“Come here.” He said, waving them over.
Miki shook her head.
“Run!” Olivia said to them.
“Run and I’ll kill her, and dump her body right here in the street,” he said, jabbing his gun in Olivia’s side.
As they edged toward him, he lowered his gun to his side. People were already starting to stop to take notice at what was going on. When Miki got in arm’s reach, Van grabbed her by the elbow. He ushered both of them into the back of the first truck.
He climbed into the back with them. “Drive.” He pulled out his cell phone, and made a call. “It’s me. Take down this address.” He read off the numbers to the mansion in the Catskills. “Be there tomorrow by three o’clock.”
“How am I supposed to get these four bodies out of the Theatre?” Seeger asked.
“I don’t care how you do it, just do it. And be at the address I gave you.” He hung up and directed his attention to Baby and Miki.
“What’s going on?” Baby asked.
“Right now, nothing. And as long as you two behave, it will stay that way.”
Four hours later, they arrived at the mansion. Van instructed one of his men to take Baby and Miki to the master bedroom and cuff them to the bedposts. He instructed another to take Glenn and Grace to the last bedroom down the hall and cuff them to the bed. He elected himself to stay with Josephine and Olivia in the living room. His last man, he ordered to lock all the doors and windows.
“What now?” Olivia asked.
Van grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. “Now, we wait for Saint to call.”
“And when will that be?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“It was you,” Josephine sneered. “You were the one who gave the CIA Saint’s Clayton Andrews identity.”
“And once again, he was able to slip right through their hands and fall off the face of the earth.”
“Germany, the assassination attempt—”
“I only wanted you wounded. I knew you would think Marion was behind it. And I knew you would bring Saint out of hiding to take care of him, personally. In a few hours, we’ll see if the infamous Saint is still standing. And if so, we’ll see if he’s still standing after I get through with him.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, you’re no where near his league, Josephine said.
“I beg to differ, my love.”
“Many have tried to kill him and failed. What makes you think you’ll succeed?”
“I will succeed, because I’m not going to kill him. What I’m going to do is far worst.”
“You’re a dead man. You and everyone who’s down with this insane plan.”
Van stood up and looked around the living room and whistled. “This place is beautiful. I can see why you and Saint decided to come here for summer vacations. It’s a shame that your last memories of this place aren’t just as beautiful.”
Josephine started to say something, but then changed her mind.
“I’m surprised the Ukrainian hit men got within a hundred yards of this place. Then again, you two were on vacation so, I guess that also means letting your guard down.”
“Shut up,” Josephine said, coldly.
“They beat you for over an hour, but you didn’t crack. You didn’t tell them where they could find your precious Saint. Instead of killing you, they decided to let you live to tell Saint who brutally assaulted you. They would no longer have to look for him, because he would now be looking for them. And looking for them he did.” He looked at Olivia. “You would be in shock if I told you what your boyfriend did to those men.”
“Nothing shocks me with him anymore.”
“Don’t be so quick to say nothing. I forgot to mention that Josephine was two months pregnant at the time.”
Josephine shot off the couch and attacked him. He grabbed her arms and forced her back onto the couch.
“You bastard! Get off of me!”
Van backed away.
Josephine sat on the couch huffing and burning him with a stare of pure hatred.
“But keep that little secret between us,” Van said to Olivia. “Saint doesn’t know that he was almost a daddy.” He looked at Josephine. “You should’ve told them where to find him. Instead of having a miscarriage, you would’ve had a baby.”
“I’m going to beg Saint not to kill you,” Josephine said through tight lips. “Not until I shatter every bone in your body with a sledge hammer.”
“That pain would come no where close to the heartache you’ve put me through for the past three years. No matter what I did for you, you could never stop talking about him. How much you miss him, how much you love him, what you would sacrifice for him, and when you find out he’s banging this chick, now you want to kill him. Which of course I didn’t have a problem with, because then, I would be the only man in your life. But then you had to go and fuck it up by having the nerve to want me to be your ‘new’ Saint. You even started calling me Saint. That’s where I drew the line. Fuck you and fuck Saint. He’s not all that. Anybody can point a gun and shoot. Ain’t that right barbershop girl?”
“Fuck you,” Olivia said.
“Fuck me? How about a chance to kill me?” Van pulled the .45 out of his waist and dropped it on the couch next to her, and backed away.
Olivia quickly picked it up and pulled the trigger. When it didn’t go off, she fumble with the safety, switching it in the opposite direction and pulled the trigger again.
“See, even a barber is capable of pointing a gun and pulling the trigger.” He snatched the gun from her, and pulled the slide back, injecting a bullet into the chamber. He looked at his watch and then sat on the couch across the room. “Y’all might as well get comfortable. Looks like he’s not going to be calling tonight.”
The following afternoon, Van looked at his watch and hopped off the couch. He grabbed Josephine’s satellite phone and tossed it to her. “Call him.”
“He won’t answer.”
“Humor me.”
“Humor yourself,” she said, throwing the phone at him.
He caught it as it bounced off his chest. He lifted his hand to slap her when one of his men stepped into the living room.
“Seeger’s here.”
“Show him in.” Van smoothed out his pants and put on his suit jacket to conceal the gun in his waist.
Seeger walked in with a nervous look on his face. “This isn’t what we agreed to.”
“Things changed, so, I had to toss plan A out the window.”
“What plan are we going with now?”
“Duh… plan B?”
“And what’s plan B?”
“Before I tell you, I have to know if you’re still willing to follow this through to the end.”
Seeger looked to Josephine. “What was wrong with the original plan?”
“Well first off,” Van said, “She was in charge, but that was one of the things that changed, and second, I’m going to need you to play a bigger part.”
“What… I don’t understand. Josephine what’s going on? I thought we had a deal.”
“Hey,” Van said, pulling the .45 out his waistband. “Look at me. What part of I’m-in-charge don’t you understand? Things are still running smooth. In fact, I’m offering you a bigger piece of the pie. So, are you in or are you out?”
“Give me a minute to think about this.”
“Take two,” Van said, tapping the gun on his thigh.
Seeger looked at Olivia and after a few moments he sighed.
“In or out?” Van asked.
“I’m out.”
Van winced. “Wrong answer.” He raised his gun and shot Seeger between the eyes.
Olivia yelped as Seeger fell backwards and hit the floor with a thud.
“You’ve lost your mind,” Josephine said.
“No, I lost my patience.”
The bodyguard that let Seeger in stepped into the living room.
“Get Seth, and you two put him in the basement
.”
Olivia shuddered as the two men picked him up and carried him off. “I want to see my friends.”
“They’re fine.”
“I want to see for myself.”
“I said they’re fine, so just relax.”
Josephine stood up.
“What’s up?” Van asked.
Josephine slowly walked toward him. She ran her hand down the side of his face. He closed his eyes, relishing the contact.
“Listen to me, Van, please. With Marion dead, this opens up a window of opportunity for us. Think of the countries he did business with, the clients, the connections, the money, the power.”
“I have, and I want it all.” He inhaled Josephine’s scent off the palm of her hand, and with his eyes still closed, he kissed it.
With practiced precision, she punched him in the throat with her free hand and took a step back.
Van’s eyes popped open as he grabbed his throat and started gagging. He forgot how much pain he was in when he saw Josephine reaching under her dress. He fumbled at his waistband and pulled his gun. At the same time, Josephine retrieved the .25 automatic from her thigh holster. Both of them had their guns pointed at one another.
“Josephine, don’t make me do this. Give me that gun,” Van said through watery eyes.
“Drop yours and we can talk.”
Van chuckled. “I think that would be a bad move on my part.”
“The bad move on your part was not checking me for a weapon.”
“And you just want to talk?”
“Yeah, just talk,” Josephine said, her eyes turning beady.
He began lowering his gun. What he was really doing was turning his body to the side to make himself less of a target. He sprang at her with lightening speed. She got off a shot before he tackled her to the ground.
Olivia flew off the couch and charged at Van. He wrenched the .25 from Josephine’s grip and quickly got back to his feet. He brought the butt of his gun down on Olivia’s forehead, dazing her long enough to shove her to the floor next to Josephine.
He stumbled back from them and looked at his left shoulder. He took off his jacket and inspected the gun shot. The bullet grazed him. No harm done. “Just talk, huh?”
“You came at me,” Josephine said, attempting to get off the floor.
He kicked her back down. “Stay down there. I like you better there. And you…” He slapped the taste out of Olivia. He was about to kick her when the satellite phone rang. Everybody froze and looked at it for a couple seconds. Van finally walked over to the coffee table and answered it.
“Congratulations on another successful hit.”
“Put Josephine on,” Saint said.
“There’s been a change in plans.”
“Put Josephine on the phone.”
Van walked over to Olivia. He grabbed her by the hair and yanked until she screamed.
“You son of a bitch. If you hurt her—”
“What I do to her is entirely up to you.”
“Where’s Josephine?”
“She’s here, admiring the hardwood floors.”
“I told her not to trust you.”
“And I told her to stop loving you, but as we both know she’s a hard headed bitch.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to know where you are.”
“Africa.”
“You’re so predictable. I figured you would go there after the job. Here’s the deal. Do as I say, and I’ll let them all go.”
“All?”
“The whole gang is here. Glen, Grace, and two of the women who work at the shop with your precious Olivia.”
“You’re supposed to be a professional.”
“Which is why I’m giving you a chance to do the right thing.”
“And what is the right thing.”
“You’re a murderer. Killing people is against the law. I want you to go to the American Embassy and turn yourself in, tell them who you really are.”
“You know I’m not going to do that.”
“Not even to save your precious Olivia?”
Saint got quiet for a moment. “How do I know you won’t kill them after I turn myself in?”
“You don’t, but you know for a fact that I will if you don’t.”
“How will you know that I turned myself in?”
“Like I said, I knew you were going to Africa. I have a man there who will confirm your arrival. Two hours.” He hung up. “You see my love,” he said, getting in Josephine’s face. “I don’t have to kill him. Once he’s in custody, he’s as good as dead.” He looked at the phone as it rang in his hand. He answered it on the eighth ring. “Is there something wrong?”
“I want to make a deal.”
“A deal? Here’s the deal. Do what I told you to do or everyone dies. That’s the deal.”
“Josephine didn’t see any of this coming, did she?”
“No, she didn’t.”
“You’ve been playing me all along, like a game of chess.”
“Interesting analogy. I’ll go with that. Josephine, Glenn, Grace, and Marion were all pawns.”
“And Olivia is my queen?”
“Yes, and I believe this is the part where I get to say checkmate.”
“Check, maybe, but not checkmate.”
“What?”
“Checkmate means the king has no other moves.”
“You have no other moves.”
“Sure I do.”
“And what move would that be?”
Van shuddered as he felt the cold muzzle of Saint’s 9mm rest on the back of his neck.
“CHECKMATE.”
Chapter 16
Josephine was the first one to see Saint creep from the basement doorway. The glow on her face made Olivia turn in that direction. She opened her mouth, but he quickly silenced her by putting his finger to his lips. He was wearing a black knit hat and a pair of black overalls. Van was looking out the living room window at the scenery, oblivious to what was about to unfold.
With stealth steps, Saint crept up on him and placed the muzzle of his gun on the back of his neck.
“CHECKMATE.”
Both Josephine and Olivia would’ve paid a million dollars a piece to have a snapshot of the shocked expression on Van’s face.
Saint sensed he was about to try something stupid. “I’ve come across some pretty quick people in my time, but never one quick enough to outrun a bullet.” He felt around Van’s body and pulled the gun out of his waistband and put it in the pocket of his overalls.
“I thought you were in Africa.”
“I guess I’m not as predictable as you thought.”
“How’d you get in? All the doors and windows are locked. I double checked them myself.”
“I stopped using doors and windows a long time ago.”
“I have men with me.”
“However many you have, subtract the two that carried Seeger’s body down into the basement.”
“That only leaves one,” Josephine said with a smug smile. “And he’s upstairs with Glenn and the rest of them.”
“This might sound ludicrous, right now, but I was actually doing you a favor,” Van said to Saint.
“How so?”
“My plan was just to send you to jail for the rest of your life, she, was planning on killing you.”
“Won’t be the first time. Isn’t that right, Josephine?”
She got up from the floor and headed toward the basement.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get my sledge hammer.”
“No, stay put,” Saint said, pulling Van’s gun out his pocket and pointing it at her. “I don’t trust neither one of you.”
“Saint,” Josephine said in a hurt tone.
“Where is everybody?”
“They’re in the bedrooms upstairs,” Olivia said.
“I know your man has a phone on him. Use the one you’re still holding to your ear to call
him, and tell him to bring everyone down here.”
Van dialed Max’s cell phone number. “Bring everyone down here… Just do as I say.”
“Both of you go and sit on the couch,” Saint said to Josephine and Olivia. “When they get to the bottom of the stairs, call them to you.” He grabbed Van by the collar and shoved him to the couch on the opposite side of the room. He sat him down and backed away from him. He kept his gun trained on him as he stood under the stairs. Ten minutes later, Max herded Baby, Glenn, Grace, and Miki down the stairs.
“Hurry up, y’all,” Olivia said, beckoning them to come to her.
They all ran to Olivia and hugged her.
Saint waited for Max to walk off the last step before running up behind him and bashing him in the back of the skull with his gun.
Everyone turned when they heard him collapse to the floor.
“Saint!” Glenn called out and ran to him. He hugged him and kissed him on the cheek.
“It’s good to see you, too,” he said, keeping his gun trained on Van. “Reach into my left pocket, take out those plastic restraints and bound sleeping beauty before he wakes up.”
“What in the hell is going on?” Baby asked Olivia.
“Girl, you don’t want to know.”
“Glenn, listen, down the road, about a half a mile, there’s a brown Buick. I want you to take the girls out of here and head home.”
“What about you?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“You’re not coming with us,” Olivia said. “I got to finish up here.”
Olivia looked at Josephine and then to Van and it dawned on her what he meant by finish up. “Saint.”
“Get out of here, now!”
“Look out!” Miki screamed as Seth, one of the men Saint knocked out in the basement came flying through the doorway. The sudden attack would have caught anyone else flat-footed, but Saint wasn’t anyone else. The only thing that moved on his body was his thumb flicking on the gun’s safety. He became absolutely still until the two hundred and twenty pound brawler threw a jab. Saint struck with the quickness of a cobra. Throwing the left jab, exposed the left side of Seth’s ribcage. Saint ducked the jab, and with a right hook, he clubbed him in the ribs with the butt of his gun. Seth grunted in pain as he stumbled backward, holding his ribs. His sudden back pedal gave Saint enough room to set him up for a spinning round house. The kick came high and fast. The back of his heel connected with the bottom of Seth’s jaw, shattering it as the back of his head slammed against the living room wall. Without waiting to see him fall, Saint turned back to face Van, only to find him no longer in sight. Glenn pointed toward the kitchen where Van disappeared into. He pushed Glenn towards the women as he approached the kitchen door from the side. He flicked off the gun’s safety and pushed the door open. He stole a peek inside and didn’t see Van. As he filled the doorway, Van stood up from behind the counter.
In The Cut Page 19
