Killer Move

by T E Stouyer

  Marie gave her a puzzled frown. What did she mean? Had she been adopted? Unsure what to make of the girl’s remark, she decided it was best to change the subject altogether.

  “Who are these people we’re waiting for?” the detective asked.

  “My sister, Arianne, and Jonathan Kincade. He’s their leader,” Lucielle explained.

  “Leader?”

  “Yeah. That huge guy and his two friends. They used to be in the army. But now they work as mercenaries. As in, they fight for money. But they’re not bad people. They’re helping us.”

  “Helping you with what?”

  “My father hid something before he died,” said Lucielle. “Something very important, and probably very dangerous. We’re trying to find it before others do.”

  Marie pointed towards the back of the apartment. “What about the man tied up in there?”

  “He’s my brother, Soran. He’s not a bad person either. Really. He just has some personality issues.”

  “How was he able to do all of that? It’s not possible. And the other night … the blond man with the knives … he did some inexplicable things too.”

  Lucielle rolled her eyes. “Oh, that one’s also my brother, Johann. Sorry about him.”

  The young girl put the doll down on her laps and said, “Hmm, I suppose there’s no point in keeping the truth from you after everything you’ve seen. Perhaps I’d better start from the beginning.”

  Chapter 14 – Fractures

  Damien entered an apartment in the fifth arrondissement [district] in Paris and locked the door behind him. He then proceeded to the living room and found Kadyna and Johann comfortably installed on a beige corner-sofa. She was flipping through the pages of a fashion magazine with dull indifference, while he watched a documentary on TV about lions in the African savanna.

  When Damien walked in, Kadyna folded her magazine and turned her head, but Johann continued to watch his program as though he hadn’t noticed.

  “Still no sign of Mitsuki?” Damien asked.

  “Not yet,” Kadyna replied.

  “What happened?”

  “It’s like I told you over the phone,” Kadyna said. “She created the diversion as planned, but she never showed up at the rendezvous point. I think there’s a high probability she ran into Jenkins on her way to meet with us.”

  “A very high probability,” Johann commented, his eyes still glued to the screen. “But it’s also possible she decided to take off.”

  “Shut up, you buffoon!” Kadyna snapped. “Just keep watching your stupid television.”

  Johann scoffed. “Come on, sis. You know as well as I do that if she was going to ditch us, this would have been the perfect time to do it. None of us ever knows what she’s really thinking. Well, maybe except for Darius. But half the time, I have no idea what he’s thinking, either.”

  “Where is he?” Damien asked.

  “When Mitsu didn’t show, Darius went to look for her,” Kadyna explained. “Apparently, there was a horde of police officers and a few of Jenkins’ guys loitering near the site of some car accident. Darius said there were signs of a battle, but he didn’t see Mitsu there. So, he grabbed one of Jenkins’ goons and brought him here with us.” Kadyna nodded towards the narrow hallway behind the sofa. “He’s in his room, right now, talking to the guy.”

  “And Renard?” Damien asked.

  “She’s in my bedroom,” Kadyna replied. “We had a little talk with her too. As expected, she doesn’t know quite as much as Leicester or Schaffer, but she wasn’t completely useless. She shared one or two pieces of information which I’m sure you’ll find interesting.”

  “Good,” said Damien. “But we’ll deal with her later. For now, we still need to find out what happened to Mitsuki.”

  “Jenkins took her,” said Darius as he walked out of his room at the end of the hallway. He then closed the door and joined the others.

  “How?” Damien asked him.

  “According to the man in there, she intervened to help Ashrem and one of the mercenaries after they were caught by Jenkins. The two of them got away, but she ended up getting captured in their stead.”

  That got Johann’s attention. He put down the remote and turned to his brother. “Why would she care what happens to them?”

  “Not, them,” said Darius. “Him. I’m sure she only intended to help Ashrem.”

  “Why?” Johann asked. “He’s the one who chose to side against us?”

  Darius stared at him briefly but said nothing.

  Damien crossed his arms over his chest and frowned as he started thinking aloud. “An emotional reaction? … from Mitsuki of all people.”

  A mocking smile appeared on Johann’s face. “Don’t beat yourself up too much. You did get everything else right. Jenkins, Arianne, Renard, the mercenaries, that idiot Thompson, even Luce. You’re six for seven. Over eighty-five percent. That’s not bad. After all, even you can’t predict everything with absolute certainty. You’re bound to let one slip by on occasion.”

  Damien gave him a cold stare.

  Johann wisely decided to stop taunting his brother and slowly looked away.

  The silver-haired man turned to Darius and studied him briefly. “You want us to put our mission on hold and go look for Mitsuki, don’t you?”

  “Yes,” said Darius. “If she was indeed taken by Jenkins, we all know what they’ll do to her.”

  “We can’t afford any delays,” said Damien. “Not when we’re this close. Arianne’s in possession of the necklace. It won’t be long before either she, or one of the others, deciphers Adam’s message. If we want the data card, we have no choice but to decipher the code before they do. Then, we’ll go get our sister.”

  Darius gave Damien a long, placid stare. Then, he turned around and slowly walked away.

  “Where are you going?” Kadyna asked him.

  “To get Renard,” Darius replied. “I’ll require her assistance to find out where they’re holding Mitsuki.” He went into his sister’s bedroom, and came back out seconds later, leading Nathalie Renard by the arm.

  “Where are you taking me?” the French diplomat protested.

  “Be quiet,” Darius calmly told her.

  Renard promptly complied.

  Darius scared her. He had a discreet, yet intimidating, presence. And his voice always had the same flat intonation. Then there were those eyes. Cold. Dead. However hard she looked, Renard couldn’t find the slightest spark of life in them. And every time he looked in her direction, she felt like he was looking past her. Like she wasn’t really there. It made her feel completely expendable. Insignificant, even. And it frightened her.

  Kadyna jumped off the sofa and stood in Darius’ way. “Why are you always so stubborn?” she yelled. “We’ve already lost Mitsu. Now you want to leave, too? Are you trying to mess up the entire plan? You heard what Damien said. We’ll go get her after we find the card.”

  “I made myself clear from the beginning,” said Darius. “My goal has always been to watch over our family. All of us. That’s the promise I made to Adam.” He turned to Damien and added, “That responsibility should have been yours. But given your nature, it clearly wasn’t an option. Therefore, it falls to me. The only reason I sided with you rather than the others, was to make sure we didn’t all end up killing one another. In view of our decisive advantage in numbers, I had hoped Arianne and Ashrem would see reason and give up. Especially, since Soran had chosen to stay out of it altogether.” Darius shot a sideways glance at Johann and said, “But because of him, Arianne was able to change Soran’s mind. A head-on confrontation now would only result in losses on both sides. That’s the very scenario I’ve been trying to avoid.” His eyes shifted back to Damien. “Since I cannot convince you to alter your plans, I will alter mine. I will rescue our sister. I only hope all of you are still alive when I return.”

  Kadyna took another step forward and stood firmly in front of him. “You’re not leaving!” she declared.

&n
bsp; “And how exactly do you propose to stop me?” Darius calmly asked her.

  Kadyna clenched her fists in frustration. But she refused to back down, and continued to stare defiantly at him.

  “Let him go,” Damien eventually said. “The three of us are more than enough to finish this,” he added as he walked past the pair and headed into his room.

  Kadyna stepped aside and looked on with anger as Darius walked out of the apartment with Nathalie Renard.

  As soon as they were gone, she turned to Johann and berated him. “You! You’re always babbling on about some nonsense when nobody cares what you have to say. But of course, the one time it would actually be useful for you to speak up … not a peep.”

  Johann smiled and shrugged. “What can I say, sis? Here I thought our little family was doing so well. I’m just so distraught. I simply couldn’t find the words.”

  “Just dry up and die, already!” Kadyna said as she sat back on the sofa and returned to her magazine.

  Johann grabbed the remote and turned up the volume of his documentary on African lions.

  “There, that should do it,” said the doctor as he applied the last stitch on his patient’s rib.

  “Thanks,” said Carson as he stood off the examination table.

  “Wait. I still need to place a gauze over it.”

  “I’ll be fine,” said Carson. “Tell me about my men.”

  “Ah, yes. They—”

  The doctor was interrupted when the door suddenly opened and four agents in dark suits barged into his office.

  Ignoring Carson and the doctor, the men carefully inspected every corner of the room, checked inside every closet, and even peeked under the desk. One of them went to the window, opened it, and took a long look outside and up towards the roof. He then closed it and pulled down the blinds.

  “All clear,” the agent said in his earpiece.

  During the men’s thorough inspection, the doctor had remained frozen, staring at them round-eyed and mouth gaping. But when his initial shock finally subsided, he cast a nervous glance around and asked, “What’s going on?”

  “Relax, Doctor,” said Carson as he put on his shirt. “They’re just making sure the room is secured.”

  A man appeared in the doorway, surrounded by another four agents. He was wearing a custom-made gray suit, with a red handkerchief folded inside his top-left pocket.

  The man in the gray suit calmly walked in, leaving his entourage to stand guard outside. “I’m glad to see you up and about, Mr. Carson,” he said.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Carson turned to the doctor and made the introductions.

  “Doctor Khoursy, this is my employer, Mr. Leicester.”

  Leicester gave a quick nod. “Doctor Khoursy.”

  Still unsure of what to make of the situation, the doctor’s only response came in the form of a silent nod at the stranger.

  Leicester turned to his associate and asked, “What happened?”

  Carson’s expression hardened. “It was bad. Most of my men didn’t make it. Only four of us got out, including myself and your man, Stanwell.”

  “Indeed. I’m glad you were able to retrieve Mark safely. I trust he’s well?”

  “He’s fine. He ran out of there pretty fast when things turned ugly.”

  Leicester smiled. “Yes, I’m sure he did. And what of your men?”

  Carson turned to the man in the white blouse. “The doctor was just about to give me an update on Simmons and Bartlett when you arrived.”

  Seeing the questioning stares directed at him, Doctor Khoursy shook off his surprise. He stared back at Leicester and asked, “I’m sorry, who are you?”

  “Mr. Carson just told you, I’m his employer. Your other two patients are also associates of mine. What’s their condition?”

  Doctor Khoursy hesitated for a moment, and then gave his report. “Ahem. Well, they’ve each suffered a number of fractures and have possible concussions, but nothing life-threatening. In time, I expect they’ll both make a full recovery.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” said Leicester.

  Doctor Khoursy nodded again. But as the Briton continued to hold him in his gaze, the doctor realized he was being invited to leave. He scowled at the stranger. Not only did he not appreciate being dismissed so offhandedly by this man who wasn’t even a patient, but this was actually his office.

  The doctor cast another glance around the room. Aside from Leicester, who exhibited a rather pleasant smile, none of the other men present seemed particularly amicable. Without saying another word, he picked up a folder off his desk and left.

  Leicester then turned to Carson. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

  Carson hesitated as he shot quick glances at the agents inside the room.

  The British diplomat dismissed his security team with a nod.

  Once the agents were gone, Carson gave an account of what had transpired at Professor Fournier’s home. “We followed that German detective like you asked. And it paid off. Much sooner than we had expected. She led us straight to a group of fugitives. Most of Kincade’s team were also there with them. When we proceeded to surround the house, some of my men were spotted. Having lost the element of surprise, they decided to engage the targets.”

  Leicester frowned. “Where was Lucielle during all of this?”

  “The analyst was inside with the others,” Carson replied.

  “And your men fired at the house?” said the Briton, the tone of his voice rising slightly.

  “When I heard the shot, I immediately ordered my men to stand down. But since the fugitives had been alerted to our presence, we needed to move fast. We knew the analyst was in a room on the upper level, so I instructed my men to limit their fire to the ground floor. We stormed the house and forced them up the stairs. We had them trapped on the second floor, with our backup teams less than half an hour away.”

  “Did you offer them terms?” Leicester asked.

  “I did. I told them that if the fugitives and the professor agreed to come with us, my men and I would leave peacefully.”

  “How did they respond?”

  “In a very peculiar way,” said Carson. “They tossed one of their own over the staircase railings, basically handing him over to us. It was a completely unexpected move. At the time, I had no idea who the guy was. But now, I realize he must have been one of the fugitives. The one not in the pictures you gave to me and Kincade.”

  “Soran,” said Leicester.

  “Is that his name?” said Carson. “I must admit, I wasn’t sure what to think, at first. So we took him to the living room to question him. I don’t know if it was an act but he seemed genuinely worried, even frightened. I assumed handing him over was part of some stalling tactic, so I ordered my men to get their stun grenades and prepare for an assault. The guy, Soran, argued against it. One of my men got a bit rough with him, and hit him on the head with the cross of his rifle. Hard.”

  “Oh … that was a mistake,” said Leicester.

  “I’d say. My squad was practically wiped out. It was like he changed. The fear was gone. And he became extremely aggressive. I didn’t get the impression it was about defending himself or protecting the others anymore. No, this felt more like … instinct. Like he wanted to kill us simply because we were there. I’m not sure how to explain it.”

  Carson spoke in a low and measured voice, but Leicester could tell he had been shaken by the experience.

  “I’ve seen Patrick do some incredible things over the years,” Carson continued. “But this … this was different. My men are professionals. But that guy cut through them like they were nothing more than target practice. If this is what we’re up against, I suggest we bring in more people. A lot more. Perhaps we should even take the time to re-organize ourselves and rethink our strategy.”

  “That’s a sensible recommendation, Mr. Carson,” said the Briton. “Unfortunately, time is something we can no longer afford. We’ll have to make do with the resources
currently at our disposal.”

  Carson looked worried. “In that case, sir, after what happened today, I can’t say I’m very optimistic about our chances of success.”

  “Believe it or not, Mr. Carson, you were simply very unlucky. Soran’s case is unique. We didn’t expect him to be involved, at this point.” Leicester paused and muttered to himself, “I’m actually quite surprised Arianne was able to enlist his help.” He then turned back to Carson and said, “Still, you were warned not to engage the fugitives in an enclosed space. It puts you and your men at too much of a disadvantage. Why did you ignore this warning?”

  “It was just one guy,” said Carson. “Quite frankly, if I hadn’t seen it for myself, I don’t know if I would have believed it.”

  “Well, now you know why Soran wasn’t included in your list of targets. In any case, in the future, I suggest you adhere to our recommendations when dealing with our young friends. It’s best to try to apprehend them individually, whenever possible. And to confront them in an open area, where your men can neutralize them from a safe distance. Finally, and this goes without saying but, whatever you do, never confront them one-on-one. I’m afraid even someone as capable as you would not survive such an encounter.”

  “It’ll be hard enough just to find them,” said Carson. “How are we supposed to get them all gift-wrapped like that?”

  “That, Mr. Carson, is precisely why we need the analyst. With her predictive abilities, she could anticipate their actions, and allow us to be better prepared.”

  Carson looked skeptical. “Sir, even if we somehow got the girl back, I doubt she’d want to help us. I only saw her from a distance, but I didn’t get the impression she was being held against her will. On the contrary, she seemed to get along fine with the rest of them.”

  “I know,” said Leicester. “But with the right incentive, I’m confident she could be persuaded to cooperate with us once again. She cares about her family above all else. Given the choice, she would rather see them in our care, than killed or captured by a less scrupulous organization.”