The Hunter v-1

by Tom Wood

  ‘You know your knives,’ Victor said.

  ‘I wasn’t always a desk jockey,’ the administrator explained without emotion. ‘What happened to the man who stabbed you with it?’

  Victor folded the blade away. ‘I stabbed him back.’

  A smile appeared on the administrator’s fleshy mouth. Victor went to return the knife, but a palm was raised his way. ‘Keep it. It’s more use to you than me.’

  Victor kept it in his hand. ‘Since you’re being generous,’ he said, ‘do you have a cigarette?’

  The administrator shook his head. ‘I can probably get one for you.’

  ‘Forget it,’ Victor said after a few seconds. ‘I think I’ve just quit.’

  ‘Good for you,’ the administrator said. ‘So is your answer a yes?’

  ‘It’s a maybe. But that isn’t the only reason why you’re here, is it?’

  The administrator smiled. ‘Very perceptive. You’re right; there is something else I want. I would like to retain your services. From time to time.’

  ‘I’m thinking of retiring.’

  ‘I would hope you might reconsider.’

  ‘Why do you need someone like me in your service?’

  ‘My colleague made a mistake in using you as an expendable asset. I recognize your potential is far higher.’

  ‘My ego doesn’t need massaging.’

  ‘Be that as it may, there are times when being able to subcontract delicate assignments out of house is necessary. Going through the conventional channels to get the job done is not always the most efficient use of time or resources. Especially when that job is, technically speaking, illegal.’

  ‘You must have the contact details of a thousand men like me. Why do you need another?’

  ‘Because those people exist and you don’t. Despite all that has happened these last two weeks, you still have your anonymity as well as your life. The agency still knows nothing about you; no one does. That’s some accomplishment.’

  ‘You still found me.’

  ‘Not really such a tall order after Monday. But, even so, I don’t know who you are, and I doubt I’ll ever find out. I consider this past fortnight to be your interview. You’ve proved yourself extremely qualified for the position I need to fill.’

  ‘I’ve been very lucky.’

  ‘I don’t believe in luck. I don’t believe you do either.’

  ‘And how would this arrangement work?’

  ‘You’ll perform no other work besides that which you do for me. Those contracts will come directly from me or an associate of mine. And that’s it. Simple.’

  Victor showed nothing in his expression. ‘I know what you’re getting out of this, but how do I benefit?’

  ‘Money, of course.’

  ‘You don’t know what my fee is yet. I think I’m about to increase my rates.’

  The administrator smirked. ‘I’m confident we’ll be able to afford you.’

  ‘What else do I get besides money?’

  ‘Immunity. We can help you avoid any unnecessary complications with other nations. The French are still busy looking for you after Paris, and I’m sure the Swiss would like to ask a few questions as well. And let’s not talk about the Russians.’

  ‘You make a compelling pitch.’

  The administrator continued. ‘Most important, if you do exactly as instructed and don’t flaunt yourself, I can make sure that no one on my side of the Atlantic bothers you either.’

  ‘What if I say no?’

  ‘I don’t believe you will.’

  Victor held his gaze, knowing exactly what would happen if he said no. The broad-shouldered janitor who was trying to look busy in the corridor outside would be reaching into his too-clean toolbox for something other than a screwdriver.

  ‘All right,’ he said. ‘I accept.’

  ‘I thought you would.’

  ‘On one condition,’ Victor added.

  ‘Name it.’

  ‘I want the person who started this. And that isn’t negotiable.’

  There was barely any change in the administrator’s face. ‘I thought you might say something to that effect. You can have him.’ He took an envelope from his clipboard and laid it down on the end of the bed. I’ll contact you in a couple of weeks once you’ve had time to rest so we can discuss how to proceed.’

  When the administrator was almost at the door, Victor spoke. ‘There is something else.’

  ‘I was wondering when you were going to ask.’ The administrator stopped and faced him. ‘You want to know what was on that boat, don’t you? You want to know what all this has been about.’

  Victor didn’t look back. ‘I couldn’t care less about that. I never have.’

  The administrator’s broad forehead wrinkled, and he folded his arms across his chest. ‘Then what is it?’

  ‘There was a woman.’ Victor was near the window. ‘Rebecca.’

  ‘Rebecca Sumner,’ the administrator said, the curiosity in his voice obvious. ‘She was killed in Cyprus.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Victor said slowly.

  ‘So what do you want to know about her?’

  The bright sunlight warmed Victor’s face.

  ‘Everything.’

  CHAPTER 84

  17:02 EAT

  The administrator closed the door behind him and walked down the busy hospital corridor. He made sure not to look at the janitor lingering close to Tesseract’s room. A simple nod would have been the signal for his man to enter and execute the injured assassin, and Roland Procter did not want his new employee killed unnecessarily.

  Locating Tesseract had been relatively simple. After Sykes had finished briefing Procter, he had used local assets to do the searching. It hadn’t taken that long. There were only so many recently hospitalized white guys in the city.

  Procter thought about Ferguson. This whole thing had happened because the old bastard hadn’t had enough slaps on the back for doing his job twenty years ago. It was no excuse to turn traitor for a few million. It was a sorry end to a once fine man’s career. Procter wasn’t driven by money; it was power he wanted. Power could buy everything that money could as well as everything that it could not.

  He exited the hospital in an excellent mood. Within a few short days he would have compiled a case against Ferguson so compelling even the hacks on the Hill couldn’t brush it under the carpet. With careful leaking of information to the press, Procter would ensure his face was seen at every breakfast table in the city. Saviour of the CIA was quite a catchy title, he’d decided.

  He expected to be promoted within six months. Chambers was only there until they found someone else, and Procter would soon make himself the perfect candidate. With Ferguson dead, it would give even more weight to Procter’s ascension. Sullying the name of a dead hero would be worth even more than destroying a live one. Everyone who mattered, in the agency and on Capitol Hill, would want a scandal of that magnitude kept under wraps. If he elected to keep quiet, the amount of political currency Procter could gain from the top brass was immense.

  Having Ferguson killed barely caused a tremor on Procter’s moral compass, broken as it already was. Ferguson was a traitor and a murderer and it was only just that he be executed for his crimes. Procter had ordered far-more-honourable individuals killed than Ferguson and still slept like a chubby baby. Plus, this killing came with an extra bonus: it brought Tesseract on side. Now Procter had his very own pet hitman.

  He smiled. It would all work itself out beautifully, though Procter reminded himself not to be too cocky. He was good, that much was certain, but it was always the ones who didn’t realize they weren’t invincible that failed to achieve their fullest potential. He wasn’t about to make the same mistakes Ferguson had made.

  Procter knew he was far too good for that.

  A gaunt man joined him on the street outside the hospital. He wore a white linen suit and seemed particularly uncomfortable under the Tanzanian sun. Sweat made his pale face shine.

&n
bsp; Procter walked alongside him. ‘How did it go?’

  ‘Nothing recoverable,’ the man said. ‘The frigate is a mess and the missiles on board are in pieces, corroded, or both. As for the truck, well, the missiles were half-rusty anyway. The fire finished them off. If anything survived it’s been looted.’

  ‘Would have been nice to have brought one back,’ Procter said. ‘But you can’t win them all.’

  ‘No, you never can.’

  ‘What about Tesseract?’

  ‘Our people got here too late to get fingerprints without his noticing, but we have a blood sample from when he came in and, more important, photos. And there are a few other things to follow up on when we get back.’ The gaunt man sidestepped a group of laughing children heading the opposite way. ‘It’s all in here.’

  He handed over a slim file, and Procter opened it briefly. ‘Good job, Mr Clarke.’

  Clarke showed little in his expression. ‘You don’t really think he’ll stick to the deal, do you?’

  ‘He doesn’t have a choice.’

  Clarke looked anything but convinced.

  Procter spoke: ‘When you bring a dangerous dog into your home, waiting until after it takes a chunk from your ass is leaving it too late to establish who’s boss.’ He glanced Clarke’s way. ‘We’ll make sure to let this animal know right from the start he’s at the very bottom of the pack. If he doesn’t stay house trained, there’s a simple solution. We have him put down.’

  ‘If you remember,’ Clarke said. ‘The last time someone tried that things didn’t work out too well.’

  ‘True,’ Procter said with a nod. ‘But we have one irrefutable advantage over our predecessors. With this,’ Proctor tapped Tesseract’s new file, ‘we own him.’

  CHAPTER 85

  Falls Church, Virginia, USA

  Saturday, three weeks later

  22:49 EST

  Curtains rippled. The breeze from the open window was light and cooling. William Ferguson lay in his bed, hair damp from the shower, a Scotch and water sitting on the bedside table, a copy of his favourite daily open across his lap. If he hadn’t had the chance to read it fully during the day, he made a point of finishing it before going to sleep.

  His house was quiet. It had been a long time since anyone else had lived with him, and he preferred his own company. On rare occasions, though, he missed hearing the noise of others. The small green light caught his attention. It meant everything was okay. Ferguson’s house was fitted with a state-of-the-art security system supplied and installed by the agency. The light would flash red if anything, person or otherwise, broke the perimeter. He’d never yet had to hit the panic button.

  It seemed a very long time since Sykes had come back from Tanzania with his hat in his hands. A simple operation had turned into a huge mess, even Ferguson had to admit that, but it was over now. So he wouldn’t get rich, not yet anyway. There was still enough time for one last scheme before he retired. He had managed to prevent his country from getting their fat undeserving hands on Oniks missiles at the very least. It wasn’t much, but it was some small revenge for the way he had been ignored and unappreciated. Ferguson would let things settle down before he considered his next move.

  Sykes, lucky SOB that he was, had somehow managed to avoid being murdered by Reed but thankfully had no idea he had ever been a target. Reed had dropped off the grid, and the only explanation for his disappearance was that he had been killed, incredible as that may be. Ferguson had no way of finding out more about events in Tanzania without raising suspicions.

  Ferguson knew that he was in the clear, though. Alvarez was no longer hunting for clues, and Procter and Chambers had more pressing issues to deal with. So long as Ferguson kept his head down, he was safe.

  Sykes still needed to be removed. The metrosexual wimp just didn’t have the wits or the stomach for this kind of work, and he was now nothing more than a walking liability. He was the final link between the failed operation and Ferguson and couldn’t be allowed to stay alive. Ferguson would have to find someone else to do the job now that Reed was dead. He would even do it himself if he had to. He would probably enjoy it.

  The veteran CIA officer turned the page of his paper and took a sip from the whisky, savouring the taste in his mouth before swallowing. He put the glass back down and frowned, noticing that he was chilly. Blasted open window.

  He tried to ignore it, but by the time he’d turned the next page he acted. Ferguson threw back the duvet and marched across his spacious bedroom and into the adjoining annex. Huffing in annoyance, he slammed the window shut, trying to remember when he had opened it in the first place. He prayed to the god he had never believed in that his mind wasn’t going.

  Back in bed, he finished off the Scotch and dropped his newspaper on the floor. He settled himself into his usual sleeping position and flicked off the lamp. He searched with his cheek for a smooth area of the pillow. Ferguson sighed, contented.

  Cool metal pushed against his temple an instant later.

  He gasped.

  A man spoke to him from the darkness. It was the last voice he ever heard.

  ‘It’s a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.’

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