The Fourth Option
by Matt Hilton
Contents
31
Overview
Badly wounded but alive, Vince recovers at his temporary base and learns that Arrowsake no longer accepts his claim that Jason Mercer is dead. That failure forces Vince to confront the divide between his former FBI self, Stephen Vincent, and the ruthless undercover persona of Vince Everett.
Choosing survival over conscience, Vince recommits to being Vince, covers his immediate tracks, and prepares to leave and resume the hunt. The chapter sharpens Vince as a continuing threat while showing that Arrowsake may also become dangerous to him if he fails again.
Summary
Recovering alone after the failed Southport operation, Vince examines the damage from Jason Mercer’s shot. The bullet grazed Vince’s shoulder, tore part of his ear, and opened a scalp wound, but Vince escaped by boat to his temporary base. He recalls trusting sniper Gary McMahon to finish Mercer after Vince fled, yet later gunfire made Vince suspect that Hunter and Rink had introduced an unexpected and capable ally.
Back at the house, Vince fights blood loss, avoids passing out, and improvises treatment with a medical kit. He patches his ear, fails to bandage his scalp neatly, and later studies his appearance in the mirror with bitter humor. The moment shows both Vince’s vanity and his relief at surviving a shooting that nearly killed him.
That relief fades when Vince remembers his report to Arrowsake. He had claimed with near certainty that Mercer was dead, but a cleanup team found only Vince’s dead comrades, including McMahon, and no trace of Mercer’s body. Because of that, Vince is warned that the mission remains unfinished and that Arrowsake will not tolerate many more failures.
Vince then reflects on the split between his real identity, Stephen Vincent, and the undercover persona of Vince Everett. As a former FBI agent who excelled at infiltrating extremists, Stephen justified Vince’s brutality as part of the job, but now that moral separation is breaking down. Vince admits that Stephen both envies and respects Hunter, and that lingering admiration has kept Vince from fully acting on his murderous instincts before.
Faced with Mercer’s likely survival and Arrowsake’s pressure, Vince chooses self-preservation over conscience. He decides that Stephen’s hesitation must end and that Vince must take control completely. Returning to the room where Sue Bouchard was tortured and killed, he notes the evidence left behind, changes into Wayne Davis’s clothes, gathers weapons, ammunition, identification items, and his satellite phone, and plans to call for a cleanup only after he is safely on the road and beyond easy reach of any Arrowsake enforcers.
Who Appears
- Vince EverettWounded operative who treats himself, fears Arrowsake’s displeasure, and chooses ruthless self-preservation.
- Stephen VincentVince’s original FBI identity, representing the conscience and hesitation he decides to suppress.
- Jason MercerVince’s intended target; his likely survival turns Vince’s claimed success into a dangerous failure.
- Joe HunterVince’s adversary, whom Vince both resents and grudgingly admires as a capable opponent.
- Sue BouchardRecently tortured and killed captive whose murder scene still surrounds Vince at the house.
- Gary McMahonSniper backup Vince expected to kill Mercer, later confirmed dead by the cleanup team.
- RinkHunter’s ally, recalled as part of the team Vince avoided engaging directly.
- Wayne DavisDead teammate whose spare shirt and jacket Vince uses before leaving.