Reginald's knee flew up and connected with Cooper's stomach. He staggered back—it didn't hurt much, but it was enough to make him lose his grip on Reginald's shirt. Without stopping, Reginald dropped to a low crouch and spun his leg around, forcing Cooper to hop back or be knocked off his feet.
"Well, you're just full of surprises, aren't you?" growled Cooper.
Reginald jumped to his feet and produced a knife from the waistband at his back. It wasn't long, but the blade flashed a dangerous gleam in the firelight. Reginald flipped the blade around into a dagger position and curled the four-inch blade along his forearm. He held his arm up in a defensive posture and smiled.
"I don't know who you work for, but before this goes any further, I want to make you an offer."
Cooper raised his fists in front of his face and moved forward. "Not interested."
Reginald lashed out with the knife, forcing Cooper back as the blade hissed past his face. He slapped Reginald's arm away and tried to hit him on the back swing, but Reginald was too fast and slipped away.
He spun around, taking a quick glance at Lady Brunner and 13, still struggling on the floor. Those soulless eyes came back to Cooper as he danced out into open space like a boxer.
"I think you may want to hear the terms of my offer," he said.
Cooper estimated he had less than four minutes before the extraction helo arrived. If Charlie was as good as his word—and he was—he'd be arriving on scene any second.
He had to move fast. Cooper pulled his 8-inch dive knife from its sheath on his chest and smiled as Reginald blinked several times. He glanced at the far doors, his snapping back to Cooper's blade.
"You have nothing I want except your life, bub," Cooper said.
Reginald blinked again and rolled his shoulders. "Really? How's $2 billion sound?"
Cooper paused, he felt slightly dizzy. He didn’t know if it was because of blood loss or shock that the man who’d orchestrated Brenda’s death could possibly think he’d want to join forces.
Reginald smiled. "Got your attention, did it? It's an awful lot of zeros. Whatever pittance your government pays you, I will make it look like pocket change. Join me—I could use a man of your…talents."
Reginald's eyes shifted to 13 again. Cooper followed his glance and saw Lady Brunner face down on the stone floor, being hog-tied by 13. The Swedish operative had a knee on the back of the aristocrat's graceful neck.
"Don't listen to him! Don't trust him! Kill him!" 13 said as she tore strips of her dress off to finish tying Lady Brunner's feet together. Cooper fought the sudden lightheaded feeling that hit him and his eyes lingered on the reflected firelight that glimmered on her bare back as the long muscles worked just under the skin.
He swung his eyes back to Reginald a split-second too late. The man was fast—he had crossed the distance between them and slashed down with his short knife, hitting Cooper in the chest.
Cooper only partially deflected the blade, his tactical vest took most of the damage. He felt an intense burning as the blade cut through his dive suit and nicked his skin. He recovered fast, though and smacked Reginald in the side of the head with the pommel of his own knife.
Reginald staggered a few feet away, his free hand touching the side of his head where a goose egg already formed. He shook his head angrily and rolled his shoulders, bringing his bloody knife up again.
Cooper growled, more angry at himself than anything. Mission first. Take this asshole down—worry about 13 later.
"I take it that's a no, then?" sneered Reginald. "Pity."
Cooper stepped inside Reginald's next attack and snagged the Earl's knife hand. Reginald was just as quick and grabbed Cooper's right arm at the elbow, blocking him from stabbing his exposed midsection.
Cooper dropped his forehead down and hit Reginald squarely on the nose. Reginald's nose busted with an audible crack and he reared his head back as blood spurted out. Cooper felt the grip on his elbow slacken and pressed his advantage.
As Reginald stepped back, hands to his face, Cooper shifted his hips and swung out with his right foot. Reginald grunted as he flew off his feet and landed on his back.
Cooper stood over Reginald as the Earl lay on the ground, clutching his ruined face and glaring up with baleful eyes. The crackling fire behind them cast a sickly orange light over Reginald, making the blood that stained his shirt stand out that much brighter.
13 moved next to him, and when Lady Brunner shouted for help, she turned and kicked the Council member in the stomach, silencing the troublesome woman.
"Coop, I'm here!"
Cooper glanced over his shoulder. Charlie's hand waved from a gap at the top of the rubble pile blocking the other exit. "I'm almost through! Bring the prisoners over here! Sparky's got Jax—"
Cooper turned back to Reginald, who'd brought himself up to his elbows and spat a glob of blood on the stone floor. He squinted up through one half-closed eye and snarled at Cooper. "So this is how it ends, eh? You plan to drag me in like—"
Cooper stared down at Reginald. "You killed her." He dropped the knife at his feet, the blade rattling against the floor. It sounded loud to him, as if the fire, the battle outside, the explosions—none of it made any noise anymore. His heart pounded away in his chest as his knife clattered against the stone floor. He only saw Reginald's face, aristocratic, bloodied, guilty.
"Brenda's dead…because of you," Cooper whispered.
"A lot of people are dead because of me," laughed Reginald. He spat a tooth out and gingerly fingered the gap in his mouth. "I don't—"
"What're you doing?" asked 13 as she stepped up next to Cooper. "Kill him!" She picked up the knife and held it out to Cooper.
He placed his hand on her chest and pushed. She staggered back and he ignored her sputtering protest. His eyes still locked on Reginald's, Cooper clenched his fists, making his knuckles crack. "Dr. Brenda Alston. Major, United States Army."
Realization dawned in Reginald's expression along with a new smile, made more menacing by the blood smeared across his aquiline face. "Oh, so that's what's got your knickers in a twist. She was the one who cracked Boatner's code…so, she was your wife, then?" Reginald studied Cooper's face for a second. "No, not yet…girlfriend then—I can see it in your face. How quaint."
Cooper's hand moved to his thigh.
"I take it you'll beat me into a bloody pulp now?"
Cooper unstrapped his sidearm. His hand felt the cold grip as he pulled the Sig P226 free of its holster.
"Cooper!" warned Charlie.
Reginald's eyes followed the movement as Cooper drew his weapon. "You know, I never found out if she lived or died. My operatives told me they shot her—she put up a feeble resistance to stop—"
Cooper took a knee and smashed the pistol against Reginald's head, directly over the goose egg. Reginald howled and rolled over onto his stomach. Cooper ignored the pain that screamed from his right leg. Dropping to his knee had severed whatever remaining sutures were holding his leg together. He felt the muscle tear under his wetsuit.
Reginald cursed and dry heaved as he struggled to his side. Behind him, Cooper heard Charlie yelling at him to stop. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Lady Brunner had gone still as she watched. 13 took a hesitant step closer.
"Finish him," she whispered.
"Oh no," coughed Reginald. "I'm far too valuable to his masters. He'll be the good dog and drag me in. Perhaps not unscathed," he said, gingerly touching the bloody welt on his head. "But I can see it in your eyes—you won't kill me." He laughed. "Your woman put up a better fight than you did. She at least took out one of my operatives."
Cooper's fist clenched the gun aimed straight at Reginald's forehead. The end of his barrel wavered only half an inch from the blood-slick skin.
Brenda's dead. Because of you. Conflicting emotions roared through Cooper's mind. The rage he felt upon learning of Brenda's death, the loss, the emptiness, the sorrow, it all swirled around. He remembered Brenda's smile the
n—her green eyes flashing in the light.
"Go ahead," wheezed Reginald. "Do it." He craned his neck up and pressed his forehead against the tip of Cooper's pistol. "What's the matter? Don't have the stones?" he taunted. "I wouldn't have any problem pulling the trigger, you weakling," he snarled.
Cooper felt his finger tighten on the trigger. Just another ounce of pressure and the trigger would engage and put a hole through Reginald's brain. God, he wanted that.
Cooper's body tensed, and every fiber in his arm strained to pull the trigger. His hand felt like a block of steel. He could not squeeze the trigger, no matter how much he wanted to.
"Don't do it! This isn't it you! Cooper! We need him alive!" screamed Charlie. Cooper could tell by the sounds Charlie made that he was throwing himself against the rubble pile to break through and stop him from making a mistake. "Don't do it!" he yelled again.
"You can't, can you?" asked Reginald. He smiled and relaxed, falling away from the pistol.
Cooper tried to move back and got tangled in his own feet before falling on his ass, the gun still aimed at Reginald's face. His heart threatened to tear itself through his chest.
Why can't I do this?
The blood roared in his ears, thoughts and images of Brenda flashed across his mind. The rage that burned inside screamed to just squeeze the goddamn trigger—to open a cavern in Reginald's head.
Do it. Do it…
Reginald laughed again. "I hear a helicopter. Is that my ride?"
Do it!
Cooper clenched his teeth, eyes squinting through sweat and blood.
"Don't do it!" called out Charlie. He was almost through the rubble pile. It was now or never.
Cooper saw Brenda, the way he'd seen her when they were last together. The soft light of the computers in the abandoned lab cast a blue glow across her skin. She looked up at him and smiled. It was not just a happy smile, it was a smile of love.
I can't do this. She wouldn't want it.
Cooper closed his eyes and lowered the pistol, defeated. Reginald laughed.
"I knew it! Looks like she was the better man!" Reginald laughed before clutching his side in pain.
Cooper didn't care. Charlie would be through the wall in seconds and take custody of the prisoners. Reginald would be hauled off to a CIA rendition facility somewhere and never see the light of day again. He would be interrogated—possibly tortured—and pumped for every ounce of information he had.
The Council was finished. A heavy weight lifted off his shoulders as he finally released the rage. Somewhere, he knew Brenda smiled at him.
In a blur of movement, 13 stepped forward and crouched down next to Cooper in a swirl of blue silk, snatching the pistol out of his hand.
"What—?" he began.
She stood and took one step toward Reginald then paused, the pistol pointed at the floor.
"I knew I could count on you Svea," Reginald said, sitting up. "Now be a good girl and turn around."
She did.
"Put a bullet through this git's head so we can get out of here," Reginald said, staring at her back.
Cooper watched 13’s face and waited. He had traveled halfway across the globe, hunting the man who had caused Brenda's death. He was injured and lost track of the number of people he'd killed to get here. He'd faced his moment of truth and hadn't been able to kill someone outside of his orders, no matter how much the bastard deserved it. He knew Brenda would be proud that he hadn't killed an unarmed civilian in cold blood, but he also knew it would take him a while to be okay with himself.
Most of his Team had been killed in the pursuit of the madman who sat bleeding before him. All he'd had to do was pull the trigger and win justice for them all, yet he couldn't do it. He'd failed. He'd failed Brenda, his country, his Team.
He looked up at 13, standing before him, still holding the pistol. Cooper didn't care if she shot him—it was over. Charlie would bust through the wall behind him any second and the EVAC team would arrive, loaded with British commandos. It didn't matter anymore.
13 examined the pistol, then turned back to face Reginald. "My name is Danika." Her finger slid onto the trigger, but it still pointed at the floor.
"What?" Reginald laughed. "You my dear, are Svea." Reginald tried to get up, but paused when 13 pressed the gun to his head. "Enough of your theatrics. Give me the gun."
“My. Name. Is. Danika.”
"No!" roared Charlie. Cooper heard his XO struggle against the rock pile. "Coop, you gotta stop her!"
"Your friend needn't worry," Reginald said calmly, eyes on Cooper. "Svea here won't shoot me—she's been part of my team since she was a teenager. Haven't you dear?"
"My name is Danika Hellström,” 13 said, still staring down at Reginald. “My father's name was Tomas Hellström. My sister…"
"Coop, he might know about California!" cried Charlie. "He could tell us about the Koreans—"
Cooper heard Charlie, but couldn't take his eyes off 13. The gun was still pointed at Reginald’s head.
"That was a long time ago, Svea,” Reginald soothed. “You were a different person then—you belong to me now.”
"My—”
"Your name is Svea!" yelled Reginald.
"My name is Danika," she said in a cold, toneless voice. She pushed the tip of the barrel into the skin on his forehead, forcing his head back.
Reginald’s eyes bulged and the cords in his neck stood out as he screamed, "You are who I tell you to be, you filthy little—"
The gunshot rang out and Cooper watched in slow motion as Reginald's body collapsed to the floor in a spray of blood and gristle. The smooth, unblemished skin of his face was ruined by a perfect circle of charred skin in the middle of his forehead.
"No!" yelled Charlie.
Embers and sparks drifted down through the swirling smoke like a soft, growing snowfall. Reginald's sightless eyes stared up, his sneer framed in his own blood.
13 helped Cooper to his feet as his knee threatened to collapse. "I don't…" he began.
She flashed a tired smile at him. "You were the better man." She looked deep into Cooper's eyes and nodded. "She'd be proud."
"God damn it!" roared Charlie as he raced up and pointed his rifle at Reginald's body. "Why the fuck did you let her do that?" He turned and swung the weapon at 13. "Drop the gun!" he roared. The pistol clattered to the ground but she didn’t raise her hands. She held her chin up and stared back at Charlie.
Cooper hobbled in front of Charlie's rifle, placing a hand on the barrel in forcing it down. "Stand down, sailor."
"What?"
Cooper kept his grip on Charlie's rifle and turned his head to face 13. "Go. This is your only chance."
"Why are you doing this?" she asked. "You don't owe me anything."
"For her."
Danika Hellström stared at him for a few long seconds, then nodded and disappeared through the smoke without another word.
Cooper turned back to Charlie. "You didn't see anything—didn't make it in time."
"What? I—"
"I'm taking the heat for this. You get me?"
Emotions surged across Charlie's face as he tried to gain control. His eyes flicked from 13's receding form to Cooper to Reginald's body and the growing pool of dark blood that spread out around the back of his head.
"Why?" he whispered, the tension released from his body at last. He lowered the rifle and stood there, waiting for an answer.
"Because I'm done." Cooper looked up at the hole in the ceiling and watched the fire as it tickled the roof at the far end of the building. "This whole place is going to come down soon. We need to go."
Charlie faced Reginald's body and pulled a small camera out of a pocket on his chest rig. He snapped a few pictures, replaced the camera and produced a vial, collecting some of Reginald's blood. He stood and replaced the corked vial back in his pocket.
"Why?" he asked again.
Cooper shook his head. "He had to die."
"And what about my
family? What about my son?" Charlie said with a barely contained fury. He paced like a caged animal, staring at Reginald's body.
Cooper frowned. "That piece of shit was the one who started all this mess."
Charlie pointed his rifle at the body. "He might've known what the Koreans were up to—where they took my family! But we'll never know now, will we?" He stepped close to Cooper and punched him in the chest. "Will we?" he shouted.
Cooper staggered back as Charlie hit him again. He knew Charlie was right. The secrets that Reginald contained inside the brain now splattered across the wall of his own castle could've saved countless lives.
He hadn't pulled the trigger—he couldn't do it. He also couldn't have stopped 13.
"You let that bitch cap his ass right in front of you!" Charlie fumed. "Coop—how could you?"
Cooper shook his head. "Once she had the gun, there was no way I could've stopped her. Not sure I wanted to, anyway. I don't expect you to understand—”
"You're God damn right I don't understand! This is fucking bullshit!" Charlie spat. He turned in a circle, screaming his frustration at the crumbling castle.
Over the noise of the dwindling firefight, Charlie's ranting, and the continuous squawk coming from his disconnected radio, Cooper heard the steady monotonous thuppa-thuppa-thuppa of their exfil helicopter. He reached down and put the bone phone back in his ear, wincing at the shouted commands for him to answer.
"Command, Striker 2-1, Actual."
"What the hell is going on over there?" shouted a new voice. General Rykker did not sound pleased. "Actual, I need a sit-rep, and I need it now!"
Cooper glanced down at Reginald's body. His eyes swiveled to Lady Brunner, whose own eyes had gone round. She lay trembling, still hogtied by strips from 13's dress, her face smeared with blood. 13—he couldn't process that she'd called herself 'Danika' just yet—had not gagged her, yet she remained silent.
Cooper turned back to Reginald and watched a bit of ash float down to land on his chest. "Command, Striker 2-1, Actual. HVT is not viable, repeat: HVT is not viable. Plus one is good to go."
Firestorm: Book III of the Wildfire Saga Page 35