1 + 2

by Kristie Lynn Higgins

  Natasha removed her WM-D, set it to the side, finding the air in the subway didn't bother her, and bent to him. She put her mouth over his and forcibly dipped her moist tongue to his pressed lips. He tried to resist her unwanted fondling, but he didn't have the energy to stop her. She penetrated his mouth, and the more he fought the more aroused she got till he stopped resisting all together. She lifted from him and the red imprint of the Executioner's Adieu marked his lips.

  "You are quiet attractive. It is too bad we met as adversaries. We might have had some good times." She felt his muscles and moved her hand to his groin. "Some very good times, my delicious little rabbit."

  "S-stop," he said.

  "You want me to stop?"

  "I'm... I'm going to stop you." His voice rose as he said, "I'm going to stop you from killing them!"

  "How are you going to stop me when you can't even prevent me from fondling you?"

  "I will," he said. "I'll..."

  Some distance from them...

  Katharine's view...

  I come to, roll to my side, and see blurry images of Andrews and Natasha in the distance. I have to move. Natasha's going to kill him!

  I slowly rise to my knees as I scream in my thoughts. Move! She's going to kill him! I manage to place one foot on the floor. Hurry! He can't die. Argus... Andrews can't die.

  End Katharine's view...

  Natasha replaced her mask, drew the blade back to cut his throat, paused, winked at him, and stabbed him in the chest. Gore sprayed her mask, and she laughed as she uttered, "See, you could not stop me."

  "Nooo!" Kat yelled. "No!" Exhausted, she started to stand. "You witch!"

  Andrews grabbed the blade with his left hand, and his eyes widened for the pain. He felt his life slipping away.

  "See... You have fallen prey to the Wolf, and now I will go take out the Mark." Natasha went to move when Andrews grabbed her, and she tried to pull away from him, but he clamped down on her. "Let go of me, you filthy beast!" she shouted and struggled, but couldn't free herself. Natasha couldn't believe his strength. He had been weak as a rabbit's kit, and now he was like a steel trap. "I said let go of me!"

  Andrews wouldn't release her and with all his strength, he swore, "I won't let go. I have you. The Wolf has fallen prey to her own carelessness."

  Natasha turned, shouting down the tunnel, "Nikolai, come help me!"

  At the back of the subway train...

  "Tasha!" Nikolai rushed past Kim and Johnson toward his sister. "I am coming!"

  Natasha turned back to Andrews as he spoke.

  "Matthew... Karen... Beth... I'm sorry. Daddy won't be coming home." His eyes closed and he died as his right fist loosened and dropped what he held; it was a metal object, and it fell to the floor.

  Natasha gasped then turned and yelled, "Nikolai, grenade!"

  "Tasha!" Nikolai shouted as an explosion flared up behind his sister and sent her flying through the air. "No!" He rushed past Kat to his sister's side as quickly as he could with his injured leg. Nikolai dropped his gun and cradled his sister in his arms.

  Near the front of the subway train...

  Katharine's view...

  I manage to stand, then start moving my battered body, and I walk past Nikolai and Natasha and walk a little farther to Andrews. I stare at his blown apart form. He sacrificed his life. I divert my gaze from the bloody sight. He sacrificed his life to save Melissa and the children. A deep sorrow flows over me.

  "Did you fulfill your sense of duty?" I whisper, then my sadness turns into rage, and I shout, "Was this worth not seeing your own children grow up?" I fist my hand and shout again, "Why did you do this? You didn't have to die!"

  My rage vanishes as guilt replaces it, and I whisper, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disrespect your sacrifice. I know you loved your children, and with this selfless act, you have guaranteed a future for them. Please forgive me. Forgive me for not saving you."

  End Katharine's view...

  Moments earlier...

  At the back of the subway train...

  Kim covered her eyes as the blast catapulted Natasha backwards, and then Kim ran to Johnson, questioning him, "Are you all right?"

  He nodded, pulled himself to the side, and leaned against the wall. "I won't be walking out of here on my own." Johnson removed his tie and wrapped it around his leg to help stop the bleeding. He had nothing to tie around his shoulder. "What about Melissa and the children?"

  Kim looked to the tunnel they had escaped through. She still needed to complete her Closing, so Kim said, "I'll go check on them." She ran toward the tunnel.

  At the front of the subway train...

  The sound of Nikolai crying drew Kat out of her thoughts, and she looked to where he cradled his sister.

  "Tasha, I am sorry," Nikolai spoke as he wept. "I should have protected you."

  Natasha reached up her hand and tenderly stroked his cheek. She could hardly hear him. Since her head was turned when the grenade went off, her face showed no signs of burns. "Hush, brother. It was I that was careless. Do not blame yourself for this." Her burned and bloodied left arm dangled, and the left side of her body had taken the blunt of the explosion. "Brother, free me from this agony," she whispered. "Free me and then you can complete the Closings."

  Nikolai remembered the story of Salandra and Draven; it was the book that inspired their aliases. "I cannot free you, my sister in the fur."

  She forced a smile, realizing the quote and saw in his face the heartache. "I know." Natasha looked to him and fear overcame her as her body felt cold. "I am afraid. Do not leave me. I do not want to die alone."

  "I will not leave you," Nikolai told her. "I will never leave you."

  Kat held her side and walked to them, and they didn't hear her approach, so Kat reached down and picked up his Glock 25. She checked the gun to make sure the safety was off.

  Nikolai heard someone behind him and reached his hand underneath his suit jacket. He pulled the Glock 19 from his back holster and turned his body halfway, aiming at her.

  She aimed back as the sight of him cradling his sister reminded Kat of when she held Preacher in her arms. The deep hollowing sadness returned, and she knew what he must be going through. "Give-up your Closing," she insisted.

  "I will never give-up," Nikolai declared.

  "Then we're forced to shoot each other," Kat said. "Then who will take care of your sister?" She remembered the name he yelled. "Who will take care of Tasha?"

  He turned his head, staring at his twin. "You would let us go?" Nikolai faced Kat and asked, "After we murdered two of your own, you would let us go?"

  The image of Andrews flashed in her mind. "You killed two people today." She visualized the photo of his children. "You took away the father of three, and I should kill you..." Kat remembered cradling Preacher in her arms and how she agonized over his death. "But the killing needs to stop." She glanced at Natasha and remembered the story of Draven and Salandra. "If you love your sister, go now. Save her and never come back."

  Full of anguish, Nikolai shouted, "I will not run! I will gun you down where you stand!"

  "You shoot. I shoot. Most likely we'll both die, and so I ask my question again. Who will take care of Tasha?"

  "Brother."

  He turned to his sister.

  "It hurts so much, and I am so cold." She pleaded with her eyes. "Help me. Make the pain go away."

  "The Closings." Nikolai insisted, "We must complete our Closings."

  "Nikolai, the pain. It is so great. If the Closings mean so much to you, then kill me. Make the pain go away."

  His eyes widened as he exclaimed, "No! I cannot!"

  "Then take me to a hospital. Make the pain go away. Take me to a hospital or kill me."

  He cried, "I will save you." Nikolai glared at Kat. "This is not over." He stood, lifting his sister into his arms and then he started out of the subway a
nd shouted as he left, "You should have killed us when you had the chance. You will regret letting us go."

  Kat watched as they left then glanced at the Glock 25 she held, wondering if she would regret it. Kat walked to the back of the subway train and found Johnson leaning against a wall. She ran and knelt by his side. "Are you all right?" Kat saw that he had been shot in the shoulder and leg.

  "Yes, I'm fine. Your partner asked the same question. Do I look that bad?"

  Kat searched the area, saw her Beretta on the floor, but found no sign of her. "Where is Kimberly?"

  "She went to check on Melissa and the children. What about the Closers?"

  Kat panicked as she answered him, "The Raven and the Wolf won't bother us anymore." She picked up the Beretta and ran through the tunnel. "I'm going after Kimberly." Kat disappeared out of sight.

  Johnson's view...

  "What about me?" I mumble, looking around the now empty subway station. I moan for the pain in my leg. I still can't believe her partner shot me. Setna's plight be upon her!

  Chapter Forty-eight

  Questions

  8:20 P.M...

  Somewhere on the Light Side of the planet...

  Voice sat in a dark hotel room in front of a laptop, peering at incoming information from the Assassins League's Closers. Voice's white gloved hands were the only things visible in the faint light as fingers typed rapidly across the keyboard.

  An e-mail popped up on the screen from a Guild Prep/Cleanup Crew, and it said, "As instructed, we returned early to the Bes Hotel's rooftop, and we discovered the sniper rifle we placed for the Phoenix as we left it. The rifle has not been fired. What are your instructions?"

  "Remove the rifle," Voice typed. "The Phoenix will not be needing it."

  An urgent e-mail arrived, and Voice noticed the sender; it was from Thanatos. It had been ages since he made direct contact, so Voice clicked on the message and went over it.

  Minutes earlier...

  In the center of Noir and several miles underground...

  Thanatos laughed. It was going to be most amusing. He stretched, wiped his hands on his black leather pants, and cracked his knuckles. Thanatos moved the swivel keyboard into position and typed, "I had an interesting conversation with the Phoenix." He sent the e-mail.

  "What sort of conversation?" Voice questioned.

  "It was mentioned that the Closing you issued for the Phoenix is unfounded. Did you order someone's death with no grounds? The Phoenix is one of your own."

  "What would you know?" Voice typed back.

  "The Phoenix contacted me and made his or her plea for help." Thanatos rubbed his hands together and finished typing. "It was the only course you left for the Closer after you sent the Raven and the Wolf to close the Phoenix."

  Voice's view...

  The nipple pierced punk hacked into my system! I'll need to change my security protocols again.

  I type, "What do you know?"

  End Voice's view...

  "I know lots of things," he replied. "Now... What of the Phoenix? Why has a Closing been issued for this assassin?" Voice didn't reply to him, so Thanatos typed, "Are you going to answer me? No. Why not?"

  Thanatos' view...

  I can't help but think why indeed? What reason could there be? Where is the evidence the Phoenix violated the contract with the Assassins League? Could it be personal revenge? But the Phoenix is one of Voice's best assassins. What else could it be? What reason would he personally break protocol? I can only think of one.

  I type, "The Closing is a favor for someone. It would have to be from someone very important for you to break protocol. Is that not right?"

  End Thanatos' view...

  "That's nonsense," Voice replied. "I would never break the rules that govern the Assassins Guild, not for anyone."

  "What about the Phoenix?"

  "What about the Closer?" Voice questioned.

  "Are you going to rescind the Closing? You have no grounds for it."

  "Do you have any grounds why I should cancel it?"

  Thanatos typed, "No."

  "Then it stands, and there is nothing you can do about this Closing, Thanatos. It's up to the Phoenix, the Raven, and the Wolf, and they'll decide the turn out."

  Thanatos' view...

  I push the swivel keyboard to the side. I did try, but as my counterpart stated, it's all up to them. I swing the keyboard back into place. Unless... I enter the Virtual Hall of Records for the Assassins Guild. Unless I can find something more on Maestro, and here it is. The record says as much as the other one I found in Voice's Archive. Maestro's alias has been retired for ten years.

  I tap my chin. I'm missing something. Maestro's specialty was killing children, and with that in mind, I have to consider that the hit on Mrs. Serqet's kid wasn't a mistake but a deliberate act. If it was deliberate, what could be the reason, and who could hire a Closer who's believed dead?

  End Thanatos' view...

  The Light Side of the planet...

  Voice removed a cell phone from a briefcase and dialed a number. "It is very urgent, I would like to speak with R.G."

  After a few moments, a distorted voice spoke, "This is R.G."

  "Thanatos contacted me about the Phoenix's Closing. He suspects I ordered the Closing as a favor to someone."

  "He doesn't know you did this for me," R.G. said. "Do not worry about it. There's no paper trail to find." R.G. paused and asked, "What have you heard from the Raven and the Wolf? Is the Phoenix dead?"

  "There has been no report."

  "And what of the other Closing? Ms. Odin's? What have you heard about it?"

  "The same. Nothing."

  "I see..." There was a long pause. "Voice, at this time I would like to amend my request."

  "Of course R.G. What is it?"

  Chapter Forty-nine

  Ms. Odin's Closing

  8:21 P.M...

  Nile Sector, Commorance Vicinage...

  The subway...

  Katharine's view...

  I franticly run across the sidewalk and through the tunnel that leads away from the second station, and it seems to go on forever as if I'll never reach anyone in time. The area darkens the further I go, and I round the second curving tunnel. I have to find Melissa before Kimberly does. She promised not to kill her until we took care of the Raven and the Wolf, and now with them gone... I quicken my pace, step onto another platform, and come to a second subway train at a third station, and with each second that passes, I imagine the worse. Kimberly might have already completed her Closing, and all I'll find is a corpse with two children wailing beside it or worse, I might find three corpses.

  "Melissa!" I shout, desperate to find them, "Chad!"

  I search through the train's windows, looking for the family, and my heart skips a beat when I don't find them. I think I failed. I think I really messed up.

  I turn around in a full circle, searching the area as I wonder if it was wrong of me to try to save both Melissa and Kimberly. Kimberly called me naive for placing a would-be Closer next to her Mark, but I couldn't stand it if either of them got hurt. I had to try and save both of them, and then I realize I did... I really messed up... and now Melissa's probably dead, and Chad... he's... I put a hand to the train and start to cry as I collapse half-way to my knees. Guilt washes over me like the waves a squall pushes over a ship at sea, and I think I'm going to drown in them, but then...

  "Here!"

  I look up and nearly lose it when I see Melissa push open the door of the front car and carefully make her way to the platform as she questions me, "Have the Closers been eliminated?"

  Her voice's the sweetest thing I've ever heard, but I manage to contain my relief and answer, "The Raven and the Wolf will bother you no more." I motion to the tunnel as I wipe my eyes as if I've been crying. "Quickly, let's go back to Johnson."

  I realize everyone's not safe just yet, so I glance around
the area, but I don't see Kimberly.

  Ushering the children onto the platform, Melissa must notice my anxiousness for she questions, "Is something wrong?"

  "No," I answer, trying to hide my apprehension as I search the area again for Kimberly. "Everything's fine."

  "If nothing's wrong, why are you hurrying us?" Melissa asks me.

  I have to come up with something fast. I don't want to scare the children, so I say, "Johnson's hurt. We need to get back to him and get him to a hospital."

  "Oh," Melissa says, and then she continues ushering the children back the way we came.

  "Are you looking for your friend?" Chad asks as he watches me.

  I halt and so do the others as I question, "You've seen her?"

  "Yes," Chad answers, and then he motions in the other direction. "She ran past here about five minutes before you did."

  Melissa comforts Bonnie as she states, "I almost said something as she ran by us, but she never called out our names. I thought since she didn't say our names maybe we still needed to stay in hiding."

  "It's best to be on the safe side. Come on." I herd the group towards the tunnel. "Let's hurry."

  I lead the group, wondering why Kimberly didn't call out their names. I want to believe that she felt like she needed to give them a chance and not murder Melissa right away. We start through the tunnel when someone calls out my name.

  "Katharine."

  I inwardly gasp, recognizing the voice. I never even considered this point in time, but now I have to face it, I'll have to face Kimberly.

  I say, "Melissa."

  She states, "Yes."

  "You go on without me." I turn, seeing Kimberly standing behind us. "I'm going to talk with my partner."

  "Are you sure?" Melissa asks still skittish.

  "Yes, it's safe to go on ahead. I would have Chad watch Bonnie once you get there. Johnson isn't in the best of shape, he'll need your assistance getting out."