Deadly Intent: An Action Thriller (Adrian Hell Series Book 4) (25 page)

“What was that about?” she asks, genuinely curious.

Before I can answer, we both hear a single gunshot from inside the lab. We look at each other—Tori with surprise in her eyes, while I’m trying to look sympathetic.

“Nothing,” I say, as we climb the stairs. “Now let’s get out of here.”

31.

23:41 EEST

We reached the street, and I contacted Josh, telling him Clara was dead, and that I have Tori, and we need a ride home. Within an hour, a helicopter arrived and flew us to Chernigov Airport. Despite being closed for the last fifteen years, the runway itself was still accessible, so there was a private jet waiting for us which had us in the air almost straight away.

We didn’t say much for the first few minutes. Tori looked around in amazement at how the other half lives—the nice leather reclining seats, the plush carpet, and the stewardess who needs absolutely no prompting to bring us both an ice-cold beer.

She’s sitting opposite me, leaning back, and staring at the ceiling with the bottle in her hand. She takes a deep breath and a grateful swig of the beer before looking at me. I’ve been sitting patiently, sipping my drink, and waiting for the inevitable onslaught of questions.

“Adrian, I owe you my life,” she says. “How did you ever find me?”

I raise an eyebrow, surprised. “I had a little help,” I reply with a shrug and a smile.

Before I can say anything else, she stands and moves over to me, straddles my lap, and kisses me like it’s our last day on Earth. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold her close to me, savoring her smell, her taste, and her warmth. We part after a minute or so, short of breath, with our hearts beating slightly quicker than before. I look over at the stewardess, who is standing respectfully looking at the floor and smiling to herself. Tori kisses my nose and rests her forehead against mine for a moment, before sitting back in her seat and taking another pull of her beer.

“Adrian, I… I have to ask you a couple of things,” she says.

Here we go…

“Fire away,” I say. “I’ll tell you whatever you want to know, I promise.”

“Okay…”

She composes herself, seemingly struggling to find the words.

“Take your time,” I say. “You’ve been through a lot—more than anyone should have to.”

She smiles and tries to remain strong, as if she’s trying to prove something to me, or to herself.

“Why did you come for me?” she asks.

I frown with slight disbelief. “What do you mean? I was prepared to tear this world apart to find you, Tori. I—”

“You said to that woman you only came after her because you couldn’t go after the other guy. Should you have done something else besides rescue me?”

“Babe, no—of course not. You’re more important to me than anything.”

“I know,” she says, smiling briefly. “But you agreed to help your friends stop those terrorists who attacked us at your bar… be honest with me, Adrian—was there something else you should’ve been doing besides coming after me?”

I take a breath and stare at the floor for a moment. I need to choose my words very carefully here, and this kind of thing isn’t my strong suit.

“I’ll tell you everything I know about what’s happening another time,” I say. “But to summarize, there’s a guy called Hamaad El-Zurak, who’s planning a large-scale attack on, I suspect, most of the Western World. Our intel told us he fled to a mountain range in Afghanistan, essentially making him untouchable. The ideal play was to go after him—cut the head off the snake, so to speak. But we also knew that Clara had come to Ukraine and that she had you. I immediately said I was coming for you, but other people pointed out that the right thing to do was go after El-Zurak, because of the threat he poses. We argued, and I came very close to shooting the guy out of frustration, but… Josh stepped in and pointed out that going after you was the better move, because there was a higher chance of success, and it would still be a massive blow to the terrorist organization.”

She nods and takes in everything I just said.

“So, there was no way you could’ve gone after the other guy?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Not without being killed, no.”

She nods slowly. “Okay.”

“You sure? It seems like something’s bothering you about it?”

“I just…” she sighs. “I wouldn’t have forgiven myself, or you, if coming to save me meant innocent people suffered and died at the hands of some lunatic extremist.”

I smile. You can’t help but love her.

“Babe, I’ll do whatever I can to stop these assholes, but there’s no way I’d want to save the world if you weren’t gonna be in it. End of story.”

She’s quiet for a moment, and then the smile creeps across her face.

“Adrian, you’re a very… impressive man. And I love you.”

I feel my cheeks flush slightly, which I’m very glad Josh isn’t around to see.

“I love you, too,” I say.

“Right, now what was that crazy bitch going on about before?” she asks, her mood changing in the blink of an eye. “You killed her
father
?”

I sigh. “Yeah, I killed her Dad.”

“Why?”

“Because he was a terrorist who was trying to detonate a nuclear weapon in Nevada.”

“Oh, well… wait—wasn’t there something in the news a few years back about a bomb going off in Nevada?”

“The Nevada Incident?” I offer. “Heaven’s Valley?”

“Yeah, that’s right!”

I nod. “Yeah, that was me.”

“Holy shit! So, that thing she said about you being an assassin… is that for real?”

“It is. Or, it was. I retired. But that’s why those men originally came to the bar. They wanted to recruit me because they knew who I used to be.”

“And who did you used to be?”

“Adrian Hell.”

She’s silent for a moment, and then she bursts out laughing. A real belly laugh. She laughs so hard she stops breathing. Then she starts shaking and doubles over, wafting herself with her hand.

“Oh… my… God!” she says. “Adrian
Hell
? Really? Who thought up
that
name?”

I shift uncomfortably in my seat, unsure how to react. I think my feelings are hurt…

“Well, I did,” I reply. “What’s wrong with it?”

“You sound like a villain in those comic books!”

“Hey! I was, and still am, the most feared killer who ever lived, I’ll have you know.”

“That maybe so,” she says. “But, to me, you’re simply Adrian. You own a bar, and while you’re strong and tough, you’re the most loving man I know. I can’t imagine you being a… contract killer.”

“To be fair, I did just kill, like, thirty guys to rescue you… I hijacked a tank, Tori.”

“Like I said, tough and strong!”

She smiles, and I honestly don’t understand why she has no issue with my past.

“One more thing, then I’ll go back to kissing you,” she says.

“Shoot.”

“What happened to your wife and child?”

I take a deep breath. “Tori, I… that’s a long story. And to be honest, now isn’t the time. Do you mind?”

“I understand,” she says with a smile. “But I do want to know, okay?”

“Okay.”

The stewardess walks over and politely clears her throat. “Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt, but there’s a call for you.”

She hands me a cell phone, and I put it on speaker.

“Yeah?”

“Adrian,” says Josh. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Thanks for the plane.”

“No worries. Tori, are you there? How are you holdin’ up?”

“Hey Josh,” she says. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Good. Both relieved Clara’s dead?”

“Honestly?” I say. “I can’t say I’m bothered either way.”

“Check it out—my boy’s all grown up!” Tori smiles at me, and I roll me eyes. Josh continues. “Listen, I’ve radioed the pilot and got him to re-direct your flight. We’ll meet you at Fort Worth.”

“Texas? What’s happening?”

“Tell you when you get here,” he says, somewhat cryptically. “Get some rest.”

“Okay, see you soon.” I hang up and look at Tori. “Something’s not right,” I say.

“What makes you say that?” she asks.

“My spider sense is tingling.”

“Your what?”

“My spider sense.”

She shakes her head and laughs. “My God, I got rescued by a cartoon character!”

I finish my beer, trying really hard not to take offense.

“Try to get some sleep,” I say to her. “You’ve been through a lot, and it’s a long flight. You need to get some rest.”

“So do you,” she says, curling up in her chair, tucking her legs underneath her and leaning back.

“I don’t have time to sleep.” I pick up the pile of papers and files that we took from the underground lab. “I need to prepare for when we land.”

21:35 CDT

Tori snaps awake as the pilot’s voice comes on over the speaker system to announce we’re half an hour out from Fort Worth. I look up from the papers, which have kept me distracted for the best part of six hours, and smile at her.

“Feel better?” I ask.

She nods and smiles back, looking half-asleep still. I gather up the papers I’d strewn across the table next to me and massage my temples. My head hurts. These files contain a lot of information. Some of it classified, but irrelevant. Some of it very relevant, and a little disturbing. But mostly, they served to help me piece together this whole mess and figure out who’s doing what, and why. And
that’s
why my head is hurting. I’m pretty sure I’m right about my conclusions, but I really don’t want to be.

“You manage to get any rest?” she asks me.

I shake my head, and she looks at me, full of sympathy.

“Honey, you really need to sleep. What’s it been? Twenty-four hours?”

“At least.”

“You’re going to be no use to anyone if you’re walking around half dead. When we land, you’re getting some rest before we do anything else. No arguing.”

“Tori, I can’t. This whole thing—”

“This whole thing can wait,” she says, interrupting me before I can protest further. “GlobaTech can handle it, or they can hand it over to the authorities and let them handle it. The whole world isn’t resting on your shoulders, Adrian, no matter how much you think otherwise.”

I try to smile, but I don’t manage it.

“Tori, that’s just it—right now, this whole thing
is
on my shoulders. GlobaTech basically doesn’t exist at the moment. Josh and Bob Clark are on the run because the NSA closed them down. The CIA has been trying to kill me for the last week or so. The government has been convinced it’s me behind all this, working with the bad guys, and I’ve been trying to figure out why their intel is so off. And thanks to all these,” I point to the papers next to me, “now I know. And we can’t trust the authorities. We can’t trust anyone.”

“Adrian, what the hell’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you when we’re all together.”

The pilot comes back on to tell us we’re making our final descent, and will be landing in a few moments, so we both sit back and strap ourselves in.

By the time the wheels touch the ground, I’ve played out every outcome I can think of in my head, and decided on the best course of action. What I’m about to go up against is unprecedented—not just for me, but for everyone. I’m not going to be able to do it on my own, but I’ve never asked anyone to willingly fight alongside me before. I don’t need to ask Josh, because I know
he
will, whether I want him to or not. But involving people in my fights isn’t something I’ve ever been comfortable doing. But what I know now is about to change everything.

We taxi to a stop and the stewardess opens the door for us. I thank her, and the pilots, and step off the plane to see Josh waiting for me. The weather is welcoming and warm, despite the late hour—a nice change from the harsh winds and perpetual dullness of Eastern Europe. We shake hands, and he hugs Tori before saying anything.

“The rest of us are inside,” he announces. “I took the liberty of speaking to Agent Wallis and inviting him to the party. I trust him, Adrian, and we need all the help we can get.”

I nod gravely. “I know we do,” I say.

He sees the look and becomes instantly concerned. “What’s wrong?” he asks.

I hand him the pile of papers and files. “We took these from the underground lab in Pripyat,” I explain. “Clara had them, along with a slideshow of the Cerberus blueprints.”

“What are they?” he asks, briefly skimming through them.

“They’re classified CIA documents, mostly.”

His eyes widen. “Clara had these?”

“She did. But more importantly, the Armageddon Initiative had these. Let’s get inside. I don’t care who’s in the room with us anymore, Josh. I know enough to make an educated guess what’s really going on here, and if I’m right—and I hope I’m not—then we’ve got a helluva fight on our hands.”

There’s a Jeep waiting for us at the end of the runway with an MP in the driver’s seat. Josh climbs in next to him, and I help Tori up into the back before stepping in next to her. He drives us across the base, following the road system past the barracks and training grounds. There’s a small presence of troops doing exercises and marching, but they ignore us.