Good Intentions - Adrian Hell #6 (Adrian Hell Series) (36 page)

I launch my cast again, aiming for his throat.

Shit!

He catches it in both hands and—

Uh!

—throws a short elbow at my face. He hits me below my right eye and I stagger back.

He stands up straight and lifts his hands into an orthodox fighting stance.

I can’t let him get comfortable. I can’t give him time to prepare and start fighting
his
fight. I’m not strong enough. I need to stop him from building any kind of momentum.

“No!”

I lunge forward, dropping my head at the last second and burying my shoulder into his gut. I force him backward and use my legs to lift him as much as I can…

It’s not much but…

…

…

I roll him over the back of one of the sofas, and allow my momentum to carry me over with him and land heavily on his chest. He bounces back to his feet almost immediately, and grabs a vase from the nearby table. He swings it and—

Uh!

Ah!

“Fuck!”

I drop to one knee as he smashes it over my head. I can feel an instant warmth pulsing over my face. I’m guessing he’s just re-opened my head wound. Great…

I stand to meet him as he marches over, hands high, ready to swing. I bend my arms to cover and manage to deflect his first few shots.

Ah!

He tagged me in the ribs.

Uh!

And again. Shit!

I see a big right coming for my head. I try to get my hand to it and—

…

…

…

—What the hell?

I’m lying on the floor between the two sofas facing the door. He must have hit me and knocked me out. I’m guessing my head hitting the floor woke me up again.

I shake away the cobwebs and look over to where I last remember being. Pierce is striding toward me. Horizon has stepped away to the right, and is standing over by the hot tub, watching intently. Kaitlyn’s standing over by the Ganesha statue, crying, holding her hands to her mouth. I need to get—

Whoa!

Pierce hoists me to my feet with a handful of my T-shirt and winds up another shot. We’re too close for him to get any real power behind it, thankfully. I duck under it as he swings, which sends him off-balance. I lash out with my foot and kick the side of his leg as he moves away from me. He stumbles, buying me some time.

I move toward one of the guns, managing three steps before I hear him behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see him running for me, albeit it with a slight limp in his step from the kick.

I’m standing only a couple of feet away from the small table Horizon rested his drink on earlier.

That’ll do.

I reach over, grab it with my good hand, and then swing it around like I’m throwing the hammer in the Olympics. Despite being thin, the mahogany table’s sturdy. It smashes over Pierce’s arm and shoulder, knocking him off-balance again.

I take another step toward the gun, but I feel him grab my ankle, pulling my leg out from under me. As I start to fall face-first, I put my left hand out and turn, landing heavily on my arm. I allow my own momentum to carry me, and roll onto my back, over again, and eventually back to my feet.

I see the gun in my peripheral vision. I lean down, grab it, then stand and spin around to face Pierce.

Shit.

He’s standing, aiming his other gun at me.

Neither of us move an inch. We’re both breathing hard. I can feel the blood trickling down my face. He has blood flowing freely down his arm, presumably from the table breaking over it.

Stalemate.

“Okay, that’s enough,” says Horizon as he steps between us. “Mr. Pierce, lower your weapon.”

He does, albeit reluctantly.

Horizon then turns to me. “You too, Adrian.”

I shake my head. “Not until I’ve put a bullet in that bastard!”

He sighs and reaches into his pocket.

I watch his hand disappear.

Oh, sh—

“Argh!”

I drop the gun and desperately clutch at my head as he activates the device again. I sink to my knees and grit my teeth, trying to stifle a scream of agony.

Oh… my… God!

It stops.

I’m panting. The pain left in my head by that is spreading like wildfire. It’s like a million migraines all at once.

Horizon tuts. “It’s like training an animal… you’ll learn, eventually.” He looks at Pierce. “Take Miss Moss home. See that she’s compensated for the loss of her business.”

I watch as Pierce walks over to her and grabs her arm. She struggles at first, but it doesn’t get her anywhere. He frog-marches her to the door. They pause for a moment, and she looks over at me. I see sadness in her eyes.

Horizon walks in front of her, blocking her view of me. “Oh, and Miss Moss… if you attempt to make any contact with my asset from this moment on, you will be killed without any further warning. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes.”

He steps aside and I watch as she’s ushered out of the suite. The door slams shut behind them.

I slowly get to my feet. I’ve not felt this broken in a long time. Mentally or physically.

Horizon is over by the hot tub again. He looks back at me. “You should freshen up. You look like shit.” He points to his bedroom. “Use my shower. I’ll have fresh clothes waiting for you.”

I don’t say anything. I don’t have the energy to antagonize him further. I turn and stagger over to his bedroom. As I walk past the windows, I glance outside. The bay surrounding the island glistens below me in the sun. The water is a deep blue and crystal clear, even from up here. Beyond that, the city of Abu Dhabi bustles away, oblivious to the shit I’ve just gone through.

Lucky bastards.

11:29
AST

I’m standing under the showerhead, watching as a steady flow of pale, watered-down blood swirls around my feet, before vanishing down the drain. There isn’t much that doesn’t hurt right now. I have a small swelling under my eye from Pierce’s elbow. My head wound re-opened, so that’s stinging like a bitch under the hot water. My hand’s throbbing, too. I shouldn’t have used the cast as a weapon…

But the physical damage I can deal with. It’s what’s running through my head that I’m struggling to handle. I keep seeing Yaz falling dead at my feet over and over again. It’s my fault the kid’s dead.

Or is it?

Yeah… it is. I involved him in all this. When Kaitlyn suggested asking him for help, I should have said no. He’s dead because of me.

So is Lily.

So is Tori.

So is nearly one billion people who died as a result of 4/17.

That’s all on me. I should have done more. I should have…

“Fuck!”

I lash out and slam my fist into the tiles in front of me. I hold my hand there for a moment, absorbing the pain from the impact, glaring down at the wet floor of the cubicle.

An image of Kaitlyn flashes into my mind.

I liked her.

I didn’t, y’know…
like
her, but I respected her and I admired her. And, hell, the sex was great. I wonder if she hates me for all this? I wonder if she blames me for everything she’s lost?

I smile to myself.

No, she wouldn’t hate me.

What would she say to me, if she were here now?

Yeah, I know…

She’d say I shouldn’t feel guilty because all those things weren’t my fault. She’d say I should stop punishing myself for simply trying to do the right thing.

I don’t know… maybe she’s right. I mean, she was a lot smarter than I am, and she was a damn good therapist. I still owe her three hundred bucks, thinking about it…

Well, I can’t make any promises, because I feel pretty shitty right now, but I’ll try not to continue punishing myself over what’s happened these last few days. I’ve been in a pretty impossible situation. Hell, I still am. But I reckon I’ve done the best I can with what I’ve had.

Now I just have to figure out how to adjust to my new life. I’m definitely not one to give up, or back down from a fight, but even I can see I have no move to make here. I step out of line, Kaitlyn dies, and I die. I ask too many questions, we die. I do anything except what Horizon tells me to, we die.

I made my bed, and now I have to lie in it. I chose this. Well, actually, I didn’t. Horizon gave me a choice, but he didn’t give me chance to answer. He made the decision for me, so regardless of what I would’ve done, this is my life now. I’m a killer. An assassin.
The
assassin. There’s not really much difference between my life now, and my life for the past God knows how many years, if I’m honest.

Maybe it won’t be so bad after all…

I shut off the shower and step out, wiping the excess water from my face and eyes. I reach out for the towel and—

It’s not there.

I hear a giggle.

Huh?

I open my eyes and see two naked women standing in front of me, both holding towels.

I raise an eyebrow. “Hello…”

They smile and nod, but don’t reply. They step toward me and begin drying me by gently patting my skin.

Well… this is awkward.

I grab one of the towels from the woman on my left and take a step back, quickly wrapping it around my waist. “I’m… ah… I’m fine, thanks.”

They look disheartened, but nod courteously and walk out of the room.

Jesus…

The bathroom is pretty big, considering it’s an en suite. There’s no door, just an archway made of marble leading into the wet room. There’s a basin built into a marble surface a few feet from the shower, with a large mirror running the full width of the wall. I wipe away the condensation and stare at my reflection. I still need a shave, but I look a helluva lot better than I did ten minutes ago, which is something.

I walk back out into Horizon’s main bedroom. A four-poster bed dominates the room, with closets lining the wall behind it. There’s a balcony opposite, the doors standing slightly open. I walk over to it and step outside. The warm breeze feels nice against my body. It’s not as humid as in the city, because I’m looking out over the ocean. It’s almost refreshing—a feeling I’ve yet to experience in this climate.

I take a deep breath and step back inside. Fresh clothes are laid out across the bed. A nice, plain white, short-sleeved shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of light brown shoes on the floor. I quickly get dressed, leaving two buttons of the shirt unfastened.

I walk out into the massive lounge. Horizon is sitting at a desk in the far left corner, just to the left of the doors. He looks over as I enter. “Feeling better?”

I shrug. “Yeah, I guess. Thanks for the outfit.”

He waves his hand dismissively. “The least I can do. Now, if you’re feeling up to it, I have a job for you.”

I make my way across the room. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

He stands and walks over to meet me. “Not when there isn’t any to waste. I’ve had a new contract handed to me by the committee. One of the utmost importance.”

I nod. “Fine, who’s the target?”

“I’ll send the details to your phone in a moment. They are a very influential and public figure, who has recently ascended to a position of power we would rather they weren’t in. We consider their approach to things… problematic. They do not have a place in our future plans for this world.”

I frown.

Wait a minute.

My mind’s racing, putting the pieces together in my head.

Influential public figure?

New position of power?

…

…

…

Oh, no!

Ryan Schultz!

I close my eyes for a moment, processing the fresh batch of bad luck I’ve just been handed.

He’s going to ask me to kill the new president!

“Getting to them won’t be easy, so I figure you’re the perfect asset for the job, considering your talent for difficult assassinations.”

Shit! He really is!

“Also, as the target is well protected, Mr. Pierce and his team will be on hand to offer any support you need.”

I try to remain calm, and stop panicking. I shake my head. “I see that prick again, I’m gonna kill him.”

“Now, now, Adrian, we’re all on the same side. The Order is more than willing to move forward in our relationship, and it would be in your best interest to do the same. I understand you might still harbor some… animosity toward Mr. Pierce, but you shouldn’t. He was simply doing his job. Just like you will be. He’s here to support you, should you need it, or to keep you in line, should I deem it necessary.”

“Then why not just send him to do your contracts, if he’s so good…?”

Horizon smiles. “Mr. Pierce is a loyal employee, and an excellent soldier. But he’s not an assassin. He lacks the mindset… the finesse required to plan and execute a world-class hit. Something that you do not.”

I’m trying to figure a way around this, or a way I can at least warn him before I leave for Washington, but I’m drawing a blank. There’s no way I’m going after the new president. Unlike his predecessor, Schultz doesn’t deserve it. Sure, he can be an asshole sometimes… and yes, he did authorize my execution, but I don’t hold it against him. He had no choice, and I bear no grudge for that.

Shit.

I need to calm down, accept this is happening, and try to figure out a way to actually pull this off, because if I don’t, I’m dead.

I roll my eyes. “Okay, quit stroking my ego. We both know I’m only going along with this because I have no other choice, so let’s get on with it.”

He regards me for a moment, and then nods. “Very well.” He takes out his own phone and begins typing. “You will be sent details of your target’s schedule. This information will be sufficient to carry out the mission. There will be no more details provided.”

My phone beeps in my pocket. I roll my eyes as I reach for it. “Yeah, yeah… whatever.”

“All I will say is, his recent actions are in direct conflict of our committee’s vision for the future, and he must be eliminated. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of your mandatory compliance, and what will happen should you fail.”

I type in the security code to unlock my phone. “No, you don’t. I know what I have to do, alright? Just let me—”

My words catch in my throat as the file flashes up on my screen. My heart begins to hammer against my chest as the gravity of how much shit I’m in finally hits home.