Operation Heartbreaker

by Thomas, Christine

For a moment she was relieved he wasn’t incriminating her dad, but that changed with his next words. “Though he could have done it. You know, your father is an excellent killer.”

  Ally’s eyebrows lifted.

  He leaned forward. “You heard right, princess. Killing is his specialty. There’s only one thing he can do better.”

  “Which would be?” Had she really just asked that?

  “Stealing!” he exclaimed and puffed vigorously on the cigar. This time she demonstratively fanned her face with one hand hoping he’d pick up the hint. In case he did, he ignored it.

  “Your father is a thief,” he grumbled and his accent thick now, probably because he was getting pissed.

  “Excuse me,” she interrupted him. “But as far as I know he only took what you’d stolen before.”

  “That’s right,” he admitted unmoved. “But he had no right to do it, da?”

  “Oh really?” Ally sat up straighter. “And you did, I assume?”

  “Of course!” he thundered.

  Seriously, if this guy really was sick or injured he had a weird way showing it. “Well, this should be interesting,” she mumbled.

  The gentle clattering of dishes focused her attention to a thin man entering the bedroom. Balancing a large tray he was barely taller than five foot three with thinning hair and a giant hooked nose. After placing the tray on Sergej’s bed, he clicked his tongue and extended a hand towards Viktor’s father, who in turn grumbled something and handed him the cigar. He then had to endure a series of Ukrainian cusswords, which he took like a naughty boy being lectured.

  Considering who Sergej was, it was weird watching him being scolded by this dwarf. Disgusted, the man threw the cigarillo into the ashtray and pointed at the breakfast he’d just brought. After throwing Sergej one last sulky look, he left the bedroom, ignoring them completely.

  Ally threw a glance at Viktor, who wasn’t even trying to hide a smile.

  “That was Nikolaj, my dad’s personal physician,” he said with a wink.

  “He didn’t seem happy,” she quietly replied as Sergej pulled the tray onto his lap.

  “You got that right,” Viktor muttered, watching his father eat. Only now Ally noticed the feast that had been under the bell covers. Was that supposed to be breakfast?

  “What the hell is that?”

  “Those are Blinis and Pierogis. No Russian breakfast comes without them.”

  As far as she could tell, Blinis were buttered pancakes filled with all kinds of nasty treats. Some of it she could identify as minced meat with curd. Or was it sprats?

  Ally swallowed hard. She couldn’t believe that he ate that voluntarily. Pierogies looked like oversized tortellini. She rather didn’t want to know what was in them.

  “Those bastards,” he exclaimed between bites, “killed my wife, Elena.”

  Viktor’s mother had also been murdered? “And who are those…bastards?”

  “The CIA of course! Don’t you know anything?” Shaking his head, he stuffed himself with caviar and curd. Ally didn’t know what was more disgusting, the smoking or the sickening stuff he was wolfing.

  He acted as if they were delicacies and washed it down with tea. “Boy, what did you tell your little missy, eh?” What followed was an argument in Ukrainian. If the two had suspected that she was in fact able to follow their conversation without problems she would probably have been spared the embarrassing dispute.

  Apparently, Sergej thought that Viktor was getting it on with her, something that his son vehemently denied. For Ally’s taste, a bit too vehemently. What was wrong with her? Was she really that repulsive? Sergej topped that by remarking that she wasn’t even well endowed around her… Well now, that’s enough. She audibly cleared her throat whereupon Viktor threw her a questioning look. Based on her red ears he assumed that she got at least the general gist of the conversation.

  Now he was the one to clear his throat.

  “Give her some time. Ally has only recently learned of Cole’s…activities.”

  His activities? She hadn’t even known that her dad was alive.

  Sergej pushed the tray onto the nightstand and crossed his arms in front of him. “So, you want to know the truth, da?”

  She didn’t bother to give him an answer, but also crossed her arms to mirror his posture.

  “Are you sure you can handle the truth, princess? After all, it’s not for little girls.”

  “I can leave, if you like, then we’ll never know.“ She was tired of being treated with condescend. If she left they could find another way to get to Cole. They needed her more than the other way around.

  Sergej seemed to realize this as well, since he defensively lifted both hands. “Alright, let’s see.” He leaned back into his pillows and set his cold gaze on her. “Your father was one of the first who recognized the danger coming from Special Skills. Once his girlfriend got pregnant he realized that those highly praised scientists weren’t as omniscient as they believed. After all, he shouldn’t have been able to father a child.” Sergej leaned towards the nightstand, picked up his tea cup and took a sip.

  “None of the test persons were allowed to get married,” he said quietly. “A marriage wouldn’t agree with their lifestyle, if you know what I mean, eh?”

  Of course, she wasn’t born yesterday. Trigger-happy killing machines whom one had trained off feelings didn’t fit with a house in the suburbs and a white picket fence.

  “It was Cole who organized the resistance against the CIA, and it was him who fought his former employer without mercy.”

  She couldn’t help but feeling proud of her unknown father. Maybe proud was the wrong term considering the dead. But without his initiative the number of victims would have most likely been significantly higher. Cole had realized what kind of club he belonged to. He’d exposed the mistakes and acted. That got her respect despite any reluctance.

  “He and three other survivors founded one of the most powerful syndicates worldwide aimed against the US government. Especially against the current president, who’d been the head of the CIA back then and the key person responsible for the SK project.”

  Holy shit! President Mitchel was behind all of this? The President of the United States was responsible for her being a freak and her father being on the run? She couldn’t decide if she wanted to scream or laugh. The whole thing sounded like a joke, and a bad one, that is.

  “His name is on a list that Cole stole a few weeks ago from Cyrus Patrick, Mitchel’s right hand.”

  “But those are just names.”

  Sergej shook his head.

  “Every partner left a digital fingerprint so he would…let’s say, think twice before leaving. Once you’re in, you’re in. You don’t just terminate membership like in a gym, da?”

  “What the heck does this da mean?”

  Viktor leaned towards her. “It means yes,” he whispered.

  Oops, had she actually asked it out loud?

  “Stop the dirty talk there’s time for that later.”

  Now, that was really scraping the barrel! She opened her mouth for a snappy return, but Segej beat her on it.

  “Mitchel holds Cyrus responsible for the theft that can cost him his presidency. If any of it goes public Mitchel and everybody involved will be a goner.”

  “So, this list is…what? A flash drive something like that?”

  “It’s a USB stick, as small as a five cent coin. Do you have any idea how many possibilities there are to hide something small as that?”

  Yet, Cole had found it. Twice. Suddenly it dawned on her. She was such an idiot! If she were a comic book character there would be light bulbs gong off around her head. Cole had her gift, or to be exact, she had inherited it from him. Inherited it thanks to this wretched program. He would be able to find this pen drive in any place at any time. Blindfolded, if necessary.

  “I still don’t get why Cole doesn’t just erase Mitchel. I mean, okay, he is the president and extremely well protected. But it’s not
impossible.“ What’s more, her father was supposedly the best, so shouldn’t he be able to manage it? That’s what all this was about anyway, right?

  “Cole’s aim is not the death of the ones responsible,” Sergej informed her. “Well, with the exemption of Cyrus, whose guts he hates.”

  “Why?”

  “Cyrus was the head of the CIA research department. He initiated the SK project and presented it to his boss at the time, Mitchel. Cyrus was the motor and the head behind it, and when the shit hit the fan he took over the crisis management.”

  How convenient. First he messed up, then he took over the cover-up. In order to save his ass, Cyrus had every single test person including their families killed. The thought made her nauseous. How could somebody be so unscrupulous?

  “Cole wants Mitchel to be held accountable. If he’s dead he is of no use. To prove Mitchel’s involvement he needs the list, otherwise he can’t do anything.”

  “And why do you want the thump drive?”

  Sergej sat up straight and pointed his index finger at her as if wanting to push it against her chest.

  “I want revenge for Elena.”

  ~ * ~

  An overwhelming feeling of déjà-vu engulfed him while pointing the gun sight at the Russian. Forty-eight hours earlier he’d been lying in the exact same spot. Sergej’s suite was right above Viktor’s, so it hadn’t even been necessary to find a new hide-out. It said a lot about his sloppy security, that he didn’t even bother to place a security post on the roof. And yet, the entire world was supposed to believe he was dead. If he continued working this sloppily, that would probably be the case in the near future.

  Cole’s focus went back to Ally. She looked tired, no surprise there. Ever since she’d landed in Paris she’d been keeping him on his toes. Underneath her exhaustion was something else though, a new strength. As if somebody had lit up a light, and he deeply regretted not being the one to set this power free.

  At home she often seemed depressed. To his shame he had to admit that at some point he’d gotten used to her sadness. Looking at her now, he wanted to put a bullet into his knee for his ignorance. He’d made a lot of mistakes in his life, but one of the worst had been not to care for his daughter the way she’d deserved.

  Though the isolation had been intended to protect her, the ensuing loneliness certainly didn’t help a child to develop. At the end of the day this protection wasn’t worth shit if she died on the inside like an abandoned flower without sunlight. It was her girlfriend who conjured a smile on her face, not him. Cole regretted the time he’d missed with his baby girl. The opportunity to watch her grow up was gone, lost forever. All the missed birthdays and tributes he hadn’t been able to attend because he’d been busy hunting down the bastards who’d done this to him.

  He wished his gift would work like Ally’s. It would have saved him a lot and made things easier. Unlike his daughter he had to touch things or people before he could locate them. A photograph didn’t help, he needed the direct energy of a person or an item he wanted to track down. That’s why it had been so complicated to find the USB drive. Only Sergej’s accidental coup had turned the tide. Thanks to the weak Russian security it had been a breeze to get it into his possession. Sergej should be happy that he’d taken it, otherwise it would have ended up in the hands of the Secret Service. It was more than doubtful if he would have found it again. It was the last memory stick with the list of conspirators including President Mitchel.

  A commotion at the entrance drew his attention. A young woman vehemently demanded access to the hotel. The doorman spoke into a walkie-talkie, but the girl squeezed right by and entered the revolving door faster than he could react.

  Cole shook his head in disbelief. Weak was an understatement describing Sergej’s security.

  He couldn’t help smiling. Who would have thought that the observation of his daughter would be so entertaining?

  13

  Ally frowned. All of this was well and good, but what did Sergej’s wife have to do with SK and why did he need the flash drive for his revenge?

  Before she could ask, the phone on Sergej’s nightstand rang. Viktor’s father cursed and ripped the receiver off the hook. “Da!”

  Judging by the row coming from the receiver somebody was making a big fuss down in the lobby. Unfortunately, the nagging seemed awfully familiar to her.

  “Prinesite yego!” Bring her up!

  Sergej slammed the receiver back down and threw a resentful glance at his son. “I thought you nabbed her without attracting attention.” He nodded towards Ally.

  What was that supposed to mean?

  Before Viktor could react, the door to the salon slammed open and a shrill girl’s voice reached them.

  “…told you already that you should take your paws off me! My horoscope said that today’s the day to make friends. But the way you’re approaching this we’re not getting there!”

  Ally suppressed a groan. What had she done to be cursed with hard luck? Julie was the last person she wanted to see near the Russian Mafia boss.

  On the other hand a part of her was relieved to have her friend by her side. A pretty big part of her, to be honest.

  “What’s more, I’m writing a Math exam tomorrow which I still have to study for. That’s why I’m a little bit in a mood if you know what I mean.”

  With these words she entered the bedroom, accompanied by Goliath. The head of the shaven giant had taken on the color of an overly ripe tomato. Judging by the expression on his face he was about to throw something against the wall. Or somebody, for that matter.

  Yes, Ally thought and smiled. Julie had this effect on some people.

  “Ally!” she called out after discovering her friend. She freed herself from the vise-like grip of her escort in one go and ran towards her. They fell into each other’s arms like they hadn’t seen for weeks, despite the fact they’d been together a few hours ago.

  “I’ve been worried sick! Your uncle is livid! He’s having the entire city searched for you.”

  Ally could visualize that oh so well.

  “It took me forever until finally the idea struck me to ask our Mr. Hottie here,” she nodded towards Viktor, “if he knew where to find you.” She threw Viktor a look of reproach. “But his iron pumper friends refused to let me in!”

  Viktor opened his mouth, but Julie wasn’t finished yet.

  “Ally,” she said and lowered her voice to a conspiratorial tone. “You won’t believe what I’ve found out. I finally got something useful on this worthless notebook. And you know what, it was all in a single data file. In the end it was so simple my forehead almost landed on the keyboard. The file had a number, your birthday, can you believe it? I was going to tell you last night, but you were sound asleep.”

  As if. She’d had a sleepless night and slowly the lack began to take an effect. Maybe that was the reason for her next words: “And, what was in it?”

  “Everything! I mean, I had no idea of the dimension–it’s unbelievable! Did you know that even the president is involved?” Julie looked at her expectantly. “Um, the president of the United States, not the one of the school newspaper,” she added when Ally didn’t show the desired reaction.

  Sergej broke into dark laughter. Only now Julie seemed to notice him, for she starred with her mouth hanging open. She leaned towards Ally. “Why is this man wearing a curtain as bathrobe?”

  It was as if somebody had flipped the switch. She’d had little to laugh about recently, the burden of the last days hung like a millstone around her neck. But Julie was like a ray of sunshine, bringing light even into the darkest abyss.

  Disregarding all logic, Ally burst out laughing. She laughed until she started crying and had stitches. Oddly, Viktor joined in with her. Finally, she sunk into a ruby colored chair with golden tassels, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Julie squeezed in beside her and wiped away her tears of laughter. “What’s so funny?”, she asked, earning yet another roar of laughter from Ally
.

  Shaking her head, she sat up straight. “What would I do without you, Julie?”

  Her friend grinned. “Wait until you see what I’ve found. You’ll never believe it!”

  “Mitchel and this Cyrus Patrick-dude created the SK program,” Ally began in a flat voice, “and now they’re after the list to cover their tracks.“

  Julie seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. “Every member of this killer club had to put a fortune down to be admitted to this exclusive circle. By fortune I mean at least a hundred million dollars. For security, and to protect the partners from each other. Every freaking member got a copy of the list. It was a guarantee that nobody bailed out. But one after the other was deleted until in the end there was only one USB stick left, Mitchel’s. For a while nobody knew what was going on.

  Unfortunately Cyrus hadn’t informed his partners that the stick could be erased via remote control. You only have to be close enough, push the button and, puff, all the information is gone.”

  Wow! What cunning skunk! The members probably hadn’t been happy about this little detail.

  “Your father snatched Cyrus’ stick and deactivated the self-destruction mechanism thanks to a virus.” Her eyes took on a dreamy look. “Your dad must be a genius. I’d give my pinkie to know how he did it.”

  She sighed and blew a strand of hair out of her face.

  “The problem is that one can’t copy the data. That’s why the stick is the only proof of Mitchel’s crap. Whoever has the flash drive, has the president by the balls,” Julie closed and threw Ally a meaningful look.

  “Well, I guess that means,” Ally finally said, “that the entire apparatus of state is after my dad, right?”

  Julie nodded with sorrow.

  “And you thought you could take them on?” Ally asked Sergej.

  “Da!” he said and nodded. “Though I wasn’t actually aware that the CIA knew that the list was in my possession.” He shrugged as if his almost-death was an embarrassing trifle.

  “Is that why they killed your wife? To shut you up?” Ally still didn’t understand the connection between Sergej, the CIA and Viktor’s mom. Her own mother had died because Cole loved her. The first one they took are those held dear in order to hit where it huts the most. But Cole was in it up to his neck. He was one of them. The same doesn’t go for Sergej, right?