Coincidence number two.
Xander closed his laptop and searched himself for reasons not to go after Khatib as he stared out the window into the deep-blue sky. Puffs of white clouds hovered below the plane as a sort of barrier between him and the real world. It always gave him a sense of peace to be so far above the fray. Above the madness of a world charging toward its own demise. As he pondered it, he couldn’t find one single reason not to rid the world of such a terrible human. Not a single one. The clouds continued along like a cottony pillow, waiting to bounce the plane back up into the sky if it got too low. The sun was warm on Xander’s face. He drifted off to sleep and the familiar dream recounting the day his parents died haunted his unconsciousness.
The sun came up on a summer day in Lexington, Kentucky. Xander awoke in his bed with excitement. His mom had promised they would go to King’s Island, aka heaven for a fifteen-year-old boy. King’s Island was an amusement park in Cincinnati, Ohio. Though the name King’s Island was a coincidence, his mom told him it was their family’s personal playground. Xander knew that it was actually the movie company Paramount that owned the park. It was on the sign at the entrance of the park, and they had rides there named after some of Paramount’s most popular cartoon characters. His mom liked this little fib, so Xander just played along.
He jumped out of bed and put his favorite Jordan sneakers on, the mid-cuts with the black patent leather around the bottom and white throughout the rest of the shoe. He headed downstairs for breakfast, and he could smell the eggs in the skillet as he rounded the corner. His mom always made him his favorite—egg, ham, and cheese sandwiches—on Saturdays, and usually Sundays too.
“You sure you wanna eat all this, Alexander? Just don’t be throwing these up on me when we’re on The Beast later.” His mom laughed as he scarfed the food down the way a refugee would upon receiving his first real meal.
“I won’t, Mom,” Xander replied, mouth full of sandwich.
Xander’s sister sat at the booth watching TV, eating her Pop-Tarts. She was seventeen now, but she didn’t love going to King’s Island any less. A couple of Mom’s sisters walked through the front door, and some of Xander’s cousins ran into the kitchen, raring to go. His mom had rented a van, and they would all take the hour-long trip together. This trip to the amusement park was going to be more exciting for Xander, however, because for the first time, his dad had promised to join in on the fun with them.
“You ready to go, little buddy?” His dad walked into the kitchen. “Don’t be mad at me when I whoop up on you in the basketball shot game,” he said, joking with his son.
“Yeah, right. You know I’m gonna make it before you!” Xander said, full of confidence.
The lighting in the dream changed from bright and sunny to a strange hue of blue, as darkness filled in the corners of what he was reliving. Everything was in slow motion.
They all walked to the front door, and as soon as they stepped outside, an all-black passenger van screeched to a halt, sideways, in front of them. Two men in ski masks jumped out of the van with guns in their hands. Xander saw his dad turn to provide cover for Xander, a look of sheer terror on his face. Blood spattered all over Xander as his dad’s body jerked with each bullet that penetrated his body. The sound of his sister’s screams was the only thing Xander heard as his dad hit the ground at his feet. He looked to his right and his mom lay motionless in the grass. The men said nothing, and screamed nothing. Once it was done, they simply got back in the van and drove away. Xander stood in shock. His sister sobbed, and his aunts and cousins all ran to his mom and dad. Xander felt cemented to the ground. The sun shining in his eyes forced him to squint, and it all seemed as if he was in some strange movie.
The wheels of the plane screeched against the runway and jolted Xander awake. Every time he had the dream, he always woke up with an aching sadness in the pit of his stomach. On one hand it felt so good to talk to his mom and dad again, but on the other it made the sting of that afternoon pierce his heart as sharply as it had that day. As the plane taxied its way to its space, he took in long deep breaths to slow his pounding heart and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a folded blanket that lay in the seat next to him. His phone vibrated in the pocket of his black jeans as notifications poured in when it once again acquired its signal from the cell towers. Most were from Twitter, but there were also two texts from Kyle and one from Sean.
And one from Natalie.
He unlocked his phone and went straight to Natalie’s text.
Thank you for checking on me. I’m okay. Still just so confused and scared. Sleep isn’t coming easy. I accept your apology, and I know you want to see me and try to explain. However, I need some time. I do want to talk to you about everything but I’m not ready. I’m shooting a new movie in Paris. I’ll be back in the States in a couple of months. If we both still want to, we can talk then. Until then I am going to process how the greatest weekend of my life was also the worst. I need some time away so that my feelings for you don’t cloud my judgment when I consider that I don’t even know who you are. Please respect this and put your feelings for me aside as you give me this space.
Xander hated that he had put Natalie and himself in this situation. He knew she wanted to be with him, but he knew it was with the Xander who didn’t have the ability to kill nine men in ten minutes. She fell for whiskey-and-roses Xander, not terrifying-assassin Xander. The hardest part of this for him was that he was angry at himself for letting it go this far to begin with. This is why for the last twelve years his relationships with women had only been sexual. This past weekend served as a painful reminder that that is exactly how it had to be going forward. It wasn’t fair to bring someone into his dangerous life. And it wasn’t healthy to let a woman cloud his thoughts that should so reverently be focused on what really mattered.
Revenge.
He snapped out of his text trance and checked Sean’s message as he exited the jet. The message was just Sean making sure he wasn’t going to do anything stupid. Xander didn’t respond. He then scrolled to Kyle's message, an invitation to watch the Lakers game and have some drinks on the Harry’s patio in Hamburg. Kyle suggested it would be good for him.
Xander responded. Sounds good. I gotta get a good long run in first. I’ll meet you at Harry’s patio at seven.
21
Best-Laid Plans
Somewhere off in the distance, a repetitive and obnoxious sound seemed to be coming closer and closer. Xander’s eyes opened, and his familiar twelve-foot master bedroom ceiling blurred into clarity as a streak of sunlight poured in through his freshly repaired bedroom windows. The light seemed like a sword piercing through his eye sockets all the way through to the back of his skull. He shut his eyes, hoping that would stop the pain, but he quickly understood that it wasn’t the light of the morning causing the pain, it was the tequila from the night before. It wasn’t until the fourth attempt to open his mouth that he actually got his jaws to pry apart. His tongue felt like sandpaper, and swallowing still wasn’t an option.
The obnoxious noise that woke him started up again. His phone vibrated and rang from the nightstand beside him. It sat there rattling away beside the dried-up candle he had burned when Natalie spent the night. A longing for her came over him for a moment, then was shoved away by the noise of the ringing phone rattling through his head like a relentless alarm clock. He rolled over and picked up his phone to silence it without looking to see who it was. When he rolled once again to his back in an attempt to clear the cobwebs, he noticed a hump in the sheets beside him. He didn’t remember the ride home last night, or what had obviously happened once they made it to the bedroom, but he was certain that it was Megan beside him. Right? He lifted the blanket that covered them both, and he could tell by the unbelievable curve of her body that it was indeed her. Kyle was right: she was damn sexy.
Xander took a moment to try to recall all that had taken place the night before. He remembered meeting up with Kyle. He remembered watch
ing the game and enjoying some bourbon. He even remembered telling Kyle about the upcoming mission in Syria. A mission Kyle was less than enthused about, but ready to go along with regardless. After the first shot of tequila, it was as if he had time-traveled to waking up in bed, where he was now, lying beside Megan. Xander vaguely recalled the discussion with Kyle about whether or not to meet up with Kate and Megan. He remembered being reluctant, because he had slept with Megan before, and he didn’t want to see her again and lead her on. He glanced over at her in the bed; once again, better judgment had been drowned by liquor. And no doubt, Kyle was the reason that it happened. Sometimes he could be a terrible influence. Xander knew he would pay for this, and he hated that Megan might get her feelings hurt in the process. Xander turned and laid his phone back on the nightstand.
Megan stirred at the movement of the sheets, and surely from the obnoxious ringing of Xander’s phone a moment earlier. “Good morning, sexy. Did you have fun last night?”
“Good morning, Megan. Of course I did. What I remember of it anyway,” Xander answered.
“I didn’t figure you would remember much. You were sweet, though.”
“Oh yeah? Well that’s good.” Xander’s mouth still smacked of dryness as he choked words out. It was rare he ever brought a woman home. It always made everything much more complicated.
Xander’s phone rang again. He reached over and silenced the ringing. It was Sam. He could already hear the voice mail in his head; there was no reason to check it. Her sharp British rant would go something like this: “Xander, this is the third time I’ve rung you. Ron said he dropped you completely snockered last night. We have so much work to do. I’m coming at nine so we can get working on this, whether you’re in bed with someone or not.”
“I’m going to jump in the shower. You want to join me?” Megan rolled out of bed and stood over him, just as sexy as she could be. She had the body of a model. Five-foot ten, all legs, a tiny waist, and curves that someone with her lack of body fat just shouldn’t have.
“No, thank you. I’m gonna hit the kitchen to get a start on this hangover. You want anything?”
“I’ll be down in just a bit. If you make some breakfast, just make a little extra for me.” Megan smiled and pranced toward the bathroom.
Xander watched every single sexy step she took.
“Things could be worse,” he said out loud to himself with his hands clasped behind his head and a smile on his face. Nothing cured an agonizing heart like the company of a beautiful woman. Well, maybe that and whiskey. The hangovers of both could often be similarly painful.
The room rocked back and forth as Xander sat up in bed. He staggered to the cherrywood armoire in front of him and pulled some white linen pajama pants and a white under tank from their neatly folded stacks. A waft of coffee hit his nose, and at first his stomach rolled. Kyle and Kate were already up and at ’em. The second whiff that hit his nose comforted his stomach. He walked into the bathroom, and as he brushed his teeth he watched Megan’s silhouette as she washed herself behind the fogged glass in the shower. He pictured her body standing over him naked before she left for the shower moments ago, and it seemed Xander wasn’t quite finished with Megan after all. He dropped his pants, took off his tank, and opened the shower door. Her body glistened as the water cascaded over her, highlighting every bodacious curve. Xander raised his eyebrow and Megan smiled, pulling him into the shower. Xander knew it was a bad idea, but a man only has so much will power.
Xander made his way into the kitchen where he found Kyle and Kate had gotten a jump on breakfast.
“Good morning, Xander.” Kate smiled from the kitchen sink. “I would ask if Megan is up yet, but her moaning at the top of her lungs a minute ago kinda gave that away.” She winked.
“Oh yeah, she’s up.” Xander smiled.
“Yes!” Kyle chimed in.
The doorbell rang, and immediately the door opened and someone came in.
“Mommy’s here!” Kyle joked.
He knew it was Sam. She walked into the kitchen.
“Oh good, you’re already here, Kyle. I’m assuming she is leaving,” Sam asked, referencing Kate. “The two of you shared last night, I see.”
“Excuse me?” Kate took offense.
Kyle shot Sam a boyish grin. “Don’t mind her. She hasn’t been laid since the nineties and she likes to take it out on everyone else.”
Sam was not amused.
“No one shared anything,” Xander told her. “Megan is upstairs. Grab some coffee and let’s have a chat.”
“I already have coffee, Xander. Some of us have been up for hours. I prefer to prepare for meetings by doing research, not by drowning in whiskey and one-night stands.”
“Everyone’s different, Sam.” Kyle laughed.
Sam of course did not.
“I’ll be in the office. Let’s get started ASAP, if you don’t mind?”
“Okay, Sam. We’ll be there in just a bit,” Xander replied.
“Is that all I am to you is a one-night stand?” Kate asked Kyle, pouting her bottom lip.
“Don’t listen to her. She’s just mad cause she’s not you right now.” Kyle smiled.
Sam just rolled her eyes and left the kitchen in a huff.
As much fun as Xander had taking a break from the darkness in his mind, Sam sured his focus, and now Xander’s switch flipped back to reality. The Gatorade and Advil worked its magic on both Kyle’s and Xander’s hangovers as they took a seat at the desk. Sam had taken the time to put together an entire presentation on Sanharib Khatib. Xander’s passion for eliminating the evil of the world was rivaled only by that of Sam. She had seen much of the same sorrows as Xander with her time in MI6. Xander knew of a story where she had been held captive for over a year at one point, and the tough bitch came out of it with her captor’s head in her hands. He didn’t know if that was true, but he wouldn’t put it past her. She had been through more than Xander knew, but she was about as talkative about the past as a tree in the forest. He had tried on several occasions to break through, but most of the stories he knew of her came from people who had known her longer. She was like a dog on a bone when she felt compelled. Because she felt so highly of Xander and his cause, there was nothing more compelling to her than taking down Khatib.
Sam began. “Okay, I have to start out by saying that we still have not connected the dots that Khatib has anything to do with the murder of your parents, Xander. You must know this as we plan. If it comes back that he could not have been involved, we must not proceed with this target.”
“Sam, I appreciate that, but Khatib is the target. Regardless of what information we find. That is how we must prepare.”
“I agree, Xander, but this man is far too dangerous to risk going after if we aren’t targeting him to avenge your parents’ death. We must let the military deal with him. He has an army.”
“If that is the case,” Kyle interjected, “then why are we even talking about this? Regardless of vengeance, which I want for you as much as anyone, but if it’s impossible, it’s impossible.”
Sam said, “You’re right, Kyle, we shouldn’t be doing this. I just know you, Xander. If this is the man responsible for the death of your parents, you will go whether I help you or not. That is why I am saying I am in, but if we find out it’s not him, we have to stop. You are skilled enough to pull any job, especially with my help, but this is not a job; this is bloody war.”
“Sam.” Xander shifted in his seat. “Do you believe Khatib was involved with the murder of my parents?”
“There is no way—”
“Sam, do you think this is the guy?”
“I do; the coincidences are astonishing, but—”
“That’s the end of it then. Prepare us for success. I don’t care if we have to take out an entire army or not. Because I will.”
“Then let’s get started,” Sam said, ending her side of the debate. She then drew their attention to a screen on the wall. She had her laptop connecte
d to a projector, and the presentation she had built on Khatib was now being projected on the screen.
Sam gave the presentation. “Sanharib Khatib, born 1958 in Ramadi, Iraq. His father was one of the richest men in the country and friends of the Hussein family. He built an oil empire that he passed along to his son Sanharib, and Sanharib continued its growth in Iraq until the Gulf War in the early nineties. Because of US military insurgence there, he was forced out of Iraq and he moved his entire operation to Syria. His entire family was killed by US forces, including his wife and two children. Ever since that day he has made it his mission to have revenge on the United States, and it does not matter to him if it is the government or American civilians who feel his wrath. This is where I believe your father comes into play. In 2004 there was a bomb that blew up one of your father’s oil tankers. I believe that your father was targeted because of his success in brokering multiple deals with the petroleum companies in the Middle East. This was a massive spike for your father and a lot of Middle Eastern oil companies were edged out as a result. Intel suggests that your father was believed to be on that tanker the day it was bombed, and that is why it was targeted. Two of Khatib’s men were captured shortly after the explosion, and while awaiting trial they ended up dead before anything was resolved.”
“So it was him. Khatib had my parents murdered at their own house when he found out dad wasn’t on that tanker.” Xander stood up and paced the room. “Enough background, Sam. What is the plan?”
“All right, thanks to a relationship I have with a former MI6 mate of mine, James Churchill, who is stationed just south of Syria in Israel, we have an unbelievable amount of classified intel. James has been studying and watching Khatib’s every move for more than a decade. He’s been frustrated that they have yet to take him out and that is why he is cooperating with us. He has insisted that he help in the mission. Xander, he has seen Khatib murder thousands and train young children to carry out his orders for years. He will be a massive help and invaluable to us as we go forward.”
Xander King BoxSet Page 14