I’m breathing heavily. I feel like my heart’s about to break through my ribcage. I look at the console.
Six… Five… Four…
Not bad.
I reach down and take the gun from the nearest body. It’s another P226 look-a-like. Full mag — I can tell by the weight.
Two… One…
I stand in the middle of the carriage and aim the gun at the doors.
DING!
The doors slide smoothly open.
Oh.
There’s a semicircle of… eight men, armed with either assault rifles or shotguns, all aiming them right at me.
I stare into the eyes of each and every one of them. No one speaks. Their aim doesn’t falter for a second. There’s no hesitation. No doubt. If I so much as sneeze, they’ll shoot me.
Shit.
I lower my gun and nod a curt greeting. “Hey, fellas…”
28
One of the guys standing in the middle takes a step forward and gestures to my gun with the barrel of his. “Drop it, asshole.”
I do. Not as if I have much choice, is it?
I hold my hands out to the sides. “Am I that predictable?”
The guy doesn’t say anything, he just points at something behind me. I look over my shoulder. In the top corner of the carriage is a security camera.
I look back at him. “Sneaky bastards… I didn’t see that. Good job I wasn’t trying to be discreet, eh?”
He smiles humorlessly. “Come on… nice and easy. Horizon’s waiting for you.”
I step over the bodies and out of the elevator. The group quickly moves to surround me, revealing the hallway ahead of me. I recognize it from when I was here a couple of days ago. Nothing’s changed. We walk halfway along and stop outside the door to Horizon’s suite.
One of the guys knocks on it, then opens it without waiting for a response. He gestures me inside. I take a deep breath and step over the threshold, into the belly of the beast. I don’t know what to expect, or what’s going to happen, but I do know, however this plays out, I’m done with The Order.
I look around the room. It’s pretty much as I remember it, except, thankfully, Horizon’s not naked in a hot tub this time. He’s sitting calmly on one of the sofas in front of me. He’s wearing his usual white suit, and he’s sipping what I assume is some kind of tea from a cup, while holding a matching saucer delicately beneath it.
He nods courteously as I walk into the room proper. “Hello, Adrian.”
I wave dismissively. “Whatever. Where is she?”
He frowns. “Where’s who?”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t bullshit me, Colonel Sanders.”
He sets the cup and saucer down on the small table beside him. He stands, straightens his suit, and walks toward me. “Oh, you mean Kaitlyn? Your… therapist? I must say, in all my years, I’ve never known an asset seek therapy before…”
I shrug. “Yeah, well, in all my years, I’ve never given less of a fuck about what someone thinks. Where is she?”
He holds my gaze for a moment, and then half-turns, glancing over his shoulder toward his bedroom door at the far end of the suite. “Bring them out, Mr. Pierce.”
I look over as the door opens, and watch as Kaitlyn and Yaz are ushered out by Pierce, who’s walking casually behind them, holding a pistol.
I take a step toward them. “Kaitlyn… kid… are you both okay?”
They each nod nervously.
I look at Horizon. “Let them go, you piece of shit. It’s me you’re pissed at. Deal with me.”
He strokes the loose, mottled skin around his throat, and then gestures to the sofa. “Take a seat.”
I shake my head. “Not until you let them go.”
His expression hardens, and his eyes narrow. “They won’t be going anywhere until me and you have had a nice little chat. So sit… down.”
He sits down farther along from where he was before. He leans back, crosses his legs, and waits.
I glance over at Kaitlyn. She looks terrified, but she doesn’t seem hurt, which is the important thing. Same with the kid. I move over to the sofa and sit beside him. I lean forward and rest my arms on my knees. “Okay, let’s talk.”
Horizon smiles. “Thank you. Now, first of all, I want to clear something up. I’m not angry with you. I’m disappointed, sure. You have a lot of potential, and could’ve one day played an important role within The Order. But… I underestimated how difficult you would find letting go of your old life, of your old ways. I knew it would be a problem with you from the very beginning, and it’s my mistake for giving you too much credit.”
I sigh. “Look, I’ve got no problem with the idea of leaving my old life behind me. Yeah, it’s definitely been hard, but there was very little left of my old life anyway. The issue I’ve had is that you expect me to risk my life, to kill people for you, without any kind of reason, and I won’t work like that.”
He nods. “Okay. Tell me why. Explain to me what your big problem is with the way I run my assets.”
“I’m incredibly good at what I do, but I won’t kill someone if I don’t believe they have it coming.”
“And who are you to decide what someone’s life is worth, Adrian? What makes your moral compass such an authority on whether someone should live or die?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
He smiles like he feels bad for me all of a sudden. “Adrian, I’m far better informed to make such decisions than you will ever be. The Order of Sabbah has existed for centuries, and has systems and infrastructures in place that help us see when people’s actions are not suited to the greater good of our society. I am Horizon. It’s not a name, it’s a title, and I am not the only person to have it bestowed upon them. The title is earned by proving to a committee of superiors that you have the skills to plan ahead, to accurately predict the outcome of situations other people aren’t even aware of yet. Once you can do that, you can see where someone’s path is leading them. If that path shows they’re working toward a goal in direct conflict with our own, they’re eliminated.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Okay, hold up. So you’re not the only Horizon? There are more people out there with the same stupid-ass name?”
He nods. “There are a number of us, yes. Each charged with directing a different division of The Order.”
“So, I was recruited to one… what? One small part of a larger organization?”
He nods again.
“Jeez… Okay. This is good. We’re sharing. So, these goals you keep mentioning… Whose goals are they, exactly? And what makes them so damn important?”
Horizon stands and begins pacing idly back and forth in front of me. “Our committee is made up of many influential people around the world. High-ranking members of governments, board members of large companies, police officers… even pilots. Our reach encompasses the globe, and between us, we have a pretty good idea about what’s best for people. And if something threatens that, we use our assets to rectify things.”
I rub my eyes. All this time I’ve been after some kind of straight answer, and he’s said nothing. Now, I can’t shut him up! This is information overload, and I don’t even know if I believe it. I mean, I know The Order’s a big thing, but… could they really be so well established in the world?
“Okay, if all that’s true — and I’m not saying I completely believe it is — then what about Cunningham? Surely his delusional plan for world domination didn’t conform to your ideal path for humanity… Where were you when he was blowing up half the goddamn planet?”
Horizon laughs. “We were monitoring the situation, but we believed you had it handled.”