Requiem (25 page)

“
I may be an assassin, but
I’m still a girl,” she said, popping a stick of gum in her
mouth.

We kept a low profile; climbing over fences,
dodging dogs on chains and play equipment, and finally sneaking
into a two-story building. The stairs were unusable, the bottom
half lay on the floor, and the top half hung by only a few
debilitated boards.

“
What now?” I
whispered.

Bex threw me over his shoulder, and then
hopped from the wall, to a beam, to the next floor. Even from my
angle, he looked like Spiderman. I couldn't imagine why he thought
he needed to float—and he could climb walls easily enough.

Claire took a single leap, grabbing the
landing where the stairs met the second floor, and then swung
herself to our position.

“
You can put me down, now,
Bex,” I said.

“
Not yet,” he said, taking
a running jump to the half-exposed rafters. “Okay,” he said,
helping me balance. We were sitting on a few beams lined together
that formed what used to be the attic floor.

Claire lay on her stomach
beside me, clicking the pieces of her rifle together. “They’re
going to meet here,” she whispered. “Don’t make a sound. Anderson
is
very
paranoid.
That’s how he’s made it this far. If you tip him off, it will be a
while before we get a chance like this again.”

I nodded, watching Bex pull his own rifle
from the l bag. He didn’t set it on its stand in front of him;
instead, he set it in front of me.

“
Just look through the
sights. Don’t take the shot, even if you have one. It’s just for
practice,” he said in a low voice.

I began to whisper affirmation, but voices
below startled me. Claire slowly put her hand on the barrel of my
rifle, and then let go, situating herself to aim.

“
Look through your sights,”
she whispered. I did so, and three men in suits came into view,
along with a man in uniform. “Count them. How many do you
see?”

“
Four,” I said.

Bex leaned in beside my ear. “Look by the
entrance.”

I slowly moved my rifle in the direction he
referred to, spotted two more. To my surprise, the men were not in
uniform, but in suits. Their broad shoulders and extra-large frames
reminded me of old movies about the Mob.

“
Bodyguards,” Bex said.
“Look closer at their jackets. You see the slight bulging on each
side?”

“
They’re armed,” I
breathed.

With one finger, Claire tuned the tiny
adjustment on her rifle. The tiny click sound it made seemed as
loud as a jet engine to me, but the noise was so insignificant, it
was inaudible to the men below.

Bex touched my elbow with the back of his
finger. “She’s going to account for crosswind and range-to-target,
but this is an easy shot. Once the gun goes off, try to relax. I’ll
get you down and out of here, and by the time you blink twice,
we’ll be on our way home in the Lotus.” His low, even tone reminded
me of an emcee for a televised golf tournament, or the narrator for
an African Lion documentary...minus the accent.

Claire held her breath, peering into the
scope. She bit her lip, and began to squeeze the trigger.

“
Damn it,” she whispered.
“Ryan just pulled up. He’s a block north. You and Nina intercept
him, I’ll meet you in twenty.”

“
Wait—,” I began, but
before I could protest, Bex lifted me off the wooden beams and
climbed out the broken slats of an old vent, dropping more than
thirty feet below. He landed smoothly, and tugged on my hand. “Come
on,” he said, keeping his voice to a whisper.

We ran down an alley as fast as my legs
could move, slowing only when we reached the next street down.

“
This way,” Bex said,
leading me by the hand across the street, this time at a reasonable
pace.

“
Nina?” a voice
called.

I turned to see Ryan walking toward us;
confused, but happy to see me.

“
Hey,” I forced my best
smile, trying to control my breathing. “Clocked-in
already?”

“
Yeah,” he smiled, flicking
his badge. “What are you doing this far north?”

“
Uh….”

“
I made her drive me to my
girlfriend’s house,” Bex said.

Ryan blinked, and then scanned Bex from top
to bottom. “Oh. I thought you were Jared.”

“
Bex,” he said, offering
his hand to Ryan. “Jared’s little brother.”

“
Amazing, isn’t it?” I
grinned.

“
Well, I’m supposed to meet
my partner. I’ll call you tonight, Nina.”

“
Meet your partner?” I
said, surprised.

“
Yeah. Work
stuff.”

Bex and I traded glances, and then Bex
tugged on my coat. “Well…don’t want to keep Mandy waiting.”

Ryan smiled. “No man, you probably don’t.
See you guys around.”

We walked at a forced pace until Ryan was
out of sight, and then Bex pulled on me again. He was barely at a
jog, while I was sprinting full speed until we reached the next
block over, where Claire waited in the Lotus.

“
It was a trap,” I said,
breathless. “They were waiting for Ryan.”

“
I know,” Claire said, her
eyes focused and menacing.

She raced down the street, weaving in and
out of traffic until we reached Brown University. “What about
Ryan?” I said.

“
I’ll take care of it. Bex
will wait here until Jared’s finished. I have some things to wrap
up.”

I nodded, and then watched from the curb as
she sped away.

“
Tell me,” I said, turning
to Bex.

“
I only heard a little as
we were leaving to cut off Ryan, but Donovan sent those men to
collect him. They were going to see what he knew about you…and us.
Mainly Claire.”

“
So now Ryan’s a target,” I
said, unhappy.

“
We’re all targets,” Bex
said.

Chapter
Fourteen

It's Your Funeral

“
I was right,” I said,
letting Jared take my coat. “It looks like Christmas threw up on
the conference room.”

“
You were right. And how
ridiculous, when you’re decoration enough,” Jared said, kissing my
cheek.

Loud, obnoxious music made it necessary to
talk loudly to each other. Red, green and gold tinsel draped every
surface in the room, and the employees, with their dates, loitered
in a perfect half-moon around the DJ, careful not to cross the
boundary of the dance floor.

“
I’m going to tell the DJ
to turn it down a notch or ten,” I said.

Jared nodded, watching with amusement as I
walked with purpose across the wooden floor.

“
Excuse me,” I said. The DJ
bobbed his head, concentrating on the computer screen in front of
him. “Excuse me!” I yelled, tapping him on the shoulder.

“
What can I do for you?” he
yelled back.

“
Can you turn it down? I’d
like for the guests to hear each other.”

The DJ frowned. “Ms. Bankovic asked that I
keep it at party level.”

“
Sasha?” I confirmed. “This
is a business party, not a frat party,” I said over the music.
“Turn it down.”

The DJ grudgingly complied, and I walked
away, thoroughly satisfied. That warm, fuzzy feeling from my small
victory didn't last long. Sasha had Jared cornered a few feet from
the punch bowl. He looked boredd and uncomfortable; she was
giggling, gesturing to the mistletoe above them.

“
Hi, Baby,” Jared said
emphatically, pulling me to his side.

“
Nina,” Sasha said,
surprised. “What are you doing here?” I raised an eyebrow. “I
mean…where have you been?” she hedged.

“
With the DJ, insisting he
lower the music to an acceptable decibel. Now, if you’re finished
flirting, I’ll save my fiancé from beneath the mistletoe so you no
longer have a reason to threaten him with your dry, clumpy
lipstick.”

Sasha’s mouth fell open, but I didn’t give
her enough time to fire back a reply. A slow song came over the
speakers, and I pulled Jared to the center of the dance floor.

His fingers pressed into my skin, eager and
anxious. “Would it be redundant of me to say that I enjoy it very
much when you’re jealous and mean?”

“
Yes, but say it anyway,” I
smiled, wrapping my arms around his neck. Before long, more couples
joined us, and we were lost in a sea of lovers swaying to the
music.

When the song ended, Jared left for the
punch bowl line, and I stayed behind to greet co-workers and
guests. Some were retirees, men and woman that had been with my
Titan since the beginning. Seeing them brought back hundreds of
memories, and it was soon a relief to welcome the new faces of the
company.

“
You shouldn’t be standing
around when there’s a slow song, Peanut,” Grant said. He
undoubtedly wore his most charming smile.

“
I’m here with Jared,
Grant,” I sneered.

“
Oh, c’mon,” Grant grinned.
“Just one dance?”

“
No.”

He laughed and shook his head. “You look,”
he gave me a once-over, “incredible. Red is…wow.”

“
Thank you,” I said,
looking in every direction but his.

“
Are you sure you—,” he
said, trailing off. “Jared! Nice to see you.”

The pleasant expression on Jared’s face as
he handed me the small, plastic cup faded abruptly when he turned
to Grant. “I wish I could concur,” Jared said, noticeably
restrained. “You might have better luck with the interns,” he
nodded to a dark corner of the room, “who are spiking their punch,
and might be more susceptible to your persistence.”

Grant’s smile didn’t budge. “Happy Holidays
to you both.”

“
Merry Christmas,” Jared
said.

The people around us were beginning to
stare, so I looked to the floor, attempting to downplay the
spectacle Jared had made.

“
What is with you?” I said,
trying to keep my head down.

“
I didn’t want him to be
under the impression that I liked him.”

“
You made your point. Now,
can you please be the reserved, controlled Jared I know and love? I
need to earn the respect of the people here.”

“
I’m sorry,” Jared said,
kissing my hair.

“
Nina?” a voice called from
across the room. I winced at the horrid sound, and then turned to
see Sasha barreling toward me with someone in tow.

“
Practice what you preach,”
Jared said with a contrived smile.

Sasha's annoying smirk twisted her face in a
way that made her already sharp features seem cartoon-like. She
gestured to the brawny, dark-headed man behind her.

“
I’d like for you to meet
my date, Ryan Scott. Ryan, this is a fellow intern of mine, Nina
Grey.”

I couldn’t hide the instant shock and dismay
that came over me.

Ryan held out his hand. “Intern? Doesn’t she
run the company?” he winked.

Sasha laughed once, caught. “Er…not
yet.”

I took Ryan’s hand. “I believe we’ve
met.”

“
Oh?” Sasha said, genuinely
intrigued.

Ryan glanced at Jared, and then back at me.
“Could I…steal you for a minute?”

“
No,” Jared said without
pause.

I chuckled nervously, and then peered up at
Jared from under my lashes. “Sweetheart, I’ll just be a
minute.”

Jared frowned, but he didn’t argue.

“
Well,” Sasha said to Jared
in her high-pitched, irritating voice, “I guess it’s just you and
me, then.”

“
I’ll be
right
back,” I said,
staring directly at Sasha.

Ryan held me by the arm, quickly stopping in
a quiet corner. “I thought we had a deal.”

“
A deal?” I hissed. “I
agreed that I owed you for helping me fool Jared. I didn’t say I
would help you talk to Claire. Ambushing her is not a good
idea.”

He sighed. “Well, I’ve got a lot on my plate
right now. My partner was murdered, and I think it has something to
do with the other police deaths over the last year. I think they’re
all connected. I need to talk to her before I can get my head on
straight enough to investigate this. It’s big, Nina. Really big,
and I can’t focus on it if my mind is always on Claire.”

“
You’re investigating the
police murders?”

Ryan’s features were so stern I was suddenly
nervous. “Not officially. Anderson and I were both on the case
before he was killed. I wasn’t sure before that they were
connected, but now that Kit’s dead…I know. Even the one’s that
appeared to be accidents.”

“
Listen—,” I began, but
Ryan cut me off.

“
No, you listen. I’m in a
lot of trouble. No one else at the station knows what we were up
to, and if they did, they’re not going to let a rookie take the
case. They killed my partner, Nina. It’s personal. But, if I don’t
figure this out soon, you can kiss my ass goodbye. This is serious,
and I need to be focused, and Claire’s eyes above me in that hell
hole is all I can think about.”

“
Are you finished?” I said,
irritated.

“
No,” he said, frowning.
“And, just so you know: I’m really, really sorry.”

“
For what?” I said,
returning his expression.