“Mr. Quartermain, it’s me,” he said. “Tell our mutual friend that everything is set. I’ll send you the address. Just make sure that Vincente eliminates Dalton Moore. We can’t have any loose ends.”
Venom ended the call and set the phone on the table. He picked up the cigar and puffed on the end, looking out over the night lights of Istanbul. This operation started off messy, but now it was coming together, finally.
The phone rang again and Venom looked at the display. An unknown number. He answered. “Yes?”
“Hello, Johnny.”
Venom set the cigar down in the tray, his face darkening at the sound of the English accent. “How did you get this number, Dante?”
“You and I both know I have my resources.”
“What’s this about?” asked Venom.
“I wanted you to know something very important,” said Dante. “This entire dance of ours has always been about business. But tonight, you made it personal.”
Venom scoffed. “I’m not the one who made it personal. You did that when you convinced Carl Flint to pick up a weapon again.”
“Flint died inside long before what happened in Mexico, we both know that. All I did was give him a chance to exorcise his demons.”
“By cleaning up your mess with that Lockhart woman,” said Venom. “Don’t try and play the saint with me. We both know what kind of man you really are.”
“Indeed we do.” Dante’s own voice darkened. “And you’ve just made that man very angry.”
The call ended with that.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Baxter set the meeting on the roof of a parking garage in Budapest and Dalton acquiesced to his request. The thief stood beside his rental car, the case resting by his feet. There were a few cars on the roof, but not many. His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his suit pants and his shirt was open at the collar without a tie. Dalton hadn’t shaved since Romania and the shadow on his face conveyed that as he looked out over the Hungarian skyline. A lit cigarette rested between his lips as he thought over the events of the past few days.
Another car drove up to the roof, the headlights shining against Dalton’s back. He heard the sound of the door opening and then heard a familiar voice as a man rose from the driver’s seat.
“Dalton?”
Moore turned at the sound of his name, taking the cigarette from his mouth. Baxter approached him with a smile on his face, wearing jeans and a t-shirt with a blazer on top and a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. He smiled on seeing his old partner and walked up to him, spreading his arms open. Dalton grinned back and flicked the cigarette onto the ground and gave Baxter a hug.
“Good to see you, mate.”
“Was starting to think it wouldn’t happen again,” said Baxter, patting Dalton’s back. They pulled apart, but Baxter kept one hand on Dalton’s shoulder. “Jeez man, this has been a lot hairier than usual.”
“You’re telling me,” said Dalton. “But it’s almost over, right?”
Baxter nodded. “Yeah, almost over, buddy.” He cast his eyes down at the metal case. “Is that it?”
Dalton turned and looked back at the case. “Yeah, that’s it. You made contact with Dante?”
“Yup. He was a little suspicious about the whole Tauna turning traitor thing, but I showed him my evidence and said we could still get him Fury,” said Baxter. “We should be in the clear as long as he gets what he wants.”
“And you arranged something for me as well, I hope?”
Baxter gave a nod and reached inside the messenger bag. He pulled out a sealed envelope and passed it to Dalton. “Got you a new passport, some credit cards, and a plane ticket to Australia.”
Dalton opened the envelope and checked the contents, confirming everything Baxter just said. “And Dante’s compensation?”
“All covered,” said Baxter. “He’ll run everything through me. Once your dad’s free, I’ll arrange for him to come meet you in Sydney. So long as I give him Fury.”
Dalton removed the passport, credit cards, and ticket, placing them in his inside jacket pocket. He crumpled the envelope into a ball and tossed it over the edge of the roof.
Baxter cast his eyes from side to side. “So…the weapon?”
“I’ve been thinking about that…” Dalton took a pack of cigarettes from his pants’ pocket and placed a fresh one between his lips.
“Here, let me.” Baxter stepped forward and produced a small lighter from one of his pockets, holding the flame over Dalton’s cigarette.
“Thanks.” Dalton took the cigarette from his mouth and blew the fresh smoke through his nostrils. “Anyway, I was thinking. Given everything that’s happened, it might be best for me to give Dante the weapon personally. I’m sure he’ll want to know what I have to say about Tauna.”
“I…don’t think that’s such a good idea, man,” said Baxter.
“Oh?” Dalton cocked a brow. “And why is that?”
“Look, you’ve got Venom breathing down your neck, not to mention the Agency. Every minute you waste in Europe gives Vincente more of a chance to catch up to you,” said Baxter. “Just let me take it from here.”
Dalton pointed at Baxter with the cigarette. “I’m glad you brought up Vincente. You’re right, he’s a dangerous piece of work. That thing on the train, don’t know if I’ve ever feared for my life as much as I did in that moment.”
“Right, so let’s get you outta dodge.”
“Y’know what’s interesting about Vincente, though?” asked Dalton.
Baxter shrugged. “No, what?”
“Last night, when you called me. You made the point that Vincente was able to find me because of Tauna’s betrayal.”
Baxter nodded. “Yeah…your point?”
“You mentioned him. By name.”
“Right…”
Dalton stepped closer towards Baxter. “I never gave you any name.”
Baxter paused for a moment and Dalton could see that his former partner had realized his fatal mistake. But the hacker then started to laugh. “Oh come on. Of course you did.”
Dalton shook his head. “Nope, don’t think so. See, I told you someone from the Agency attacked us. But I never said who.”
“Dalton, you just narrowly escaped with your life. When I called, you were groggy. You were exhausted, not thinking straight. You probably said his name without even realizing that you did,” said Baxter.
“I may have been stressed and I may have been tired, but I’m not an idiot,” said Dalton. “And I know Dante. No way he would have accepted meeting with you and you alone. If he believed for a second that Tauna had betrayed him, he’d want the details from me personally. He wouldn’t trust a go-between.”
Baxter sighed and brought a hand to his forehead. “Sonnuva bitch… Dalton, I-I—”
“You what?” asked Dalton, taking a drag on the cigarette. “Come on, Bax. I’m dying to hear your explanation.”
Baxter lowered his hand and shut his eyes, taking in a deep breath. “I warned you not to get involved with Dante.”
“So you did betray me.”
“What choice did you give me?” asked Baxter. “I told you what he’s capable of, what he does to people who screw up! And this idea that he’d just let us walk free after we screwed him over with that Loerke job? You were really stupid enough to buy that? Or the nonsense he fed you about your dad?”
“Being a paranoid little shit doesn’t justify turning on your partner!” shouted Dalton. He took a breath. “So how did it happen? Did they approach you or was it the other way around?”
“I set off the alarms, hoped it would send you scurrying off without the weapon. Hoped I could end it all right then and there. If you failed, Dante would’ve cancelled the job and sent us on our way,” said Baxter. “But when I found out you had it, I reached out to Venom. I couldn’t risk them finding me out. Especially with the Agency involved.”
“Do you have any idea what that thing can do?” asked Dalton.
&nb
sp; “Oh right, and like Dante’s not gonna use it for his own benefit!” said Baxter. “How naïve are you? Hell, he’s probably planning to sell it right back to the Agency! And I saved your life! They promised me you’d survive and what’s more, you’d go free.”
“You stabbed me in the back!” shouted Dalton, flicking the cigarette angrily on the ground. “How many years have we worked together? And you just threw it away! And for what? How much did it take for you to turn on me?”
“Oh, it was a whole hell of a lot.” Baxter reached behind his back and drew a gun, pointing it at Dalton. “I don’t want to shoot you, Dalton. Just hand over Fury and this all goes away.”
Dalton held his hands up. “Bax, think about this. If the Agency gets their hands on this, there’s no telling how many people might die. We can’t let that happen.”
Baxter shook his head. “It’s out of our hands.”
“No, it’s not. Right here, right now, we can end this. But first, you have to put down the gun. We take Fury and we give it to Dante.”
Baxter’s finger tensed against the trigger of the gun. Dalton lunged at him, grabbing his wrist. The gun went off, but hit nothing. The two former partners struggled for the gun until Dalton bent Baxter’s arm behind his back. He pushed up on it, wrapping his free arm around Baxter’s neck.
Baxter gritted his teeth at the pain, but tried to maintain his grip. Dalton pushed harder, intent on breaking the arm if necessary. Baxter’s fingers slackened and the gun clattered to the asphalt. Dalton pushed Baxter forward, the hacker stumbling and falling to the ground.
Dalton picked up the gun and pointed it at Baxter. The hacker slowly stood, staring into Dalton’s eyes. “Oh don’t make me laugh. You haven’t killed anyone in years. We both know you don’t got the stones to pull the trigger.”
“Wouldn’t be so sure of that,” said Dalton. “After all, you did turn on me. That tends to be a sore spot. Would serve you right if I ended you here and now.”
Baxter took a step forward and Dalton fired at the ground. The shot caused Baxter to jump back. “Shit!”
Dalton raised the gun, aiming at his opponent’s head. “Keep pushing me, Bax. See what happens.”
Baxter noticed movement in the darkness behind Dalton and he grinned. Dalton narrowed his eyes, but kept the gun level. “What the hell are you smiling about?”
“You really think I would’ve tried something like this on my own?” asked Baxter.
Dalton realized what he meant and spun on his heel, firing the gun blindly into the night. The figure moved fast, dodging the bullets and knocking the weapon from Dalton’s hand. Something struck the back of Dalton’s legs, knocking him onto his back. He tried to get up, but his attacker pinned him down and Dalton felt the tip of a very sharp blade resting against his throat.
In the glow of the garage’s lights, Dalton could look into the dark eyes of his attacker. A mask he wore over his jaw concealed all but those eyes, which held absolutely no emotion whatsoever. And the blade extended from a wrist-mounted device.
Baxter picked up the discarded gun and then retrieved the metal case that contained Fury. He stepped over to Dalton and Vincente, looking down at the thief. “Didn’t have to be this way. I gave you a chance to get away from all this. What’s about to happen here, you brought this on yourself, man. You thought Dante wasn’t very forgiving? You’ve got no idea what the Agency is capable of.”
Dalton exhaled angrily through his nostrils. He wanted to struggle, but if he moved an inch, Vincente would likely plunge that blade into his throat. Baxter knelt down and lightly patted Dalton’s cheek.
“For what it’s worth, I really did like you. Liked working with you,” he said. “You have no idea how much I wish this could’ve gone any other way.”
“Fuck you, Bax,” said Dalton. “At least I can take solace in the fact that you’ll go to the top of Infernum’s shit list for this.”
Baxter chuckled and stood. “Yeah, I’m not gonna lose any sleep over that. As long as I’ve got the Agency on my side, Dante can’t touch me. And if it helps, I told Vincente to make your death as quick and painless as possible.”
Baxter returned to his car, driving it away. Dalton watched the rear lights recede as the car descended into the garage. He turned his eyes back to his attacker. Dalton shut his eyes, prepared for the killing blow.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A squeal of tires drew Vincente’s attention from his prey to see a motorcycle swerving up to the roof. Vincente stood from Dalton and the biker raised a gun, firing off several shots.
Vincente deflected the bullets and jumped at the biker, knocking her from the bike and the two of them rolled on the ground. The bike continued forward, toppling and clattering to a stop not far from Dalton. He pulled himself to his feet and watched as the two wrestled around on the roof.
The biker was on her back, rolling as much as she could to avoid the strikes from Vincente’s blades. She still held the gun and pressed it to his stomach, firing off two rounds at close range. His armor protected him, but the force of the impact threw him off, allowing her to get to her feet.
Vincente recovered quickly and thrust forward. She twisted to the side, spinning and putting distance between them, holding up her weapon and moving over to Dalton’s side. As she did, she removed the helmet, revealing the face beneath.
“Here I thought you were dead,” said Dalton.
“Fortunately for you I’m not, or else you would be,” said Tauna. “I should’ve let him kill you, would’ve served you right for that disappearing act.”
“Hey, I had reasons,” said Dalton.
“I know, you’re an idiot. But luckily, I was able to find you.”
She squeezed the trigger a few more times before emptying the magazine, but Vincente dodged or deflected each bullet that came at him. He charged at them and both Dalton and Tauna jumped from the path, trying to stay as far out of reach of his weapons as they could muster.
“Where’s the weapon?” she asked, taking a brief moment to eject the spent magazine and load a fresh one.
“Baxter’s got it,” said Dalton. “Don’t tell me, I already know.”
“Then go after him!” Tauna took out a smartphone from her leather jacket, but before she could toss it to him, Vincente tackled her and the phone fell to the ground.
Dalton ran at Vincente, grabbing his arm as he raised it to stab Tauna. Vincente pulled hard, trying to break free and Dalton quickly came to the realization that the assassin’s strength was far greater than his. He threw all his weight into pulling Vincente to the side and they tumbled on the ground and off Tauna.
Vincente rolled them over so he was on top of Dalton. He stabbed, hitting Dalton in the shoulder. Vincente pulled the blood-stained blade free, but heard the sound of the gun loading. Vincente sprung from his victim, avoiding the shots Tauna fired and vanishing into the darkness.
Tauna helped Dalton to his feet and looked at the wound. “Give me this.” She pulled his jacket off and tore one of the sleeves loose.
“Hey!”
“Shut up.” Tauna tied the sleeve around his arm as tight as she could manage. “Not the best, but will have to do.” She picked up the dropped phone and held it out to Dalton. “Our mole in the Agency managed to get us a lock on Sutton’s phone. You can track him with this. Go after him, now!”
“What about you?” asked Dalton.
“If I don’t take out Vincente now, he’ll still come after us.”
Dalton nodded and took the phone. He climbed into his rental car and drove down the garage, following the GPS signal on the phone.
Tauna checked the ammunition on her gun and cast her eyes around the roof. She walked past the cars, staying crouched and holding her weapon at the ready. Vincente was still here, she was sure of that, and she wouldn’t let him escape this time.
An arm lunged out from beneath one of the cars as Tauna passed, cutting into her calf. She stumbled, firing the gun blindly but hitting nothing. She c
rouched low, firing under the car.
The sound of a thump drew Tauna’s gaze up and she saw Vincente crouched on the roof of another car nearby, arms crossed in front of him, the blades gleaming in the moonlight. Tauna raised the gun and fired, but Vincente jumped to the hood of another car. Tauna shot again, yet the assassin still managed to stay a step ahead of her. He dropped between two of the cars and hit the ground again, rolling under the vehicle.
This was getting her nowhere and she knew it. But fortunately, the gun wasn’t the only piece of weaponry she picked up before coming here. Tauna reached her free hand into her jacket, removing a mini-grenade. She pulled the pin and rolled it under the cars, moving away. It went off, the car jumping from the impact. Tauna rolled another grenade under and the same effect. And then she used her final grenade.
Tauna circled around the cars, looking under and trying to find some sign of Vincente. She waved the smoke away, hoping to discover a smoldering body. But still no trace. It was as if the man really was a ghost.
A kick to her back threw Tauna forward. She stumbled, struggling to maintain her footing and spun, firing the gun as she turned. Vincente easily evaded the shots and stretched out one of his arms towards her. The blade launched from his gauntlet, knocking the gun from Tauna’s hand.
Vincente ran at her and Tauna reached into her jacket, pulling out a new balisong and flipped it open. She held it up to block a swipe from Vincente’s remaining blade. He drove his knee into her chest and as she bent over, Vincente slammed his elbow against her back.
Tauna fell to the ground and then she felt a sudden pain in her side, followed by a warm liquid running over her skin.
Vincente pulled the blade free from her body and looked at the blood-stained weapon. He grabbed her by the collar of her jacket and pulled her up, throwing her against the edge of the roof. Vincente moved in for the kill, his blade poised to strike.
Tauna raised the balisong and plunged it into Vincente’s neck. His body tensed and he reached for the handle, trying to pull it free. Tauna moved away from the ledge, clutching her wound. She grabbed the gun she dropped and pointed it at Vincente. Tauna stared into his eyes, but she saw nothing there—not even the fear of death.
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