He reaches behind him and produces a brown envelope, which he throws unceremoniously into my lap. He nods at it and walks back over to sit next to his friend.
I open it, and take out a black and white eight-by-ten. Looks like an image taken via satellite. It’s a little grainy, but otherwise good quality. It shows two men standing side-by-side, seemingly deep in conversation, in a clearing surrounded by trees and undergrowth.
I look across at them and shrug. “Who are these guys?”
The man on the right leans forward. “The short one on the left is who we want you to kill. The one on the right is his head of security. You’ll probably need to go through him to get to your target.”
I look down at the picture again. The guy on the right is probably twice as tall and twice as wide as the guy on the left. And the difference is all muscle. It’s practically bursting through his shirt.
Great.
They both glance to the side and place a hand to their ear. I’m guessing they’re receiving a message over comms. A moment or two later, they stand and walk over to me. “On your feet,” says the first guy. “Turn around.”
I fold the picture up and stuff it inside my pocket before standing, which I do, not because they told me to, but because my options for rebellion are vastly limited when I’m on a plane, in the air. A stray bullet would kill us all, and I don’t know how many other men are on board. It’s not worth the risk.
“Arms to the side,” says the second guy.
I move them and feel a backpack slide over my shoulders. It’s bulky. Actually, it feels more like a…
I sigh.
Ah, shit.
It’s a parachute, isn’t it?
I sense this isn’t going to end well…
“Turn around,” says the first guy again.
I do, and one of them lets his gun hang loose on its strap as he reaches over and secures the backpack around my waist. He then moves over to the rear of the plane and grabs a lever on the side. He throws it down, and a mechanical whirring sounds out, loud enough to be heard over the roar of the engines. The floor of the tail lowers slowly to reveal a mostly clear sky rushing by outside. A scattering of light cloud surrounds us, but there’s still a good level of visibility. He holds on to a handle next to him, fighting against the pull of the wind.
I take a small step forward and peer over the edge.
Fuck me sideways! We must be twenty thousand feet up, easily!
I look over my shoulder at the guy still standing with me. “What the hell’s going on? If this is a contract, where’s my briefing? And my weapon?”
He smiles and shakes his head. Without warning, he grabs me with both hands and shoves me backward. I’m not prepared for it and lose my footing, stumbling down and…
Shit!
The plane rushes up, away from me. The cold wind bites at my face, forcing me to squint against the sheer speed of it.
Sonofabitch!
??:??
I landed in a fucking tree! Seriously! Can you believe this shit?
Stop laughing—it’s not funny!
A wind picked up and blew me off course, and I came down over some forest. The parachute caught on the branches of a big-ass tree, so I’m now hanging maybe twenty feet above the ground, suspended by the straps. I have no weapons of any kind, no immediately obvious way down from here that won’t sting like a bitch, and all I have to go on is a picture of some guy and his beefed-up bodyguard who could literally be anywhere in the hundreds of miles of forest I’m dangling above…
I’m starting to think the lethal injection maybe wasn’t so bad after all…
Okay, let’s think about this for a—
Whoa!
One of the branches just snapped! I’ve dropped a couple of feet. Must have snagged on one lower down. Think I jolted my shoulder, too. I’m trying to rotate it as best I can, loosen it up, but it hurts like hell.
I close my eyes for a moment and take in a few deep breaths while trying to remain still. I don’t want to fall from this height. The risk of injury would be high, and when you’re in the middle of nowhere, the last thing you want is to have your movement impeded in any way.
I reopen them, breathing slowly. I’m calm. I’m a professional, after all. I’ve been in much shittier situations than this. I just need to—
Whoa!
Shit!
Ow!
Shit!
Fuck!
Ow!
Ugh!
I’m lying flat on my back, staring up at the treetops and the clear blue skies beyond. The ground feels soft. I move my hands around next to me. Yeah… twigs, leaves and damp earth.
Oh, man, that sucked…
I raise my head slightly and look down my front. Both straps broke. My back is sore and I’m a little winded, but thankfully, I don’t feel too bad. Hell of a fall, though.
I prop myself up on an elbow and twist my body, slowly rising to my feet. I stretch everything, take a breath, and turn in a slow circle. I hear birds tweeting sporadically above me. Aside from the occasional noise of whatever wildlife is nearby, it’s unnervingly quiet.
Where the hell am I?
Okay, think… It’s very humid. My first thought is I’m in a jungle, but there’s no sound of water and the trees look too… green. It’s hot, but it’s not tropical. These trees see their fair share of rain, I reckon.
I glance at the ground, searching for any signs of tracks. It doesn’t look as if any animals or people have passed through here in a good while, either. I’m nowhere wild… so I’m going with forest. It’s a pretty dense tree line, so it makes sense. If that’s the case, I reckon that puts me somewhere in the region of twenty miles from civilization. And that’s a very rough guess. I’m far from an expert on the great outdoors. The Discovery Channel was always Josh’s thing, not mine.
Shit! Josh!
I’ve not had time to stop and think about much of anything since waking up after my fake execution. It sounds awful, but I completely forgot about him. I can’t imagine how he must be feeling right about now. He thinks I’m dead…
I’m such a prick for putting him through that. I should have told him. I should have found some way to let him know that—
You know what? Now probably isn’t the time.
I look up, find the sun, and set off walking toward it. I don’t know what time it is or where I am, so I’m either heading north or south. I guess it doesn’t really matter which one—everywhere leads somewhere, right?
??:??
My body clock isn’t what it used to be, but I think I’ve been walking for about an hour. I’ve kept a steady pace, only pausing for a few moments every now and then to make sure I’m still traveling in a straight line. I’m following a faint path through the trees and plants. In the last ten minutes or so, I’ve been able to hear the gentle sound of running water in the distance. I’ve covered maybe three miles now, so I’m hopefully closing in on somewhere.
I tread carefully, trying to minimize the noise of my footsteps. I’m always glancing left and right ahead of me, alert for any sign of a threat. Bottom line is, The Order sent me here to kill someone, and no matter how far off course I was blown, I can’t be too far away from where they intended me to land.
With a bit of luck, I’ve not been walking in the opposite direction to my target for the last hour…
CRACK.
What was that?
I drop to a crouch, placing a hand on the ground for balance as I hold my breath.
I heard rustling over to my right.
I wait patiently.
CRACK.
There it is again.
Might be an animal… No idea what, as I don’t know where I am. Could be anything from a squirrel to a grizzly.
Too quiet for anything bigger than me, though, which is a small comfort.
I take a step and shuffle toward the nearest tree trunk, rest against it, and peer around. The sound of water is more prominent now. There might be—
There!
Through the gaps in the trees I can see a figure moving confidently across my line of sight. It’s hard to see, but… yeah, it’s a woman. Small. Can’t see her features.
Where are you going, lady?
I stand, staying low, and make my way quietly toward her, pausing behind each trunk that’s big enough to cover me.
I don’t want to scare her, and definitely don’t want to hurt her—she’s no threat to me—but she’s the first sign of life I’ve seen since I was pushed out of the airplane, so I have to take this opportunity to find out where I am.
I slowly circle away from her to my left. I need to see if she’s alone, and I need to be able to approach her openly so she can see I mean her no harm.
She stops, crouching on the spot, looking at something. I make my way farther round, drawing level, directly ahead of her—maybe a hundred feet. I’m low, hidden behind another tree. I have a better view of her now. She’s carrying a basket and it looks as if she’s picking fruit or something. She’s wearing a long dress fitted tight to her legs. She turns her head as she puts something in the basket, which she then places beside her on the ground. Her skin is tanned, a light brown. I can see from her eyes she’s Asian, Oriental. She has a headscarf around her and a garment covering her top half, like a poncho.
I let out a short breath. I have to play this right…
I wait until she’s picking fruit again and stand. I hold my arms out to the sides and walk slowly toward her. I smile and try to appear as friendly as I can.
She looks up at me. Our eyes meet for a brief moment. I stop no more than thirty feet from her. She frowns for a second, and then her eyes go wide. Her mouth opens and I see her body tense. She takes a deep breath.
She’s going to scream, isn’t she…?
Shit.
I don’t think, I just run, lunging as I stretch out to her. I reach her at the exact moment the sound passes her lips. I clasp my hand over her mouth as I dive forward, and we both hit the ground, landing awkwardly next to one another. My shoulder takes the brunt of my weight, but I ignore the pain. She’s on her back and doesn’t try to fight me off. She’s probably paralyzed with fear, the poor thing.
I feel really bad about this.
I kneel next to her and look down. Her dark, unblinking eyes are accentuated by her tanned skin. Despite her ethnicity, I still have no clue where I am, besides somewhere East of India.
I take a deep breath. “It’s okay, it’s okay… I’m not going to hurt you.”
She screams into my hand, her breath hot on my palm.
“I’m sorry about this, but I really need your help, okay?”
I try to keep my tone calm and mellow. I’m not sure if she can even understand me, but communication isn’t always about words. If the sound of your voice isn’t threatening, it doesn’t matter what you’re saying, people will be less inclined to perceive you as a danger.
Her breathing slows and her face relaxes.
I nod. “That’s it—it’s okay, I promise. I’m not going to hurt you. I just need your help. Can you understand me?”
She’s still for a moment, her eyes darting around in all directions, still panicking, but finally, she nods.
Phew!
“Good. Now, I’m going to move my hand. Please don’t scream. I’m lost and I need your help, that’s all. You have my word I won’t hurt you.”
She nods again.
“Promise you won’t scream?”
Another nod.
“Okay, here goes…”
I gradually lift my hand from her mouth. She takes some quick, shallow breaths, and for a moment it looks as if she’s going to shout out, but she doesn’t. She uses her hands to scramble backward and put a little distance between us. I don’t make a move to follow her, as I want her to feel safe. She pushes herself up, bringing her knees to her chest and hugging them.
I sit down in front of her and do the same. “I’m sorry about that. I’m just not sure where I am, and I didn’t want you to make any noise in case there was anyone around who might be dangerous. I hope I haven’t hurt you?”
She shakes her head.
“Good. What’s your name?”
She goes to speak, but stops herself. As if something inside her caught the words before they could escape.
“It’s okay, I’m a friend. My name’s Adrian.”
I extend my hand, not thinking for a moment that she would accept it. But, much to my surprise, she does. She shakes it gently. “I… am… H-Hong Yun.”
I smile. “That’s a lovely name. It’s nice to meet you.”
She nods, but says nothing.
“Tell me, Hong Yun, where are we?”
She frowns. “You not know?”
I shake my head. “Not a clue.”
“This is Vietnam.”
Huh…
I raise my eyebrows, unable to hide the surprise. A forest in Vietnam, eh?
“Where do you live? Is it nearby?”
She nods and points to her right. “Not far.”
“Can you take me there?”
She shakes her head. It’s a rapid movement this time, and I see the look in her eyes change. I see fear. “No! You no come with me!”
I hold my hands up. “Okay, okay—I’m sorry. I won’t come with you.” I slowly reach inside my pocket and take out the picture I was given on the plane. “I’m looking for somebody. Maybe you’ve seen him?”
I open it up and hand it to her. She takes it and looks down. I see that same fear in her eyes again. She says nothing, but desperately claws her way to her feet and sets off running away from me.
Shit!
I jump up and run after her, quickly catching her up, and place my hand over her mouth again, just in time to muffle the scream she lets out. I stand behind her, holding her close to me with my arm, allowing her to calm down. “Please, I’m not going to hurt you. I need your help.” I let her go and spin her round to face me. “Do you know the man in that picture?”
She nods.
“Who is he?”
“H-he is… Mr. Way.”
“Mr. Way? Okay. And what does Mr. Way do, exactly?”
She looks away from me and stares at the ground. Her eyes well with tears and she begins to shake as the unrestrained emotion spills out of her.
Oh, for fuck’s sake… As if I don’t have enough on my plate, I now have a crying woman to deal with! I’m not trained for this shit.
I rub my eyes and forehead before putting an arm tentatively around her. “It’s okay… you don’t have to say anything.”
And I mean it—she doesn’t need to. Her tears say it all. A young woman, not unattractive, in the middle of nowhere, in Vietnam, near where a man I’ve been sent to kill is supposedly based. Whatever it is he does, I suspect it’s not good, and she’s clearly not happy about being a part of it.
After a few moments, she looks up at me, staring right into my eyes, as if searching them for something. “What is it you want Mr. Way for?”
I purse my lips together and tense my jaw as I take a deep breath. I wouldn’t normally be this honest, as I don’t want to scare her any more than I already have, but seeing how she reacted when she saw the picture of him, I’m going to take a chance.
“Hong Yun… I’m here to kill him.”
She goes through a whole catalogue of emotions. She frowns, as if trying to hold back tears. She looks concerned, surprised, afraid… perhaps even happy, at one point. But then the tears start to flow again. This time, however, she buries her head into my chest and throws her arms around me. She shakes uncontrollably as she sobs.
That reaction speaks for itself, I guess.
I stand, my arms out to the side, with a woman I’ve just met crying on me. I stare ahead until my vision blurs. The last forty-eight hours fade away and I’m left with a familiar and comforting sense of purpose.
I don’t know who this Mr. Way is, but I know all I need to about him.
That piece of sh
it is a dead man.
3
14:02 ICT
My God, it’s hot! The tree line has thinned, and there’s less cover than before. The sun is beating down relentlessly, and it feels as if it’s sucking the air out of the forest. I’ve rolled the sleeves of my coveralls up over my forearms in a somewhat futile attempt to cool down, but it still feels like I’m walking through the Amazon!
I’ve managed to convince Hong Yun to show me where she lives—where Mr. Way is based. If I can get a good look at the place, I’ll be able to plan my attack.
I absently scratch the back of my neck where that asshole injected the tracking device into me earlier. I’m guessing Colonel Sanders is looking on, sat behind a fancy desk or something, watching a satellite feed in God-knows-where they had me when I first woke up.
I never thought they would have me jumping through hoops, or out of planes, taking all these tests. I kind of figured the fact they approached me to join The Order meant I was already in. But no… I have to prove myself. Prove myself? I’ve been doing this shit for nearly fifteen years! Everyone knows I’m the best in the business. Hell, they wouldn’t have come to me in the first place if they didn’t think that, surely? Having to audition for them is almost insulting. I know they saved my life and everything, but even so…
Hong Yun is walking a few paces in front of me. She hasn’t said much since we set off. I tried to find out whereabouts in Vietnam we are, but other than ‘north of Ho Chi Minh City’, I didn’t get much out of her.
I offered to carry her basket for her, which she reluctantly agreed to. After the first five minutes, she said I could help myself to a piece of fruit. I graciously accepted with no hesitation whatsoever. I’m so hungry! I’ve not eaten since I died…
It feels very weird saying that.
A handful of berries later, I was craving a steak and a Bud like you wouldn’t believe, but I have to block thoughts like that out for now. I have more important things to worry about.
We’ve been walking for maybe twenty minutes. I see a clearing up ahead, and Hong Yun slows down.
I draw level with her. “Is this it? Are we here?”
She glances at me and nods. “I… I can’t—”
Good Intentions - Adrian Hell #6 (Adrian Hell Series) Page 2