The Sword of God - John Milton #5 (John Milton Thrillers)
Page 36
“Excuse me, Frank.”
“Come on, don’t be like that.”
“I’m not interested in your company. It’d be best for everyone if you just took your drink and went back to your table, okay?”
He still didn’t get the hint.
“What’s your name, honey?”
She reached into her pocket, took out the leather wallet that she used to carry her badge, flipped it open and held it up so that he could see it. “Special Agent Ellie Flowers,” she said, angling her torso a little so that her jacket fell back enough that he could see the glint of the Glock 22 on her belt.
He looked down at the badge, wide-eyed. “You’re FBI?”
“That’s right. And I’ve had a hell of a week, and I’m not feeling all that sociable, so go on, go back to your buddies and enjoy the game. Give me a fucking break, okay?”
The man did as she asked and went back to the table.
She hurried to the door and threw it open, the cold air rushing in to embrace her. The snow fell softly, the cars crunching across compacted ice. The road was busy as fans meandered towards the stadium and two blocks over the big floodlights threw up a corona of golden light that reached up into the dark, snowy night.
There were too many people. The man she had seen had been absorbed into the crowd.
She went back inside. Frank’s friends welcomed him back with amused expressions on their faces that said his pride had taken a bit of a slap.
She finished her beer and decided to have another, taking it to a table next to a window. She looked out at the snow again, whipping up against the window, and, beyond it, a cityscape carpeted in white.
JOHN MILTON adjusted his pack across his shoulders so that it was more comfortable and trudged on through the snow. The sidewalk was busy with people in Packers’ green and 49ers’ red and white, crowds of fans enjoying good-natured banter, their expectation for the game buzzing in the air. The convivial atmosphere was different from the equivalent back home, he thought. It was better than it had once been, but you could still get a fat lip for wearing the wrong colours on the wrong street.
He paused at a crosswalk, just one man within the crowd. Faceless and anonymous, just how he liked it. The traffic hurried ahead under the green light. The light went to red, and a mounted cop edged forwards, marshalling the crowd.
He had been in town for three days. He had located Ellie on the first day without too much difficulty: a call to the Detroit field office under a pretext provided the information that she had been sent to Green Bay. A brief stop in an Internet café revealed a host of stories about how the FBI was investigating reports of copycat militias in Wisconsin. It had been trivial to find the bureau office and stake it out until he saw her. He had watched her. She was staying in the Marriott, room two-twelve. On the second day, he watched her eat breakfast at six, saw her take a cab across town to the office, and then it picked her up again at eight when she finally finished for the day. He had been close to going over to her, asking her out, seeing if she wanted that dinner. It was cheesy, but he knew it would work.
So why had he backed out? What had stopped him?
He had waited outside her office again today. It was six o’clock when she had finished, stepping out into the cold with a thick winter coat wrapped around her. She had deviated from her routine, and he had followed fifty feet behind her as she had walked, alone, to the restaurant.
That meant something.
He had walked around the block to ensure that he wasn’t being tailed, old habits, and, by the time he had made it back to the entrance she was with another man. He was dressed for the game, Packers colours, but he had the look of an agent: short, well-trimmed hair, anonymous clothes, good quality. Milton had watched as he had laid his hand on Ellie’s elbow. They looked intimate. They were going to the game. He must have been her date.
She hadn’t mentioned whether she was seeing someone but come on, seriously, there had to be someone, right?
What did he think? That they were going to have a relationship? She was an FBI agent, and he was who he was. As far as Milton was concerned, a relationship could only work if it was built on a foundation of total honesty. He felt that very strongly, and it was something he would never be able to offer. Secrets were toxic and he had a million of them. And even assuming that he could be honest, assuming that he could ignore the legal and moral implications of telling her about the things that he had done, it would poison the way that she saw him.
How could it ever have worked?
It couldn’t.
He had been stupid for even entertaining the notion.
Best to leave it as it was. They had their moment.
Ellie would be better with someone from the same world as her. The guy in the bar. They would be a better match.
He thought about mortgages, credit cards, consumer goods. He thought about children and nine-to-five jobs, about medical insurance and dental plans, about pensions and savings accounts, and he knew he was making the right decision.
It was time to move on.
And so he walked on, heading west. There were seven hundred miles between Green Bay and Minneapolis. That would take him three weeks to walk in weather like this. He would have to hitch a ride to make it in time for the gig. He would hike out to the WI-29, get to a truck stop, and see if he could find a driver who wanted some company.
Milton took his battered headphones from around his neck and put them over his ears. He reached into his pocket, took out his iPod and scrolled through his playlists for the one he wanted. He settled on The Smiths, pressed play and nodded his head a little as the distorted guitar riff from “How Soon is Now?” started to play. He took a woollen beanie from his pocket, pulled it over the headphones and then put on his gloves.
He set his face to the west, the icy blast of the wind lashing against his cheeks, his breath clouding before his face, and started to walk.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Dawson is the author of the breakout John Milton, Beatrix Rose and Soho Noir series. He makes his online home at www.markjdawson.com. You can connect with Mark on Twitter at @pbackwriter, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/markdawsonauthor and you should send him an email at markjdawson@me.com if the mood strikes you.
ALSO BY MARK DAWSON
Have you read them all?
In the Soho Noir Series
Gaslight
When Harry and his brother Frank are blackmailed into paying off a local hood they decide to take care of the problem themselves. But when all of London’s underworld is in thrall to the m
an’s boss, was their plan audacious or the most foolish thing that they could possibly have done?
Free to download: US UK
The Black Mile
London, 1940: the Luftwaffe blitzes London every night for fifty-seven nights. Houses, shops and entire streets are wiped from the map. The underworld is in flux: the Italian criminals who dominated the West End have been interned and now their rivals are fighting to replace them. Meanwhile, hidden in the shadows, the Black-Out Ripper sharpens his knife and sets to his grisly work.
Buy it: US UK
The Imposter
War hero Edward Fabian finds himself drawn into a criminal family’s web of vice and soon he is an accomplice to their scheming. But he’s not the man they think he is - he’s far more dangerous than they could possibly imagine.
Buy it: US UK
In the John Milton Series
One Thousand Yards
In this dip into his case files, John Milton is sent into North Korea. With nothing but a sniper rifle, bad intentions and a very particular target, will Milton be able to take on the secret police of the most dangerous failed state on the planet?
Free to download: US UK
The Cleaner
Sharon Warriner is a single mother in the East End of London, fearful that she’s lost her young son to a life in the gangs. After John Milton saves her life, he promises to help. But the gang, and the charismatic rapper who leads it, is not about to cooperate with him.
Buy it: US UK
Saint Death
John Milton has been off the grid for six months. He surfaces in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and immediately finds himself drawn into a vicious battle with the narco-gangs that control the borderlands.
Buy it: US UK
The Driver
When a girl he drives to a party goes missing, John Milton is worried. Especially when two dead bodies are discovered and the police start treating him as their prime suspect.
Buy it: US UK
Ghosts
John Milton is blackmailed into finding his predecessor as Number One. But she’s a ghost, too, and just as dangerous as him. He finds himself in deep trouble, playing the Russians against the British in a desperate attempt to save the life of his oldest friend.
Buy it: US UK
Salvation Row (summer 2014)
In the Beatrix Rose Series
In Cold Blood
Beatrix Rose was the most dangerous assassin in an off-the-books government kill squad until her former boss betrayed her. A decade later, she emerges from the Hong Kong underworld with payback on her mind. They gunned down her husband and kidnapped her daughter, and now the debt needs to be repaid. It’s a blood feud she didn’t start but she is going to finish.
Buy it: US UK
Blood Moon Rising
There were six names on Beatrix’s Death List and now there are four. She’s going to account for the others, one by one, even if it kills her. She has returned from Somalia with another target in her sights. Bryan Duffy is in Iraq, surrounded by mercenaries, with no easy way to get to him and no easy way to get out. And Beatrix has other issues that need to be addressed. Will Duffy prove to be one kill too far?
Buy it: US UK
Blood and Roses
Beatrix Rose has worked her way through her Kill List. Four are dead, just two are left. But now her foes know she has them in her sights and the hunter has become the hunted.
Buy it: US UK
Standalone Novels
The Art of Falling Apart
A story of greed, duplicity and death in the flamboyant, super-ego world of rock and roll. Dystopia have rocketed up the charts in Europe, so now it’s time to crack America. The opening concert in Las Vegas is a sell-out success, but secret envy and open animosity have begun to tear the group apart.
Buy it: US UK
Subpoena Colada
Daniel Tate looks like he has it all. A lucrative job as a lawyer and a host of famous names who want him to work for them. But his girlfriend has deserted him for an American film star and his main client has just been implicated in a sensational murder. Can he hold it all together?
Buy it: US UK
DEDICATION
To Mrs D, FD and SD.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am indebted to the following for their help, all above and beyond the call of duty: Lucy Dawson (for her early edits and direction); Martha Hayes and Pauline Nolet; Detective Lieutenant (Ret’d) Edward L. Dvorak, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Joe D. Gillespie (for their advice on weapons and military matters); Senior Inspector John W., US Marshals Service; Julian Annels (for advice on semi trucks); and Robert Lass, for working with me on the ending.
The following members of Team Milton were also invaluable: Lee R, Nigel F, Frank W, Gary P, Brian E, Bob , Mel M, Phil P, Charlie, Matt B, Edward S, Desiree B, Don L, Barry F, Corne vdM , Dawn T, Paul Q, Carl H, Chuck H, Don, Bernard C, Julian A, Charles R, Michael C, Grant B, Rick Lowe, Randall M, Steve D, Chris O, Mike S, Rick S, Pat K, Dale M, Robert L, Bill D, Rob C, Ian C, Chris G, Jared G, Roman P, Cecelia B, David S, Caleb B, Louis P, Sonny dC, John H, Matt B, JKP, Richard S, Bev B, Dave Z, Steve C, Christian B, Daniel C, Debra K, George W, Linda F, Mark G, Phillip S, John O, Melinda D, Janet H, Lynn E, Tim A, Steve H, Martin W, Kent, Mark D, Jack O, William L, Dale V, James F, David, Alan, Daniel O, Reid W, Robert T, Reid W, Robert T, Thom L, Andrew G, Tom C, Cindy S, John C, François D, Delbert L, Paul L, Robert D, Craig M, Nick B, Keith R, Bob U, Daryl, Andrew H, Lewis B, Jim C, Tim H, Iain A, Larry C, Byron M, Charlie, Ann B, Jeff B, Jim B, Bev G, Pete P, Mark D, Sanjay K, John L, Anton P, Andy W, Bob T, Shawn H, Mark F, Steve P, Kirk I, Terence A, Gene K, Dean Y, Houston H, Joe T, Edward H, Julia W, Hank H, Glenda W, Mark D, David V, Randy S, Piet dP, Lisa P, Virginia W, Charlotte M, Milton, Skip W, Peter G, Patrick F, Bob C, Stuart R, Rob, Jesse, Amanda L, Tony M, Monte H, Peter B, Vinnie V, Jay, John, Nigel E, Victoria W, Steve U, Maxine B, Maurice G, Claire, John H, Pete B, FR, Andras N, Len F, Mike M, Terry, Jami C, Jim A, Robert W, Genevieve L, Ralph W, Steven, Casey P, Jay J, Jim E, Bill M, Brad, Rory, Billy, Ann W, Michael G, Keith B, Walter K, Jeff R, Andy W, Mark, John C, Buzz B, Steve G, Doug C, Bill W, Stephen C, Bruce C, Greg G, Cynthia M, Bill N, Alana F, Randall B, Philip E, Allen M, John G, Morris D, Chris W, Paul M, Hendrik
COPYRIGHT
AN UNPUTDOWNABLE ebook.
First published in Great Britain in 2014 by UNPUTDOWNABLE LIMITED
Ebook first published in 2014 by UNPUTDOWNABLE LIMITED
This ebook published in 2014 by UNPUTDOWNABLE LIMITED
Copyright © UNPUTDOWNABLE LIMITED 2014
Formatting by Polgarus Studio
The moral right of Mark Dawson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All the characters in this book are fictitious, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor to be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Table of Contents
PART ONE Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
PART TWO Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
PART THREE Chapter 23
> Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34