The Hugo Xavier Series: Book 1-3

by Filip Forsberg

  Step by step, he moved up. His muscles were close to the breaking point, but he made it up to the crest. He grabbed it and pulled himself up. He gasped and released the branch that flicked back. He moaned and took a few deep breaths, and let the muscles take care of all the lactic acid accumulated in his muscles.

  “That’s better.”

  After a few minutes, he lifted his head and looked down. No movement. A row of trees stretched along the inside of the inner wall. A gravel path went right behind them, and from the gravel path, a well-manicured lawn stretched up toward the castle.

  Near the castle, a series of small shrubs dotted the edge that formed a hedge that enclosed the castle. The castle itself was a more miniature, medieval castle four stories high. Two towers shrouded in the middle, and the four corners were shaped like round towers. They provided direct views of the area surrounding the castle. To the right was the modern extension that stretched around half the castle like a claw. Glass and metal stretched around the older part and from its interior beamed sharp lamps that dissolve the surroundings.

  Adnan waited a few minutes and looked for movement. When he saw nothing, he crawled along the wall until he arrived at a place where a large bush was placed next to the wall. He flexed his muscles and jumped into it. He curled himself into a ball, landed hard, and rolled. He got up on his feet and pulled out the gun. He listened. Nothing. The sky was red as the sun was setting.

  A couple of birds slid across the sky, and the sound of an engine came and passed. His heart calmed down. He ran crouching toward the trees and took cover behind one. He stopped and listened. Nothing. He repeated the procedure several times until he arrived at the trellis, as the guard mentioned. He looked toward the castle. A small, dark door loomed along one edge. He froze when he heard voices. He took cover behind a tree. Two voices. They came closer, and Adnan saw one of the men’s shadows as they stopped on the other side of the tree where he was hidden.

  One guard spat. “What do you think?”

  The other guard kicked a rock. His voice was hoarse. “About what?”

  “The one who’s on his way here. Do you think he’ll be here today?”

  The hoarse voice chuckled. “I don’t think so. I think someone on the board has seen too many action movies. But I’m not going to argue with it, it pays well, and it’s easy money.”

  Adnan’s eyes glittered. The guards were hired help. That’s good to know. There were limits to their reliability. The other guard pulled something up, lit it, and puffed it. He slowly blew out. The smoke cloud slipped toward Adnan, who had to restrain himself so as not to cough.

  “Yes, of course. But I still have a strange feeling in my stomach. I’m not going to spend any more nights here. This place gives me the chills.”

  “This? It’s just an old castle,” he said.

  “Yeah, but think of all the medical experiments they’ve conducted here.”

  The man chuckled. “You’re too paranoid. We’ll stay here for a few more days, and we’ll be able to take a couple of months off in México.”

  “Yes, maybe so.”

  The men smoked, and Adnan took a few deep breaths. His muscles were soft, ready. The man with the hoarse voice cleared his throat.

  “Do you have the key card? I want to go in and have a beer. This heat is killing me.”

  “Yeah, I have it.”

  The shadows slipped away on the ground, and Adnan flexed every muscle in his body. He moved forward, and his body automatically remembered the actions. He slipped in between the two men. One of them felt someone behind them and turned around.

  But Adnan was faster. He clenched his fist and hit the man on the left side of his head. The man fell like a chopped tree. The other man who started turning around shouted out a warning, but it was too late. Adnan followed up the movement and threw his elbow back. It hit the man’s nose with crushing force. The man gurgled and sank to his knees.

  Adnan took a step forward and struck another blow to the man’s head. The man fell. It pounded in Adnan’s arm as he searched through the men and found what he was looking for. The key card. He took it and pulled the men away into the shadows behind the bushes. It wasn’t the best hiding place, but it had to do. He peeked around the area, saw no more movement, and ran toward the kitchen entrance.

  ***

  Hugo frowned. It wouldn’t be long now. He glanced out at the Spanish landscape that swooped by. Mountains rose on the horizon, and he squinted as they came up on a crest. The low sun shone straight toward them. Freya slowed.

  “We’ll be there soon. Ten minutes.”

  Hugo nodded. “Good.”

  His mind wandered. He had to catch up with Lita. It couldn’t go on like this. He had to sort it out and try to find some way to make it work. Lita and Elektra were the most important thing for him. Not this. He stared out while his brain rushed. But at the same time, he loved the feeling of a mission. The rush. Adrenaline. It was addictive.

  Sussie cleared her throat and leaned forward. “Hugo?”

  “What’s up?”

  “Fredrika has just sent an update on Cabello Medico. You can read it here.”

  Sussie handed Hugo an iPad. He took it and started reading. But he was just getting started when his phone rang. He picked it up.

  “Hugo here.”

  A female voice crackled. “It’s Madeleine.”

  “Something new?”

  “Yes. A bit. I’ve got Fredrika to send an update on Cabello Medico and at its research facility. You should have it soon.”

  “Yeah, Sussie just said that Fredrika had sent it. We’ve got it.”

  “Super.”

  “Anything else?”

  Madeleine hesitated. “I don’t know, Hugo. Just be careful, okay? What I’ve heard about this Spaniard is that he’s not to play with.”

  Hugo chuckled. “Don’t worry, Madeleine. You know me. We hit hard before he can spot us.”

  Madeleine chuckled. “That’s what I was afraid you’d say.” She paused. “But seriously, Hugo. There were three on the board of Cabello Medico. But the Spaniard has already killed one of them, and now he has only Vimpel and Zuch left. And given what happened to him, he won’t stop until they are dead.”

  Hugo clenched his jaw while he looked out the window. “Then we’ll just have to make sure we fix it that way,” he said.

  Freya touched his arm. “It’s up ahead. Two kilometers.”

  “Madeleine, I have to go. We’re almost at the facility. Do you know if Inspector Sánchez got hold of anyone at the castle?”

  “I’m not sure, but the last update I got from Sánchez was that he tried to contact them for the last hour, but there was no one answered.”

  Hugo frowned. “No one answered?”

  “No.”

  Something was wrong. But what? Hugo went through the situation in his head.

  “Okay, I’ll see if I can call Sánchez and talk to him.”

  “Great. Make sure you tell me as soon as you can, okay?”

  “Of course. I’ll call you as soon as I can.”

  “Thank you.”

  Hugo ended the call. He looked at Freya. “It could be that the Spaniard is already there.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  Hugo told her what Madeleine had said. Mikko leaned forward.

  “You said he could already be there?”

  Hugo nodded. “Maybe. Freya, drive straight up to the entrance. We’ll have to persuade the guards at the gate to let us in.”

  Sussie hesitated. “Will they do it?”

  Hugo smiled grimly. “We’ll see about that.”

  ***

  So close. Adnan breathed heavily when he arrived at the kitchen door. A dark card reader sat next to the door. He pulled the key card over it and was rewarded with a click. He grabbed the handle and pulled it. He held his breath and walked in. He came right into the kitchen. The old castle kitchen was modernized, and a couple of large kitchen islands were in the middle. A beautiful o
ld storage shelf hugged the right wall.

  A door on the other side of the room led farther up toward the castle. Beautiful, older lamps hung over the workbenches and bathed the room in golden light. It was an exquisitely beautiful room. Adnan made his way around the kitchen islands and walked up to the doorway that led farther. He froze. A man’s voice came into range, and it moved closer. Adnan swiftly pulled back and slid in behind one of the refrigerators that were furthest away. The voice came still closer, and a shadow slid across the floor toward Adnan. The voice was angry.

  “What part do you not understand? I need to know where he is, how hard is it to understand that?”

  The seconds passed before the voice went ice-cold. “Now listen to me, you idiot. I’m Reinhard Argento, head of security at Cabello Medico. And you need to know how much trouble I can cause you if you don’t find out where the damn Spaniard is. You’ll see!”

  The hairs stood up on Adnan’s arms. He could hardly believe his luck. The head of security. Less than ten feet from him.

  Argento hung up and swore, “Damn amateurs.”

  Adnan listened while Argento walked over to the other fridge, opened it, and took something from it. Adnan flexed every muscle in his body. This is what he was built for—hunting. But a fraction of a second later, three more voices entered the kitchen.

  “Boss. We’ve swept the outer wall now,” one said.

  Adnan stared up at the ceiling and gently released the tension in his body. Argento coughed.

  “And?”

  Adnan saw the reflection of the man who was talking.

  “Everything looks okay.” He hesitated and said, “There was just one thing.”

  “What?”

  “I can’t reach two of the outside guards.”

  “Which ones?”

  “Laurel and Beskin.”

  Argento was quiet for a few seconds. “Send out some men to find them. We need to be completely alert now. I’ve received reports that there’s been a shooting at a gas station just an hour away. It could be the Spaniard. Maybe, maybe not.”

  Another voice chuckled. “Do you really think so? I mean, if he’s really on his way, he’s going to get a taste of this.”

  The men in the room laughed when the guard did something Adnan didn’t see. Argento walked around the kitchen island, and Adnan stiffened when he saw the man glance up. Argento pounded the island.

  “We have to be at our best today. We can’t afford mistakes. This guy’s in his own league. If there’s anyone you should have respect for, it’s the Spaniard. You don’t want to know what he’s done to his enemies. And we have to protect Vimpel and Zuch. If they die, our lives will be over too.”

  The men in the room gathered around the kitchen island. The three men were large, dressed in dark combat overalls, and carried automatic weapons over their shoulders. Argento was dressed in a dark Asian suit. He wore sharp flint and steel glasses. He was only three feet away. Adnan felt his pulse roar in his ears.

  Argento let his eyes slip over the three men, but something about him changed. Adnan saw it. It was as if an imperceptible jolt had slipped through him. Adnan stared at Argento as the man slowly turned his head toward Adnan. The color disappeared as he realized the Spaniard was in the same room as him.

  The Spaniard exploded from his hiding place and jumped toward Argento like a human torpedo. He clenched his fist and hit Argento like a sledgehammer on his shoulder, but Argento had time to twist enough not to be harmed by the blow.

  The three men roared, and they groped for their weapons. But the Spaniard didn’t need any weapons except the element of surprise. He landed softly and, at the same time, grabbed a knife from the rack on the kitchen island.

  He threw it at the man at the far end, and it sank to the hilt in the man’s throat. One of the other men picked up his gun and pressed the trigger, but nothing happened. The man swore, realizing he’d forgotten the safety. Adnan grabbed a frying pan that stood on the kitchen island and used it like a tennis racquet, hitting the man across the head. There was a wet, crackling sound, and the man fell. The third man was faster and got a few feet away before raising his gun. His eyes sparkled at the thought that he would be the one who caught the most notorious assassin of the last decade.

  “Stop!” he shouted. “Stand still!”

  Adnan grabbed Argento’s collar and pulled him up like a human shield between him and the guard. The Spaniard crouched behind Argento.

  “If you shoot, you’re going to kill your boss.”

  Argento hissed. “Shoot!”

  The guard’s gaze flickered from the Spaniard to Argento and back. The seconds passed. The Spaniard pushed Argento forward.

  “Watch out, watch out.”

  Again Argento growled, “Shoot!”

  But the guard hesitated for a second too long. The Spaniard threw Argento at him, and the guard clutched the trigger in wild panic. Shots boomed through the kitchen, and, as if in slow motion, blood exploded from Argento’s arm. Argento screamed but couldn’t stop. He crashed into the guard, and they both tumbled backward.

  The Spaniard slid forward like mercury, and when he saw the guard’s face appear in the jumble of arms and legs on the floor, he moved forward. His fist was like a hammer, and the guard’s head hit the ground. He grabbed Argento’s arm and pulled him back up.

  “You’re going to live because I need you to help me.”

  Argento moaned. “With what?”

  The Spaniard dragged Argento through the kitchen. “I know this place is a research lab. I guess you have a lot of secret rooms and locks that only you can open.”

  Argento’s face became even paler when he saw that the Spaniard knew what he was talking about. Adnan dragged Argento through the hall and came into a large room that he figured must be the library. Ornate bookshelves were filled with books, and in the middle of the room, three large sofas stood around a marble table.

  Along one wall was the largest mantelpiece Adnan had ever seen. But that was not what made him stop. Nor was it the huge, round metal door that stood where the fireplace should have been. It was the fact that Dr. Balthazar Vimpel was there. Vimpel stared at Adnan, petrified, for what seemed like an eternity.

  “You.”

  Adnan Kosh released Argento and leaped forward, but Vimpel hurled himself through the round doorway. The round metal door began rolling back into place. Adnan roared, but it felt like his legs were stuck in molasses as he tried to make his way to the door before it closed. Just before the door rolled into place, he saw Vimpel’s face disappear behind it.

  17

  Hugo held the door handle when Freya skidded around the corner. The tires screamed, but Freya smoothly got around the corner and pressed the accelerator when they came out on the straight.

  “Almost there!”

  Hugo lifted the phone to his ear. “Inspector Sánchez, can you hear me?”

  Sánchez’s voice crackled. “Yes, I can hear you,” he said. “Are you there yet?”

  “Soon. A few more minutes and we’ll be there. Have you made contact with anyone at the research facility?”

  “No, they aren’t answering. We’ll keep trying, and as soon as we get a hold of someone, I’ll tell them to open the gates for you.”

  Hugo thought. If the guards hadn’t been forewarned that Hugo and his team were on their way, they might think they were the Spaniard and start shooting. The last thing they needed now was to get into a firefight.

  “Yes, it would be good if you could. I don’t want to drive up to a bunch of armed men waiting for an assassin.”

  Sánchez chuckled. “Yes, I can understand that. As soon as we get a hold of them, I’ll let them know. If you get there before, you’ll have to wait outside.”

  Freya swerved when a cat ran across the road. The dust swirled as they drove along the shoulder, and Hugo coughed.

  “Do what you can. I’ll call you back when I know more,” Hugo said to Sánchez.

  “Copy that.”


  Hugo ended the call. Mikko leaned forward.

  “What did he say? Did he get a hold of someone at the research facility?”

  Hugo shook his head. “No. No answer.”

  Freya glanced at him. “So what does that mean? Should we wait for the go-ahead to go in?”

  Hugo frowned. If they forced their way in, the guards would undoubtedly open fire. But if they waited, the Spaniard could get away. He pursed his lips as he thought.

  “We’ll get there as fast as we can, and we’ll get him out of there.”

  “Roger that.”

  They drove on in silence. It was often like this just before a mission. Everyone alone with their thoughts. Outside, the hot, dusty Spanish landscape swished past. A few minutes later, Freya pointed.

  “That wall marks the property.”

  Hugo nodded. “Okay, drive around to the front, and we’ll see if we can knock on the door.”

  “Got it.”

  They followed the road, and after a turn, they arrived at the entrance. The beautiful gates looked solid. Two guards stared at them as they drove up the driveway. When the car braked, Hugo opened the door and stepped out. He kept his hands in the air.

  “I’m unarmed. My name is Hugo Xavier, and Police Chief Sánchez has sent me.”

  The two guards raised their weapons and pointed them at Hugo. “What do you want? Why are you here?”

  Hugo took a few steps forward, and the other guard raised his weapon even higher, pointing it straight at Hugo’s head. “Don’t come any closer!”

  Hugo stopped. “Listen, an assassin is on his way here, and I’m working with Chief Sánchez to find and stop him. We need to come in and talk to your boss.”

  The guard grunted. “Forget it. Get in the car and drive back the way you came.”