Eva continued with her instructions. “I’ve circled an area on the map in northern Michigan, with an address. I have a cousin and his wife who own a farmhouse up there, and I’ve called them to let them know you are coming. They are good people and I trust them with my life. Stay with them and keep your heads down and I promise you will be safe. Take whatever route you think best going up there, but make sure you don’t leave a trail for the birthright to follow.
“Here is a burner phone. In it are two numbers—mine and my cousin’s. Do not call me unless it is absolutely necessary, and do not call anyone else. Any contact with your loved ones will only serve to raise suspicion. I will meet with your families personally and explain the situation as best I can. I’m sorry.”
Daniel saw Jordan start to cry at the gravity of the situation. The thought of not being allowed to see or contact his family would eventually catch up to him as well, but right now Daniel was all focus. Lives were on the line.
“Here is a credit card in your name.” Eva reached up and handed the plastic card with the name Daniel Simmons on it to Daniel. “Don’t worry about paying it off, that will be handled. And here is the number of a bank account that will be opened in your name as well. Each week I will deposit one thousand dollars into the account. That should be more than enough to get you by.
“And finally, here are the keys to that red sedan in the parking lot.” Eva slid the keys over to Jordan and pointed to a mid-sized four-door just outside the door of the restaurant. “It’s gassed up and ready to go. The license plate is registered to no one. If a cop pulls you over they will run your plate and they will receive instructions from the FBI to let you go. They most likely won’t even step out of their cruiser.
“And you know what these are.” She picked up the two magazines off of the table and handed them to Daniel. The man behind the counter now seemed slightly panicked by what he was seeing.
Daniel took the clips and put them in the inner pocket of his jacket before standing up from the table. When Jordan stood up she held up the keys as if she didn’t know what to do with them.
“Hang out at the corner and wait for me to come out the front,” he instructed her. Jordan sighed and nodded her head in acknowledgment.
Charlie and Jordan lead the way out of the dimly lit restaurant and Daniel followed. Eva stopped to drop a hundred-dollar bill onto the counter before following the other three outside. Once out the door, Eva grabbed Daniel’s arm and turned him toward her.
“When things have settled down and we find out where Gordon Demérs is, I will come for you.”
Daniel grimaced and shook his head. “I’m not a soldier or an assassin. I won’t make any promises to you.”
Eva glared back, a blaze of hopeless distress in her eyes. “We need you. You may be the only one who has a chance of stopping Demérs. This country depends on it.”
Daniel sighed. The last thing he wanted or needed right now was the fate of the country being put on his shoulders.
Charlie approached the pair standing outside the doorway. “Why not just call in a SWAT team?”
“Can’t let the media know that the FBI was in on this,” she responded. “Too many questions.”
Charlie made a dissatisfied face, but accepted the answer nonetheless.
“Start getting as many people out as you can,” Daniel instructed. “Discreetly.”
“Right,” Charlie agreed sarcastically before turning and heading back over to the complex.
“Good luck,” Eva told both Daniel and Jordan as she made her way toward her vehicle.
Daniel turned to walk Jordan to their getaway car.
“And Daniel!” Eva shouted back to him before crossing the street. “She didn’t get close to you just because it was her job!”
Daniel smiled as he watched Eva turn and scamper across the street with a grin of her own. Jordan looked on suspiciously, but knew now was not the time to ask about it.
Without warning Daniel threw open his arms and wrapped them tightly around Jordan. If she was going to be the last friend he ever saw, he wanted to make it count.
“I love you,” he said sweetly.
“I love you too,” she replied honestly, though clearly filled with fear and distrust.
“I’ll meet you at the front of the building,” he told her as he walked away. It was time to cut one of the heads off of the snake that was the Birthright of the Elite, and this time he would not fail.
Chapter 14
Daniel stood at the unmarked entrance of the Elite complex. Snowflakes were beginning to flurry upon the cold December air. He tucked his gun into his waistband against the small of his back. He was still dressed head to toe in black from his assault on Gordon Demérs. He slowly pushed open the front door of the building and walked inside.
The lobby looked exactly as it did the first time he had entered into this strange world of Elite, as though it were the lobby of any normal industrial warehouse. To his left, Frank sat behind his desk as he always did.
Frank glanced up from the magazine he was reading to see who had entered his lobby. “Hey Danny, how are ya?”
Daniel glanced at the man, a certain darkness in his eyes. “Get out of here, Frank.”
Frank removed his eyes from his literature again, unsure how to respond to the agent’s order to leave.
Daniel glared back at the man behind the desk, a fire beginning to ignite inside of him. Frank saw the undeniable intensity in Daniel’s eyes, and immediately stood up from his chair and scurried out the door. Daniel strode toward the elevator, his neural pathways already kicked into full-gear. He was now in total control.
He reached forward and pushed the call button for the elevator. It only took a moment before the car reached the first floor and the metallic doors slid open. Daniel stepped forward into the car and reached behind him to push the button for the second floor. As the doors slid shut behind him and the lift started upward, Daniel stood unmoving, staring at the back doors.
After a few more seconds the rear doors slid open, and Daniel started forward onto the catwalk. There was the normal flurry of activity happening on the floor of the complex, but Daniel blocked all of it out. His eyes were fixated on Richfield’s office. The door was open and amber light was shining out onto the floor of the balcony outside. Richfield was inside.
When he reached the halfway point of the catwalk, Daniel saw Blank step out of the office. He noticed Daniel immediately. Blank opened his mouth to yell something to Daniel but Daniel quickly raised his finger to his lips to signal Blank to keep quiet. Thankfully Blank followed Daniel’s command, and instead hurried over to him on the catwalk. Daniel stopped where he was so as not to alert Richfield to his presence.
“Danny,” Blank said softly as he neared the agent. “You made it! Everything okay?”
Daniel stared at his recruiter, his eyes still filled with darkness. “Did you know?”
Blank removed his grey fedora and scratched his head. “I think by now you know you need to be more specific than that, Danny boy.”
Daniel’s lip curled. According to Harvell, Blank was as much a victim as Daniel, but a part of him still held the man responsible for dragging him into this mess.
“Did you know that Richfield killed Norma?”
Blank took a step back. The fury in Daniel’s eyes showed that he believed in what he was saying, but it didn’t add up. “Norma died on the job. Richfield was here.”
Daniel took a deep breath. He didn’t want to believe that Blank was covering, but he had to be sure.
“He sent Titan to do it for him, but he orchestrated the whole thing,” Daniel explained.
“Who told you this?” Blank demanded. “Why the hell would Mister Richfield do a thing like that?”
Daniel cringed at the rising level of Blank’s voice. He hoped Richfield hadn’t noticed from within his office.
“Because he’s the leader of the Birthright,” Daniel stated flatly.
“The Birth…”
Blank trailed off as he began to understand what Daniel was suggesting. “Gordon Demérs is the leader of the Birthright, Daniel. Not Chuck Richfield.”
Even through his rage, Daniel noticed that Blank had called him by his full name. “A position that he is fighting to take from Richfield. It’s the reason we’re all here—the reason he found you and brought me in.”
Blank shook his head and raised his hand, refusing to believe it. “What? Did Demérs tell you all this?”
“Henry!” Daniel half-shouted. “Think about it. I’m not the first person Richfield has attempted this on. They call themselves the Birthright of the Elite. He brought us here to be his soldiers. Think about who we protect.”
Blank looked down at the ground, calculating. Clearly Daniel calling him by his first name—a name very few even knew—had garnered his attention. Slowly, he began to see that the pieces of Daniel’s story fit together.
“Norma was FBI,” Daniel explained. “A special division that fights against the Birthright.”
Blank looked back up at Daniel, and for the first time ever, Daniel saw fear in his eyes.
“That would explain all the secret meetings with Titan,” he admitted.
Daniel gave a satisfied nod and placed his hand on Blank’s shoulder. “You should get out of here.” He then pushed his way past Blank and continued on to Richfield’s office.
“Where are you going, Daniel?” Concern now filled Blank’s voice.
Daniel turned and walked backward for a couple steps, throwing his arms out to his side. “I’m defending my country.”
Blank stood still and watched as Daniel finished his march on Richfield’s office. An instinctual part of him wanted to defend the man he had dedicated the last three years of his life to, but the logical part of him knew that even if he wanted to, nothing was going to stop Daniel anymore.
Daniel stormed into Richfield’s office uninvited and immediately closed the door behind him. He waited for Richfield to look up from his computer screen and meet his eyes. Daniel was wearing his every thought and emotion on his face. Richfield being as savvy as he was, didn’t need Daniel to speak to know what he was thinking.
“So,” Richfield began, “what did Demérs tell you?”
Daniel chewed on his response a moment, deciding where to begin. He often disliked when the characters in movies wasted time talking to one another rather than just killing their enemy, but Daniel felt that before he ended Richfield he needed some form of closure.
“Well,” Daniel spoke, “After shooting him six times and watching all six bullets bounce right off his skin, he asked me to join him on his throne.”
Richfield’s lip curled in disgust. “It seems he’s more powerful than I anticipated. But I was more interested in anything he may have told you about Elite.”
“Well there wasn’t too much he—and the good doctor FYI—could say before the FBI arrived,” Daniel countered.
Richfield licked his teeth and grinned, staring down at the floor. “So Harvell is the one you talked to.”
“Wait,” Daniel interjected, noticing Richfield’s lack of a reaction to finding out that Horchoff was with Demérs. “You knew about Doctor Horchoff?”
Richfield’s face scrunched up, almost insulted. “Of course I knew. If Demérs actually believed that changing his name would keep me from finding out who his father was, he’s not as intelligent as I gave him credit for.”
“But they were using you…”
“Who cares?” Richfield shrugged off the comment as if it were no coincidence. “I had what I wanted. I figured I’d have Horchoff use my resources to complete his little science project, then once he went running back to Demérs with his knowledge on how to duplicate the process I’d have you kill them both before they could kill you.”
Daniel stopped talking and continued to keep his gaze firmly on Richfield. Whatever his plan was for dealing with Horchoff and Demérs it had now failed, and though Daniel was still alive, Demérs was out there with the capability to create more like him, and Richfield was about to be killed by his own creation.
Richfield returned Daniel’s gaze. They appeared to be in a standoff for who would speak next.
Daniel had no qualms about losing the silent battle. “You had Norma killed.”
Richfield tilted his head to the side. Daniel noticed his hand sliding slowly toward his desk drawer.
“Don’t move!” Daniel shouted, pulling his gun from behind his back and pointing it at Richfield. “I may not be a great shot but I’m good enough. Hands on the desk.”
Richfield lifted his hands in the air and slowly placed them on top of his desk. At this point it was clear that anymore lies and deception would do him no good. Daniel had made up his mind on who to believe.
“She was going to ruin everything.” Richfield’s tone had now become dark and threatening.
“It looks like you’ve done a good enough job of that without her,” Daniel retorted.
Richfield snarled. “You don’t understand how great you are. I was going to restore this country to its natural form of government—the way God intended. You…” Richfield gestured toward the rest of the complex, “you were to be our knights. You would lead us to salvation and watch over our kingdoms. And you were to be the greatest of them all Daniel. You were to be my Lancelot.”
Tears began to fill Daniel’s eyes. He couldn’t believe he had been so stupid as to blindly follow the words of the leader of some twisted cult.
“We are NOT your army!”
Richfield threw his head back and to the side, his eyes rolling back into his head. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed Daniel, but these types of wars are no longer won by armies. They’re one by specialized individuals who can carry out specialized attacks.
“They are won…by who has the greatest technology and the most revolutionary thinkers on their side. Don’t you see? This is what the revolution has been waiting for since the beginning—A time when numbers alone will not win you a war! We can rule simply because we are better—because we are the Elite!”
Daniel’s hands began to shake with anger but he quickly went back into his mind and literally calmed his nerves. He would no longer have any qualms about killing this man. He was a cancer upon this Earth.
“You are insane,” Daniel managed to say softly.
“No, Gordon Demérs is insane,” Richfield countered. “He wants to rule over the entire continent himself—make it all one big kingdom where everyone bows to him.”
“But not you?” Daniel inquired.
“Of course not. The country—and then continent—will need to be divided into separate kingdoms, each ruled over by separate divine members of the Birthright. Then with the leadership of my knights, our united armies can work together to defend and expand our kingdoms.”
“And that seems sane to you?” Daniel asked sardonically. “You don’t see any flaws or problems with that at all?”
“Well sure, there would occasionally be territory disputes and fighting amongst ourselves, but that’s only natural…”
“You know what, fuck it!” Daniel blurted, cutting off Richfield. “Stand up!”
Daniel moved over to Richfield’s desk so fast that Richfield hadn’t had time to respond. Daniel stepped around the desk and grabbed Richfield by his collar, pulling him up and out of his chair by force. He then reared back with his right fist, and slammed it into the left side of Richfield’s face. It was the first time Daniel had ever used his control over his muscles to limit the amount of power behind a punch. Rather than be immediately rendered unconscious, Daniel wanted his deranged opponent to feel his knuckles slamming into his cheek bone.
The punch knocked Richfield onto the floor, where he spit out blood and a couple of teeth. “I always knew you were strong, but damn!”
Daniel bent down and picked Richfield back up off the floor. He stared at him with a hatred he had never felt before. Before now he had never been angrier than the day Norma had been killed. He
was now staring into the face of the man responsible for her death.
As he stared down Richfield who continued to spit blood onto the ground beside him, Daniel noticed a panel of ceiling out of place near the back corner of the room. Beyond the panel Daniel could see a series of pipes running across the ceiling. One of the pipes had a label on it that indicated that it was a gas line.
Daniel grinned, now realizing the meaning behind Eva’s special gift from the parking lot. He turned his attention back to Richfield and tilted his head. Slowly, he lowered Richfield so that the weight of his body was being entirely supported by his feet, though Daniel maintained the grip on his collar.
Daniel then lifted his right foot, and thrust it into Richfield’s left knee, completely shattering his patella and hyperextending his knee at the joint, rendering it completely useless. Richfield cried out in agonizing pain, and Daniel felt his victim’s weight shift as he held him upright.
Daniel then repeated the process on Richfield’s right knee. Richfield again cried out in pain as Daniel removed his grip on the man’s collar and let him collapse onto the floor.
“Are you going to kill me or not?” Richfield managed to grunt through the pain.
“No,” Daniel replied calmly. He pulled out the lighter than Eva had given him and ignited it, placing it on the top of a filing cabinet that sat just underneath the gas line. “Even though you hired me to kill, I’m just not cut out to be an assassin. I have no desire to be.”
He then stepped over Richfield and moved to the door. “But that being said, in your case I’d be more than willing to arrange a circumstance in which you can’t prevent yourself from dying.” He chuckled. “I guess I finally understand what Doctor Evil was getting at.”
Daniel opened the door and pulled out his gun, taking aim at the gas pipe in the ceiling. He lined up his sights and fired, hitting the pipe dead on. The sound of leaking air began coming from the pipe.
“All hail the king,” Daniel said before stepping out of the door and closing it behind him.
Elite 2: The Wrong Side of Revolution Page 18
