Monster (57 page)

“I will look in on the Boss for you in your absence,” Rasheed promised. “I do not know how much will be needed with the devil dog on duty.”

“Thanks Kay, I appreciate it. As great as Dino is, he’s still just a dog. Have there been any more conversations about the three gentlemen who went missing the other day?”

“Not since Mero stopped breathing,” Rutledge replied. “When do you leave?”

“Wednesday the twenty-ninth.”

“Does Diane know, Colonel?” Barrington asked.

“She knows. I hope I can stay in touch as much as she thinks I can. Listen, I’m going to take off and go see Abe since I’m sort of off the clock. Tell Diane if she calls I’ll see her at the apartment. I’ll also run Dino around.”

“Will do, Colonel,” Barrington said, holding out his hand. “If I don’t see you again before you leave, keep in mind we can get you pretty much anything with a little time, even over there.”

“I will, Tom,” McDaniels shook hands with Barrington. He accepted a hug from Rutledge who suddenly found it hard to speak.

“I hate goodbyes,
Shaun of the Dead
,” Rasheed grasped McDaniels’ extended hand. “I know you do too. I will say your goodbyes for you at my home.”

“Thanks, Kay. We’ll have a New Year’s party when I get back.”

“What do you want us to do with Pete and Nancy?” Barrington asked before McDaniels turned to leave.

“I would advise keeping her in place for the foreseeable future in case Mero gets a replacement. His replacement might stumble across something about her Mero left behind. It would not look good if she suddenly stopped working in Aginson’s office.”

“I see what you mean.”

“Now, the newbie gets to keep playing house?” Rasheed asked incredulously, glaring at Donaldson. “Oh thank you for the lovely parting gift, Cold Mountain.”

* * *

“That is the man I told you about, Mikhail,” the man whispered to his comrade next to him.

The two men were peering out a window, almost directly opposite Reskova’s apartment. McDaniels crossed the street, walking toward the entrance to Reskova’s apartment building. He scanned the area around him. He seemed ill at ease. The two men pulled back from the window with startled curses as McDaniels suddenly glanced searchingly up at the building they were in.

“He is the one the newspapers have named Cold Mountain, Alexi?” Mikhail asked.

“Yes.” Alexi made sure McDaniels continued into Reskova’s apartment building. “Mero said he was going to take care of him along with Reskova. Now Mero’s dead.”

“How can this man be part of their secret police and be in the newspapers like some American Rock and Roll star?” Mikhail checked the image on the laptop computer set up between the two men of Reskova’s apartment window.

“I do not know. I do know he is walking around while Kasyanov, Tomashevsky, and Mero are not. What he did on the airliner to the Syrian Terrorists read like the plot from a Rambo movie. You saw him almost catch us watching him as he approached the apartment building. He is not to be taken lightly.”

“What kind of training does he have?”

“McDaniels has been in both Gulf wars. He’s been with the American’s elite Delta unit, and CIA.” Alexi cursed as the blinds in Reskova’s apartment snapped shut. “I have already told you how he took the serial killer Hughes’ head.”

“We will need to approach him through his weakness for the woman,” Mikhail mused thoughtfully. “She will be the bait which will draw him to us.”

“Why do we not shoot him from a mile away? This man is dangerous. The woman has a dog in her apartment too.”

“You heard Romanko. He wants these two made an example of. We cannot simply execute them without drawing down their entire force on us. What good will it do our operation to bring such attention?”

“Why not just keep a low profile until this scrutiny goes away?”

“They have cost us tens of millions, Alexi,” Mikhail answered.

“Sometimes it is wiser to simply cut our losses.”

“That is why Romanko was made boss and not you. We have lost much respect. Our Arab contacts even think we may be betraying them.”

“How are we to keep our hands clean in this? Surely their government will come after us.” Alexi stepped away from the window. He sat down in one of the two chairs nearby. “Kasyanov and Tomashevsky thought it would be profitable to deal with the Arabs. Where are they now? No one knows. More importantly, where are Tomashevsky’s bodyguards and the imported mercenary he hired… ah…”

“Strasser.”

“Yes, that was his name. I have killed men but I stayed away from that one.” Alexi shuddered at the thought of the would be sniper McDaniels had already killed. “Those men Tomashevsky had around him were like his personal shadows. The only sign we have left of any of them is Tomashevsky’s Lincoln. We only have the Lincoln because the police notified us it had been towed from Fort Marcy Park.”

“What are you getting at, Alexi?” Mikhail sat down in the chair near his friend.

“Only this - we are not as dangerous as the men already missing. It would be prudent to know what happened to them before we risk what up until now has been a profitable enterprise of drugs and smuggling. I warned Kasyanov we should not ally ourselves with the Arabs.”

“Serge thinks differently.”

“Oh, so now you are on a first name basis with Romanko? Perhaps he has confided in you as to how we may teach this Cold Mountain a lesson?”

“He has been in contact with the serial killer’s brothers.” Mikhail noted the surprise on Alexi’s face with some satisfaction. “They were very interested in the Reskova woman.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning Romanko thinks we can use them.”

“And when the Americans capture these two dupes and trace them to us?”

“There will be many layers of nothing between us and the brothers. Serge has already found a way to communicate with them anonymously. They are very receptive to handling the woman who hounded their brother.”

“Why do they not come and get this Cold Mountain then? If they are so inclined to revenge, why not get the man they know took his head?”

“They see the advantage of drawing this McDaniels somewhere he can be handled. Serge told me the brothers did not believe anyone could take the serial killer in the woods as McDaniels did. Their need for revenge is tempered with caution.”

“They sound like two others who should learn to cut their losses.”

“We have been comrades a long time, Alexi. We have no choice in this if we are to stay in the organization.”

Alexi stood up and walked to the window again, clasping his hands behind his back tightly as he gazed out at Reskova’s apartment. A few moments later he turned to face his friend.

“I am going to ask your Serge if I can leave. If he will allow it, I am going to take Katherine and little Alexi to the West Coast. I do not want this Cold Mountain to know about me.”

“You are being very foolish, my friend. Serge will not take your leaving well at all. What if he does not wish for you to leave?”

“Then I will send my family to the West Coast and break all ties with them until this is over,” Alexi answered calmly, having decided on a course of action. “I would hope you will plead my case with your friend Serge.”

“I cannot do this for you, Alexi.” Mikhail felt an uneasiness building within him over his friend’s sudden decision. “It would be better for you to talk with him face to face. I will arrange a meeting if you insist. Please, my friend, reconsider this. Serge could have you killed or tortured if he thinks you are turning on him.”

“True, but he will not kill my family. If we kill this McDaniels’ woman and miss him, he may not be so understanding with my wife and son. Set up the meeting, Mikhail. Perhaps I can convince him to leave this Arab situation alone.”

Mikhail walked over to the window. “As you wish, Alexi, but this McDaniels is only one man. I do not understand why you are so squeamish suddenly.”

“Too many men have gone missing since we decided to side with these terrorists. The school bombing by those Chechnyan pigs back home was what made me start thinking about what we are doing. We have too many of those murderers in our ranks now.”

“They are useful to us. Until these latest setbacks this smuggling operation with the Arabs has brought us a fortune. Their funding is limitless.”

“Yes, Mikhail, but it is very hard to spend money without a head.”

* * *

McDaniels opened the apartment door before Reskova could let herself in, Dino happily at his side.

“Hello, Red.”

Reskova hugged Dino before straightening into McDaniels’ arms. She kissed him gently at first and then with a growing urgency. McDaniels pulled her inside, kicking the door closed behind them. He forced Reskova to arms length.

“I made dinner for us, Red.”

“It can wait,” Reskova replied breathlessly. “We only have two days left before you go. I’ll eat after you leave.”

McDaniels laughed appreciatively.

“C’mon, we’ll eat together semi-naked first.”

“Meaning me in garter belt, stockings and high heels?”

“Oh baby, you know what I like,” McDaniels whispered.

Much later as the couple lay in each other’s arms McDaniels stroked Reskova’s back, pausing to massage her neck periodically. Reskova moaned contentedly.

“It’s nice being greeted at night when I come home. I guess you already took Dino out, huh?”

Dino’s head popped up over the end of the bed when he heard his name, but the dog slipped back down with a grunt after a moment.

“It’s either take him out for a run or watch him rebound off the walls until I do. Did you feel something when you came home?”

Reskova reached back to put a hand on McDaniels’ thigh.

“You can say that again, I…”

“I meant did you feel like someone was watching you when you came home?” McDaniels chuckled, putting his hand over hers. “Something felt out of place when I came home tonight. Later, when I walked Dino I felt it again. I looked around for strange vehicles as we went up and down the blocks but I didn’t spot any.”

“You’ve memorized all the vehicle makes in the area?”

“Of course, haven’t you?” McDaniels replied seriously.

“I haven’t reached that state of paranoia yet.” Reskova turned in McDaniels’ arms.

“You better. Anyway, how about it? Anything feel out of place?”

“Not really. I trust your instincts though. Shall we do a house to house search of the area for potential threats?”

“I’m serious, Red. You need to be more careful. Don’t take so much for granted.”

Reskova straddled McDaniels, playfully holding his wrists down at the sides of his head.

“Okay, I’ll ask again. What the heck do you want me to do?”

McDaniels looked Reskova over admiringly without saying anything. Reskova blushed, attempting to roll away. McDaniels reversed Reskova’s grip on his wrists and held her in place.

* * *

“It was good of you to meet with me, Sir,” Alexi said after entering Romanko’s limousine. He sat down opposite the formidable man.

Romanko, smiled politely at Alexi, his eyes betraying a coldness the smile was intended to hide. He leaned back, peering at Alexi with amusement. Romanko stroked his trim black beard with one large gnarled but manicured hand. Alexi could tell Romanko was well over six feet tall. He looked like a bear in the dark suit with matching overcoat. Romanko’s head was shaved. His very expensive bowler hat lay next to him.

“Call me Serge, Alexi,” Romanko directed, his baritone voice soft, yet clear, as if a bass horn were playing in the background of an orchestra. “Mikhail tells me you wish to leave us.”

“Yes. I know I owe everything to the organization. You hold my life in your hands. There is little I can say you do not already know. I will never betray you but I know it is not our way to allow such loose ends to exist.”

“You are right, Alexi, we are not a Rotary club. This man McDaniels who has frightened you so much is in Iraq now. He will probably die there. This fear you have is misplaced. You have no reason to leave us.”

“Then you have decided to leave the Reskova woman alone?” Alexi leaned forward hopefully. “We can be done with these Arab idiots and their murderous religion. Mikhail and I have all our old…”

“No, no, no, my friend,” Romanko interrupted, holding up his hand. “Our Arab friends suspect this woman Reskova to be responsible for many of their recent losses as well as ours. I agree with them. With this Cold Mountain dupe out of the way we can carry forward our plans with the Hughes brothers. This will get us back into the good graces of the Arabs who have begun to suspect we have betrayed them.”

“But Sir,” Alexi pleaded, “why not let these pigs handle the woman themselves? If they lost so much because of Reskova, let them take care of her. Let them strap a bomb on one of their children and blow her up in the street like the perverted cowards do everywhere else in the world.”

Romanko laughed at Alexi’s description of the Terrorist method of warfare. “Ah, very good Alexi - as you say, the cowards do not like such confrontations. If they did anything like you describe they know the American’s Homeland Security agency would trace the killing to them.”