“About to reset the explosive,” I breathed quietly.
“We’ll see you in a few then. Be careful.”
I arrived at the juncture and reprogrammed the detonator, setting the timer for five minutes. That would give me plenty of time if I used my vampire speed to get away. I loved it when my plans went right, and so far plan B had been smooth sailing.
After syncing my watch with the time I’d programmed, I pushed the small gray button and the display lit up with glowing blue numbers. I lingered long enough to be sure the countdown started, then pivoted to head back to the corridor.
Exercising less caution—because five minutes was only five minutes—I scooted back along the path of pipes until I reached a spot where I could jump down.
Right before I leaped, I heard the only voice capable of chilling me to the core.
“Have the intruders been found?” Viktor demanded in a cold, aggrieved tone.
That anger had been directed at me twenty years ago. Shudders wracked my body, and the flight or fight instinct roared through me. My fingernails went white and my thighs ached as I automatically tightened my legs around the pipe, struggling to hold still and avoid detection.
Even though I was masked by a glamour, a spy could never be too careful.
“There is no sign of them. Are we certain there are actually intruders? Or could this be another glitch in the surveillance system, like the one we had last week?” came the skeptical reply.
The sound of knuckles connecting sharply with bone was unmistakable. Whomever Viktor had punched was probably not getting up for a while from that blow. A wretched groan filled the air around me.
“Are you joking?” A female voice I didn’t recognize. I couldn’t be sure who she’d directed her question to, but my guess was she was staring at the man Viktor had punched.
“I—I—” the man’s voice was filled with pain and terror.
“Do you think the soldiers on the fifth level are dead because of a false alarm?” I heard the sneer in Koszlov’s voice, followed by a frightened scream and then the crack of gunfire. “Idiot!”
Viktor swore colorfully and ordered the soldiers around in his native tongue.
While he continued to rant, I pulled my Walther free of my belt then screwed the silencer in place. I snugged my glamour a bit more closely around me, lowered myself behind him, and dropped into a crouch.
My finger itched on the trigger with the monster in my sights. I was in the unique position to end his existence…to ensure both he and his evil plan were stopped. Vindication was like a sweet, addictive drug flowing through me, steadying my pulse, calming my aim. Twenty plus years of the phantom ache from the scar he’d given me, and then the addition of a new patch of blackened skin on my arm, was about to become history. This time I’d win. Humanity would win.
The thought warred with T’s voice in my head: We want Koszlov alive.
I couldn’t let him live. Too much was at stake. And if the Director ordered my death, so be it. I’d die happy knowing I’d dispatched my nemesis to Hell.
I inhaled deeply then stilled my soul.
Motion next to him broke my concentration and drew my focus away. The female standing next to Viktor, dressed in black tactical gear, stared right at me.
She wasn’t a tall woman, but she held herself in such a way as to look regal. Her long blond hair was pulled tightly enough away from her forehead it gave me a headache. She had one green eye and one silver eye, and both glowed with supernatural fire—the way I knew my eyes looked when I was in full-on vampire mode.
I felt like I’d been slapped. This bitch saw me as clearly as I saw her.
I could hear her excited heartbeat and knew she could hear the anger in mine.
Her fangs descended, and she curled her lip back to intimidate me.
My gums were on fire as my own incisors broke free. Next to her, Viktor’s pulse was agitated, but then, so was everyone else’s around me.
Memory tickled the back of my mind. I knew the woman from VIS headquarters. I flashed back on a time when I’d seen her hanging out at Penn’s desk, tight red skirt and cream silk blouse revealing entirely too much skin. We hadn’t been introduced, but she’d had an employee badge hanging around her neck.
She tugged Viktor’s sleeve. “I believe I’ve located the intruder.”
Viktor spun to face me. Confusion darkened his features.
When I dropped the glamour, his blue eyes turned frigid and furious under the stark frown. “Jayne Bond!” His affable tone battled with the cold hard stare he pinned on me.
“Koszlov,” I said bluntly as I aimed my gun on his chest.
From this distance, any shot I took would be a kill shot.
The vamp nudged him behind her protectively. Didn’t matter. My bullet would tear through her on its way to Viktor.
“I see I vill once again have the pleasure of making you my guinea pig.” His heavily accented English did nothing to calm me.
Just the opposite. The voice I’d heard for so many years in my nightmares, asking me to describe how the blood draining from my body felt, now echoed in the hallway.
Brows raised, his fat lips spread in a ludicrous smile, and then he laughed at my obvious discomfort. That sound raked across my nerves like a dull Ka-bar knife.
“Not a chance in hell. Looks like you’re consorting with the enemy now.” I nodded at his personal guard. “Who’s your comrade?”
“This is Minkah Orlova. My…consultant on all things vampire and VIS.”
“Consultant? Just a fancy way to say spy.” Wasn’t the name on the employee badge I’d seen. That name was much shorter. Eve Ash, as I recalled. “I won’t say I’m pleased to meet you.”
She smirked, then crossed one arm over her chest and tucked the other behind her, as if she could fight me with one hand tied behind her back.
When T had predicted there was a mole among the ranks of the VIS, I had a fleeting thought that perhaps I’d met that mole in person. I’d been right. Dammit. But was she working alone? How deep did the conspiracy go? She could only be a junior clerk or admin. I knew all the mucky-mucks at headquarters. More importantly, could I defeat her, kill Koszlov, and make it to safety?
Maybe I’d accomplish the first two, but time was running out on making it a safe distance from Rapa Nui when the bombs went off. If I couldn’t save myself, at least I’d save humanity.
If we ended up in hand-to-hand combat, I had Orlova by five inches and two stone of solid muscle. She wasn’t field trained, and she wasn’t as old or wily as me. Bitch would go down. No telltale bulge anywhere on her trim frame indicated a weapon. So much the better.
I reached around my back, mimicking her posture, and slipped my hand into the hidden zipper pouch used to store my VIS-supplied suicide pill. There was only one pill, but I’d be making it out alive. I couldn’t say the same for Orlova.
“Why would you help him?” I asked her. Surely, she knew what a bastard he was. That I’d been tortured by him wasn’t a huge secret at the VIS.
“What other reasons are there than money and power?” Smug satisfaction coated her smooth, melodic voice.
Gun still aimed at Viktor’s forehead and fingers clenched around the deadly pill, I realized I hated her. Not just because she was clearly Viktor’s bodyguard, but because she betrayed her own kind. He’d destroyed more vampires than could be counted, and this bitch was helping him.
I debated saying something rousing in an attempt to sway her back to the light, but the set of her features disabused me of the inclination. She was happy doing what she was. Her betrayal cut deeply. No one had coerced her.
Because I wanted to save everyone I could, I tried anyway. “You don’t have to work with madmen to make oodles of money. You could have picked something a little more classy than teaming up with a murderer.”
She turned to him and stroked her sharp-tipped fingernail over his cheek. “He’s paying me quite well. I don’t want to be a drudge at the VIS for t
he rest of my life. He’s promised to install me at the head of the organization when he conquers the world. I’ll be the most important vampire in existence.”
Viktor’s glance shifted to the right, and his eyes narrowed. He’d told her one thing, but ultimately, he’d deliver death to her.
“He’s lying to you. Poster girls for online shopping do not become heads of super-secret, very important international agencies,” I scoffed. “You’re nothing more than a plaything.”
“Shut up!”
I’d rattled her. Now I needed to turn the screws a little more. “If he’s allowed to continue with this plan, there will be no VIS. His success will make Hitler’s atrocities look like a field trip to a zoo in comparison.”
“Now, Jayne—”
I swung my weapon back to his forehead, cutting any further words off.
I was desperately aware of the numbers ticking down on the counter but didn’t dare check the detonator time on my watch. Doing that would be a dead giveaway I was up to something. My gut clenched, and my palm grew damp on the butt of my gun.
The door to the lab slipped opened behind them, creating the opportunity I needed. Aiming at Koszlov, I held steady and teased the hair trigger. A spot of crimson bloomed on his shoulder. I leapt forward as he stumbled backward.
Damn, my aim was off. I’d blame the residual effects of his poison.
Orlova jumped in my path, fangs bared, mouth wide, as if she meant to rip out my throat. But I was in beast mode and plowed right into her, taking her to the ground. The gun flew from my fist, but I didn’t care. I’d kill the bitch with my bare hands if necessary.
Her eyes widened, and she struggled under me, fighting like an angry lion. She raked her fingernails down my cheek and throat, opening three stinging grooves in my skin. With a roar, I shoved the pill into her open maw, then slammed the heel of my hand under her chin. I heard the tablet crushing between the teeth I’d just knocked together.
When she screamed, glowing blue-orange light spilled out of her mouth as the poison was released. The light intensified, hurting my eyes. Squinting, I rolled off her and located my weapon. While she writhed on the floor, body contorting and seizing in a death throe, I spied Viktor crawling toward the lab doorway.
The worker who’d opened the door had frozen near the entrance, holding open Viktor’s path to safety. I took the shot, and the dead man dropped to the floor. The door whooshed closed, leaving just Viktor, two dead humans, an imploding vamp, and me in the hallway.
I pushed up to my feet as Minkah turned to ash. I jumped over the pile and stalked to the now cowering Koszlov.
His gaze slid frantically around the hall, stopping on the Walther resting in the pile of soot that used to be Orlova. He dove toward it, but I stopped him with a boot to his shoulder, dead center where I’d shot him. He screamed like a little girl and flopped over to his back, breath coming in sharp, pained gasps. Cold fury burned in his eyes.
I seized the weapon, then planted my foot on his chest—a risky move, I knew—and held him in place and pointed the barrel of the Walther at his forehead.
“Kill me,” he yelled. “It won’t matter. My son will avenge me.”
“Not if I find him first. And you know that will be easy. He’s addicted to being in the headlines. He’s not very discreet.” All I needed to do was open to Page 6. There he’d be.
The truth of my words dawned in Viktor’s eyes. “This isn’t over, Bond. Kill me, and you’ll become a bigger target than before. The bounty on your head doubles upon my death. Every syndicate, the Russian Mafia, the Asian Tongs, every organized crime power will be after you.”
“Let them come.” I worked the slide on the gun, chambering the round that would end Koszlov’s existence. “I can’t say it’s been nice knowing you. Good bye, Viktor.”
The silencer on the gun zinged as I fired once into his forehead. I squeezed off a second shot to be safe.
Then all that was left was a curiously flat feeling. The phantom aches in the scars he’d left on my body didn’t lessen. I’d foolishly hoped they’d miraculously disappear.
Disappointed, I shoved the gun into the back of my wetsuit pants, the residual heat from the discharge uncomfortable against my cooler skin. I swept up the dead guard’s automatic rifle in case I needed it and threaded the strap over my head.
With the timer on the bomb down nearly two minutes, my surroundings blurred as I charged out of there at vampire speed. At my pace, and with no further incidents, I might make the access tunnel with time to spare.
22
Mission Day 16
Rapa Nui Landing Strip
My luck held, and I didn’t run afoul of any more soldiers. Not that they’d have seen me anyway, as fast as I ran. They might have registered a brisk tailwind as I moved past, making my way to the exit point.
I slowed enough to avoid running into the bulkhead wall right by the access tunnel. The grating clanged loudly when I ripped it from its frame and cast it aside. The exertion wrenched my bad shoulder, but I ignored the pain and the gnawing ache in my gut. According to my watch, I had less than forty-five seconds to evacuate. The underwater percussive effect of the explosion could crush me. I was a vamp…I’d heal. But I’d be in pain for quite a few days into the future.
My scuba gear was where I’d discarded it. I strapped on my tank, snagged my fins, and dropped my dive sled into the pipe below. The noxious odor from the effluent tube made my eyes water. I leaped down after, snugging my mask into place. The water was chest level, slowing me down as I tried to run and check my regulator at the same time.
Damn. Only five minutes of air left. I’d known it was risky to use the tank when I’d first entered the facility. But thanks to that, I might not reach the rally point. I arrived at the end of the pipe and prepared to launch myself into the ocean. I keyed my lip-mic before leaping into the murky depths.
“Lucien, not going to make the rendezvous. Going with plan B.” I tugged my fins into place.
His reply was immediate. “There is not another plan B. Tell me you’re in the tunnel and are on the way out. We’re already aboard the Dragon. We’ll come to you.”
“Sorry, Lucien. Almost out of air in my tanks. I’m shooting straight up and heading back to the island. I’ll steal Viktor’s helo. Word has it he doesn’t need it anymore.”
“Bond, goddammit—”
“Out of time. Thirty seconds. Get clear.” I ripped the bud from my ear and jerked the throat band free, dropping both in the water. I crammed my regulator in my mouth, tested it, and then jumped through the hatch.
Twenty-five seconds to go. I could cover the distance to the surface in fifteen seconds if I kicked hard. I activated the sled and took off, scissoring my legs like hell for leather.
I breached the surface like a fast-rising submarine. I shot free of the waves then crashed back down on my back. Instantly, I twisted until I was on my belly and aimed for the shore. The second my feet touched ground in the shallows, the entire island rocked.
The quake caused me to stumble sideways. I corrected and shed my tank, fins, and mask on the fly, leaving the equipment littering the sand at twenty-foot intervals. Reaching the first rise of land, a ridge just past the eroding shoreline, I paused long enough to get my bearings.
The earth rumbled and rattled under my feet, and I softened my knees to absorb the rolling movement. A loud boom cracked against the landscape, ricocheting off Rano Raraku. I prayed our explosives didn’t set off the volcano because everyone would be racing to the shore then. I couldn’t be sure how many planes or helicopters were on the island. All I needed was one, and I wasn’t interested in ferrying any passengers.
I sighted the concrete structure about one kilometer away, recognizing the raised entrance to Viktor’s underground facility. Smoke gushed out of the bunker and plumed high into the sky.
My feet flew as if I had wings. Each step took me closer to freedom. Along the way, I lurched drunkenly when each new tremble struck. As
I corrected, off to my right, several of the moai toppled, breaking into pieces.
Just ahead, an orange windsock flapped wildly in the explosion’s unnatural gusts of wind. You can’t set off the amount of explosives we’d planted and not get a little blowback.
I crested a hill, going airborne for an instant, and crashed down running. Veering left, I headed toward the landing strips and sped up. When I neared the chain-link fence surrounding the makeshift hangar, I had enough speed going to take a running leap over it, one foot boosting me off the top rail. I flailed my arms to keep my balance, flying through the air without a plane or parachute.
I slammed down to the ground and angled toward a helicopter idling on the landing pad.
Three people jolted from the building, heading toward the bird. Gregorie and two of his lady friends were headed the same place I was. Thank God, the women were wearing ridiculous high-heeled sandals. No way could they outrun me. But they were closer to the helo.
Luckily, I got there first. The pilot sat at the stick, running his checklist. He yelled when I yanked open the door.
“Sorry,” I said as I gripped the neck of his flight suit.
One great heave, and I’d pulled him from the plane, tossing him to the ground like a discarded gum wrapper.
“Stop!” Gregorie yelled.
A bullet slammed into the tarmac by the landing skid. Any fool knew you had to stop to take aim. Running makes hitting the target nearly impossible. Fortunately for me.
I scurried into the cabin and latched the door behind me. I revved the rotors and lifted off. The bird yawed to the left, and I adjusted the stick to compensate. As I rose higher in the air, the side window shattered, and a bullet lodged in the header of the cabin.
Look at that. Gregorie had figured out how to true up his aim. Not that a simple bullet would harm me. But it could destroy my escape vehicle.
Couldn’t have that. Working the stick and pedals in tandem, I swung the helo toward the last remaining Koszlov. I tipped up my tail rotor and lowered my main disc, turning the bird into a killing machine aimed right at Gregorie. I advanced, threatening instant dismemberment with the rapidly turning rotors. He threw his body prone on the ground and jerked his face to the left. The blades sliced through his shirt, but I didn’t see a bloody line indicating I’d delivered a killing blow. His pale blond hair whipped wildly in the vortex of wind.
Licensed To Thrill Page 24