“Be good to whoever you make your second-in-command, or history might repeat itself someday.”
“I hear that,” Tyrese said.
68
The Rise And Fall Of Legends
OUTSIDE PORTLAND, OREGON, JANUARY 2003
Cody and Romeo were confined to their suite for three days in the aftermath of the assumed coup that had taken place. Because their talkative German friend Klaus had been replaced by one of the guards, they no longer received news with their meals.
They knew nothing of Abadandi’s machinations and believed that Begley had taken over the Citadel by force.
That left them in a precarious position since Begley was no fan of theirs. They could fight their way out of the Citadel if it came to that, but it would be a risky proposition. To reach freedom they would have to make it past the outer gate, which was still operative.
After a discussion, the boys decided to wait and see what developed. Despite his animosity toward them, Begley still believed that they were his clients. As such, he might be less inclined to harm them, especially after having lost Kabell.
“I hear someone coming,” Romeo said.
That someone turned out to be three guards. They escorted Cody and Romeo to Abadandi’s office, which was now the office of the new owner and operator of the Citadel, Jack Begley.
* * *
Begley, dressed in civilian clothing that consisted of a pair of jeans and a polo shirt, stared across the desk at Cody and Romeo. The three men were alone, although the guards that escorted Cody and Romeo waited for them in the hall.
Begley’s dislike of the boys was evident in the way his mouth turned downwards into a frown whenever he looked at them. However, they were his clients, or rather, the last of Abadandi’s clients; Begley felt he had a responsibility to carry out.
After reaching into his desk, he brought out a brown envelope and passed it across to Romeo.
“Those are your new passports and drivers’ licenses. They should get you into Canada without any problem. As far as transportation, a solid used car will be given to you once you’re escorted from the Citadel.”
“A used car?” Romeo said. “Abadandi said that we would be flown there on a private jet.”
“He lied, and he is no longer in charge. Keep complaining and I’ll make you walk there.”
“What happened to Abadandi?” Cody asked.
“Richard Abadandi retired. I’m now the new head of the Citadel.”
“Congratulations,” Romeo said. “How soon can we leave?”
“It can’t be too soon for me,” Begley said. “With no guests to concern myself with, I’ll be able to implement the changes I want to make here.”
The boys stood, and when Romeo offered his hand, Begley left him hanging.
“The guards that escorted you here will handle your departure, now leave.”
Romeo pretended to look offended by the slight, gathered up the new I.D.’s, and left the office with Cody.
An hour later they were driving an old Ford, courtesy of the Citadel. Romeo had begun laughing first, then Cody joined in, and soon they were ecstatic with the joy of knowing they had succeeded where so many others had failed. They had breached the famed Citadel, killed one of its clients, and made their escape without injury. And it was only the beginning of their career.
* * *
The boys abandoned the old Ford Begley had given them and took a taxi back to the home they had been renovating. After a quick meal, they drove their own car to the home of Roy Hutchins. Bev was there, and she gave them both a kiss on the cheek while thanking them for the extra money they had given to her and Hutchins.
Once they were settled across from Hutchins’ wheelchair, the boys watched as Hutchins looked over the pictures Romeo had taken of the Citadel’s interior. He then used a magnifying glass to look at the photos of Kabell’s corpse.
“His face is all cut up. Was he in a fight before you killed him?”
“We think the doctor there, Dr. Calavechi, was running a con of some kind by only pretending to perform plastic surgery,” Cody said.
“And this guy Begley, he’s in charge now?” Hutchins asked.
“That’s right, but once the news gets out that Kabell was hit inside the Citadel, he’ll find it hard to get new clients.”
Hutchins smiled at the boys. “You two are something else, and I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to know that the Citadel’s reputation is destroyed. That place cost me the use of my legs and took my partner’s life.”
Cody leaned forward from his seat on the sofa.
“We want work, Hutchins, but not just anything. We want the tough contracts.”
“And you’ll have them. The next time I get word of a hit that seems impossible, I’ll know who to call, and I’ll put out the word to other go-betweens too.”
The boys smiled, they were on their way to becoming legends.
* * *
A week later, at the Citadel, Begley was sitting at his desk with hands balled into fists. He was looking at photos of Kabell’s corpse on a computer screen. Along with photos of the body were shots of the Citadel’s interior. Serge, the new Captain of the Guard, was standing on Begley’s right, while Irina stood to Begley’s left.
“Who the hell took these photos?” Serge said.
Begley answered through clenched teeth. “Dr. Calavechi didn’t kill Kabell. It was Denny Haydon and his bodyguard Max, or whoever the hell they really were.”
“Oh shit,” Serge said. “You were right that something was off about them. And we haven’t been attacked since they left here.”
“Have their guest suite searched. We’ll likely find some evidence that they were involved in the murder.”
“What does this mean for the Citadel?” Irina asked. “I mean, we no longer can claim that we’ve never been breached.”
Serge released a heavy sigh. “It’s game over. Who would trust us to protect them after seeing these photos, and they must be all over the web.”
Begley pounded a fist on the desk.
“It’s not over. If it takes me the rest of my life, I’ll regain the Citadel’s reputation as an impregnable fortress. I swear it. And I swear something else, someday I’ll find the man pretending to be Denny Haydon, him and that bodyguard of his, and I’ll make them pay, oh, how I will make them pay.”
* * *
At a restaurant in Portland, Cody and Romeo waited for their dates to arrive, after having gotten to the restaurant early.
Tara’s friend Mandy had finally dumped her boyfriend and was willing to meet Cody for a blind date. When the girls arrived on time, Cody realized that the date wasn’t going to be so blind after all. He knew Tara’s friend Mandy, and so did Romeo.
It was Amanda, their former climbing instructor. She approached Cody while smiling.
“When Tara told me that the guy she wanted me to meet was named Xavier and that he had a friend named Romeo, I knew it had to be you two.”
“So Tara’s Mandy is our Amanda,” Romeo said. “Cool, now there won’t be any of that awkward blind date talk.”
“Have you boys been climbing since the last time I saw you?” Amanda asked.
Cody and Romeo smiled, then Cody answered her. “We took a short climb.”
“How did it go?”
“In the end, everything worked out perfectly,” Cody said, as he pulled out a chair for his date.
69
A Fresh Start
MANHATTAN, OCTOBER 2018
Debra Washington was filled with relief when Tanner told her that the threat against her and James had ended. She was awed when she opened the box Tanner had given her and saw the stacks of cash inside.
“How much is that?” James said.
“Just shy of a hundred and forty thousand dollars,” Tanner said. “It once belonged to the Boulevard Bloods. They believe it was destroyed in a fire.”
Debra looked first at Tanner, then Sara. “You’re saying this is drug money?�
�
“It was,” Sara said. “But now it can be put to good use and buy a new home for you and James, not to mention everything else you lost when your apartment was firebombed.”
Debra stared at the money as the thought of finally owning a home bloomed in her mind.
“You’re right, Sara. James and I will put it to good use.”
Tanner had learned that it was a man named Harrison Brook who had given James and Debra’s whereabouts to Biggs. Debra had never been close to her brother, but she felt sickened when she learned of his betrayal.
The guilt she had been feeling over what happened to his house vanished instantly, to be replaced by a sense that Harrison had gotten what he deserved.
Her brother’s betrayal was just one more brick in a wall of sorrow. Debra Washington had suffered much over the last few days, including the loss of a son.
As for James, one good thing had come out of the situation. He had met Cinda Tang, a girl he was having trouble getting out of his mind.
Debra hugged Sara as she thanked them both for everything they had done for her and James. When Sara took out her computer tablet to help Debra search the real estate listings, James asked Tanner if he could speak to him alone.
They settled in the office with the chess set between them, and James got right to the point.
“You’re Tanner, aren’t you?”
“You already know that.”
“No, man, I mean you’re Tanner, like Tanner the hit man.”
Tanner smiled. “I prefer trained assassin.”
James blew out air. “Whoa, and you killed Maurice Biggs?”
“Someone beat me to it.”
“And that money, that was you who killed all those gangbangers the other day?”
“Yes.”
“Damn.”
“I hope you can keep a secret.”
“Yeah, and does Sara know who you are, that you’re a hit—I mean, a trained assassin?”
“She knows, and so does her father. By the way, Blake wants you to start work tomorrow.”
“I’ll be there, and damn it will feel good to walk outside again. I can even take Cinda on a date.”
“Have you asked her out?”
“Not yet.”
“You might want to get on that before she meets somebody else.”
That thought brought James to his feet.
“Oh, wait, what apartment is Cinda in?”
Tanner told him, and James headed for the door. He paused in the threshold and looked back at Tanner.
“You saved me and my mom. I won’t ever forget that, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, kid.”
James left the room and Sara entered shortly thereafter.
“Debra is thinking of buying a house in Queens, near James’s school.”
“The down payment will eat up a chunk of that money.”
“And we’re going shopping later. She needs a new wardrobe.”
Tanner reached out and pulled Sara onto his lap.
“Have you come up with a wedding date yet?”
“There’s a date I want in June, but I don’t know if things will be settled by then, I mean, as far as you claiming your name again.”
“June it is.”
“And you’ll be marrying me under your own name?” Sara asked.
“I’ll make it happen.”
“All right. On June 15th we’ll marry at the ranch and I’ll become Mrs. Cody Parker.”
Tanner kissed her. “It will be the happiest day of my life.”
YOUNG GUNS 7 - FIRST LOVE
70
An Offer To Kill
LONDON, ENGLAND, SEPTEMBER 2003
After becoming the first assassins to infiltrate the fabled fortress named the Citadel, Cody and Romeo had no difficulty getting contracts.
They had been working non-stop for months on end, while collecting large fees and ridding the world of a number of unsavory characters.
Cody’s hair, which had been long, was short, while Romeo had his hair long again. Both wore suits with an English cut but had decided not to wear ties. Cody’s suit was blue, while Romeo’s was pinstriped. Instead of shoes they wore boots that zipped up the side. A pocket had been added to each of the right boots. It contained a razor blade and a handcuff key.
After completing a difficult contract in New Mexico, they decided to take some time off and travel to London, which was a city they both loved.
They had been in the UK for only a few days when a call came in from Roy Hutchins, the man who acted as their go-between for clients.
“We’re on vacation in London, Roy, remember? Give it to someone else,” Cody said.
“The client doesn’t want anyone else. They want the men who beat the Citadel. The contract concerns someone living in the UK, so you won’t even have to travel.”
“The client can hire someone else or they’ll have to wait. Romeo and I plan to relax here for another few weeks and then move on to Ireland before heading back. If they still want us in, say a month or so, we’ll look at the contract.”
Hutchins then told Cody how much the client was willing to pay and gained his attention.
“Is that number for real? Who do they want—” Cody had been about to say dead, but then he remembered that he was on the phone, on an overseas connection, and that his words might be heard by someone else. “Who do they want us to meet?”
“I’ll give you all the details in person, or rather, Bev will, she’s flying to London right now.”
Bev was Hutchins’ girlfriend. The last time Cody had seen her she had streaks of blue in her blonde hair and dressed like a hippie in a tie-dyed poncho and sandals. Bev also wore a peace symbol around her neck on a gold chain.
“Bev is coming here just to give us the contract?”
“No, Xavier, Bev has a brother in the military who is stationed over there. They haven’t seen each other in years. She’s mixing business with pleasure. Let me give you the name of the hotel she’ll be staying at. You can call her tomorrow and make plans to meet.”
“We’re still on vacation. We might not take the contract, great money or not.”
“Not great money, fantastic money. That number I quoted was what the client is willing to pay each of you.”
“Okay, now you have me interested. Not because of the money, but because I’m curious who would be worth that much to someone.”
“Cool, so meet with Bev, get the details, then let me know what you decide.”
“All right, Roy, and thanks either way.”
“No problem, my young friend, you and Romeo are the best. There will always be work for the best in this business.”
“And it pays well too,” Cody said.
* * *
The boys met with Bev the following evening at her hotel, which was in a quiet section of London. Red highlights had replaced the streaks of blue, but Bev, who was in her thirties, was still dressed like a hippie in a tie-dyed dress and sandals. An infinity symbol hung around her neck where the peace sign had been. Cody wondered if Bev was headed toward becoming a New Ager.
Bev greeted them with a smile and thanked the boys again for ruining the Citadel’s reputation.
“It’s done Roy a world of good to see that place lose its mystique.”
Cody was surprised to learn that the Citadel was still operational. Bev informed them that Jack Begley, the Citadel’s new operator, had put a price on their heads of twenty-five thousand dollars each. Neither of the boys were worried by it, and if Begley became a serious problem, they would handle him someday.
They ate together in the hotel dining room after Bev told them she had made reservations.
* * *
“The leader of a terrorist organization?” Romeo said.
Bev slid a sealed envelope across the table to him.
“His name is Garth Livingston. He’s the leader of an eco-terrorist group called Green Wrath. They specialize in kidnapping people involved in the oil industry. On
ce the ransoms are paid, they either release their captives or kill them. If there’s a pattern behind who lives and who dies, no one has discovered it. Sometimes there is no ransom and they just want to make a statement. When that happens, often the person is tortured to death, then dumped where they can be found.”
“I guess the client was close to someone these terrorists killed,” Cody said.
“That’s what Roy thinks, but this contract came to him through a number of channels, being as how it originated over here in England.”
Romeo tapped a finger on the packet. “Cody and I will look it over and let you know, Bev. Will you be staying at this hotel the whole time you’re here?”
“I’ll be here for three days while I see my brother, then I’ll be going to Paris to visit an old friend. Just leave a message on my phone. I will say that I hope you take it. Roy’s percentage of the deal would pay for my entire trip.”
* * *
Seated alone at the bar was a petite young woman. She sipped on her drink while observing the boys’ meeting with Bev. She was an attractive brunette with blue eyes, and so she had to fend off the advances of a man who sent her a drink. She refused the drink and kept a careful eye on the boys. She was a trained observer.
The woman was aware that they were assassins and surprised at how young Cody and Romeo were. If she had to guess, she would say that she was a year or two older than them. It had also not escaped her notice that they were both good-looking. She wondered what circumstances had occurred in their lives to make them what they were. As a reporter, she was always intrigued by the why behind things.
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