by Steve McHugh
"Why not leave me where I fell?"
"Because then you'd be implicated in Daniel Hayes' murder and Avalon might get involved. He didn't want that."
"You killed Daniel," I said as my body continued to remove the effects of the tranquilisers, clearing my head slightly.
She paused for a heartbeat. "I had no choice." Her voice was soft, almost regretful. "And you now have four minutes. If you don't hurry, what Jenny and I planned will be for nothing. And people will die."
"If you're fucking with me..."
"I assure you, Mr Garrett. No one is fucking with you. Now get dressed."
I thought of a witty remark about how Jenny had certainly fucked with me, but decided it probably wasn't the time. I turned on the phone's loud speaker, dropped it onto the bed and hastily pulled on a pair of jeans and red t-shirt. "Where's my bag?"
"In a car downstairs. I will explain soon. You have two minutes. I arranged to have the room below you paid for the night. You will need to jump off your balcony and catch the railing below."
I slipped my shoes on and hurried to the balcony. "Which one?"
"There's a red chair on it."
I found the red chair on the balcony one story down, and to the right of mine. "Call me back," I said and disconnected the phone, placing it in my jeans pocket before I climbed the railing.
It was windy out, and sitting precariously on top of a railing a hundred feet in the air does not make for a good thing to do. Even worse when you've been shot and drugged the night before.
There was shouting from the hallway. After a bang on my room's door, I immediately launched myself onto the balcony, knocking the red chair flying as I rolled back to my feet. I opened the unlocked balcony doors and darted into the room. Although I didn't trust the anonymous voice, it wasn't like I had a lot of choices.
The phone rang again as I made my way through the room. "I assume you made it," the mysterious woman said.
"No, this is my ghost." I looked around the almost identical room to my own. "Why didn't you just put me in here?"
"We had others with us. They would not have allowed a deviation from the plan."
"So how do I get out of here?"
"Take the lift to the ground floor. The desk has a set of car keys for you. A Nissan GTR, black. It's completely clean. And don't worry about speed cameras or the congestion charge. It's registered to a dummy corporation."
I opened the room door and looked into the empty hallway, ready for any nasty surprises. With none forthcoming, I started toward the lift. "Where do you want me to go?"
"The address is already placed into the car's sat nav. A young girl's life hangs in the balance. You have just over two hours to get there."
The lift doors opened, the mirrored sides and lack of inhabitants made it appear much larger than it was. I stepped inside and pressed the chrome button for the ground floor. "And what do you want me to do when I find her?"
"Take her somewhere safe. You can't involve anyone, it will only lead to more problems."
"Do you at least have a picture?"
"No. She should be the only girl at that address."
After a brief conversation with the desk clerk, I left the hotel with a set of car keys in my possession. "Why are you doing this?"
"None of your concern. In the boot of the car is a bag with a hundred and fifty thousand pounds. That is your fee for carrying out this job."
I clicked the alarm on the keys. The beautiful Nissan beeped softly. I opened the boot to check if she was still being honest and found my bag exactly where she said it would be along with a small bag containing crisp fifty-pound notes. A silver briefcase was next to it. "What's with the extra baggage?" I asked as I removed my own phone from my bag and put it into my pocket.
"The code is one-four-seven-one."
I tapped in the code on the numeric keypad and opened the case, immediately slamming it shut. "A rifle? Are you fucking kidding me?"
"It's a sniper rifle—an Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Covert, to be precise. It's fitted with a suppressor. There's also a Heckler and Koch USP with .45 ACP silver tipped ammunition."
"Why in God's name would I want those? What about Holly? She booked the job. Is she safe? Why do these people want me?"
"Who's Holly? If I don't know, no one else does. And you might need those guns. A decade ago you crossed my lord..." She paused for a moment. "There isn't time to explain further. You need to go. Now." She hung up before I could say anything else. So I got into the car and started the engine that roared to life.
I had no idea what was going on, but she could have left me to whatever doom awaited my waking at my hotel room. And she knew my past. As much as I didn't want to think about it, it still burnt a hole in my stomach to wonder what my old life was like.
I clicked the power button for the sat nav and watched the screen flick to life, the route already shown on the screen as a red line. I tapped one of the buttons to reveal my destination and felt all the air rush out of me. It belonged to the penthouse flat directly opposite mine. It was Dani's home.
Chapter 14
I sped home, breaking more than my fair share of traffic laws in the process. My journey was marked with the flash of speed cameras, but I didn't see any police. No one followed me or tried to pull me over, for which I was thankful. The last thing I wanted was to have to outrun the police.
Not that I didn't think the Nissan GTR could do it, it was like driving a rocket. Whenever I put my foot down the acceleration pushed me back into my seat. And braking was the same. Never have I been more thankful for a seatbelt.
On the way, I called Holly on my own mobile, getting her machine and voice mail. I left a message on both asking her to call me. My gut told me she wasn't in any danger, but I still needed to make sure.
I pulled into my building's garage, switched off the engine and got out as quickly as possible. I had a half hour left. Before I made my way upstairs, I removed the Heckler and Koch USP from the boot of the car and loaded it with .45 bullets. I put on the back holster I'd been left too. I'd not used a gun in the past decade, not even for practise, but I felt at home as I flicked the safety off and placed the gun in its holster. Once comfortable, I replaced my zip-up hooded top to conceal the weapon.
The only way to get from the garage to the main building was to walk around the outside of it, which left me exposed to anyone watching the building. Whoever built the place didn’t even bother to make sure you could access your car when it was raining without having to get drenched, so, it was no wonder that security features didn’t make it into the design. Once outside I instinctively eyed places where someone might lurk in ambush. I was soon confident that no one was around. Whoever was coming either wasn't here yet, or was keeping a low profile. There was a third option—I was late and they were already gone, but I pushed that out of my head and entered the building I'd been calling home for nearly a decade.
I jogged up the stairs. The thoughts of what might already have happened popped back to my mind and refused to be banished. Once I reached the stairs one floor below my penthouse, it was obvious that I was utterly alone. I was early. I still had time.
I unzipped my hoodie and placed my hand on the grip of the gun before knocking on Dani's door. After a few seconds, I tried again. No answer. I counted to ten and tried a third time. I was about to kick the door in, when someone walked up the stairs behind me. I turned, ready to draw my gun, and found Dani making her way toward me. She wore a strappy, red top, dark blue jeans and carried a pair of high heels in one hand.
"You okay?" she asked.
I removed my hand from the gun. "I've been trying to get hold of you. No one's answering."
"I was out all night. Mum and I had a fight, she told me I had to stay in so I snuck out and went to a friend's party."
"How do you sneak out of a penthouse?"
Dani smiled. "I waited until she got drunk and fell asleep."
That would do it.
"You look freaked out. Everything ok?" She walked toward me, key in hand, ready to open the door.
"I heard a big bang in your place. Was a little worried something had happened."
"Mum probably broke something." Dani unlocked the door and pushed it open to reveal her mum, Phil and a third man I'd never seen before all standing by a large brown couch further into the flat.
Something was wrong with the picture before me. Dani's mum and Phil looked nervous. And the new man's smile held more menace than I'd ever seen one manage. "She's here now, so give me my fucking money," Phil shouted.
"I was told..." Dani's mum started before the stranger raised a gun and shot her through the eye. The bullet entered her skull, and the back of her head vanished in a cloud of red.
"Mum!" Dani screamed as she lurched forward. Phil's eyes were wide. His mouth agape, as he stared at the dead body of Dani's mum.
I grabbed Dani by the waist and darted back to the hallway. The murderer, still smiling, aimed the gun at Phil's head and pulled the trigger.
"Let me go," Dani screamed as I dragged her from the flat. Phil's body toppled onto the cream carpet.
"They're dead, and you're next if we don't leave now." I all but carried her down the hall and into my apartment, locking the door behind me. Once inside, I pointed toward the living room. "Down the hall, go." I said. But Dani just stood in shock, unable to take in what she'd just seen.
I picked her up, threw her over my shoulder and sprinted down my hallway. I dropped her onto my couch, before using air magic to fling my heavy wooden table toward the front door. It cracked and bounced down the hallway, tearing huge chunks out of the ceiling and walls with deafening roars, until it hit the front door with an almighty crash. It didn't matter how much of my home I'd just wrecked. I wasn't planning on coming back.
"I need your help, Dani," I said, grabbing my laptop and stuffing it into my rucksack. "Dani!"
She looked up, tears in her eyes. "What's happening?"
I knelt beside her and held one hand in mine. "I don't know. But we will find out, and we will have justice for your mum. But right now, if we don't leave, we're both dead. And I promised someone I would get you to safety."
"Who?"
I didn't see the point in mentioning her mysterious saviour. "Your mum asked me to keep you safe. I intend on following through with that. So let's go now, grieve later."
She nodded once. "What can I do?"
"Pack. I need the USB sticks on the desk over there, in this bag."
Dani ran off, tears streaming down her face.
A loud bang sounded against the front door. Then a second and third. The bastards were shooting through my door. Hopefully the table was going to prove a bigger problem than the front door locks.
"Knock, knock," shouted a male voice through the remains of my front door.
I ignored him and ran into my bedroom, grabbing the ready prepared blue travel bag I kept beside the door. It contained clean clothes, ID, money and a few other odds and ends, which I figured, might be useful in an emergency. I removed the hoodie I was wearing and stuffed it into the bag. Being able to get to the gun would be more useful than concealing it. I slung the strap over my head and positioned the bag until the weight felt comfortable. My plan to escape wouldn't pay off very well if I had to worry about how heavy a weight I was carrying on my back.
"Done," Dani said showing me the bag.
"Put it on, and go to the balcony."
I waited until the sliding door was opened and Dani was outside, before I went to the kitchen. I hoped the rest of the inhabitants of this building would forgive me.
I ran into the living room and removed two white phosphorus grenades from a lock box under the sofa, placing one in the microwave and setting the timer for sixty seconds. The front door exploded inward, the makeshift barrier turned into thousands of deadly shards of wood, imbedding in anything they touched.
I pulled the pin on the second grenade and tossed it towards the surge of men who spilled over the debris to enter the flat. The sounds of their clambering were soon replaced with the yells of those desperate to get out of the way as the grenade went off, filling the hall with a brilliant white flash, followed by thick white smoke.
I didn't wait for the intruders' response. I pressed start on the microwave and sprinted toward Dani. The microwave and anything in its immediate surroundings exploded just as I reached her, scattering pieces of metal and wood at high speed throughout the kitchen and living room. Windows shattered around us. I held Dani tightly, launching us both up and over the railing. Dani's screams accompanied us as we freefell toward the rapidly approaching pavement.
The sounds of my home's destruction filled my ears, but I had no time to be sad. I placed one hand in front of me and blaring white glyphs exploded to life. A column of massively compressed air shot from my palm, slowing us down enough that when we hit the ground only a short roll to lose the momentum was needed.
"We landed," I told Dani who still had her eyes closed as she laid next me. "And we're not done yet."
She opened her eyes and looked around her, disbelief that she was in one piece written over her face. "How did you..."
"Explanation later, running now."
I pulled her to her feet and felt reassured that the H&K was still where it should be. Together we ran to the parking garage and reached the Nissan only to be met with the loud sound of a fired gun. Dani and I froze and turned toward the noise as the man who had murdered Dani's mum and Phil stepped from around the Bentley Continental owned by Dani's mum.
"Hello, Dani," he said with an evil grin. "This has been a lot more fun than I'd imagined."
"Who are you?" I asked. He looked about eighteen, with long dirty-blonde hair tied back in a ponytail. But his dark eyes definitely didn't belong to anyone as young as he appeared.
"Not really important, is it? Dani, you'll come with me. And you." He pointed the gun at my chest. "Who knew all this time you were living next to her? If I'd known, I would have killed you long ago."
I remembered what the woman on the phone had said about her Lord wanting to get into my brain, and took a chance. "Your lord wants me alive doesn't he?"
"That doesn't mean I do," he said.
"You killed my mum, you fuck!"
"That alcoholic bitch? She's not your mum, just some woman our lord put you with. Although that prick Phil wasn't part of the deal. And she told him the truth. Fucking idiots had to die." He shook his head in exasperation. His hair moved loosely over his broad shoulders.
"He's not my lord, you psychopath," Dani spat.
"Not yet, but he will be." He reached into the trouser pocket of his dark suit and threw a pair of handcuffs at Dani's feet. "Put these on."
"Go to hell," she spat, kicking the cuffs under the nearest car.
I pushed Dani behind me and slipped my car keys into her hand. She darted off to my side. A second later the GT-R beeped, unlocking the car before the door opened and closed.
"That's not going to stop me," the man said.
"This might," I replied and hit him in the chest with a blast of air, which lifted him off his feet. He slammed into the car behind him, causing an alarm to go off. He didn't pause, just reached inside his jacket. I whipped the gun out from my holster, shooting him between the eyes.
He crumpled to the ground as I ran to the car and got into the driver’s seat. I floored the accelerator as we sped out of the garage and into the night, not slowing down until we'd reached the motorway a few miles away. Dani stared out the window the whole time, tears steadily falling.
When my heart rate finally lowered, I expected my actions to overwhelm me. I'd killed someone. But I didn't feel sad or sick. Just like my recent fights, there was no panic or concern in me. Only acceptance for what needed to be done. I didn't even know how I'd made the shot. But I did know that whoever had sent the men to take Dani wouldn't stop.
I left the motorway as soon as possible, taking the quieter back roads in ca
se anyone was watching the main roads. At one point I parked the car down a dark lane when I heard police sirens nearby. When they'd revealed themselves to be ambulances instead, I knew I needed to wait before I set off again. I was too wired on adrenaline, and that doesn't bode well for driving safely or making good decisions.
By the time I reached London and stopped the car, it was midnight. I left Dani asleep in the car and ran the short distance to ring the bell for Holly's flat. "Who is it?" she asked a moment later, playfulness in her voice, accompanied by a second voice somewhere behind her.
I'd forgotten about her date. That could cause an interesting situation. "Holly, it’s Nate. I'm in deep shit."
Chapter 15
Holly stood in her open door, motionless, mouth agape, for what felt like hours. "Can we come in, then?" I asked.
She looked behind me. "We?"
I raised my index finger to get her to wait a moment and dashed back to the car. Dani had woken up and was sobbing into her hands in great big breaths. I opened the car door and crouched beside her.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. Asking her if she was okay would have been beyond stupid.
"She wasn't even my mum. Do you think he was being honest about that?" she asked through the tears.
What could I say to that? There was no answer I could give that would make what had happened into something better. But I decided the truth was the way forward. "I don't think he had any reason to lie."
She nodded once, as if understanding my words, but I doubted it was going to sink in that easily. "I always wished I'd been adopted and my real family would come find me. But now... I..." She trailed off as fresh tears fell from her eyes.
"I know. Come on, let's get you somewhere warm." Dani took my hand, falling onto me once out of the car. We walked together, toward Holly, with my arm around her. "I'll explain when we get upstairs," I told Holly.
