A wave of overwhelming dread swept through Henry.

"I know it is something you have always wanted to do," the woman continued, "especially after she killed your baby. But revenge is not something a wonderful man like you would try, which is why I had to bring you out here. It will be okay out here, Henry, where only you and me will know what happened. Just imagine, darling, after she's dead, we'll be free to love each other!"

Henry became light-headed for a moment and felt bile rising in his throat. He swallowed with much difficulty in an attempt to control himself. Never before had he felt such tension. As President he had experienced many extremely stressful situations. None felt quite so dire as this.

Henry felt the woman give him a prod with Collins' gun. If he did not carry out this final instruction…In the moonlight he tried to catch Sunday's eye. He raised the weapon and pointed it in her direction. They locked eyes for a few precious seconds. He hoped she understood…He forced his finger to squeeze the trigger.

Sunday flinched as she heard the sound of the weapon fire, and sudden comprehension dawned on her. She slipped slowly to her knees, fell to the cold ground and did not move.