Lilith Cohen Retribution

by William Manning

  I had to get out of there. I needed to be alone for a bit, maybe the cold winter’s night will help me stuff the pain of betrayal back down inside me.

  Sleet rains on the city as I walk over to the ledge; gazing at New York’s multi-colored neon skyline that glimmers through the misty horizon. Closing my eyes, Karl’s smile appears, and I remember the first time he dragged me to a comic convention. I thought God, this is the land of geeks, but what can I say, geek culture grew on me after a while. I pull up a picture on my phone of me, Karl and Tiffany taking a selfie at a comic convention with Batman. Tears drip on the screen, feeling as if my heart is slowly being crushed. I bring up the delete button. Time to erase the lies.

  After deleting all the pics of Karl and me, the door behinds me, opens. But I make no effort to look behind me. Because I know it’s either Connie or Tiffany or one of the Secret Service agents coming up for a smoke.

  She pulls her coat closed. “Lilith, you okay? You shouldn’t stay up here you’re going to catch your death.”

  “Yes, I’m fine. I just, needed some air.” My voice low.

  “What’s wrong? Have you been crying?”

  “No, I haven’t been crying.”

  “Lilith, come on I can tell when you’ve been crying.”

  “Fine, I was.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I just wish I knew why.” I blurted it out without thinking.

  “Why what?”

  Damn, I opened the door, and she walked in. I turn to her. “Look, what I’m about to tell you is going to hurt like hell, but there is no way to soften the blow.” “Lilith… what are you not telling me?” her voice low.

  It’s Karl. He sold me out to them, or he was planning to, but they killed him when he tried to back out.” I clench my teeth trying to endure the pain welling up. “Colvin used him to get close to me make me fall in love with him and then spy on me. I was nothing more than a product to him and Colvin.”

  “Lilith, No! That is not true. Karl loved you to pieces.”

  “I loved him to pieces too, but it’s the truth.”

  Her eyes widen with horror. “Oh my fucking God. You’re not lying are you? If this true, then that would mean I put you with him. I am the source of all your pain. I fucked your lifeup.” Her knees turn to rubber, and she hits the ground. “Holy fuck! I am so sorry. I-I destroyed your life.” She lowers her head sobbing and shaking.

  I sit down next to her leaning against the railing and put my arm around her. “You didn’t know. You were just being a good friend and trying to fix me up with a guy.”

  She sniffles. “He was my brother! I should’ve known what he was doing.”

  “Sometimes our family members hide things from us. I didn’t know my father was a Mossad spy till after he died.”

  “I now know why you think you’re cursed, but you’re not, please believe that, Lilith. Sometimes evil assholes enter our lives and turn it to shit.” Her fingers dig angrily into the snow. “My brother. My uncle and Colvin all evil pieces of shit. When you go after Colvin, kill him slowly. Take your time don’t rush let him be the last thing you see as death takes hold.”

  The little bit of my life she’s experienced has changed her. The Tiffany before all the torture and gunfights, The Tiffany before learning the truth about her brother would be telling me what I’m doing is wrong, give Colvin to the FBI. She has transformed, she sees things my way. I wish I could find comfort in that but honestly, I can’t.

  I didn’t want this war to kill her soul and turn her into me.

  Tiffany yawns and wraps her arms around herself shivering. “I think I’m going to go sleep off this booze, Lilith. Don’t stay up here too long I would hate for you to freeze to death.” She stands and dusts the snow off her jeans. “Good night.” After smoking another cigarette, I head to bed myself.

  I crawl between the covers. I turn on my side and grab the extra pillow and place it between my knees. I always loved sleeping with a pillow between my knees. It drove all my lovers’ nuts because they would be short a pillow. Tiffany didn’t go catatonic after learning the truth of her brother. A silver lining, I suppose.

  Chapter 19 Sao Paulo, Brazil.

  The lobby is packed with tourists arriving and leaving there is a line from the reception desk to a large fountain that sets in the center of the hall. I sit down on a leather sofa and pull off my sunglasses and scan the room. Three elevators, two overweight security guards watching the surveillance camera and the 3rd is patrolling the lobby studying people faces. He reeks of ex-police. The hotel staff at the front desk seem to be oblivious and complacent with their jobs.

  Could be a weakness to exploit .

  A waiter comes up to me with a tray of glasses filled with red and white wines. “Good afternoon, Ms. Could I interest you in a complimentary glass of our finest red and white wines?”

  “Sure I’ll take a glass.”

  He smiles and places a napkin on the table and sets the glass on top of it. “Enjoy your stay at Chilton Resorts.”

  I take a sip of the wine, and it’s way too tangy for my taste; like a glass of sour patch candy.

  A man with a dark complexion wearing a red T-shirt and a white fedora sits down next to me. “Have you tried the vegetarian restaurants in Sao Paulo?”

  “They any good?”

  He glances at me with a smile and reaches into the pocket of his linen pants. “The best. I left you some in your room.” He slides a keycard over to me. “Here is your room key. I also duplicated your room key should you get locked out.”

  “Thanks.”

  He tilts his hat. “Enjoy your dinner.” He stands and strolls out of the entrance and heads down the sidewalk.

  My room is not the luxury suite, but it’s still swank. Either way, it will do for a staging area. I notice two covered dishes on the table, and the extra keycard Mr. Fedora mentioned, but it has a different room number, so this is Colvin'sroom key. I lift the dish, and it’s a Walther P99 with a suppressor. There is a note under my weapon.

  Look in the duffle bag under the bed. There is a tablet which feeds into a camera I had a maid plant.

  I reach under the bed and take the tablet from the bag and open up the feed on the tablet and sure enough, it feeds directly into Colvin’s room. There are three different screens: his living room, his bedroom, and the bathroom.

  Colvin is pacing the room his face twisted with anger and yelling at someone on his cell.

  Probably his lawyer trying to get him to turn himself in to the FBI. Which would probably be more beneficial for his health.

  He hangs up the phone and throws it against the wall, and it breaks apart. I would follow him, but he has seen me up close he would make me right away and flee to another country, and I would lose him.

  Ten minutes later my cell rings. “Hello?”

  “I’m tailing Colvin. He's sitting at the poolside bar drowning his woes. Our mutual friend wanted me to run mission support for you.”

  “Mr. Fedora?”

  “Yes that’s one of my names. I’m here to be your eyes when the HVT leaves the hotel.”

  “Thanks. He knows my face too well for me to shadow him.”

  “Understandable. Shit, this guy has only been here ten minutes, and he’s already downed seven shots of bourbon.” He chuckles. “Okay, looks like he is ordering another drink, but the bartender just told him he’s cut off and he’s pissed and storming back into the hotel. Okay, L. He’s back under your eyes. I will linger around in case he leaves the Hotel again. By the way, I am also your ride back to the airport when you’re done with your consultation.”

  “Copy that.”

  Colvin marches into his room and yanks open the mini bar and it’s empty. He kicks it out of anger. He picks up the hotel phone and orders more booze.

  Fifteen minutes pass and there is a knock on his door. He yanks it open. “It took you long enough you lazy cow.”

  She sits his bottle of bourbon on the dresser and marches out of
his room cussing him in Portuguese.

  After an hour, of watching him toss back shots it's making me crave some booze, but I can’t give in, I need to be sharp. “Come on you bastard pass out drunk, so I can come in and kill your sorry ass,” I mutter to myself.

  I twist the suppressor on to my 9mm and slap a magazine of sub-sonic, JHP 147 grain. Racking the slide, I slip it into my holster inside my black windbreaker. Glancing at the feed, Colvin grabs a towel and heads to the bathroom.

  There is my window of opportunity.

  I stop at his door and check the tablet to make sure he is still in the bathroom. I gently slip the key into his door, and it gives me the green light. The door unlocks loudly.

  Damn it! Let’s hope he’s too drunk to have heard that.

  I inch into his room and draw my weapon. Creeping into his bathroom, he's guzzling down a bottle of bourbon grumblingto himself. “I had it all then along came a cunt named Lilith and fucked it all up,” he says, in a singsong voice.

  I push the gun against the base of his skull. He freezes and drops the bottle in the water. “Aw, that was a lovely song you wrote about me, Gregory.” He tries to leap out of the tub for his gun sloshing water on the floor. My hand catches his, and I snap his wrist. “Fuck! My hand,” he screeches.

  I shove the gun against his temple. “Don’t insult my intelligence.” I lower the gun to his stomach, and the suppressor hisses, sending a round into his gut. The bathwater turns a crimson color. His face contorts with pain. “Just kill me, you sadistic bitch!” he cries.

  “I will don’t worry, but you die when I allow it.” He leans against the backstop in the tub, trying to plug his wound to stop the bleeding.

  I sit on the sink with my pistol trained on him. “You know why your lame ass sales pitch didn’t woo me? Because if you’d really done your homework on me, instead of obsessing on what I can give you. You would know I’m rich and I don’t do this for the money anymore. Hell, I can quit today and have enough money to live more than comfortably. I don’t do this for the money. I do this because it’s a calling. However, money lusting filth like you wouldn’t understand that. Because you sold out your principles a long time ago when you decided to steer your company to profiting from terrorism instead of fighting it.” He groans. “You stupid naïve, bitch. There will always be terrorism. I just want to makesure they use my guns, my bullets, and my bombs.” He scoffs. “What I’m doing, is no different than what any other countries are doing. I just cornered the market better. You won’t achieve anything by killing me.”

  “Maybe so, but the silver lining is, people like you keep me employed.” The pistol fires twice, showering the white tile walls with chunks of brain. His corpse floats lifelessly face frozen in shock. I snap a picture of him and text it to Connie.

  Well done, Agent Cohen.

  I holster my weapon and slip out of his room. I stroll calmly down the hall to not arouse suspicion. I board the elevator and ride it down to the lobby. Nearing the exit, my cell rings. “Go ahead, Fedora.”

  “I’m waiting outside at the front entrance in a green taxi.”

  “Copy that.”

  I climb into the back of the taxi, and it speeds off. “Give me your weapon, Agent Cohen. In Brazil that’s all it takes for them to arrest you for murder,” Mr. Fedora says.

  I hand him my gun. “So how did you retire Mr. Colvin?”

  “Two rounds through his dome.”

  “I see you’re a fan of double checking.”

  Police cars whoosh by with sirens wailing. “Looks like a hotel staffer found Colvin’s body.”

  “It was only a matter of time. So get me to the airport a bit faster.”

  He nods. “You got it, but you should know your face won’t show up on cameras in the hall outside of Colvin’s room. I set the cameras on a loop of the moment before you showed your mug and I stole the disc with your face on it.”

  “Nice.”

  The car stops at the airport’s front entrance, and he glances over his shoulder. “Your plane ticket back to New York is waiting at the front desk. It was nice working with you, Agent Cohen.”

  I open the car door. “Likewise, Fedora.”

  Passing by a group of cops fills me with a bit of unease. However, they didn’t even give me a second glance. I get in line at the front desk. I hear chanting coming from outside. “Welcome to hell. Cops poorly funded!" I step up to the front desk. A bulky man smiles. “Here is your ticket, Ms. Cohen. We hope you enjoyed your visit to Sao Paulo.”

  Sitting down on a sofa waiting on my flight to board, I dial up Clare. “Damn girl you killed the fuck outta him.” A brief chuckle escapes my mouth. “Yeah, I did. Listen, I think I am going to take you and Samira up on that vacation if the offer still stands.”

  “Hell yeah, it still stands. We’re going to the Island of Crete is that fine?”

  “Believe it or not, I've never been to the Greek Islands. So it’s perfect.”

  “Lilith, you will love it.” Samira chimes in. “According to local legend, Zeus’s mother hid Zeus in a cave on one of the Islands to keep his father, Cronos from eating him when he was an infant.”

  “I have always been interested in ancient mythology, so this vacation should be resting as well as interesting.”

  “Well, hurry your ass back so we can go.” Clare interrupts.

  “I’ll see you guys soon.”

  This much-needed vacation is a welcome change, but the more things change, the more they stay the same because Venora is still out there doing god knows what with whatever she took from Black Reign. She used me to launch an attack on Black Reign to keep Colvin and Catalina busy so she could perform her little heist, but what did she steal? My gut is telling me I will soon find out and it won’t be anything nice.