Jason spun round in his chair, flashing her his broadest grin. ‘You’ll always be my first and true love.’
Ling stuck her fingers down her throat and pretended to be sick.
Marc laughed. ‘You’ll have to sweet-talk her better than that!’
‘Too right,’ said Ling. ‘You’ve got a lot of making up to do before I’ll fall for your Aussie charms again.’ She brought over a tray of Jason’s medicines. ‘Now, as your nurse, you’d better be extra nice to me or I might swap your painkillers for laxatives.’
Jason gave her a look that verged on panic. ‘You wouldn’t, would you?’
‘Who says I haven’t already?’ Ling replied, a smirk on her lips. ‘Now be a good boy and take your medicine.’ She offered him a suspiciously large brown pill.
Jason held it in the palm of his hand. ‘Can I have a glass of water, please?’
Ling grinned even more. ‘You don’t swallow it, you stick it up your –’
‘Connor! The colonel wants to see you,’ interrupted Jody, their instructor, appearing in the doorway as Alpha team fell into fits of laughter at Jason’s wide-eyed look of horror.
Dragging himself out of the armchair, Connor headed along the corridor to the colonel’s office and knocked on the solid oak door.
‘Enter!’ responded a gruff voice.
Colonel Black sat behind his fortress of a desk, the debrief report on Operation Snowstorm open on its polished mahogany surface.
‘Glad to see you’re fighting fit after Russia,’ he remarked. ‘That was some ordeal.’
Connor nodded. Still suffering from a bruised chest, burns to his hands and a black eye, he didn’t consider himself fighting fit. But there was nothing to be gained in arguing the point with a hardened military man like the colonel.
But he did want to raise another issue. ‘The mission would have gone a lot smoother if we’d had all the facts,’ he said.
Colonel Black held up a hand in acknowledgement. ‘Such omissions were unfortunate. Viktor Malkov proved to be a habitual liar. I can assure you future clients will be more rigorously vetted and operational information fully completed. Talking of which –’ he tapped a page in the report – ‘this Mr Grey and the Equilibrium organization. Are you certain you’ve encountered them before?’
‘Absolutely,’ said Connor.
‘And you say you shot the assassin?’
‘Point-blank. But I guess he must have been wearing a bulletproof vest.’
Ever since returning from Russia Connor hadn’t been sleeping easy. He knew Mr Grey was ruthless and relentless, and half-expected the assassin to slit his throat in the middle of the night. Was it likely the assassin could track him down? Connor had no doubt that he could. But, with the entire Russian Secret Service hunting the man, would such a cold-hearted killer be interested in personal vengeance? Given their previous encounters, quite possibly. Only time would tell.
The colonel closed the file and set it aside. ‘I’ll have Bugsy investigate further. If Equilibrium is even half as dangerous and pervasive as your report implies, then it’ll have serious implications for future operations. Now, on to your next mission.’
Connor’s jaw dropped. ‘What? I thought we’d agreed I could have a break from active duty.’
‘Yes, we did,’ the colonel replied, his rugged face expressionless. ‘With Charley away and Jason out of action, though, you’re back in.’
Thrown by this railroading of his request for leave, Connor stared out of the window. In the darkening dusk the cemetery and its tombstones were just shadows. Only the white marble of Nadia’s gravestone stood out, a reminder of the perils on every assignment. And, after four straight operations in a row, the risk of mission fatigue and a fatal mistake only grew.
‘Can’t another team take up the slack?’ he asked.
‘They’re already committed,’ the colonel replied firmly.
‘What about Ling or Richie or Marc? I can head up the operations from HQ.’
Colonel Black shook his head. ‘That’ll be Jason’s role while he’s in recovery. Listen, Connor, I wouldn’t ask this of you if I had an alternative. But you’re the most qualified and capable recruit among Alpha team. Your father’s blood runs through you like the steel in a samurai sword. Besides, you fit this mission’s profile.’
He took out an operation folder and dropped it on the desk. The location was designated as Mexico.
‘Cover this one, then we’ll discuss extended leave,’ he said. ‘It’s only a short assignment. You’ll be back in time for Charley’s return.’
Connor glanced at the folder. The colonel clearly wasn’t taking no for an answer. And, if he was honest with himself, he was tempted. With Charley away and his mum no better, he needed an assignment to occupy himself. Besides, he knew from past experience that after a week or two he’d be longing for the challenge of an operation and craving the adrenalin rush that came with protecting a Principal. His gran had been right when she’d said he was just like his father.
One more mission. What harm could that do?
Perched on the roof of a skyscraper, the golf range overlooked the sprawling urban mass of Shanghai. A patch of perfect green grass, it was an oasis against the glaring neon of the city. Far below, the constant flow of traffic washed by like a distant river, the honk of horns and drone of cars drifting up on the polluted haze. The day’s humidity had begun to ease with the approach of evening and a light breeze cooled Mr Grey’s brow as the Director carefully lined up the golf ball.
With a precise stroke of the putter, the Director struck the dimpled ball and watched it roll smoothly across the grass and into the hole. An impressive shot at twenty-five yards. Still without acknowledging the assassin’s presence, the Director took a sip from a tall glass of iced tea before bending down to set up another putt.
‘So Malkov is dead,’ said the Director, without taking an eye off the ball. ‘You were assigned to protect him. Why didn’t you step into the line of fire to save our investment?’
‘I’m an assassin, not a bodyguard,’ Mr Grey replied curtly. His arm was bandaged and his cracked ribs were healing, but the pain of his failed mission remained raw and festering.
The Director now focused on the flagstick at the far end of the rooftop green. ‘And you say Connor Reeves, from that Buddyguard organization, was to blame?’
‘Yes. He protected the girl … by shooting me.’
The Director raised a slim eyebrow. ‘Perhaps we should think of recruiting him instead?’
Mr Grey scowled darkly.
The Director took a practice swing. ‘Yet this isn’t the first time that boy has thwarted our plans.’
‘No,’ Mr Grey replied. ‘He’s become somewhat of a thorn in our side.’
The Director stopped mid-swing. ‘What does he know about Equilibrium?’
‘Very little. Our name, but not our purpose.’
The Director paused a moment longer in thought. ‘Yet an ant may well destroy a whole dam.’ With a sideways glance at the assassin, the Director said pointedly, ‘It’s prudent never to underestimate such threats, Mr Grey.’
‘What would you have me do?’ asked the assassin.
‘Eliminate the ant,’ the Director ordered, resuming the swing and striking the ball. Mr Grey followed the path of the shot – the golf ball sank into the hole without a trace. ‘In fact, destroy the whole nest.’
With each Bodyguard book, the missions become harder, more challenging and ever more daring – not just for my hero Connor but for me as a writer too. In order to satisfy my own, as well as my fans’, high expectations, I have to ensure each story is better than the last – tonally different yet still familiar; fresh in plot yet containing the same core ingredients that will guarantee my readers devour each chapter in the series. And so I hope you’ve enjoyed the thrill of Assassin and are eager for the next instalment … Fugitive!
However, while a story is written by a single author, the finished book is the sum of many
people’s hard work and efforts. And I’d like to thank those who have played a crucial role in producing Assassin:
First and always first, my family – Sarah and our two little assassins, Zach and Leo; Mum and Dad; Simon, Steve and Sam; and my best friend, Karen.
Next, my agent and dear friend, Charlie Viney. Your loyalty and honesty is always appreciated, as much as your killer instincts!
My Bodyguard squad at Puffin: Tig Wallace, the ultimate assassin (sorry – I mean, editor!); Wendy Shakespeare, my longest-serving bodyguard; Helen Gray, a copy-editor extraordinaire (who must have an editing eye sharper than an assassin’s knife!); my PR and marketing ‘Assault Unit’ – Hannah Sidorjak and Rebecca Booth; Matt Jones, the mystery hitman behind the covers; and all the other Puffins who work tirelessly to produce and promote my books.
All the hard-working and dedicated librarians and teachers assassinating illiteracy in schools around the world with only a Bodyguard or Young Samurai book as their weapon.
Finally, a huge thanks to my readers – without you reading and recommending my books, I’m simply writing in an empty room.
Stay safe,
Chris
Any fans can keep in touch with me and the progress of the Bodyguard series on my Facebook page, or via the website at www.bodyguard-books.co.uk
Your story starts here …
Do you love books and discovering new stories?
Then puffin.co.uk is the place for you …
• Thrilling adventures, fantastic fiction and laugh-out-loud fun
• Brilliant videos featuring your favourite authors and characters
• Exciting competitions, news, activities, the Puffin blog and SO MUCH more …
puffin.co.uk
It all started with a scarecrow …
Puffin is over seventy years old. Sounds ancient, doesn’t it? But Puffin has never been so lively. We’re always on the lookout for the next big idea, which is how it began all those years ago.
Penguin Books was a big idea from the mind of a man called Allen Lane, who in 1935 invented the quality paperback and changed the world. And from great Penguins, great Puffins grew, changing the face of children’s books forever.
The first four Puffin Picture Books were hatched in 1940 and the first Puffin story book featured a man with broomstick arms called Worzel Gummidge. In 1967 Kaye Webb, Puffin Editor, started the Puffin Club, promising to ‘make children into readers’. She kept that promise and over 200,000 children became devoted Puffineers through their quarterly instalments of Puffin Post.
Many years from now, we hope you’ll look back and remember Puffin with a smile. No matter what your age or what you’re into, there’s a Puffin for everyone. The possibilities are endless, but one thing is for sure: whether it’s a picture book or a paperback, a sticker book or a hardback, if it’s got that little Puffin on it – it’s bound to be good.
www.puffin.co.uk
PUFFIN BOOKS
UK | USA | Canada | Ireland | Australia
India | New Zealand | South Africa
Puffin Books is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com.
www.penguin.co.uk
www.puffin.co.uk
www.ladybird.co.uk
First published 2017
Text copyright © Chris Bradford, 2017
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Cover illustration by Larry Rostant
ISBN: 978-0-141-37453-6
Bodyguard (Bodyguard 5) Page 26
