Peccadillo - A Katla Novel (Amsterdam Assassin Series Book 2)

by Martyn V. Halm

  When the ship’s bell rang, Chang listened for sounds from inside and heard a heavy tread. He crouched down and aimed the cane rifle as the door from the pilothouse swung open. A broad Rastafarian stepped out and looked around the rear of the pilothouse to the gangway, where Ah Sung waved at him. The door was between Chang and his target, and only the Rastafarian’s head was visible, the heavy dreadlocks preventing a clear shot at his neck. Chang lowered the cane and whistled and the Rastafarian spun around.

  “What you do on I-man ship?” he said and closed the door behind him. He wore a jeans jacket, opened to reveal a T-shirt underneath. Chang pointed at him with the cane rifle and said, “I’m looking for mister Merleyn. Is he here?”

  “Bram?” The Rastafarian looked at Ah Sung striding up the gangway. “What you want with him?”

  “He’s staying with you, isn’t he?”

  “He’s not here.”

  “Not here now, perhaps. But he will be back, won’t he?”

  The Rastafarian looked frantically at Ah Sung walking up to him and turned to the railing of the boat, as if to jump in the Zodiac lazily drifting next to the freighter. Chang aimed at his neck and fired. The tranq dart buried itself in the Rastafarian’s thick neck and he staggered, his hips against the railing as his torso leant over the water. Before he could topple over the railing, Ah Sung sprang forward like a panther, grabbed a handful of dreadlocks and turned his hips, pulling the Rastafarian back on the deck.

  As the heavy man flopped down on the wet oily deck, Ah Sung released his dreadlocks. Chang was close enough to scoot forward and prevent the Rastafarian’s head from bouncing on the steel deck by catching him on his shoe.

  “Careful,” he mouthed at Ah Sung. “We don’t want to piss off Loki by harming his friends.”

  Ah Sung showed his PDA. ‘How do you know he’s a friend?’

  “I don’t, but let’s consider all the blind man’s associates as assets of Loki. Go check inside. See if the blind man is here.”

  -o-

  Bram took his folded cane from his inside pocket as he felt the cobblestones of the embankment under the Audi’s tires. The car made a lazy turn to the left and slowed down, but Katla didn’t stop. The Audi accelerated again, driving along the embankment, the sounds of the engine echoing against the underside of the bridge that arched over the bay.

  “Why did you pass the Mojo?”

  “Something is wrong,” Katla replied, her voice cold and detached. Her Loki voice. At the same time her normal vibrant presence vanished, her entire being diminished as if she imploded inside herself until she wasn’t in the car anymore. The first time that happened, her sudden disappearance had creeped him out, but Katla told him her ability to draw herself inside was a hunter thing—she became so still inside that her prey failed to notice her.

  The car trundled along, rain tapping on the roof again as they passed the camping and continued down the cul-de-sac lined with small yachting businesses.

  “They’re here,” Katla said. “That’s why I didn’t see the Rottweiler.”

  “Shaitan?”

  “Shaitan always guards the gangway. Even in this shitty weather.”

  The Audi made a three-point-turn and went back the way it came. Katla parked under the bridge and the glove box popped open without Bram sensing her leaning over him. The door opened and she got out. “I’ll be right back.”

  -o-

  With the binoculars in her hand, Katla ghost-walked up the stairs, startling a group of tourists sheltering from the rain while they shared a joint. She paid them no mind, but went up to the Amsterdamsebrug from where she could look out over the bay. Leaning against a pillar to stay out of the rain and out of sight, she aimed the binoculars at the Mojo, searching the deck. A dark shape lay near the railing. The Rottweiler appeared lifeless, but her legs were crossed and tied with black tie-raps. Zeph was not in view.

  She moved back down the stairs, startling the tourists again.

  Bram’s head turned toward her door as she got back into the car again. “I think they’re aboard the Mojo.”

  “Chang?”

  “The enforcer’s car is parked near the camping. Did you tell anyone where you were going?”

  “Yukiko,” Bram said. “But she wouldn’t tell a stranger where to find me. Is Shaitan okay?”

  “The dog is tied up, so I guess she’s all right.”

  “You think so?”

  “You don’t tie up a dead dog.”

  Bram’s face twisted. “She could still be injured.”

  “I’m more worried about Zeph. Was he supposed to be home?”

  “I think so.” He took out his new cell phone. “Shall I call him?”

  “Do that.”

  Bram tapped the number into the keyboard and listened for a while. “It goes to Voicemail.”

  “I think Zeph might be tied up too. I think they’re waiting for you to show.”

  “So what do we do now?”

  Katla looked at the Fender case in the backseat of the Audi and said, “I have a plan.”

  -o-

  The ship’s bell rang. Ding ding ding, pause, ding ding. Chang looked at the Rastafarian, bound and gagged and still sedated. He signalled to Ah Sung and mouthed, “Go and see if it’s the blind man.”

  Ah Sung nimbly went up the small stairs to the pilothouse and looked out. He turned back to Chang and nodded. “See if he’s alone,” Chang said. “And bring him inside.”

  Ah Sung went outside, leaving the door to the pilothouse open. Chang checked the Rastafarian’s bindings again, then went up to the pilothouse just as the blind man called out.

  “Chang! Show yourself!”

  The scruffy scarecrow stood at the foot of the gangway, his left hand up at his ear. Ah Sung halted at the top of the gangway and Merleyn yelled, “Chang, call back your dog or he’ll suffer the same fate as the Rottweiler.”

  Ah Sung looked back at Chang, who waved him back to the pilothouse.

  “Chang, come down the gangway. Slowly.”

  “Ah Sung,” he mouthed. “Go downstairs to the Rastafarian. If I’m not the first to come down the stairs, use him as a shield to get out.” He turned to the gangway. “I’m coming, you can stop yelling.”

  He walked down the gangway, feeling Loki’s cold eyes on him from somewhere. The blind man said, “You must be eager to share my fate, to mess with Loki.”

  “He did that to you?” Chang said. “And you still work for him?”

  “I have no choice in the matter.” The blind man held out his cell phone. “Here.”

  Chang took the phone and held it to his ear. Loki’s voice was cold. “I thought I was pretty specific, last time we spoke.”

  “You shouldn’t have taken my weapons,” Chang replied. “I have a job to do.”

  “What happened to the blind man’s friend?”

  “He’s downstairs. Sedated, like his dog. But if I’m not the first to go back downstairs, my associate will kill him.”

  The blind man’s face twisted, but Loki laughed, a mirthless dead sound. “You are an idiot if you think that will hold me back from taking your eyes, Chang. And the lacking brain behind them. Your stupid head is right in the crosshairs of your own rifle.”

  “Why didn’t you shoot me already?”

  “The blind man cares about his friend. I like to keep him happy. Happy associates perform better.”

  “I don’t understand why you feel the need to be so antagonistic,” Chang said. “We could team up and—”

  “So, taking my associate’s friend hostage is your way of persuading me to team up with you?”

  “I saw no other method to contact you. We’re talking now, aren’t we?”

  Silence on the other end. Chang looked around. The only possible vantage point was the bridge, but dusk had settled in and Loki could be anywhere in the shadows between the girders. Nothing moved though. Still, calling Loki’s bluff would be a bad idea. Even if Loki wasn’t as good a sniper as he was and unfamiliar
with his PGM rifle, the distance from the deck to the bridge was still only 120 meters. And he was standing free and clear. He smiled at the bridge, feeling the crosshairs moving over his body.

  “What will it take to convince you,” Chang said. “I’ll split my fee with you, 50/50. That’s 250K.”

  “Are you an independent contractor?”

  “I do most of my work for certain organisations, but I’m not a member.”

  “What about your goon, Chang? 14K, right?”

  “My assistant has been supplied to me by the 14K, yes. No doubt he’s loyal to them, but for the duration of this assignment he’s under my orders.”

  “I want to you to lose him. Find another assistant.”

  “I need him. He’s my driver and spotter.”

  “Lose him,” Loki said. “That’s imperative.”

  “Imperative to us working together?”

  “I have two more issues.”

  “Only two?” Chang smiled. “I figured you have more than that.”

  Loki didn’t rise to the bait, but paused just long enough to develop an uncomfortable silence.

  “Since I’d be doing the hard work,” Loki replied, “I’ll take a 70/30 split. And no personal contact.”

  “60/40. And we won’t need to meet. The blind man can mediate, right?”

  “You don’t hold the ace, Chang. 70/30. The blind man will give you a scrambled cell phone. In the memory bank is the number for my pager.” Loki recited a number. “That’s my bank account. 350K, within 24 hours. And no Hong Kong dollars.”

  “You drive a hard bargain.”

  “Really? 350K for my assistance, your cases back and you get to keep your eyes. I’m not even mentioning my expenses up till now or the damage you may have done to my associate’s friend and dog. Maybe I should reconsider and up my fee to 75/25.”

  “Okay, okay. 70/30.”

  “Give the cell phone back to my associate.”

  He handed the phone back to the blind man, who listened and took another phone from his pocket. “Untie my friend and his dog and clear out.”

  “You do understand that I know how to find you,” Chang said. “Loki better keep his side of the bargain.”

  “If you threaten me again, Loki will feed you your eyeballs. And trust me, you don’t want that taste in your mouth.”

  Chang walked back up the gangway and went into the pilothouse. He showed his face to Ah Sung and mouthed, ‘Everything’s all right. Untie him and the dog. We’re leaving.’

  Ah Sung nodded and a knife appeared in his hand. He cut the tie raps on the Rastafarian’s wrists and moved out to the deck. Chang followed him and watched the blind man move to the pilothouse.

  “Your friend is going to be woozy when he wakes up in an hour or so. And he’ll probably have a hell of a headache.”

  “And Shaitan?”

  “The dog will be out longer. Same dosage, less mass. He’ll be fine, though.”

  “She.” The blind man went into the pilothouse. “Tell your goon to put her inside, so she won’t be exposed to the weather.”

  Chang bit back an acerbic reply and motioned for Ah Sung to carry the dog inside. He waited for the enforcer by the gangway and they strolled down to the embankment together. He could feel Loki’s eyes on him as they walked down the embankment to the bridge, arching high over them. Loki wanted him to get rid of Ah Sung, but he couldn’t just send the enforcer back without a reason. He halted by the staircase and mouthed, “Loki is upstairs, probably with my rifle. You want to wait while I get the car?”

  The enforcer gave him a grim smile and nodded, handing him the keys to the BMW.

  Chang continued down the embankment while Ah Sung melted into the shadows.

  -o-

  Standing on the west bank of the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal, also known as the Westelijke Merwedekanaaldijk, Katla watched the two Chinese on the other side of the canal. They paused briefly before Chang continued down the ZuiderIJdijk towards the BMW while the enforcer found a hiding place, obviously waiting for Loki to come down. How stupid could they be?

  She took her compound crossbow from the Fender flight case, armed and loaded the weapon with a barbed titanium dart, and mounted the crossbow on the tripod. The Javelin night scope rendered everything a lush green, the enforcer standing out against the concrete bridge supports. The reticule of the scope moved over his body, while she decided how to punish them for non-compliance. She watched the enforcer take a gun from his jacket, his arm with the gun hanging down. She aimed and slowly squeezed the trigger. A soft twang sounded as the bowstring propelled the dart roughly ninety meters across the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal. She followed the dart through the scope as it buried itself into the enforcer’s elbow. Clutching his arm, the man dropped to his knees, the gun falling from his hand and landing in the sand at his feet. Katla armed the crossbow again and loaded another dart. The enforcer was tough, he didn’t cry out. She swivelled the scope to the right as the BMW rode up and came to a halt under the bridge. Katla took the scrambled cell phone and called Chang, watching the sniper through the scope as he took out the cell phone.

  “Be glad I didn’t aim for his face. Ambush me again and I’ll shoot to kill.”

  She switched off the phone and watched Chang hurry to the enforcer’s hiding place, while she put the crossbow and the tripod in the Fender flight case and walked away to her Audi, parked near the Flevoparkbad.

  -o-

  Chang crouched by Ah Sung and shone his SureFire V2 over the dart embedded in the Red Pole’s elbow. The tip had obviously struck bone and the edges of the dart seemed barbed. A nasty piece of work. Chang loosened his tie and opened the loop as wide as he could, but the knotted tie wouldn’t fit over the shaft of the dart.

  “This might hurt,” he spoke softly. Ah Sung nodded and closed his eyes as Chang held the part of the dart sticking out of the wound as motionless as possible as he twisted the shaft. As expected, unscrewing the shaft allowed the loop of the tie to pass over the dart buried in the wound. He pulled the tie snug around the Red Pole’s forearm as a tourniquet to stem the blood flow and helped Ah Sung to his feet. Chang placed the wounded man in the passenger seat and climbed behind the wheel again.

  An emergency room was out of the question. Chang touched Ah Sung’s shoulder. “Can you direct me to a friendly medic?”

  The Red Pole nodded and fished his PDA from his pocket. While Chang drove, Ah Sung used his left hand to swipe his PDA keyboard. The Red Pole’s face was white with the strain and the pain, but his eyes were calm and he showed the screen of the PDA to Chang. A text with an address. Chang tapped the address in the GPS on the dashboard and followed directions while Ah Sung opened the glove box and took out a small bottle. Chang reached out and took the bottle from his hand. “No alcohol. You lost too much blood.”

  He fished in his own pocket and took out his morphine pills. He took one out, broke it in half with his thumbnail and put half a pill in the Red Pole’s hand. Ah Sung looked at it.

  “Trust me,” Chang said. “That will take the edge off. Better than alcohol.”

  Ah Sung rolled his eyes, but he took the morphine, rested his head back and closed his eyes. Chang shook his shoulder and said, “Don’t close your eyes. I need to see if you’re still alert.”

  The Red Pole signalled that he was all right, but he didn’t close his eyes anymore.

  Glancing at his face from time to time, Chang concentrated on driving the BMW over the dark country roads north of the city. The GPS guided him to a typical Dutch farm with green shutters and a thatched roof close to Broek-in-Waterland, where he parked the BMW in the yard. A floodlight came on and a burly red-haired giant got out of the judas gate set in a pair of wide wooden stable doors.

  Chang got out of the car, leaving the door open so the interior light illuminated the wounded Red Pole.

  “Nasty,” the red-haired giant said with an Irish lilt in his voice. “Just in the arm?”

  “Yes, but it’s a barbed crossbow dart.�
��

  “Aye. Get in and drive the car inside.”

  The Irishman opened the wide wooden doors and motioned for Chang to drive the BMW inside. After Chang drove inside, the Irishman closed the doors behind him. As he got out of the BMW, Chang looked up to the empty floors above, where a lone man sat with a machine gun in his lap. Chang made sure his hands were in full view, even if these people were supposed to be allies.

  The Irishman whistled and two men came, opened the passenger side of the BMW, and helped Ah Sung from the car, taking him through a door to another section of the farm.

  “The car, is it hot?”

  “Stolen?”

  The Irishman rolled his eyes. “Can you take it out of here or should we chop it?”

  “It’s his car,” Chang said, pointing at the door where Ah Sung went through. “Far as I know it’s legit.”

  The man shook his head. “He won’t drive for a while. His right elbow is busted. He’s lucky if he’ll keep the lower arm.”

  “That’s what I figured. I’ll hold on to the car, for the time being.”

  The car might come in handy, especially with the parking tags for the city center. Chang almost smiled to himself, but he could feel the Irishman studying him. Chang got back in the BMW and the Irishman doused the light in the stable and opened the doors again. Outside was fully dark now and Chang backed the car into the yard. The Irishman closed the doors and remained inside the stable.

  Chang turned back to the country road and went back the way he’d come.

  So far so good. He’d hesitated briefly before leaving Ah Sung under the bridge, liking him well enough not to want him killed, but he could take the risk. Thankfully, Loki had chosen to maim rather than kill. Although Chang was glad Ah Sung was merely disabled, he hoped Loki would be more decisive with the targets. Hesitation to kill someone could cost you your life. Loki was right, though. This job needed independent contractors. Ah Sung could’ve been helpful, but Chang preferred a real spotter, preferably one with combat experience. He smiled to himself. He knew someone, unaffiliated with the triads, who might be pleased to see some action, even if the action was restricted to being his spotter.