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Viper stood inside the balcony window, concealed in the shadows cast by the fading moonlight. Storm clouds moved in quickly from the water, partially obscuring the moon's pale light, while a sharp wind whirled through the open french doors. The muffled sound of a shower filtered through the bathroom door on the other side of the opulent hotel suite. As she listened, the water stopped.
She glanced at her watch, then reached into her inside pocket to extract a suppressor. Pulling a .22 from the holster at her back, she attached the silencer with sure fingers, her gaze on the suite door leading to the hall. Her eyes narrowed as a faint click carried across the room. The handle turned slowly, and the door eased open without a sound.
A tall figure in dark clothes stepped into the room, his boots silent on the thickly carpeted floor. He glanced across the room to the open doors of the balcony and moved further into the room. Another figure followed, closing the door behind them. Neither of them saw her lurking there in the shadows.
From the bathroom came the unmistakable noise of water running in the sink. The two intruders turned toward the closed bathroom door, pulling pistols from their jackets. The heavy clouds outside shifted, and a sudden gleam of pale moonlight glinted off the silencers attached to the barrels.
Viper fired two shots, pop-pop echoing around the room with muffled finality. There was a moment of shock as both figures swayed before falling to the floor, dead. Crossing the room swiftly to the outer door, she slid the lock into place and flipped the swing bar latch before turning toward the bathroom. She was just stepping over the first body when the door swung open.
A man stared at her, his mouth dropping open. He had a pistol in his hand and a towel wrapped around his waist. His gaze dropped to the two bodies on the floor. Blood was seeping out of a hole in the temple of the one closest to him, lifeless eyes staring at his bare feet. He shifted his gaze to the other body incredulously.
“Good evening, sir.” Viper stepped over the second body and nodded to him calmly. “We have to stop meeting this way. The last time we did was in the middle of a Taliban camp.”
“What the bloody hell–”
“They were here to kill you,” she said matter-of-factly, “and more are coming. We need to move. Clothes?”
“In the case over there.” Viper nodded and turned to where he motioned, grabbing the rolling case and tossing it to him. “Where are my men?”
“Two are dead, and two are being distracted downstairs.”
The man disappeared into the bathroom with the bag, not bothering to close the door.
“It seems I'm in your debt once again. Maggie, wasn't it?” he asked, his voice muffled. “You never did take me up on that rain check for dinner.”
Viper's lips curved humorously. Six months earlier, in the mountains of Afghanistan, she had saved the man in the bathroom from a pit in the center of a Taliban camp. Instead of telling him who she really was, she had given him the alias of Maggie. He had wanted to treat her to dinner in London, but she was in a hurry and offered a rain check. Obviously, he hadn't forgotten.
“You have a good memory, sir. Where's your gear?”
“Under the bed.”
She turned, stepping over one of the bodies again, and bending to look where he indicated.
“I believe I told you to call me Jack.”
She pulled out a black steel case and straightened up with it in her hand.
“So you did.” Viper glanced at her watch again. “We have to go.”
“Where are we going?” Jack asked, emerging from the bathroom dressed in black pants and a gray pull-over sweater. He navigated around the men on the floor and followed her to the balcony. “And how the hell did assassins make it past my security?”
“It was compromised,” said Viper, stepping out onto the balcony and reaching for a black nylon cord hanging from the roof above.
“Like hell it was!”
“The two bodies in there would suggest otherwise.” She motioned him forward, handing him the rope. “After you. We're going up.”
He grabbed the rope and began to climb as someone rattled the door to the hotel suite. Jack glanced down at her and she motioned for him to continue, pulling out her .22 again. He turned his attention skyward and climbed quickly, hand over hand.
He was halfway between the balcony and the roof when the suite door crashed open.
Pop-Pop!
Viper's shots were true. She grabbed the rope, scaling it quickly as she followed Jack, leaving four corpses behind.