A glimpse of amused sympathy in his eyes, Omar nodded understandingly. Having the man believe Elsa had dumped Humphrey was Ash’s best bet. That she had left him on the same night Humphrey was to receive a monumental amount of money would hopefully be overlooked. After all, Elsa was young, beautiful, and seemingly years younger. Finding another wealthy benefactor should be no problem for her.
“Ah, I understand. Fickleness often accompanies extreme beauty.” He lowered his voice slightly. “I have several lovely young ladies in another part of the house. Once our business is concluded, I would be happy to arrange a room and a night of unimaginable bliss.”
Ash eyed Omar speculatively. Was the man into more than weapons now?
“Willing young ladies?”
“But of course. When I have a gala, I always have one of the more exclusive pleasure houses send over their finest and loveliest professionals for special guests.”
That was good to know. Having to rescue a group of human-trafficking victims on top of everything else would’ve put a major strain on the team’s resources.
“The offer is appreciated, but I’ll be leaving directly after the auction is concluded and my payment is confirmed. As to the night of bliss, that’s been taken care of already.”
“Excellent.” Omar turned away, his gaze wandering over the rest of the room.
From Ash’s count, there were twenty-nine people. He recognized several faces, but didn’t see the one he was looking for. There was still time, but if Lang didn’t show up, this entire op would be a bust.
“Is everyone here?”
“No. We have a couple more coming. One of them wanted to wait until all the others arrived. He’s a bit of a recluse and dislikes crowds immensely. He’s not happy with being required to be present to bid.” Omar rolled his eyes. “Some clients can be such prima donnas.”
Psychopaths had a tendency to want things their own way. He didn’t bother to remind Omar that his last client had been very much in that category, too.
A low chime sounded, indicating that the attendees should take their seats. As several people began to do just that, Omar said, “I must take my leave now. I likely won’t get to talk with you in private for a while.” He held out his hand for another handshake.
With a grim smile, Humphrey complied. “A pleasure doing business with you, Omar.”
“And you as well, my friend. Please don’t be a stranger.”
Ash watched as Omar made his way toward the stage. The room had grown steadily quieter. The sound of a door opening and closing, followed by a small twittering of whispered voices, caught Ash’s attention. Barely allowing himself to breathe, Ash turned. Making his way toward an empty seat in the back was the man he wanted to see.
Carl Lang was an impressive-looking individual. Well over six feet tall, he had a silvery mane of thick hair, lightly tanned skin, and the physique of a professional athlete. Any one of the movie executives at the gala would likely be thrilled to cast him in a variety of movie roles. He had the kind of face and presence to play anything from a distinguished scholar to a Mafia kingpin. But Lang didn’t desire the adoration of millions of fans. He liked to kill. Period.
Ash had first learned of Lang several years ago when an entire village in West Africa became ill with a mysterious disease. By the time the virus had been identified, half the villagers had died. Carl Lang had not taken credit, but Ash’s sources in the intelligence community had no doubt that he was solely responsible. It had been Lang’s first major kill. Some speculated that the entire act had been an experiment to determine whether he’d enjoy watching people suffer. Unfortunately, he had.
Lang was suspected of a half-dozen more mass murders since then. All had been the result of bioweapons, but no law enforcement agency had any direct evidence to link Lang to the massacres. This would be the first time Lang would be caught red-handed purchasing a biological weapon.
“Thank you all for attending tonight’s special auction.” Omar’s slightly rushed words made Ash think he might be a bit nervous. Since he was standing in front of more than two dozen people who would kill without an ounce of compunction, Ash thought the nervousness understandable.
It was a crazy world, but at least, despite the heavy burden his heart carried, he was doing something to make it a little safer. That had to be good enough for now.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The instant they pulled up to the cabin, Jules knew she was in even more trouble than she’d feared. Only a few things triggered flashbacks for her. She had worked through the most obvious ones, but this was one she’d never been able to overcome. The additional facts that her hands were bound and she was at the mercy of a man she didn’t really know was causing all sorts of panic to race through her bloodstream.
“Listen”—she spoke fast because she didn’t know how long she had—“I’ll tell you what you need to know right here. Just, do not take me into that cabin. I won’t be able to handle it.”
“You handling anything is not my concern, Stone. Or would that be Jessie Diamond?”
Jules closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing. They knew a lot more than she’d thought. Stupid not to realize that they’d gone through her room at headquarters. It would take an OZ tech person little time to crack her password and read her texts—specifically, the last one she’d received, which had given her the go-ahead to kill Ash.
Her response to the order would definitely not help her case.
“My name is Jules Stone. Jessie Diamond is an alias I used to manipulate Turner into giving me the job of infiltrating OZ to hurt Ash. But I would never hurt him.”
“Well, thanks for explaining everything so clearly, Jules. Now, let’s get inside and hear more of your lies.”
“I told you, I cannot…will not go into that cabin.”
“And I told you, I don’t care what you want.”
“Gideon.” Jazz’s worried voice caught her attention. “Maybe we can question her out here.”
Jules grasped the suggestion like a lifeline. “Yes. I’ll answer whatever you ask me right here.”
A man she didn’t recognize opened the door of the vehicle. “You need help?”
Jules’s heart rate sped up even more. They were going to let strangers question her? Take her inside a cabin, tie her up so that she was helpless, and…and…
Panic surged like an out-of-control wildfire. A scream erupted before she could suppress it. Pulling and tugging at the ties on her wrists, Jules screamed and cursed at the top of her lungs.
Hands grabbed her, pulled her out of the SUV. She broke the ties at her wrists and whirled around, kicking whomever was in her way. She felt an impact, knew she’d gotten someone. She didn’t care who or why. She only knew there was no way in hell anyone was getting her into that cabin.
Hands reached for her again. Jules kicked, punched, slapped, and bit, doing everything she could to protect herself. This couldn’t happen again. It couldn’t. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Survival was her only focus.
People shouted, cursed. And then, as if she’d gone completely deaf, everything went silent. Out of that dark emptiness came laughter…that evil, evil laughter that penetrated her nightmares and taunted her. He’d said he’d never let her go, and he was right.
She was running, running. People were shouting again, but it was his laughter she had to escape. She heard a screeching squeal, like an animal in severe pain.
Hands pulled at her, pain pierced her arm, and then her world dissolved into blessed, peaceful darkness.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ash stepped into the limousine and began to rid himself of Humphrey. His driver, Finn Sullivan, was a trusted associate with a private security firm. Since every OZ operative was otherwise occupied, Finn was his backup in case something went sour after the sale.
With one hand, Ash removed the veneers from his mouth and used his other to grab the earwig from the case in front of him.
“It’s done, Ash,�
�� Finn said.
“No one hurt?”
“A few of Lang’s men got roughed up a little. None of your people or mine was injured.”
“And Lang…he’s healthy?”
“Oh yeah, cursing like the devil on Judgment Day, but not a bruise on his scummy ass. He’s plenty healthy to go to prison.”
Finn grinned at him in the rearview mirror. “It was a beautiful thing to hear. Wish I could’ve been there.”
Ash nodded his thanks and turned his earwig on. He had more than one op going tonight, but first he needed to check in with the team.
“Xavier, you copy?”
“Hey, boss. Glad you could join us. You missed all the fun.”
“Heard it went well. Everyone okay?”
“Oh yeah. Couple of Lang’s men got their asses kicked, and I had to shoot a hole in one of them, but it’s nothing that won’t heal.”
“And Lang is…”
“On his way with the bigwigs for a fun Q&A.”
Relief flooded through him. They’d planned this down to the minute, but there was always the possible shit factor to contend with. Learning at the last minute that one of their own was a traitor could have derailed everything. In spite of that, the op had worked.
Xavier’s tone went from pleasant to grim. “You talk to Gideon?”
“Not yet.”
“Might want to give him a call ASAP. I think they had some trouble.”
“Will do.”
His entire body pounding with a new kind of dread, Ash grabbed his phone and punched a number. Gideon answered immediately.
“Hey, man, you headed this way?”
“Yes. What happened? Xavier said you—”
“We’ve got a problem, Ash. I don’t know who Jules is or her agenda, but she’s had some kind of mental break. You need to get here now.”
“What happened? How…”
“She’s secure right now. I had to give her a sedative.”
“Did she tell you anything?”
“Haven’t had a chance to question to her. She flipped out as soon as we got here. You talk to Serena?”
“Just the one time before the auction. Did she find something else?”
“Rose found a burner phone. Not much on there other than several voice messages, all from Turner.”
If he’d had any doubt that Jules was involved with Turner, that sealed the deal.
“Anything else?”
“A text message.” Gideon paused for a second, then said, “Apparently, Turner told Jules to kill you.”
Jaw clenched with tension, Ash ground out, “And her response?”
“She replied, ‘Okay.’”
“I’ll be there in ten.”
He wanted details. The thought of Jules having some kind of breakdown tore his insides to shreds. What the hell had happened? Or had that been an act, too? Gideon was an expert in interrogation. Could Jules have fooled him? Ash didn’t think so.
Even though she had betrayed him, there was a helluva lot more to the story. If Jules had been hired to take him out, why hadn’t she? She’d had plenty of opportunities. Those days they’d been alone at OZ, he’d been at his most vulnerable. He had slept right next to her. She could have killed him in his sleep and he never would have seen it coming. She’d had access to plenty of weapons. So if her answer to Turner’s order to kill him had been an affirmative, why hadn’t she carried out the deed?
There was one person he needed to talk to before he confronted Jules.
He punched Kate’s number, and before she could get her usual warm greeting out, Ash barked, “What the hell is going on, Kate? Why did you send one of Turner’s employees to spy on me?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Who is Jules Stone? Have you been lying to me all along, too?”
“Ash…no. Oh dear, I was afraid this would happen. Where is she?”
“No. I ask the questions. What the hell’s going on?”
“Ash…all I can say is that in no way would Jules ever try to harm you. She was there to protect you.”
“Protect me? From whom?”
“Turner.”
“Oh yeah? Is that why she has a text on a burner phone from Turner telling her to take me out?”
“Oh damn, I knew she was close, but not…”
Ash spoke through clenched teeth. “Tell me what the hell is going on here.”
“That’s Jules’s story to tell, Ash. What has she told you?”
“Nothing yet. I’m on the way to the cabin to talk to her.”
“What cabin? Where?”
“The bioweapon auction was tonight. We’re in Slovakia. When the call came in about Jules, I had Gideon take her to a safe house.”
“But it’s a cabin…in the woods?”
“Yeah. So? We always have one available to—”
“Oh, Ash, no. You have to get her out of there. Now.”
“Why? If this is some kind of trick to—”
“Listen, I know you’re angry, and you have every right to be, but you have to get Jules out of that cabin. That’s a huge trigger for her. She’s not going to deal well with being held prisoner.”
Though taking any advice from Kate right now was the last thing he wanted to do, the urgency in her voice matched with Gideon’s assessment.
“She’s with Gideon. He said she had some kind of breakdown. He had to give her something to calm her down.”
“I’m getting on the plane. I need to be there for her.”
“No. You don’t get to run this your way, Kate. Apparently, I’ve put too much trust in our relationship.”
“Ash, I promise you it’s not what it looks like.”
“Then tell me what it is. Who is Jules Stone?”
There was a second of silence and then a ragged sigh. “She’s someone who has admired you for years. That’s all I can say for now. Let her tell you. Just promise me you’ll be gentle with her. She’s come a long way.”
Kate’s words were a jumbled mass of confusion for Ash. He had no context for them. It had been a long time since he’d felt so out of touch with reality.
“Very well. I’ll talk with Jules. After this is over, you and I are going to have a face-to-face discussion. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand. I’m sorry about this. Please make sure she’s okay.”
Ash ended the call and slumped down in his seat. Hell, he hated being out of the loop, but he’d be the first to admit he was completely confused. Just who the hell was Jules Stone? And why had she “admired him for years”?
“Should be there in a couple of minutes, buddy.”
The sympathy in Finn’s voice barely penetrated Ash’s thoughts. He nodded an acknowledgment, his mind filled with more questions than answers.
Everything was upside down. The op that could have gotten complicated and messy had gone as smoothly as any they’d ever run. The auction had gone off without a hitch. Ash had taken note of the other items being sold and their buyers. A cache of weapons, a modified drone, a couple of particularly nasty viruses that could cause havoc—all had been purchased by individual buyers. He would send that intel to various agencies that would handle each one accordingly.
The finale of the night had been Humphrey’s offering of a biochemical weapon that could wipe out hundreds and, depending upon the financing, possibly thousands. The opening bid had been a measly five million, but that hadn’t been a surprise. What had concerned him was the number of people who’d ended up bidding. He had believed it would be a runaway between Lang and perhaps one other terrorist organization. Instead, there had been a bidding war between five of them. In the end, Carl Lang was the winner, with his bid of just under three hundred million.
Even though he’d had other plans, Ash had been left with no choice but to stay awhile after the auction ended. Omar had been in a jovial mood and had insisted that Humphrey join him in a celebratory drink. That had been the hardest part. While he’
d been making nice with Omar, his team had been taking down Carl Lang.
Humphrey’s cover was secure, as was his relationship with Schrader. In a few months, depending on which country won the right to do so, news would be released that Carl Lang, the terrorist much of the world was searching for, had been apprehended. Ash and the people of OZ would never be mentioned.
When Schrader learned of it, he would, like everyone else, assume that fate had finally caught up with Carl Lang. He would never know that Humphrey was the reason and that Omar himself played an integral role in his capture.
Usually after a successful op, the OZ team celebrated their victory at a watering hole. There would be no celebration this time.
The triumph Ash usually felt at the end of a successful op wasn’t there. How could it be when everything was so messed up? If he had needed a reminder that getting involved with an OZ employee was a very bad idea, this one was a spit-in-your-face, kick-in-the-balls doozy.
The limo stopped in front of the cabin. “Need me to stay?” Finn asked.
“No. We’re good. Thanks for your help.”
“Anytime.”
Ash got out of the car and headed to the steps. Finn called out behind him, “Good luck.”
Waving him a thanks, Ash took the steps two at a time. The minute he reached the door, he paused. Weariness sat like a boulder on his shoulders. They’d found this place a few months back to serve as their fail-safe if they needed to lie low or interrogate an enemy. Never had he considered that the enemy would be Jules.
Disgusted with his thoughts, Ash pushed the door open. Delaying the inevitable never solved one damn problem.
Gideon was standing in the middle of the room, his back to Ash. When the door opened, he whirled, gun in hand.
“It’s just me.”
“Sorry. This thing has got me twitchy.”
“What happened to you?”
Gideon touched a finger to a busted lip and a rapidly blackening eye. “Jules happened.”
“She did that?”
MERCILESS: An Option Zero Novel Page 24
