Thicker Than Blood

by James P. Sumner

  We stop, and I gesture to her rifle. “How many bullets you got there?”

  She quickly checks. “Almost a full mag. You?”

  I eject the mag of her M9, catching it in the natural cup my cast forms my right palm into, and slam it back in a moment later. “Four rounds.”

  “What are you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking we can’t run forever. We need to get back to our hotel. We need to stay focused on stopping The Order. We can’t be wasting our time with these assholes.”

  “So, stand and fight?”

  I nod. “Stand and fight.”

  Ruby moves to the corner that leads back to the street, crouching, and taking aim back the way we came. I stay on the opposite side, putting my back to the building, and aiming around the corner of the small alcove, between two trees. We both have a clear view of the wide alley, and we’ll be able to see whoever’s chasing us before they see us.

  We exchange a nod and wait.

  …

  …

  …

  That didn’t take long. Six guys round the corner, skidding to a stop at the far end. I have a clear shot at two of them. I hope Ruby can see the rest.

  I take a deep breath, slowing my heart rate down. I line up my shots and quickly practice the movement between both intended targets.

  One… two.

  One… two.

  Nice and easy.

  I take another deep breath, and—

  I turn away, closing my eyes and gritting my teeth as images of Josh’s body flood my mind, flashing sporadically before me. I see the pool of blood around his head, like a sick halo on a plate-glass window. I see his head turning slowly to look at me; his wide, bloodshot eyes gazing up at me.

  “You did this!” he shouts, causing blood to ooze from his mouth. “You killed me!”

  No…

  No…

  I shake my head, trying to shift the images. I don’t want to see this. I can’t. Not now. I need to—

  Bullets splinter the thick trunk of the tree, mere inches from my head.

  Shit!

  The images disappear instantly, and I snap back to the alley.

  “Adrian!” shouts Ruby, before leaning out and opening fire.

  I take a moment to clear my head and re-aim my shots. I squeeze the trigger twice, finding the mark only with the second bullet.

  Damn it.

  My second target drops, joining two of the others on the ground, which Ruby must have taken out.

  That leaves my first target, plus two others.

  I step out and crouch, leaning around the farther of the two trees and taking aim again. This time, I don’t miss. I fire my last two rounds, which both find their way into the chests of our remaining adversaries. Another burst from Ruby and the final guy drops.

  I sigh, relaxing for a moment before getting to my feet. I sprint over to Ruby, who’s already heading out of the alley, and back onto the sidewalk. I stop beside her and look out across the street. Both sides are lined with trees, and the road is bathed in a strip of sunlight.

  We step out side by side to cross, eager to put some distance between us, and the increasing number of dead guys behind us. I turn to her. “Nice shooting back there. You alright?”

  She nods. “Yeah. What happened to you?”

  “I dunno. I just—”

  I hear the car screeching to a halt as it hits us both. I roll up the hood, my body twisting so my back slams into the windshield. I catch a glimpse of Ruby flying away in front of me, but I don’t see her land on the road.

  I roll back down, landing hard and awkward on my front. Each breath I take feels like a hot knife plunging into my chest. I try to move, but nothing wants to. I’m also aware that I’m no longer holding my gun.

  Where the hell did that car come from?

  I try to call out for Ruby, but all I manage to do is groan quietly.

  Before I can think to do anything, I feel something cold touch the back of my head. It’s pushing hard against me, forcing my face against the rough surface of the road.

  It’s a gun barrel.

  “Game over, Adrian,” says a female voice. The tone is calm and the broken English accent has a hint of Italian mixed with it. “You’re done.”

  Shit.

  29

  14:34 CEST

  “Get up. Slowly.”

  Well, this is a shitty end to a shitty day, isn’t it?

  I didn’t see the car coming from the left. The road is narrow and lined with parked scooters on both sides. I don’t know where Ruby is, or if she’s even alive. She was a few steps ahead of me as we were crossing the road, but she was on my left, so the car would’ve hit her first. I saw her catapulted across to the far side of the street, but I was down before I saw her land.

  “Move it, now,” urges the female voice, still calm, still in control.

  Honestly, I don’t know if I can move. My back is pulsing with agony. Fresh cuts are registering on my arms and legs, but there’s a difference between my brain telling me I’m bleeding, and me feeling the actual wound. Every inch of me is numb—presumably from shock.

  Shock is a wonderful thing. I think the name is a little misleading though. Shock implies something bad… a terrible surprise. But shock in the medical sense of the word is your own brain’s gift to your body. If you get hurt badly, your brain activates shock, like flipping a switch. It tells your body it’s currently experiencing something so bad, it’s better off not knowing about it, and it effectively kills your pain receptors. Hence why I feel numb.

  I bring a leg up slowly, and press my weight down on it gradually, testing my ability to stand upright. I use my good hand to help push my body up off the road.

  …

  …

  …

  I’m doing alright.

  Ah!

  Maybe not.

  I just tried moving my other leg, to complete the final stage of the standing up process, and it wasn’t happy about it. Must be my back. The impact from crashing into the windshield hurt like hell, and there might be some swelling that’s restricting my movements.

  I glance down at my leg, as if staring at it will help it work better.

  Oh.

  Shit!

  Well, it’s not my back that’s stopping it.

  There’s a three-inch shard of glass sticking out of my hip.

  That might be what the shock is for.

  It looks bad. It looks painful, although I can’t feel it. I just have a faint notion of my leg being cold, but that’s it.

  Ugh!

  The woman just jabbed the back of my head with the butt of her gun.

  “Get to your feet, pathetic man!”

  Pathetic? Really?

  I’m down on one knee in the middle of the street. I’m resting my cast on my right knee; my left is against the ground, unable to straighten properly because of the glass sticking out of it. Does it look like getting to my feet is happening any time soon?

  I glance up and over my shoulder, seeing her for the first time. It’s the woman from the second car, back at the fountain. “Listen, lady… in case you hadn’t noticed, I just got hit by a fucking car. I might need a minute. If you’re going to shoot me, will you just get it over with? Save me having to struggle trying to stand up.”

  She smirks. “I will not execute you in the street. You deserve more.”

  “Huh, thanks…”

  “You deserve worse.”

  “Oh.”

  “The Order will make an example of you, Adrian Hell. You will die so the whole world will know who we are, and what we’re capable of. Now… get…to… your… fucking… feet.”

  She emphasized each word by jabbing the gun harder into the base of my skull as she said them.

  I hate it when people do that. Especially to me.

  I try again, putting my weight on my good leg, and simply attempting to slide my bad leg underneath me, so I’m kind of standing on it by default, as opposed to through any effort. />
  …

  …

  …

  Ah!

  Okay, I’m standing on both legs, albeit uneasily. I’ve not straightened my back yet, though. I’m leaning forward, resting on my knees. I shuffle each hand up my leg, a couple of inches at a time, gradually raising my torso as I do, like a decrepit drawbridge.

  …

  …

  …

  And…

  I’m up.

  I slowly turn around to face the woman. She didn’t tell me to, but I don’t care. If this is it, if my number’s finally up, there’s no way I’m going out with a bullet from behind. I’ll leave this world standing tall, staring into the eyes of the person who was finally able to best me.

  She doesn’t say anything. She’s holding her gun steady, aiming right between my eyes in a professional, unwavering grip. I keep eye contact with her, but use what I can of my peripheral vision to look around for Ruby.

  I can’t see her.

  That said, my vision’s a little blurry, and the fuzziness going on inside my head suggests I might be a little concussed.

  The woman smiles, her grin loaded with sick satisfaction. I bet it’s a big thing, taking me down. I mean, Josh said it himself, thanks to the dark web, my reputation knows no bounds. Taking The Order out of the equation, it’ll still be a career-changing kill for any assassin to bag a target like me. I can see it in her eyes. The arrogance. The pride. The—

  BANG!

  Huh?

  The woman was just pulled from my line of sight, dragged away to the right as if attached to a stampeding horse. A needle-like whisper of blood chases after her, evaporating in the air as suddenly as it appeared.

  I look left, and see a man standing there, holding his gun in his outstretched hand; smoke still twisting up from the barrel. It’s the guy I recognized from the group who attacked us earlier. He’s the last one left now, too.

  I stare at him, frowning, trying to kick-start my brain into figuring out what the hell just happened.

  He lowers his gun and moves next to me. “You don’t have much time, Adrian. You need to get your ass outta here, now.”

  I move my head slowly from side to side. “But… you’re…”

  “The only friend you have right now. Go.”

  “Ruby…?”

  He steps aside, revealing Ruby, who’s standing holding her neck on the opposite sidewalk. She smiles weakly.

  I look at him. “I know you, but I can’t…”

  He nods once. “The name’s Monroe. We met once, years ago, when we both bid on the same contract. We did it together and grabbed a beer afterward. My handler is friends with yours.” He pauses. “I’m sorry about Josh. I had no idea we’d put a man across the street back there.”

  I’m not even going to try pretending to understand what’s going on here.

  “So, you’re in The Order?”

  He shrugs. “They recruited me about five years ago. I haven’t done much work for them, but the payouts are good. Kinda feel like I’m making up the numbers, y’know? They assigned me to Spain initially, and then moved me to Italy about six months ago. When we got the call from Horizon to say we’d be going after you, I wondered why. Then the details came down the wire. Everyone I know got excited, man. The chance to take you down. But I wasn’t buying it. No way you’d go through the shit you have done if it wasn’t worth it.”

  “I… ah… I appreciate that, thanks.” I take a deep, painful breath. “Meeting you is the first bit of luck I’ve had in a long time, Monroe.”

  “Well, it won’t count for shit if you don’t get out of here.” He puts his car keys in my hand. “Take my ride, get you and Ruby out of here.”

  “You gonna be okay?”

  He grins. “I’ll be fine. Telling Horizon I was overpowered by you isn’t exactly a tough sell.”

  I smile politely. “Appreciate it. Listen, you know your Horizon isn’t the only one, right?”

  He nods.

  “Watch your back, man. I saw The Order’s personnel files when I killed Sterling. My Horizon was number seven. Be careful with him. This coordinated effort to take me out has everyone on edge, and has people like him keen to make a good impression in front of what’s left of the Committee.”

  He pats my shoulder. “I’m guessing you’re trying to make sure there’s no one left to impress?”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “Good. When all this is over, the beers are on me.”

  “Count on it.” I look over at Ruby. “You okay to drive?”

  She nods slowly, so I toss her the keys. I turn back to Monroe. “Thanks again.”

  “Don’t mention it, Adrian.”

  We get in the car, and quickly put some distance between us and the latest dead body. That’s eleven more people The Order have lost today, so they won’t be happy. With a little more luck, no one else will track us down before we reach our hotel.

  I turn to Ruby. “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. I managed to jump out of the way, so the car only clipped my back leg. It’ll bruise like a bitch, but I’ll live. What about you? Are you—” She glances at my leg. “Holy shit, Adrian!”

  “Yeah, I know. I’ll be alright. It’s high enough up my leg that it shouldn’t have caught any major arteries. It’s closer to my hip than anything. A bandage and some aspirin will do me just fine.”

  We navigate the narrow streets until we reach an intersection, and Ruby slows us to an anonymous speed as we merge with the rest of the traffic heading right.

  She reaches over and squeezes my hand. We smile at each other, and then I lean back in my seat, and close my eyes.

  This has turned into the worst kind of nightmare, and all I want to do right now is wake up.

  30

  19:49 CEST

  The world is a blur as I slowly open my eyes, a mist of confusion allowing only the most basic of light through. Everything else is unidentifiable.

  Where am I?

  I feel something cool and moist on my forehead, which seems to stimulate my mind enough to begin registering more things. Like the dull ache resonating around every inch of my body.

  I hear a distant, faint groaning, which I assume is my attempt at speaking.

  “…okay now. Just relax,” says a female voice, which sounds hollow, yet smooth.

  I squeeze my eyes closed, and then snap them wide open, before blinking fast to clear them.

  I’m lying on my back, staring up at a ceiling. I’m… yeah, I’m on a bed.

  Is this my hotel room? When did I get here?

  The cooling sensation leaves my head, and I turn slightly, trying to see where it went.

  Sitting next to me, holding a sponge and looking concerned, is Ruby. She smiles at me. “Hey.”

  “Uh…”

  “Don’t try talking. Just take it easy.”

  She gets up, and moves over to the desk in the far corner, setting a bowl of water down on it. She ambles back to my side and kneels on the bed.

  “Wha… what happened?”

  “You passed out in the car. I managed to slap you awake long enough to help me get you to the room, but you blacked out again as soon as you lay down.”

  “How long…?”

  “About five hours. We’re safe here, don’t worry. We weren’t followed.”

  I try to push myself up the bed.

  “Ah! Shit…”

  She puts a hand on my chest. “Yeah, don’t move, either. I had to do a little improvising with your leg wound. It’ll hurt for a while yet.”

  I frown and glance down at my left hip. The large shard of glass is gone and a thin piece of material is tied around the very top of my thigh.

  I’ve also just noticed I have no clothes on. Besides my boxers, I’m lying here naked.

  I look up at her and raise an eyebrow. She looks confused for a moment and then smiles sheepishly. “Yeah, I had to undress you to wrap your leg wound.”

  “Then why is my top off?”


  “You were running a temperature, so I’ve been trying to cool you down.”

  “Right. Sorry. Thanks.”

  I allow myself a moment to relax. I close my eyes, and take slow, deep breaths to calm my mind and focus on one thing at a time.

  …

  …

  …

  Right, where does it hurt?

  Most places, apparently. My left leg, my right shoulder, my right hand—still, most of my back, my head…

  Shoot me now.

  I keep breathing, pushing past the physical issues. Pain is temporary—it’s defeat that stays with you. If you get yourself to a point mentally where you can ignore any physical discomfort, you can concentrate on the important things.

  What’s next?

  I need to figure out how to take out the camerlengo, which will effectively kill The Order of Sabbah. I can shoot him from almost anywhere, using the Holy Trinity rifle, but that’s not going to happen while he’s inside Vatican City. Plus, the pope is their next target, and his public appearance tomorrow is the obvious time to take him out, so time’s a-wasting.

  I feel Ruby’s hand on my chest. “Adrian, while you were sleeping you… you were talking a lot.”

  I open my eyes and look at her. “Sorry.”

  “No, no, it’s fine. It’s just… the things you were saying…” She pauses. “How are you doing?”

  I swallow back a rush of emotion. “How do you think I’m doing, Ruby? I just need to focus on what I’m doing, okay?”

  She doesn’t say anything for a couple of minutes.

  Eventually, she moves her hand. “It’s not your fault, y’know?”

  “Yeah, it is.”

  “No, it’s not. It’s The Order’s fault. They’re the ones responsible, and you’re going to get even by taking out their leader. Focus on that, not on your own misplaced guilt.”

  “Misplaced? He wouldn’t even have been here if it wasn’t for me. Up until three days ago, he thought I was dead. He was miserable, sure, but he was living his life in blissful ignorance, and I should’ve left it that way. I brought him back into this world. I got him involved with The Order. His death is on me.”

  “Adrian…”

  “No, Ruby.” I try to shake my head, which is harder to do than I would like. I can feel the raw emotion erupting inside me, spilling out with no control. “You don’t understand. You don’t get it. Josh is dead. He wasn’t just my friend, he was my brother. He was family. He was all I had, goddammit! When I lost my wife and daughter, he was there to get me through it. When I lost my way, and my days were perpetual darkness, he was there to guide me. You don’t even know half the shit I’ve been through. Since day one, it’s been me and him. Even when we weren’t together, we were together. He knew the real me. He was the better half of my conscience, and now he’s dead. I left him lying on the street in his own blood. All those times he was there for me, and the one time… the one time he needed me, I let him down. Today, I lost the final piece of my soul. I don’t know who, or what I am anymore. All I know for certain is I’m alone. All the loss I experienced in my life, yet he made sure I was never by myself. But now… what? What have I got left? What have I got to live for?”