Hitman: Enemy Within (7 page)

“Ms. Norton?” a male voice inquired. “This is John at the AJAX Alarm Company. Is everything okay?”

“I tripped and droppedmy groceries, that’s all.” Marla replied as she watched Agent 47 screw a silencer onto his pistol. “But I’m fine.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” the man said cautiously. “So you don’t need medical assistance?”

“No,” Marla said. And she hoped it would be true.

“Good,” John replied. “Could I have your security code, please?”

Marla turned her head toward the assassin and saw that the silenced weapon was aimed at her right knee.

“My code is Indigo378.”

“Thank you,” John said politely. “Have a nice day.”

She could have been lying, of course, but based on the speed with which the man on the other end of the line had accepted the code, 47 didn’t think so.

He lowered the gun.

“Remove your clothes.”

Marla raised a well-plucked eyebrow.

“Are you planning to rape me?”

She let the raincoat fall. The
Puissance Treize
agent had been forced to strip before. Once inMadrid , where it had been necessary to pose as an exotic dancer, so she could sit on her target’s lap. Then inParis , where the only way to steal the key she needed was to have sex with a French gangster.And most recently inYakima , where the Big Kahuna insisted on a “show” the evening prior to the meeting. So Marla knew her body could be used as a weapon—but was the man with the gun susceptible?

Looking at his face it was impossible to tell.

He watched impassively as Marla’s thong hit the floor.

“So,” Marla said provocatively, as she completed a quick turn. “Are you satisfied?”

The agent ignored the question. “Who hired you to protect the Big Kahuna?” he demanded.

“Don’t be absurd,” the
Puissance Treize
agent replied contemptuously. “You know the rules. My superiors would kill me if I told you that!”

The assassin eyed her coldly.

“I’ll kill you if you don’t.”

“No,” Marla countered firmly, “You won’t. Not as long as you need information, and there’s a chance you might get it from me.”

“True,” 47 agreed as the DOVO reappeared. “Then it looks like I’ll have to torture the information out of you….

“Which nipple should I remove first?”

Marla’s hands instinctively flew up to cover her breasts. It was a sign of weakness she immediately came to regret, as she forced her hands back down.

“Torture doesn’t work,” she replied firmly. “People will say anything to make the pain stop. You know that, and I know that.”

“That’s what the experts say,” 47 acknowledged darkly. “But I’ve had pretty good results. Perhaps that’s because I enjoy it. Go over and sit on one of those chairs.” Marla wasn’t sure whether he was telling the truth or just trying to unnerve her more. He motioned with the gun. The houseboat’s interior featured a retro ’50s theme, complete with lots of primary colors, plastic, and chrome. The chairs he referred to sat around a pedestal-style, circular table. Fear tingled at the base of Marla’s skull now, and with good reason, given the possibility that the assassin was a self-confessed sadist.

“Put your hands behind your back,” he ordered sternly. He bound her wrists with phone cord. Her ankles came next, and by the time he was finished, Marla was helpless.Or nearly so, since the plastic-coated phone line was slippery, and difficult to knot.

“There,” the agent said, as he stood. “Can’t have any screaming…so all we need now is a gag. Or would you prefer to answer my questions?”

Marla remembered Mrs. Kaberov’s cold blue eyes, and the bullet in the velvet-lined box.

“Go screw yourself!” she responded defiantly.

“Fine,have it your way,” 47 said, and left the dining area.

The assassin returned a few moments later with a dish towel that he tied over Marla’s mouth, and a pillowcase that he pulled down over her head. Then, much to Marla’s relief, she heard a series of footfalls, followed by the sound of the front door opening and closing. But the man with the gun would be back, and she knew her first opportunity to escape would most likely be the only opportunity to escape.

So rather than wait to see what would happen next, Marla went to work on freeing her hands. And thanks to the fact that the phone cord was slippery, it wasn’t long before her bonds started to come loose. Thus encouraged, she struggled to work her hands free before her assailant could return. After what seemed like endless minutes, the cord came off, and she reached up to remove the pillowcase. Once she could see, it was relatively easy to remove the line wound around her ankles. Finally, just as it seemed as if her heart were going to beat its way out through her chest, Marla’s feet were free. She stood, got rid of the gag, and made for the door. The externally mounted slide-style bolt made a welcome snicking sound as it slid home.

The lock wouldn’t be enough to keep a really determined assailant out, but it would buy some additional time, and that’s all the
Puissance Treize
agent needed as she turned back into the room. The Walther was still there, lying on the floor, and never had the weapon’s weight felt more welcome than when she lifted the pistol and pointed it at the door. Holding the semiauto with both hands, Marla waited for the assassin to return. Was the safety on or off? She should have checked but hadn’t. A sure sign of how shaken she was, but an easy mistake to correct.

That was when she smelled smoke, heard her ceiling-mounted fire alarm go off, and saw flames in the kitchen. The fire immediately began to lick at the drapes before spreading across the ceiling, and there was barely enough time for her to slip into the raincoat, grab her purse off the floor, and exit the houseboat—gun in hand—as the flames continued to spread.

Marla had no desire to stay and explain everything to the authorities, so all she could do was shove the Walther into a pocket as she ran toward shore. Her bare feet made a slapping sound as they hit wet wood, and some of her neighbors emerged to shout instructions at one another as Marla entered the parking lot. Sirens could be heard as she fumbled for the remote and took refuge in the Mercedes. Not knowing where 47 was, nor when he would return, she started the car and sped away. He might be following, but she would have to take that chance. She really had no alternative. Her mind raced. The Agency knew where she was. That much was obvious, as was the fact that they were out to identify any of their employees who had leaked information to the
Puissance Treize
and put a stop to it. So, would they continue to come after her?

Yes, they almost certainly would. Except that the next attempt might be made by a specially equipped interrogation team that would use psychology, environmental conditioning, and drugs to break her. That raised the obvious and most pressing question of what to do next. Would Kaberov provide support? Or punish her for incompetence? There was no way to be sure. But the odds weren’t very good. Suddenly—through no fault of her own—Cassandra Murphy, aka MarlaNorton, was on the run. And whether she wanted to admit it or not, Agent 47 may have just flushed his prey.

PATRAS,GREECE

Though technically classified as a yacht, the 250-foot-long
Jean Danjou
had originally been designed to serve as a salvage tug, which was why she had none of the sleek grace that the other megayachts possessed as they lay at anchor on the sparkling waters of Patras.

But then, unlike her peers, the
Danjou
was expected to work for a living.Which was why she carried two armored SUVs, four BMW motorcycles, two snowmobiles, six personal watercraft, a four-place helicopter, scuba gear, a decompression chamber, a bulletproof Mercedes S500, and two forty-foot gunboats. Not to mention a great deal of very sophisticated communications and tracking equipment intended to support Agency activities worldwide.

The heart of the ship, and the place where Diana spent most of her time, was the communications and control room located deep within the
Danjou
’s armored hull. Her high-backed chair was located at the center of a U-shaped desk from which she could monitor twenty-four wall-mounted video screens, two side-by-side computer displays, and take satellite phone calls from all over the world. Diana had a high forehead and eyes that were a tiny bit smaller than she would have preferred. Still, having been gifted with a straight nose, high cheekbones, and sensual lips, her face would have been considered beautiful had it not been for a certain hardness that was resident there.

“Say again,” she said, as static rattled in her earphones. “You’re breaking up.”

“I have a message for Mr. Nu,” Agent 47 replied. “Tell him I made contact with Marla Norton. And although I wasn’t able to pry any information out of her, she’s on the run. I placed micro-trackers in both her raincoat and her purse. With any luck at all, she’ll lead us up the food chain, and to the person who has the answers we’re looking for.”

Diana glanced at one of the monitors to her right. Mr. Nu was taking part in a board meeting inHouston , where shipping magnate Aristotle Thorakis was halfway through a report.

“I’ll tell him,” the controller promised. “Take care of yourself.”

“I will,” 47 promised, and he returned the phone to his pocket.

That was when the crackling flames found the explosives that Marla Norton kept hidden in the crawl space above her living room, and the houseboat exploded.

There was a loud
boom,
followed by a spectacular fireworks display as chunks of fiery debris flew up into the gray sky and rained down onto the surface of the lake, where they made a hissing sound before bobbing on the surface. Mrs. Beasley’s home was largely untouched, except for her geraniums, which were destroyed when a piece of wreckage fell on them.

The oarlocks creaked as the assassin pulled away. More sirens joined the already strident chorus, and the rain fell gently around him.

Chapter Five

NEW YORK,NEW YORK

The more than 7,000-square-foot suite took up the entire 16th floor of the Hotel France and had a sweeping view ofCentral Park . The reception area was dominated by a huge stained-glass window and the walls were covered with hand-painted depictions of the French countryside. All of which was quite familiar to Aristotle Thorakis, as he and his family had spent the Christmas holidays in the hotel just two years before, back when the $15,000-per-night price tag seemed reasonable. But even with the 500-million-euro loan from the
Puissance Treize
in his pocket, equaling nearly 700

million U.S. dollars, the businessman was struggling to keep his shipping empire afloat, and he had come to view such expenditures as an indulgence.Especially when perfectly good accommodations could be had for $5,000 a night.

The cost of the suite included the services of a very proper English butler who was present to greet Thorakis as he stepped off the elevator. The man’s hair was combed straight back, his long face was solemn, and the immaculate business suit fit his body to a tee. Judging from the way he greeted the shipping magnate, he was blessed with an excellent memory—or a very good set of files.

“Good afternoon, sir. Welcome back,” he said smoothly. “My name is Bradley. Mr. Douay has asked me to direct you to the sitting room.”

“Thank you,” Thorakis said brusquely. “I know the way.”

The formal reception area gave way to a hall that led past a formal bar, then a richly paneled dining room, into the large sitting area beyond. Picture windows opened out onto the park, a grand piano stood next to a tiny dance floor, and pieces of formal furniture were grouped to form discrete conversation areas, one of which was occupied by a pair of nattily dressed bodyguards. Both held magazines, but kept their eyes fixed on Thorakis.

Douaywas seated behind a handsome replica of a French provincial desk. He was talking on the phone, and nodded as Thorakis dropped into one of the upholstered chairs that faced him. The Greek couldn’t help but take note of the fact that the Frenchman allowed what was clearly a routine business conversation to continue for a good five minutes before finally bringing the call to an end. WasDouay sending him a message? Seeking to emphasize the extent to which he was in control? Yes, the Greek decided, that was
exactly
what he was doing. And it served to amplify the anger Thorakis felt whenDouay finally saw fit to acknowledge him.

“It was reckless of you to come here,”Douay said sternly.

“Really?”Thorakis replied heatedly. “That’s amusing, coming from you! Are you and your people
insane

? I just came from a board meeting where I learned that you and the rest of your morons sent a female operative to eliminate Agent 47, and she failed! That led to a very well-publicized massacre inYakima , followed by an explosion inSeattle , and a great deal of unfortunate news coverage.

“So, how
dare
you lecture me on what is and isn’t reckless!” he said, standing and placing his fists on the desk.

Both ofDouay ’s security people were on their feet by that time, but the Frenchman waved them off. When he spoke, his voice was calm.

“The attempt to eliminate Agent 47 was a failure,” the Frenchman acknowledged soothingly. “However, I assure you that the mistake will be rectified. And I want you to know that the decision to kill 47 wasn’t made lightly. Comparative analysis shows that while he accounted for a mere three percent of the hits carried out by The Agency during the last fiscal year, those sanctions were the most difficult contracts the organization took on, and therefore constituted 37.2 percent of the organization’s gross profit.

“That makes 47 the most valuable asset The Agency has.So, were the
Puissance Treize
to eliminate him, it would better position our company to compete for the lucrative upmarket jobs—those exhibiting a difficulty quotient of seven or better. That’s where the serious money is. Do you follow our reasoning?”

Not only did Thorakis follow the man’s cold-blooded logic, he found that he admired the audacity of it, if not the ham-handed manner in which the plan had been carried out. And given the Frenchman’s conciliatory tone, the shipping magnate felt his anger begin to melt away. But that left the fear, which, since he had just come from The Agency’s board meeting, was considerable.