Beyond the guest cabins they came to the cinema. Hayden stared in amazement. Nineteen plush leather seats were arranged in rows around a wide cinema screen.
Kinimaka’s jaw dropped. “Is this guy for real?”
“Forward,” Hayden said. The sounds of combat now came from in front of them as well as above them. “Our men were murdered because this asshole wanted to make sure, Mano. Sure as your name means ‘passionate lover’ we’re gonna get a slice of him.”
“And Boudreau too.” Kinimaka voice sizzled with hate.
“He’s going out in chunks.”
Beyond the cinema the oversize cabin area opened up into a circular room surrounded by glass windows. Even the ceiling was made of glass. The room’s centrepiece was an enormous swirling Jacuzzi, surrounded by life-like palm trees and easy-chairs that even Kinimaka would drown in.
The sound of the bubbling Jacuzzi filled the small space. The group moved forward. A mini bar stood to one end of the room. A walk in cupboard at another. One of the Delta soldiers ran up the Jacuzzi steps to check it out . . .
. . . and fell back dead, clattering back down the pristine wooden treads, a ragged hole blasted through his forehead.
At the same time a hidden maintenance door burst open beneath the Jacuzzi and a stream of men almost tumbled out. Funny it might have been, if they weren’t brandishing every kind of weapon from a serrated blade to a fully-automatic machine-gun.
And right before Hayden, bursting up from inside the Jacuzzi with water tumbling off him in torrents rose the lethal madman, Ed Boudreau.
His scream of blood-lust sent daggers through her heart.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Kennedy Moore stood on the deck of the USS Lake Erie, gazing across the rolling expanse of turquoise water that separated their ship from the Stormbringer. A stiff breeze took her long black hair and made it flicker around her face.
Ben was beside her. “Wow,” he said, entranced for a moment. “You look like that woman from the movie - John Carter. The princess.”
“Is that good?” Kennedy’s thoughts were miles away.
Ben glanced around as if looking for Drake’s back up. “I’ll say,” then he went quiet. “Missing him?”
“Huh? Yes, of course.”
“Me too. And Hayden.”
“They didn’t have to go.” Kennedy sounded angry.
“Hayden did. Boudreau murdered most of her men. Her friends.”
“I guess so.”
Ben’s mobile rang. His attention diverted immediately and he turned away. “Karin? Hey, what’s up?”
Kennedy took the few minutes of privacy to drift away. The last week or so, since leaving York, had flashed by in a blur. If she was being truly honest with herself the last year had flashed by in a blur. She felt the skin at the corner of her eyes tighten as she envisioned Kaleb yet again, the haunter of her dreams, as dead as he was ever going to be but still very much alive in her mind.
And in the minds of his victim’s families.
A couple of them had kept in touch, probably through sympathy. Others hated her. The rest just didn’t care. Maybe they had moved on.
She needed to move on. The death of Kaleb should have given her some closure. Instead it closed only one door, leaving many others ajar. Her brief time with Drake had eased those worries. There had even been times when she could forget. But recently, it seemed, the darkness behind the doors was calling, beckoning to her with blood-soaked fingers.
Ben ended his call. “Karin wants to help,” he said with a worried look. “I’ve talked her out of it. For now.”
Kennedy, regardless of her mental state, couldn’t hide the sudden grin. “Just a small town girl . . . livin’ in a lonely world . . .”
Ben glared and looked bemused, but then actually burst out laughing. “You old bastards and your Dinorock,” he cackled. “I might actually give you that one.”
“She took the midnight train . . .”
Kennedy heard footsteps approaching quickly. Harrison came into view. “The assaults heading down below decks at a fast rate. Shouldn’t take too long now.”
Kennedy knitted her brow. “You really believe that?”
She didn’t see the men coming up behind Harrison. The men with their guns drawn.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Drake ran down another level to find himself facing a long corridor. A SEAL team were sweeping ahead, firing shots in quick bursts as they cleaned out each room. Drake quickly caught them up, Alicia and Mai close behind.
Stately bedrooms stood to left and right, lavish with gold and oak furnishings. A heavy burst of gunfire sounded ahead, and then two of the SEAL team went down. Drake filled the gap, kneeling and getting off two bursts into a throng of mercenaries who had just appeared ahead.
Behind him, Mai hit the floor, firing between legs. Alicia whistled in mock amazement.
Men were littering the floor up ahead and had stopped being replaced by others. The SEAL team leader saw two more of his own men go down and indicated a retreat into some of the state-bedrooms. Drake slipped in behind him, listening to his words as he thumbed his throat mic.
“Need more numbers down here. Think we’ve found Kovalenko. Repeat, think we’ve found Kovalenko.”
*****
At that moment a grating voice rang out. “Stop! Stop firing!”
For a moment there was silence. The SEAL team shared a guarded look. Then, the same gravel-filled voice came again: “I am an honourable man! Lay down your weapons. Come fight me. Man to man.”
A voice like that sent shivers down your spine. The SEAL team leader eyed Drake. “That the Blood King?”
Drake started, having drifted off for a second and wishing he’d said more of a goodbye to Kennedy. A quick hug and a peck and a “Laters,” hardly constituted a loving departure.
He shrugged. “Think so.”
“Throw your weapons down,” the SEAL team leader said. “Lay flat on the ground.”
“You know that will never happen, little American.” The sneer in Kovalenko’s voice was apparent. “I watch you even now. Yes, I watch you.”
Drake cast about. Mai pointed to a little camera mounted above the far window. “Kovalenko likes to keep an eye on his guests.”
“And you,” the voice grew even more menacing, “you are Matt Drake. Mai Kitano. Alicia Myles. I have been informed of your little group,” a breath, “. . . and it’s attempts to undo me.”
Drake swallowed heavily despite himself. This didn’t sound good.
“You try to thwart me at every turn. You think you beat me? In the end, it will do you no good, little man. I always win.”
Alicia leaned in. “This prick knows too much.”
“I know everything, Miss Myles. And that’s another needle through your heart. My resources are very good and . . . very close.”
Drake trusted everyone in their group with this, even Alicia, everyone except . . . there was one outsider.
“Are you thinking? Are you wracking your brains? No mind. I would not recommend that you survive this day. The rest of your life will be nothing but pain.”
“You won’t exactly be swanning around in luxury yourself, Blood King,” Drake said a little awkwardly.
“Then let me say this. In return for your zealous explorations and in return for your eagerness to accept this mission to capture me I have issued a Blood Vendetta.”
There was a pause. A terrible moment of heart-stopping dread.
“ . . . on every member of your little team. And on every single member of their families. A bounty on all of you, I say! Now that comes straight from the Blood King’s mouth. It has been broadcast through all my channels. The Blood Vendetta has begun.”
Drake thought of Kovalenko’s words. My resources are very close. And another comment slotted in alongside that one. Your eagerness to accept this mission.
How many people knew he’d wanted aboard?
He knew who the insider was. And that person wa
s now taking care of both Ben and Kennedy on board the USS Lake Erie.
“NO!”
He leapt into the corridor, gun blazing.
*****
Kennedy Moore saw the mortal fear shining out of Harrison’s eyes and knew her life was in deadly danger. All obsessive thoughts of Kaleb and his victims fled her mind a she half turned and saw sunlight glinting off the half-drawn weapons of three men coming up right behind Harrison.
Her world span. The Blood King could even reach them here?
No matter. She grabbed Harrison by the shoulders and hurled him towards them, screaming with all the breath in her lungs. Then she grabbed a shocked and sputtering Ben and ran for the nearest cover.
Thinking Damn it all, damn it all, why didn’t I say a proper goodbye to Matt? What am I doing, putting all my compartmentalised shit before the love of this man?
There was no time. Harrison had stumbled among her foes, but they were military servicemen. They soon threw him off and gave chase. Her only chance was to let them fire and hope to God they missed. She had no weapon. Her only chance was to draw attention. Her constant screaming was causing soldiers and sailors to take notice and turn from the railings and their jobs.
The great gun turret stood before her. She ran headlong towards it and threw Ben to the floor a split second later.
The first shot rang out.
A bullet slammed between her shoulder blades.
She pitched forward, now seeing good men running towards her, shouting warning at her assailants. She saw Ben scooting around the enormous base of the turret and wished him luck and safety.
Saved, thank God.
She sensed the Blood King’s men standing over her as her blood pooled on the deck.
Three more shots rang out.
She sensed no more.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Drake fired everything he had, sprinting headlong for the wall of the Blood King’s men. Mai and Alicia backed him up without hesitation. Beyond the curve ahead they could hear the Blood King’s manic laughter, a terrible beacon to guide them.
Drake closed in. The mercenaries who were still alive and kicking reached out to grapple him. The ex-SAS man didn’t break stride. The terrible deadliness had taken over now, the man he used to be eclipsing the civilian as he thought about the Blood Vendetta and all it may mean.
His friends. Their families. All of them. Hunted by ruthless men without conscience, without souls.
Within three minutes he was through them, with no little help from Mai. Alicia mopped up the rear, and Drake just knew she’d be pissed at the relegation.
He hurdled one last man to reach the corner and peered around. The space to the right opened into a vast stateroom-cum-bedroom. The Blood King’s abode.
The man himself stood to the left of the immense bed. Dmitry Kovalenko was a fit, broad man who seemed to be around forty. His face was sharply chiselled and showing the strains of running an empire whilst staying at myth status, but his demeanour radiated health and calm and superiority.
The harsh, rough voice that came out of his mouth belied his years. “You will never hold me. There is not a prison I could not own. A judge I could not control. A Government I do not already possess . . .” He left that statement hanging.
“I know something of your reach,” said Drake, as his eyes examined every inch of the room, noticing nothing awry. “What I don’t know is how you enforce it.”
Kovalenko’s weakness, it was becoming clear, was pure self-absorption. Maybe it came after a lifetime at sea with nothing to challenge him but the conundrum as to why celebrity jungle shows ever became popular.
“To own the man,” Kovalenko grated, “you must own that to which he is most attached. That is all. You want to save this world? What kind of world is it you live in, that would make a monster like me?”
“How many men do you own?” Drake listened, but kept his surveillance up around the room. Mai and Alicia crept past on his left. The SEAL team backed him up. Kovalenko just stood there, arrogant and supreme.
What’s he got up his sleeve?
“All of them,” the Blood King said with an arrogant smirk, “. . . that matter.”
“You have what each man loves,” Mai said softly as she advanced lightly towards the bed. “By that, you mean his wife or child. You steal his heart and put him to work by threat and promise. That is what you do.”
“My ranches, yes, are full of their little brats. Crawling with their women.”
Drake spied the rusty device. It was behind the Blood King, partly shielded by his body, on an ornate sideboard.
Mai gave him a fleeting look, but her eyes said it all. Yes, I still have the device I spirited away from Hayden. Yes, I will keep it safe. And yes, I will not allow any one government to hold both devices at the same time.
It was the deal they had made between them. It was the only way they could work for a government and keep a healthy conscience. The Japanese had instructed Mai to claim both devices at any cost. The Americans, no doubt, wanted the same.
Drake and Mai maintained a different stance.
Kovalenko noticed their stares. “You kept the second device from me. Enjoy your victory. That is what sealed the Blood Vendetta around you.”
Drake had had enough. “A curse I’ll make you take back when I take you apart,” he moved in quickly.
The Blood King barked out a laugh that wouldn’t seem out of place if it came from a grizzly. “You lack vision, Matt Drake. Vision.”
With that the Blood King flicked his wrist. Attached to the underside was a tiny black box that resembled a mobile phone. With another harsh flick he armed the device. His last words were directed at Drake: “You know she’s dead already.”
Then the ship started to explode.
*****
Ed Boudreau exploded from the water, a white shark wearing a crocodile smile. Time stood momentarily still for Hayden. Assailants were coming at her from the right, but Kinimaka and the Delta soldiers were picking them off.
Boudreau levelled his knife between her eyes and twirled the blade a little. “CIA agents are his favourite meal.”
Hayden fumbled her gun up, but Boudreau leapt from the top of the jacuzzi and crashed down into her. His head smacked into her chin and she saw stars as she hit the floor.
Nevertheless, she scrambled back. Her vision still blurred, the knife point was her whole centre of balance. He could have killed her right then. The gun in his other hand was no doubt almost fully loaded.
But the manic glint in his eyes matched the glint of the blade and was just as deadly.
Two Delta soldiers now peeled off from the battle by the base of the jacuzzi and shouted at Boudreau to stand down. Without a moment’s hesitation he shot one of them in the flak-jacket and leapt with amazing speed around Hayden.
His knife flicked out again, slicing a gash in her wrist, but now the fog was starting to clear and the pain of the wound actually helped. Hayden faced him down.
“You murdered them like a coward, Boudreau.”
Now she leapt at him, straight at the blade. The surprise registered on his face just as she landed, took the vicious edges between both hands and jerked hard. The knife twisted so rapidly she heard one of the madman’s wrists snap.
He grunted, and gritted his teeth. She flung the knife away and brought her head smashing into his nose, another piece of cartilage snapped. Still Boudreau only murmured, driving her fury on. She jabbed stiffened fingers towards his eyes, kicked out at his knees.
Boudreau blocked, but fell back, heading for the corner. The crazy arrogance never left his gaze. Kinimaka appeared at her shoulder.
“Put the gun down, asshole. You’re done.”
“Done?” Boudreau giggled as he flapped his broken wrist at them. “No. Not done. Just waiting.”
*****
The Blood King’s vessel, the Stormbringer, lurched in the sea, an aerodynamic behemoth brought to its knees. Explosions came from the hull arou
nd the bulkheads that made up the structural support.
Drake staggered along with the ship. When he looked up the Blood King was gone. Drake knew there was another level below this one, below the water line, some kind of maintenance level where the engines and machinery ran. He started forward, wondering if there were some kind of trapdoor in the floor.
The SEAL team leader shouted to three of his men to retrieve the device from the sideboard: “No. This mission is over.”
Drake turned black eyes on him. “Didn’t you hear him? He’s issued a vendetta. That means I can’t keep them safe anymore. None of them.”
The SEAL team leader turned away. “We go, . . . now.” He signalled to his men.
“Kennedy,” Drake muttered. “Ben.”
Mai took his arm. “Quickest way to reach them is to get off this ship,” she said, sounding as calm as if she was sunbathing on a Jamaican beach. “Save the Blood King for later.”
“He’ll get away.”
The ship pitched dangerously forward, sending them all rolling towards the bed. A hole blasted through the floor to the starboard side, taking half the wall with it. A shocking flood of daylight burst through.
“We have to go. Now.”
The roof collapsed at the far end.
“I saw Titanic,” Drake muttered. “I know we have to leave before the ship starts to sink. But we have to get the vendetta lifted. This guy has the reach and capability to kill us all and everyone we love.”
“I realise that,” Mai whispered very softly. “I have family of my own.”
Drake looked at her, suddenly worried.
“We can find the Blood King,” Alicia said. “Better than anyone. You know that, Drake. Besides he has another agenda. Some lifelong-”
Another explosion and the entire boat listed in the water. Mai dragged Drake towards the hole in the hull, not taking ‘no’ for an answer. When Drake got to the hole he could see the USS Lake Erie floating in the distance and his mind was made up.
The Blood King Conspiracy (Matt Drake 2) Page 17
