I need to stall him. Either till Ruby gets here or till I’ve thought of a way to deal with this without endangering the people in here. I’m not armed, but I don’t want to get into it with him right now because after everything that’s transpired, I have no doubt in my mind that he is.
I hold his gaze and try to sound as casual as I can. “Sure. He’ll be in the bar of Caesar’s in Atlantic City two days from now.”
He’s momentarily taken aback but quickly recovers. “Thank you, that’s most… considerate of you.”
I shrug. “Hey, I’m a nice guy, what can I say. So tell me… who offered you the contract?”
He smiles. “You have a lot of enemies, Adrian.”
“Yeah, I know. But I doubt many of them would condone hiring a contract killer to come after me.”
He smirks and it makes me want to hit him. You know how there are certain people walking this earth that have a face you just have to punch as soon as you see it? Well, this guy’s one of them.
“Do you honestly believe that?” he asks. “After everything you’ve just told me?”
I raise an eyebrow again to stop my eyes going wide and giving away the fact I’m on the back foot here. I quickly work it out in my head… The CIA caught up with me in Maine as I was leaving Ash’s restaurant. They must’ve contacted the mothership before I took them out, and word would’ve gotten to someone in a position of power about what I was doing very quickly. They somehow got a copy of Ash’s list and made contact with the one name on it with any serious reputation, offering him an obscene amount of money to take me and everyone else out.
I look into his eyes again. He’s nodding at me. “That’s it, Adrian. Put the pieces together…”
I sigh. “The president?”
He shakes his head.
I frown. “General Matthews?”
He smiles. “You’re smarter than you look, Adrian.”
“Yeah, I hear that a lot.”
“Now, as pleasant as this has been, I should go. I imagine Ruby will be coming in any moment, correct?”
I say nothing.
“Of course she is. You’ll have a backup plan in place. I should go and say hi.” He stands and I immediately move to follow, but he quickly steps around the table and places one hand on my shoulder while the other opens his jacket, revealing a silenced handgun.
I knew he would have a gun. Does honor mean anything anymore?
“I wouldn’t do that, if I were you.”
“Why? You gonna shoot me?”
He smiles again. “Not at all. You don’t simply shoot a living legend such as yourself. That is not a fitting end for someone of your professional standing. No, for you, I have something far more… grandiose planned.”
“Gee, you shouldn’t have…”
He pats my shoulder. “It’s no trouble. Underneath your seat is a bomb. It’s a device of my own design containing a brick of C4 and a pressure-activated dead man’s switch, which you engaged when you sat down. It’s quite simple, really. You stand up, the bomb goes off. You’ll take this entire building out along with you.” He condescendingly pats my cheek with his palm a couple of times. “I believe some CIA people are on their way to disarm the bomb and collect you. Sit tight until then, okay?”
He backs away, fastening his jacket again and waving.
Oh my God…
There’s so much anger coursing through me right now it actually hurts. Every fiber of my being is screaming at me to run over to him, shove my hand down his throat and pull his lungs out through his mouth.
But I can’t.
I tentatively feel beneath my chair with my hands.
I pat it gently, feeling for a—
Yup… That’s a big fucking bomb!
Shit.
I fix him with the coldest stare I’ve ever given anyone. “I’m going to kill you, understand? I’m going to kill you, and it’s really going to hurt.”
He nods. “Okay, Adrian. Good luck with that.”
He turns and waves behind him, strolling out of the bar without another word.
“Fuck,” I mutter.
I look around at all the people in here, blissfully unaware that my ass is the only thing stopping them from becoming a hole in the ground.
I look outside through the small window in the door. I can just about see the hood of our 4×4. No sign of Ruby. I hope she’s—
Holy shit!
A deafening explosion fills the air, shattering the glass in the door and rocking the foundations of the building. Everyone screams, jumping to their feet and running around in circles in sheer panic.
I stay planted to my chair, fighting the urge to run outside in search of Ruby.
Smoke billows across the street from what I assume are the remains of my ride. The sound of sirens fades into earshot over the crackling of the flames.
Now what do I do?
13
Man, I wish Josh was here… stuck in a chair with a bomb strapped to his ass instead of me. I mean, seriously — what the hell am I supposed to do now? I can’t stand up, and I can’t exactly sit here doing nothing…
I’m pissed at how easily The European screwed me, too. I should have listened to my gut. This would never have happened a couple of years ago. Maybe I’m getting sloppy. Or worse still, old.
I let out a low growl of frustration.
I need to get my head in the fucking game, because if I carry on the way I have been, I’m going to end up dead.
Shit!
Right… Focus, Adrian.
I take a deep breath. And another.
Okay… I’ve no reason to doubt that slimy little bastard when he said the CIA are coming for me, so I need to figure a way out of here before they arrive, otherwise it’s game over.
I look around the bar. It’s emptying quickly, but there are still some people seemingly too scared to move. Makes sense, I guess. The explosion was outside, so I’m guessing their instinct is to stay indoors.
A young couple are at the next table over from me. They’re maybe mid-thirties. I look across at them. “Guys, you need to get out of here. Get as far away from this building as you can. Do you understand?”
The woman’s crying, gripping the hand of her man tightly. He’s trying his best to comfort her, but I can see that he’s just as scared as she is — his arms are trembling and his breathing is fast and shallow.
He stares at me. “W-why aren’t you running?”
“Don’t worry about me, alright? Just take care of your girl. Get out of here, and make sure you take everyone else still in here with you.”
The woman looks up and stares at me through her teary, red eyes. “Th-then come with us.”
“I… I can’t, alright? Like I said, just get out of here as fast as you can. It isn’t safe.”
They both stand and move slowly away from the table. The guy frowns, his fear giving way to concern. “Wait… what’s wrong? Who are you? And why aren’t you trying to run like everyone else?”
I sigh. I was only trying to help, not make a big deal of things. Jesus…
“Look — that was my car that exploded outside, alright? I think my friend might’ve been in it at the time, I’m not sure. The guy I was just sitting with is the one who blew it up, and he’s put a bomb under my chair. If I move, this whole building goes up in smoke, too. I can’t let that happen, which is why I need you guys to run like hell and get as many people as you can who are still in here to go with you. Please!”
Their eyes go wide and any fleeting concern soon reverts back to panic. They turn on the spot and bolt for the door, shouting to the few remaining people they pass to follow them.
It worked — everyone’s leaving. But as the door opens, the sound of the approaching sirens gets much louder. They must be right outside…