There’s a stairwell on the right. Two elevators just past it. Then the entrance.
These guys are right behind me. I just heard a single gunshot.
Damn it.
So long, Cheech.
They’re not going to stop. Neither I nor Ruby can keep this pace up for much longer. Then what? We’ve just led them back out onto the streets, where there’s more innocent people just waiting to be caught in the crossfire.
This needs to end.
Ruby throws open the main doors and bolts right, along the street. I’m a few steps behind her, but I’m done running. I exit the building and turn left. I slam on the brakes, jarring my already burning thighs, and pin myself to the wall just beside the door.
Three.
Two.
I grip the plank of wood like a baseball bat.
One.
The first assassin in line behind me appears, slowing as he prepares to turn. I throw my hips around, then my shoulders, swinging like I’m in the World Series. The piece of fencing smashes into his face. He doesn’t expect it. He doesn’t have time to protect himself. His head lurches back, sending his legs flying forward and him crashing to the ground. I glance down and see the mess I’ve made of his face. Swollen and bleeding and broken. He isn’t getting back up.
The second guy emerges, and I swing for him too. He manages to avoid the brunt of the impact. The wood connects with his shoulder, spinning him away to my left. He’s disoriented but unlikely to be out for the count.
The final two men are in the doorway now, and they’re ready for me. I grab the first one by his throat and drag him toward me. He’s smaller than me and much skinnier, so he’s easy to move. I spin him around and duck slightly, using him as a human shield in case anyone decides to start shooting.
With his back now to me, I hold him in place by his throat. I reach around and grab the hand holding the SMG. I clamp my hand over his and make a fist, forcing him to do the same. In doing so, he depresses the trigger. I step back, whipping his arm up as I do. A stream of gunfire spurts forth, shredding the last man in the doorway. The close-range assault tears him apart, and he drops lifelessly back inside the building almost instantly.
I step to my right, turning my shield to my left in the process. Keeping a grip on him, I do the same, riddling the still-stunned second guy with more bullets until the magazine is empty. He flails backward, crashes into the wall, then slides down to the sidewalk, leaving a thick trail of blood behind him.
Finally, I push my hostage away from me, creating some distance and allowing me to compose myself, ready for a one-on-one fistfight. I’m exhausted and sore and would give anything to go to bed right now, but I’m still going to kill this bastard with my bare hands.
He glares at me, snarling through yellowed teeth. In one swift motion, his hand disappears behind him and reappears a moment later holding a switchblade.
I let out a heavy sigh. I feel my shoulders slump forward slightly, a gesture of both fatigue and resignation.
Well, that’s just cheating.
He cuts the air in front of him, trying to appear threatening. He’ll be able to see how tired I am. He’s unlikely to be fazed by his cohorts’ deaths. The squadron of killers may have appeared together, but I suspect it was every man for himself in terms of taking me out. Any glory earned from mounting my head on the wall would be an individual prize, not a team effort.
A few seconds pass. Then I relax and breathe a small sigh of relief as I realize something he hasn’t.
He wasn’t alone, but now he is.
Whereas I was alone… and now I’m not.
Ruby sprints toward him from behind. She lets out a primal roar as she jumps, lifting both legs and driving both knees into the middle of his back. She then grabs his chin from behind and pulls his head toward her. As gravity does its work, they land heavily. Her knees are pushed deep into his spine; his head is pulled back farther than it’s designed to be pulled. The snap of his neck is sickeningly audible.
She stands slowly, taking breaths deep enough for her shoulders to move. We look at each other, enjoying the moment of reprieve.
“You good?” she asks.
“Better than that guy,” I say, nodding to the man lying dead at her feet.
“Any more of them? May as well deal with them while we’re here, right?”
I shrug. “Don’t know where the other three went. I’m in no rush to find out, either.”
She nods. “Agreed. No sirens yet. We should get off the streets.”
“We’ll walk for five minutes in a random direction, then hail a cab to our hotel. Regroup there. Your feet okay?”
She glances down at them and shrugs. “I’ll tell you when the adrenaline wears off.”
We stick to the old rule—when in doubt, go left—and put the carnage behind us.
23:48 CEST
Ruby’s taking a shower. We got back to the hotel about ten minutes ago. We weren’t followed. There was no sign of the remaining three contractors.
I’m lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, willing the last of the spots floating in front of my eyes to fuck off.
I’m not sure whether Fortin was behind the attack. My gut says he wasn’t, although Ruby disagrees. Despite how much of an asshole he is, I don’t think he was playing us when we met. He was right about reputation. He was also right about us not taking contracts out on each other. It’s an honor thing. So, I don’t believe he sent all those people after us. I think all those people saw us in the casino and, as Ruby feared, jumped at the chance to collect a couple of valuable scalps.
But the debate over Fortin’s involvement is irrelevant. Our days in Paris are numbered. We need to get whatever information we can about Holt’s bodyguard and get out of here before this turns into something my new diplomatic get out of jail free card doesn’t work on.
I ease myself upright and reach for my phone, which is resting on the table just in front of me.
“Who are you calling?”
I hear Ruby’s voice as I dial a number. I look around to see her padding across the room, wearing nothing but a towel. Her hair’s still wet. She’s trying to mask the winces of pain with each step.
“Just checking in with the team,” I reply. “You okay?”
She nods. “I’ll be fine, so long as I don’t have to walk anywhere for a couple of weeks.”
I smile regrettably. “If only.”
The phone starts ringing. It’s answered after a couple of rings.
“Yeah?”
I recognize Rayne’s voice.
“Adam, it’s Adrian. How’s it going over there?”
He sighs down the line, blowing distortion through the speaker. “Slow but steady. We’ve done some digging, asked around, kicked in the doors of a few local pieces of shit… the usual.”
I nod. “And?”
“And we have the location of the buyers. We’re scoping the place out right now. Jessie’s using one of her surveillance drones, so we can maintain a safe distance.”
“Good work. Anything you’re concerned about?”
“Not yet. We’re just trying to determine how many people they have and get a feel for their routines. No sign of the goods Holt is selling to them, so we’re thinking there might be a final meet, hopefully inside the next thirty-six hours. We have eyes on them.”
“Keep me posted, would you?”
“Sure thing. How’s it going in Paris?”
I shrug. “Not as great as we would’ve liked. Our being here seems to have triggered the local contractor presence. Already had a large hit squad chase us down tonight.”
“Jesus! You both okay?”
“Yeah, we’re fine. Not keen for another round, though. We might have a lead, but the information comes at a price.”
“Which is?”
“Doing a job the rest of you don’t need the details of.”
There’s a moment’s silence. “Fair enough. It’s your show, Boss. You need any back-up?”
“No, you three stay there. You’re onto something, so let it play out. See where the pieces fall. Watch your backs out there, okay?”
“Always.”
“Good man. See you in a couple of days.”
I hang up and toss the phone onto the bed behind me. I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. Ruby sits down beside me, links my arm, and rests her head on my shoulder.
“Everything okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, the team are on top of things over there. They have a line on Holt’s buyers.”
“I didn’t mean with them, dumbass.”
I smile. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m just—”
“Too old for this shit,” she says with me.
We laugh. She gets to her feet and stands in front of me, resting on the edge of the hotel room’s desk.
“Seriously, Adrian, that’s becoming a recurring theme nowadays. You’re not too old for this mentally.” She taps her temples with a finger. “Up here, you’re more capable and deadly than you’ve ever been.”
“But physically, I’m screwed, right?”
She shakes her head. “You’re not screwed. You’re not as young as you used to be, sure, but who is? You just need time to heal. You just tore up Paris and killed a dozen assassins at maybe forty percent. And that’s being generous.”
“What other choice do I have? We have to find Holt. That’s the mission. We have to be ready for whatever Schultz and Buchanan are worried about.”
Ruby crouches in front of me and rests her arms on my knees. I can feel the dampness of her skin through the material of my pants. She looks up at me and smiles. I can see the light returning to her eyes with each second that passes, slowly locking the monster behind them back in its cage.
“We will be. You have a team now, Adrian. Use them.”
“I am…”
“You’re not. You’re doing half the work yourself because you’re a control freak who could win a gold medal in being restless. You could’ve easily sent Jessie and Link to Serbia, sent Adam and me here, then took a few days to continue healing, knowing everything was in hand.”
I go to speak, but the words don’t come. I suspect Josh or Satan caught them before they could escape, and with good reason. That’s the second really good point Ruby’s made since we got here. I should probably start listening to her.
I just nod and slowly lie back on the bed. A moment later, she’s lying beside me, an arm across my chest, her legs over mine.
And then… peace.
16
April 26, 2020 – 08:16 CEST
Say what you want about the French, but they know how to make a good cup of coffee.
After everything that went down last night, Ruby and I slept like the dead. Unfortunately, the rest didn’t last that long. We were awake with the sun and out of the hotel within fifteen minutes. Staying in one place for too long isn’t an option anymore, so we’ll need to plan the next stage on the move.
We’re sitting at a small table outside a café. The Eiffel Tower is behind us, partially blocked by the nearby buildings. It’s bright without being warm. The wind betrays the season, so sitting here requires my jacket as well as a sweater. Ruby is dressed in a far more practical outfit than she was last night—tight jeans tucked into knee-high boots with a low, wide heel. Her over-sized hoodie doubles as a short dress. I know she’s also wearing three pairs of socks to cushion the impact on her injured soles.
All of our belongings are gathered into two bags, currently resting on the back seat of our rented convertible, which is parked in front of us. Clothing is in one. Weapons are in the other. I feel the comforting weight of a Raptor behind me—one of the custom weapons Josh had made for me. I’m not spending another second in this city unarmed.
I watch Ruby opposite me, absently sipping her fruit-and-nut-flavored latte. I don’t know how she can drink that shit. It’s coffee, not a goddamn dessert. I take a sip of my own. It’s normal, black… with two extra shots of espresso in it that really hit the spot.
“We need to think about the hit Corbeau gave us,” I say after a few moments of comfortable silence.
“We do,” Ruby replies, nodding. “This Jean-Paul asshole is a prominent figure. A French socialite who travels with security at all times. That’s what Corbeau told us, right? If he’s at this charity gala, it will attract a lot of other people of similar social standing. That means all eyes will be on the event.”
“That’s what I figured, yeah.”
“Well, you’re pretty recognizable too, for a number of reasons—especially after last night. I think that rules out gatecrashing it. We need to think of another way to get inside.”
I smile. “It rules it out for me.”
She frowns. “What do you mean?”
“You’re right. Too many people will either be looking for me or will recognize me at something so public. But no one will be looking for you. You rock up wearing a dress like last night, you’ll walk right in through the front door like you belong there.”
“Just like that?”
I shrug. “Just like that. I’m sure you won’t find it difficult to get close to him. I noticed we have some UV aerosol in the kit Schultz arranged for us. You casually spray him with that, as if you’re accidentally catching him with your perfume or something. That paints him for me.”
“And you’ll be… where?”
“Outside. On a rooftop maybe half a mile away, kneeling behind a sniper rifle. I’m not sure exactly where yet. We can scope that out once we’re done here. But I’ll switch to a UV lens, so I can see the spray on him. I’ll line up my shot, give you the all-clear to get out, then pull the trigger. Job done. Easy.”
She rolls her eyes at me and smiles, somewhat sympathetically, as if pitying me for being mindlessly optimistic. “Adrian, is it ever that easy?”
“No reason why it can’t be.”
“Then why hasn’t Corbeau found someone else to do this job? Why offer it to us as payment for something important?”
“Ruby, people didn’t avoid this job because it was difficult to carry out. They avoided it because the risk of exposure is too great. But I’m not exactly a stranger to that anymore, so I don’t care. Besides, you can blend into those situations better than anyone. This is going to be the most straightforward thing we do here.”
She falls silent, staring blankly ahead as she sips more of her coffee.
“I guess you’re right,” she says finally. “Maybe I’m over-thinking it.”
I shake my head. “No, you’re approaching it with a healthy and justified amount of skepticism. As am I, believe it or not. I’m just looking at the big picture. We do this, Corbeau gives us the information we need to track down Holt’s bodyguard. He should then lead us to the man himself, and we can finish our mission. Out of all that… with all the variables… a standard hit on a French aristocrat with bad debt and delusions of grandeur is definitely the easy part.”
Ruby smiles. “Well, when you put it like that…”
“Exactly.”
My phone starts ringing. I shuffle to retrieve it from my pocket, look at the number on the screen, then answer it.
“Adam, what’s the latest?” I ask.
“We’ve tracked the buyers to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Belgrade. This place could be the headquarters for 1960s communism. It’s in the middle of nowhere. All gray and ominous. We have eyes on a total of six targets. We think this might be the final meet we were hoping for.”
“That’s good work. What’s your plan?”
“We’re going to sit tight and see if anyone else arrives. We have to assume they’re here to meet someone. If we get lucky, we get Holt. If no one else shows, or if we think our window is about to close, we’ll move in and capture whoever’s there. Worst case, we just get the buyers, which isn’t nothing.”
“I completely agree. How do you intend to make the approach?”
“Link and I will be on the ground.
I’ll move in close to secure. He’ll cover me from mid-distance. Jessie will hang back, giving us remote air support via her toys. It puts a pretty wide perimeter around the place, so they won’t be getting far. As a back-up, Link will use your old trick of remotely controlled laser pointers, in case these assholes are feeling brave with the six-on-three odds.”
I smile. “Nice.”
“We’ll subdue five of them and question the sixth. Depending on what we get out of them, we’ll either finish them all there and leave them to rot or dump them all at the side of the road on our way out of town. That will be your call when the time comes.”
I think for a moment. “I wouldn’t approach this any differently. You have the green light, Adam. Watch your six. Good luck.”
“Copy that.”
He ends the call. I pocket my phone, then drain what’s left of my coffee.
“How is the team doing?” asks Ruby. “That call sounded encouraging.”
“It was. They’ve tracked down Holt’s buyers. They’re about to move in and see what they can get out of them.”
“That’s great. The three of them work well together.”
I nod. “They do. I haven’t once doubted the choices we made.”
“That was Adam that called you again, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Seems they’ve assigned themselves a leader in the field.”
“He’s the best candidate for it. Link’s effective, but he’s like using a sledgehammer to remove drywall. Not as much finesse or patience as the others, but he gets the job done no matter what. Same with Jessie. The shit she can do with those drones… she’s an incredible asset. But her approach is a little stiff. She’s too logical. She isn’t capable of being spontaneous or thinking on her feet without questioning any decision five times. But if you tell her which direction to aim in, she’ll deliver for you every time.”
Ruby nods. “I agree. Rayne seems more comfortable with just doing things. He doesn’t waste any time. He acts or reacts the second he has a clear objective.” She pauses, then smiles at me. “He also seems to be the most comfortable with bending the rules.”
The Devil You Know Page 12
