The Final Hour (Victor The Assassin 7)

by Tom Wood

  ‘I need to speak to you.’

  ‘No kidding. You flew halfway across the world. You look like you could use some coffee.’

  ‘I don’t want coffee.’

  ‘I don’t have a lot of time here. I was told you have information for me. Information that couldn’t wait until I was back in the States?’

  Sykes shook his head. ‘You need to know now. It can’t wait. Like I waited for Procter to deliver on his promises. I gave him everything I knew in return for nothing. I just became his dogsbody. Someone to bury the shit that rolls downhill. That’s why I left. Even though I escaped prosecution, people had heard the rumours. I was never going to be trusted again. Which, funnily enough, is why they came knocking at my door.’

  ‘They?’

  ‘There are these people. You have to understand, they’re everywhere. Sometimes you come across them and don’t know it. If they don’t reach out to you, you’ll never know they exist. They reached out to me. I… I did as they asked, I’ve done as they ask. I have a bank account, offshore. In Rome. They pay into this account. It’s laundered. It’s clean. Ooo, you should see how much they pay me. It would blow your mind.’

  ‘What are you talking about? Who are they?’

  ‘An infestation. I don’t know what they’re called, but they have people like me in their pocket. I mean, I guess I’m one of them. In a way. I don’t know who else is like me, but I do know there are lots of us.’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Lying, stealing, passing on information. Sometimes it’s just a phone call. I get a phone call that tells me to make a phone call. Sometimes I meet someone. Sometimes I deliver money. Sometimes I find other people they need.’

  ‘Who do they need?’

  ‘At first they just wanted information. They knew some of what I’d been involved with. They knew about Paris. They knew about the assassin. That’s who they were mostly interested in. Him and his associates. I thought that was it. But they came back. Not for more information, though. For work.’

  ‘What work?’

  ‘This and that. Liaising with people. Recruiting. Hiring. Finding the right people for the right jobs.’

  ‘What jobs, Kevin?’

  ‘I knew they were bad because of the people they wanted me to find. People like me. The traitors and the untrustworthy. Criminals. Thieves and killers. Contractors. You name it.’

  ‘What are you trying to tell me here?’

  ‘They’re everywhere. I thought of them like a shadow government, but it’s much worse than that. They’re more like terrorists. There are all these cells. There might be four or five guys or fifty. Each cell operates almost independently from the others. If one is compromised, it doesn’t affect the greater organisation. I thought the guy who called me was in charge, but he’s just a guy like me. A guy hired by another guy to hire more guys. I didn’t ask questions. I went along with it, but slowly, a bit at a time, I learned more. I heard something about New York. A cover-up. I tried to find out more. I was curious, I guess, and I was scared. I didn’t know what I’d got myself into. I wanted some leverage. I was careful. I thought I was. Then one morning I woke up with a snow shaker on my bedside table. It had the Statue of Liberty inside. I stopped asking questions after that. I’ve made a lot of bad choices in my life, but this is probably the worst. I don’t see a way out because I don’t even know who I’m working for. I don’t have anyone to betray any more than I have anything to bargain with.’

  Alvarez said, ‘You’re not telling me anything, Kevin. You’re barely making any sense at all. I need some proof if you want me to take you seriously.’

  ‘You’ll have all the proof you need soon.’

  ‘What does that mean?’

  ‘It means they’ll know we’ve talked. They’ll know like they always know. I don’t care. I’m tired of being scared. I’m tired of being me.’

  ‘You need to go back to your hotel and sleep it off. Come see me when you’re sober.’

  ‘Don’t you understand? I wouldn’t be here if I was sober. I can’t look at myself in the mirror any more. I can’t bear to see the man who looks back at me.’

  ‘That’s the booze talking.’

  ‘The booze is allowing me to talk freely, that’s all. I know what I’m saying. It’s me who’s saying it. I don’t see myself as a bad person. I mean, not really bad. I didn’t kill you that time, did I? I could have done, but I didn’t. People have died because of the things I’ve done, yes. But if it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else. There’s always someone else. I’m not evil, I’m just lazy. I’ve always wanted more. I’ve never been satisfied with what I had, but I didn’t want to earn more. I just wanted more. You don’t choose to be lazy. I never chose it. If I could, I would have chosen to be a doer, like you. A worker.’

  ‘You’re drunk, Kevin. And I’m tired of humouring you.’

  ‘I’m always drunk or hungover. Neither state is really me, but they’re all I am.’

  ‘You’re not making any sense.’

  ‘You’re not listening to me. I’m confessing.’

  ‘Save it. I’m not interested. I’m not a priest. I already know what you’ve done. I know what you got away with. All this, whatever this is, can be someone else’s problem.’

  ‘You know what I did, not what I’m doing.’

  Alvarez listened.

  ‘There’s this guy, he’s an ex-cop. He’s an animal. I found him. They needed him. God, the things he’s done…’

  Alvarez stared. ‘You’re serious, aren’t you? This isn’t some fantasy.’

  ‘That’s what I’m trying to tell you,’ Sykes growled. ‘This animal. His name is Niven. Right now he’s at a farmhouse. Some isolated Scottish place. He’s got a crew. Bad people like him. They’ve got hostages. It could already be too late. They could be dead.’

  Alvarez was sitting forward. ‘Tell me where the farmhouse is, Kevin. Who are the hostages?’

  ‘Ben and Suzanne Mayes.’

  ‘What are these men going to do, Kevin?’

  ‘It’s supposed to look like a home invasion. They’re going to kill them, unless the sister of the farmer completes a job for these people. She’s an assassin. I don’t have time to tell you all the details.’

  ‘If this is true, then you really are a piece of shit.’ Alvarez stood, tugging out his phone. ‘Whatever you did before, it’s nothing compared to this.’

  Sykes’ breathing became a series of heaves as his inebriated body tried to oxygenate itself, and it was a lot of work. He said, ‘Why be merely foul when you can be vile?’

  Alvarez looked down at him in disgust. He thumbed his contact and brought the phone to his ear. ‘You had better hope they’re still alive. You’d better pray.’

  ‘You can’t threaten me with anything. But I’m not finished. Forget them for a second. They’re safe for a little while longer. They’re safe because the sister, the assassin, is going to do the job they want her to do. She’s here, in Helsinki. Right now. Her name is Constance Stone, she’s former Agency, now rogue. She’s —’

  Alvarez interrupted: ‘Dammit, Sykes. I know that name, she’s —’

  ‘LISTEN TO ME.’

  Alvarez did.

  Sykes said, ‘The sister is here in Helsinki to kill you. You’re the target.’

  FIFTY-FIVE

  Raven got to the file first and snatched it away from Victor’s grasp. But it didn’t matter, because now he knew.

  Victor said, ‘You tensed when I said the name Alvarez before. I saw it but I didn’t think why. Now, I understand. Now I get why you were talking nonsense about going away together. He’s here in Helsinki, isn’t he?’

  ‘It wasn’t nonsense.’

  Victor said, ‘I know why Alvarez is a threat to me, but what’s he done to the Consensus?’

  ‘I don’t know. I don’t know anything about him. But he’s a problem for them, clearly. Maybe not now. Maybe soon. Maybe it’s pre-emptive. But whatever it is, it’s unbeli
evable. Just the worst cosmic luck. Of all the…’ she growled, screwing up the file into a ball and throwing it across the room. ‘Goddammit.’

  ‘Blasphemy, Constance.’

  ‘Trust me, Him upstairs would be okay with it this time. I mean, He really would see the funny side. He would get just how incredibly bad this is. What. Are. The. Odds? It’s some kind of sick joke. It has to be. Can you believe it?’

  He didn’t answer. He was already scanning the room with new eyes, picturing where she had placed her things, imagining where she had left her gun; which objects could be improvised weapons she would go for.

  ‘I can’t let you go after him,’ she said.

  ‘I know.’

  ‘But you’re going to anyway, aren’t you?’

  ‘He’s left me no choice. I need to know what he knows.’

  Raven said, ‘There’s always a choice.’

  ‘For you, maybe. But not for me. There is no choice because the right action is always the best action.’

  ‘I was a threat, once. Now look at us.’

  ‘Yes,’ Victor said, ‘look at us.’

  They were standing across the room from one another, three metres apart, out of range, but getting closer, beginning to circle, arms rising, postures changing, adopting stances; slowly, inevitably. They both saw what the other was doing. They both knew what was happening.

  ‘We don’t have to do this,’ Raven said.

  Victor nodded. ‘We only have to if you try and stop me.’

  ‘I can’t take the risk that he corners you or you decide he’s too much of a threat to live. If they want him dead, then he’s a threat to them. He has to live.’

  ‘I understand what motivates you, Constance. You need to understand what motivates me.’

  She said, ‘I know. Greed. Selfishness. Amorality. Nihilism.’

  ‘You didn’t complain about any of those things when I was saving your brother’s life.’

  ‘Which you only did to get closer to Phoenix and ensure my aid against Alvarez.’

  ‘What matters is I did what you needed. Will you do the same for me?’

  She hesitated.

  ‘Then this discussion is over.’

  ‘If you walk out that door, we’re enemies again.’

  ‘We’ve always been enemies, Constance. This has been nothing but a truce of convenience. We should have known it wouldn’t last long.’

  She said, ‘Don’t do it.’

  ‘Don’t try and stop me.’

  ‘Will you kill me if I do?’

  ‘You’ll be a threat.’

  ‘So that’s a yes.’

  He nodded. ‘Keep out of my way and it doesn’t have to end like that. For now, you’re not a direct threat. If you want to stay alive, then stay out of my way.’

  She sighed in resignation, and he headed for the door.

  He stopped because he heard a hammer cocked behind him. ‘That better not be what I think it is.’

  ‘I can’t take the risk.’

  ‘Are you going to kill me, just in case? Are you going to shoot me in the back, Constance?’

  ‘What choice are you leaving me?’

  ‘There’s always a choice. Isn’t that your point? Isn’t that the reason you do what you do?’ He took a step backwards. ‘I’ve made my own choices, same as you. All this is is another decision. Shoot me, or don’t shoot me.’ He took another step backwards.

  ‘Don’t make me do it.’

  ‘I’ve always known this is how it would end,’ Victor said. ‘I just never knew I would know my killer.’

  ‘We can still work this out.’

  He said nothing.

  ‘You hear me? There’s still a solution, if you’ll only listen.’

  Victor heard her take a step towards him. Then another, her desire to convince him to stay overriding her tactical awareness.

  He moved fast, spinning on the spot, going for the gun. She was as fast as him but hesitation slowed her – she didn’t want to shoot him – so when the gun went off he had already pushed the muzzle away.

  The bullet shattered a window. Neither blinked.

  ‘You almost shot me,’ he said.

  ‘But I didn’t. Let’s talk about this. We can work out a solution. There has to be a way.’

  He nodded. ‘Okay, you’re right. Let’s talk. But, please, lower that gun.’

  As her gaze dropped, so did his closest elbow into her face. She staggered back, dazed, but not before he batted the gun from her hand. That gave her an instant to recover enough for her guard to fly up to intercept his follow-up attacks.

  FIFTY-SIX

  Sykes was nursing black coffee when Alvarez re-entered the interview room. He didn’t bother to sit down this time because it wasn’t going to take long.

  Alvarez said, ‘I made some calls and had a couple of local cops swing by the Mayes’ place, Kevin. They spoke to Ben. He’s alive and well, getting ready for a little vacation. He’s pretty upset though. His dog knocked over a stove and set the barn on fire.’

  Sykes’ eyes were wide. ‘What? That can’t be true. They…’

  ‘You’ve been telling me lies, and I don’t like being lied to.’

  ‘Why would I lie? What’s in it for me? Something’s gone wrong, obviously. The plan didn’t work. I don’t know why, but everything I’ve told you is true. If you look into it, I swear you’ll find evidence. Maybe the sister had help. I don’t know. She… Something happened and she didn’t need to kill you. You have to believe me.’

  ‘Okay,’ Alvarez said. ‘Despite my better instincts, I’m going to tolerate this delusion just so I can watch you wrap yourself up in this bullshit. So, tell me, why me? What have I done to them? Whoever these people are.’

  ‘They’re threatened by you, and they don’t like threats. They think you know things. They think you know what happened in New York. They don’t want you to find the assassin. They don’t want you to know what he knows.’

  ‘What happened in New York? Does the killer work for them?’

  ‘No, of course not. But there was a connection. He’s not a primary concern, though. They’re scared that one day you’ll be the Director of National Intelligence.’

  ‘I’ve only just joined. If, if, I wanted that job, I’m ten years or more from having a chance at it. There’s nothing to be gained killing me now.’

  ‘You’re not listening to anything I’m saying. They think long term. They plan ahead. There’s always a narrative. They’re not going to wait until you’re the Director of NI before taking you out. How will they stay hidden after that? No, they’re going to have you killed when no one’s going to notice, not only taking you out before you can really hurt them but making room for another candidate, a better, more suitable candidate.’

  ‘This sounds like the biggest pile of horseshit I’ve ever heard.’

  ‘There’ll be an easy way to know for sure if I’m telling the truth.’

  ‘How?’

  ‘Look at me,’ Sykes said. ‘I’m a mess. I’m a drunk. But I’m not suicidal. Remember that about me.’

  The door opened. It was Layla Jensen.

  ‘Sorry to interrupt, but we have reports of gunfire downtown. Might be something.’

  Alvarez stood and headed to the door. ‘I’m done with this crap, Kevin. When we’re back in the States, expect a call from the Department of Justice. Any agreement we’ve had is over. The deal’s off.’

  Sykes swallowed the last of his cold coffee. ‘It won’t matter.’

  Raven was fast and she knew exactly how to block his strikes, but he was far stronger. He outweighed her by at least 50 pounds. Just stopping his fists and elbows reaching her face jolted her from her stable fighting stance to an awkward, off-balance position. But that weight difference meant she was the smaller, faster target. She hit him with short punches he couldn’t hope to block.

  One blow caught Victor on the side of the jaw and sent him reeling, vision darkening, hearing fading. He recovered in time t
o block the next one meant for his temple but missed the one aimed for his ribs. The impact knocked the air from his lungs and he doubled over, grimacing and unsteady.

  Hands grabbed the back of his head and pulled it down for a knee that powered upwards. He blocked it with crossed arms, but the force of the knee slammed his own arms back against his chest. He winced and shot out both hands before another knee could strike and locked his arms out, braced against Raven’s hips. Kneeing from such a position was impossible and Victor powered forward, driving her back without resistance.

  Raven slammed backwards into a wall. Plaster cracked, but she rebounded with the energy, twisting from his grip and going for the dropped gun.

  An analyst explained: ‘The call’s just come in. Police won’t be there for at least six minutes. Witness heard a gunshot and saw a window break from an apartment building. Penthouse.’

  Jensen said, ‘That’s not something we have every day. There are lots of guns, but shootings are rare. Very rare. I can’t see this being coincidental, can you?’

  ‘What do we know about the penthouse?’ Alvarez asked.

  The analyst brought up building records, land registry, utility bills and rental agreements. ‘It’s owned by a private landlord but is supposed to be unoccupied while it is renovated.’

  Alvarez said, ‘CCTV?’

  Keys clicked. ‘There’s a traffic camera at the intersection.’

  Jensen said, ‘Bring it up on screen one.’

  A grainy black-and-white image appeared on the largest wall-mounted monitor showing a four-way intersection and buildings either side of the road.

  ‘Top-right corner is the apartment block,’ the analyst said. ‘No sign of activity.’

  ‘Can we adjust the camera to see more of the building?’

  The analyst said, ‘It’s static.’

  Jensen asked Alvarez, ‘What do you want to do?’

  He stared at the monitor, stepping forward closer to it, as if proximity to the screen would give him some more information, some answer. ‘How far out are the SAD units?’

  The analyst checked the map and the live GPS updates. ‘Closest is Sierra One, on Muir. First vehicle is three minutes out. Second SUV is five.’