He watched as Jamie drove by. The long grey Lincoln pulled up to the curb and parked. Anubis ran the gambit of what events could transpire in the next three hundred and sixty seconds. Granted, Anubis's preferred method of assassination was poison, but he was deadly with any weapon and today he hid that weaponry in plain sight. His garrote looped from his belt amongst the chains, and he'd tucked his three guns in his clothing, one behind his back, one inside his unlaced combat boot, and one under his arm in a shoulder holster. If he was lucky, he wouldn't have to use them today. He hated counting on luck, but for this bastard, only the worst kind of death would suffice. If this event didn't work, he'd find the son of a bitch again and slit his throat.
His nose burned with the smell of alcohol. He glanced at his watch and lit the half-smoked cigarette. The stench of the alcohol he'd splashed on himself this morning swirled with the smoke that he exhaled from his lungs. He hadn't showered or brushed his teeth. He'd calculated his bedraggled appearance to project an intentional misrepresentation of his economic status and physical condition. He prayed the fucker, Faas, was the sadistic, greedy bastard his dossier and Jamie depicted.
Anubis reached into his lead lined pocket and palmed the pack of cigarettes with his lead lined glove. Faas was a chain smoker, and he was addicted to a cheap brand of American cigarettes. You'd think that a person with a medical degree would know better. Obviously, some people felt they could defy the odds.
The door beside him opened and Anubis made his move. He bounced off the wall and stumbled down the sidewalk colliding with Faas's bodyguards.
"Fuck, man… why don't you watch where you're going? Do you think you own the fucking sidewalk?" Anubis pushed one of Faas's bodyguards off him dropping his pack of cigarettes as he did. The bodyguard shoved him backward into the limo. Anubis made a showing of sliding down the side of the car. "Fuckers made me drop my smokes." He leaned forward and reached for his cigarettes. A foot stepped on his hand, grinding it under an expensive Italian leather shoe. Anubis hissed and reached for the foot in a pathetic attempt to move it off his hand. He watched Faas bend down and retrieve the pack of cigarettes.
"Hey… give me back my smokes, man. You can't take them, they're expensive! I ain't got any money to get more."
Anubis watched as Faas shook out a cigarette and put it to his lips. "Fucking gutter scum." Faas spoke the words in his native Dutch. Anubis moved his hand in a futile attempt to get to the cigarette pack. The bastard brought out a gold lighter from his pocket and lit the cigarette inhaling deeply. Anubis ceased his struggling and swallowed a triumphant smile. It was the hardest thing he'd ever done. As soon as Faas took a pull off that cigarette, he'd killed himself. The bastard just ingested a lung full of Polonium 210 and that radioactive shit sealed the fucker's fate. Faas was dead. He just didn't know it yet.
The bastard pocketed the rest of the pack and purposefully used all his weight to tread over Anubis's hand. The position of his hand under the fucker's weight was awkward, and the pressure pulled a true grimace from him. "Asshole, you broke my hand!" Anubis let spittle hang from his lips, hopefully enhancing his already disgusting appearance. Faas laughed at his anguished outcry and took another deep pull from the cigarette as he waited for the first bodyguard to open the limo door for him. The second bodyguard kicked Anubis in the ribs as Faas entered the limo and once again attempted to kick him in the head, but Anubis rolled just in time to cause the fucker to miss. The man spat on him. Anubis let it run down his cheek as he laid on the sidewalk and grinned as he watched the limo pull out into traffic.
"Hey, I'm calling the cops if you don't get up and get out of here. We don't want any trouble. Go get your drunk on somewhere else."
Anubis glanced over at the uniformed door attendant. He raised an eyebrow at the man and vaulted to his feet, wiping the fucker's spit off his face as he did. "Not a problem, I'm done here." Anubis's cultured voice accompanied a jaunty salute in the attendant's direction. He tucked his right hand into his pocket and headed down the sidewalk. Now to get to Suriname, because he was going to have a conversation with a dead man.
Anubis stopped long enough to reach into his boot and grab his cell phone. He palmed it and pressed in the numbers. Asp had called him twice in the last three days. The phone rang once before the man answered.
"Go."
"Your ass in trouble?" Anubis asked without preamble.
"Nope, going fucking stir crazy."
"I'm heading out of the country." Anubis smiled at the thought.
"Out of the country?" There was a long pause, so much so that Anubis looked at the face of the phone to ensure the call hadn't dropped.
"Where and when?"
Asp offering back up was unusual, but not unheard of, especially if the man was on medical leave. "Paramaribo, Suriname. Two days."
"Rally point?"
Anubis thought for a moment. "Café Suriname. 2100 hrs."
"Roger that."
Anubis hit the button ending the call and thumbed the back of his phone opening the battery compartment. He popped the battery out, and flipped it into the street. The sim card pulled out easily, and it snapped in half with minimal pressure. He chucked the phone in the next trashcan, scattering the sim card as he walked. The long trip back to his hourly rate hotel room was a necessary precaution. About a block away from the hotel, he ditched his modified jacket underneath several plastic bags about halfway down in a dumpster that over flowed with rancid waste. The trace amounts of radiation would dissipate quickly, but he didn't need to endanger anyone who might pick it out of the trash and put their hand in the pocket without wearing lead lined gloves. He took off his gloves and shoved them into the fetid mess with the leather jacket before he pushed his filthy, odorous hands into his jean pockets and headed to his room.
Chapter Fifteen
Sky sat on the huge wraparound porch and pushed the swing with her toe. Kadey was sitting on the porch playing Barbie Dolls with her new BFF, Lizzy. The sweet little blonde-headed girl was over the moon about having a new friend, and Kadey was just as enamored.
Sky watched the girls play. She was still paranoid and kept Kadey in her direct line of sight. According to Doctor Cassidy, Kadey's procedure was a complete success, but Sky'd been worried for so long, not worrying was… well, it was impossible. She could feel herself hovering like a helicopter parent. She knew she was doing it, but until Kadey got the all clear from the cardiologist, who was scheduled to fly in next week for her check-up, she wasn't going to allow Kadey to do a single thing that was remotely strenuous. The surgical wounds were healing well, so her sitting outside on the porch with Lizzy getting some fresh air on an unusually warm late September day wasn't too risky. Well, it wasn't risky at all, at least that is what Doctor Cassidy and two other doctors here at the ranch had told her. Sky really liked the team of doctors at the complex.
"Are they getting along?" Sky glance up as Lizzy's mom came out on the porch. The woman was strikingly handsome. Keelee Cassidy was uncharacteristically tall, with long blonde hair. She had an athlete's body, hard and toned, but she was a kind lady who doted on her daughter. Sky had learned Keelee's father owned the ranch where the hospital and training facilities were housed. He also built the log cabin mansion where she and Kadey were living. The place was a woodworking marvel.
"No problems whatsoever. They are so good together." Sky moved her legs so Keelee could sit down.
"They are. Lizzy is around adults most the time. It is wonderful that Kadey is here." Keelee pushed the swing sending them on a gentle back and forth. "How are you doing?"
"Me?" Sky blinked repeatedly and finally shook her head. Why would Keelee ask that? "I'm fine."
Keelee chuckled and turned in the swing. "If I knew you better, I'd probably call you on that lie."
Sky pulled up her legs and hugged them while still looking at her daughter. The girls w
ere changing their dolls' clothes for the tenth or twentieth time. "How about, I'm hanging in there?"
"That, I'd buy." They sat in a compatible silence for a few minutes until Keelee cleared her throat. "So your man is a Guardian?"
Sky turned her head and gazed at Keelee. "Kaeden? I'm not sure you'd call him my man, but yeah…he is. He works for Guardian, and Guardian is taking care of Kadey, but I really have no idea what he does."
Keelee pushed the slowing swing again. "I don't really know what Adam did… and still does on occasion."
"Why don't you ask him?" Sky gave a quick glance towards the girls, but returned her attention to Keelee waiting for an answer.
"Not sure I want to know, to tell you the truth. You see, my sister works for Guardian. I've pieced together a patchwork theory of what they do. Suffice to say they are the good guys and what they do is dangerous as hell, but important."
Sky grabbed a strand of hair that blew into her face and pulled it behind her ear. "I keep thinking of Kaeden like Jason Bourne. I know that sounds stupid…"
"I've seen that film. That dude's the assassin with the memory problem, right?"
"Yeah, but I know Kaeden isn't an assassin, I mean… there's no way. Like I said. Stupid."
"No, it isn't stupid. Not really. The people that Guardian select to work with them are the best at what they do, kinda like that guy Bourne was. They constantly train, here and at other facilities, across the world. The men and women who work for Guardian are held to a standard not many can achieve."
"How do you know that?" Did she know more than she was letting on?
Keelee let out a small laugh. "Honestly, I don't, but I heard my husband's boss, Jason, who is actually my step-brother, say it over and over. Adam and the other doctors here on the ranch take care of those who are hurt while doing their job. I have never heard of an agency who cares for their people the way Guardian does."
"So your husband is a mercenary, too?"
"Mercenary? Where did you get the idea that Guardian hires mercenaries?"
"Kaeden said something about it." Sky vividly remembered him telling her that's what he was.
"Huh, really? I don't think I've ever heard that. From what I know about the organization, which granted, isn't a ton, Guardian doesn't hire or train mercenaries. My husband was part of a team of men who did jobs no one else could do. That was how he lost the sight in his eye."
Sky tensed and snapped her attention over to Keelee. "Then what are they if they aren't mercenaries?" Why had Kaeden let her believe he was a mercenary if Guardian didn't employ them? She brought her thumb to her mouth and nibbled on the small edge of the nail that had just started to regrow.
Keelee shrugged and looked out over the ranch buildings. Her voice was thoughtful, "In my opinion?" Keelee glanced over at her, kicked the floorboard and sent them on a gentle glide again. Sky nodded, and Keelee looked out over the property again. "They are men and women who have an incredible conviction that this world can be a better place and are willing to put their lives on the line to make it so. The teams that train here defy what I thought I knew about altruism. They are selfless, to a fault." Keelee rolled her head and looked at Sky. "Especially the men. Lord above, if I had a nickel for every time one of these men screwed up with his girlfriend or wife because he did what he decided was the right and selfless thing to do… Well, I wouldn't need any of those cows in the pasture for income, I can tell you that!"
"You keep mentioning teams. Kaeden doesn't work with a team." Sky watched as the girls exchanged dolls and dug through a large plastic tub looking for yet another outfit to put on them.
"Ah, well personal security officers work alone. They do protection details for people. My stepsisters all work or have worked for Guardian. One works with computers, one left the company and now heads security for her husband who's a country-western superstar, and the other is a crazy woman, but she's a kick ass personal security officer. She travels all over the States. Overseas too… sometimes."
"That must be what Kaeden is then, but he said he only worked overseas."
Keelee turned her big blue eyes to Sky and stared at her long enough to make her uncomfortable. "What?"
"He only works overseas?"
"Yeah? Is that a bad thing?"
Keelee let out a huff of air and chuckled. "Nope. I wouldn't worry too much about your guy. I'm sure he'll be fine."
Sky nodded and watched the girls play. I wish Kaeden was out there doing that selfless and stupid thing for them. She gave herself a stern mental shake. She wasn't Kaeden's girlfriend, and he wouldn't be coming for them.
Chapter Sixteen
Anubis glanced at his reflection in the mirror. He'd washed the auburn tint out of his hair. His natural dark brown hair, golden eyes, and darker complexion made blending with the native population in Suriname fairly easy. He could pass as Creole, one of the two larger demographics of the South American country. Most people in the States didn't realize those of a Creole background didn't necessarily all live in Louisiana-were not original to anywhere in the US, for that matter. Anubis had learned enough Taki-Taki, or Surinamese, to get by with the locals. His Dutch was fluent and most of the country spoke English, but he didn't want to identify himself as an American for a myriad of reasons.
The one and only direct flight from the States to Suriname had landed about an hour ago, but just as he had, Asp would find an alternate means into the country. He found a table at the back of the café facing the Garden of Palms, or the back garden of the Presidential palace. The café was small but had four entrances and exits, one of which wasn't common knowledge. He'd found the café when he worked the Haghen case. The crime rate in this portion of the city capital was minimal, so he didn't need to concern himself with anything that would draw the attention of nation's police force to him or Asp.
Anubis ordered a coffee and pretended to read a local paper, studying the people inside and outside the café, but it wasn't the population that held his interest. Not four blocks from where he sat, Faas was sequestered in his capital city residence. Anubis had quickly reestablished his contacts in the country and paid handsomely for the information. He knew the minimum necessary to get into the compound, but from that point forward, he'd be playing everything by ear.
A large shadow loomed over his table. Anubis kicked out the chair next to him and lifted his finger to the waiter that hovered not far away.
"You don't need to order me a new one, you haven't touched yours." Asp's Dutch was damn near accent free.
"True, but it is the socially acceptable thing to do." Anubis hoisted his eyes up and smiled. Asp let out a bark of laughter turning just about every head in the café.
"Since when have we done anything that could be remotely considered socially acceptable?" Anubis shook his head and folded the newspaper.
The waiter arrived with the coffee. Asp smiled at the young man and asked in damn near flawless Taki-Taki if they had peanut soup with tomtom available. The man's face split into a huge grin as he answered so rapidly Anubis almost missed his affirmative reply. Asp ordered the food and turned back to Anubis.
"What? It was a long drive." Asp leaned back making the small bistro chair groan.
"Right."
Asp chuckled at Anubis's dry retort before he checked to make sure they were not within hearing distance of anyone. He lowered his voice and moved forward so there was no way anyone could overhear them. "How are you going to do it?"
"Polonium 210."
Asp drew a sharp breath and glanced around the café again. "Where the fuck will you get that shit?"
"Russia." Well, actually, it was from a contact in Vancouver who knew people, but the man across from him didn't need to know that. Asp leaned back and crossed his arms, staring at Anubis. Hell, Anubis could almost see the wheels in his companion's head turning.
"When will y
ou administer it?"
"I already have."
"Already administered?"
Anubis nodded and gave a slight motion toward the kitchen where the waiter emerged with a huge bowl of peanut soup. The fragrance of the Madame Janette peppers and the size of the mashed-up plantain balls, or tomtoms was mouthwatering. Nevertheless, Anubis would settle for the aroma as eating something someone else had prepared wasn't going to happen.
"Then why the fuck are you here?" Asp breathed the question as he took a bite of the soup. He rolled his eyes and moaned in some kind of food-induced orgasmic shudder.
Anubis shrugged, "He should be starting to feel the effects."
"Again, I ask, why are you here?"
"I want him to know who killed him and why."
Asp glanced up from the soup he was shoveling into his mouth. He held Anubis's gaze for a long moment before dropping his regard to the thick broth under his spoon. Asp carefully sat the spoon down and straightened in his chair. He crossed his arms and spoke with concise, clipped words. "I've never known you to be careless, but this idea is ludicrous. Hell, it could even get you killed. Then where would your family be?"
Anubis leaned forward, and he nailed the table with his index finger, stabbing the paper. Asp's eyes followed and widened. There was an article accounting the mass murder that occurred in a small town in the rainforest not twenty miles away. The entire town slaughtered for no other reason than for Faas's people to move in and take over a profitable gold-mining operation owned by the village co-op. "You said you wanted to know everything there was to know about your assignments. I followed suit. Not only has this bastard tried to kill my daughter's mother and use that little girl as bait to lure me out and kill me, but he has also killed hundreds, if not thousands, of men, women and children in this country to fill his accounts. The political structure here is so damn corrupt they turn a blind eye as long as revenue to their bank accounts grows. At his direction, his men wiped out this village. He's taken young women out of their homes, away from their families to service him. They never go home, Asp. He runs a human trafficking ring taking street children from the cities in Brazil and ships them out to rich first-world countries. He is responsible for the major drug routes through the country and is profiting from selling it not only in Suriname, but in Guiana in the west and French Guiana in the east. He is sadistic; he is relentless,and he is mine."
Anubis Page 15
