“This group, headed by Ramus and Kirill — believe that both the British Government and the current American administration to be weak, corrupt and riddled with decay and complacency. They also believe that Scorpion had become far too powerful — financed, controlled, governed by the upper-most echelon of the House of Commons and Lords. We both know that Scorpion was never meant to be like that — it was supposed to stand alone, incorruptible and untouchable. A worldwide organisation feared by terrorists and organised crime syndicates alike. Ramus and Kirill think that with Scorpion out of the way — they can rule the world. They think that they are way above the law of the land — any land. With Kirill’s new Chimera Programme and the Assassins, they think they can bring down anyone — governments, banking, absolutely anyone they choose. Their beliefs are firmly rooted in the Illuminati, and their vision is to bring global peace… a New World Order… but…”
“The but is, that they will have to fight a pretty big war,” Dillon snapped. “Before their New World Order can be achieved, there will come death, andlots of it. We’ve both encountered a few psychopathic egomaniacs in our time, and some, who have been involved with the Illuminati. Evil bastards, every one of them.”
Tatiana nodded.
“We definitely need to get the hell out of here, Dillon; they will be coming for us even as we speak.”
“Yes.”
Dillon leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips. “We do need to get the fuck away from here, and there is only one person I can think of, one person who has the resources and the considerable knowledge to be able to help us.”
Tatiana pulled back a little, her stare meeting Dillon’s. “No,” she said, shaking her head.
“Yes,” said Dillon. “The world as we know it is about to be torn apart, Tats. The British Government will not know how to combat this threat when it breaks, and with Scorpion HQ destroyed, we have to assume that there are no operational units left either, except for Alix and Lola. Ezra used to be the one who Kirill went to for inspiration and advice. If anybody knows what Ramus and Kirill are up to and where they are, then it is Ezra. If we can find them, then we can find the server location of the Chimera programme and destroy it. At least that will even the odds up — and if we can take out Ramus and Kirill on the way, then so be it. Ezra is going to point the way to Chimera, and the bastards who want to abuse the trust and power that has been given to them.”
“Dillon. We simply can’t go to Ezra,” said Tatiana.
“But he’s the only one who knows!” hissed Dillon.
“Yes, but he’s also a suspect, he could even be involved with Kirill and Ramus, which is why he is under twenty-four hour surveillance by the security services. To meet with him — would mean our death.”
Dillon stood up. He withdrew the 9mm Glock, checked the magazine, and rammed it back home as he looked up and took a deep breath. “If Ezra is batting for the other side, the only death will be his own,” said Dillon with grim finality.
Dillon had cleaned and re-dressed Tatiana’s wounds. Her face was incredibly pale and Dillon helped her to dress, wincing with her in her pain as she struggled into fresh clothes.
“Tell me what you know of these Assassins that will be sent?”
Tatiana shrugged. “All I know, Jake, is that Ramus has them and that they have the same extreme skill and ruthlessness as their ancient predecessors — some say that they derive these abilities from a drug induced hypnosis. Which is ironic as the term assassin is derived from the Arabic and translates literally as hashish-eater, or one addicted to hashish. There is one Assassin who is supposed to be the teacher, or master of all others — no one knows who it is, because they all dress in the same black skin-hugging outfits that are hooded. Even the eyes are concealed behind dark lenses that must act as image intensifiers and night vision. But this one took out an entire Scorpion squad.”
“Alone?”
“Oh yes, alone.”
“Without any help whatsoever?”
Tatiana nodded. “That’s what the MI6 encrypted files stated, when I read them prior to driving all the way up to this dissolute dump of a place to warn you, and to ask for your help. This thing is escalating and is totally out of control.”
“The last time you asked for my help, Tats, I almost got myself killed. I’ll go and get the hardware, check the surveillance monitors and arm the perimeter weapon systems. That’ll just leave time to throw a few things into a holdall, and then we can get the hell out of here. Anything you need?”
“Just my overnight bag, thanks.”
Dillon smiled. “Okay, I’ll go grab it out of what’s left of your Merc.” He turned his back on Tatiana and walked out of the room, across the great hall and to his study beyond and the estate’s monitoring system. He could sense her gaze boring into his back.
“Dillon?”
He stopped midway through the great hall. Turned.
“I still love you.”
“Really?”
Tatiana nodded. “Really.”
Dillon smiled warmly. “Get your ass in gear. We leave in five minutes.”
Dillon stared with a heavy frown at the row of computer monitor screens.
Something was amiss.
Badly amiss.
Something was happening.
There was silence in the castle, apart from the distant ticking of a clock. Dillon watched the screens. A light started to flash, blinking with a proximity warning. By the north shore of the loch. Dillon activated the digital video cameras; fresh snow greeted him. And then he felt it… …a ripple of a shockwave from the explosive device. Dillon felt a cold trickle of sweat run down his spine as the PCs instantly shut down… followed a second later by the lights to the whole castle. Everything was plunged into a murky half-light, long shadows being cast by a fine Scottish dawn. The computer cooling fans whirred to a halt.
“Bollocks.” Dillon shot across the great hall at a sprint.
“What’s happened?” Asked Tatiana.
“The main power has gone. And the back-up generators haven’t cut in automatically as they should have.”
“Give me a gun,” said Tatiana.
Dillon unzipped the holdall and pulled out a Walther PPK from his personal armoury, and tossed her the black automatic. He drew a narrow knife from a hidden sheaf sewn into the lining in his jacket, then slid it carefully back. It always felt good to know he had this old friend as a back-up. Dillon moved to the window, and staying out of sight, scanned the area outside for any movement.
“What now, Jake?” Asked Tatiana
“We get as far away from this place as we can. It’s too dangerous to stay here.”
“You believe me now?’’
Dillon picked up the Landrover keys from a side table, and put them into his jacket pocket. “All I know is that it takes a hell of a lot of tech-knowledge and know-how to knock out the type of sophisticated monitoring set-up and the three-stage back-up generators that I have here. And at the same time remain virtually undetected.”
“Did your system pick up anything before it went down?”
“North shore of the loch.”
“Don’t trust your sensors — trust your instincts. The Assassin is out there, and is most likely much closer…”
Dillon shivered, and flicked the safety off the Glock. He moved back out into the great hall and positioned himself in the shadows… a good place to defend, he thought. He knew the building intimately — but to cut and run now? To use the half-light of dawn?
Dangerous and extremely foolhardy. He had no idea who was outside, or how many of them there were. Most importantly — he had no idea where they were.
We should have left hours ago, under the cover of darkness, he thought.