by Amity Cross
“Hi, Daddy,” she purred to Greggor as she stared down at The Hangman.
Vaughn’s head rose at the sound of her voice, and as he registered who stood in front of him, his expression crumbled into shock.
“It can’t be…” he breathed. “I held you… You were dead…”
“I was reborn,” she said, her voice devoid of feeling.
He reached out with a shaking hand, but she stepped back before he could touch her. “I don’t understand.”
“Tetrodotoxin,” Lorelei said blandly.
“It mimics death,” Greggor said with a smirk. “Sykes gave it to her and led you to believe she was already dead. You were never going to get her back, no matter what you gave up.”
“But…” Vaughn was distraught, his gaze firmly locked onto Lorelei. After all these years, it was obvious that he hadn’t stopped loving her. It was a hard thing to watch as the truth was revealed to him.
“He sold her to Jacques Lafayette,” he snarled. “My little girl, Hangman. He sold her into sexual slavery.”
“No…” Vaughn wailed, making my heart shatter.
“He did. I saved her from Lafayette’s clutches while you ran away with your tail between your legs like a dog.” Greggor continued his barrage of hate as Lorelei stood to the side, looking disinterested in the whole scene. “You led her into this. You are the only one to blame.”
“I’ll kill you!”
“What was left for me to do, but to save her from you?” Greggor snarled, ignoring Vaughn’s outburst. “When I got to her, my little girl was already gone.”
“So you turned her into a monster?” Vaughn roared.
Lorelei cocked her head to the side, staring down at Vaughn. I remembered that look. I’d seen it in X’s eyes on more than one occasion, and in his it had been terrifying, but in hers? It chilled me to the bone.
“She wanted to forget,” Greggor said, winding an arm around her waist.
“Did I?” she asked, smiling at her father.
“You didn’t like it at first, sweetheart, but you soon saw things my way.”
“Monster,” Vaughn snarled. “How could you do that to your own daughter? Lorelei,” he pleaded. “Lorelei, you can’t believe him. You have to fight it. Please.”
She stared down at him, her expression blank, any love she’d ever felt for Vaughn not even hitting the surface. Slowly, a smile began to spread across her face and she said, “I don’t want to.”
Greggor nodded to the men, and the two that had brought Vaughn in, moved forward and grasped him around the arms, hauling him from the room. He didn’t even try to fight, he looked shattered, his bruised face forlorn as he disappeared to wherever they’d been holding him. Lorelei and the third man followed them, turning left as they turned right. A fucked up metaphor for their lost relationship.
It was so fucking cruel… What I didn’t understand is why they thought it was a good idea to have me as an audience. Why was I even here?
Greggor turned to me, a triumphant gleam in his eye. “His fate is tied to your compliance,” he said, revealing his plan.
Yet again, they were playing on my emotions. They’d tricked me into betraying X, and now they were using Vaughn’s fate to pull on my heartstrings. If I didn’t give into The Watchman’s ministrations, he would suffer for it. I knew I wasn’t strong enough to fight it, and I feared what would become of me.
A sob burst from my throat as Greggor stroked my face.
“You’ll make a terrific partner for my little girl,” he murmured. “Embrace it, darling. I’d hate it if I came back to find your corpse.”
Since all I wanted was to piss him off, I guess that’s exactly what he would find.
I’m sorry, X.
Twenty-Five
X
Since the train station wasn’t secure, I legged it across the street and up the hill where I waited outside of a pub.
There was no way of telling if Mei had been found out, or if I’d been picked up by surveillance at the train station. My best option was to get out of there and rendezvous with Hawkes at another location.
Five minutes later, as we’d discussed on the phone, a car pulled up and the window rolled down. Leaning over, I peered into the interior.
“Get in,” Hawkes snapped.
Without hesitation, I got inside, flicked the button on the armrest and the window began to rise.
“Were you made?” he asked as the glass slid home.
I shook my head. One thing I wasn’t telling Hawkes was the fact that I had been in MI6 custody. He’d drop me like a ton of bricks if he found out. “No, but I’m on the clock. What have you got?”
“There’s a warehouse not too far from here that has had a lot of unusual movement over the past few weeks,” Hawkes replied as he pulled back out onto the road. “We have a few men here that have been keeping tabs, but it wasn’t until this morning that we had any idea it was linked to Royal Blood.”
I grunted. “They’re smart. I wouldn’t underestimate Greggor. He’s been at this for a very long time.”
“There are whispers that he has a man there with the name The Watchman.”
Fucking pay dirt. “Just the man I wanted to speak to.”
Hawkes glanced at me, but didn’t ask for clarification. “We have a nest set up just outside of their perimeter.”
“Good.” We’d need to watch them for a while to make sure all the parties we needed were inside the building. On the off chance that Mercy and Vaughn were not there, we would have all the major players. Information could be tortured right from the source, and that would make me a very happy man, but what would make me ecstatic would be finding Mercy inside that building. Alive.
Bristol’s city center soon morphed into residential then into industrial as we drove into the east. I remembered doing a few jobs here when this was Royal Blood’s territory, but in recent years, The Hangman had been encroaching at the edges until a divide had opened within the city. There had been a lot of trouble with shootings for a while until I put down a man or two in the name of ‘peace’.
Hawkes turned the car down a back lane, the cobblestones making the ride rough. There was a dead end ahead, but I could make out an opening in the chain link fence that surrounded a warehouse space to our right. This must be our destination.
As I suspected, Hawkes drove straight in the gate and killed the engine, allowing the car to coast through the yard and into the warehouse itself. That man knew his shit, because in an area like this, the slightest noise from an engine would echo and draw unwanted attention. The more time I spent with the old guy, the more I liked him. What the fuck was this world coming to?
Once we’d come to a stop, I slipped out of the car, closing the door lightly behind me. Casting my gaze around as Hawkes secured the car, I took stock of all the entrances and hidden corners in case a quick exit was needed. The roller door we’d entered through was raised, and now that I was on the other side, I could see that the mechanism was broken. There was a side door with a smashed exit light above it, but there would be a high chance of that being locked. Deeper inside, it was dark, but there were intervals of light from where the corrugated iron roofing had rusted and fallen in. There were more smashed windows than whole and the entire place needed to be demolished, but it was secure and empty. Perfect for what we needed it for.
“Upstairs,” Hawkes said, nodding to a set of stairs to the right of the car.
I allowed him to lead the way, our feet clanging on metal as we ascended. Along the landing above, I could see a row of doors leading to what once would have been storerooms and offices. Hawkes pushed through the one at the end, and light flooded through the opening.
The room beyond was bare except for a telescope and a sniper rifle set low against one of the windows. There was no seeing in, the glass was covered in filth and pigeon shit, but keeping away and low was still smart. If they had eyes on the area, even the slightest movement would be investigated…especially if The Watchman w
as at work.
A man stepped into the room from the opposite end, and I stiffened, my hand going for the gun shoved in the back of my jeans.
Hawkes’ hand shot out, and his fingers grasped my arm. “He’s ours,” he said, nodding to the man who approached us, eyeing me warily.
“This is Blood?” he asked, his hard glare looking me up and down.
As he appraised me, I gauged him. Tall, muscled, young…maybe late twenties, short brown hair. He looked well ingrained in the lifestyle.
Hawkes nodded. “This is Barber. He’s been working with us for ten years. Never missed a beat.”
“The last men you vouched for tried to put me down,” I said, my gaze not leaving Barber’s.
“If I wanted to fuck you over,” Barber snapped, “this room would be crawling with Royal Blood.” He glanced around, holding his hands out. “Nobody’s here. I’m smart enough not to make a bargain with the devil.”
I snorted. Little did he know, he was standing in the presence of one.
Barber sighed before pointing to the rifle. “You’re all set up. It was nice knowing you.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“That, my friend, is suicide,” he said, pointing in the direction of the warehouse. “The Hangman doesn’t pay me enough to go in there.”
I glanced at Hawkes. “So much for loyalty.”
“Go,” Hawkes said to Barber. “I want men I trust on my side, not cowards with deep pockets.”
Barber grimaced and backed away. “It was nice knowing you, Hawkes.”
I watched him go, and once the sound of his footsteps had died away, I turned to the rifle. We didn’t need him. The more hands that were in this, the more things would cock up.
“I want to go in as soon as possible,” I declared. “Once we have visual confirmation, there’s no going back.”
Hawkes knelt and peered through the telescope. “My thoughts exactly.”
Silence descended between us as we watched and waited. There was nothing more to talk about except the mission, and the parameters had been set. Keeping an eye on the yard below and across the road, I wondered how many other eyes were on this place and if MI6 had a satellite tasked to the area. They would be watching for Mei and I to approach, which meant we had to be even more careful about how we entered the building.
It wasn’t long before we heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. The engine hummed, echoing off the brickwork of the tight-knit buildings, and a car came into sight, coasting across the yard. It came to a stop outside the warehouse entrance, and all four doors opened. Three men and a woman stepped out, all armed. The woman only seemed to have a handgun in a holster at her side—her jacket bulged slightly on her left, which meant she was right handed. The men were totally packing heat. They were armed up to the eyeballs and stunk like Royal Blood. On further inspection, I recognized two out of the four assembled below.
“Royal Blood,” I said. “No doubt about it.”
Hawkes straightened up, his expression dropping.
“What is it?” I asked, shifting back from the rifle.
“That woman…”
I looked through the scope again, taking in the tall, slender woman. Her brown hair shielded most of her face, so I was beyond ID’ing her until she turned back around.
“It’s Miss Lansford.”
Lansford. “Lorelei? Are you sure?”
Hawkes was dumbfounded. “Positive, but I don’t understand. I saw the body myself.”
Frowning, I peered back through the scope at the woman, but she disappeared inside with the men before I could get a good look. If Lorelei was alive, it didn’t bode well. They’d be using her as a pawn against Vaughn. It wasn’t lost on them that he’d never let go of his love for her and he’d either break or rally. It was hard to tell with him, but we had to be realistic. There mightn’t be much of him left to rescue.
“Any idea why she’d be with them?” I asked. Knowing what she meant to Vaughn, I didn’t want to take her out, but if she were against us, then I would do whatever it took.
“She wasn’t a part of this life,” Hawkes explained, running his hand over his face. “She was an art dealer before. Came from a rich family, didn’t have so much as a parking ticket. She was clean.”
“Then she got mixed up in this after her death.”
“I don’t understand how,” Hawkes murmured, still shocked at the sight of a ghost from his past. “I saw what Sykes did to her. We both did.”
“There are many ways to fake a death,” I replied. “Even with a body.”
Turning my attention back onto the rifle, I began to formulate a plan of attack in my mind. Thinking about the conversation I’d had with Mei about Greggor, I knew she’d been right. I didn’t know what he looked like, nobody did. His identity was a well-guarded secret, one that even I couldn’t unlock from my broken mind. There were times that I believed that I’d met the man, but the more I thought about it, the hazier it became. They’d made me forget, I was certain of it.
“We need to infiltrate the warehouse tonight,” I declared. Hawkes just stared at me. “The Watchman will be at work. He’s not coming out. He won’t until he’s done, and then it will be too late.”
“Are you sure?”
“Lorelei is enough evidence,” I said, my patience wearing thin. “This has gone on for far too long. This has to end, one way or another.”
Hawkes nodded, rising to his feet. He understood that we were on a strict timetable. “What do you need?”
“Guns,” I said, images of blood and destruction coming to mind. “Lots of guns.”
Twenty-Six
X
I remained in the warehouse while Hawkes went out and procured more firepower.
It hadn’t snowed since I left MI6, but it was a wonder it hadn’t. The air was full of ice; a thick layer of it had sprung up as the night descended over the city below. Nobody had left since that afternoon when Lorelei had shown her face, and nobody had arrived. The car was still parked where they’d left it, and the lot was silent. It didn’t bode well.
There was a short sharp whistle behind me, and I turned to find Hawkes loitering at the door.
“We’re good to go,” he declared, crossing the room and grabbing the telescope.
Picking up the sniper rifle, I broke it down and assembled the pieces into the case at my feet.
“There’s an entrance on the opposite side that looks clean,” he said as we worked. “I can’t be sure, but it’s our best bet.”
I grunted, snapping the case closed. I’d just have to be quick about it. If I was made, I’d only have one shot and ten seconds before the alarm was raised. My aim was good, but it had to be fucking brilliant if I was getting in and out. I now had two people to rescue, and the worst of the worst were most likely in that building. I also had to assume that Lorelei was with them and that Vaughn wouldn’t want to leave without her.
Make that three bodies that needed to be brought out.
Following Hawkes down to the car, he opened the boot and revealed the fruits of his labor. He’d loaded it entirely with firearms and ammunition…more than enough to shoot the place up if that’s what we wanted.
My hand went straight for a case that I knew contained exactly what I needed. Flicking it open, I pulled out a sleek little handgun, picked up the silencer and screwed it onto the barrel. This would do very nicely. Shoving extra clips of ammunition into my pockets, I picked up a hunting knife, a backup for the gun, and shoved it into my boot.
“Stay here,” I said, turning to stalk off into the darkness.
Hawkes moved in front of me, brandishing a mean looking automatic, and glared. “I‘m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not,” I barked. “I work best alone. We all know what happened last time we went tag team.”
“And who came out the other end with you?” he retorted. “It’s my fault Vaughn was taken. Least I can do is break him out of there.”
Sighing, I leaned back against
the car. “I know you feel responsible, Hawkes, but you need to trust me.” I pointed in the direction of the warehouse. “I will find both of them and get them out, even if I have to carry the smart-ass bastard myself.”
“I’m just meant to wait here?”
“Yes,” I snapped. “We’ll need to get out of here fast. They’ll all be dead, but there are other eyes watching. I want a clean break. I assume you can have the car ready and waiting.”
Hawkes narrowed his eyes. “You’re implying Intelligence are sniffing around?”
“We’ll rendezvous here,” I continued, ignoring his question. “I can’t say how long I will be as I’m going in there blind, but be ready for anything.”
Hawkes grabbed my arm as I went to move off. “I don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it,” I said blandly. “You just have to do it.” I wrenched my arm away from his grasp. “Do we have an understanding?”
“Understood.” He knew I was right, even if I didn’t have the reputation to back it up.
Without so much as a backward glance, I walked out of the warehouse and into the deathly chill of the evening, ready to start a fucking war.
My enemies would drown in an ocean of their own blood before the night was done.
The sound of leaves rustling overhead was the only thing that broke the silence.
I stood in the forest a mile north of the cottage, leaning back against the trunk of a tree, listening intently to my surroundings. Today’s lesson was one of stealth. Difficult to do in a silent forest with a multitude of debris coating the earth. Mercy would be hard pressed to move even a step without me hearing her approach. Leaf litter, twigs, rocks, unstable earth… This was the ultimate training ground. I was keen to find out how much she’d taken in since returning from France.
I’d been concerned about her state of mind, but she’d bounced back pretty well considering she’s splattered Sykes’ head all over a posh French dining room. That would haunt most people, but Mercy Reid was not ‘most people’.