by Trevor Scott
“Are you all right?” Russo asked.
“Yes. Alexandra is hurt. I need to get her help. Can you make it around the back?”
“Yes,” Russo said. “But they’ve set the house on fire, Jake. The front is fully on fire.”
“Meet me by the pool,” Jake said, and then clicked off.
He got down with Alexandra, whose eyes were swirling around in their sockets. He knew what that meant.
“Jake,” she said, barely audible.
“Yeah.”
“Take Emma and get out.” She had switched to her native German.
“I can’t leave you.”
“You must, Jake. I love you. But you must leave me. You can’t take me and Emma. I won’t make it to the hospital.”
Emma continued to cry. It wasn’t a full scream, but more of a whimper.
Jake hugged Alexandra and kissed her on the lips, tasting her blood. He knew she was right, but he had a deep-seeded desire to not leave her behind. It was something not of his DNA. When he pulled back to protest, he gazed into her eyes. But the life had gone from her. There was nothing he could do for her now. She was gone. Their life together was gone. And now he would have to take his daughter and also leave.
He pried Emma from Alexandra’s lifeless grip and placed her on his lap. Then he found their go bags and took a minute to make sure he had what he needed—including his guns and credentials. He put Alexandra’s Glock in his holster under his arm and made sure he had a fresh magazine in his own.
Jake stood, slung the bag over his head and shoulders, and gathered the strength to move forward.
Just as he was about to leave he noticed that the gunfire had subsided. That could be good or bad, he thought.
He opened the safe room door and smoke rushed in. Now he ran through the house, Emma on his left side crying as he found his way through the smoke to the back of the house. Flames crawled up the sides of the walls at a number of locations. He covered Emma’s face with his hand as he hurried through the house to fresh air outside.
His lungs were nearly bursting by the time he exited the sliding doors to the patio area by the pool. As he came around the side, Russo met him. The Mafia man lifted his gun and Jake was confused for just a second as the man shot around Jake, taking out another man in black.
“Where’s Alexandra and her cousin?” Russo asked.
Jake choked and coughed to try to get rid of the smoke from his lungs. “Gone.”
“I’m so sorry, Jake. But we need to go. There are at least five more out front.”
He wanted to hand over his baby to Russo and go out front to kill every last one of those bastards, but he knew that the safety of his daughter was paramount now. He couldn’t afford to let her get hurt. She was everything to him.
They started to go around the outside of the house, the only side that didn’t seem to be on fire, since this was the side with the master bedroom and the safe room. As they got toward the front of the house, Jake looked around the edge, his gun ready to shoot anything or anyone moving.
His Alfa Romeo was fully on fire also. Then it blew up and Emma started to cry again.
Jake turned to Russo. “There’s another way out. Follow me.”
The two of them ran to the back yard, past the swimming pool, to the edge of the property, which sat on a high cliff overlooking the ocean. But Jake had made a path to the ocean when he first moved in. He glanced up at one of the cameras he had installed to protect this side of his property, and his phone instantly signaled that someone was there. It was still working. So he guessed the others were also working.
They made it down the side of the hill in the darkness toward the rocky beach below. Once they moved far enough away, Jake turned to see his house in full flames, the smoke rising up high to the sky.
Sirens now echoed through the early night, the sound eerie and surreal to Jake. All he could think about was the body of his girlfriend, the mother of his child, being consumed by flames.
Once they got almost to the town of Tropea, Jake stopped and turned to his friend Russo. “You were never there,” Jake said. “As far as you know, I’m dead. Do you understand?”
“Of course. What will you do? Where will you go?”
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
Russo nodded agreement. “I understand. But I will find out who attacked you. I promise that.”
“Thank you.”
“I can get a car in Tropea and drive you anywhere,” Russo said.
“No. You should go home. I’ll take it from here.”
Russo nodded. Then he hugged Jake, kissed Emma on the forehead, and kissed Jake on both cheeks. He wandered up toward the city on a narrow path.
Emma started to fuss again. Jake found a bottle inside the go bag and put it into her mouth, which she immediately started to devour.
Now, like no time in his life, Jake felt alone. Yes, he had Emma. But he had also lost so much. He felt cursed. He had lost three women to violence—two had died in his arms because of his failure to protect them, and the third had died alone. How could he ever allow another woman into his life? How could he protect this little baby from his curse?
Jake wandered into Tropea as he formed a plan on where to go and what to do.
39
Tropea, Italy
Elisa Murici wandered around the perimeter of the Polizia crime scene tape, observing what had been the home of Jake Adams and his girlfriend, Alexandra. She imagined that it must have been rather splendid before it was turned to a pile of charcoal. All of the bodies had been removed from the ash—ten men and two women. The Polizia had responded first, along with the fire department. By then, the shooting had ended and all that remained was the inferno.
The Polizia then turned the investigation over to Italian Internal Information and Security Agency. AISI officers were still trying to decipher what had happened at Jake’s place. The only reason Elisa had been allowed on site was because of her mandate to work with Vito Galati of AISI, and the fact that Jake Adams had become a hero to the Italian government. Unofficially, of course. They could never publicly admit that a private citizen had brought down a terrorist network on Italian soil without proper authority. The Italian government was picky that way.
A man appeared from the back of the AISI command vehicle and waved at Elisa to come inside. This single technician had been trying to access the security videos surrounding Jake’s seaside house.
“Do you have it?” Elisa asked the young man.
“This man had a very secure system,” the technician said. “Everything was uploaded to the cloud. A number of the perimeter cameras are still operational. But the system is private and highly encrypted.”
“So, that would be a no, then?” she asked.
“That would have been my initial guess,” he said. “But just moments ago I had a file sent to my terminal. A video file from an unknown source.”
“What’s on it?”
The man swished his head side to side. “I don’t know. The file says for your eyes only.”
What? How could that be? Elisa tried to understand. How would anyone know that she was even here?
“I’ll leave you alone,” the technician said, and then left the back of the vehicle.
Before she could access the file, though, she had to type in a password based on a question. It didn’t take her long to understand now. She typed in the name ‘Archimedes.’
The video started with footage of various men moving toward Jake’s house. Then it cut to other cameras inside the house during a horrendous firefight. She gasped when she saw Alexandra with her baby in her arms and blood pouring from wounds on her chest and abdomen. Alexandra dragged one leg as she retreated to another room.
Then another women was seen shooting it out with the men, until she too was shot and killed.
The video switched to another time, showing a man run out the back sliding door and firing. Then, as he changed out a magazine, this man dropped dead to the patio
. Next, a man rounded the corner and came inside.
“Jake,” she said softly. A tear streaked her face and she wiped it away with the back of her hand.
Now the video switched to the front yard view, where men came into Jake’s house with gas cans. Wait. She backed up the digital file about thirty seconds and let it roll again.
There. She paused the video and couldn’t believe her eyes. Shaking her head, anger boiling up throughout her body, she let the video run again.
The last few seconds finally brought a smile to her face. A feeling of elation overwhelmed her as she saw Jake Adams carrying his baby down the back hill toward the sea.
She knew that Jake was alive and had sent her this video for a very specific reason. Elisa got onto the computer system and sent herself a copy of the encrypted file. She pulled out her phone and saw that she had gotten the file. Then she went through and scrubbed the video from that computer system. Even if the technician had saved a copy of the file, there was no way he would be able to crack the password.
She took out her phone and sent a text. Seconds later she got a response. Her meeting was set.
Elisa left the command vehicle and thanked the technician, saying she would have to bring the file to Rome to open it.
Finding her rental car out beyond the cordon, she got in and nearly screamed with excitement. Jake was alive. His baby was alive. But that also meant that Alexandra was one of the female bodies they had pulled from the charred building. How was Jake dealing with her death?
She drove from Jake’s old house outside of Tropea to Vibo Valentia, where she was set to meet at the museum parking lot outside of the castle that sat high above the city.
When Elisa rolled up and parked her rental car, she cautiously got out and stood next to her door.
Sitting across from her was an older Fiat. Stepping out was Sergio Russo, the Malavita captain from this entire province.
Glancing about, she realized the man was alone.
“You just came from Jake’s house,” Russo said.
“Yes.”
“It’s a tragedy that Jake and his family are all dead,” he said.
Was this man fishing for what she knew? Maybe. But Jake knew that this man already knew that Jake and his baby had escaped. Russo had helped Jake do so. It was obvious in the video. She decided to come clean, explaining that Jake had sent her surveillance video of what had happened.
“Then you know. I will find out who did this. I gave Jake my word.”
Elisa took out her phone and found the video she had downloaded. She punched in the password and let the local Mafia capo watch along with her.
“You were very brave out front,” she said. “You kept them busy while Jake got his baby.”
“I did what I could. But not enough. I will find these people and kill them all.”
She smiled and said, “I was hoping you would say that.” Elisa found the spot on the video and stopped it when it got to the right location. “This is the man.”
“He was in charge?” Russo asked.
“Yes.” Then she went through her phone and found a better photo, texting it directly to Russo’s phone.
The Mafia man checked his phone and started to say something, but he hesitated.
“That’s right. AISI officer Vito Galati.”
“Your partner.”
“Former partner,” she corrected. “We will owe you.”
Russo shook his head. “No. You will owe me nothing. I do this for Jake.”
The two of them embraced like father and daughter, kissing each other on both cheeks. Then the Malavita captain got into his car and drove off.
Elisa got to her car and sat for a moment, wondering if she had done the right thing. She shrugged, smiled and started her car. Of course she had.
She drove off toward Lamezia Terme to catch a flight back to Rome.
40
Missoula, Montana
Jake had moved about Italy for a couple of days, laying low in small towns in Calabria, paying with cash. He constantly wondered if his daughter Emma missed her mother. Could children truly understand this kind of loss? Jake wasn’t sure. But he knew that he understood.
Finally, he had called his billionaire benefactor, Carlos Gomez, and asked for the use of his private jet. Gomez had been surprised to hear from Jake, thinking that he had also been killed in the attack on his home by Tropea. The Spaniard had graciously offered up the jet, which had picked up Jake in Lamezia Terme, Calabria.
From there they had flown to Iceland, refueled, and continued on to Montana, getting in just a half hour ago. Gomez had a great flight crew, whom Jake had come to know personally over the past couple of years. The billionaire’s people had arranged for a car to meet Jake at the small terminal, which picked him up and drove him into the south hills of the city.
By now, darkness had settled in, a nearly full moon rising above the mountains to the east. They pulled into the driveway of a nice house in an upscale neighborhood and the driver kept the engine running.
The driver of the car was a man about Jake’s age. A rough looking cowboy type. He glanced back at Jake for orders.
“Could you hang tight here for a moment with the engine running?” Jake asked. “I think the baby will stay sleeping for a while.”
“I’m here for you as long as needed,” the driver said. “I was told to take you anywhere you want to go for as long as you need me. And don’t worry about your baby. I have three kids and six grandkids. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that.”
Jake got out and thought for a moment before closing the door. He glanced back at Emma, still asleep in her new car seat. Finally, he quietly closed the car door and let his eyes drift back to his brother’s house. Kurt Jenkins had called ahead to his brother Victor and sister Jessica. They both thought Jake had been killed, and Kurt would be arriving at this time to give them details. But of course Kurt was still back in his home outside of D.C. Besides Kurt and Gomez, the only people who knew he was still alive were Elisa Murici and the Malavita capo Sergio Russo. Soon that would include his siblings.
He got to the front door and knocked lightly.
His brother Victor opened the door expecting to see the former CIA Director and instead finding his older brother. Vic was shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Without saying a word, Vic hugged Jake for a long minute before pulling back. “I should have known it wasn’t true,” Vic said. “You’re hard to kill.”
“I’m tired, Vic,” Jake said. He was talking not only about his present state, but with life in general.
“I imagine so. Why all the cloak and dagger?”
“That’s the way I roll, Vic. That and the fact that someone obviously wants me dead.” Jake hesitated before asking, “Is Jess here?”
“Yeah. She’s in the media room watching football.”
Jake had not seen his sister Jessica in years. He had only been back to Montana a few times in the past decade. Much of his absence was by design. With what he did for a living, family could be a liability. He didn’t want to put either of them in jeopardy.
“Come on in, Jake,” Vic said. “I’ll get you a beer.”
“In a minute. Can I stay here tonight?”
“Of course. Jess is staying in one guest room, but I have another one ready. What’s the matter?”
“Nothing. I just need to tell the driver I’m good to go, and pick up a few things in the car. Could you get Jess?”
Victor looked confused. “Of course.”
His brother went away and Jake peered out at the car. The driver wasn’t looking back at Emma, so she must have still been sleeping.
He turned to see his little sister. Jess stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Jake. She hadn’t changed much, he guessed. Her hair was a little darker auburn, and she looked like she could kick the ass of most men. Probably because she could. She worked various jobs, from river rafting guide in the summer to fishing guide, an
d then as a hunting wrangler in the falls. At all other times she was a true cowgirl.
Jess rushed to Jake and hugged him with considerable strength. He reciprocated, not worried about breaking her.
“Jesus, Jess,” Jake said. “You’re built like a lumberjack.”
She pulled back and said, “Well, big brother, some of us actually work for a living. Why the hell didn’t you come visit me last time you were here?”
“I think you were up in Big Sky,” Jake said. “Besides, it wasn’t a social visit. I was working.”
“I heard you killed a guy up in Whitefish,” Jess said. “What’s your current number?”
Jake had never really kept track. Maybe that was a problem. Who couldn’t remember how many people he had killed?
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should never ask you that.”
“Alexandra is dead,” Jake said. “I couldn’t save her.”
“We heard,” Vic said. “We’re so sorry. We only met her one time, but she seemed like a really special lady.”
Jake gave them a half smile. “She would be disturbed that you called her a lady. She was a highly-trained operative with German Intelligence.”
“You never told us that,” Jess said.
Shrugging, Jake said, “Listen, I need to get a few things in the car.”
“You need help?” Jess asked.
“No. Just wait here. I have something for you.”
Jake went back out to the car, telling the driver he wouldn’t be needed again tonight. The driver gave Jake his card, saying he would be available within a half hour for a ride anywhere Jake needed to go.
Grabbing his bags and slinging them over his shoulder, Jake unbuckled Emma’s car seat and hoisted her from the back seat. He slammed the door shut and waved at the driver as he backed out.
He got to his brother’s front door and hesitated.
Victor opened the door and seemed more surprised than seeing Jake alive.
“A baby?” Vic asked.
Then Jess came around and saw Emma in the car seat. “What? Oh, how adorable. Wait. This is your little baby?”
“Yeah. Meet Emma Adams. Six months old.”