Noble Intentions: Season Two (Episodes 6-10) (22 page)

“What’s going on?” Mandy asked.

“We are getting you out of here.”

“How? Who’s we?”

“There is a man here, he’s a friend of Bear’s. Was a good friend of Mr. Jack’s, too.”

Mandy stared at her with huge eyes and didn’t say anything.

“He’s going to sneak you out shortly. What I need you to do is to hang back, out of sight of Boris for a while, so that I can talk to the man who is going to get you out. Can you do that?”

“What’s his name?”

“I can’t tell you yet.”

“Will I see you again?”

“Of course you’ll see me again.”

“I mean tonight. Here.”

“After I talk to him, I’m going to come and find you and get you in position. This has to be done just right.” She tapped the end of the girl’s nose with her index finger.

Mandy stared at Clarissa. Her face twisted, scared and flushed.

“Trust me, Mandy,” Clarissa said.

Mandy nodded. Grabbed Clarissa’s hand and pulled her to the door. “Let’s go.”

Clarissa walked Mandy to the back of the gallery, where tables with food were set up.

She scanned the room. Found Pierre. Took a direct line to him and upon passing him said, “Meet me out back.” She continued toward the front of the gallery and then turned around. The place was full. Old people, young people, short people, bald people. She assessed every potential threat in the room, and there were plenty. She figured that fifteen percent of those in attendance could pose a problem. Not a good sign. Then again, only a few of them would have the same training and skills as her and Pierre.

She stepped into the same hall she had escorted Mandy through a few minutes earlier. This time she passed by the restrooms and pushed through a swinging door that led into the kitchen. The staff largely ignored her. Cooks continued to cook. The wait staff continued to tray food and alcohol. She saw a man open a screen door leading outside and followed him.

She took two steps and stopped on the concrete patio. An orange bulb cast a dim pool of light on the area. Pierre turned as the wood framed screen door slammed shut behind her. He held a lit cigarette in one hand. Lifted it to his lips. Took a deep drag. He held a gun in his other hand. The gun pointed toward the ground.

Clarissa looked left. Looked right. Over Pierre’s head. She took a step back and reached behind her back, feeling for the door handle.

“Relax,” Pierre said. “It’s for you.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Not the bullet. The gun.”

Clarissa dropped her hands to her side. Took two steps and stopped at the edge of the concrete patio. She stepped down onto the first of six wooden steps that were anchored to the concrete. She took her time, stepping slowly and cautiously. The entire time, she scanned the back lot and adjacent lots and buildings. She knew that a man like Boris would have security everywhere. Where were they?

“There’s security all around,” Pierre said. “On some of the buildings. A roving unit, too.”

She glanced up. Saw nothing. Said nothing.

“He’s on the other side right now.”

Clarissa held her hand out. Pierre spun the gun on his palm and handed it to her, handle facing her, barrel facing him. She hiked up her blouse and tucked the gun inside her waistband.

“Do you have a specific use for that tonight?”

She shook her head. “I still have a mission to fulfill. Taking him out negates that and puts us back at square one. Or close to it at least.”

“You should kill him.”

She ignored his suggestion. Said, “What happened, Pierre? In Russia?”

Pierre pulled an unlit cigarette from the pack and placed it in his mouth. He lit it with the smoke in his other hand and then discarded the old one by flicking it into the dumpster. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His face hardened. He looked in her direction, but his eyes focused elsewhere.

“Please, Pierre. I need to know.”

“They kept us in a dungeon. I never treated…” His voice trailed off. He continued a few seconds later. “Let’s just say it breaks every rule of ethics that we are to abide by. They kept us chained in a hole. Couldn’t even stand. They beat us. They tried to break us. They succeeded with me, although I never admitted it. But Jack, he stayed strong.”

Clarissa could do nothing but nod along.

“So,” Pierre continued, “when it came time, we were tried by a military man. Ivanov’s his name.”

Clarissa’s face lit up with recognition. “I know that name.”

Pierre nodded. Said, “He’s a bad man. He’s into a lot of things. I spent some time gathering information on him after I returned to France. Definitely not on the right side of good.” He took a drag and leaned his head back. He blew smoke toward the sky. It drifted up and created a halo around the light bulb that was fixed to the side of the building. “We were guilty before we ever stepped foot into the courtroom as far as Ivanov was concerned. Jack took the fall. I was prepared to go down with him. Jack wouldn’t have it. He took all the blame, and that granted me my freedom. After I came back, I tried to continue with the agency. Pointless, really. The depression, it enveloped me. Normally, an agent would be terminated, either figuratively or literally, for such behavior. They worked with me. I lasted three months, and then I left. After that, I tried to drink myself to death. Couldn’t. Stuck the barrel of my gun in my mouth a few times. Too chicken to pull the trigger.”

“And now you feel guilty.”

“Of course I feel guilty. Wouldn’t you? I’d have rather died next to him than live out my life as a coward.”

“You’re not a coward.”

He locked eyes with her and slowly shook his head. “It’s not for you to decide.”

“If you had died or been locked up you wouldn’t be here to help rescue Mandy.”

Pierre shrugged.

“It’s redemption, Pierre. Jack risked his life for that little girl. Now it’s your turn. Do right by her and you do right by Jack.”

A thin smile crossed Pierre’s lips. “Thank you.”

She wasn’t sure if he meant it.

“I’m going back in,” Clarissa said. “Wait five minutes then come through the kitchen. She’ll be walking toward the bathrooms. She’ll nod once and wink twice. You do the same. She’ll follow you into the kitchen and outside.”

He nodded.

“Sinclair could use a guy like you. Do right by Jack tonight and I’ll put in a word for you.”

She left Pierre outside and slipped through the kitchen, back to the exhibit area of the gallery. She stopped inside the hall and scanned the room, starting at the far corner and working her way toward the refreshment table. Boris was still occupied with a group of older gentlemen that Clarissa thought looked like politicians or lawyers. Blood suckers.

She found Mandy. Checked her watch. A minute had passed since she had left Pierre. She said, “Mandy, listen to me. Here is what is going to happen.” She gave the girl the simple instructions and emphasized that she was to nod once and blink twice.

“Which eye?”

Clarissa laughed. “I guess it doesn’t matter. I don’t think too many ten year olds at this party are going to be standing in the hall in four minutes winking and nodding.”

Mandy averted her eyes and smiled shyly.

“Three minutes. I need to leave you now. I’ll be watching, though. OK?”

Mandy nodded and set her glass of punch on the table. She looked down at her watch and said, “Got it.”

5

Jasmine gazed at her surroundings through the oval shaped window. The darkness prohibited her from seeing too much. The private jet landed on a small runway near a small airport. There were trees on all sides. No signs. At least none that she could see through the dark or that meant anything to her. She had no idea where they were. The men who abducted her hadn’t spoken to her. Not a single word since they left the house in Georgia. If she spoke, they jammed a gun into her neck or her cheek or her chest.

She followed Chernov off the plane. Behind her came Kenneth Quioness. There were two other men that she did not recognize. They stood next to the plane. The men formed a circle around her.

She figured she’d try her luck again and said, “Where are you taking me?”

“Shut up,” Chernov said.

A car pulled up. They forced her into the back seat. Chernov sat to her right. Kenneth on her left. The car pulled away from the jet. They passed by the hangar. She looked to the left and saw a parking lot that led to a highway. They drove by.

Why weren’t they leaving the airport?

When the car stopped, she looked forward and saw why.

Chernov got out of the car and grabbed her by the arm. He pulled and she slid across the seat. He was a strong man, and she worried that if she hesitated, he’d yank her shoulder out of its socket. He nodded at her, then at the helicopter. He said, “Don’t try anything.”

Kenneth joined them a few seconds later. Both men wrapped their arms through hers and escorted her to the helicopter. Kenneth boarded first, then Jasmine, and finally Chernov.

The helicopter lifted into the air. Again, the men sat to her right and to her left. Prevented her from being able to get a good look at the terrain below. Not that it would have mattered. She still had no idea where they were. When she saw the helicopter, she had hoped that she’d overhear something, anything that would give her an indication. No such luck. Chernov handed her headgear, but it wasn’t connected to the rest. It only helped to reduce the constant noise and
thump, thump, thump
of the contraption they flew in.

She sat still, between the men, a row behind the pilot, and weighed her options. It boiled down to two. Sit and do nothing, or strike Chernov, and strike Kenneth, and strike the pilot. Then they’d crash. They’d all die. She wouldn’t win, but she sure as hell wouldn’t lose. Neither option appealed to her all that much. In the end, it didn’t matter. After a few minutes, she saw the pilot pointing past the front windshield. She craned her neck in an effort to get a better view. She saw a landing pad lit up in an x formation. It stood out against the darkening sky.

Jasmine sat back. Crossed her arms. She’d wait it out and see what opportunities were afforded to her at the next destination.

Less than five minutes later the helicopter touched down. She looked left and right through the windows and saw an expansive lawn ringed by the dark outlines of trees. The lawn and the trees surrounded the house they had landed on top of.

What kind of house has a helicopter landing pad on it, and who would live there?

“Get out,” Chernov shouted, although it barely sounded like a whisper amid the noise created by the helicopter’s rotors.

She slid to her left and dropped to the ground through the open door. There were four men on the roof. There was nothing distinguishable about them. Homogeneous, she thought. They all were armed with automatic weapons. She couldn’t make out the exact weapons in the dark, with the wind from the rotors blowing her hair across her face.

Jasmine felt a hand at each elbow. They pulled her toward a corner of the roof. At first she dug in her heels, but then quickly realized that would be the quick way to a fast ending. She allowed the hands at her elbows to guide her. At the edge of the roof was a staircase that clung to the house diagonally and led to the ground.

Kenneth let go of her arm and started down the stairs. Chernov urged her to go down, and then he followed.

She heard the helicopter lift off. Glanced over her shoulder. It rose into the air and then banked to the east and disappeared into the night.

At the bottom of the stairs were two more men. They were as uninteresting to her as the four at the top. Except for their weapons. They were both armed with HK MP7 submachine guns. Their weapons had suppressors and extended magazines, which told her they had forty rounds at their disposal. Each. An ideal weapon for close quarters combat. Popular with a highly covert special operations team in the U.S. While the men didn’t impress her, their weapons certainly did.

The man to her left reached over and opened the door. He snapped back into position, keeping his eyes on Jasmine. She looked from him to his weapon and then back to him.

She felt Chernov’s hand at her back and she stepped through the open doorway. They stood in a dark hall. She noticed two doors on each side and one at the end. All the doors were closed.

“Forward,” Chernov said.

She followed Kenneth.

“Stop,” Chernov said after they passed the second door.

Jasmine stopped and turned around. She saw Chernov at the door. He punched in a code and waited. She heard a series of beeps and then a click. He reached down and turned the doorknob. Pushed the door open. He said, “Go in.”

She stepped inside. The two men followed. She felt the vibrations of their steps on the stairs.

“I can’t see anything,” Jasmine said.

There was a click and then a beam of light traveled over her head and lit up the area in front of her. She gasped. She would’ve preferred to be in the dark after all.

“Continue,” Chernov said.

She did. Reached the bottom of the stairs. Took three more steps and stopped at the wall. Turned around and waited for the men to reach the bottom. If there was ever a time to act, it was now. Jasmine leaned back against the wall to steady herself and took a deep breath. She envisioned her first move and then struck. Kenneth was closest to her and he received the brunt of the attack. She launched herself at him, using the wall as a springboard. The force it helped her create was enough to drop Kenneth with two successive blows. One to his throat, the other to his solar plexus. He dropped to the ground and lay there like a pile of laundry. A huddled mass, struggling to breathe or talk or move.

She let her momentum carry her through and forward. She would attempt a similar attack on Chernov. Both hands, at the same time, throat and solar plexus. Unfortunately, Chernov had started to react the moment she launched herself at Kenneth. She saw it and she knew it and she still wasn’t prepared for him. The heavy metal flashlight came down across the side of her head. Her own momentum worked against her. Her lower body continued forward, her upper body didn’t. She flipped backward, but only halfway. The back of her head hit the floor with a thud. The room around her was dark. Was she unconscious? Or had Chernov turned off the light during the fight?