The Assassin's Gift

by C. P. IRVINE, IAN

  "Did you see its head?"

  "Yes," she replied, her eyes glazing over slightly, either from the wine or the memory, but probably both. "But not straight away. At first I only saw its body. It was moving away from me. Then its neck rose up and its head turned towards me. I think it looked at me. It must have seen me because then it sank into the loch and disappeared."

  "Wow... how long did you see it for?" Alessandra asked.

  "The whole thing probably lasted a couple of minutes. From when I saw it while in the car, to getting out and then watching it from the shore."

  There were tears in her eyes now and when she blinked they began to roll down the side of her cheeks.

  "I'm a silly old cow, I'm sorry." She apologised.

  "That's amazing." Alessandra shook her head in awe.

  "Have you ever seen it again?"

  "No. Just like my husband. I got back to Glasgow, and he'd gone. Thank goodness. After a few months of not sleeping at night in an empty house and wondering if I'd gone mad or not, I packed my bags and came back here. I've been here ever since."

  Lisa's story was not dissimilar and was a little like Young Angus's

  She was walking through the woods one day along the side of the loch and she had seen the monster wading through the water close to the shore. Head, neck, body and all. The monster had swum out from the shore and dived down under the water.

  At the time Lisa had left South Africa and had been touring the world. She'd got as far as Scotland, saw the monster and never left.

  It was a warm evening. The sky was clear. The stars were out.

  Alessandra knew a lot about the sky and certainly enough to navigate by the stars across both land and sea.

  After midnight, as the fire began to die down with no more wood to replenish it on hand, a few people started to leave.

  "Wow!" one of the women on the far side of the fire cried out. "Look!"

  Alessandra's first thought was to look out to the loch in search of the monster, but she quickly realised the woman - Sheena- was pointing upwards to the sky.

  Everyone looked up and Alessandra was just in time to see the tail end of a fabulous meteor shower.

  "It's a good sign. Something good is going to happen!" Lisa announced beside her. "You mark my words!"

  An hour later everyone else had left. It had been a wonderful evening. Sitting around the fire, under the night sky, talking, sharing, simply existing, had been one of those rare occasions in life that money couldn't buy.

  Now alone, Alessandra stared into the glowing embers of the fire. Thinking.

  For the first time since she’d completed the mission, she thought of the people she'd killed. She could see the lights on the police boats in the distance. She had no regrets, none. But she wondered, if she had completed the task sooner, could she have saved the young woman's life?

  She thought of the 'lady': her sighting of the lady of the loch. She knew she would always treasure what she had seen, but she found it curious how much she wanted to believe that it was real, in spite of the likelihood that it was just floating trees or abnormalities in the water surface caused by strange wave formations. Still, Gavin had not discounted her sighting, and he was the expert, so maybe she should not be so quick to explain it away.

  Then she thought of herself.

  Something was different.

  She could feel it.

  Something in her had changed.

  What it was she didn't know.

  Then she remembered the words of the monk:

  "Bless you, for you are now blessed."

  A tingle passed down her spine.

  Standing up, she walked quickly back to her caravan, climbed inside and then locked the door behind her.

  As she turned the key in the door, she noticed for the first time her fingers felt different.

  They were tingling.

  Stripping off her clothes she climbed straight into bed.

  Pulling out her iPad from under her mattress, she opened up the Tor Browser and logged on and then went through all her usual security precautions, ensuring she was invisible to the world.

  When all was safe, and most importantly she was safe, she logged onto HitsforBits.

  A surge of adrenaline coursed through her veins.

  Her offer on the new contract had been accepted.

  She'd offered to do the job for the equivalent of £500,000 in bitcoins, but for some reason the sponsor had agreed to pay her £600,000 so long as she expedited the job and killed the target within three weeks.

  The HitsforBits system was simplistic to use, but was supported by complex algorithms and advanced technology way above anything Alessandra could understand, or would ever need to understand.

  Over the years, because she had always delivered on what she said she would do, and thanks to the reviews left by her happy customers, the system now automatically advertised her as a 'Top Assassin.' She had two avatars on the site, one being Salvador and another being her default: 'Khan'.

  When any assassins first used the site, they had to complete each mission and prove their kills before receiving any payment, but now, due to having each achieved five successful hits, Salvador and Khan would both receive half-up-front, and the other half on completion.

  It made sense. The best assassins took on the toughest missions and could incur significant expenses upfront in their preparations. Thanks to this arrangement, as was now usual, if she accepted the hit, half of the money would arrive in her account in the next twenty-four hours, followed by the remainder upon completion.

  Although having the money upfront was good, it was not a gift. Any temptation to take the money and run was not something anyone should ever entertain. Those who ran HitsforBits were very clever, and powerful. Their complex system worked on trust and the honour that supposedly existed within the community - along with the simple threat that should the initial tranche of the money ever be paid out, and you then did not complete the hit, they would come after you.

  You would be the next target.

  They would find you.

  No matter how hard you made it for them.

  They would get you.

  However, it didn't worry Alessandra or most other Top Assassins, who didn't really do it for the money but for the kudos, pride and respect.

  An email was already waiting in the email account Alessandra had created especially for this assignment. It contained more details about DCI Campbell McKenzie.

  She studied the photograph in the file for several minutes.

  He was a good looking man.

  But, if she now accepted the job, hit "Accept" on the HitsforBits contract webpage, she'd be fully committed and DCI Campbell McKenzie would die with twenty one days.

  Her fingers still tingling, she touched the "Accept" button on the iPad screen, logged off, and closed her eyes.

  Within minutes she fell deeply, deeply asleep.

  Chapter 12

  Scotland

  Edinburgh

  Monday

  8.38 a.m.

  Alessandra awoke seven hours later to the sound of screaming.

  It was coming from somewhere just outside her caravan.

  Quickly picking up a large knife from the kitchen, she moved to the window and pulled a corner of the curtain gently aside, so she could see into the field beyond.

  At times like these she deeply regretted not having her own weapon, but in the UK, possession of a handgun was illegal and the risk of getting caught was too high.

  The instant she had heard the scream, Alessandra was fully awake, and primed to react to whatever was about to come her way. Her mind was instantly calculating possibilities, and making preparations for defence, evasion or escape.

  It was a man's voice. She could tell by its tone. However, it was obvious from listening to his screams that whoever he was and whatever had happened to him, he was in absolute agony.

  From her window there was nothing obvious to be seen, but the screams continued.<
br />
  She left it a few moments longer and still nothing seemed to be coming her way.

  Annoyingly, her fingers were tingling like crazy, and as she held the curtain corner with one hand, she examined her fingers and wondered what on earth could be the matter with them.

  Deciding that whatever the problem was outside, it was most likely not a threat to her - if someone was coming after her, they would never telegraph it by causing such a rumpus, she scrambled out of her bed, pulled on some jogging shorts and a top, and hurried outside.

  The first person she saw was Lisa running across the park towards one of the caravans parked in the row next to hers.

  "It's Robert, he's broken his leg!" she shouted to Alessandra.

  Alessandra immediately broke into a run, following Lisa who headed straight to a caravan, four away from her own.

  Robert was lying on the ground in front of his caravan screaming his head off, surrounded by three others, all looking flustered and worried, but not knowing what to do.

  "Has anyone else called an ambulance yet?" Lisa asked, getting the phone she'd just fetched ready.

  A round of ‘nos’ and shaking heads.

  Alessandra knelt down by the old man. His left leg was lying at an odd angle, and his face was contorted in pain. The door to his caravan was wide open, the pair of metal steps leading up to it having been kicked forward, slightly away from the door.

  "What happened?" Alessandra asked. "Did you trip on the stair?"

  She put a hand on his head and stroked his cheek gently.

  "Robert, can you hear me? It's me, Alice. We met yesterday. I'm going to help you. You're going to be okay."

  Not all the training that Alessandra had completed in camps around the world was about killing. An essential component of all training was what to do if you were in the field and you were injured. Helping yourself, or a colleague to survive. She had trained for moments like this, and now the training took over.

  It was obvious to Alessandra that the man was in a lot of distress. Her first concern was to calm him down, to help him relax as much as possible, and to establish what had happened.

  Was it only a broken leg, or was there more to it? Why had he fallen? Was he having a heart attack or a stroke?

  Quickly assessing his facial expressions and his responses to her questions, she ascertained that the leg injury was most likely the immediate concern. It was broken above the knee, and she could see the femur - the thigh bone - sticking out through the flesh.

  "How long is the ambulance going to be?" she asked Lisa.

  "They don't know. There was a road accident near Inverness. All the ambulances are busy. They might have to send one from Fort William."

  "But that's quite far away, isn't it?"

  "Twenty minutes."

  "Not good..., that's too long." She replied, worried that the old man could go into shock.

  Annoyingly her fingers were tingling so much that they were beginning to distract her now. She tried to focus, rubbing her hands together and trying to improve the circulation.

  "Robert, I'm going to move you. I'm going to pick you up and move your leg. And I'm going to cover you with some blankets. It'll hurt, but you'll be better in a moment."

  A crowd was now gathering; the rest of the park's residents circling around the poor man on the ground.

  Alessandra stood up and spoke in a stern but authoritative voice.

  "I'd like you all to leave please, except for Lisa and Sally. I may need you. Please, your presence here could be distressing poor Robert. Why not all go over to someone's caravan and get a cup of tea? As soon as the ambulance arrives, I'll come and give you an update on how he is!"

  For a moment, they just looked at her, but then her calm authority won them over and one-by-one they began to disperse.

  Returning to Robert, she took the blankets from Lisa, which she had found inside his caravan, and covered him over.

  "I’m going to move you now..." she said, calmly.

  Then she took hold of his leg under the blanket and gently readjusted it on the ground so that the bones once again met correctly.

  Robert screamed and then passed out.

  "Is he ...?" Sally asked, staring at him.

  "No. He's just fallen unconscious. It's probably best."

  She looked at his face, stroking his cheek.

  Alessandra felt strange. But not because of the stress of the moment.

  It was something different.

  Her fingers were tingling in a way she had never experienced before.

  It was a curious sensation.

  She raised them to her face and looked at them.

  "Bless you, for you are now blessed."

  That thought again. A thought so strong it was almost a voice in her head.

  What the hell did it mean?

  Blinking to clear her mind, she focused back on poor Robert and felt with her hands under the blanket to where the fracture in his leg was.

  A wave of what she could only describe as 'compassion' swept over her. The idea that this poor man was in such a terrible way, began to really affect her.

  Almost physically.

  She couldn't stand his suffering.

  A strange compulsion came over her. An idea, so bizarre, it took her by surprise.

  She felt suddenly conspicuous. She had to get rid of the others. She wanted no-one watching her.

  "Lisa, Sally, could you please both go to the entrance of the caravan park, one of you staying at the gate, the other going up the path to the junction with the main road. Wave the ambulance down when you see it and direct it down here. I'll stay with Robert."

  "Good idea," Sally quickly agreed, seeing the sense in the suggestion. Both she and Lisa turned and left, leaving Alessandra alone with Robert.

  Robert blinked. Alessandra could see that even in his unconscious state, waves of pain were sweeping across his brain, and he was still suffering.

  She had to do something. She had to end the pain for him.

  "Bless you, for you are now blessed."

  This time, a real voice in her head. The monk's words reverberating around inside her skull.

  She blinked.

  She knew she could do this.

  A feeling so strong that it almost overwhelmed.

  Her fingers were tingling so much it almost felt as if electricity was jumping between them.

  And then it happened.

  She closed her eyes and rested both her hands upon the broken leg.

  With a conviction the like of which she had never previously experienced, she found herself willing that Robert's pain would stop. That his suffering would end. That he would find peace.

  Suddenly she felt an incredible warmth spreading from her wrists, down through and across her hands. She pressed lightly onto Robert's leg and the warmth left her. It felt as if the heat had left through her fingers and her palms, diffusing through her skin into Robert’s body.

  Then it was gone.

  The tingling in her fingers abated.

  Almost instantly a wave of exhaustion and nausea spread over her. She felt light-headed. Giddy. As if she was going to faint.

  Pulling her hands back from under the blanket she sat back on the ground and propped herself with a hand on either side of her body, steadying the world and making sure it would not fall on top of her.

  She closed her eyes.

  A woman's voice caught her off guard.

  "Are you okay, Miss?"

  "Yes," she replied, discovering that two ambulance crew were by her side. Somehow, she had not heard the ambulance drive up between the caravans, or the paramedics with Lisa and Sally rushing over to her and Robert. "His name is Robert. He's unconscious just now, because I reset the leg. It was badly broken and at an angle. I was worried about the blood supply. You'll need to check it. I'm not a nurse, but I once had some training from the army. By the way, I think he fell from the entrance to his door, and banged his leg on the steps on the way down."

&
nbsp; The ambulance crew already had Robert on a stretcher.

  "Thank you." The female paramedic replied. And with that they lifted Robert and took him to the ambulance.

  "I'll go with him," shouted Sally, as she climbed after the crew. "He'll need a friendly face with him when he wakes up."

  Slowly Alessandra made it to her feet, resting for a while against the side of Robert's caravan.

  As they watched the ambulance leave the park and drive up the side of the hill, past the monastery, Alessandra bent double and vomited.

  "I think I need to go and lie down," she whispered to Lisa, then turned and hurried back to her caravan.

  Stepping back up inside she locked her door, climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

  She was instantly asleep.

  A deep, deep sleep.

  Peaceful. Restful.

  Blessed.

  --------------------

  Monday

  Her Majesty's Prison Shotts

  3.00 p.m.

  Ivor Petrovsky was fuming. Getting privileges these days was proving far more difficult than before. After months of trying to arrange it, he'd only just been given the laptop he'd bribed at least five guards to first help get it into the prison for him and to then ignore the fact that he had it.

  Ivor was finding prison very difficult to deal with. He'd been in prison for almost eight months now and his trial, which had been repeatedly delayed, was now set for two weeks’ time. From information he'd found out recently, the only consolation was that it would be running at the same time as the trial of Tommy McNunn, the bastard who had stitched him up and got him locked up in the first place.

  Unfortunately, although from what Ivor had heard, the evidence against Tommy was overwhelming, Ivor had no faith in the Scottish Judicial System and knowing that Tommy McNunn was just as corrupt and bent as he was, he could not be sure that McNunn would even get convicted.