“But I think you can. You certainly loved me once. We had some good times, you and I.” Kat leaned toward the camera and winked. “Remember our vacation in Northern China?”
“No.” I lied. “But I remember dumping your crazy ass in Malaysia.”
“I truly wish you hadn’t done that. Just think what might have been.”
“What do you want, Kat?”
“To make you an offer.”
“Let me guess. I step out of your way until you’re done with Project Blue?”
She wasn’t going to waste time playing innocent, but she wasn’t going to admit to owning Blue when I might be recording the conversation. “I simply need you to leave Europe and stay out of my affairs for a time. An extended vacation would be splendid.”
“And what would I get for that?”
“Twenty million dollars.” That was a little higher than expected, but Kat controlled the Montalbans’ fortunes now, so she was easily good for it.
“That’s double what you’re offering to have me killed for.”
“I could have you killed for far less, but then I’d have to go through all the trouble of waiting. I like to expedite things. Take this offer, Lorenzo. In addition, I will let you and all your people live. All of our prior business will be water under the bridge. Your crimes against my family will be forgiven and forgotten.”
Fat chance of that. “What about my brother?”
“What of him?” Kat asked innocently.
“I know Bob Lorenzo is still alive.” It was more of an educated guess than knowledge. Because Bob had the skillsets, had been missing for two years, and had that whole dishonored federal employee background that Gordon Willis likely would have recruited, Bob made a viable, believable fourth operative. Anders could easily pin Project Blue on Bob. He was the perfect patsy.
Kat just smiled. She wasn’t going to say anything that would be passed on to Majestic or the other Illuminati families later. “I’ve not seen him since the Crossroads. I wish you the best of luck in your continuing search, as long as you do it somewhere far away from here.”
Reaper passed over a Post-It he’d scribbled a quick note on. They tried to pin us. I sent them on a goose chase. Reaper seemed really smug about it too.
Kat looked down, probably at her phone. Her lip curled back in a snarl before she turned back to the camera. “I am fairly certain you are not hiding at Euro Disney. You are not tall enough to ride all the rides. Well done. My compliments to Skyler.”
“His name is Reaper.” My sidekick was so pleased at that, he stuck out one fist. I obliged his fist bump. Reaper wiggled his fingers and mouthed the word boom. “Now, I’ve got a counteroffer. Do you still have Mr. Perkins?”
“I don’t leave home without him.” Mr. Perkins was a cut down M79 40mm grenade launcher. It was Kat’s personal favorite weapon. It fit under an overcoat, but I’d seen her drop grenades through the open window of a moving car at 300 yards. She was an artist with it.
It was time to start provoking her. “Then stick Mr. Perkins up your ass, and give yourself a beehive round enema.”
“So that is a no?”
“I’m not leaving Europe until I take your scalp.”
Kat began to unconsciously drum her fingers on the table in front of her. Despite the cool act, she was still a bundle of nerves. “You’re not in a position to make threats.”
“You know me, Kat. I don’t make threats. I’m just describing a series of events that are going to occur as a result of your pissing me off. You can’t pay me off. It’s never been about the money.”
“No. All the things you stole, the impossible places you broke into, it was about doing what others said couldn’t be done. You were always such a narcissist.”
“I know what I am. And I know exactly what you are too. Which is why I can’t let you go through with this. Blue could kill millions of people.”
“Since when do you care about people? Spare me the sanctimony, Lorenzo. If our circumstances were reversed, you would do the same exact thing I am.”
“Bullshit.”
“I suppose we will never know.” She was starting to flare up, but we weren’t quite there yet. “Because I’m the one fate put into this position. I was the illegitimate daughter, unwanted, unwelcomed, and forgotten. They saw me as nothing more than a curiosity, a plaything for when Eduard got into one of his moods. Yet where Rafael lacked the courage, and Eduard was taken too soon, I will succeed where the inferior Montalban heirs failed.”
“You’re nuts.”
Kat still didn’t take the bait. “I am a visionary.”
“Your brothers died stupidly. Valentine capped one and I shot the other out of the sky. You’ve already proven them wrong. You took over. You saved Big Eddie’s crumbling empire, and from what I’ve seen, it’s stronger than ever before. What more do you want?”
“My birthright!” Kat hissed. “My destiny! I was meant to rule my family, and my family was meant to rule the world. For centuries the Montalbans have been denied their place at the head of the table. Thirteen families have secretly steered the course of the entire world, yet my family was always the weakest, the runt of the litter, making do with the illicit scraps. No more!”
“The other families aren’t going to step aside for the likes of you.” If I could get her to cop to conspiring against the Illuminati, I could at least give this conversation to Romefeller. Maybe that would get the Illuminati off their ass at their big meeting. “You need professional help.”
“Don’t be so bitter, Lorenzo!” She wasn’t stupid enough to give me what I wanted. “I couldn’t have done this without you. I took up with you, my brothers’ best unwitting hireling, in order to earn their respect. My ambition, my strength, the total commitment, the willingness to die in order to achieve your goals, I learned all those things from you.”
I refused to believe that. “Incest and child abuse made you who you are, Kat, not me.”
“That was merely the beginning of my journey.” Even talking about her messed-up childhood was failing to provoke her. She remained remarkably grounded. Plotting world domination had done wonders for her. “Who I am, what I am today, I owe that all to the example you set for me.”
We had been through some terrible things together, pulling off job after job on behalf of Big Eddie, I’d sunk lower than whale shit, but there were still some lines I’d never crossed. “You’re willing to kill all those innocents to reach your goals. I’d never do something like that.”
“Only because you lack the spine! I have progressed beyond you. Despite your fearsome reputation, the unstoppable assassin, I saw the real you beneath. There is a frailty to you, Lorenzo. Deprived of morals, you made up your own code, and it binds you far tighter than any law.”
If I couldn’t anger her, maybe I could appeal to whatever was left of the young woman I’d once known. “You were frail once too, Kat, but I kept you alive.”
“That was your mistake. I stamped out that remaining weakness a long time ago.”
“This is insanity. You’ve got to stop,” I pleaded. “You want to gain power, take over your old money conspiracy, fine, but give up that nuke. If you set off that bomb, the whole world will hunt you down.”
Suddenly, Kat smiled. It was far too devious an expression. That smile was genuine, which meant I’d screwed up somehow. “Why, Lorenzo, you are not as well informed as you think you are.”
Shit. What did that mean? This wasn’t going very well at all. I needed to switch tactics. Maybe paranoia? “Anders is planning on taking over your crime family. He’s using you.”
“Is that supposed to surprise me? Plant seeds of doubt? Are you hoping I have him killed? Anders is a man of appetites, certainly. He’s taken enough orders and now he wants to give them. I respect and understand that. Soon, the Montalban Exchange criminal enterprises simply won’t matter to me anymore. He can have Big Eddie’s empire, because I will have the whole world to play with.” Kat turned the other direction. �
��Isn’t that right, my love?”
“Sounds good to me,” Anders said as he leaned in and his stupid Viking face blocked half the screen. “What’s up, Lorenzo? It was good running into you again the other night.”
Right then I about lost it. Jill had nearly died because of this son of a bitch. I must have looked really pissed off, because Reaper reached over and grabbed my arm. He shoved another Post-It over. They’re getting closer. Oh, now Reaper was wide-eyed and frightened. So much for his earlier confidence.
“That was pretty funny with your buddy, Valentine, trying to sic Underhill on us. I worked with Valentine in Zubrara. He’s a fucking mope. Neither of you assholes get the big picture. What did Valentine think was going to happen, going after Kat half-cocked? A Majestic operative like Underhill can’t just pop an Illuminati family head. You’ve got to know the game if you want to play with the big boys.”
“I’ll pass that on,” I muttered.
“They aren’t going to listen to you Exodus pussies. Both sides have been wrapped up in this turf war since before we were born. There’s traditions and protocols and shit. I can understand you guys being mad though, since I’d just shot your girlfriend. That sure was a lot of blood all over that truck. I bet she’s all fucked up. Is she dead? Or just crippled? Where did I hit her? It would suck if she’s in a wheelchair. Or did I mess up her pretty face?”
I was quiet. Reaper was shaking his head no. I’d gone into this, hoping to goad Kat into giving me something to work with, and instead it was Anders who had me close to bubbling over with rage. Kat had planned this perfectly. She’d saved Anders to taunt me, probably even coached him on what to say to get under my skin.
Reaper added more to his last note. Can’t hold them.
Anders kept pushing me, while Kat sat there, enjoying my misfortune. “Come on, Lorenzo. I’m looking forward to finishing this. For someone who is supposed to be such a badass, you’ve been a real letdown in person. If you’re going to get us like you promised, you’d better hurry up. I’ve got some of the best mercenaries in the business descending on this city like a plague. It’s going to be biblical. There won’t be a rock left for you to hide under . . . You still there, Lorenzo?”
Reaper hit end.
That was good. I hadn’t known what to say anyway.
VALENTINE
Paris
September 30th
A depressed Lorenzo was a dangerous Lorenzo, so I volunteered to check in on his crew. We’d barely heard from them for the past couple of days, and I knew that he had taken Jill getting hurt very hard. Ling didn’t want to go with me. Since she had been the one to tell Jill that Lorenzo was still alive, I suspected Ling was feeling guilty about how things had panned out. She wasn’t ready to face her, so I didn’t push the issue.
Shen and Antoine were doing surveillance somewhere in the city. Ariel had wanted to come. She’d been cooped up in the safe house since we arrived in Paris, and I actually thought that her getting away from her computer for a while would do her some good. I couldn’t risk it, though, especially not going out by myself. Romefeller’s words had chilled me to the bone. He knew about her. She was valuable to people like him. For the time being, Ariel was safest at the house with Skunky and Ling. I ended up making the drive across town alone.
Lorenzo met me at the door. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes, and a look of worry on his face that I’d never seen on him before. Antoine had warned me that he was beating himself up over Jill getting hurt, and he sure looked it. “Come in.”
“How’s Jill?”
“Not great, but okay. She’s on a lot of painkillers but she’s awake more often. See for yourself.” He led me toward the back of the apartment. We passed another room where Reaper was working on his computer, oblivious to the rest of the world. The other bedroom had enough equipment in it that it looked more like a hospital room.
“Valentine is here to see you,” Lorenzo told her.
I hadn’t seen her since the Crossroads. Jill looked like hell. She was lying in bed, bandaged up, and pretty obviously high on painkillers. She was pretty lucid, all things considered, and perked up a bit when I approached.
“Val? Come here,” Jill whispered.
I went to the side of the bed. “How are you feeling?”
“How do you think? I got shot.” Her words were slurred. “Lean in closer.”
I did so, and Jill slapped me across the face as hard as she could. I recoiled back, rubbing my stinging cheek.
“Whoa! Easy,” Lorenzo cautioned. “Don’t strain yourself.”
“That was for lying and telling me Lorenzo died at the Crossroads, you son of a bitch.”
“He probably saved your life,” Lorenzo said, quietly.
My face still stung. “No, it’s okay. I had that coming.”
“You deserve more than that. You’re lucky I can’t get out of bed or I’d break a chair over your head. Now beat it,” she mumbled. “I just took my meds and I’m going back to sleep.”
I walked back to Lorenzo, rubbing my cheek. The douchebag had found that funny, and smirked at me. “Don’t take it personally. Jill’s Filipina. She says all the women in her family have a temper. If she was actually mad she would have stabbed you.”
“Val?” Jill called after me. “I still love you, Val.” The drugs were kicking in. “You’re my spirit guide and I love you!”
“I, uh, love you too, Jill.” I shook my head. “Get some rest.” Once we were out of her drug addled throwing range, I asked Lorenzo if she was going to recover.
“Yeah,” he said, still looking tired. “The doc got her cleaned up and patched up pretty well, all things considered. Hey, give me a minute, will you? I’ve got to change her bandages and it’s easier when she’s asleep.”
That was okay. There was something else nagging at me anyway. I went back to Reaper’s room and knocked on the door frame. “Hey, can I talk to you?”
Reaper didn’t hear me. He was wearing a set of headphones as he sat at his computer. The workspace he had set up in Lorenzo’s hideout seemed, at first glance, to be a cluttered mess, but if you looked at it more closely you saw a method to the madness. He had a full tower PC, hooked up to no less than three monitors, and a couple of laptops open. Each screen had something different going on. Reaper bobbed his head in tune with whatever he was listening too, quietly clicking away on his mouse. His dark hair was shorter than I remembered, and he looked older. Empty Red Bull cans filled a small garbage pail.
I entered the room and tapped him on the shoulder. “Reaper?”
“Augh!” he blurted, startled. He turned around wide-eyed, suddenly breathing hard, not so much looking at me as through me. His right hand had moved under his desk, to the butt of a Glock pistol. It was in a plastic holster mounted to the underside.
I raised my hands and showed him my open palms, slowly taking a step back. “Whoa, hey, relax. It’s just me. Sorry to scare you.”
He took off his headphones. “You didn’t scare me. I was just surprised.”
“So surprised you were ready to shoot me?”
“Like that’s so weird around here lately? What do you want, Valentine?”
“You got a minute? I need to ask you about some stuff.”
“I’m pretty busy here.”
I leaned forward to look at his screens. “What are you doing?”
“I’m trying to track down Isla, She-bitch of the SS . . .” I must have looked at him funny. “I mean Kat. She’s got people trying to track us down, people like me, but they’re not as good as I am. It’s a challenging game of cat-and-also-cat. She’s hiding since you almost popped her, but she can’t go completely dark, not with an evil empire to run, so sooner or later I’ll find her. Why?”
“That’s not what I came to ask you about.” I took a deep breath. Even after all that time had passed, it was still hard for me to talk about my experience in captivity. There was a folding chair leaning against the wall. I opened it up and sat down next to hi
m. “Lorenzo told me you took most of the files recovered from North Gap.”
A look of understanding appeared on Reaper’s pale face. “Oh. Ohhh. Believe it or not, I never really got too far into them. After we, you know, rescued you, I was busy with mission prep and everything. Then the Crossroads happened. Then . . .” He trailed off. “You know.”
“That was a bad op.”
“You can’t possibly imagine how right you are about that.”
“A screaming teenage fanatic with the Pale Man’s brand on his face tried to bayonet me with a Mosin Nagant. I’ve fought in a lot of wars, and the battle at the dam was the most vicious close combat I’ve ever seen. It was . . . it was medieval.” I tapped the side of my head. “One more helping of nightmare fuel to lock away in the vault.”
Reaper gave me a really sad, burned-out look, and it really sank in how much he’d changed. “Is that how you cope? You just lock it away?”
“I used to. Not so much anymore.” I could tell Reaper was messed up. I’d seen it before, but maybe I could help him out. I was no stranger to trauma. “It works for a time, but sooner or later it catches up with you. You have to confront your demons eventually, or they eat you up from the inside.”
“Demons?” Reaper asked, slowly. He stared awkwardly at me for a bit, then he shook his head. “Oh, not literal. You mean like figurative demons.”
“Um, yes. I have not, as far as I know, confronted an actual demon.” Sometimes, late I night, I wondered about that, too. “It’s like this: I had a long talk with God when I was in that hole in North Gap.” I remembered my weird nightmares from the Tank, of me murdering people. God can’t find you here. It’s just you and me.
“You don’t seem like the religious type, Valentine. No offense.”
“Never been to church in my life. I mean owning up to the things that I’ve done and the mistakes that I’ve made, forgiving myself for things that weren’t my fault, like Sarah’s death. And last of all it means finding something worth fighting for, something to get me out of bed in the morning, when it would’ve been easier to lie down and die.”
Alliance of Shadows (Dead Six Series Book 3) Page 29