Blood and Ashes jh-5

by Matt Hilton

  Maybe he was expecting reassurance, but if Walter was leading to what I suspected then my adopted father would deserve our enmity. Rink had leaned back, allowing his head to loll, his eyes closed and I guessed my friend was thinking the same. ‘This has been engineered by Arrowsake?’

  Walter shook his head, and for a moment I did feel sorry for the utter look of devastation that flashed across his features. ‘Not engineered exactly. But they have allowed things to progress further than anyone could have anticipated. They could have taken down Carswell Hicks at any time, but instead they’ve allowed him free rein to organise an attack on a major US city.’ While we absorbed this, he went on quickly, ‘Hicks was never meant to get his hands on the makings of a dirty bomb. They only expected him to plan something along the lines of the bombings he conducted before he was imprisoned.’

  ‘They didn’t know about Kwon bringing the plutonium into the country?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘I find that a little hard to believe,’ I said.

  ‘Tell me that Kwon wasn’t on Arrowsake’s payroll.’ Now it was Rink who looked the picture of desolation. Walter patted him on the knee, but Rink shoved his hand away. ‘If you sent us to kill one of our own…’

  ‘He wasn’t one of ours. Believe me. Do you think we’d have allowed anyone to bring radioactive material into our country? Remember, I sent you to extract information from him,’ Walter said.

  ‘You knew how that would end.’ I flexed my hands, crushed the paper cup. I struggled to contain the urge to grab hold of Walter and shake him to pieces. Turning very slowly, I looked at the old man. ‘Do you realise what Arrowsake has done to us? They’ve twisted and corrupted everything that we ever stood for. We fought against the terrorists of the world…’

  ‘Only to become terrorists ourselves.’ Walter’s eyes sparkled with unshed tears, something alien to the man in all the years I’d known him. He tried to take hold of my hand, but was pushed away as roughly as before. ‘Please hear me out,’ he pleaded.

  Fit to burst I stood up sharply. About to walk away, I stopped, recalling the woman and her children from minutes ago. How could she or her babies ever be safe when she was living amongst men capable of hurting them? I sat down again, roughly.

  ‘OK, for old times’ sake I’ll listen, Walter. I’ll even stay and do what you want me to do. But not for Arrowsake. I’m doing this because I believe that you disagree with it all. That you want to stop this before it gets even further out of control.’

  ‘Yes,’ Walter agreed. ‘Yes, that’s it. I hate what has happened, and what we’ve been forced to do. I want to put things right again. Right for you two boys, as well.’

  ‘Forget about it,’ Rink snorted. ‘You didn’t have to bring us in; you should have left us good and well alone.’

  Walter sighed. ‘Rink, I brought you in because you’re the only ones I can trust. Don’t you see? Arrowsake have their people who I am forced to deal with. They aren’t singing from the same hymn sheet as we do. Stephen Vincent? If they’d told him to plant the bomb himself, I believe he’d have done it.’

  ‘Always thought he was a fucking weasel,’ Rink said.

  Impatiently I said, ‘Get back to Hicks. Tell us what the hell happened, what we’re up against.’

  ‘OK. Hicks was never supposed to meet with Kwon, or do the deal for the plutonium isotope. Arrowsake never anticipated he’d be capable of causing lasting damage to the city. But he’d have been seen as a viable enough threat to the state that it would make people sit up and take notice. Allowing a single bombing would be enough to cause panic, and only immediate and positive action would be enough to quell the public’s feelings of vulnerability.’ Walter stopped to gather himself. He was panting as though he’d just jogged up a hill. ‘The intention was to create so much outrage that the public would demand a tougher stance against our enemies. Arrowsake were poised to take out Hicks and his followers as soon as that happened. And with their victory, the CIA, MI6, all the intelligence agencies, would shake off the constraints of the Judiciary Committees, with the full backing of the public again. Things would have gone to plan, except that Hicks grew more ambitious than anyone could have imagined. You’ve probably heard by now that the bomb at Lincoln Square didn’t contain any radioactive substances, and we can only thank God for that.’

  ‘Yeah. It’s a goddamn crying shame, isn’t it?’ said Rink.

  ‘Makes me wonder about all those crazy conspiracy theories,’ I said. ‘They’re maybe not as stupid as they sound.’ Some people argued that the Western governments had engineered the situation to validate a war in the Middle East. Proof was, there were no WMDs found, just plenty of oil. Now, hearing what had gone down here — that Arrowsake might be guilty of state-sponsored terrorism — it didn’t seem that far-fetched. ‘Tell me that Arrowsake aren’t planning to let Hicks use the plutonium.’

  ‘Of course not…’ There was a slight tremor in the old man’s voice. Maybe Walter wasn’t as sure about Arrowsake’s motives as once he’d been. ‘They want him stopped for real now.’

  ‘And they want us to do it for them.’

  ‘Typical,’ Rink said. ‘They fuck up, then they look for a coupla scapegoats to clean up their crap for them.’

  ‘So what happens now?’ Walter asked. ‘You can walk away with my blessing, but I’d rather you didn’t. Everyone here needs your help.’

  I thought back to another conversation I’d had with Walter. Having returned from a particularly violent mission where I’d lost a couple of colleagues, I’d questioned the need for men like us in the modern age. Walter had touched me gently over my heart as he said, ‘George Orwell said something along the lines of, “We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” ’

  ‘I think you’ll find that Churchill said it first,’ I’d said.

  ‘Does it matter? The words hold validity… whatever their origin. Hunter, son, don’t you see? You are our rough men.’

  Rough men, I couldn’t deny that. And rougher now than ever before.

  Back in the present I glanced at Rink, and got a nod of approval from him.

  ‘The way I see it, Hicks still has his hands on two flasks of plutonium. Only thing that matters now is that he’s stopped from using them.’

  ‘I’m relying on you boys,’ Walter added.

  ‘So point us at him,’ Rink said.

  ‘I would if we had any idea where he was at.’

  I said, ‘Don Griffiths.’

  Walter squinted, and I went on, ‘Hicks was determined to stop Don from ruining his plans. Don must know something that can help lead us to him.’

  Walter stood up quickly. ‘We can go back to my office and make a call from there.’

  With the space suddenly vacated between us, Rink and I were left blinking at each other. Finally, I asked, ‘You with me, Rink?’

  ‘I’m with you, brother. Sure as hell ain’t with Arrowsake no more.’

  I looked at Walter, my eyes gritty like they contained chips of dirty ice. ‘Those are my terms, too. We don’t do this for Arrowsake; we do it for those two small children and their mother.’

  Walter had no idea who I was talking about, but he could only nod in agreement. Then, his eyebrows knitting, he said, ‘Just be wary, boys. You’re either with Arrowsake or you’re against them.’

  ‘Fine by me.’ I touched the faint red ring round my throat.

  Chapter 42

  Day had turned to evening.

  The Staten Island ferry still shuttled back and forth, but the ubiquitous sightseers who normally hitched a free ride past the Statue of Liberty were absent. A feeling of unease hung in the atmosphere as the people of Manhattan internalised their bewilderment at what had occurred earlier in the day. Initial fears were that al-Qaeda had struck another blow, but it was now common knowledge that the bomb that exploded during the Purim celebrations in Lincoln Square had claimed neither lives nor buildings of religious signific
ance. Some believed this wasn’t all they had to fear, and their fears would be borne out, but most had gone back to their normal routines with little more than a shake of their heads. News had spread that a group of men had been killed during a stand-off with the FBI and NYPD — what was there to worry about now that those responsible for the failed attack were dead?

  There was a hush over the city that never sleeps. The Big Apple was just resting in silent contemplation.

  Out on the Hudson the sound of a motorboat reverberated between the wooden pilings along the riverside, sounding like the wheeze of an asthmatic forging uphill. The outboard motor died, went quiet and the boat drifted the last few yards to the much larger moored yacht. Deep blue in colour, its running lights extinguished, the yacht was like a solid wedge of night. Two figures clambered from the motorboat, up the ladder and on to the deck. One was taller than the other, the smaller man holding something in his hands.

  They went unchallenged on the deck and approached the galley. This was no leisure craft, no glass doors or plush living quarters awaited them inside. The upper deck was utilitarian at best, an open space beyond double doors painted the same dark blue as everything else.

  Samuel Gant slammed the doors with both palms, pushing into the room regardless of whether he was invited. The doors flew all the way open, crashing loudly against the walls, startling the two big men who were standing with their backs to him.

  ‘Get outa my goddamn way, you freaks,’ he snapped as the men turned to block his way. Gant was in such a rage that his features were as dark as his tattoo.

  One of Carswell Hicks’ bodyguards stepped in front of Gant, and Gant didn’t pause to consider the consequences. He kicked the man in the groin, the full swing of his leg behind the blow. Back when he’d earned the red laces in his boots, Gant had kicked a man similarly, guaranteeing that at least one black man wouldn’t spread his seed to further dilute the population.

  As the bodyguard clutched at his mashed testicles, Gant snatched out his handgun and aimed it at the face of the second bodyguard. ‘Back up, asshole, or you’ll get worse than a set of crushed nuts.’

  Sitting behind his desk, Carswell Hicks appeared nonplussed by the drama at the far end of the room. He was dressed in a grey suit, grey shirt, blood-red tie, a matching handkerchief tucked in his breast pocket.

  ‘Let Samuel in,’ he called, sounding almost jovial. ‘We’re all brothers here, aren’t we?’ He stood up, beckoning Gant deeper into the room.

  The second bodyguard rolled his shoulders, like he was unfazed by the gun a couple inches from his face. He raised his eyebrows, jerked his head, giving Gant the all-clear. The tattooed man sneered at him as he pushed him out of the way with the flat of his hand. Behind Gant, Darley entered the room. He was wielding a shotgun, which he aimed at the bodyguards. ‘Get him over against the wall,’ he told the uninjured man. He covered them while the guard with the damaged testicles was helped over to the corner of the room. Darley bobbed his head. ‘I know you’re both armed. Lose the guns. Kick them over to me.’

  While Darley collected the weapons, Gant continued to walk towards Carswell Hicks. His air-wear soles sucked at the planking.

  ‘You seem awfully upset about something,’ Hicks said, a smile half formed on his lips.

  ‘I kind of get that way when someone I trust craps on me.’

  ‘I’ve crapped on you?’ The feigned expression of bewilderment belied the coldness in Hicks’ voice. ‘How so, Samuel?’

  Gant threw his arms out expansively. ‘That bullshit in the Jew-boy quarter! I thought we were supposed to kill thousands of them. I thought we were gonna bring down their temples and poison the rest of them that the explosion didn’t get!’

  ‘I had a change of heart.’

  Hicks sat down, steepling his hands on his chest. With his close-cropped silver hair and beard he looked like a college professor preparing to lecture a dim-witted student. Gant slapped the handgun down on the desktop and leaned on his knuckles so he could look his leader directly in the eye. ‘A change of heart? You pitied our enemies?’

  ‘Not at all. I despise the Jews as much as I ever did.’

  ‘So what was it all about?’

  Hicks stood up sharply, taking Gant by surprise. The tattooed man snatched up his handgun, but when he saw Hicks walk away from him, he merely watched, befuddled. Hicks went to open a door that Gant knew led into an antechamber of sorts. Inside the small room the box that he’d purchased from the Koreans reflected the dull overhead light. ‘That,’ said Hicks, pointing at the box, ‘cost me millions of dollars. If I’d blown it up, then I’d have been seriously out of pocket.’

  ‘We’re fighting the Rahowa!’ Gant screwed his mouth around the shout, causing a hallucinatory twist to his tattoo. ‘Money? You’re more concerned about money than our racial holy war?’

  ‘Of course. We cannot fight a war with empty coffers.’

  The handgun was a dull matt grey: the same colour that threatened the white race. Gant swung it towards the man whom he’d once happily have given his life for. ‘You have lost your way, Carswell.’

  Unperturbed by the gun pointing at him, Hicks leaned down to unlatch the lid of the box. He swung it open and indicated the large vials inside. ‘No, Samuel, I have seen our future.’ He became animated. Light shone behind his eyes as though his inner being was lit by an epiphany. ‘Don’t you see? With the threat of using this weapon whenever, wherever, we choose to, we can hold the government to ransom. We can demand billions in compensation for the injustices served upon the white race; we can take it from the Jews and the niggers and hand it back to all the God-fearing white folk who have lost their homes, their jobs and their dignity. With this,’ he shook a hand at the box, ‘we can do anything we want. We can force the President to step down from office, if we desire. We can take back our country.’

  ‘Genius.’ Gant eyed his leader, allowing his gun to trail away.

  ‘Yes. You see it now, don’t you? The possibilities… no, the reality, we can achieve.’ Hicks grinned and he no longer looked like a learned professor, more like a manic fool. ‘Lincoln Square was only the start, Samuel, The Day of Broken Spirits. With that one statement we showed them how vulnerable they really are, and we make them fear what we are further capable of.’

  ‘Genius,’ Gant repeated. Hicks’ grin began to flicker as he noted the tone in the tattooed man’s voice. Gant spat on the floor. ‘I used to think that you were a genius. Now I see you for what you really are.’

  Fingers trembling, he raised the gun again.

  Hicks swayed, looked at the contents of the box, back at Gant.

  There were tears in the eyes of the tattooed man. ‘I followed you all these years, Carswell. I did everything you commanded because I believed in you. I believed in your vision because it was also my vision. Now I see how blind I was. This was never about establishing a segregated country for white men; it was always about greed, about money. That’s all you’re interested in. All that you ever were.’

  ‘Samuel, I see that you’re still hurting from your wounds. You’re not thinking straight. Once you’re well again, we will talk and you’ll see that I am right. It’s the pain that is making you act this way: don’t worry, I understand. There are no hard feelings. I promise you that…’

  Gant blinked at the crack of the pistol, mild surprise on his face as he watched Hicks grab at his gut and drop to his knees. There was another sound in the room, a deep-throated roar that swelled inside his skull. He couldn’t tell if it was the shouts of Hicks’ bodyguards or the pounding of blood through his veins. Probably it was both. He heard a double crash, but didn’t look round. He didn’t need to as he’d already told Darley what he intended doing and that as soon as he fired, Darley should kill both of the minders.

  Staring at Hicks, he saw his fingers steeple on his chest again, the man reacting to the second bullet wound before Gant was aware of having pulled the trigger.

  Gant took a step forward and
placed the. 22 calibre handgun to the top of Hicks’ head. ‘It was never about money for me, Carswell. It was always about our pledge: we must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children. Your plan would serve only to destroy us all. You are tainted, Carswell. You have joined them, the grey men.’

  He heard the third bullet, felt the tug of the barrel across the top of Hicks’ skull as the recoiling of Hicks’ body tore the man away from him. He smelled the cordite, the coppery tang of blood, but for once the smell didn’t offer him any satisfaction.

  He stood there for some time, for how long he had no idea. Finally it was Darley’s hand on his shoulder that roused him, and he withdrew his gaze from the middle distance and looked down at Carswell Hicks. Hicks’ corpse had collapsed so that he sat against the silver-coloured box, his legs splayed, blood on his gut and chest, head bowed as though shamed.

  ‘You OK, Gant?’

  In a daze, Gant nodded. The bird-like man offered him a hand, but he shook his head. He saw that the two minders were as dead as their mark, their chests open cavities where Darley had blasted them. ‘We did the right thing,’ he said. His words were only partly directed at Darley, because he was still shocked that he’d gone through with it. Carswell Hicks had been everything to him, and now he’d murdered him. Gant regretted that it had come to this; he’d always thought that it would be him and Carswell standing side by side, looking out over a totally white nation. Side by side as it should be.

  Darley scrubbed a palm over his shaved head, looking down on Hicks. ‘Man, what a shame Hicks lost it. Must have been all those years he spent inside, alongside all those criminals. They must have turned him, Gant, so don’t you go blaming him now.’

  ‘What about you, Dar?’

  ‘I don’t blame him,’ Darley said defensively.

  ‘I’m talking about you turning. Way I remember it from our talk back in Pennsylvania, you thought that Hicks’ plan was too extreme. Well, I’ve got another plan. Are you still with me?’