Boredom during these waiting games was dangerous. Senses got dulled and warning signs were missed. Diana had taught him her best investing strategies and when they’d had enough of that, to keep them both alert, he’d taught her some hand to hand combat moves. She was a quick study and had picked them up very fast. Almost like she’d done them before.
“My gut tells me he’s just biding his time, waiting to catch us off guard,” Diana responded.
“Maybe he has left the country after all,” Peter said with a sigh. If they’d had a photo or even a sketch of the man, they could have run a facial recognition trace against CCTV footage at all the major Canadian airports. “Maybe it’s time to take a different approach,” he said.
“I think this is our only shot at getting our hands on him. He’s evaded CSIS and all the other agencies for years. We don’t have a tenth of the resources they do.” Diana massaged her eyes with her fingertips.
Peter checked himself. Diana was sounding weary. “We’ll find him, Diana. We’ve got this. We’re the ‘A Team’, remember?” He held up his fist and Diana bumped it with her own. He winked and smiled at her. She smiled back.
“You’re right. If anyone can find Surgeon, it’s us.”
Peter wasn’t just paying lip-service or trying to make her feel better. He really did believe in them as a team. They’d had tough cases before. They could do this. They always did.
“I suggest we give it another day or two and then reevaluate,” he said.
“Good idea,” she said with a smile. “So, what do you want to do now? Watch a movie? Play a game?”
Diana was a total geek. She was the only woman Peter knew who enjoyed playing computer games. She’d laughed when he’d suggested it, but he’d cocked his eyebrow, and she’d given in. She never could pass up a challenge.
“I’ll get my laptop,” Peter said rubbing his hands together. Diana laughed. “Don’t laugh. Get ready for a beatdown.”
“Hey, I thought you were supposed to be teaching me,” she shot back.
“Gotta take advantage of your inexperience while I can. You catch on fast.”
“And you’re a good match. Its good to be around someone smart and sharp. You don’t know how rare that is.”
Peter bent over to pick up his laptop that had been left to charge on the floor. His eyes widened, and he was thankful she couldn’t see his expression. She sounded sad and wistful. He didn’t know what to make of it.
Diana’s eyes flew open. Something was wrong. She could feel it. She made no move but opened her eyes and swiveled her eyeballs in their sockets to take in as much as she could. There were cracks of light seeping around the blind at the window on the left side of the room, illuminated by the glowing bulbs outside. The small amount of light cast shadows around the room, but now they were all wrong. Someone was in the room with her.
She slowly slid her hand under her pillow and curled her fingers around her gun. She surged up into a sitting position and trained the barrel to the left of the shadow that was out of place.
“Whoa!” whispered a familiar voice. “It’s just me.”
“What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed?” she hissed back. She was shocked. That Peter had got that close without waking her meant either that she was slipping, or he was that good.
Peter held up his hand to quieten her. “Someone’s in the house.”
She threw her covers off. There were footsteps on the stairs. Peter crept over to the door, and hugged the wall, his gun at the ready. Diana sank to her knees, hiding behind the bed, her gun trained on the door.
The doorknob began to turn. Both of them held their breath as the door opened. Diana’s heart was racing, and her palms were sweaty. She’d come so far and learned so much since her last encounter with Surgeon, but cold fingers of fear snaked up her spine, causing an involuntary shiver.
A man dressed in black with a ski mask covering his face crept in, pistol raised. He wore a low-voltage headlamp that picked out Diana immediately. As he took one more step into the room, Peter coldcocked him once across the back of the head. He dropped like a stone.
Diana scrambled to her feet and scurried over. “That was easy,” Peter said.
“Why did you do that?”
“He had a gun pointed at you, Diana.”
“But—“
Diana put her gun down as she knelt by the fallen man. She tore his mask off and looked down. “This can’t be him. He’s too young.”
“What are you talking—”
Diana looked up.
Peter reached his hand over his shoulder. His pupils dilated. He looked her in the eye, “Run!” He started to fall.
“Peter!” she screamed. She tried to catch him but he was heavy. They both went down. A dart stuck out from the back of Peter’s shoulder.
Diana scrambled out from under him and dove for her gun. “Now, now, Diana, calm down.” The voice was unhurried and composed, one that seemed to have all the time in the world. “Don’t do anything stupid. It’s time to play.” The voice chilled her.
She turned over, the gun firmly in her hand. In front of her was a face hidden behind a paper surgical mask. She stared into Surgeon’s eyes. Blue eyes that she remembered from last time. Like Peter’s, but so different. Where Peter’s eyes were expressive and changed from chips of ice when he was angry to sky blue warmth when he wasn’t, Surgeon’s eyes were flat. Lifeless. There was nothing. Just like last time. She froze. It was a mere moment, but it was more than enough to lose any advantage she might have. She felt a pinprick in her thigh. “I really didn’t want to do it this way. I hoped we could be more civilized.”
Her vision blurred. She clenched her jaw. She would not go down without a fight, but she was no match for the drug now rushing through her veins. She squeezed the trigger and a shot thundered through the room. Everything went black.
Peter rubbed his eyes. Every muscle hurt. He shifted a little. The surface beneath him was much too hard to be a bed. He opened his eyes and scrutinized his surroundings. He was on the floor, in the master bedroom where Diana should be sleeping.
He looked at the bed, but he couldn’t see her from his vantage point. He’d have to get up. What the hell had happened?
He turned onto his side and pushed himself up. He had double, no, triple vision, and his head pounded. Beams of sunlight filtered through the blinds, hurting his eyes. He looked toward the bed again. His breath caught in his throat, and his heart began to thump hard. The bed was empty. The covers were a mess. Maybe Diana was downstairs getting coffee. But why was he on the floor? His memories were muddled.
“Diana!” he hollered. No answer. Peter carefully stood up, swaying as he did so. There was a man on the floor by the door. Peter staggered over to him. The man was dead. A syringe lay on the floor next to the body. What the hell? He could see a small hole in the wall, next to the door, about thigh level. He bent down, supporting himself with his hand. He looked closer. It was a bullet hole. The memories came flooding back.
He pulled his phone out of his pants with shaking hands. He tried to dial Donaldson but couldn’t get his fingers to work. He took a deep breath. He had to stay in control. He had to find her.
He finally steadied himself enough to punch in the numbers.
“What’s happened?” Donaldson barked.
“He’s got her.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DIANA CAME AROUND slowly. She kept her eyes closed and focused on modulating her breathing to feign sleep. She knew she was in danger but she couldn’t remember why precisely. Think. What happened? She remembered playing a computer game. She’d gone to bed.
It all came rushing back in a flood. An intruder. Peter decking him. Going down himself. Decoy intruder. That mask. Those eyes. Reaching for her gun. Freezing. His advantage. Nothing. She remembered getting a shot off, but she’d obviously missed her mark because here she was. She silently cursed the fact that they’d fallen for the decoy. Where was Peter? Was he even
alive?
She could smell salt, metal, diesel fumes, an undercurrent of fish.
She tried to move her right hand, but couldn’t. She was strapped down. And she was lying on something hard and cold. A metal table. How innovative. She tried to move her legs, but they were strapped down too. Damn it!
“Now, now, Diana, I thought we had an open and honest relationship. Pretending you’re asleep is just so rude.” It was a male voice with a cultured English accent. Perhaps a slight hint of something else. Middle Eastern? She couldn’t tell exactly, but it was definitely Him. Surgeon. She’d never forget that voice.
She opened her eyes and cringed as the bright lights aggravated the pounding in her head. She closed them just as quickly as she’d opened them.
“I’m sorry for your discomfort, but it was the easiest way to get you here,” he said, sounding so courteous and apologetic that Diana might have laughed if she felt better. And had not been in mortal danger.
“Discomfort is the least of my worries when in your company,” she said. Her throat was dry and her lips cracked. Her words were rasping and almost unintelligible. She tried opening her eyes again, prepared for the assault on her senses. She blinked a few times and looked around. She couldn’t see him. Instead, she saw a table lined with all sorts of tools. They looked like surgical instruments, most of them had sharp edges. Next to them lined up in a perfectly uniform row were a number of syringes and half a dozen small bottles. Injectable drugs.
She tried to look around the room further, but it was difficult. He’d strapped her at the neck. She clenched her jaw and ground her teeth together hard as she lifted her head as far as she could. She cleared the table by barely an inch. She couldn’t see any windows. The cement walls were chipped. Mold grew on one side of the room and on the other, there was graffiti. Way, way above her, steel beams crisscrossed the cavernous roof area. Beyond them, higher, two pigeons flew between the crossbeams. An abandoned building. A former warehouse.
Her abductor had made himself at home. The table. The drugs. The building. The location. This wasn’t some hastily set up, opportunistic operation. Maybe she had been on his to-do list all along. Maybe her public insults hadn’t been necessary.
“Ah, Diana. Isn’t it wonderful to be together again? I’ve missed you. Would you like something to drink? You must be parched.” He sounded like he was inviting her to share a few scones with him over tea. He brought over a cup with a straw and stood behind her as she tilted her head as much as the strap around her neck would allow. She coughed as the water made its way down her throat.
“I must say, you’re audacious,” he continued in a conversational tone.
“How so?” she rasped.
“Going on TV and talking about me like that. You need some lessons in the tact department, my dear. You were quite rude. You practically issued me an invitation to abduct you.”
“I didn’t invite you to anything,” Diana replied.
“I believe you did. Otherwise why would you even mention me?” His tone hardened, “And why wouldn’t your boyfriend leave your side for days on end? He made things so much more difficult.” He spat boyfriend out like it was a disgusting word.
“He’s overprotective like that.”
“Did he really think he stood a chance against me? So foolish. When I want something, nothing will stop me from getting it. You should know that by now.”
“And you wanted me, right?”
“Of course,” he said as if it should be obvious.
“But why?”
“For the same reasons you wanted me. You find me fascinating. And I you,” he replied. “We are similar, you and I.” He laughed gently.
She was about to tell him that they had absolutely nothing in common, that he was a psychopath, and there was nothing fascinating about him, but she tamped down the urge. She had to keep him talking. Better to keep feeding his delusions. “I doubt we have the same motivations.”
“Maybe you’re right.” He was being charming again. “It’s not really that important anyway. I have you here. I won. That loser failed.” His voice hardened. “I still can’t fathom how you, whom I deem an intelligent woman, could possibly believe that that overgrown ape would protect you. Wasn’t that his purpose?”
“Did you kill him?” Diana hardly dare ask the question, and she wasn’t sure she could believe the answer, but she needed to hear it. She needed to determine what to do next.
“No, I decided to let him live. For now.”
“May I ask why you did that?”
“I thought he was rather beautiful. And he absolutely adores you. He will be going insane right about now. He’ll be even more upset when he finds your dead body.”
He paused, waiting for a reaction from her. Diana held her breath, but couldn’t stop her eyes from closing for a second with relief. A tear slipped out from under her eyelid.
“Tears? He’s making you sad. Would you like me to take care of him for you?” Diana heard him move again. She remained silent. “No? Well, I’ll probably kill him at some point. Eliminate him from the gene pool. Wouldn’t want him polluting it. Maybe later, when you’re gone.”
Diana heard him chuckle. She bit her tongue. He was goading her. She had to play the game. She had to survive. She had to get him talking. So, she swallowed her relief, her anger, and her fear, and took a few deep breaths.
“I don’t think you should waste your talents on him,” she said.
“You think I’m talented, do you?” he sucked in a breath. “I don’t know why, but I find that quite gratifying. But there’s no need to worry on my account. It wouldn’t be a waste to kill your friend. It would be quite enjoyable.”
“What are those drugs?” she asked.
“A few things to make the experience more pleasant. For me.” There was laughter in his voice again. “While I intend to inflict a lot of pain, I prefer to do it using a controlled methodology that will maximize your agony while minimizing the mess. The side-effects of the drug I used to get you here force me to wait a while before using them to make sure the pain you will endure is excruciating. I don’t want you to pass out too soon. I assure you though, you will feel absolutely everything I do to you,” he said.
“That’s so kind of you,” she snapped.
He laughed. “I see you’ve changed, Diana. Boyfriend aside, you aren’t cowering in fear of me anymore. But you will. And that will make this process all the more delicious.”
Long ago, Diana had mastered the assumption of a straight face even under duress, but in truth, she was frightened. Terrified, in fact. She was tied down and completely at his mercy. She had no way of getting free. She had to take that fear and shove it into the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind. He would use her fear against her, playing those mind games he so loved. She couldn’t let that happen.
“It’s been a while since we were in the same room together,” she replied, calmly. “I can’t even remember how long.” She knew exactly how long it had been.
“Diana, there is no reason for you to lie. You remember our encounter as well as I do.”
Diana shook her head and frowned. “How long ago was it?”
“Shut up,” he snapped. A chink in his armor. “You remember our encounter in complete and vivid detail.”
“I remember some of it,” She sensed him relax. “Like how you told me you didn’t enjoy conversing with your victims. In fact, I’m pretty sure you said you preferred them to remain silent. What changed?”
“You,” he replied, sounding a little more mollified. If only he’d come around the table so she could see him. “You changed everything. You showed me I had become complacent. I thought I was invincible, and you taught me humility. You were frightened, but I couldn’t break you. I realized I had to let you go. I had to learn. I would wait. I didn’t appreciate the lesson at the time, but I quickly came to see the value in what you had done for me. You made me better at what I do and for that, I thank you. Now I’m back to finish what I sta
rted.”
“If you’re so grateful, why not let me go again? I’d be happy to teach you a little more humility. Free of charge even.”
He laughed. “I must say, Diana dear, you are quite delightful. It’s almost a shame I have to kill you. You’d make an excellent apprentice.”
Diana raised an eyebrow. “That might not work out so well for you. I would kill you, eventually.”
“We all have to retire at some point. There would be no greater honor than to be killed by my protégé. If it happened to me, I’d go out in a blaze of glory knowing I fulfilled my destiny.”
And Peter said she was certifiable?
“Is that what happened with Garibaldi? You, the apprentice, finally outshining your master? What did he feel when he died? Pride? Relief?”
“Probably.” Surgeon paused for what seemed an eternity. He sniffed. “It was time for Gari to retire, for certain. The teacher had been usurped by his student. But it was also a contract. I suppose you could say I killed two birds with one needle, so to speak.” He guffawed at his own joke. Diana stayed silent.
“So, someone paid you to kill your mentor?” she asked after he’d stopped laughing. “And you accepted?”
“Aren’t you the inquisitive one?”
“It’s not as if I’m making it out of here alive. I’m curious why you’d kill him, that’s all.”
“Well, I guess I owe you that much. It’s the least I can do for my most special victim. It will do you little good, but it will sate your curiosity.”
Diana tried to contain a shiver. “Ah, so there is at least a little unease,” her captor observed.
“No, it’s just a little chilly in here,” she replied.
“Let’s make a deal, Diana. I’ll be honest with you, if you’re honest with me. If you lie to me, you’ll never find out who is responsible for the situation you find yourself in.”
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