Everyone looked at Alana, expecting pushback.
Alana said, “No she’s right. We had some fun the other day, so we did a mind thingy her way, and I gave her some problems to solve. She did, in record time. Her skills are beyond technical; they’re intuitive. She’s a living DNA computer. And the afternoon was really fun after that too. I haven’t had that many orgasms in quite a while. I’m pregnant and horny. Now that’s a combination.”
Paulo called back an hour later causing consternation for all.
“It’s a go. Get to the family, fight Enzo and win, and you can have your weepy fucking family members back. You will have pick up points dedicated along the way, and we choose Derek Nobilus as our intermediary. We would’ve wanted Saldana Ri, PMO, Musso or a couple others from the Black Shirts, but I think you’ve already killed them all. Derek’s the only one left we both know, but your tiny little problem is finding him; you’ll have to locate him. We don’t know where he’s hiding but I bet you can find him if you try hard enough. I doubt he’ll volunteer for the mission; he knows we’d like his head on a pike for old times’ sake.
Paulo paused.
“You have three days to find him and get yourselves to Boston. If not, the cute kids go first, live on CCTV.”
Cindy said, “We’ll be there. Touch my family in any way I wouldn’t like, and all your clan and associated clans are dead. That’s my counter-offer. This is not threat; you know what I’m capable of, and we know where all your Clans are located. Be nice, be fair, and treat my family well. Then only Enzo will be dead, and we can all walk away friends. For the time being.”
“Done.” Paulo clicked off.
Rod said, “You scheming little you-know-what, that was fucking brilliant. If we pull this off, you can reside in your ‘girl cave’ with Marie for a month. Invite all your girlfriends. I’ll babysit.”
Cindy looked around. “Is it any wonder I love this man?”
Hecate looked a little downcast. “Can I come too? Please? I really, really want to. I know I can help if you let me.”
“You’re our most important soldier! We desperately need your help; you’re proven after Granada. And if you come, so will Derek. Peacefully and voluntarily.”
“I’m a soldier? Really? Do I get a cute uniform?”
Niona said, “You bet you do, Hecate. I’ll design it personally.”
Chapter 55
After the call was terminated, Enzo said to his brother, “What the fuck, Paulo. You’re inviting them to come to Boston to kill me? What were you thinking?”
“I was thinking I’m a genius and that we will solve all our problems with the St. James assholes in the next few days. Don’t worry, you’ll be in no danger at any time.”
“OK, genius, explain.”
“How are you doing on that project I assigned to you a year ago to find Derek Nobilus, and eliminate him? He’s dead, right?”
“No. You know as well as I do we can’t find him and therefore I can only presume he’s alive – somewhere. Maybe a cave in the Tribal Areas in Pakistan.”
“Doubtful. But in the present case, we make the problem of finding Derek Nobilus the problem of Cindy Suarez. If she wants to save her cousin, and you know she does, then she must deliver Derek to us. They arrive, we give them a route to a spot by a certain time, call, and give them the next segment of their fake trip to save cousin Karen. One of the instructions will take him to a subway station entrance, and that’s where we have the C-4 in huge quantities. When they get in the killing zone – boom. All our problems are solved.”
“By ‘they’ who do you mean?”
“If we’re lucky, it will be Cindy and Rod Suarez, Adam and Derek. Derek must go to a different starting point away from the others, and we will have a man there to check for tracking devices and bugs. Then he comes to the hotel where you will be with Karen, and the brats; you can promptly kill him or wait for word that the others are dead when I call. The route I give the others takes them to another hotel, but I made a reservation in my name if they get that far and try to check. The room is laden with C-4 too. But, nobody’s home there anyway even if they do get that far. I can promise you, they’ll be dead long before that.”
“OK then, brother. Let’s hope they find Derek for us and arrive on time.”
***
On the other side of the pond there was equal elation. Cindy and Adam, and everyone else knew this was a set up, and that Paulo was lying. Cindy mentioned, and all agreed, that Paulo would try to have them killed somewhere along the route to the hotel. There was no chance that Adam would fight Enzo; that was just bait. The family would be kept alive until the group, or at a minimum Adam, was dead. Then they would kill Karen and flee.
But their plan was simple. They would tell Paulo they were searching for Derek, and had some leads, but it might take a couple of days – well within his three-day deadline. Paulo was fine with that.
Hecate was dispatched to seek out Derek and secure his cooperation. Hecate had the best relationship with him by far, and the two had grown close and liked each other. They spent time together and occasionally, as a reward, Hecate would enter Derek’s mind to pleasure him. Derek was now putty in Hecate’s hands, and he was devoted to the young Immortal.
Alana and Niona, along with Bitsie and Francoise, were given the task of mapping every hotel and every street in downtown Boston. They were to locate every bus, subway, taxi, method of transportation, along with walking and bike paths, to search out possible choke points where they could most easily be murdered.
They had three days to complete their task, but with Alana and Niona working together, their final report came quickly, and was both thorough and comprehensive. This gave the entire team, which now included a most willing and cooperative Derek, time to study the options and discuss the best way to proceed.
Before they started, Derek set one condition to his full cooperation.
“Hecate has promised to protect the family and get them to safety. I will be in the room with them, but Hecate cannot physically do anything. My only precondition is that Hecate, and I work together as a team. Niona says she wants to help too, but I think I’m probably better with guns, and physical conflict than either of the two ladies. Not sure about Niona or her Blade, but Hecate will not be helpful except for imploding heads. Since I need to be in the hotel room anyway for proof of life, it seems that my request shouldn’t be a problem.”
Cindy and Adam both agreed immediately. “Excellent idea, and we are very grateful for your assistance. You do understand that Enzo will likely be in the room and will attempt to kill you immediately.”
“Sure. But Enzo is a coward, and I can handle him. My only question to you, Adam, is do you want him dead or alive when we rescue the family?”
“Alive if feasible, but dead otherwise. Put yourself in no danger to capture him. If you must, shoot on sight.”
“OK by me.”
Hecate appeared in human form, standing in front of Derek, and whispered something to him.
She said, “You’re my hero, you big brave man. You want to protect me, don’t you?”
“Of course, luv. You’re my very reason for existence. I would give my life for you. You should know that by now.”
“I do, but when you said what you just said to everyone in the room, I got a chill. Now I’m very horny and need some time alone with my very wonderful soldier.”
“Tonight?”
“No. As soon as this meeting is over, and your work is done, we’re going to have a very long session. And I have other plans for you too. You’re going to like the mind world I’ve built for you and me. I promise you excitement and ecstasy for all the days of your life.”
Derek announced, “Let’s get moving here. We’ve no time to waste!”
***
Paulo was hard at work planning just where to place the C-4 that would remove his obstacles to power but was finding it more of a challenge that he first thought it should be. It was no longer possible
to just attach something to the side of a subway wall as it might have been before the Boston Marathon bombing. Despite the provocations of right-wing politicians, terrorists wishing average Americans harm could be found anywhere in the world, of any color, any religion and with any grudge. There are red blooded Americans who have a grievance, real or imagined, against the government, and choose to kill other Americans in protest.
This is the world we live in.
Paulo decided that since he didn’t look like a terrorist, whatever that meant to him, he would go about placing his handiwork at the chokepoints in the time-honored fashion – bribing a subway worker to place the devices for him, with all the phony government paperwork filled out and verifiable in government computers. The guts of the detonator along with video fixed upon the chokepoint would give Paulo a bird’s eye view of the scene and allow him complete control over the timing of the detonation. The C-4 was affixed to the video as a fake base, so the device looked like ordinary CCTV security device for crime prevention. The morning of the event, Paulo and Enzo, dressed in subway workers garb, would load the C-4 into the base of the video camera, and attach it to the detonator attached to video battery. Simple and quick. Then Enzo would return to the hotel to keep watch over his new family, while Paulo would go elsewhere and await the proper time as he contemplated the future, and his power as Lord of the Planet.
Cindy dialed Paulo one last time. “We’re leaving tonight and will be arriving tomorrow morning.”
“Where?”
“None of your fucking business, Paulo.”
“You have Derek?”
“Yes, we found him hiding in plain sight on a Greek Island, sipping cool drinks, and fucking hookers. No matter, he seems less than happy to have a reunion with you and your brother, but I assured him his only chance at survival was too cooperate and do as instructed. For a man of his stature and prowess, he seemed terrified at the prospect of seeing your brother again.”
“No doubt.”
“I will call you at 9:00 am precisely for your instructions on how to proceed, and what to do with Derek.” Cindy clicked off.
“We’re ready, and the hook is baited. Next stop, Boston.”
***
Misti said, “Are we sure we can trust him? He’s our safety valve in getting Cindy’s cousin out. What makes anyone think he won’t bolt the first chance he gets? This really isn’t his fight, and he’s putting himself in the crossfire for us. He’s given us everything that we’ve asked, as far as I know, but his instinct for self-preservation may be stronger than his loyalty to us. To any of us.”
Hecate listened carefully, then said, “I trust Derek completely. He would never leave me or leave me in any danger. If he says he’ll help us rescue Cindy’s cousin, then that’s what he will do.”
“How could you possibly know that?”
“We spend a lot of time together. I like him. He likes me.”
Hecate left.
***
Paulo said to Enzo that he expected duplicity on the part of Cindy Suarez. Things had gone too smoothly, and he expected that she would have confederates throughout the downtown area on the look-out for the brothers. Once Derek was separated from the herd, and arrived at the hotel, Paulo would wait for the remaining travelers to reach the chokepoint, then all would be resolved.
He was cock sure of his plan; he shouldn’t have been. Hubris is the downfall of many men and women. Even Gens.
Chapter 56
The jet landed at a private airfield less than an hour from downtown Boston. Two SUVs met them upon arrival and they began their drive into the downtown area together. Everyone was quiet; though they were confidant in their plan, they knew there were contingencies they might not have thought of, or that things can simply go wrong; unanticipated events, failures and a host of other problems random in nature.
Rod and Cindy were not tense, however; they had fought their way through worse than the perils of downtown Boston and come away intact. This, they thought would be no different.
At precisely 9:00 am Cindy called Paulo and gave him her coordinates. He instructed her to tell Derek to take a cab and go to a local eatery, now closed, and await a car to pick him up. He would be searched and if any tracking devices found, there would be hell to pay. Cindy assured him no such devices were in or on Derek. However, she failed to mention Hecate and Niona. Niona would follow the cab in her own rental, while Hecate would be with Derek the entire time.
Hecate wondered why Niona didn’t look the same and asked her about it.
“Master of disguises, my sweet. The brothers already know what I look like. This way they don’t. I will never be far away, so don’t worry. When we get to the room, go in and look for Enzo, then come tell me and Derek. When Derek goes in, I’ll be right behind him.”
“Won’t there be a guy with Derek?”
“Nope. Leave that to me.”
“We’ll discuss this when we get home. The discussion will be long and arduous.”
“Mind on the job, my sweet. Mind on the job.”
***
Paulo instructed Cindy that there would be four separate points that the group had to reach within a given time frame, and call in. Upon reaching one point, directions to the next point would be provided. There would be video surveillance at each point, so the addition or subtraction of people in the party would cancel the exercise, and result in the death of Cindy’s cousin.
“And no tricks up your sleeve anywhere along the line, right Paulo?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
“No snipers, muggers or terrorists; no government types?”
“Nope. I want Adam here to fight Enzo, watch him die, then track you all down, and make you suffer unimaginably. You my sweet, will be my personal plaything for a very long time.”
“Yeah, like that’s ever going to happen. Dead man walking. Or is it dead Gens walking?”
Paulo gave Cindy the first set of coordinates, asking where she was first. You have a car, so you have fifteen minutes to get to this Park, sit on the bench I indicate, then call me. Starting now.”
The group arrived at the Park in plenty of time and called Paulo, who then gave Cindy the next set of coordinates, a local attraction. They had an hour to get there and wait for Paulo to contact them. Rod said it was a set-up of some sort, but Cindy thought they had no option but to wait Paulo out. Besides, it gave Derek, Hecate and Niona time to find Karen, and get them to safety. Then they would head to the airfield and get the hell out of Dodge.
An hour went by, and Cindy received a call from Paulo to proceed to a Department store downtown, wait fifteen minutes, then go to a nearby subway station and take the “E” train for two stops, get off and take the west side exit onto the street. They would get their next instructions topside.
Rod guessed they were being tailed, so the subway was a cut out of some sort to make sure only three people got on that train.
***
Meanwhile, Derek was driven around town for two hours, taking various streets and alleys, presumably to ditch anyone following the driver, a Gens working for Paulo. They turned into an underground parking lot of a high-rise office building, took the elevator up to the ground floor, exited the building, and began walking away. A half an hour later they entered a high-end Resort Hotel and took the elevator to the eighteenth floor. They exited the elevator, walked up two flights of stairs, and stood outside Suite 2008. The man took out his cell, and speed dialed Enzo, waiting inside.
“All clear.”
“OK,” said Enzo. “Use your key card and enter slowly, Derek first, then you. Then close the door, and step aside. Keep your weapon on him. He’s a cagey old fox. No doubt he knows he’s never leaving this hotel room.”
As they entered the room, a voice from a man hidden from view instructed the Gens to place his gun on the table by the entrance after cuffing Nobilus and manacling his feet. The restraints were on the bed. The man carefully put the cuffs on Derek, hands behind his b
ack, then set his gun down. He walked back to the bed, and grabbed the manacles, and stepped over to where Derek was standing, now a few feet inside the room, the door partially open. He put the manacles on.
The voice said, “Now leave your weapon and go.” Enzo was thinking he would use that weapon to kill everyone in the room, then leave it behind, implicating someone who would never be found. The Gens soldier would be out of the country fast, and into natural state within a month.
Suddenly Niona burst into the room, having already killed the Gens on his way out with a silenced 9 mm, slamming the door behind her. As she entered she pushed Derek to one side as Enzo came out from around the corner to see what was going on. He saw Niona and shot at her right away. Her momentum carried her away but caught a slug in her shoulder as she went down, pistol still in hand, then dropping her weapon.
Enzo then turned to the defenseless Derek to administer the coup de gras, then planned to put two more slugs in Niona.
Hecate suddenly appeared in physical form, grabbing for the gun on the table to shoot Enzo. He was distracted momentarily but swung to the danger and shot at Hecate. Derek, now back on his feet jumped in front of Hecate, taking the bullet himself in the side, a through and through that also entered Hecate’s side. They both fell to the ground bleeding out as Niona shot Enzo three times, once in the hand holding his gun, and one in each kneecap. Enzo fell to the ground, screaming in pain, bleeding as Niona moved in on him and took his pistol, making sure he wasn’t armed elsewhere. She removed two small calibre pistols attached to each of his ankles but frisked him further and found nothing else.
She used plastic ties on his hands and feet, then moved quickly to Hecate and Derek. She grabbed Hecate by the face and shouted, “You must return to Immortal form now.”
Hecate was dazed, not used to physical form or the attendant pain. “Hecate, now. You must transform now!”
Niona slapped Hecate hard, and shouted at her again. In an instant, Hecate was invisible. Niona had saved he life, but Hecate was still insensible. She needed Niona to guide her. Niona instructed Hecate to remain Immortal, but to appear as a human, in holographic form. Hecate complied as instructed.
Resolution Page 70
