Body Count

by mike Evans

  “Where did you want to go to?”

  “Well I am in a hurry which is why this is all happening. I want you to drop me off in Paris.”

  “France?”

  “Certainly not Texas Nick. I could have bought a car a hell of a lot cheaper and driven myself. Unfortunately flying is not in my skill set.”

  “What is in your skill set?”

  “There's really no reason for you to know that if you just keep telling me yes. I promise once we get there, you are free and clear, gas is on me for the trip, and the plane is yours to do what you want with once you drop me off at our final destination. But I can’t promise that I might not be hiring you every so often for a flight.”

  “Did you just threaten me?”

  “No I just gave you a plane worth over a quarter of a million dollars for one day of your time and one flight across the ocean. If you can’t live with that, I’ll go find someone else who can.”

  “Did you do anything that is going to get me in trouble?”

  “If I were you I’d just play dumb and let’s pretend you don’t know anything, if you are ever questioned about anything you can plead the fifth. If they ask you about the plane tell them that you just thought I was some crazy rich software developer that does crazy shit like this all the time. Tell them I gifted it to you so that you could do angel flights or something for sick people.”

  Nick looked at the plane again, thinking of his family and realizing he’d be going from making a good living to needing to move into a new tax bracket and hire people of his own. He smiled, holding out his hand and said, “If you can give me a couple minutes I need to go and call my wife. I need to let her know that I'll be gone a day or two.”

  Gabriel said, “Do me a favor, just one small request and keep the plane gifting secret until you get back. If you come home and tell her you got a plane free of charge she’ll probably be pretty damn proud of you.”

  “She already is, but I get the point. Give me a minute and I’ll be back, then we can get out of here. Thank you Gabriel.”

  Gabriel went to check out the plane, stashing his bag and positioning his pistols beneath his

  belt for the long flight. He made himself a drink, one that he very much needed to have. He thought of the life that this man would have going forward, knowing that he now had a business all of his own, brought on only because Forsyth had mentioned him. He had a feeling that he must be a damn good man because there would have been other options that he could have thought of to suggest.

  Chapter

  Eighteen

  Paris Hospital

  Vlad watched as one of his men was wheeled into the room. The nurse looked to Vlad and said, “I can’t understand anything he says. I figured that I would put him in with you, it sounds like Russian. If he tells you anything useful that the police would want to know, could you please translate for us? He is sedated right now but is in a great deal of pain.”

  Vlad nodded looking over at Anton who looked about as nervous as him. He scribbled furiously then throwing the pad of paper at Vlad who caught it. He read the note and said, “Yes Anton, if he is in the hospital looking like that I would say there is a great fucking chance that he failed and did so miserably.”

  Anton snapped for his paper back and Vlad set it down then picked up his phone. When it rang and a man answered hello he said, “Nicolai it is me, I need you to call in everyone we have.”

  Nikolai said, “You realize there are quite a few of us on standby that we can get sir?”

  “They are my men, yes I am aware. I want you to call the crew and tell them to find the boy and the old man. I want you to do it now and I don’t want you to waste any time. I had gotten a call from the director telling me that he thinks that he is on his way here. We are supposed to take them out or we are going to have to worry about them coming after us instead.”

  Nikolai laughed and said, “They can’t just come after us, that isn’t something they are allowed to do. They have to follow stupid American laws. They would never…..”

  “Shut up Nikolai, do not speak of things you are not sure of. We have histories, all of us do. You know that all he has to do is say that we are terrorists and he can drop a missile on our heads and we would be gone. He would do it in a heartbeat. If the director is trying to put this much focus on killing one man then there is a good chance that it is important. You will not get many more chances. I fear that once this man makes it here that he will collect the old one and child and they will be ghosts. We have had a difficult enough time with an unarmed old man, I am confident that we do not want to take on anything with this mystery man. I have his picture I am going to send it to you. Find the boy, but just track them unless the opportunity to grab them presents itself. If you see this man, I want you to put enough bullets in the back of his head that there is nothing but a bloody stump for a neck when you are done.”

  “That is not very professional Vlad.”

  “Having to go after a man three times to get the job done is not professional. If word gets out to other countries’ agencies about this we are going to have quite a few less jobs I believe. We need to end this on a good note or we are going to start being targets and blamed for things across the world. We’ll be the scapegoat. We all know what happens when that arises though.”

  Nikolai was quiet for a moment then said, “I will make the proper arrangements, they aren’t going to get away this time. We have been running through the computer banks but have not

  found them in any hotel footage. I assume that they are staying right where they are at and paying cash.”

  Vlad screamed into the phone making his nose feel like it was on fire. “You might need to get off of your fat ass you piece of shit and actually go out and look for people. It is going to be actual work. If you aren't able to do that then save me the trouble and bring yourself here and let me shoot you in the fucking head and save the world the air!”

  “I can find him.”

  “You are sure? Bullets are cheap,” Vlad said.

  “I said that I would find them and I will, there’s enough men we should know where they are in a few hours.” Nikolai was starting to raise his voice.

  “When you find out where they are I want nothing to go wrong. Get them, take them to our place and hold tight until we get directions from the director. He is going to want to make sure that the boy is safe and sound until we get a clean shot on Gabriel. Once that has taken place, I have a feeling that his life will be not worth quite as much to anyone.”

  Nikolai said, “So we are going to kill a child?”

  Anton sighed, “You have been gone from the homeland for too long. You put too much worth on lives of people you do not even know. What the fuck do you care if you have to do that? Do you know the child, do you care for it? No, but you are going to be paid very well for something like this.”

  “You are not nervous that these loose ends we need to clean up as you say aren’t going to lead back to us having to be cleaned up as well?”

  “If he takes care of us he has no one to take care of his own clean ups in the future. We both know this won’t be the first or the last time that we are required to help them out. Call me back when you have an update…...Nikolai for your sake I very much hope that it is a positive one.”

  Anton grunted and Vlad shrugged. “I have no idea if it is going to work or not. If they don’t make it through we might as well slit our throats and save us the time.”

  Chapter

  Nineteen

  Forsyth was pacing back and forth. They had been cooped up inside of the hotel room for a few days now and while he was not going to stir crazy however Mikey most definitely was. When Gabriel had called from a phone in Iceland where they were refueling, the news that they’d be there within the day, given things went right that he would be able to see his dad had set him off on a hyper tangent of excitement.

  Forsyth had called the concierge and got new clothes for the two of them and an extra backp
ack worth for each to have a few days clothes. He knew that once Gabriel got here that they would be on the move with no idea where they would be going to. He wiped down the hotel room making sure that Mikey was ready to go. The boy had complained when Forsyth had made him wear a winter hat and sunglasses not knowing that he was being disguised of course. Forsyth had done the same but he knew that without another person they still looked exactly like they were two men, one young and one old and fitting of the description for the strange men that he was sure would still be out and looking for him.

  When they walked out into the hotel lobby both wearing their backpacks, he ignored the desk clerk that he’d bribed to get him the room. It was a mistake that he should not have made. Had he taken a minute, he would have known that there was someone that had been asking about him and the boy. When the two walked out into the large street he kept a tight grip on Mikey which then went limp when a pistol whipped him violently across the back of the head sending his world into spin that didn’t stop until darkness came. Forsyth started to fall towards the ground but two men caught him effortlessly and walked him to the van waiting across the street while ignoring the bystanders watching in awe. The man that had whipped him took Mikey by the shirt collar, ushering him across the street while putting a grip of death on his neck and telling him that he would snap his neck if he did not walk. Mikey did as told and once all were loaded in, the van sped off towards their base of operations.

  When Forsyth started to wake later in the building where they were taken, he looked around and saw nothing but darkness and felt cotton against his mouth before realizing he wasn’t in the dark but simply had a bag of some sort over his head. He lifted his head up though feeling the aching pain in the back of it rip across his skull. When he felt hands on his side he realized that it was Mikey and the small sound of his crying broke his heart and also filled him with immeasurable joy that the boy was alive. Forsyth screamed, “Take this fucking thing off of my head you bastards, now!”

  A man said in Russian, “Sdelay eto.”

  A second later the bag was ripped from his head and the light of the room blinded him for a moment. He looked around seeing that they were in no way alone. There was no shortage of men in the room all looking without a doubt to be of Russian descent. Nikolai walked forward holding a chair which he spun around sitting on it backwards. He leaned forward on it looking at Forsyth. He said, “You have given me and my men quite a hard time over the last week. You are lucky that we did not just shoot you in the head when we had the chance. I think that we made the right choice though. The boy for some reason seems to like you quite a bit.”

  Forsyth lifted his head feeling like a rock concert was going on inside his brain and his skull was the drum. He said, “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. I’m fine keeping it that way, but this kid, he’s my responsibility. You would be smart to let him and I go before it is too late.”

  The man smiled while pulling out a smoke. He looked around at everyone then smiling even wider. He said, “I think that you don’t have many options right now my friend. There are quite a few of us in this room, you are now unarmed, we have your pistols, we have you tied up and surrounded.”

  Forsyth nodded his head slowly coupled with a knowing look, obvious that he knew something that the other man did not. This made Nikolai a bit nervous. Forsyth said, “I don’t think that you and I are on the same page. You don’t know anything about what is going on here I think, and that isn’t your fault and I'm really trying to help you. There’s nothing you are going to be able to do about it even when it is happening.”

  Nikolai let out a stream of smoke that looked like it would never end. He was thinking more than anything right now. “You are trying to make us nervous, but what is it that we are supposed to be so afraid of?” He asked.

  Forsyth said, “Hey Mikey, can you go into another room for a couple of minutes? I have some adult stuff that I need to discuss with these guys and it’s only going to take a short minute.”

  Mikey said, “I can handle grown up talk I promise. Don’t make me leave.”

  “I know you can buddy but I have all kinds of adult words that I need to use and I need you to just please trust me if you can. They’ll bring you right back in, won’t you?”

  Nikolai nodded and said, “Go with Tomas he will get you a can of juice to drink.”

  “Ok,” Mikey answered with a less than enthusiastic face as he followed Tomas into the other room.”

  The two walked out of the room and Nikolai said, “Quit wasting our fucking time. What is it that you think we have to be so damn nervous about?”

  Forsyth said, “That little boy is the last person alive that the man who will come here cares and loves. If you do not let him go I can assure you that he’s going to make his way here eventually. I know that you are being paid, and you are working for someone and you think that in the end you have enough power behind you that you’ll be able to take whatever comes through those doors for you. But please take this into your head when I say it, there is no running, there is nothing you can do, there is nothing that he won’t do to get that boy back. He will murder every one of you and it will be painful and violent and bloody. He knows more about killing than all of you combined. He can take you out and moves like a ghost.”

  “He sounds like he is a dangerous man. We have quite a few men. You think that he really can do something about that?”

  Forsyth could not have looked more serious. He said, “Are you kidding me? He could take care of all of you without even having a gun on him. The only reason that he would want to use one is because he is in a hurry.”

  “You make him sound like a god.”

  “I think the devil is probably more accurate.”

  Nikolai said, “I don’t want to talk to you anymore, you are full of shit and if you don’t shut up I will cut your tongue from your mouth and let you choke to death on your own blood. We don’t have to keep you, it is only for the boy that we do.”

  “I’d say that the more people you have to bargain with the better for you. But what do I know?”

  Nicolai placed a pistol next to Forsyth’s temple and said, “Well I don't know, but I would say that there aren’t too many people who are going to miss you very much.”

  Forsyth leaned his head into the gun. He said “You are either going to do it or you aren’t, so quit fucking around. If you are going to go there then do it already, but good luck keeping the boy in a good place if you do.”

  Nikolai removed the pistol from his head tapping it and said, “Well just keep in mind that if you give us any trouble we are going to happily put a gun to your head and this time we are going to squeeze the trigger.”

  Forsyth replied, “You really are making a mistake. But I guess for your sake I'm not going to feel too bad if you finally get to meet Gabriel. For your sake though you’d had best hope that he is quick with you. I know that he has carved messages in people’s chest to just to make sure people knew what it was that they were doing.”

  “Well thank you for the warning, we will make sure to not waste any time. When any stranger comes they will all die without question.”

  The satellite phone started to buzz on the table. He looked down at it and said, “Is this the devil, is this the man that we need to be so worried about?”

  Forsyth said, “You are reaching the man you should be running from.”

  Nikolai got up from the chair leaving Forsyth staring at him. Nikolai hit the speak button saying, “Hello, who is this?”

  Gabriel immediately looked down at the phone checking and double checking the number. Nikolai said, “Do I now have your full attention?”

  Gabriel said, “Well you do, but I am quite confident that you most certainly do not want it.”

  “Yes your friend most certainly has the highest of opinions of you. But I have seen many

  men pull a trigger and I must say that you are not the first that I have had to deal with.”

  Ga
briel walked back and forth in the plane. Nick just stared and when he saw Gabriel’s face he knew that all was not well on the home front. Gabriel saw Nick and turned for the restroom. Gabriel said, “You are making a grave mistake. You’ve been warned. Now where is my son?”

  Nikolai gave him the address, “You have but a few hours to get here before we start with cutting off his fingers. Do you have any questions?”

  Gabriel hit the end button on the phone. He immediately began laying out everything he would need as quickly as he could, placing and assembling and making sure that when he left he was armed to the teeth. When he walked out of the bathroom he shook hands with Nick and said, “I would appreciate it if you would be able to stick around for a few hours.”

  Gabriel grabbed one of the last bricks of money that he had, handed it to Nick and said, “Please gas this up, and let them know that you have a business man that is going to be coming back and depending on the circumstances of his meeting you, will be flying south or east.”

  Nick looked at the money, still not used to having men shove small fortunes into his hands on a seconds notice. He said, “I don’t need this much, I mean it won’t hurt, God knows not having a mortgage payment wouldn’t break my heart but you should keep some of this in case you need it.”

  Gabriel shook his head and said, “I appreciate it but I'm paying you this much for a reason. We might be coming back with a few individuals that may not look so good. I’m going to get my son and the man who has been watching him. They are somewhat indisposed at the moment so I can’t wait around explaining more unfortunately, but can you give me one more day of your time please?”

  Nick nodded looking down Gabriel’s front and seeing that he had looked like he put on two inches worth of mass that went down the front of him. He reached a hand out pulling his jacket to the side slowly confident in what he was going to find and whistled. He said, “Well you sure as hell aren’t a software developer are you? You look like you are a bad man Gabriel.”