Wessel placed a hand on his shoulder. “Mr. O’Grady,”
“Yes sir?”
“You have permission to see my daughter.”
O’Grady laughed. “Thank you, sir.”
***
Belenko was back inside Perpetuity trying to raise his men on the walkie-talkie as he limped about the room on his wounded leg.
No one was answering.
However, he was not alone, as the man Samantha maimed had stayed behind, the hat pin still protruding from his obliterated left eye, a smiling yellow & black honey bee at its tip.
His name was Anton and he did not look good at all. The wound Samantha inflicted had caused fluid to build up in his face, and now his good eye was so swollen that he could barely see out of it.
He sat on a stool with his back to the bar, occasionally moaning in misery as he listened to Belenko vainly attempt to raise the other men.
Finally, in a fit of frustration, Belenko tossed the walkie-talkie across the room, and when he glanced up, he saw that his boat was approaching the dock.
He checked his watch. It was exactly on time, and it was absolutely the only thing that had gone right all day.
“Anton, it’s time to go.”
“Did you make the American talk, Vadim?”
“No!”
Anton said nothing after that, as he heard the underlying rage in Belenko’s tone. His leader was not used to failure, and today’s losses were staggering.
When they reached the front doors of the hotel, Belenko keyed in the proper sequence and the magnetic lock disengaged, freeing the mechanism that opened them automatically to do its job, and as the doors parted, an electronic tone chimed.
***
Jessica, O’Grady, and Wessel, were headed towards the lobby when they heard the sound.
“That’s the front doors. Maybe those bastards are leaving,” Wessel said.
When they reached the lobby, Jessica saw the bodies of the three men her husband had killed during his run-in with Belenko, and also the corpses of the murdered security personnel.
Through the tinted glass of the lobby doors, they saw Belenko limping away with a gun hanging by his side, and following along behind him was Anton, whose vision was so impaired that he was nearly blind.
“That man with the gun is the one who cut off my fingers,” Wessel said.
O’Grady gazed about the area.
“Where are the rest of his men?”
Jessica realized what Belenko’s retreat meant.
“His men are dead, all dead,”
***
The boat Belenko was escaping on was a yacht named, Lucky Lucille, an eighty-footer with powerful twin engines, newly stolen from the Harborton yacht club. The pilot of the boat stared at Belenko in astonishment.
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know, Ivan.”
“They must all be dead, but who could kill so many men?”
“I only know that Anton and I were the only ones to make the rendezvous with you. Now stop talking and get this boat moving again, or do you not see the police vehicle on that approaching ferry?”
Ivan shook his head in wonderment, but turned and walked towards the wheelhouse without uttering another word.
***
“Jessica!”
She turned to see her husband running towards them from the opposite corridor, carrying one of the modified shotguns, and when he reached them, he enveloped her in his arms.
“Is the threat over?” she asked.
“Yes, and there’s also help on the way. I saw the ferry approaching with a police car aboard.”
“You can thank your wife for that,” O’Grady said. “She had us rig together a banner that spelled out an SOS.”
Wessel pointed towards the dock.
“They’ll be too late, that man is already aboard a boat.”
He kissed Jessica.
“I have to go after him. I need to finish this.”
“Go, but be careful,”
He ran halfway to the door and then stopped and gazed back at her.
Jessica went to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“The threat has ended and that man is obviously leaving. I have to think of those babies you’re carrying. I ache to go after that bastard, but I have to think of our family and not take needless risks.”
Jessica placed a gentle hand on his cheek.
“I love you for thinking that way, but I’ll always suffer from guilt over what happened to Dr. Harte and her family, over the fact that I didn’t let you finish off Gregory Zubek when we had the chance. If that man out there escapes, he’ll only destroy more innocent lives someday. We both know that, and I don’t think either of us wants to live with the knowledge that we let him go.”
He kissed her and laid a hand atop her stomach.
“I’ll stop that man and come back to you.”
Jessica smiled.
“Give him hell,”
He went out the doors and raced towards Belenko, more intent than ever to destroy the man.
CHAPTER 12
Belenko took a seat on the deck and tore at his pant leg, to view the wound that Blake had given him. The bloody wound was on the outside portion of his thigh, where a slug had passed through.
He hung his head and sighed while thinking of the fate that awaited him. This mission was not sanctioned by his superiors inside the organization, some of whom would not take kindly to the fact that he was trying to expose them as the Western sympathizers they were. His failure would only weaken the cause of the other hardliners such as himself, and reprisals would follow once the trail inevitably led back to their doorstep.
And Pavel, his beloved nephew, gone, murdered by the American with the evil eyes, no doubt, who apparently was also responsible for the disappearance of his other men, who were last seen chasing him down to kill him.
The ferry was getting closer, and Belenko could discern that there was a man and a woman inside the police car. They were too late to give him trouble, but they would summon other authorities who would confront them at sea.
Let them, he was prepared for it.
The ferry docked beside them even as the boat began moving, and Belenko leaned back and shut his eyes.
Anton spoke.
“Is someone running? I hear footsteps.”
The American!
Belenko opened his eyes in time to see the American come hurtling through the air to crash atop Anton, and then topple to the deck together in a heap.
He reached beside him on the seat to grab his gun, brought it around, and fired.
***
“Give me your keys!”
O’Grady looked at Jessica in confusion. “What keys?”
“The ones to the boat you said you had out back.”
“There are no keys, just one key for the outboard motor, but why do you want it?”
“I’m going to follow that boat. My husband may need help.”
“I’ll go.”
“Jude, we’ve had this conversation, now, give me the key and then speak to the police and have them call the coast guard on their radio.”
O’Grady dug into his side pocket and brought out a key.
“Have you ever used a boat before?”
“Yes, almost every summer when I was growing up.”
“There’s not much fuel in the tank.”
“I understand.”
A shot rang out, and Jessica rushed towards the door, as O’Grady and Wessel followed behind.
***
“No!” Belenko shouted, while still trying to comprehend what had just occurred.
The tall man had been standing ten feet away from him, hands empty, and still a little off balance after his leap onto the boat, but when he pulled the trigger on the gun it was Anton that received the bullet, as the man yanked him from the deck as if he were weightless.
Belenko aimed the gun low to shoot at the man’s legs and, as he did so, the man toss
ed Anton at him, causing the gun to slip from his hand and skitter along the deck. Belenko shoved Anton back at the man, and this time luck was with him, as Anton’s feet tripped the man and made him fall.
The gun was near the rail and Belenko had stood up to get it, when the speeding boat hit a swell and his bad leg gave out, causing him to lose his balance and fall flat on his back. Then, something hard slid beneath his fingers, and to his delight he realized that it was the gun, but his delight was short-lived, as a strong hand gripped him by the hair and began dragging him backwards.
***
The boat’s pilot, Ivan, watched as Belenko struggled with the man who had jumped aboard as they were leaving the dock.
Anton, whose face already looked like something from a horror movie, was also bleeding from a wound in his back where a stray bullet had struck, and judging by the way he was writhing about, the wound was unbearable.
Something flashed to his right and he turned his head to see a red & white boat speeding towards him with official markings on it and an American flag fluttering overhead.
Ivan studied their approach and realized that they would soon overtake him. That’s when he slowed the yacht, reached down, and brought up the grenade launcher.
***
On the deck, Jessica’s husband and Belenko were oblivious to anything but each other as they struggled over the gun.
He had a grip on Belenko’s wrist and was applying steady pressure, trying to make him drop the weapon, even as Belenko gripped his own wrist and fought to keep him from freeing the knife he kept in his boot. The blade was halfway out and Belenko knew that once freed it would be used against him.
“Lucky Lucille, this is the United States Coast Guard. Stop your engines and prepare to be boarded.”
The voice on the megaphone broke Belenko’s concentration, and the knife slipped free from the boot and moved towards Belenko’s ribs. Belenko loosened his grip on the gun, and maneuvered it about in his hand, so that he could slip his thumb in front of the trigger, an act that pointed the gun downwards.
He fired, and the bullet went through the deck an inch from the left foot of his adversary, who then reared his head back, only to bring his forehead crashing down on Belenko’s nose, breaking it, and when he repeated the act, the gun dropped, bounced on the railing, and landed in the water.
Belenko backed up, then tripped over the hapless Anton and fell down. He squeezed his eyes shut against the sharp pain of his broken nose, and when he opened them again he saw his enemy advancing on him with the knife poised to strike.
***
He was closing in on Belenko to finish things when something flashed above him in the wheelhouse
WHOOOOSH!
BA BOOM!
The boat’s pilot was leaning out the door while holding an M4 with a grenade launcher attached to the rifle’s barrel, and had just fired upon the Coast Guard boat. The grenade had struck one of the boat’s twin engines, destroying it, while leaving its mate damaged and sputtering.
He watched the man load in another shell. He was planning to hit them again, and if the round struck the deck, it would kill or maim the sailors on board.
He had discarded the shotgun prior to leaping onto the boat in order to more easily cover the distance, but now ached for it, as the blade in his hand seemed a poor substitute.
He flung the knife as hard as he could and hit the pilot in the throat. The man jerked about, as his finger closed on the trigger and the grenade traveled fifty feet before striking the bow of his own vessel and exploding.
Within seconds, the yacht began to dip forward as it took on seawater. The pilot dropped the M4 and stumbled back inside the wheelhouse, where he inadvertently slammed the throttle to full, causing the yacht to accelerate and take on water faster, he then fell to his knees, choking, and tumbled down the stairs to collapse near the starboard railing.
Belenko turned from watching the pilot and rushed at him, bellowing a cry of rage, while attempting to lock his fingers around his throat. He slapped Belenko’s hands away and locked the bearded man in a bear hug that kept his arms pinned to his sides.
With his hands clasped together, he slid them low on Belenko’s back and then ground his knuckles against the base of the man’s spine.
When he saw Belenko bare his teeth, he knew that he planned to bite him, and so he lowered his head and felt Belenko’s mouth gnaw at his hair, but then Belenko screamed as his back broke, and he released the man and watched him fall.
He gazed about the deck. Belenko moaned at his feet as he lay on his side, while the boat’s pilot was dead, having bled out from the wound in his neck, and on the port side, Anton looked all but dead, as a stream of bloody bubbles drooled out of his gasping mouth.
The water was lapping at his feet as he retrieved his knife from the pilot’s neck, and he turned at the sound of the approaching engine.
The sight of his pregnant wife speeding to his rescue lightened his heart and he waved her on.
He carefully stepped into the boat from the stern.
“You have good timing.”
Jessica smiled at that, but then grimaced at the chaos they were leaving behind.
As the small boat pulled away from the ruined yacht, Belenko held up a hand and hoarsely cried out the word, “Please,”
He watched without sympathy or pity, until the hand disappeared beneath the waves.
***
O’Grady had warned Jessica that the engine had little gas, and by the time she reached her husband, it was nearly spent.
They set a southeast course and landed upon a private beach on the shoreline of Ocean Beach Island. Jessica found the sand daunting in her formal shoes and so he lifted her in his arms and carried her up a flight of stone steps.
As they reached the top, they found a large log cabin, and Jessica pointed and smiled at it, as he set her feet upon the lawn.
“That cabin is beautiful. Let’s see if anyone is at home.”
They rang the bell, but no one answered, and so they settled upon a granite bench that looked out over the sea.
Jessica used his phone and called in their position to the local police.
“That was the Chief of Police herself, she said that the cabin is well-known to her and that the Harborton cops informed them about the trouble at Sand Island. She’s coming herself to pick us up.”
He nodded.
“Your uncle really knows how to throw a wedding.”
She laughed, but then straightened her back and placed a hand atop her stomach.
“Ooohh, they’re kicking,”
He felt for the movement.
“One kicks high while the other kicks low, but the high kicks seem stronger. Maybe we’re having a boy and a girl?”
Jessica sighed.
“I know that we agreed to wait, but—”
“Call her,” he said. “Call the doctor and find out their sexes. I don’t want to wait anymore either.”
“You’re sure?”
“Call.”
She did, and when the call ended, she was beaming.
“They’re a boy and a girl, so we both got our wish.”
He kissed her.
“You’re going to be a mommy.”
“And you’re going to be a daddy, and our children will be loved to pieces.”
A sound came from behind them and to their right, as the large, wrought-iron gates at the property’s entrance swung open, and a car entered and parked.
A couple got out of the car. Both were in their sixties, blond, but the man had graying temples. They sent over a look of curiosity and then the woman waved to them in greeting.
Jessica waved back and then stood and took her husband’s hand.
“They must be the homeowners.”
He studied them.
“The woman looks familiar.”
“Yes, she does, doesn’t she?”
“Let’s go introduce ourselves.”
“Yes, and maybe make new friends.�
�
TAKEN! – LIKE BOND, ONLY BETTER
BY
REMINGTON KANE
CHAPTER 1
They were standing out on their front porch waiting for a guest to arrive, the meeting had been planned weeks ago, but a series of snowstorms had plagued the area and their appointment had been cancelled twice.
As they waited in what was finally milder weather, they talked about their parents, specifically, his birth mother, Amanda, and Jessica’s father, Dr. James White.
The two met recently at an engagement party for Jessica’s brother, Jimmy, and his girlfriend, Reina, and got along well, so well in fact, that his mother had borrowed Jessica’s car to go and spend the day with her father.
“Does this mean they’re dating?” he asked.
“It could, or it could just be a friendship.”
“Only a friendship? They’re not that old.”
“Daddy has rarely dated anyone since Mom died. His life has mainly been spent working, seeing patients, occasionally teaching.”
“It’s weird.”
“You object to them dating?”
“No, but it just feels odd.”
Jessica gave him a peck on the cheek.
“Maybe my daddy will soon be your daddy too,”
“That’s not funny.”
The dog came running over, panting, after having chased a fox, and he opened the door and let him inside to get a drink.
“Why did you ask Michael to join you at your business meeting tomorrow?” Jessica said.
“I’ve decided to give him a percentage of the 3-D project.”
“Really? But I thought he was working for wages, and didn’t you give him a bonus? Carly mentioned that the extra money came in handy.”
“What I paid him is a pittance compared to what he’s contributed. Without his help I would still be floundering, and possibly a year behind where I am.”
“So you’re making him a partner?”
“Yes, I plan to give him a quarter of any and all profits.”
“That’s generous.”
“It’s no more than what he’s earned, believe me, that boy is a genius.”
A bell chimed, indicating that a vehicle had entered the driveway, and moments later, one appeared around the curve.
The chauffeur, Billy Ortiz, parked the limo in front of the stairs. When he opened the back passenger door, Samantha hopped out and ran over to them.
The TAKEN! Series - Books 9-12 (Taken! Box Set Book 3) Page 22
