On the Hunt

by Kerry J Donovan

  For the moment, he ignored the insult and signalled for Cough to join him in the doorway.

  “Yes, Captain?”

  “Can you go fetch that stuff from my top box. Corky’s going to tell you how to help him access the intel.”

  Cough’s frown deepened. “You going to be okay here, Captain?”

  “I will, but he won’t.” Kaine nodded to the man with the soggy white hair and the soon-to-be-missing arm.

  Cough hiked his shoulder. “Fair enough, sir.”

  While Cough slid past Kaine, heading towards the front door and the Triumph, Kaine pulled out his Sig. He bypassed Lajos, whose gaze followed him all the way across the kitchen to the trembling captives in the corner. He squatted in front of them, but made sure he could still see Lajos at the table. Although the man was grievously injured and apparently toothless, Kaine would never willingly turn his back on a potential threat.

  “Listen carefully.” He waited for the two injured Englishmen to look up and meet his eye.

  Commando managed the feat before Merc, who looked in significantly worse condition.

  “You two are lucky to still be alive, agreed?”

  They both nodded. Neither spoke.

  “Want to stay that way?” he asked unnecessarily.

  Again, they nodded.

  “My friend, Danny, died today and I’m barely keeping my shit together. Nothing would suit me better than to bludgeon you money-grubbing bastards to death with the leg of a chair. But Danny was a good man, and he wouldn’t have appreciated that. He’d say there’s been enough death, today. Me? I’m not so sure. You can either live or die. I don’t give a crap. Understand?”

  “Yes,” Commando answered, managing to force the word past his damaged lips.

  Merc didn’t seem to have enough strength to speak.

  “There’s a medic on the way. She’ll be here in a few minutes. I can either let her treat you or not. My decision, not hers. Answer my colleague’s questions, you live. Keep schtum, you die. What’s it to be?”

  “Ask us, please. We’ll tell you anything we can,” Commando said, answering for them both.

  Kaine tapped his earpiece. “Alpha One to Control, are you receiving me? Over.”

  “Corky here, Mr K. What’s cooking?”

  “Sorry to disturb you, Control. Are you finished with the techie stuff? Over.”

  “Not quite, but Corky can multi task if necessary.”

  “Excellent.” Kaine dug into his jacket pocket for a spare comms unit and stuck it into Commando’s ear—the undamaged one. The man winced, but otherwise accepted the offering without complaint. “I have a couple of men here desperate to tell you everything they know. One of them has the backup earpiece. Over.”

  He emphasised the information, hoping Corky would take the hint.

  “Understood, Alpha One. Over.”

  Kaine grinned to himself. No one could ever accuse Corky of being slow on the uptake.

  “Thank you, Control. I want names, addresses, how they were contracted by the Patakis. Basically, pump them dry. If you can’t verify any of their answers, please let me know. I’ll be awfully keen to hear about it. Over.”

  “That’s an affirmative, Alpha One. Control, out.”

  The only thing surprising about the response was Corky’s adherence to correct radio protocol. It showed how seriously he took the situation. Danny’s death cut deep.

  Lajos Pataki groaned and shifted in his chair. Kaine wagged the Sig at him and he froze, eyes locked on its muzzle.

  Kaine stood. Commando lifted his head to follow, wincing at the movement.

  “Don’t look at me, son. Concentrate on the questions. Your lives depend on it.”

  Commando lowered his head.

  Kaine returned to the dining table, grabbed Lajos by the scruff of his neck, and yanked him to his feet. He dragged him through the smashed bifold door and around the back of the house. Lajos screamed and howled the whole way to the fire-damaged courtyard.

  Kaine threw the man to the paving slabs and stood over him. He levelled the Sig at his captive’s right eye. Lajos squirmed onto his side, leaning away from the damaged arm.

  “Stop, please,” he pleaded. “Do not kill me!”

  “Is this the part where you offer me money?”

  Lajos nodded, desperately latching onto any hope on offer. “Yes, yes. Money. We have money. Name your price. Five hundred thousand euros? Cash. I can get cash. It is yours if you let me go.”

  Kaine tilted his head and added a dramatic sigh. “A little more than the two hundred thousand you offered us earlier, but still pitiful.”

  “Half a million euros is a lot of money.” Lajos panted, struggled to speak.

  “Vadik offered me two million, and he’s dead.”

  “Dead? Vadik is dead?”

  Lajos blinked, but Kaine could tell by the expression the man was anything but upset by the news. No love lost between the half-brothers, or so it seemed.

  “Yep. Two million euros didn’t buy Vadik’s life, but at least he valued himself at more than half a million.” Kaine stretched his lips into a thin smile. “You’re Papa Pataki’s only remaining son. What’s your life worth to him?”

  “Five!” he shouted. “Papa will give you five million euros.”

  Lajos used his good elbow to push himself upright, his face contorting with the effort. He saw a potential way out of his hole and was frantic to grab it with the only working hand he had left.

  “Five million euros for Papa Pataki’s only living son? Nope, not enough.”

  The soles of Lajos’ once highly polished but now badly scuffed hand-made Italian loafers, slipped on the paving slabs beneath him as he tried to work his way to his feet. Halfway to standing, the shoes lost traction, and Lajos fell, landing arse-first on the deck. His pained groan was music and Kaine let loose a cruel laugh.

  He levelled the Sig, lining the sights up with Lajos’ groin and scratched at his beard. God, he would really enjoy a shave.

  “Not worth my while keeping you alive for loose change.”

  “Ten million euros!” Lajos screamed, panting even harder after his abortive efforts to stand.

  “Papa Pataki will pay ten million euros for you?”

  “Yes! Yes he will.”

  “Does Papa have that much cash lying around?”

  Lajos stopped panting and shot Kaine a quizzical look. “What do you know of Papa?”

  “Only the little Vadik told me before I snuffed out his life. Papa’s a hard man, I suppose?”

  “Yes. Very hard. Papa is the Giant of Győr,” he announced as though it would instil some sort of terror into Kaine. “If you kill me, he will hunt you down and destroy you, your family, and anyone you ever called a friend.”

  Kaine sighed. “You and Vadik seem to have been reading from the same script.”

  “Huh?”

  “Never mind. So, if I kill you, the terrible ‘Giant of Győr’ will hunt me to the ends of the earth and kill me slowly. Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Yes. You will die in great pain.”

  “Okay.” Kaine shrugged. “In that case, there’s no point in sparing your life, is there? I’ve already killed Vadik, so there’s absolutely no hope for me, right?”

  Lajos shook his head violently, the damp white hair flopping about his face. “No, no. Vadik was the bastard son. He meant little to Papa. I am the favoured one. Spare me, and you will live. Ten million euros. I promise.”

  Kaine scratched his chin again, apparently trying to make a decision. “Getting closer. Make it fifteen and we have a deal. I’ll even let our medic treat you ahead of the other two.”

  “Yes. Yes! Fifteen million euros in cash. Please, please let me live!”

  “And you’ll negotiate the handover with Papa?”

  “Yes. I will make the arrangements. He will pay. I swear it.”

  “Okay, Lajos, old friend. You and I have ourselves a deal.”

  Lajos Pataki, the man who ordered
Marian Prentiss’ death, broke down. He sobbed. Tears rolled down his colourless cheeks. He kept repeating the word “Köszönöm”, and looked like a lost child bawling for his mummy.

  In the distance, a car’s horn blared three times—one long, two short—and the increasing whine of a racing engine drowned out Lajos’ pitiful snivelling.

  Good timing.

  The horn repeated the signal, Morse Code for the letter “D”. Seconds later, the engine note changed as the driver dropped down three gears in rapid succession. Tyres squealed on drying tarmac and crunched on gravel.

  Kaine allowed himself a grim smile.

  Although he’d rather not have exposed Lara to danger, her medical expertise would come in handy. Keeping Lajos Pataki alive had suddenly taken on a great deal more importance.

  “This is your lucky day!” he said, grabbing Lajos’ shirt collar once again and dragging him to his feet.

  He screamed and hopped on one leg, keeping his right foot off the ground. Kaine looked down. The right ankle was a bloody mess. It gave him another idea. A minor modification to his rapidly developing plan.

  He called out, “Cough!”, and the man himself emerged from the kitchen.

  “Doc’s here,” he said.

  “Yes, I heard the signal.”

  Kaine pushed Lajos away. He stumbled, but Cough caught him and held him upright.

  “Take this cretin into the kitchen and keep your eye on him. All of a sudden, he’s become rather valuable to the team.”

  “Will do, sir.”

  Cough hooked a hand under Lajos’ good arm and dragged the hobbling, bawling man towards the shattered glass door.

  “Wh-Who are you people?” Lajos demanded.

  Cough jabbed the butt of his gun into the Hungarian’s temple hard enough to stun, but not to cause real damage. “Shut the fuck up, moron. You might be valuable, but that doesn’t give you leave to ask questions. Just be glad you’re still breathing.”

  Kaine left Cough to his babysitting detail and hurried around the side of the house, heading for the front and Lara.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Wednesday 3rd May – Afternoon

  Amber Valley, Derbyshire, UK

  By the time Kaine reached the front, Lara had already climbed out of her car—a rented Ford Kuga—and was burrowing in the back for something.

  “Doc,” he called, using her title to give her the heads-up.

  She straightened and shrugged a heavy medical pack onto her shoulder. He wouldn’t insult her by offering to carry it, at least not while they were in the field and with company.

  “Captain,” she said, waiting by the car for him.

  He stopped a pace away from her, wanting nothing more than to pull her into a hug and break down. Damn the stiff upper lip nonsense, Danny was dead.

  Lara had left the Ford’s tailgate up. It offered them some privacy, but not enough.

  “Oh my God, Ryan,” she whispered, eyes filling, “Danny’s … Danny’s really gone?”

  Kaine shot a sideways glance at Cough and Stefan’s white Ford, and the covered body draped across the back seat.

  “He took a bullet that was meant for me,” he said, voice catching. “Lara, he saved my life.”

  Lower lip trembling, she nodded. “And the man who killed him?”

  “Dead.”

  She nodded again. “Good.”

  Given her abhorrence of violence, the response surprised Kaine, but Danny was like a younger brother and Lara was only human. She took a deep, centring breath before speaking again.

  “Corky said the comms broke down. What exactly happened?”

  “Later.” Kaine shook his head. “Now’s not the time.”

  He stepped back and gave her the once-over. Dressed in military camouflage gear, desert boots, a peaked cap, and a dark green bandana, she’d come prepared for action.

  “Where are the casualties?”

  “In the kitchen.” He led her around the side of the house, following the gravel path, and gave her an outline of what to expect. As they approached the destroyed bifold doors, he turned and held out his arm to stop her. “Cover your nose and mouth with the bandana. I don’t want the casualties to see your face.”

  Without question, she did as he instructed. They stepped over the threshold and entered a place that looked closer to a military field hospital than a kitchen.

  “I said you’d treat this one first,” Kaine said, pointing to Lajos, “but … you’re in charge here.”

  A tear-stained Lajos Pataki started to say something, but thought better of it when Cough raised his gun and waggled the butt in his face.

  “Quite right,” Lara said, her hazel eyes scanning her patients’ wounds. “When did you ever qualify to run triage?” She spoke with the authority of a professional medic.

  Kaine raised his hands.

  “Sorry, Doc. Point taken. I’ll leave you to it.”

  He nodded to Cough, and although he said, “Sergeant, give the doc any help she needs,” he actually meant, “You’re in charge of security. Take care of her for me.”

  Sergeant Ashley Coughlin knew his job, and he knew how important Lara was to Kaine. He’d protect her with his life, as would everyone on Kaine’s extended team.

  Kaine left them to it and headed for another person in need of protection. Their numbers were increasing, but he didn’t mind taking on the responsibility of yet another endangered soul. No matter how many he protected, it still wouldn’t wipe his slate clean. The eighty-three deaths would remain on his conscience forever.

  Miraculously, the front room had survived the firefight totally unscathed. Marian sat in the corner of the sofa, a cardigan draped over her shoulders, a cushion hugged to her belly, and a tissue in hand. Stefan stood guard over her.

  When Kaine arrived, she jumped to her feet. “Where’s your friend? Where’s Danny? Stefan won’t tell me anything.”

  Kaine hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words, but there was no easy way to say it.

  “Mrs Prentiss,” he said, “Danny didn’t make it.”

  After a fractional delay, her eyes opened wide in shock.

  “Oh my God, I-I’m so …”

  She threw a hand to her mouth, collapsed back into her seat, and folded over. Her shoulders quaked. Kaine sat alongside her but kept a slight gap between them.

  “Danny was my friend,” he said, “but you didn’t really know him, did you?”

  She straightened, wiped her nose on the tissue, and shook her head.

  “No, I-I didn’t know him at all. But he was a good man. I could tell that the moment I caught sight of him outside the hospital yesterday.”

  Kaine nodded and turned towards her. “He told me what he saw. Suspected you were being beaten by your husband. Wanted to help you.”

  “He … Danny made a mistake. Robbie would never hit me. Not ever.” She glanced up at the blank TV screen attached to the wall. Her brown eyes filling up at the memory of what she’d seen earlier. The horror of her husband’s death returning afresh. “Robbie may have made mistakes when it came to running a business, but he loved me, and … I loved him so much.”

  “Mrs Prentiss—”

  “Marian. Please call me Marian.” She dabbed tears from her puffy eyes.

  Kaine nodded. “Marian it is.”

  Stefan shuffled, and a pained expression crossed his face.

  “Yes, Private?”

  “Erm, excuse me, Captain. Is it safe to stay here so long?”

  “Good question. The doc’s just arrived. We have a few minutes while she makes her assessment. Control is monitoring the airwaves for relevant traffic.”

  “He can do that, sir? I mean, in real time?” Under different circumstances, Stefan’s confused frown would have been amusing.

  The question surprised Kaine until he remembered how little interaction Stefan had had with Corky. He’d never really witnessed the miracle that was Corky in action.

  “Yes, Stefan. He certainly can
.”

  “What about Vadik Pataki?” Marian asked. “The piece of filth who murdered Robbie. The man is pure evil. He’s the one who drove me to hospital. The one Danny mistook for Robbie. He’ll be back, I know he will. He … they will never leave us alone.” A hand dropped to her slightly rounded belly. “The baby and I will never be safe.”

  “Marian,” Kaine said, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Vadik Pataki’s dead. He’ll never hurt anyone again.”

  She shook off his hand. “No, you don’t understand. This is about more than one man. Vadik’s brother and their father, the whole evil clan—”

  “Lajos is in the kitchen. Badly hurt. To be honest, I’ll be surprised if he survives the day. As for the father, the so-called Giant of Győr, well”—Kaine paused for a moment to give Marian an encouraging smile—“I have plans for him and his people.”

  “You know about the Patakis?”

  “Not really. At least not yet. As I said, I have plans. First though, we need to find somewhere safe for you and the baby.”

  He smiled again but it didn’t have the encouraging effect he wanted. Marian Prentiss burst into tears again.

  “We’re never going to be safe. No matter where we go, they’ll find us.”

  “Not with a new identity,” Kaine said. “New papers, a new location.”

  Kaine couldn’t ignore the sense of déjà vu. He’d offered Melanie Archer the same package. Although she’d refused his offer of a new life in a new location, she had her reasons, illogical though they’d seemed at the time. As far as Kaine understood, Marian Prentiss would have no such objections. With an unborn child to protect, she should jump at the opportunity of a new life away from danger.

  “No,” she said. “That’s not possible. How can I go anywhere? I don’t have any money. It’s all gone. All of it.”

  “Money’s not an issue, Marian. The Giant of Győr, Viktor Pataki, is going to fund your new life. Not that he knows it yet.”

  “What? How?”

  “I’m still fleshing out the details in my head. But I can assure you, money will not be an issue. Will you trust me on this?”

  Marian blinked, shook her head. “I-I … don’t—”

  “Danny was one of my closest friends.” Kaine hesitated long enough to gain her undivided attention. “Viktor Pataki is directly responsible for his death. Trust me, Marian. He will pay. He’ll pay in blood as well as in cash.”