“And now?”
Mikko pointed. “Right. Not too far now. Barely five hundred meters.”
“Okay.”
Hugo drove slowly past two parked trucks. “Send Madeleine a message where we are.”
“Copy that.”
“Freya, how are we doing with guns?”
Freya leaned forward, and her eyes sparkled. “Two heavy automatics. And our handguns. And some hand grenades.”
Hugo glanced in the rearview mirror. “Hand grenades?”
Freya shrugged. “Yeah, I thought they might come in handy here.”
Hugo nodded. “I like the way you think,” he said.
They arrived at an entrance that led to an area with a series of loading bays stretching out to the right. The place looked abandoned.
Mikko pointed. “Yes, in here.”
“You sure?”
“Yep.”
Hugo drove into the area and saw wheel marks in the sand.
“It looks like they went this way. Around the corner.”
“Okay, get ready.”
Mikko, Sussie, and Freya checked their weapons. They worked quietly and in sync. They were a well-oiled team that trusted each other, and it was evident in their movements.
When they came around the corner, Hugo froze. In front of him, an abandoned office building spread out. Two cars were parked in front of the door. As he drove closer, he saw that one car was parked in a way that blocked the other. He pointed.
“It looks like someone doesn’t want anyone to run.”
No one said anything, but Hugo sensed an electric atmosphere in the car. This was serious.
“This Spaniard isn’t of the same caliber that we usually meet. He is extremely deadly. So, use extreme caution as you approach him.”
Mikko smacked his lips. “What’s the plan?”
Hugo grinned. “We go in, search every floor systematically. There are four of us, and the Spaniard is certainly alone.”
Sussie shrugged. “Don’t forget the other guy.”
“True. So, there are two of them, and there are four of us. That ought to work.”
Hugo parked the car a short distance away. They opened the doors and jumped out. The heat was intense. They pulled their guns, crouched, and ran away to the edge of the house. The graffiti-covered roads were worn and full of holes. The place had been abandoned for years.
Hugo gave signs that they would continue up to the door. Mikko and Freya made their way to the right side of the door, Hugo and Sussie covered the left. Hugo kept his eyes fixed on the door and signaled for a quiet entrance.
Freya slipped forward and opened the door slowly. A faint squeak sounded but soon disappeared. Mikko, Sussie, and Hugo entered the house while Freya held the door. When everyone was inside, Freya came after, and the door slid again.
A faint scent of mold, sand, and oil met them. Hugo let his eyes slide across the hall they had entered. It was bare, a wooden bench to the right. A staircase led up to the left and straight ahead was an aisle that led farther.
Mikko glanced at the stairs, but Hugo shook his head. “No, one floor at a time. If we check this floor first, we can focus on the next one,” he said.
Mikko licked his lips and nodded. They stood still for a few seconds and listen—nothing but the wind that veins through a hole somewhere.
“Okay, Freya. Come on, follow me. Sussie and Mikko, you cover the rear.”
Freya slid forward behind Hugo, Sussie, and Mikko, each protecting a flank at the back as they moved out into the aisle. Broken glass covered the floor to the left, and on the right lay a thick layer of sand. Hugo walked silently through the sand, and Freya followed just behind. They arrived at an office filled with shattered furniture. But nothing else. Freya and Hugo searched the room while Sussie and Mikko controlled the aisle.
“Okay, next room.”
“Right.”
They searched through all the rooms they could find but found nothing.
“Looks like they’ve made it up,” Mikko whispered.
Hugo nodded and was just about to say something when gunfire echoed through the house.
10
Everything was slipping out of his hands, and no matter how hard he tried to control the course of events, it was like it was running through his fingers. LaCroix Richter paced the room. He waited impatiently for the young man to get a hold of either Leonid or the Spaniard. For now, he had only access to second-hand sources who had reported gunfire in the Spanish village of Pacculi. The minute minutes passed by. He glared at the young man.
“Well? Did you get a hold of any of them?”
The young man’s fingers flew over the keyboard, but he nervously shook his head. “No, I’m trying, but none of them are answering.”
“Try again!”
“Sure thing, of course.”
LaCroix stormed out of the room. He had to get some air. He came out of the hall and caught his breath. The air in the cramped space was choking him. His heart pounded in his chest, and he felt slightly dizzy. He supported himself against the wall and stood like that when Jasmin came around the corner and saw him. She hurried up to him and put her hand on his shoulder.
“How’s it going? Are you sick?”
He shook his head. “No. It’s okay. I just need some air.”
“Are you sure? You look very pale.”
LaCroix hissed, “I’m telling you, I’m okay. Leave me alone.”
Jasmin released his shoulder and took a step back. “Of course.”
LaCroix took a deep breath, and he felt some of the energy come back to him. He turned to Jasmin. “It wasn’t my intention to be so harsh. But everything is fine. What did you want?”
Jasmin smiled insecurely. “It’s just that in a few minutes, the meeting with the management team will be starting.”
LaCroix glanced at his Jaeger LeCoultre. He shrugged. How could he have forgotten that? He swore. “Thank you, I’m glad you came. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Jasmine smiled. “Excellent.”
At the same moment, the door opened, and the young man stuck his head out. “Mr. Richter? I’m in contact with Leonid now.”
LaCroix spun around. “With Leonid? I’m coming!”
He stormed away, and Jasmin stuttered. “But the meeting?”
But LaCroix was already gone. He came into the room and rushed to the screen. The young man shook his head.
“No, voice only, no video.”
LaCroix looked unsympathetically at the young man, but when he heard Leonid’s voice coming from the black screen, he flinched.
“It’s me, Leonid. Can you hear me?”
LaCroix swallowed and leaned closer to the screen. “Yes, I can hear you. What’s going on?”
Leonid thundered, “It’s blown up!”
“What’s gone wrong?”
“Everything! The whole operation! The handover, the police.”
Leonid hurriedly told him what had happened—the handover, how he’d escaped, how the Spaniard had followed him to the warehouse, and then, the shooting.
“There is pure chaos here. I’ve escaped to a side room. I’m on the second floor, and if I’m lucky, I can get away. It seems that everyone is on the lookout for the Spaniard, not me.”
LaCroix moaned, “You idiot. Of course, they are looking for him and not you. What are you thinking?”
Leonid didn’t answer, but LaCroix heard something in the background.
“What’s going on?”
A few seconds passed. “The Spaniard escaped— Wait, I think one of the people is looking for me. Shit! I have to—”
The call was cut off.
LaCroix froze. “What? Wait!”
But Leonid didn’t answer. LaCroix furiously turned to the young man.
“Did you hear that? The Spaniard escaped! Get him back!”
The young man nodded rapidly. “Right away.”
LaCroix rose in pure frustration. Sweat ran down his forehead and into his eyes.
They were burning when he wiped them. He went over to the other side of the room. On the desk were two screens, one of them streamed a newscast, but there was no sound. He leaned over and pressed a button. The beautiful news reporter’s voice echoed loudly.
“And now, the very latest from here, Pacculi. This is Julia Hernandez from NHT News. What has happened in the last few hours has been like something from an action movie. In this picturesque mountain village, this day has been unlike any other. A little more than an hour ago, a private helicopter landed, followed by a police helicopter. Exactly what the police were looking for is unclear at this time, but what happened next is all the more certain. The whole thing degenerated into a firefight after the police rappelled from their helicopter to this house behind me,” she turned halfway and pointed up at a beautiful stone house. “Gunfire echoed all over the city. At first, it was feared that many people were dead, but it now seems that not so many were killed after all. Now, however, the police are very secretive about what has taken place here today.”
LaCroix bit his lip. It was the Spaniard. He was sure of it. Damn. Not only had the handover failed, but worse was now that the Spanish police were involved. He felt the whole thing slip even more out of his hands. He had to catch the Spaniard as quickly as possible. But when he turned around, it was too much for him. He sank to his knees, grabbed a garbage can, and vomited.
***
It was never too late. Hugo froze when the shot echoed through the house. Someone shot from the floors above them. Hugo didn’t hesitate. He ran up the stairs. Behind him, Freya followed the gun at her fingertips. Another shot echoed from somewhere when they came upon the second floor. The stairs continued another floor, but Hugo wasn’t sure where the shots came from. He stopped and tilted his head. Nothing. Freya walked up to the door leading into a similar room as they searched on the floor below. She whispered.
“Should I check?”
Sussie and Mikko came up behind them. Hugo turned to them.
“Keep an eye out here. Freya and I are searching through this floor.”
Mikko nodded. “Okay,” he said.
Freya and Hugo took up position on either side of the door. Hugo swiftly stuck his head into the aisle to form an idea of what it looked like. He perceived debris on the right, but it seemed clear to the left. No movement. He nodded at Freya.
“Okay, go in left. I’ll cover the right.”
She nodded, raised her gun, and walked through the door. She came out in one go, followed the graffiti-clad walls, and came up with two doors that were all right against each other. She looked around the corner. No movement. No sound. Hugo came up behind her, and she crouched down and made her way into the room. The two desks were overturned and broken. Someone had smashed a lot of glass on the right, and the walls were covered in graffiti and holes. The stench of urine was overpowering. But the room was empty. She retreated into the aisle again. Hugo looked at her, but she shook her head.
“No.”
Hugo nodded toward the other door. “Cover me.”
Hugo repeated the same pattern as Freya did, but that room was also empty. Freya walked up to Hugo.
“I don’t think they’re here. They must be up there.”
He nodded. “Probably, let’s search through the rest of the rooms to be safe. Then we’ll go up.”
They came out of the aisle again and swept the last room in this part of the aisle. They made their way back to the door leading out into the stairwell where Sussie and Mikko were guarding. Hugo arrived in the doorway.
“We’ll just check the last rooms here before we get up. Stay here. It won’t take long,” he said.
Sussie nodded. “Okay.”
But before they could move on, they all flinched when a man roared from the floor above. Everyone pointed their guns up to the stairs. The voice sounded distorted, and it wasn’t possible to discern what it was saying, but it was clear to everyone that the voice was furious. Hugo nodded at Mikko.
“Up!”
Mikko didn’t hesitate but rushed up the stairs. Hugo followed two meters behind. Mikko’s legs worked as jackhammers. He came up to the third floor. A broken window allowed the bright sun to shine straight in, and Hugo saw small traces of blood on the wall leading into the doorway leading into the aisle. The voice roared again. Closer and clearer this time.
“Give it to me!”
Another voice moaned, “Never.”
Hugo and Mikko made their way into the corridor, and Sussie and Freya covered the back. Hugo came out in a similar aisle as the floor beneath them and heard the voices come from the room at the far end.
“I won’t say it again. Give it to me!”
The other voice roared with pain. The hairs on Hugo’s arms stood up when he heard the blood-staining scream. He moved softly toward the room and tried to block the screams. The door was barely eight meters away. He felt Mikko behind him. As he passed two other doors, he glanced in to make sure no one was hiding there. It was empty. The screams became more intense now, the voice cracked, and Hugo took a deep breath. The screams stopped abruptly.
“Stop, for God’s sake, stop. I’ll tell you what you want. The doctors are in La Rosa Española.”
“What is that, and where is it?”
The voice groaned, “It’s an old castle that Cabello Medico has taken over and uses as a research facility. It’s less than fifty kilometers away.”
“What are the coordinates?”
The voice groaned again as it stated the geographical coordinates.
“Good. Leonid, thank you very much.” The voice paused. “But that’s all I’ll be needing from you.”
The man would die if Hugo didn’t do something. He took a giant step to the doorway and pointed the gun at the two men in the room. The Spaniard was standing in front of a man on his knees. Blood ran down the man’s forehead, and the Spaniard slowly lifted away from the knife he’d used. He hissed when he saw Hugo.
“You.”
Hugo took another step forward and gestured to the knife in the Spaniard’s hand.
“Drop it.”
The Spaniard opened his hand, and the knife fell. Hugo walked up to him, keeping the gun trained on him.
“Can you stand?” Hugo asked the bloodied man. He nodded and staggered to his feet.
The Spaniard glared at Hugo. “You know that the man you’re saving is a Russian mercenary, the worst kind. The things he’s done, I can’t even imagine.”
Hugo helped the man stay upright on his legs, and behind them, Mikko entered the room, also pointing his weapon at the Spaniard.
“How’s it going in here?”
Hugo kept his eyes on the Spaniard. “I think we almost have him. Our famous assassin here was about to cut this man’s throat.”
The man glared at Adnan. “My name is Leonid, and I’m a security consultant. This bastard attacked me for no reason.”
Hugo chuckled and looked at the Spaniard. “Well, we can always discuss that, but at the moment, we must have him here. Mikko, tell Sussie to contact headquarters and inform him that we have the Spaniard.”
Mikko studied the man Hugo called the Spaniard.
“That was easy. I thought you said he was lethal,” he said.
Hugo clenched his jaw. “He is. Don’t be fooled. He is still as lethal as all of us together.”
***
Hugo walked out into the hallway where Sussie was about to contact Madeleine. Freya and Mikko both stood with their weapons pointed at the Spaniard inside the room where he’d tortured Leonid.
Sussie handed him the phone. “Here.”
Hugo grabbed it. “This is Hugo.”
“Madeleine here. How’s it going?”
“We got him.”
“The Spaniard? Already?”
Hugo chuckled. “Yeah, that was quick. He was busy torturing a man when we came in. He doesn’t have the same reflexes as before.”
Madeleine hesitated. “It’s outstandingly good work. I need to contact In
spector Sánchez right away. Where are you?”
Hugo gave her the coordinates. “Explain carefully that we have both the Spaniard and this Leonid. I don’t want to risk any of us getting shot because the Spanish police are trigger-happy.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll explain how it is. Just keep Adnan there until the police come.”
“Copy that.”
He terminated the call and gave the phone back to Sussie. “Okay. Let’s just wait until the police get here. Then we turn them both over,” he said.
Sussie nodded. “This went smoothly.”
Hugo frowned. “Yes, it seems so.”
He went back to the room where the Spaniard was kneeling in one corner, and Leonid was in the other corner. Freya held his weapon pointed at Leonid and Mikko his gun against the Spaniard. Hugo got up between Freya and Mikko.
“What are you after?”
Adnan Kosh didn’t answer, but his eyes flared as he stared at Hugo. Hugo tried again.
“What’s in this castle that Leonid mentioned?”
No answer. Leonid cleared his throat. Freya had put a big patch over the wound on his forehead. It would work until a doctor could take a look at it.
“La Rosa Española. An old castle.”
“I heard that part.”
Leonid clenched his jaw. “Cabello Medico bought it a couple of years ago and upgraded it to a kind of secret research facility and secret office.”
“Why secret?”
Leonid shrugged. “The medical world is tough. The latest research results could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars in the right hands.”
Hugo nodded. “I understand.”
Leonid continued. “Sometimes, you need a place where you can retire and work undisturbed. Or if you want to hide from someone.”
Adnan hissed, “They will suffer for what they did.”
Hugo turned to Adnan. “So it’s true, then? That you’re looking for the doctors who killed your family?”
Adnan raised an eyebrow. “How do you know that?”
Hugo shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. For now, we’re just going to wait here until the police arrive. Then we can speak privately for as many hours as we like.”
Adnan didn’t respond, but Hugo almost felt the hatred pouring from him. He turned to Freya.
The Hugo Xavier Series: Book 1-3 Page 57