Deadly Intent: An Action Thriller (Adrian Hell Series Book 4) (23 page)

I slowly remove my hand and he remains silent.

“Excellent. Now, where is everyone, and how many of you are there?”

His breathing is rapid, and his eyes are darting in every direction, as if looking for a way out.

“B-back there,” he says, in a strange accent. Possibly Scandinavian. “There are m-m-maybe fifteen men.”

“And where’s the woman they’ve kidnapped?” I press my gun harder against his temple. “And don’t lie to me.”

He closes his eyes and grimaces as panic and fear set in. “P-please… I’m just a tech guy. I’m not a soldier!”

I jab him hard in the stomach with my left hand. “I didn’t ask who you were, did I?”

He tries to sigh, but he’s breathing too quickly to do it effectively. “She’s t-tied up in one of the labs. Please… I have a f-family.”

I look at him for a moment, searching for an ounce of humanity so that I could give a shit. Unfortunately for him, I left all that back in Tennessee with Josh. The only thing I can think of right now is vengeance.

“Lucky you,” I say to him. “At least you’ll have people to plan your funeral. Next time, maybe think twice before working for a bunch of terrorists, yeah?”

I pull the trigger, sending a conical spray of dark blood across the floor. I stand and look over my shoulder, at the corridor where these two came from. Then I look left and right.

I wonder if this floor is connected in some way, like a network? If I go left, would that bring me out on the other side of the area where Clara is?

It’s a big gamble. I’m running out of time and I can’t afford any mistakes. No, screw it. I know for definite that they’re straight ahead, so that’s where I’m going.

I draw my other Beretta and stride quickly and purposefully toward the corridor at the opposite end, toward Tori.

29.

21:41 EEST

At the end of the corridor it doglegs to the right and out into a large area, separated by temporary partitions all the way around the edge, with an open area in the center.

I stand in the doorway momentarily, getting a good look at the room and planning my attack. There are a couple of men patrolling the perimeter, but the majority of the forces are in the center, which is where I assume Clara and Tori are.

I crouch down and set off to the right. The partitions are thick painted wood up to about waist height, then glass up to the ceiling, capped off with a thin border of wood again, leaving a gap between the top and the ceiling. I look up and see piping and air vents all around. Definitely some sort of old lab, but the tech seems new—they must’ve been renovating the place for months…

Keeping low, I follow the room round and I start to veer left, coming to a gap in the partitions. To my left is a pathway that leads into the middle of the hub. Straight ahead is more cover. I glance behind me, and then peer around the corner. I have a direct view into the middle, and I see a large group of men standing around. They all seem to have handguns, which, thankfully, are holstered at their sides. They’re congregating around a large monitor, but the next partition obscures my view.

What did that guy say before? Tori’s tied up in one of the labs? I’m guessing he meant they’re holding her in one of the partitioned lab areas, away from the main group… If I can find her, I might be able to get her out of here before drawing any attention to—

I feel the cold metal of a gun barrel rest gently against the back of my head. I close my eyes and sigh.

Shit.

“Get up,” says the voice. “Drop the guns.”

I stand, leaving my Berettas on the floor at my feet. I feel a hand unsheathe the Ithaca from my back, tossing that to the ground as well.

“Move,” they say, jabbing me with their gun.

I turn left and head toward the group in the middle. As I approach, more of the scene becomes visible to me, until I’m standing in the middle of the space, surrounded by the huddle of terrorists. There are some tables and chairs on the left, with two small glass labs behind them; the doors closed. Looking very relaxed, I count ten guys all sitting around, looking at me curiously and smiling.

So, that confirms they knew I was coming.

On the opposite side to me is another glass lab, with pathways on either side. The door’s closed, and there’s a man standing outside it. I look through the glass and see Tori. Despite the circumstances, I still breathe a sigh of relief, happy to know for definite that she’s still alive.

She’s sitting down, looking straight ahead, and I’m on her right side, so she hasn’t seen me yet. Her hair is matted and she looks tired, but other than that she looks as beautiful as I remember. It feels like a lifetime since I’ve laid eyes on her. I feel a sudden wave of guilt. I blame myself entirely for her being here. I should’ve protected her. I should’ve—

“Hey! Are you paying attention?”

A strong, female voice interrupts my train of thought, and I realize they’ve been talking to me for the last minute or so, and I hadn’t noticed. I look to my right, seeing the large screen in full for the first time. There’s a table next to it, with papers laid out across it and a laptop on the right. Standing in front of the screen, staring at me with an evil bemusement, is Clara Fox. As seen on the DVD she left me, she has shoulder-length, jet-black hair and dark make-up. She actually reminds me a little of that Salikov woman I killed, back in Heaven’s Valley. She strides purposefully toward me and snatches the mask off my head, discarding it to the floor.

“Adrian Hell…” she says. “You took your time.”

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” I reply. “I was too busy killing all your men up on the street.”

She laughs. “You think that bothers me? This is the end of the line for you, and the beginning of the Armageddon Initiative’s plans to reset the world!”

She sounds like a Bond villain...

“Wow… you are seriously tapped in the head, aren’t you? I guess watching me beat your old man to death and leaving you for dead has left you with a few issues.”

Her smile fades, and her eyes go dead, staring at me like she isn’t human. She holds my gaze for a moment, and then looks at one of the men sitting watching and nods. He stands and walks over to the lab opposite. The man behind me pushes me forward with his gun, and I step farther into the middle of the area, standing directly in front of Clara.

A moment later, the guy reappears, escorting Tori by her arm. Her hands are behind her, presumably bound together, and her eyes are red—I’m guessing from crying.

“Oh my God, Adrian!” she shouts.

She goes to run toward me, but the guy restrains her, and she struggles in his grip.

“Let
go
of me, asshole!” she yells at him.

I fail to suppress a small smile. That’s my girl, defiant to the last.

“Tori, are you okay?” I ask her, trying to remain as calm as possible. “Are you hurt?”

Before she can reply, Clara steps forward. Without a word of warning, she leaps toward me and unleashes a right knee into my side. I didn’t see it coming, and I wince at the impact, doubling over and dropping to one knee. As she lands, she smashes her left elbow across my face, catching me on my cheek. It hurt likes hell, but I do everything I can not to register it. I stay still, staring at the floor and breathing hard through gritted teeth, absorbing the pain and using it to fuel my growing anger.

I look up at her. “You’ve gotten brave in your old age,” I say, slowly getting back to my feet. “Makes such a difference being surrounded by all your friends, doesn’t it?”

She strolls over to Tori and strokes her hair, twirling it in her finger as she looks at me. Taunting me.

“I see nothing changes, Adrian. You’re still blind to the truth that is so clearly laid out in front of you. What’s happening is inevitable. Times have changed and have left you behind. You cannot stop what’s now in motion.”

She turns to Tori and grabs both her cheeks in her hand before kissing her lips, forcing herself onto her with no emotion. As she moves away, Tori spits on the floor, and Clara looks at me and smiles.

“I’ve worked closely with Hamaad El-Zurak to make this organization what it is. Yalafi Hussein is an idealist, but he’s naïve. He still thinks you can impose your will upon the people by using archaic methods of terrorism. El-Zurak is a great man, and his vision for a new world is... extraordinary.”

She’s really boring me now, so I tune her voice out and focus on the environment around me. I have to admit, I’ve been so focused on getting Tori back, I think I’ve lost sight a little of the bigger picture. Not since back in New York, when I took Hussein’s laptop, have I really thought about what’s actually at stake.

Oblivious to what Clara’s saying, I look around the room and start to see things that I hadn’t noticed before. Time slows to a stop as I take in every single detail. It’s almost like an epiphany. Like speaking to Clara has made me see that I don’t actually
care
that she managed to get away from me years ago. She’s not Wilson Trent. She hurt my pride more than anything, which is the only reason I held a grudge. But I don’t anymore.

There are ten guys to my left, with one behind me, who has a gun to my head… but the group of ten all have their guns in their holsters. Average time for someone to draw their weapon and effectively take aim is three seconds. It’ll only take me two to disarm the guy behind me and fire at least four bullets…

The screen behind her has a technical diagram of what looks like a satellite, so I can only assume it’s Cerberus. The set-up of this scene is like a lecture, as if everyone was looking at her as she gave them information. That, to me, says that she knows a decent amount about what Cerberus does, which validates her claim that she was close to El-Zurak.

The table on my right is covered by papers and a laptop… those papers are confidential documents. I’ve seen enough in my time to recognize material that should be redacted. If I were to hazard a guess, I’d say CIA. I can’t think of any way someone like Clara would’ve been able to get their hands on classified files like that without at least having an inside man. But the CIA isn’t the kind of place where you can bribe people…

Slowly but surely, the pieces of this puzzle are starting to slot into place… Now I just need to get out of here and tell Josh I’ve solved things all on my own!

Clara slaps me hard across the face, speeding time back to normal and bringing me back to the real world.

“Are you even listening to me?” she screams.

I look at her with the most neutral poker face I have. “Not in the slightest,” I say with a shrug. “Sorry.” I look across at Tori. “Baby, we’re gonna get out of here, okay? Just trust me.”

She nods, and then Clara slaps me again.

“You arrogant bastard!” she says. “You’ve always been so full of yourself and why? You’re outnumbered, and on the losing side of a war your country doesn’t even know it’s fighting!”

I sigh and look at her with feigned sympathy. “I actually feel pretty bad for you, Clara,” I say. “I imagine you’ve spent the last few years harboring a grudge against me that’s slowly consumed you to the point where you probably don’t even care about El-Zurak’s plans for Cerberus. All you care about is getting back at me. Am I right? I mean, you were the one who told these extremist pricks about me in the first place. You would’ve known then that I wouldn’t have come and worked for you. I think you did it knowing it would prompt me to come looking specifically for you, so you could make some half-assed attempt at getting revenge.”

She’s taken aback by, what I’m guessing is, a pretty accurate assessment of things, but quickly recovers.

“Well, you’re here, aren’t you?” she says, like a petulant child. “So you’re just as stupid as you’ve always been, walking right into a situation you knew was a trap.”

“Yeah, but I’m not here for
you
, Clara. I’m here for her.” I nod at Tori. “I couldn’t give a shit about you—don’t you get that? I stopped holding a grudge against you a long time ago. You’ve built yourself up to this fantastic showdown between us, and the fact of the matter is, I simply don’t care.”

Okay, so that was a small lie. I
do
care—I’d happily snap that psychopathic bitch’s neck right now. Never mind the betrayal years ago—she kidnapped my girlfriend. That alone signed her death warrant. But she doesn’t need to know that. More fun to make her think she’s insignificant and watch her fester until she bursts.

I look over at Tori who, bless her, is trying not to smile. I wink at her, and I see her swell up as she takes a deep breath, full of pride for her action hero who’s about to save her.

Those are her words, by the way…

I slide my left foot subtly out to the side, just a couple of inches, widening my stance a little. Then, in one movement, I flick my right heel up behind me, catching the guy behind me in his balls. At the same time, I duck to the left, to avoid the potential stray bullet. Luckily, there isn’t one. Sensing him bend forward, I spin around, pushing him over and snatching the gun out of his hand in one motion. As I complete my turn, the room slows down once more. I look past Clara and go straight for the guy standing by Tori. Mid-turn, I fire once and put a bullet between his eyes. He falls backward, and Tori jumps in shock, putting her hands over her mouth to suppress a scream.

I continue the turn, coming round to face the bunch of ten. I know I’m only going to get a couple of shots off before they start to react, so I fire three bullets at the guys nearest to Tori. I hit two in the chest, killing them instantly, but only wound the third by catching him in the arm.

Time resumes its normal speed and without thinking, I run at Tori, scooping her up in my left arm as I dash past her to find cover.

“Come on, baby, we’re leaving!”

She shrieks in shock as I sweep her off her feet, whizzing her round and grabbing her arm, helping her run while still tied up.

“What the fuck?” yells Clara behind me. “Don’t just stand there, you idiots! Shoot him!”

We’re on the opposite side of the room to where they caught me, so I know my guns aren’t close by. We’re crouching down around the corner of a partition.

“Are you alright?” I ask Tori.

She nods, but doesn’t respond. I look behind her at her wrists, still bound in standard-issue law enforcement handcuffs.

“Pull your hands apart as much as you can,” I say to her.

She frowns and does it, tightening the chain. I take aim and fire once, making her scream. Before she can say anything, I lean round the corner and fire off a few more rounds, hitting another two men. So that’s four down, one wounded… leaving six, plus Clara and two stragglers. This isn’t going to be easy. While I have cover right now from anyone in front of me, it’s ultimately a large, open, circular room, so they can come at me from either side as well.

With no real option for long-term protection, I need to take the fight to these assholes.

“Tori, we need—”

She interrupts me by kissing my lips, quickly and with as much urgency and love as anyone can give.