End of Days, page 22
Aaron leaned forward and saw the tablet himself. He looked at Shoshana and said, “No mercy,” then exited.
Shoshana and I both left the vehicle at a trot, jogging to the stairwell of the apartment, seeing a bunch of twenty-somethings all out having a good time. We pushed through them, and then reached a guard shack. We walked past it, and the guard came out, saying something in Italian.
I turned to him and he instinctively read the violence leaking out. I said, “I don’t speak Italian.”
In English, he said, “What do you want?”
I said, “I want you to get back in the fucking shack.”
He nodded and retreated. We began running up the stairs. We reached Lia’s landing and faced three guys sitting on the steps like cats in the sun, one of them smoking a vape.
I tried to go past them and the vape guy stood up, also saying something in Italian. I don’t know what he uttered, but it was really irrelevant, as I was sick of the roadblocks. I looked at the other two and said, “Shoshana, eliminate the threat.”
She said, “Gladly.”
The vape guy appeared confused, but that only lasted a moment, because the next thing he felt was pain. Shoshana ripped him off his feet, torquing his elbow until the joint shattered. He screamed and launched himself at Shoshana, his useless arm trailing him like a piece of toilet paper attached to his shoe. He tried to use his weight alone to subdue her, throwing himself on her body with his one good arm reaching for her neck. She grabbed the arm and rotated, using his momentum against him, flipping him off her back and tossing his ass off the stairwell to the ground below.
He continued screaming all the way down.
The other two leapt to their feet and I plowed into them, clocking the first with a straight right punch to the temple with all of my weight behind it, causing him to drop like a sack of wheat.
I grabbed the leg of the second man and jerked it up in the air, slamming him onto his back on the stairs. He flailed his arms and tried to get away from the pain, but I used the stairs as leverage. I twisted his ankle until I heard a satisfying pop. He shouted in pain, keening like a wounded rabbit, and I dropped the leg, bodily picked him up, and sent him to follow his leader two stories below.
Breathing heavily, Shoshana pointed and said, “What about him?”
I looked at the guy I’d knocked out and said, “Fuck him. Let’s go.”
We went upward, now with our weapons out, and reached the landing to the apartment. Shoshana said, “What do we do?”
And I realized she was good at killing, but had no skill on room clearing. I wished I’d sent her to the back and had Aaron with me.
I pulled out my small door charge and said, “Look, when I initiate this, there are only two things in that apartment. A threat, and Lia. Do you understand?”
She nodded, and I said, “If it’s not Lia, kill it. I don’t care if it’s a dog. If it’s something breathing, and it’s not Lia, kill it.”
Chapter 47
Lia heard the shouting outside and dared to hope. The killer heard it as well, whipping up his pants and saying, “What did you do, you bitch?”
Chained to her chair, half-naked, she said, “Nothing. It’s the kids. They always do this. It’s why I hate this place.”
The killer turned from the noise, becoming calm again, like a light switch had been flipped. He said, “Then I guess it’s just you and me now.”
He advanced to her again and said, “If you take my manhood in your mouth, it might alter your fate. I really would like that.”
Lia thought it almost seemed as if he was begging. Desperately trying to get someone to love him after his horrific torture.
And she almost considered it, to save her life. Almost.
She said, “Tell me what you want. Tell me what I can do.”
There was a small scratch on the door, a little tick. Nothing that anyone of ordinary skills would recognize, but the killer did.
He looked at her and said, “You bitch! How do they know?”
He raised the key fob device and the lock on her door exploded, a piece of the cylinder flying out and hitting him in the fist. He screamed, clutched his wounded hand, and then started sprinting to the back of the house.
Two people came in, guns raised, clearing the immediate area. Lia was astounded at the turn of events. She jerked her head toward the back and screamed, “He’s that way! That way!”
The man she knew as Pike ran to the back, talking into a radio. The woman came to her and said, “Are you okay?”
Panting, Lia said, “Get out! I’m wearing an explosive collar. He has the detonator. Get out!”
The woman floated a weird gaze on her, not unlike the killer. She said, “My name is Shoshana, and I’m not going anywhere. And you’re not going to die.”
Lia finally recognized her as the woman from the crime scene. Pike came back in and said, “I’m not sure about you Israelis. Aaron missed him out the back. He exited on the fire escape, but he never reached the ground. He’s gone.”
Shoshana gave him a laser stare, and Lia saw him subtly flinch. He said, “What do we have?”
“A woman with a dog collar of explosives, and a man with a detonator on the loose.”
Pike said, “Not on the loose.” He bent down and picked up what looked like a key fob and said, “He dropped this on the way out.”
Pike finally looked at Lia, saw her condition, and said, “What the hell, Carrie? Cover her up. You’re going to leave her exposed?”
Carrie? She said her name was Shoshana. Lia saw the woman inwardly retreat at the words, just as Pike had earlier. Experienced at reading people as an inspector, she studied them both, trying to understand who had entered the room. They might be just as crazy as the man who’d left. They might even be working together with him.
Warily, her eyes went from one to the other. They’d just saved her life, so she was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, but she wasn’t convinced she was out of danger.
Pike averted his gaze from her exposed breasts, then left the room, going to the back again. Shoshana covered Lia, and while she did so, Lia said, “Why does he call you Carrie? That’s not what you told me your name was. Is that your real name?”
She said, “No. It’s a nickname he’s given me. It’s from some crazy person who has the ability to physically alter her world.”
Shoshana bent down to use a key on the handcuffs and Lia said, “Like Carrie from Stephen King?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Shoshana stood up and dropped the handcuffs in her lap, saying, “Because I have the ability to alter my world. But I’m not crazy.”
She draped a blanket over Lia’s shoulders and Pike came back in, saying, “He’s gone, damn it. Aaron thought he had him, but he didn’t.”
A man appeared at the front door. Pike said, “Aaron, meet Lia. Lia, this is Aaron, the one who should have captured your tormentor.” Pike looked at Aaron and said, “Where did he go?”
Aaron smiled and said, “Said from the guy who’s left at least three bodies outside here. As for the target, I honestly don’t know. I saw a shadow on the fire escape, backed up into an ambush position, and he never appeared. My bet is he’s in an apartment below us, but unless you want to start clearing from top to bottom, we should just go.”
Pike pointed at Lia and said, “She’s got an explosive neck ring. I’ve got the denotator, and I’d go at it, but you have more experience.”
The smile left Aaron’s face. He went to her, studying the explosive collar like a botanist looking at a new bud. She said, “Do you know what you’re doing?”
He gave her a reassuring smile, soothing and just. He said, “Yes. I think Shoshana told you I’m from Israel. Trust me, I’ve done this a few times before, and not only in training like your police.”
He touched her cheek and said, “Please lean your head back slowly.”
She began to calm down, doing as he asked. He took about ten seconds looking, then said, “Pike, all I need are a pair of scissors. This is not complex. It’s a simple device.”
Lia said, “Second drawer on the right.” Pike went to the left in the kitchen and she said, “Right. Go to the right.”
He found the scissors and returned. Aaron said, “If you two would go in the bedroom, I’d appreciate it.”
Lia said, “Why? Why are you sending them away?”
“Because I’m not God. There’s no reason for them to be in the blast radius.”
She jerked upright and said, “Call the police. Call them right now. We have explosive ordnance personnel.”
I said, “Relax. We’re not leaving the room, and the reason is I trust him more than anyone you could bring to this fight.”
Shoshana approached and said, “I told you I’m not leaving. And you’re not going to die.”
Lia started to cry, the tears coming unbidden. Aaron stroked her cheek, saying, “Shhhh. This isn’t that bad. It’s easy. Lean your head back.”
She did so, and before she knew it, he’d snipped a wire, then reached around her neck and unfastened the buckle. He stood up, holding the necklace of explosives like the tail of a rat.
He said, “Well, that worked.”
Incredulous, she said, “You didn’t think it would?”
He smiled and said, “You never know.”
I said, “Time to go. Her police will be here soon, and we have no sanction here.”
Lia stood up, saying, “Wait, what? You’re going to leave? I have to report this. I mean, we just met the killer. He’s real. I have a face now. I can’t let you just leave, even if you saved me. We need to find this guy, and I need what you know.”
Pike said, “I understand that, and we’re going to find him, but the ‘we’ part doesn’t include you. I’m sorry.”
Lia said, “Are you crazy? The killer just tried to murder an Italian inspector by placing an explosive device around her neck. And that person was me! You aren’t going anywhere.”
She looked at Shoshana, who in turn waited on Pike. He said, “I’m sorry, but we’re leaving. And if you mention us saving you to anyone, we’ll disappear like a bad dream. You knew we weren’t State Department the minute you met us. And we aren’t. We’ll find that guy for you, but we can’t do it in the open.”
They started walking to the door. Incensed, Lia said, “I have your names. I’ll contact the United States State Department. I’ll find you.”
They stopped at the door. Pike said, “You won’t find us that way. I promise.”
Shoshana turned to her and said, “You won’t do that, because I wouldn’t do that. You and I are the same. We saved your life, and you will protect ours.”
Lia stood firm, but her stern visage began to falter.
Shoshana continued. “This man has killed more than streetwalkers. He’s murdered friends of mine. I understand your quest for justice, and I promise he will get it. I’m going to rip him apart. Do you understand?”
Lia touched her throat, still feeling the collar, seeing the absolute conviction in Shoshana’s eyes. She paused, then said, “I guess justice is justice. But at least let me know, even if it’s for nothing more than closing this case.”
I opened the door and said, “You’ll know, I promise. I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to come back to you to get him.”
“Why?”
“Because you own the monopoly of violence in this country, and I intend to leverage it.”
Chapter 48
Garrett held his hand over the mouth of the young man, whispering at him to remain quiet. Wearing a T-shirt and boxers, he was college-age and had been reading a book and drinking beer when Garrett had entered through the window. Garrett put his hand to the kid’s forehead and the blood from his wound dripped onto the student’s face, causing him to moan. He tightened his hands, and the student became rigid, staring at him but no longer fighting.
Moments earlier in Lia’s flat, he’d heard the small tick from the front door and instantly knew someone was outside. His primordial instinct, gleaned from years of conducting raids against terrorist safe houses, was the only thing that had saved his life. And his mission.
He’d thought he’d hear a knock next, but instead they’d explosively breached the door, sending the lock cylinder into his hand and knocking the detonator loose.
He’d raced to the back bedroom, threw open the window, and exited onto the fire escape. He’d glanced below and saw a man coming up the alley, and knew it was rear security.
He’d gone down one flight, then ripped open a window, spilling into the first apartment he could, finding the young man reading a book in his bed. Before he could react, Garrett was on him.
He said, “Shush. No noise.”
The student nodded his head.
He waited, listening for someone coming up the fire escape. After a minute, he believed the man hadn’t seen him, or was at least waiting on him to continue down the stairs.
He sat up, releasing the student. The student said, “What do you want?”
“Nothing. I just want to get away from here. Don’t do anything crazy, and you’ll be fine.”
The student nodded, and he pulled out his phone. Garrett turned to him and said, “What’s your Wi-Fi network?”
He told him, and Garrett connected, pulling up the Zello app. He called the Turtle channel and heard Raph answer. He glanced at the man, and then began speaking Croatian, saying, “I need some help. I need a car to come get me.”
Raph said, “Where have you been? We did the hit today, and I’ve been trying to contact you for hours.”
Hit? And the mission slammed home. Garrett realized his fixation on the inspector had caused him to lose focus on what the others were doing. On his orders.
“How did that go? Are they dead?”
“No. I’m sorry, sir, they escaped. We missed them.”
“You missed them? How?”
“I don’t know. We placed the mine and they bailed out of the car like they knew what was about to happen. I mean they reacted like we would have. Like Special Forces. No hesitation or anything. They didn’t act like civilians.”
I knew those fucks weren’t State Department.
He said, “So they’re on the loose, right now?”
“No. There was an enormous police response, and they were taken into custody. They’re out of play for a few days. Even better, for some reason, the U.S. is blaming Keta’ib Hezbollah for the attack, as if they claimed credit. At least that worked out.”
Garrett ran that through his mind, then said, “Who claimed credit?”
“Nobody. The U.S. State Department put out a statement.”
Garrett thought, Something else is going on here. He said, “You’re on the way to the airport now?”
“Yes. Our flight leaves in four hours. Now, what’s happening with you? What’s wrong?”
“Too much to tell you right now. I’m in Trastevere, and I can’t get to my car. It might be under surveillance. Can you come get me?”
“Trouble how? What’s going on?”
“I don’t have time to explain! Just trust me.”
“Sir, we’re on the way to the airport. We can’t come get you. We’re in an Uber. We’re on the way to the mission.”
“And Michelangelo? What’s he doing?”
Garrett heard the exasperation leaking through the phone, Raphael having no idea of the predicament he was in.
Raph said, “I don’t know. He’s supposed to fly with you tomorrow. He’s probably getting drunk right now before heading to Israel. You know how he is. We did the hit today and then packed up, taking the first flight out that we could find. We didn’t want to hang around after the attack.”
Shit. Garrett backed off, not wanting them to wonder about the mission. Not wanting Raph to wonder about him.
Raphael said, “Sir, we’re about to meet some very bad people. Are you okay? Should we abort?”
Garrett said, “No, not at all. I’m fine. As you said, I’m flying tomorrow. Just contact me when you get there. Do you have the linkup information? After you meet the Knights people at the airport?”
“Yes, we do. We meet the Knights of Malta folks at the airport, stay in their place, and then meet the contact. What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. I’ll find my own way home and leave my car.” He looked at the man on the bed and said, “Everything is fine.”
He hung up the phone and turned to the student, saying in Italian, “Do you have a car?”
“No. I have a bicycle.”
He realized he couldn’t leave the student alive after this. He was a weak link who could compromise the mission. He said, “Where’s it parked? And is it locked?”
“It’s in the rack on the side of the complex. A beachcomber with a Kryptonite U-lock on it. You want me to show you?”
He thought, Smart man. If Garrett let him leave the apartment, he would begin sprinting once he hit the street. He said, “No. Just give me the key.”
The student leaned to a nightstand, rummaged through a drawer, and pulled out a key ring. He separated one and held it up, his hand trembling.
Garrett took it, then said, “One other thing. You don’t have a red cord or sash here, do you?”
Chapter 49
I’d now been running on about three hours of sleep over the last twenty-four, working to get Knuckles and Brett released after our operation in Trastevere, my head sagging down every few minutes as my brain demanded rest, only for me to jerk back awake. Everyone else was racked out, but I could not go to blissful sleep just yet, because I’d been told that George Wolffe wanted to see me via our VPN.
It was closing in on 4 a.m. in Italy, which meant it was about 10 p.m. in DC. That he wanted to talk this late was an ominous sign. Maybe he’d failed to get the State Department to engage for Brett and Knuckles.
We’d returned to the hotel after the hit in Trastevere, the adrenaline still coursing through me, and Jennifer—acting as my TOC commander—had told me that Wolffe wanted me to stand by for contact, and like a good soldier, that’s exactly what I was doing, although it was starting to piss me off. If you wanted to talk to me, then give me a call. Don’t make me wait like teenager pining for a date-night phone to ring.
