Drew
Marco was heavy.
I pulled him behind the desk and positioned him so it looked like he’d stood up and fallen due to a heart attack. Any preliminary tests would show heart failure as his demise, and I wasn’t expecting The Vicar to live long enough to find out anything more.
Once I had him positioned, I ducked out of the office and looked to make sure there was no one coming to find him. A couple of thugs had passed by the lab a couple of hours ago, so I guessed they felt like Marco could take care of one small woman. A big mistake on their part.
When I saw the coast was clear, I rushed back to the lab and hid in the bathroom. I pulled out Marco’s cell phone and almost sobbed when I saw it was password-protected.
“Dammit!”
I dropped my head back, staring up at the ceiling. “God, if ever there was a time I needed help, it’s now. Please.” Then I typed in the password one, two, three, four.
“Yes!” I fist-pumped the air when the phone unlocked. Thank God for simple minds. Then I realized I didn’t know Levi’s number. I opened the Internet browser on his phone and typed in Shadow Force Gym. A phone number popped up, and I said another silent prayer that the call would go through.
It rang six times before clicking over to voicemail.
“Dammit!”
I called back five more times before the sweetest voice I had ever heard answered.
“Shadow Force Gym, this is Jolie. My, you are persistent! How can I help you?”
“Jolie, it’s Drew.”
“Oh, my gosh! Drew! It’s Drew, y’all!” She screamed the last line, and I assumed she was in her office taking the call.
“Where are you?” But before I could answer her question, there was a clattering on her end with a string of cuss words.
“Drew! Is it really you?”
It was Levi. Tears pricked my eyes. He was alive! Thank God, he was alive! “Yes, it’s me. I’m so glad to hear you’re alive.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“One of The Vicar’s men told me that you’d all been blown up.”
“They’d rigged the place, but we all got out in time.”
“I cannot tell you how happy I am to hear that. Listen, I don’t know how long I have. I’m in an abandoned hospital about two hours from Atlanta. I don’t know the city. I couldn’t see anything.”
“We got a van on camera leaving the city going east. Assuming they didn’t double back, we’ll start there. You’re okay?”
“Yes, and so is Hunter. For now. He has something planned. Something big. He wants five hundred vials of the antidote in two days. It’s not possible to get that many done by myself, and I don’t know what happens when I don’t deliver.”
“We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Footsteps sounded outside, and I knew I was out of time. “I’ve gotta go.”
“Stay alive, you hear me? Do whatever it takes.”
“I will.”
“I love you, angel.”
The tears were flowing down my cheeks, choking off my words, but it was important that I say it. In case I didn’t make it out alive, he needed to know how I felt. “I love you, too.”
I ended the call, shoving the phone in a cabinet over the toilet. I would have to try to get the phone back to Marco’s office and delete the call log, but I didn’t have time right then.
I flushed the toilet and stepped out of the bathroom. Cue Ball and another of Vicario’s thugs stood in the room.
“Where’s Marco?” Cue Ball asked.
I shrugged. “No idea. I just took a potty break. Maybe he went out for a smoke.”
“Marco doesn’t smoke,” the smaller thug said. He looked a little like a weasel, or maybe a large rat. Hard to say.
“Well, I don’t know, but if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a lot to do.”
The thugs bristled at my dismissive tone, and I silently prayed they wouldn’t go searching for Marco right then. I still had his phone.
To my relief, they left in the opposite direction to Marco’s office with a final command to have Marco call them when he got back. I breathed out a breath of relief and waited five minutes before rushing back to the bathroom.
I’d given Shadow Force everything I had in hopes they’d be able to find me in time before Matias launched another attack. Now, it was up to me to keep Hunter and myself alive.
After checking both ways, I scrambled to Marco’s office, his dead body lying still and alone on the floor. I had a moment’s twinge of guilt that I quickly pushed away. Had the shoe been on the other foot, Marco wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me. I knew that for sure. Kill or be killed was the name of the game in this war, and I planned to live a long life with Hunter and Levi by my side. I’d do anything for them.
I deleted the call log that I’d made to Shadow Force and then laid the telephone on the desk. I considered placing it back in his pocket, but I didn’t want to touch him.
When I was back in the lab, a plan started to form. I needed to either inject The Vicar with the mutated antidote that would kill him as it had Marco, or I needed a different form of the Black Death virus that would have a delayed reaction, giving me time to find Hunter before “curing” The Vicar with the antidote that would effectually kill him.
It took all afternoon, and I’d had very little time to eke out any further vials of the real antidote, but it was a chance I had to take.
Around late afternoon, the two thugs returned.
“Where’s Marco?”
“He never came back, and I’ve been too busy to worry about it.” I continued working, portraying a total lack of concern for their co-worker.
Cue Ball and Rat Face—what I was now calling him in my head—left, walking towards Marco’s office. I heard shouts and then footsteps as they ran down the hallway back to me.
“What the hell did you do to him?” Cue Ball asked, his face bright red with rage.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Is he okay?”
“No. He’s dead. What did you do?” Rat Face moved close, spittle flying from his lips. He pinned me up against a wall by my arms, and fear shot through me as I contemplated that I might have misplayed my hand.
I breathed deep, trying to calm my racing heart.
“Take me to him. Maybe I can help.”
Rat Face looked as if he wasn’t sure what to do. Finally, he released me and nodded before leading the way to Marco’s office. Marco’s body was still lying face down like I’d left him.
“Did you find him like this?”
“Yeah.”
I kneeled down beside him and examined the body. I wasn’t a medical examiner, but these guys didn’t know that. I turned Marco over, noticing the foam by his mouth. His eyes were wide as if frozen in shock, and his lips were blue.
“I can’t be sure, I’m not a medical examiner, but it looks like he had a heart attack.”
“How can you tell?”
“Foaming at the mouth, blue lips. Common signs.”
“Call The Vicar,” Cue Ball said to Rat Face. He pulled out his cell phone and made the call.
“He’s on his way.”
A new frisson of fear trickled down my spine, but I remained stoic, unfazed by the events in front of me. I could not act guilty, and I knew they wouldn’t find the needle mark, not on first inspection. It was the whole reason I’d stabbed him in the groin area and not in the neck. The neck would have been a few seconds faster but it would have left a small but detectable injection site. I couldn’t take that risk.
Several minutes passed before The Vicar came in, dressed in a dark-purple suit today. The man did love his colorful suits.
“Drew, my dear. What have you done?”
“I didn’t do anything. I went to the bathroom, and Marco stepped out. I guess he came in here to get something, I have no idea. When I got out of the bathroom he was gone. I thought maybe he’d stepped out for a moment, but I was too busy to notice that he hadn’t returned.”
“You didn’t notice that the bodyguard I’d assigned you has been missing for hours?”
“I figured he was nearby. But yes, I didn’t notice. In case you’ve forgotten, you gave me an impossible task. Marco wasn’t my responsibility.”
The Vicar lifted a brow, but a small smile played at his lips. He liked my feistiness. Maybe I could use that to my advantage.
I stood to my full height and cocked a hip. “He must have had a heart attack. I had noticed he was sweating a lot, especially after short walks.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, but I’m not a medical examiner, so I don’t know for sure.”
“Of course not. Check him for injection marks or any sign of a struggle.”
Cue Ball and Rat Face looked over the body, checking his neck and arms. “He’s clean, sir.”
The Vicar eyed me suspiciously and then shrugged. “Get the body out of here and dispose of it.”
“Yes, sir.”
I relaxed slightly until The Vicar walked over to me, his finger trailing lightly down my cheek. “You’ll join me for dinner tonight.”
“I have a lot to do.”
“I’m not asking.” He turned to walk away before pausing. “Who knows? You might get on my good side tonight, and I’ll give you a little more time. I’ll send someone with something for you to wear.”
With those words, he left, leaving me there with two thugs and a corpse.
What The Vicar didn’t know was that I wouldn’t need more time.
This ends tonight.
***
My hands shook as I placed the vial of the Black Death virus in my bra, then zipped up my dress. It was black; classy with a hint of sex appeal. A plunging neckline and tight fit were offset by its tasteful hemline and well-made material. It seemed The Vicar liked his women elegant and well put together. No trollops or hussies for him. I’d put my hair up in a loose bun on top of my head, leaving my neck bare. Soft tendrils framed my face, making the look a little less severe.
I didn’t have any makeup, since that didn’t seem to be something The Vicar had thought about and provided. So I pinched my cheeks and smoothed on some lotion that I’d found in the bathroom left over from ages ago. Yeah, it was risky to smother my face with a product that was thirty years out of date, but I doubted it would kill me. I couldn’t say the same thing for The Vicar.
A knock sounded at the door, and I inhaled slowly, steadying my nerves.
Walking to the door, I opened it to find Rat Face waiting for me. His eyes flickered over me, appreciation lingering in his gaze.
“This way,” he grunted, and I followed him down the hallway, taking a couple of turns into different corridors before finally stopping at what appeared to be the old cafeteria. Only it had been cleaned, white canvas draped over the leftover counters and soda machines. A table sat in the middle of the room, candles burning brightly against the stark white tablecloth. Fairy lights were strung around the room creating a romantic glow. My stomach pitched, and the thought that maybe I was in over my head crossed my mind.
Too late. I was there, and I had to see it through.
The Vicar sat at the table, a Kelly-green suit this time, his shirt just as crisp and white as when he’d bought it, I was sure. Did he buy a new one for every day? It was hard to believe that it had ever been through the laundry.
I shook the errant thoughts from my mind and plastered on as genuine a smile as I could muster. I had hoped that maybe he would have brought Hunter tonight to eat with us, and I reined in my disappointment.
Soon. We’ll be together again soon. I’ll make sure of that tonight.
“You look beautiful.” The Vicar came closer, taking my hand and placing a kiss on my knuckles. Quite the charmer, he was. Too bad he was also a murderer.
“Thank you. You look nice as well.” He lifted an eyebrow and turned, sweeping his hand toward the table.
“Have a seat.”
I took my chair as Vicario helped me scoot it in. He walked around to the other side and sat down.
“Wine?”
“Please—thank you.”
He poured a glass, the ruby-red liquid glistening in the candlelight. I took a sip.
“Nice?”
“Yes. Very.”
The whole situation was surreal. Was I really here drinking wine with a terrorist, commenting on how lovely the wine was? Geez, what had my life come to?
A man dressed in a white shirt and black slacks appeared from behind the white canvas sheets, a tray in his hand. He set two bowls in front of us, bowing before disappearing behind the canvas again.
“Gazpacho. I hope you like it.”
I hated it, but I wasn’t about to tell him that. Who ate cold soup anyway? Soup was meant to be warm, soothing, a balm to your weary soul. Cold soup was an oxymoron, but perhaps fitting for a cold-blooded killer.
We ate in silence for a few moments as I tried to choke down the offensive liquid. Finally, The Vicar spoke.
“So tell me, Drew, how do you know Levi and his band of merry men—and women, I guess, if you include Piper and Jolie?”
I put my spoon down and gave him my undivided attention. I had to be careful with what I said about Shadow Force, but I also needed to give him enough so he wouldn’t think I was hiding something.
“I don’t know them well. When I left the bunker, I sort of just ran into him. He was willing to help me and keep me safe. That’s it.”
“That’s it? Why would he sacrifice so much for a woman he doesn’t know?”
“I don’t think he’s sacrificing anything. This is just what he does.”
“Ah, yes. A good guy. A hero. Protector.” The Vicar scoffed. “Overrated. Women don’t want or need to be coddled. They need a strong man willing to do whatever it takes for the cause.”
“You think killing innocent young people is a worthy cause?”
The Vicar smiled, clearly enjoying ruffling my feathers.
“Yes, I do. You don’t know the whole story—and if you did, perhaps you’d understand a bit more why I’m doing this.”
“So enlighten me.”
The Vicar raised an eyebrow then nodded. “Yes, I suppose I could. After all, you are a part of this. It was you who created the virus and the antidote. You’re just as culpable as I am.”
It wasn’t going to work. I would not be bogged down in guilt about what I’d had no choice but to do. Hunter was my life. And I’d do it all over again to save him. I didn’t know anyone else who wouldn’t do the same for their child.
“I guess I am.”
He laughed, holding up his glass in a toast. “To partners in crime.”
I clinked my glass against his.
“You know, we’re good together.”
“Oh?”
Matias chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised. With your scientific talents and my visionary mind, we could take over the world.”
“That’s quite an offer.”
“Power, my dear. It’s what makes the world go round. What makes the heart pump excitedly in your chest. What fuels lust and desire. Power is a heady thing, indeed.”
“Indeed.”
The waiter returned, taking our bowls and replacing them with plates of steak, broccoli, and potatoes. It looked and smelled delicious, but it was hard to stomach any food at that moment. I was using every ounce of self-control to keep my wits about me. If I let my guard down, The Vicar would gain the upper hand. I couldn’t allow that to happen.
As it was, I still had to find a way to sneak the vial of virus into his food or drink, and I was running out of time.
The Vicar cut into his steak, closing his eyes as he chewed. “Delicious. Just the way I like it.” He took a sip of wine and then took another bite. Once he was done chewing, he set the fork down next to his plate.
“I’m from a small village in Venezuela. Forty years ago, I was a young man. I had a wife, children, a family I loved. It was the kind of village where we took care of one another, you know? No one ever went without. I’d grown up there, and I was surrounded by aunts and uncles, surrogate parents.”
“It sounds lovely.”
“It was. But there was an undercurrent of trouble brewing. Drugs were starting to take off, and some of the young people were getting caught up in it.” The Vicar shook his head in disgust. “They weren’t content with the kind of life we lived—quiet, peaceful, humble. But we were handling it. The elders of the village had a plan to deal with the troublemakers.”
The Vicar stood from the table, agitated in his storytelling. While his back was turned, I reached into my bra and retrieved the vial, tucking it under my thigh.
“And then your damned government had to get involved.” The anger in his voice was a visceral thing, alive, prowling, ready to devour. “They called it an op gone wrong. A mistake. An accident.”
He walked to the other side of the room where a long window stood looking out over a parking lot. Not exactly a pretty view, but I didn’t think Matias was in the room at that moment. He was far away in Venezuela forty years ago.
I pulled the vial out and quickly dumped the contents into his wine glass, barely getting the vial back into my bra before he turned around. I took a sip of my wine and asked the question I knew he wanted from me.
“What happened?”
“Bad intel. The team of soldiers that infiltrated the village were told that a well-known drug lord was hiding out there. They were told that the villagers were hiding him, willing participants in his game. But that wasn’t the case. There were only a few men—boys, really—who were working for him. The soldiers came in under darkness, going house to house, searching for this man they said we were hiding from them.”
The Vicar paced back and forth, his arms behind his back.
“Of course, no one knew what was going on. We had no idea that these soldiers were from the US Army. They came into our homes with guns, threatening to kill anyone who got in their way.
By the time they realized they’d made a grave error, it was too late. A man entered my house, knocking me to the floor. My wife and two boys heard the commotion and came running from the closet I’d hidden them in, guns in hand. The man shot, killing them all. I cradled their bodies in my arms, held my wife as she bled out.”
Emotion clogged my throat. It was a terrible story, one that for a moment made me feel something other than hate for this man who’d had little sympathy for me or the people he planned to kill. It felt a whole lot like sympathy, but I pushed it down, keeping my mind on what he had done, what he was planning to do still.
“The US Government paid us off. Gave us more money than we’d ever be able to make in a lifetime. ‘An apology,’ they said. But we all knew what it was—a bribe to keep quiet.”
“I’m sorry.”
My voice broke the spell over the room, and Matias walked back to the table, sitting down and cutting another piece of steak before putting it in his mouth. I watched with bated breath as he washed it down with a large gulp of wine. His eyes found mine across the table.
“You don’t like your steak?”
“Oh, no. I mean, yes—it’s delicious. I was just captivated by your story. I am so sorry for your loss. But if I may ask, what does that have to do with the attack on the bar? The virus and the antidote? I don’t understand how the pieces fit together.”
“Don’t you?” The Vicar laughed but without humor. “I’m wiping out the future of America.” He took another gulp of wine, and my heart beat faster. “As we speak, my men are down the road at the local bars. Three of them. People will die tonight. We are ninety minutes from the closest hospital. There won’t be enough time to help them. He will have no choice but to do as I ask.”
Nausea roiled in my gut, threatening to empty the steak I’d tried to force down.
“No…” The word came out breathless, a plea for mercy.
“Yes. This hospital is called the Bad Debt Hospital. Three times they tried to resurrect it to keep people from dying. Three times greed took over and fraud prevailed. Now, forty percent more people die of a heart attack in this county simply because they can’t get to a hospital fast enough. By the time the outside world knows about the attacks, it will be too late for them. Unless—”
“Unless what?”
“Unless he fulfills my demands. Then I’ll provide the antidote, saving their lives.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“The man who pulled the trigger, killing my wife and children. The man responsible for the massacre of my village.”
“You know who it was that killed your family?”
“I do.”
“Who was it?”
“Christopher Mills. The president of the United States of America.”