She raised the monocular just in time to see the fist coming towards her. Raven threw herself sideways, keeping low, the monocular clutched in one hand, feeling the punch brush the top of her head. Fortunately the wig stayed put.
Raven was fighting blind, her assailant not giving her time to bring the monocular back up to her eye. The glow of the sign over the fire exit cast a little light, so she was able to make out her attacker and fend off his punches. She blocked one punch and grabbed his arm, twisting it and dragging him towards her while driving her knee into his stomach. He released a gasp of air and she felt him fold in two. Maintaining a tight grip on his wrist, she yanked his arm behind him, put her foot into his back and forced him forward to the floor. A foot in her shin knocked her backwards and she lost her grip on his arm. He leapt back to his feet and, now that her eyes had properly adjusted to the gloom, she was shocked to see the man she was fighting wasn’t her rival. It was Terry.
“What the fuck are you doing?” she demanded.
“I know you’re here to kill me.”
“What? That’s crazy.”
“Nice try bitch,” he snarled before charging at her again, his eyes bulging from his head. The man was still hyped up on whatever drugs he’d consumed earlier that evening and he wasn’t thinking through his moves. Raven simply side-stepped and he rushed past her, slamming into one of the large pillars rising out of the floor. With a groan he sank to the floor, the steam knocked out of him, despite the drugs.
“Get her,” she heard someone cry.
Looking round, she saw Terry’s friends running at her, in an equal state of frenzy to their friend. Raven turned and sped for the bar, agilely leaping over it.
“You can’t do that,” said the sullen barman who had served her the glass of water.
“Shut it,” she said.
“I’m going to…”
Raven didn’t get to find out what he was going to do as one of Terry’s crazed friends jumped over the bar, his right foot slipping in a patch of spilt beer and he toppled onto the barman. Raven turned and leapt over the far side of the bar, landing on the dance floor. Fortunately the crowd of confused people calling for the lights to be turned back on prevented Terry’s friends from following her. Some of the customers, fed up of standing in the dark and silence, had pushed open the fire exit and were leaving while others were filtering out the main doors and heading up to the ground floor. She shoved her way through this crowd, people muttering at her to watch her fucking step and she ran up the stairs, rushing through the door at the top and down the corridor leading to the exit and outside, pelting around the back of the building, forced to slow when she reached the fire exit at the rear of Hell. People were exiting, all grousing about how the club had gone downhill and how they were going to demand their money back. She pushed past them back inside, scanning the room for Terry, who had recovered from the shock of running into the pillar and was back on his feet, staggering about with a hand to his head. Her rival was nowhere to be seen.
Determined this time to finish the job and save her reputation, her hand closed around the syringe in her pocket.
Terry spotted her and jabbed a digit in her direction. “There she is. Get her lads.”
When no one jumped to his command he looked over his shoulder for his friends, who had all forced their way behind the bar and were clambering over the far side, following the direction Raven had gone, oblivious to the fact that she was behind them.
“No one’s coming to help you,” she said, advancing on him.
A gaggle of four women crossed her path, creating a barrier between them. The barman jumped over the bar and charged at Terry from behind, who failed to spot him as his attention was on her.
“No,” yelled Raven, dodging around the women, the syringe in her hand.
The barman slammed his syringe into the side of Terry’s neck and depressed the plunger. Terry dropped to his knees, his jaw opening and closing, clutching at his chest.
The barman ignored the man dying on the floor and looked back at her with a smirk.
“Bastard,” she hissed.
“Oh my God, he’s having a heart attack,” cried one of the four women.
A blond woman raced to Terry’s side. The way she calmly ordered one of her friends to call an ambulance while massaging Terry’s heart told Raven the woman was medically trained. Good, she hoped she saved his life, then two of her rival’s hits would be failures. However this wasn’t really about Terry, this was about her finally bringing this interfering bastard down.
Her rival gave her one last smirk before rushing out of the now almost-empty room, aiming for the main doors. Raven took off after him, bursting through the doors at the top of the stairs, looking up and down the corridor.
“Oh shit,” she said when she saw Terry’s friends exit the Heaven room, obviously having been searching for her in there.
“That’s her,” said one of the fools. “She’s the one who wants to kill Terry.”
Raven was forced to abandon her pursuit of her rival, who disappeared through the main doors leading onto the street, as Terry’s friends charged at her. This was the last thing she needed, those apes shouting about her wanting to kill a man who had just collapsed from a heart attack. She just hoped whatever drugs he’d taken scrambled any toxicology test they tried to perform on him. But she was determined all this wouldn’t be for nothing, there was still a chance she could catch up with her rival.
Instead of running away from her pursuers she ran at them, startling them. She dodged the one who made a clumsy grab for her, kicked one in the knee who tried to punch her and used her momentum to shove over the third. The other two were so stoned and out of it they just watched her run by with their mouths hanging open, eyes wide and vacant.
She burst through the doors, relieved to be out of that dingy dive, looking up and down the street, spying a figure whose build matched her rival’s just turning the corner and she ran after him onto a quieter, darker street, leaving behind the main thoroughfare. She paused to listen, heard footsteps ahead and made off in that direction.
As she turned the corner she saw a figure jump into a car parked at the kerb.
“Oh no you don’t, not again,” she said, running even harder, pushing herself to her limit.
As the engine burst into life she yanked open the driver’s door, blocking the knife thrust. She grabbed his hand and smashed it off the door frame, forcing him to drop the weapon. Keeping hold of his arm she twisted it and dragged him from the car.
“You should have fastened your seatbelt,” she said as her rival slid onto the pavement.
Raven attempted to flip him onto his front but he was too strong and refused to allow himself to be flipped, although she did succeed in retaining hold of his arm. Raven applied as much pressure as she could, her rival grimacing and gurning, sweat standing out on his forehead as it felt as though his shoulder was about to pop out of its socket.
“Who are you?” she said, studying his face, hoping she’d recognise him but he’d padded his cheeks out again. He also wore false eyebrows. Nothing about him was familiar.
“We know each other,” he said.
Not even the sound of his voice was familiar. “I don’t know you.”
“Yes you do.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“Because you’re finished Raven. I’m going to destroy you.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” she said, preparing to dislocate his shoulder.
Her rival kicked out, catching her in the hip, knocking her backwards. When he made a grab for her she lashed out with her foot, catching him in the thigh and he fell back against the car. She threw herself at him, grabbing a handful of hair and pulling.
“Really, hair pulling?” he said. “Is that all you’ve got?”
She was about to show him exactly what she was capable of when a voice shouted, “Oy.”
They stopped fighting when a pair of police officers raced down the street
towards them, her rival positioning himself so they couldn’t see the dropped knife.
“What’s going on here?” demanded one of the officers.
“Nothing,” replied Raven with a sweet smile. “This is my boyfriend, he was just giving me a lift home.”
“Looked like you were fighting to us,” replied the second officer.
“No, not at all,” she said, running her fingers through her hair and sticking out her chest, their gazes wandering down to her breasts. “I’m sorry, this is really embarrassing but we’ve not been together long and, you know, we really like each other,” she said coyly, leaning into her rival, who looked back at her with hard eyes.
“This true?” the first officer demanded of him.
“Yeah,” he said. “We just got a little…overheated.”
The second officer looked Raven up and down. “I can see why. Well get in the car and go home and be grateful we’re not doing you for indecent exposure. Save it for the bedroom.”
A wail of a siren filled the air, getting closer and Raven assumed it was the ambulance come for Terry. Beyond the police officers she saw Terry’s friends emerge from around the corner, hanging back when they saw the police. They might suspect her of wanting to hurt their friend but they weren’t the sort of people who went to the police with their troubles.
“Yes, we will Officers,” she replied. “Thank you.”
One of their radios crackled into life and she heard mention of trouble at the nightclub. The officer nodded at his partner. “Let’s go.” He looked back at Raven and her rival. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” they replied in unison.
As they hurried off in the direction of the club and Terry’s friends, she stepped back from her rival, knowing now was not the time.
“I’ll see you soon,” he said. He glanced up the street. The officers had vanished but Terry’s friends were making their way towards her. “Hopefully intact,” he added, picking up the dropped knife. “I’m going to finish you myself.”
Raven wasn’t one for needing the last word, in fact she found the urge rather childish. She let him have the point because it was the last one he was going to get. She memorised his licence plate as he set off down the street, knowing it was probably futile but you never knew your luck. She smiled at the feel of the strands of hair she’d pulled out of his head. Hopefully a friend of hers would be able to run a DNA test on them that could give her some answers.
She turned and ran down the street, easily losing Terry’s friends in the maze of alleyways and backstreets.
CHAPTER 8
“Well,” began Patrick. “It looks like you’re no longer number one around here. You’ve disappointed me yet again and I had such high hopes.”
Raven rolled her eyes. “Drop the schoolteacher act, it doesn’t suit you.” Once again she’d been summoned and it only went to show the seriousness of the situation that he hadn’t called her to his office but to the spa he owned. She was standing in one of the luxurious treatment rooms, whale call playing in the background while he lay face up on a treatment bed, a towel wrapped around his slender waist and a mudpack on his face. It said a lot for him that he still managed to radiate an air of authority. They were alone, he’d dismissed the technician when Raven had arrived.
“Not only did you allow this rival of yours to get away yet again,” he continued. “But he also killed the mark.”
“I was being chased by five neo-Nazis at the time.”
“That is no excuse. They’re just thugs. You are the professional and after this I think it’s safe to say your reputation in the city is well and truly in tatters.”
“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. However, I did learn something about him last night.”
“This had better be extraordinarily good.”
“Apparently this is some sort of elaborate revenge. He said he knows me.”
“So you know who he is then?”
“No, I didn’t recognise him, however I did get some strands of his hair. I tore them out while we were fighting.”
“And what are you going to do with them?”
“I have a contact who can run a DNA test on them.”
“But a DNA test doesn’t give you someone’s name and address. It only confirms their identity.”
“I’m aware of that. I’m working on how I can use them for the best.”
“What you’re telling me isn’t extraordinarily good Raven. I was hoping for his head in a box.”
“I’m more subtle than that.”
“This isn’t a time for subtlety. It’s a time to declare loud and proud how dangerous you are. All you’ve achieved is to make yourself look weaker than ever and there are people you’ve annoyed over the years with your hits, people who will snap up the opportunity to finish you off if they see you as a lame duck.”
“Are you ever going to say something I haven’t already thought of?”
His eyes narrowed and he sat bolt upright, glowering. “You should be grateful I even invited you here at all. Everyone else in this city is distancing themselves from you as quickly as they can.”
“Why are you supporting me?” she said curiously.
“Because I like you Raven. Your work for me has always been impeccable and I trust you to do the job and keep your mouth shut.”
“I appreciate your support.”
“It doesn’t sound like it.”
“Well I do. It just puzzled me why you would support a lame duck like me, as you put it.”
The anger in his eyes softened. “You wouldn’t need to keep working if you were with me. I’d take care of all your needs,” he said, reaching out for her hand.
Raven took a step back, unconsciously touching the wedding ring on the chain around her neck.
“I can take care of myself,” she said.
His eyes hardened again. “You’re going to need to because word has got out about another of your failed hits and it’s not looking good.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Not from me but I don’t speak for everyone. Find this man and eliminate him, fast and none of your subtle little jobs. This needs to be big and messy. You need to send a message that you’re still top of your game. Are you still top of your game Raven? Or is it true what everyone’s saying, that you’re washed up, finished?”
“I am far from finished. Terry knew I was coming for him. Someone warned him,” she added, gaze boring into him.
“Well I didn’t tell him. I didn’t,” he added when she continued to stare at him. “Marcus must have set you up. Are you going to take that lying down?”
“No.”
“Good. Then get out there and show everyone.” He bellowed these last few words at her then rolled his eyes and put a hand to his face. “You made me crack my mask. Go away before you completely ruin my zen.”
Furious about being spoken to like that, she stomped from the room before she did him some damage. He seemed to be labouring under the delusion that he controlled her. That was something she had to correct him on at some point but that could wait. Right now she needed all the support she could get and she had to find her rival before he caused any more mayhem.
She sighed when her phone started ringing, her heart sinking when she saw it was Marcus. “What?” she said into the handset.
“My office. Now.”
She hung up and sighed, experiencing a pang of longing for her husband. She could use an ally in this nightmare.
Marcus greeted her much more suitably dressed than Patrick had but a lot less cordially. Plus he didn’t fancy her. Despite how much of a banshee his fiancée was he didn’t have eyes for anyone else, so she couldn’t play on that.
“What the fuck was that shambles about last night?” he roared at her from across his desk.
“Do not speak to me like that,” she replied, gaze intense.
“I gave you a target out of the goodness of my heart, to help you out and what happens? You let this rival
of yours kill him.”
“I’m sorry.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Is that it, I’m sorry?”
She shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”
“A fucking sight more than that,” he yelled, getting to his feet and pacing the room. “Do you even know that you’ve got Pitbull and his gang after you?”
“Pitbull?”
“Terry’s number two. I’ll give you a clue, he’s got a tattoo of a swastika on the back of his head and a scar down the middle of his face.”
Raven recalled the men who’d pursued her last night. “All his men looked like that.”
“Yeah well, keep their descriptions in mind because they’re coming for you.”
“Someone told Terry I was there to kill him.”
“Eh?”
“I said someone told Terry I was there for him. He tried to have a go at me but he wasn’t capable. There were only three people who knew about the hit last night - me, Patrick Bryce - and you.”
“Well I didn’t tell him. It must have been Patrick.”
“He says it wasn’t.”
“And you don’t think that slippery bastard tells porkies? Course he does sweetheart.”
“Or you’re the one telling the porkies.”
“I bloody well am not.”
“Then we’re back to the previous solution. Either your office or Patrick’s has a leak. Terry and my rival didn’t use a crystal ball to get their information.”
“And I’m telling you the leak’s Patrick, it’s not from here. You know, I’m glad you didn’t agree to work for me now. With your track record it would just be embarrassing. I suggest you go on a long holiday, or even better, leave the area permanently because you’re no longer queen bee around here. Oy, where are you going?” he said when she got to her feet.
“Leaving. You’ve obviously nothing useful to say.”
“You fucking what? You’ll sit back down until I’m done with you.”
“Do you know who my rival is?”
“No,” he exclaimed.
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