The girl’s face lit up like the sun. The door opened, and two women came in. One was Laura, and the other was Archibald Zuch’s wife, Angelica. Sky jumped off of her father’s knee and rushed up to Laura, laughing.
“Mom! This is just the best day!”
Laura smiled and got a quick hug from Sky before she ran on. Laura looked at Vimpel.
“What did you say to her?”
Vimpel shrugged and said, “What? I didn’t say anything special.”
“Balthazar.”
Balthazar Vimpel shook his head while he looked at Zuch.
“Archie, help me here. Did I say anything to her?”
Archie shook his head and said, “No. Nothing.”
Laura and Angelica looked at the two men. The seconds went by.
“Well. I guess I’m not going to get anything out of you. You’re like two peas in a pod.”
The two men stretched, visibly satisfied with their bluff. Angelica went to Zuch and sat down.
“How’s it going?”
Before Zuch could answer, there was a knock on the door. Everyone’s eyes turned to it.
“Sky? Are you back?”
The door opened, and Reinhard Argento came into the room. The tall, well-dressed German nodded briefly and said, “I’m sorry. But we need to talk.”
Everyone in the room sat down seriously in the two sofas. Argento walked up to the short side, corrected his glasses, and cleared his throat.
“I apologize for the short notice, but I have urgent news that you need to know.”
Vimpel nodded. “Tell me.”
“Okay. The last few hours I’ve spent trying to clarify where Adnan Kosh, better known as the Spaniard, is. I have a couple of excellent sources within the Spanish police, and I’ve used them to try and get more information.”
Zuch’s forehead wrinkled. “Yeah, with all the money we give you, it would be strange if we couldn’t get any information at all,” he said.
Argento shrugged.
“I assure you that I’m doing everything in my power to try to establish the location of the Spaniard. He’s very dynamic.”
Vimpel nodded. “Keep going.”
Argento smiled quickly. “According to my sources, the Spaniard is on his way here. He’s been seen on the highway just a few miles away, and it’s a safe assumption that he’s on his way here.”
Vimpel groaned. “But before you said there was only a minimal chance he would come here?”
Argento tightened his lips. “I was wrong.”
Laura’s face grimaced. “Oh, my God. He’s coming here, and he’s going to kill us. He’s coming . . .”
Vimpel put his arm around his wife and said, “Don’t worry about it.”
Argento froze when he saw Laura’s reaction. “Yes, Dr. Vimpel is right. Let’s not be hasty. We’ve doubled the guards, and I’ve called for backup. They’ll be here in a few hours. And we’re ten meters underground in the safest place within three hundred kilometers. Even if he comes here, he won’t get in.”
Vimpel kissed his wife on the forehead and tasted salt.
***
Pain. It was his whole life, but the tablet helped. It pounded inside him, but he pushed it away. Nausea took its place, and he moaned as he swerved past a truck. He whispered.
“Not long now.”
He drove off the highway and followed the GPS he’d programmed earlier. He came out on a narrow country road that he followed a little more than ten minutes and barely encountered any traffic. He came up to a roundabout and turned right. A sign displayed his destination. Not far from it at all. Thoughts of his wife and child flickered past as his brain swirled. A couple of big villas slipped by. The exclusive houses looked like they could house movie stars or industrial bigwigs. Outside another mansion, two giant Greek statues stood looking down at the road below.
Adnan checked the GPS—less than a mile to go. He muttered as pain again pounded up from the wound in his shoulder. He picked up a medicine container from the passenger seat and took two more pills.
A high stone wall appeared to his right, and he followed it for a hundred meters until he arrived at a roundabout. He turned right and followed the high wall. The thick stones looked as if they had stood there forever. It was a formidable structure. The surface was rough, but climbing it would still be difficult. Especially when he was injured. Adnan had to figure out another way to get inside.
He continued until he arrived at the entrance to the property. A large, cobbled area stretched from the road up to the giant gate. A speaker was placed on a thick metal tube. Two men, both armed, stood behind the gate and stared at Adnan as he drove past. Adnan kept his speed steady, and after a few seconds, the entrance and gate behind him disappeared.
He swore. They had armed guards at the gates already. He should have expected that. He drove on and followed the wall away from the entrance. Glancing right, Adnan followed the wall; here and there, he could glimpse another wall beyond the first one.
The inner wall appeared to be even higher than the first. His mind swirled. It was likely that the space between the first and second walls was filled with mines and cameras. Adnan had to get onto the property without the alarm going off. From what he’d read about it, the castle had recently been renovated by Cabello Medico. Judging by the pictures he’d seen, the castle had received a state-of-the-art addition.
A car drove up behind him and flashed its headlights. He peered in the rearview mirror at the two men in the car. The driver flashed his lights again, and Adnan pulled over onto the shoulder and stopped. The vehicle behind stopped close, the doors opened, and both men came out. The driver came up to Adnan and signaled for him to roll down the window. Adnan did so, leaned his head out, and said with a little too loud voice, “Is there a problem?”
The man wore dark sunglasses, and he pulled them off. His dark eyes glared at Adnan. “What are you doing here?”
Adnan frowned uncomprehendingly. “What do you mean? I’m just trying to find my way to the gas station.”
The man’s mouth turned into a line. “Here? There is no gas station here.”
“No? I met a man a couple of miles back who said there was one here. He pointed this way.”
The man took a step back and motioned for Adnan to get out of the car. The man on the other side walked around the car and held his hand inside his jacket. Adnan unhooked his seatbelt, fumbled with it, and opened the door while he continued talking.
“He pointed this way. He said to take a right and then another right. He said there’d be a gas station. I hardly have any gas left in the tank.”
When Adnan stepped out, he tripped and fell to his knees. The man who had pulled him over chuckled.
“Careful!”
From the corner of his eye, Adnan saw the other guard relax. The first one grabbed Adnan’s arm and pulled him up.
“Hold on, I’m just going to check your story before you get to drive on.”
Adnan drew his hand over his face and stuttered, “Yes, of course, I’m sorry.”
The other guard picked up a radio, “This is Sparrow, false alarm. Everything’s okay.”
The radio crackled, and the voice on the other end said something Adnan didn’t make out. The first guard watched, amused, as Adnan wiped dust and dirt from his pants. The second after the other guard finished his radio conversation, something changed in Adnan’s stance. He stretched and stared at the guard. The man’s facial expression changed when he noted Adnan’s transformed posture.
The guard took a step back and fumbled for his weapon. He was about to call out a warning when Adnan slid forward like mercury and struck a hard blow to the man’s nose. A violent, wet sound cracked when the nasal bone was driven up into the brain. The man recoiled, stared with unseeing eyes, and fell backward.
Adnan spun around toward the other guard, staring, paralyzed at the explosive violence that had taken place in front of him. The man was on the other side of the car, and a fraction of a second later, he reached f
or his weapon. Adnan threw himself across the trunk, slid over it, and hit the man in the stomach. The guard folded and fell to the ground.
Adnan landed on his feet, put his hand over the man as he began to scream, and threw the other hand against the man’s larynx. It crunched, and Adnan let go of the man’s mouth. The man gasped for air, but after only a few seconds, he jerked and then lay motionless.
Adnan searched the man and found the radio. He nodded contentedly when he saw that it was unharmed and was still on the same channel.
“Two down.”
He drew both men closer to the wall where low bushes stretched along the edge of the wall. He hid the bodies as best he could, and after a few minutes, he was satisfied and went back to the men’s car. It was still on, so he sat in, drove it away barely a hundred meters into an abandoned parking lot, and parked it.
He turned off the engine, went back to his car, and sat down. He rolled his shoulders.
“Okay, let’s see if we can get in now and not waste any more time on this.”
***
Adnan followed the wall a few hundred meters and saw it turn to the right. If he were to continue along with it, he would arrive at the main road he’d driven on before. The radio was next to him in the passenger seat and crackled.
“Send two men to the north gate for relief,” he said. “And see if you can get in touch with Laurel and Beskin. They don’t respond to calls.”
Adnan smiled grimly. “No, they won’t either,” he said.
About the middle of the wall stood a small guard shelter. He measured the distance from it up to the crest. No more than a few meters. He could do that. He slowed down and drove onto the side, stopping about ten meters from the guard shelter. He opened the door and stepped out. A man stepped out of the guard shelter, and Adnan froze. He swore. He hadn’t driven past that guard on his round around the property.
The man had a large, dark weapon in his hands and a beard framed his face. His voice was harsh and loud. “What do you want?”
Adnan raised his hands. “I think I got lost. I’m looking for the way to—”
The man bellowed. “Quiet!”
Adnan fell silent but kept walking toward him. Adnan got even closer before the man raised the gun and roared again. “Stop!”
Adnan stopped. The man lowered the gun and fished out a radio. He brought it up to his mouth. “Headquarters, come in. This is the falcon.”
The radio crackled. “The headquarters here. Come in, falcon.”
“I got a guy here. Maybe a tourist or something, but I’m not sure. Can you send someone to help me control him?”
The radio was silent for a few seconds before the voice crackled again. “We’re trying to get in touch with Laurel and Beskin, but they’re not responding. What does the tourist look like?”
The man studied Adnan. “Tall, dark.”
Adnan raised his hands, took a few more steps toward the guard, and began to babble.
“Wait a minute here. I’m just lost.”
The guard lifted the gun again at Adnan. Less than five meters away. “Stop! Stand still!”
The radio crackled. “What’s going on? What’s going on?”
Adnan continued babbling faster now as he took another step toward the guard. Four meters.
“But I’m just lost. Listen to me, listen to what I say.”
The guard dropped the radio and brought his hand back to the gun. Adnan sensed that the man was going to shoot, so he flexed every muscle in his body and threw himself toward the guard. The guard fired.
Adnan writhed in the air, and the shot nicked him on the cheek, and he hit the guard on the knee, which shattered. The man fell screaming to the ground and dropped the weapon. Adnan crawled up, rushed to the guard, and slapped him in the face so forcefully his head was thrown to the side.
“Quiet!” Adnan hissed.
The man moaned but then fell silent.
Adnan crouched next to him. “How many guards?”
The man didn’t answer. Adnan hit him and grabbed his chin.
“How many guards?”
The guard’s eyes were shiny from the pain. “Fifteen.”
“Where?”
“Eight outside. The rest inside.”
“Where’s the best way in?”
The man moaned, and Adnan increased the pressure on his mouth.
“Where?”
The man looked at the wall behind the guard shelter.” Over there. And then over to the inner wall. Follow it until you get to a trellis. Follow it and it takes you to the kitchen door.”
Adnan studied the man to see some signs of lying. He didn’t see any.
“You’ll live for now. If it turns out you’re wrong, I’ll come back and kill you.”
The man grunted and was about to answer when Adnan struck him in the head. The man passed out. Adnan got up and moved his shoulder. It had lasted this long. He took the man’s gun, checked it, and hung it over his back.
He ran up to the guard shelter, climbed onto it, and studied the wall behind. The stones gave just enough grip for him to make it up. His strong fingers grabbed the stones, and after a few seconds, he was up on the top of the wall. He breathed heavily and peered into the space between the inner and outer walls. Pain shot through his shoulder.
The inner wall was slightly higher, but its walls were completely smooth as they were made of concrete. Behind the inner wall, the castle loomed. Adnan estimated that the distance to the inner wall was a little more than five meters. It was too far to jump, and he looked for some other way to get across. A couple of large trees stood behind the inner wall, and its branches stretched over the wall out to the outer. Maybe he could jump and catch one, but they were still too far away.
Adnan froze when he heard voices. He lay flat on the crest of the wall and said a quiet prayer. The voices disappeared, and he rose to a squat and continued north along the top of the wall. He came upon a turn and saw a thick tree standing inside the inner wall. Its generous branches stretched across the space between the inner wall and the outer wall. If he could jump far enough and land on the branch as close to the trunk as possible, he would be able to get across.
He made his way along the crest of the wall until he stood opposite the enormous tree. A thick branch stretched from the massive trunk toward him. He calculated the distance and the thickness of the branch. It narrowed as it reached toward him, but he took a few deep breaths and flexed every muscle in his body. He hadn’t come this far to give up now.
He took a tiger leap toward the branch, felt his hands grope after the rough surface, and how it tore his hands. But he got to grips with it and held on as tight as he could. The branch bent under his weight, and Adnan’s world spun as the branch bent, and he fell with it until he hit the inner wall with violent force.
***
He sat back and closed his eyes. The pulse pounded in his head, and he took a few deep breaths. Behind him, a voice spoke.
“Are you okay?”
Hugo opened his eyes. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m just trying to go over the Spaniard’s actions and what he’s going to do next.”
Freya frowned. “Don’t you think he’s going to drive straight to the research facility? I mean, why would he wait?”
Hugo nodded and turned to Sussie. “True. Let’s just hope we get there. How much longer?”
Sussie picked up a laptop and her fingers tapped the keys. “Less than half an hour.”
“Good.”
Hugo leaned back again. His thoughts went to Lita. Her anger had been real, and he was shaken by what she had said. She knew he had a checkered past when they met, but it was when his brother had been shot, and Hugo went out on a revenge spree that he’d been hired to fill his brother’s place.
Freya glanced at him. “How’s it going with Lita?”
He chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”
Freya smiled. “It kind of is.”
“Things could be better, I guess.”
�
�What’s going on?”
Hugo told her what Lita had said to him that morning. “And that’s how we parted. I haven’t spoken to her since.”
Freya bit her lip. “She said she doesn’t know if she wants to be with you?”
He nodded. “Pretty much. Yes.”
Mikko leaned forward and put his hand on his shoulder. “Hugo, you can’t give up. It’s hard, but you can’t give up.”
Hugo clenched his jaw. “No, I’m not going to, but it’s hard if I’m the only one who wants to keep going. I don’t know. I haven’t heard her say anything like this before.”
“No?”
Hugo shrugged.
“No, I mean, we’ve had fights and stuff, but she was never saying anything like this outright,” he said.
Freya looked at him. “Mikko is right. All you can do is fight for her. You have to show her that it’s possible to have a family when you have work like us.”
Hugo chuckled. “Yeah, but to be perfectly honest, our job isn’t perhaps the best for long relationships.”
Mikko slapped his shoulder and laughed.
“Speak for yourself. The last woman I met, I was together with for days. And you, Freya, that sailor guy. I guess you were together for a couple of months.”
Freya rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time. “You’re right, Hugo. Maybe we’re not the best role models. But you and Lita have Elektra together. It’s something worth fighting for.”
Sussie leaned forward. “Freya is right. Elektra is worth it. You’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you give up.”
Hugo bit his lip and looked out at the dusty Spanish landscape that swished by. He knew his team was right. Both Lita and Elektra were worth walking through fire for. When he finished this mission, he would need to have a long chat with Lita and Madeleine. They had to decide how this was going to work in the future.
16
Pain boomed through his body when he hit the wall, but he held spasmodically to the branch. His hands slid downward, and in a moment of panic, he thought he was going to slip off. He hissed.
“No!”
At the last second, he stopped himself, and it was almost that his feet touched the ground. The pain reverberated through his shoulder, but he grabbed the branch and forced his feet up against the wall. As he leaned back, he stretched his body and climbed step by step up toward the inner crest of the wall. His fingers and hands burned as if they’d been dipped in fire, but he forced away the pain. It was do or die.
The Hugo Xavier Series: Book 1-3 Page 63
