Assassins Vengeance Read online

  The two men began to walk back towards the park entrance.

  ‘So, when will Knox move you off the case?’ asked Greene. ‘Is he worried you’ll steal his glory?’

  Miles snorted. Knox did have a habit of waiting until investigations were almost concluded, then moving his managers to one side and taking over just at the critical point. However, this time, he wasn’t sure that was the case. As far as he was concerned, he was no closer to working out what was going on, and had no idea how long it was going to take.

  Unless Knox had information that Miles hadn’t been made privy to?

  ‘I don’t think so,’ he said eventually, weighing his words with care. ‘You know what it’s like – there are so many threats out there, most of us are juggling several different investigations at once.’ He shrugged. ‘This one intrigues me though.’

  ‘I’ll bet.’ Greene didn’t look convinced, but at least had the professional decency to keep his thoughts to himself.

  As they drew closer to the gates, Miles shook hands with him. They’d split up, make sure they hadn’t been followed, before Miles would make his way back to the apartment.

  ‘You’ll let me know if you come across anything else?’

  ‘Sure. And make sure you get in touch if you need help,’ said Greene. ‘I’m not sure what’s going on, Miles, but it must be big if this guy has decided early retirement didn’t suit him.’

  ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’

  Three

  Decker cursed under his breath, and stomped away from the fireplace.

  Eva could hear him pacing behind her, and closed her eyes. ‘I’m sorry, Decker. I was sworn to secrecy. I couldn’t tell you.’

  She held her breath, waiting for him to respond.

  ‘It’s a shock, that’s all.’

  A strong hand was placed on her shoulder, and squeezed.

  ‘Thank you,’ she said. She opened her eyes to find Nathan staring at her.

  He was silent for a moment and Eva held her breath, wondering what secrets from her past would have to be divulged if they were ever going to work out what was going on, and still not sure how the analyst would be able to help, despite his determination.

  Eventually he spoke.

  ‘How on earth did you get involved in all this?’

  ‘I was approached by the Section about a month after graduating university. They told me they’d been watching me for a while, which isn’t as creepy as it sounds,’ she said. ‘I was always good at sports, and I was on the university’s pistol shooting team. I loved it. I won some competitions – that’s how they spotted me.’

  ‘So, they asked you to become an assassin, and you said “yes”, is that it?’

  Eva winced at the sarcasm in Nathan’s voice.

  How could he ever understand?

  ‘I went to university as a way to escape my life,’ she said. ‘Working for the Section guaranteed I’d never return to the way things were before. Ever. My childhood was shit,’ she said. ‘Both my parents died before I was Alex’s age, and I was put into foster care. There are a lot of good people who foster kids. Unfortunately, the people I was sent to weren’t.’

  Out the corner of her eye, she noticed Decker shift uncomfortably.

  ‘Of course,’ Eva said, ‘the Section knew all of this. Every single recruit on that pilot programme had the same messed-up background as me. And the Section used that to their advantage.’

  ‘I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been for you,’ said Nathan. ‘I’m sorry.’

  She shrugged. ‘It’s only while I’ve been in hiding these past three years I’ve had time to think about it,’ she said. ‘At the time, I was too excited to worry about the ethics of it. Of course, being an orphan and from a foster family who couldn’t care less, it meant I had no family to explain myself to – or that the Section would have to deal with if something went wrong.’ Her jaw tightened. ‘It’d save them any complications if people start asking awkward questions at funerals, that’s for sure.’

  ‘The Section’s psychologists knew how to tap into that fear and turn it into anger,’ she added. ‘That’s how they trained us. They’d wear us down with questions about our past and our lives as kids, and then unleashed it on the training grounds. It worked.’

  Eva noticed Decker’s jaw clench, then saw Nathan’s complexion pale moments later, and she swallowed.

  ‘I thought you knew all this,’ she said, bewildered. ‘You were the analyst assigned to my case, right?’

  ‘I wasn’t told about your history,’ Nathan spluttered. ‘I mean – Jesus – what sort of person does that?’ He shook his head. ‘No wonder you were at breaking point when the Section put you on close protection duty at the embassy.’

  Eva glanced down at her hands. ‘At the time I joined the Section, it was a challenge,’ she said. ‘A way to prove myself – to me, if no-one else.’ She glanced over her shoulder and met Nathan’s eyes. ‘Up to that point, no-one gave a shit what happened to me.’

  Nathan exhaled; she could see him try to keep his calm. ‘How many of you were recruited by the Section?’

  ‘There were four of us at the end,’ said Eva. ‘Sixteen of us started the course. One died two weeks after we finished training.’ She shivered. ‘It was an accident, but it was a wake-up call to me. Another was killed on active service. I don’t know where. We weren’t privy to each other’s missions.’ She shivered. ‘I knew then that I had to be the best I could be, if I was going to survive. And now, I might be the only one left.’

  ‘None of this was on your file.’

  ‘It was deemed to be too sensitive.’

  ‘What happened to Alex’s sister?’

  ‘Three years ago, the Section radioed the team that were still dealing with the aftermath at the engineer’s hotel room. They’d managed to lock the scene down to prevent the hotel staff from finding out and calling in the local police,’ she said. ‘They began to search the room again. Remember, they thought they were dealing with the murder of the engineer’s wife,’ she added. ‘They had no reason to know there was potentially someone else in the room with her at the time.’

  Nathan’s eyes widened. ‘She didn’t witness her mother’s murder, did she?’

  ‘We don’t think so,’ said Eva. ‘We think her mother hid her before she answered the door to the room; I don’t know – call it maternal instinct if you like – but her actions saved her daughter’s life. The Section’s team found her hiding in the wardrobe behind the panelling at the back.’

  ‘Was – was she okay? I mean, she must’ve have been traumatised,’ said Nathan.

  ‘I don’t know. I never met her. Sorry,’ she said, standing up, ‘I need a drink of water.’

  ‘Wait,’ said Decker. ‘I’ve got something stronger. You sound like you need it.’

  He disappeared into the shadows, and returned with three plastic beakers and a bottle of red wine. ‘I think we all need this.’

  Eva took her cup from him and paced in front of the fire. Now that she’d made a start, she didn’t want to stop in her narrative of the events of three years ago. Desperate, she knew deep down she wanted Decker and Nathan to hear the whole story, to see if they could shed any light on what was happening to her.

  She may have been one of the best assassins ever recruited by the Section, but her abilities didn’t extend to information analysis, and she knew she needed help.

  She took a sip of the Tuscan wine before continuing. ‘Before he died, the engineer told Doug that Alex was the key to the information he’d passed on as part of his defection deal with the British. Of course, then the engineer was assassinated before he could tell us any more.’

  ‘What happened?’

  ‘The Section brought in a team of psychologists – they decided the only way to find out what Alex knew about the people who killed his father was to place him in a softer environment,’ said Eva. ‘So, they sent Doug, Alex and me to a house in the suburbs. We had to pretend we were a family.’ She broke off and wiped at her eyes, then held up a hand as both men moved towards her. ‘It’s okay. You need to hear this. I need you to hear it – we’ve got to work this out somehow.’

  She sniffed, then carried on. ‘There were two psychologists – a male and a female – who took it in turns to visit the house for a couple of hours every day. They spent a week with Alex, trying to work out what he might know, but it was no good – he’d either forgotten it, or was too traumatised to want to recall it. Apparently, the team talking to his sister had the same problem. She wouldn’t – or couldn’t – tell them anything.’

  Eva took another sip of her wine, ignoring the trembling in her fingers and hoping Decker wouldn’t notice. ‘They had just left on the fifth day, when Doug was murdered.’

  She wiped her eyes once more, then sat down in her seat, clutching the beaker between her hands as she stared into the fire. ‘Everything happened so quickly after that. The Section moved me out of the house with Alex, and that’s when I found out what my new mission was.’ She managed a smile as her eyes found the sleeping boy. ‘I was tasked with keeping Alex safe, for as long as it took for him to remember what his father might have told him.’

  ‘I’m presuming he hasn’t remembered?’

  ‘No. He hasn’t,’ said Eva. ‘The psychologists showed me a few exercises to do with him a couple of times a week, to see if it jogged his memory. There’s been nothing.’

  ‘Why did you insist on bringing him to France?’ demanded Decker. ‘He was safe in Italy. We were safe in Italy.’

  Eva glanced down at her glass and realised it was empty. She walked across to where Decker sat, and picked up the bottle of red, refilled her glass, and then took a sip.

  ‘Alex’s twin is here.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘At a place south of Toulouse,’ said Eva. ‘The Section decided to split up the twins for their own safety. I was tasked with looking after Alex. There’s another woman from the same training programme as me, looking after his twin sister.’

  ‘How do you know where to find her?’ said Nathan, peering over his wine glass.

  Eva sighed. ‘Unknown to the Section, when Alex got placed with me and his sister was sent to France, I kept in touch with my colleague. We felt we had to, for the sake of the twins. We used none of our Section-sanctioned protocols, though – I think we both knew there was more to what happened to the engineer than we were being told, and we had to protect the twins at all costs.’

  ‘When the bloody hell were you going to tell me all of this?’ Decker managed to keep his voice low to avoid waking the sleeping boy, but the menace still cut through. ‘After all we’ve been through?’

  ‘I couldn’t,’ snapped Eva. ‘If anyone found out the kids were still alive, there was a very high chance of them becoming targets.’ She sighed and put her wine glass on the floor next to Decker’s chair. ‘And that’s why we’re here. I’ve never met his twin. She was kept away from us. What if she panics? At least if she sees Alex, she might remember him. She won’t trust us, but she might trust him.’ She peered over her shoulder at the sleeping boy. ‘Besides,’ she said, ‘he’s got nowhere else to go.’

  ‘When was the last time you spoke to your counterpart?’ said Nathan.

  ‘Six months ago.’

  ‘So, she might not even be there.’

  ‘I have to find out for sure.’

  ‘This is crazy,’ snapped Decker. ‘They were split up for a reason, Eva. And yet, you want to take Alex straight back to the person you’ve been keeping him away from?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘To save her. If they found Alex and me eleven days ago, I’m presuming they know where his twin is as well.’ She glared at Decker. ‘I’m trying to get to her before they do.’

  Four

  France

  * * *

  A cold breeze enveloped Eva as she climbed from the vehicle.

  The surrounding countryside was quiet, the silence broken only by the squawk of a lone crow wheeling above a field at the back of the property.

  Footsteps crunched on gravel before Decker joined her.

  ‘Looks abandoned. No vehicles. No smoke from the chimney.’

  ‘Looks can be deceptive.’

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘Feels like we’re being watched.’

  ‘Agreed.’ The wind changed direction, and he sniffed. ‘Better have them wait in the car.’

  Eva frowned, then turned her head and caught his meaning.

  There was definitely something in the air.

  She glanced over her shoulder to where Nathan and Alex stood next to the car. ‘Wait there,’ she called.

  Decker tossed the car keys to Nathan, who caught them one-handed and clutched them to his chest.

  ‘Stay in the car,’ said Decker. ‘Keep warm.’

  ‘It’ll give them some protection from attack, too,’ murmured Eva as they began to walk towards the side of the house, looking for a way in.

  ‘I know. But there’s no need to tell him that and cause alarm.’

  Eva swept her gaze over the house.

  It looked solid, with the same no-nonsense build as the house they’d stayed in overnight. Its brick exterior had been rendered once, a long time ago, but now bore the tell-tale traces of accidental neglect. The owner obviously had more pressing business to attend to.

  The curtains had been drawn closed, and no windows were open.

  ‘Look,’ she said, and pointed at the wall above one of the lintels. ‘Bullet holes.’

  Wary, they stepped closer, weapons raised.

  ‘Someone lost their element of surprise,’ said Decker.

  Eva checked over her shoulder. ‘There’s no cover, that’s why,’ she said. ‘Whether they came across the fields or along the road, they would’ve been spotted a mile away.’

  Decker squinted into the distance. ‘If she saw them coming, why didn’t she run?’

  Eva turned back to the house and took a step back, assessing its build once more with a critical eye. ‘Panic room – same as me.’

  ‘I don’t think she made it.’

  Eva fought down the wave of sickness that threatened to engulf her. What had happened here could have happened to her. To Alex.

  Only Stefano’s death had saved them.

  ‘Come on,’ she said. ‘One way to find out.’

  They reached the corner of the building and followed it round to a back door that faced the field.

  Cropped stalks of what had once been barley poked out from the dark earth, and a fresh wind blew in their faces.

  Eva took several deep gulps before facing the door.

  Two more bullets had obliterated the lock, and on leaving, the intruders had simply pulled the door back into its frame to trick anyone giving the property a fleeting glance.

  ‘Wait here,’ said Eva. ‘Give me five minutes. If I don’t come out, take the car and go.’

  ‘Copy that.’ Decker took up position with his back to the house, his eyes sweeping the landscape. ‘Make sure you’re back before then.’

  ‘Will do.’

  Eva took a step back, then kicked the door open, raising her weapon at the same time.

  A black void appeared, a gloomy space that, once Eva stepped over the threshold, revealed a kitchen.

  Eva swept her gun back and forth as she waited for her eyes to adjust, taking in the crockery that remained stacked in the sink, the water long since drained away.

  And still, that smell that permeated the air through the whole house.

  Decker’s shadow crossed the door as Eva moved through the room, yet she knew he wouldn’t follow – not unless she asked.

  They’d worked together before, once, and he’d treated her as an equal then, never questioning her judgement. Now, they knew even more was at stake and their trust in each other was implicit.

  With Decker guarding the rear of the property, Eva edged her way through a doorway that led into a living area. She swept her gun around the space, but no-one shot at her; no-one emerged from the darkened recesses of the room.

  She crouched, reached out and flicked back the faded crimson rug that covered the floor, to reveal wide flagstones, their surface pockmarked with over a century’s wear.

  She bit back an exasperated curse. She’d been hoping to uncover a trapdoor, a place for Alex’s twin to hide.

  Instead, the solid floor stretched away to all four walls uninterrupted.

  Eva straightened, glanced at the front door, and noticed that four heavy bolts still hung in place. Her gun wavered as her eyes found the soft toy discarded on the two-seater settee against one wall. In four paces, she’d crossed the room and picked it up, turning it in her hands.

  The blue rabbit had been an apparent favourite, evidenced by the worn fur, patched up body parts and a button for an eye.

  She propped it against one of the cushions, and began to climb the wooden stairs built into the opposite wall. In her mind, she ran through several scenarios, all of which were discarded – Alex’s sister was nowhere to be found downstairs; there was simply nowhere to hide.

  The smell grew stronger as Eva reached the top step, and she used her sleeve to cover her mouth and nose in an attempt to mask the stench.

  She could hear it now, a muted buzzing from the direction of the front of the house. Years of training dictated she check the other rooms first, so she did so, quickly discounting the small shared bathroom and child’s bedroom, a lump forming in her throat at the ordinary signs of two lives brutally interrupted.

  She opened cupboard doors, pulled back rugs from timber floors, but there was no trace.

  Eva squared her shoulders, tested the weight of the gun in her hand through habit, and pushed open the door to the main bedroom.

  She gagged, took a step back, and swore.

  She was no stranger to violence, but the manner in which her colleague had been tied up and systematically tortured left little to the imagination.

  The thought that the women had surely screamed her last breath within earshot of a six-year-old girl was almost unbearable.