I’d barely reached the threshold when Raul stepped in front, a host of thugged out Greeks with shotguns behind him. He took in the scene, a queer smirk on his face as he nodded to me. “Abby, glad to see you’re keeping things low key,” and with those words, he made a twirling gesture with one hand.
The men behind him surged forward, pumping shotgun blasts into the Israeli soldiers regardless of whether they were moving or not. I stared, not sure how I felt about that as Raul grabbed my hand and pulled me outside into the night. It looked like a warzone, and I wasn’t quite sure how anyone was going to be able to cover it up. An entire city block looked like it’d been leveled. It was then I noticed the guy with the rocket launcher. Was he the one who had taken down the helicopter? If so, I wasn’t sure if I owed him a ‘thank you’ or a punch in the face. Probably both.
“So tell me the truth,” Raul said, breaking my train of thought as he ushered me into a black Jeep. I climbed woodenly into the passenger seat as he moved around and slipped into the driver’s side. “Were you really going to take on an entire Special Forces unit with a knife?” He gestured at the blade still locked in my grip.
I looked down at the weapon and felt my cheeks burst into flames as I nodded. “I was out of bullets.”
He laughed, and the sound somehow lifted my spirits as he threw his vehicle into gear and began taking me out of the warzone, driving more over things than around them. His people were already clearing out, and I had no doubt that by the time the authorities showed up, there would be no trace of the Achilles.
Still, it seemed a little crazy to think no one had showed up yet. I mean we were in downtown Athens after all. Surely, there’d be some kind of response even if it was pretty late at night. While I knew the agency could pull strings to get the local law enforcement to back off, and had no doubt the Israelis could do similar, it still seemed nuts to me.
“I didn’t realize you were Gabriella de la Mancha’s daughter,” Raul said, eyes fixed on the road in front of him, lips quirked into an unreadable smile. He didn’t even so much as glance at me as he turned onto an empty road and drove us off into the night and away from the carnage of the battle.
“It isn’t something I like to advertise. It’s not like she was the world’s best mom or anything.” I shrugged, watching him to see if he had any sort of reaction even though I should have been formulating a plan of escape. Sure, he might have helped me, but he was still the leader of a drug gang who had tried to put a bullet in my face for no reason. Everything about him told me I should escape, but if he was Bang’s brother, surely he could lead me to the man. Without Morris, he was the only lead I had.
“No doubt. If my dealings with her were any indication, I’d imagine her as a parent was less than fun,” he said, glancing into his mirror before flipping on a turn signal and blowing by a stoplight, presumably because there was no traffic. Still, the turn signal was a little weird since there was no one around. Habit, maybe?
“How did you know she’s my mom?” I asked, settling into the seat as I looked around the empty streets. “That’s not common knowledge.”
“One of the Israelis told me before I killed him.” Raul said the words so calmly, it took me a minute to process what he’d said. He’d just admitted to murdering someone, but he’d said it like I would have said, “I ate a cheese sandwich.” It made me shiver. People who could do that always scared me.
“Oh,” I said because I wasn’t sure what else to say. “Anything else interesting?”
“Evidently, they’re mad at you for helping nuke Jerusalem.” He smirked. It was the first trace of emotion I’d seen from him in a while. “I’d wondered who did that. Thought it a bit odd for someone to nuke both Jerusalem and Rome within the span of a few minutes, but I admired the moxy of it.”
“Want an autograph?” I asked, annoyance filling my voice as I stared out at the night and tried to ignore the sinking feeling swelling within my gut. Every single time I thought about how many millions of people Gabriella had killed just to prove she was a badass, it made me sick inside. I knew intellectually there wasn’t anything I could have done to stop her, at least not then anyway, but I still felt guilty, like maybe she wouldn’t have done it if I hadn’t been there.
“Sort of,” he said, “but that would just attract people who want to find you to me, and I’m sort of over that.” He gestured over his shoulder, leaving the words “see what you did to my club” unsaid.
“So the Israelis want revenge on me. Your brother wanted you to kill me.” I sighed and rubbed my face with my hands. “Are you driving me to some place to shoot me?” I asked, looking at him through my splayed fingers.
“Would it work?” he asked, looking at me even though he should have been watching the road.
“No. I could kill you before you even shifted if I wanted to do it.” I stared at him, dropping my hands onto my lap with an empty thud. “These hands have killed a lot of people.” I shrugged, trying to act cool even though it made me feel like the worst person in the world. “One more won’t matter in the grand scheme of things.”
He laughed, and it was so genuine sounding, I realized I hadn’t heard a real laugh in a very long time. “You’re much too dark, Abby. No, I spoke to my brother. He told me he wants to meet with you.” He pointed out the window at a huge boat. “He asked me to take you and your comrade to Crete. I guess he’ll meet you there?” Raul looked at me and shrugged again. “He doesn’t really keep me informed of what he wants much. He’s kind of a jerk that way.”
“What do you mean, my comrade?” I asked, staring at him like he was a crazy person. I knew I should have asked him why Bang wanted to meet up with me on Crete, but honestly, a nice calm ferry ride sounded kind of nice. Besides, if Raul had gotten the tickets, I was reasonably sure I wasn’t going to be ambushed by Israelis angry I’d blown up their home. That was a plus.
“Morris,” Raul said, jerking a thumb toward the back of the vehicle. “He’s in the trunk.”
“I didn’t know jeeps had trunks,” I replied, staring at the tiny back seat and wondering where the trunk could possibly be.
“It’s really not very comfortable,” Raul replied as he slowed in front of a chain link fence and waved at a guard. The guy glanced up from his newspaper and did a weird sort of double take. He bolted from his seat and pressed a button to bring up the security barrier in front of the jeep.
“I’m surprised this place is open now. It’s what, three or four in the morning?” I asked as the guard hastily let us through.
“It isn’t open. But I own this dock.” Raul smiled at me, his brilliant teeth flashing in the low light so he looked wolfish. “Also it won’t be a real ferry.” He pulled up in front of a black boat the size of a couple busses that had hidden behind the immense ferry. Poseidon’s Luck was written on the side in dripping crimson letters. “It will be my boat. I’d like to have a word with my brother about expenses once the two of you finish your meeting.”
I stared at him for a long time because something about his answer didn’t seem, I don’t know, correct? It felt like he was trying to butt himself into the situation. Why would he do that?
“Are you supposed to be coming?” I asked as Raul got out of the vehicle and moved toward the back.
“No,” he replied, depressing a button I hadn’t noticed on the back of the Jeep. There was a horrible grinding sound beneath my feet followed by a thud as metal smacked against concrete. I jumped out of the vehicle in time to see Raul dragging Morris out from beneath the jeep by one ankle. “But I’ve never let a little thing like being invited stop me before.”
“I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” I said as Morris got slowly to his feet, rubbing his neck with one hand.
“Because this guy is a putz.” Raul grinned at me in a way that made butterflies flutter in my stomach though I didn’t quite know why since he was gay. “I can’t possibly leave you alone with him.”
“I am not a putz,” Morris rep
lied, turning to glare at Raul. The two exchanged a look that would have chilled ice. There was definitely something going on between them. “You’re not supposed to be here, Raul.” The name spilled out of Morris’s mouth like a curse.
“I get told that a lot,” Raul said as he walked casually past Morris and took one of my arms in his own. “Now let’s get on board. It’s a long ride, and I don’t feel like getting shot by the Israelis. If you have a problem with that, by all means, stay and wait for them here. I hear their torture chambers are particularly nice this time of year.”
Morris shook his head angrily as Raul led me past a white gloved guard in a crisp white uniform and helped me onto the boat. Even from the ramp, the ship was all sleek wood and chrome, reminding me of movies where billionaires sat shipping champagne and watching scantily clad women dance. Or, you know, the ones owned by drug dealers.
12
“You’re not coming,” Morris growled, poking Raul in the chest with one finger.
“Bang is my brother, so I am coming,” Raul said before actually sticking his tongue out at Morris. “So there.”
Morris looked at me for help, but I said nothing. The two had argued the entire two and a half hour trip from Athens to Crete, which meant I hated both of them. I was exhausted and had barely managed to snatch a cat nap because every time I drifted off to sleep, the two of them would start shouting at the top of their stupid lungs.
“I don’t care what the two of you do,” I growled, stepping between them and grabbing both of their hands. “But if you don’t shut up this instant, I’m going to throw you off of the top of that wall,” I said, pointing at a huge stone wall encircling the downtown area with both of their hands. It looked like something that had been built centuries ago, which was sort of funny because the locals had just built their shops and what not right around it. “Are we clear?”
They both looked at me, and Raul smiled so widely it made me think he was trying to piss off Morris who looked away annoyed. “You know that wall is a national treasure, right?” Raul said, still smirking.
“And what kind of name is Raul for a Greek drug dealer anyway.” Morris harrumphed, pulling his hand from my grip and striding ahead.
“I’m from Spain. I immigrated here about eight years ago,” Raul called, taking the opportunity to squeeze my hand as he leaned close to me and whispered in my ear. “Don’t mind Morris. He’s always a little fidgety.”
“He would likely be in a better mood if you hadn’t locked him underneath a jeep,” I replied as Raul led me forward like it was totally natural to be walking through Crete holding hands at seven in the morning.
“There is that,” he replied, pulling me toward a bakery with things that looked delicious. “Want something?”
I nodded, but I needn’t have bothered because he was already ordering. A moment later, a lady with short grey hair and a rather pudgy disposition handed me some kind of weird coffee drink and a flaky pastry I’d never seen before.
“What is it I asked?” But no one responded because Raul was paying and Morris was standing outside the door with his arms crossed over his chest, glaring at me like I was some kind of traitor. I smiled at him and bit my pastry, chewing in his general direction. It tasted like honey and nuts, and surprisingly, neither of those things at the same time.
I swallowed and took a sip of the coffee. It was way stronger than I’d expected. I picked it up, looking at it, and as I did so, the lady across the counter snatched it out of my hand, fixing me with an old Greek lady stare.
“You have to mix it or it won’t blend!” she growled, thrusting the straw up and down into the mixture like she was churning butter. The two distinct layers began to mix as she shook it furiously before handing it back to me, froth bubbling out the hole in the top. “Otherwise, it will be only milk and no coffee!”
“Uh… thanks,” I said, taking the drink from her and rushing out of the shop, cheeks on fire. Morris grabbed my wrist as I exited and pulled me next to a small table outside. He pulled my face close to his own.
“We need to ditch Raul. He’s bad news,” Morris whispered, fixing me with a no nonsense stare.
“We’re going after a guy who took out an agency base with only his girlfriend for backup. How much worse can Raul really be?” I asked, glancing in the shop where Raul was mixing his own coffee and chatting with the old lady.
“Way worse,” Morris said, sneaking a look at Raul before leaping to his feet. He dragged me down the alley, leaving Raul alone inside the shop. “You don’t even understand what’s going on.”
“Um… the drug dealer is taking us to meet his brother who I am coincidently trying to find?” I offered, trying to decide whether or not I was going to continue letting him pull me along.
“I know where Bang is,” Morris replied, staring at me a little too hard before wiping his face with one hand. “I’ll take you there now.”
“Well, why didn’t you say that earlier?” I growled, finishing my coffee and looking around for somewhere to throw the plastic cup. I was immediately surprised at how few trash receptacles there were. I stared at the ground for a moment, wondering how I felt about littering before sighing and holding onto the cup. Shoot someone in the face with a gun and I was fine but tossing trash on the ground? No can do. “Let’s go get him.”
“It’s not going to be that easy… You can’t just kill Bang” Morris exclaimed, exasperation filling his voice. “Or have you forgotten the purpose of the mission?”
“Have I forgotten I’m supposed to find the director before all the power goes out back at base and my father dies? No, I haven’t,” I snapped because I’d been trying to ignore it for the last couple hours. Between getting shot at by Special Forces soldiers and drug dealers, I wasn’t exactly anticipating a Kung Fu monkey knife fight with Flash and Bang. Why? Because I still wasn’t sure I would win. Those two had already managed to infiltrate an agency base and not only leave it in a pile of rubble, but make off with the director of the damn thing like they were stealing candy from a baby. It would be silly to think I could walk in and superspy them to death. Hell, I couldn’t even take on Chuck given normal circumstances, and he didn’t actually want to kill me…
But, as much as I hated to admit it, Morris had a point. We were going to go rough up Flash and Bang, and there was no way Raul was going to help us do that. Well, not unless he was the world’s worst brother. Truthfully, I wasn’t even quite sure why Raul was helping us at all. His bit about thanking me for saving his life seemed silly at best… No, his proper response should have been to put a bullet into my brain, not bring me to Crete on his own personal boat… Something strange was definitely going on, I just couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
I sighed, letting out my breath slowly. “Okay, Morris. Let’s go beat up an international mercenary, assuming he is actually on Crete.”
Morris looked at me for a long moment before nodding. Then he turned and walked straight into a shoe store with cute little sandals in the window. I lamented not having them as he dragged me past a lady who didn’t even look up from her magazine. Then again, I guess it was for the best because I was pretty sure those flimsy leather straps were not going to wrap around my cankles. The ensuing disappointment was best avoided. Then my boots morphed into an exact replica of those sandals. And they looked awesome.
He pushed open a gray door in the back that said ‘Employee’s Only’ in English and another language I assumed was Greek and pulled me inside. The room beyond looked like it was made of solid steel and immediately gave me that, ‘I was made by the agency’ vibe. I wasn’t quite sure why all of their facilities seemed to follow the sterile steel design but it was what it was.
“So, what’s the big plan?” I asked just before we were launched upward so quickly my organs were sucked into my toes. I grabbed onto Morris to keep from being crushed to the floor under the sudden gravity. Evidently, he’d been ready for it because he was holding onto a steel beam extending from the roof of
the compartment the length of the room. Even still, the look on his face told me he wasn’t having a lot of fun either.
My empty coffee cup slipped from my hand and smacked the floor with a thwap as the room lurched to a stop. It was so sudden, my feet left the ground enough for it to nearly give me a heart attack.
“What the hell was that?” I squealed, glaring at Morris hard enough to make him wince, although that may have been from the death grip I had on his arm. I released him and put my hands on my hips.
He licked his lips and sighed. “You haven’t seen anything yet.” He pushed his thumb into the wall. It actually depressed beneath his touch, sliding down to reveal a panel with all sorts of neon colored lights. His fingers flew across it, no doubt imputing some type of identification code.
The steel walls around us vanished. I wasn’t sure if they were really gone or had merely turned transparent, but I could see outward in every direction. Crete spread out beneath us like a jewel of modern civilization built atop ancient ruins as we hung there in midair. The whirring of chopper blades overhead filled my ears, and I looked up to see exactly that above the room. I couldn’t quite tell how they were attached since the propeller appeared to be sitting in midair, but something told me it was an optical illusion.
We jetted forward so quickly, I lost my balance and fell backward, sliding across the clear floor until my back touched something that stopped me. I presumed it was a wall, but when I looked, it sure seemed like I was leaning on air. Solid air, sure, but air nonetheless. I nearly screamed. But I didn’t because I was a fearless superspy…
Meet Abby Banks VOLUMES: 1-3 Page 41