Alessandra laughed and turned to retrieve her jacket from the car.
"Well, he certainly seems to have been listening! When did you start praying? Half an hour ago?"
"No, about five. I've been up here all morning. I couldn't sleep..."
"Listen, what I told you yesterday was, sorry, IS, the truth. Honestly. I wouldn't lie to you about this. I've got nothing to gain. And if nothing happens now, then I'm going to look like a complete idiot again..."
"And I'm going to die."
Alessandra stopped in her tracks. She could see that besides hope and excitement, behind it all, Amelia's face was masking a bottomless well of fear. She was also shaking.
"Let's hope not." Alessandra looked around her. "Where shall we do this?"
"How about my private spot at the top of the hill? Overlooking the city?"
"Sounds nice, ... but actually, why not just do it here, in my car?"
Amelia glanced at the rental and blinked.
"Sure... yes... why not?" she nodded. "Where, in the back seat?"
"That's probably best." Alessandra agreed.
Just then she felt her mobile vibrate. A message had arrived. Instinctively Alessandra knew what it was. It was the only thing she was expecting on that phone.
"Could you give me a moment, first, though... I just need to check something!" Alessandra asked, lifting one hand up between them and retrieving her phone from her pocket with the other.
Amelia nodded, looking a little disappointed.
"Tell you what... you get in the car and wait for me there. I'll just walk over here..."
Walking over to the edge of the car park and down a slight embankment to the edge of the loch, she typed in her code and went to her basic email.
As expected, it was an alert given out by the tracker sent to McKenzie.
"Bingo!" Alessandra exclaimed quietly, clicking on the link in the message and opening up a map. It showed an area on the West Coast of Scotland, near Loch Lomond, about two hours away. A little red dot was flashing on the map near a small village called Arrochar.
The dot wasn't moving.
It was stationary.
"Talk about timing..." she whispered to herself and turned to look back at her car.
She could see Amelia looking at her expectantly from the back seat, her face so white. She looked so vulnerable.
Alessandra's fingers were tingling so badly, that she'd found typing on the keyboard difficult, and now as she tried to shut the mobile off, her fingers were clumsy and only partially responsive.
"Okay," Alessandra instructed herself. "Let's do this one step at a time, in order of priority. First I cure Amelia and get the use of my fingers back. Then I go and kill DCI McKenzie!"
She turned back to the car park, and walked slowly back to the car, Amelia watching her every step of the way.
-------------------
A811
Scotland
Copernicus was now only an hour away from his destination, a room above a pub which he had rented in the village of Tarbet, about five minutes away from Arrochar. The room had its own access, from the back of the building via a metal staircase, or so he had been promised by the agency in Stirling from whom he had rented it. If true, it would allow him to come and go as he pleased, without disturbing anyone or being noticed.
He'd been on the motorway for only a few minutes and was just outside of Edinburgh when he'd realised that his city clothes would make him stand out a mile in the mountains and surroundings near Arrochar and Loch Lomond. His best bet was to appear like a hillwalker. No one would pay him a second thought if was walking around the area dressed like everyone else: hill-walking boots, light shirt, jacket, good trousers, socks, water bottle, walking sticks and a day rucksack.
Which is why he stopped off en route in the town of Stirling, bought a whole new wardrobe and spent some time in the Tourist Information Centre.
He'd naturally used a false ID and credit card and given them a cover story about doing a sailing course on Loch Lomond.
The real delay in leaving Edinburgh had been caused by the agent from the Russian Embassy who was late arriving at the rendezvous point at the Gyle Shopping Centre just outside the city.
Transferring the weapons and his supplies from the back of the other car to his had been done quickly and smoothly, and was done without even exchanging any words between them. But he had been late.
Apart from the slight delay, everything else had so far run smoothly. There was even some good news. Earlier that morning the SVR agent in the area had made a visual on McKenzie and confirmed he was still alive and at the given address. In other words, Salvador had not yet been and gone. As instructed, the other agent would leave the area as soon as Copernicus arrived.
What would happen next, Copernicus couldn't predict, apart from one thing.
He was not leaving the country without first killing Salvador.
The possibility of it ever being the other way round didn't even enter his mind.
He had the advantage.
Salvador didn't know he was coming, and Salvador was walking into a trap.
If Salvador showed his face, the outcome was certain.
Bye bye Salvador.
-------------------
Dunsapie Loch
Alessandra opened the passenger door and eased herself into the back seat of the car beside Amelia.
Turning towards her, Alessandra's heart went out to Amelia, who was now trembling with fear, anticipation or hope, or a combination of them all.
"Relax," Alessandra tried to assure her, placing one hand on each of the other woman's shoulders and looking directly into her eyes.
"There's nothing you have to do. You just have to let me place my hands on you, and we then both wait to see what fate has in store for us. It might be something, or it could be nothing. But to be honest, from the way my fingers just reacted the moment I touched your shoulders, I think it's most likely going to be the former, not the latter."
"So, what do you mean? That you think you could heal me? That it might work?"
"I hope so," she replied, "based on my experiences of how this has gone in the past. But I could be wrong. Anyway, please, try to get your breathing under control. You're almost hyper-ventilating. And take your jacket and pullover off, please."
Alessandra took off her own jacket and rolled up the sleeves of her blouse.
While Amelia prepared herself, Alessandra looked at her hands, studying her finger tips and her skin, wondering what on earth it was within them that was causing the tingling sensations which felt like electricity moving around within her.
It was weird. It was her body. Her hands. Her fingers. And yet, this force... where did it come from and what was it?
Whatever it was, sitting here now beside Amelia, its intensity seemed to be growing exponentially.
On top of the sensations in her hands, there was also now an urge, a growing need, a compulsion, for Alessandra to place her hands upon Amelia.
"Please don't cry, Amelia. Perhaps, it might be better if you close your eyes. The time has come. I have to do this now. I'm being overwhelmed by a need to help you. It's no longer just a feeling that I would like to help you. It's far more powerful than that. I have to help you. I must. I must cure you!"
"That would be wonderful...." Amelia replied quietly, between a bout of nervous laughter and tears.
"May I touch you? Lay my hands on you?"
Without even flinching, Amelia said yes.
Her eyes were now closed.
"Shall I sit up straight, or lie back against the seat?" Amelia asked.
But Alessandra didn't hear her.
It was as if a cloud had descended upon her, allowing only tunnel vision from inside her mind to the outside world, the entirety of which was now occupied by Amelia and Amelia alone.
Alessandra could see Amelia beside her in the car, but there was a patch of blackness on her. An area of darkness on the side of her chest. And anothe
r one, smaller, down below over her left side.
Darkness.
Pain.
Suffering.
Make it go away.
Have to make it go away.
Have to take it away.
Remove it.
Steal it.
Take it.
Absorb it.
Swallow it.
Alessandra was also trembling now.
A heat, an intolerable heat was building within her.
Her fingers were trembling. Her wrists. Her arms.
Amelia was speaking to her, trying to say something, but Alessandra did not hear. Did not notice.
Slowly, but deliberately, Alessandra raised her right hand and reached out, placing it on the side of Amelia's breast.
Nodding to herself, yes, that's right, she placed the other hand on the side of Amelia's waist.
No. Not there, she immediately sensed. Too close to the light.
Looking down Alessandra could see a small light. No, two small lights, to the right of the darkness.
Quickly, Alessandra moved her hand slightly, adjusting its position, sensing with her fingers.
Yes. There. Just there.
Closing her eyes now, she could feel the darkness, sense it.
It was cold. Too cold.
Suddenly an immense heat surged from within her chest, rose up over her shoulders and spilled out down her arms into her wrists.
From darkness to light.
So it must be.
She thought.
Focussed.
She pressed harder on the two patches of darkness.
Then there was a voice.
Deep within her mind.
Not the monks.
A voice she recognised.
It was her own.
"Bless you," her voice said very quietly, "for I am now blessed."
Then again, this time aloud. Spoken in the world to those outside.
Almost immediately the relief started. The heat surged down from her wrists, paused briefly within her hands, then passed across the void from her to the darkness.
Transforming darkness to light.
From death to life.
And then it was gone.
No darkness anymore.
Just two little lights.
Shining.
Deep within.
Both blessed.
The onset of the nausea and the pain was swift and unforgiving, the force of it taking Alessandra by surprise.
Blinking back to reality she immediately turned away from Amelia, forced the door open and staggered to the side of the car park where she vomited violently several times and fell to her knees, bending double with the pain in her left side.
The world began to spin, the soft, grass covered ground came up to meet her face, and Alessandra fell.
Down.
Down.
And then much further down.
As the world around her faded, there was a voice.
"Bless you, for you are now blessed."
This time she did not recognise from whom it came.
But it was soft, gentle and full of love.
Chapter 37
Edinburgh
Dunsapie Loch Car Park
Queen's Park
Saturday 2.30 p.m.
Alessandra's eyes opened slowly, taking a while to focus on her surroundings.
The first thing she saw was a smile.
Amelia's face was directly above her, her face radiant and beaming, joy oozing out of every pore of her skin.
She was gently stroking Alessandra's face, Alessandra's face resting in Amelia's lap.
"How are you?" she asked.
"I've been better," she replied, slowly struggling up from her prone position on the grass, to sitting up.
As she achieved the vertical, she shook her head, then turned to her side, and vomited again onto the grass beside her. Thankfully away from Amelia.
"Is it always this bad?"
"No. This is the worst. But don't worry, it normally passes within a few hours.
Amelia handed her a tissue to clear her mouth.
"So, how are you?" Alessandra asked, already knowing the answer.
"I feel different. Much different. I feel ... well."
"You look great."
"Do you think it... it happened? Do think you healed me?"
Alessandra shifted into a kneeling position, then slowly stood up. She felt groggy, and her left side ached.
She coughed a few times, then suddenly feeling a little dizzy, she reached out to Amelia, who jumped up and caught her.
"Don't worry," Alessandra said, taking a few deep breaths, then fixing her gaze and as much of a smile as she could muster on Amelia, "I don't just think you are healed. I know you are healed. I know it."
Amelia started to cry and immediately wrapped both her arms around Alessandra.
The sudden outburst of affection caught Alessandra off-guard, and she quickly went to push her away. But with both her hands on Amelia's shoulders, she changed her mind, and instead held her close.
For some reason, Alessandra felt good. She felt good about what she had just done. What had just happened.
She had really wanted to help Amelia, and now she had.
Whereas nowadays she got no emotional reaction from killing people at all, helping Amelia had strangely moved her.
"Let's walk back to the cars and sit down," Alessandra requested. "I will need to leave soon. By the way, you mustn't just take my word for this. You need to go to a doctor and confirm it."
"You mean, you're not sure?"
"No, I didn't say that. I'm not exactly an expert at this, but from how I reacted afterwards and what I felt during the ... whatever it was that just happened... I am sure as I can be that I made the cancers go away."
"Cancers?"
"I think it had spread to another place in your side. I could see it. By the way, have you had your first scan yet?"
Amelia's hand went to her abdomen and rested on it. A typical motherly response.
"No, not yet."
"It's twins."
"Twins?"
"Yes."
"How do you know?"
"Trust me. I know. I saw them."
-------------------
They were sitting in the car, in the front seats, talking about what Amelia would do now.
"Are you going to tell your husband about this?" Alessandra asked, curious.
Amelia took a moment to reply.
"I don't know. But I will call him and ask him to come home soon. We've been given another chance, and whatever has happened in the past between us, I want to forgive him. We've got a baby to look after now. We're going to be a family."
"It's TWINS!"
Amelia laughed.
"It's going to take a while to get used to that!"
"Before you call him, go and get yourself checked out, and have the doctor check the babies. Just to be sure."
Amelia nodded.
"Alessandra, I can't thank you enough. You've saved my life. Our lives," she corrected herself, stroking her stomach.
"And you've given me control of my fingers back again. So we're quits. Now I can get back to work and finish the last job I started."
"Karen, will we see each other again? Can I invite you to dinner at our house?"
Alessandra shook her head.
"Thanks, but I can't. I'm flying back to the states soon."
"I hope you don't. As soon as I've patched things up with my husband, I'll call you to arrange something. I would like to see you again. For you to meet the twins one day?"
Alessandra smiled. The thought was nice.
"Perhaps. One day. If I ever come back to Scotland again."
"Will you?" Amelia asked.
Alessandra shrugged her shoulders. For a moment, a picture of Gavin flashed into her mind. An image of Loch Ness. Of her friends in the Loch Ness Hilton.
And then one of Campbell McKenzie.
The m
an she would kill in the next few days.
"I don't know, Amelia. I don't know..."
But she already knew the answer was no.
Ten minutes later, Alessandra gave Amelia a hug, and they said goodbye.
As Alessandra drove her car out of the car park, turned left, and followed the road round as it skirted the cliffs under Arthur's Seat which rose up directly above them, she knew they would never meet again.
Alessandra would find and kill McKenzie, then leave the country. In the clarity of thought that now accompanied the act of healing which had gone before, Alessandra remembered just how vulnerable she now was.
The longer she stayed in Scotland, the more exposed to a retaliatory threat she would be. Which was why, the sooner she left the country, the better.
-------------------
Central Edinburgh
Hotel 3.45 p.m.
Back at her hotel, Alessandra showered, cleaned her teeth, then logged onto the Tor network.
She noted the coordinates sent by the tracker alert and immediately went to work to learn about its geographical location.
She could see that on the map, it was overlaid upon the centre of a house, and from Google Maps she confirmed its address. Referencing several property sites, she double checked that it was a rental property.
She then called the rental company which was most recently advertising the property and asked for advice about rental properties in the area.
"They sound brilliant, but my friend rented a property in the area when she visited Scotland last year... I think it was called Glen View? Near Arrochar?"
"Aha... yes. We have that one on our books too. However, I'm afraid it was rented out several weeks ago. It's not as popular as the others, because it's outside of the town, and a bit back from the beaten track, but it's lovely, nevertheless."
"When will it come free again? Can I reserve it for later in the summer?"
"I'm sorry, it's on a three month minimum contract. It doesn't look like it will be free at all this summer."
"That's a shame, but never mind. The others seem nice. I really like Glen Buck, the three bedroom..." She'd then expressed an interest in a few others to divert her interest away from Glen View, then made some excuses and hung up.
The Assassin's Gift Page 36