by james
“What happened to you? Where did I go wrong, Elianya?”
She frowned as if confused and cocked her head. “What are you talking about,
Viktor?”S
tupid man.
She inched closer to him, and closer.
He shook his head. And she burst into tears.
“You think there is something wrong with me. I know it. I always knew it,” she
sobbed.
The look of confusion on his face, the wrinkled brow almost made her smile.
“I should just kill myself and save everyone the trouble,” she muttered, pointing
the blade at her wrist.
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 40
Viktor reached for the knife and when he did, she grabbed hold of his hand and
looked into his eyes. “Please, please help me, Viktor.”
His eyes narrowed and she brought the knife up, plunged it into his gut. He
gasped. She twisted the blade and shoved him back into his chair. Leaning close she
whispered. “There is no helping me. I only want what you have, brother and promi[1]te,”
she said, apologizing. “But, I have to kill you. I’m sure you understand. It’s just business
after all, and be honest, you ordered my own killing”
His eyes widened and blood pooled at his mouth. He tried to reach out to his desk.
She stabbed his arm, excitement coursing through her. Many believed stabbing was a
man’s sport, but she was finding she liked it.
Freud would undoubtedly argue, but really, what did a knife have to do with a
penis. It was merely a weapon. One she found she liked.
“Now, now, you don’t want it to end too soon. I have a present for you after all.”
She turned his chair to face the computer, but left him away from the desk so he would
not be able to hit his alarm he’d installed. With a few quick taps on the keys she opened
her own file. “Now look here, Viktor. You remember that man you trust so much with all
your business.…” A photograph of Dimitri Petrolov popped on screen. Then faded into
another photo of him but with different hair, then again into another man with a blond
beard. The pictures changed from one to another until she clicked the cursor on her
favorite.S
he watched her brother blink, cough. “What … is … this?”
“This is my parting gift to you. You might not know these, all these are the same
man. Can you guess who?” She glanced at him, saw more blood pooling at his mouth.
“No, guess not. Mr. Petrolov, or whoever he claims to be, is a mirror.” She walked behind
his chair. The metallic scent of blood teased her nose. Leaning close, she said, “An
illusion. My sources tell me he’s with a government agency. Either the Americans or
Brits. Very sketchy.” She chuckled. “Of course, I plan to uncover all the truth.” His
complexion had gone white, and rage glittered in his eyes. She laughed. “You want
another secret? Some of your hits he never even carried out. He faked them.” She licked
his ear, then whispered, “He lied to you and he betrayed you.”
She straightened, saw the blood on her white gloves and plunged the blade into
the side of his neck while he was too busy studying the man in black fatigues and an
assault rifle, on the computer screen.
Standing behind and to the side of him, she jerked the letter opener free. Blood
splattered across her white gloved hand and shot in a stream across to their right arcing
across the wall. She tossed the letter opener into his lap, hurried around the desk, pulling
off her stained leather gloves. Carefully, she dropped them into her purse and donned her
white coat. Looking at her hands, she noted they were mostly clean and with the sleeves
of the coat, no one could see the sleeves of her suit. At the doorway she paused, checking
her reflection in the mirror. Her braid was still in place, she pursed her lips and wiped a
small red speckle off her cheek. She grinned and then chuckled.
In the mirror she could see her brother’s body twitch. Stupid devil. His problem
with her had been that he’d always underestimated her. The room reeked of blood and she
turned.
The letter opener had slid in so easily after the first break of skin. She’d always
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 41
loved the feel of a blade, the warmth of blood. A shiver danced down her back.
Shrugging, she walked to the corner of the room and pressed the hidden button in
the light sconce. A small panel opened. She opened her purse, took out her key ring
complete with the little flashlight attachment and pressed the center, lighting the dark
passage beyond. Elianya stepped through, pressed the switch on this side, the door
swooshing shut behind her.
She walked down the hidden spiral staircase her brother had built into the wall in
case the need ever arose, her heels clicking on the stairs. Place needed airing. Her nose
tingled from the dust. The passage opened in an alcove in an employee area off the bar.
The music thrummed through the air. She quickly closed the panel behind her and walked
through the small room filled with boxes, bottles and glasses. She pushed through the
door as the bartender turned to shout at her before recognizing who it was. He nodded to
her and she winked and smiled at him.
“Keep up at this pace and you’ll draw a hefty wage in tips alone, my friend.”
He grinned and set three glasses on the bar.
She strolled through the crowd without a care in the world.
Well, there was a care. His name was Dimitri Petrolov, or was at the moment.
Outside she leaned close and whispered to Ivan. “Tomorrow meet me at the
regular spot.”
He smiled slowly and nodded as she walked to her car still parked at the curb.
Once inside she told her driver to head to her house in Kladno.
* * * *
Raven sat in a car she stole from the car park of the hotel. It was a sporty little
Audi, grey and loaded. The owner shouldn’t miss it until morning, and if it was reported
before then, well, a stolen car would be nothing new.
She wasn’t about to have a cab sit here, rack up a price, and then have to explain
as to why she wanted to sit here. Strangely enough people tended to remember things like
that. Lights off, engine cut, she sipped the black coffee she picked up at a coffee bar.
She’d crossed the Vlatva River back into the Malá Strana, or Lesser Quarter.
More open space and gardens over on this side. Old aristocratic homes lined the streets
with the exception of a few modern additions, of which the warehouse/industrial building
seemed to be. In her rearview mirror she could see the lighted walls of the Castle.
There was no sign of a black BMW, but she waited anyway and was finally
awarded because she’d been watching the second level.
Lights shone in the windows upstairs and shadows, silhouettes of at least two
men, occasionally crossed in front of it. One she clearly recognized as Dimitri Petrolov’s,
whether from his profile or something in his carriage, she knew not. She only knew he
was inside.
So with whom was he meeting?
There. He crossed from one window to the next, turned back and back again.
Pacing was he? Then he stopped. He stood now, in the light of the window,
looking out before turning back to his guest.
Five million?
Since when did anyone in their right mind turn down five million because of a
bloody gut feeling?
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 42
But she knew if she took the job and the money and later things arose that told her
she’d made a mistake, she didn’t know if she could survive that a second time. She barely
survived it the first time.
Her phone beeped The LCD screen told her it was Nikko.
She chose to ignore it.
Raven watched the shadows and wished she had a way of hearing what they were
saying. At least she knew where to find the man.
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 43
CHAPTER SIX
Dimitri and John climbed into his BMW, after running a scanner over it. No bugs.
He opened the garage door and backed out.
As he drove away from his house, he asked, “Why Kladno?”
“I just remember a house there. A renaissance residence she said one of her lovers
had acquired for her. Since we can find no record of it, I decided we should check it out
ourselves.”
This was the first he was hearing about it. Several blocks later, he checked his
mirrors and saw three cars following him. He took E48 northwest out of the city.
“Why do you think this is the place?” he asked.
Cars piled up behind him. In the dark it was hard to tell if any were following him
or just heading out of Prague to home, to another city, or even into Germany.
Neither he nor John talked as they drove towards the old city. The expressway was
busy tonight. Cars passed him and several he guessed were driving under the influence
even though it was prohibited. He had his expressway pass, which he always kept current.
Never knew when he’d need to take a trip such as this.
The town of Kladno came into view, its lights winking in the night. An old city it
boasted a population of about eighty thousand. A big center of industry, especially coal
for the Czech Republic, he knew it was a quiet historical town few sought out. In fact,
he’d never done more than drive through it. There were other towns he’d visited, and
preferred. Kladno, though charming with its mixture of medieval and renaissance melding
with the modern factories, had never appealed to him.
He followed John’s directions. Twice they took a wrong turn, but finally they
arrived.
It was almost two in the morning when he pulled up in front of the large house on
a quiet street. For all appearances, this was just the average historical townhouse, shaded
a different color than the one next to it, but it was set behind its own iron fence and gate.
He looked around. “Does the house have a garage or a courtyard to park the car?”
A grey Audi drove passed them. He watched in the mirror as the car braked at the
next intersection and turned right.
“I think there was a courtyard around back,” John said.
“This it?”
“Yes.”
“You’re certain? I don’t care to deal with the Kladno police because you think this
might be the place.”
John didn’t answer as he climbed out of the car.
Dimtri looked up at the four story house. He opened the door and climbed out of
the car. Nothing moved. No one passed in front of the windows. The houses on either
side were quiet and dark.
The air hung heavy with oncoming rains and the sharp smell of coal. He could
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 44
hear the faint hum of the plants outside of town.
Their doors clicked in the night. He transferred his phone to vibration mode and
watched as John did the same.
He pulled his SIG from his shoulder holster.
“Ready?” he asked John.
“I’ve been ready for three fucking years,” John muttered.
* * * *
Elianya shook her head, shocked at what had happened. Damn it. Damn it. Damn
it.
With a curse at the guards who had heard nothing and had let the bastards leave--
or so they said--she paced. What the hell did she do now?
“Madam?”
She stared at the body and wondered how the hell to get out of this mess. Leave it
to men to fuck things up.
“What?” she snapped. They’d have to dispose of the body, well, bodies. She
wasn’t about to chance leaving the other one alive. And they had yet to find the other one.
“Explain to me again, what the hell happened?”
The guard shuffled his feet, and said, “We thought…” He cleared his throat.
“Yes?”
“That is, we were going to do a practice run, and --”
She held up her hand. “You wanted to make a bit of money on the side.” She
pierced the idiot to the spot. “Don’t lie to me. I’ll always know. I detest liars, and lying.”
Well she did. “Doing something is not nearly as grievous an offense as lying about it.”
She crossed her arms and tapped her fingernails atop her sleeves. “Remember that if you
don’t want me to end your career too soon.”
She looked back to the body. Young. Too damn young to be dead and this one
would have made her so much money. Small for her teenage years, she was almost an
exact replica of her much younger and alive--though hiding--sister.
So much for the shoot tonight. Damn idiots. “Do not ever again try a stunt like
this.”
And the girl could easily have passed as twelve and with some digital
enhancements even younger. Shit. And the girls had been such a find--hell, even a bargain
at the price she obtained them at from the greedy Ukrainian relative.
“There’s someone coming, Madam.”
His words jerked her back. She whirled to the doorway where the guard stood.
“Who? The police?”
He shook his head. “No, your brother’s man. Petrolov.”
Her mind racing, she realized this might not be so bad. “This might work. Kill
him when he gets up here.”
His eyes widened.
She walked to him, patted his cheek and said, “He’s a loose end and it’s not as if
my brother will care.” She laughed to herself. The guard, a remnant of Russia’s once
feared KGB, merely narrowed his green gaze at her. “Do you wish to take Petrolov’s
place?” she snapped. “I assure you, if he’s here, he has an idea of what’s going on. And
that one will turn on those involved. You don’t want him to see you. And when you’re
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 45
done with him, find the other girl and bring her to me We should probably just kill her. I
want no loose ends.” She shrugged. “No let her live. But get this place cleaned. We have
another appointment scheduled for tomorrow evening.”
She grabbed the edge of the counterpane and tossed it over the girl. “Wrap the girl
and bring her to my car. Quickly. We’ve got to get rid of her.”
With that she walked out of the room. On the next landing, she motioned for her
driver to follow her and had the other guard grab video tapes, the folder and CPU sitting
on the office desk. “Get those in the car in back and be quick about it.”
She looked over the balcony into the darkened entrance below. They’d enter the
house at any moment.
Did Dimitri know his boss was dead yet?
Hurrying, she hoped they wouldn’t discover her library. Damn it. With any luck,
h
er Russian guard would follow through with his job and then she could come back here
and oversee the clean up. They all but ran down the old servants’ stairs at the back of the
hallway, down to the kitchens and out into the courtyard.
The cold night air hit her in the face, damper here than it had been in Prague. She
watched her driver quietly shut the trunk lid. She slid in the back seat and told the guards
to go back in and finish it
The car started and pulled into the misty night. She watched out the back window,
but no one followed. No shot fired. Nothing.
Chuckling, she smiled. So damn easy.
“I believe we should head down to Vienna. I’m in the mood for a spa. What do
you think?”
“Yes, madam.”
“Of course we must first dispose of some of our cargo.”
“Yes, madam.”
So easy.
* * * *
October 31; 1:56 a.m.
Raven jogged through the night, watched as the men climbed over the gate. Two
of them. She’d followed them all the way from Prague and just knew she’d been made
several times, but apparently not.
Lights shone upstairs, creating halos in the gathering mist.
She should just stay out here.
From her point further down from the house, she saw a car pull out into a back
alley and drive in the opposite direction of the street they were all on.
She frowned.
No way they could have gotten inside and then driven away.
She should stay out here.
The darkness swallowed her black clothing and she put her hand on her gun under
her jacket. Moving quickly, she climbed the black iron fence further down from the gate.
Perched precariously on the top, she scanned the ground and shadows. Nothing moved.
She jumped, landed, rolled to her feet in one fluid motion, her gun out, scanning the area
around her. Bloody trees cast some deep shadows.
She hurried to the side of the house, and decided on a darkened window.
DEADLY GAMES Jaycee Clark 46
Unzipping the pack on her back, she pulled out the suction cup and diamond bit.
Contraption always reminded her of geometry class and those protractors that students
could use as weapons if they so chose.
The glass cut quickly away, and she unlocked the window, swinging her leg up
and listening before crawling in. Place smelled like a rose garden. She wrinkled her nose.
