Good Intentions - Adrian Hell #6 (Adrian Hell Series) (8 page)

I smile and feel myself zone out, thinking about Josh…

…

…

…I’m back.

“That’s great news. And how is President Schultz doing?”

She shrugs. “Not bad, considering he’s only been in the White House a week. He’s already tried to rebuild the UN, but he’s outsourced the job of the old Peacekeeping Taskforce to GlobaTech, so Josh Winters is now on the National Security Council, albeit in an advisory capacity.”

My eyes go wide. “Holy shit! Really?”

She nods. “The decision’s been met with overwhelming support from almost everyone. GlobaTech single-handedly defended the world against the threat of war. Their security forces can hold their own against any nation’s own military—especially now, when so many countries are on their knees. It makes sense.”

“Way to go, Josh!”

“Yes, your friend has done very well for himself.”

“He always was a smartass. So, North Korea has been put in its place… the U.S. is bouncing back after all the conspiracy… things are looking up. How’s everyone else doing?”

She shrugs. “As you’d expect. There’s no easy fix, but the nations not affected by 4/17 are all playing their part. They’re trying to carry on as normal—like these people…” She gestures around the restaurant. “…but governments all over the world are jumping at the chance to help President Schultz and GlobaTech Industries rebuild. It’ll take some time, but it’s good that everyone’s banding together.”

I smile and shake my head.

She frowns. “What’s funny?”

“Nothing… it’s just… everything that happened—Cunningham’s big plan… ultimately, his goal was to unite everyone. He had an ass-backward way of going about it, granted, but as it turns out, that’s exactly what’s happened. Only difference is, he’s not ruling the world like some wannabe Emperor Palpatine. Kinda ironic though, when you think about it.”

She frowns. “Emperor who?”

“You know… from Star Wars? He was the leader of the Empire, ruling the galaxy with fear and…” I stop talking. The look on her face says it all. “You’ve never seen Star Wars, have you?”

She shakes her head.

I sigh. “Another tragedy our world faces… there are still people who haven’t watched Star Wars.”

“You’re a very… odd man, Adrian.”

I shrug. “I prefer to think of myself as unique, but whatever.”

We both smile and fall silent. We take a few minutes to eat some more.

I wipe my mouth with my napkin and take a sip of my drink. “So what happens now?”

Lily does the same. “Well, The Order is busy creating a new life for you. You’ll have a new identity, a new house, credit cards… everything.”

“Christ… Really?”

She nods. “You’ll have the freedom to live your life however you want, with only three conditions.”

“Hmmm, go on…”

“The first one is you have to be ready, on a moment’s notice, to carry out whatever contract they give you. Always and without question.”

I shrug. “Sounds fair.”

“The second one is you can’t kill
anyone
without The Order’s permission. The punishment for doing so is… not worth thinking about.”

“Okay, I can live with that…”

“And finally, you cannot—and I can’t stress this enough, Adrian—you
cannot
attempt to make any contact with anyone from your previous life. You must remain hidden. You must live like a ghost. Do you understand?”

I clench my jaw muscles repeatedly as I think about what Lily just said. That’s a big ask. I can imagine the temptation is always there, though it surely gets easier with time. I guess, since I woke up to this new life, I’ve been thinking, somewhere in the back of my mind, there would be a way of letting Josh know I was still alive.

I guess not.

“Adrian?”

“Huh? Yeah… I understand.”

“I mean it. That’s our only concern about you. Don’t make us regret our decision to recruit you, okay?”

I nod. “I won’t try to contact Josh. Cross my heart.”

“Thank you. Now, apart from those three things, the world is yours. A benefit of being in The Order.”

She smiles at me—a gesture I force myself to return. This is my life now. I accept that. The first two rules… they make sense to me. I was half-expecting something along those lines, to be honest. I’m an assassin, after all. Things like that come with the territory. But the third thing…

I sigh.

I know I was told from day one that contact with my old life wasn’t an option if I signed up. But I guess I had it in my head that I would be able to find a way around it or something. Now I’ve essentially been threatened over trying to contact Josh, it just makes me want to do it even more. I’m too—

“Are you alright?”

I must have zoned out again. I look at Lily, who’s staring at me. “Sorry, yeah… I’m fine.”

She smiles at me, and I detect a hint of sympathy. “Look, I… I know it’s hard, leaving people you care for behind. We’ve all had to do it. But it does get easier, I promise.”

That’s nice of her to say, despite it being no comfort whatsoever.

“Thanks, Lily. So what now?”

“Now…” She reaches in her pocket and takes out a cell phone, which she slides across the table. “…you need to take this. Horizon wants to meet with you, but before that, I actually have a contract for you. The details are in the message I’ve just sent to your phone.”

I frown. “Is this another test?”

She shakes her head. “No, this is life in The Order. This is your first real contract for us.”

I take the phone, but don’t turn it on. “Does everyone in The Order carry out hits? Do you?”

She nods. “I do, yes.”

“But this job is just for me? It’s definitely not another test? Because I’m sick of having to prove—”

“Everyone in The Order has a particular set of skills. Yours, it seems, is finding a way to pull off seemingly impossible contracts, which is why you’ve been assigned this one.”

“Uh-huh… What’s your skill set?”

She winks at me coyly. “I have many…”

“I bet.”

She certainly seems friendlier than when we first met. To be fair, I probably didn’t help the situation earlier. I think starting over was a good idea. My first impression probably wasn’t much better than hers was.

I turn on the phone and look at the message waiting for me on the screen. An image loads, showing a man sitting at a table in a crowded restaurant. He has dark hair and is smartly dressed. He’s…

Hang on.

I look at Lily, confused. “Is this a joke?”

Still smiling, she shakes her head. “No. He’s your target. And you need to carry it out immediately. Rule number one, remember?”

I look back at the screen and sigh.

It’s the guy sitting next to me!

7

12:31
MYT

I stare at the table in front of me until my vision blurs. I’ve lost my appetite. I have my beer in my right hand, but I’m no longer thirsty. The surprise… the
shock
—it has me thinking a million different things at once, but I don’t yet have the capacity to focus on any of them.

They want me to kill the guy I’ve been sitting next to for the last half hour! This has to be another kind of test, surely?

I stare at Lily, who’s observing me quietly. “Okay, hang on a minute. I don’t—” I glance sideways at the guy and lower my voice. “I don’t take someone out just because I’m told to, alright? I need to—”

She laughs. “He doesn’t speak English. There’s no need to talk quietly.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not bothered about
that
. I was gonna say, I need to know
why
someone deserves to have me coming for them. Why does The Order want this guy dead?”

She shakes her head. “It doesn’t work like that, Adrian. That might’ve been how you did things in the past, and that’s fine. But it’s not how we do things now. Like I just said, if we give you a target, your only thought should be how quickly and effectively you can take them out. That’s it.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not executing anyone just because someone tells me to.”

“You did in Vietnam…”

I shake my head. “No, I didn’t. I found out what I could about Mr. Way prior to entering his little compound. I knew he was a piece of shit before I tore his world apart. I don’t know what
this
guy is supposed to have done, and until I do, I’m not touching him. Are we clear?”

Lily takes a sip of her drink and stares at me. Her jaw is set and she looks a little pissed off. Her eyes narrow slightly. I can see the internal debate raging behind her hazel orbs. After a few moments, she places her drink down and leans forward, resting on her crossed arms. “He’s a customer of Mr. Way’s. Or he
was
, anyway. He’s a successful businessman, and a senior director at a large banking firm here in the city. He’s married with two sons, eleven and eight. But he’s also a pedophile. He’s spent tens of thousands over many years with Mr. Way, having young girls delivered to an apartment he rents behind his family’s back. He’s a sick bastard, Adrian.” She nods at the cell phone in my hand. “Scroll through the images if you don’t believe me.”

I frown and look at the screen. Using my thumb, I flick through a series of damning pictures that show him walking into an apartment building, and then reappearing at the door to greet a couple of men escorting a young girl, dressed inappropriately. He then disappears back inside with his arm around her.

I clench my jaw so tightly I think I might actually shatter my teeth. I met a lot of those young women yesterday. They were scared for their lives. They were victims. And people like this piece of shit next to me did that to them.

I look over at her. “Okay, so he deserves it. Give me half a day for surveillance, and he’ll be dead by morning.”

She shakes her head. “Any recon or additional information will always be done for you and sent along with the details of the target. If you don’t receive any, it means there’s isn’t any. In those circumstances, termination is to be carried out immediately.”

Jesus…

I place the phone down on the table. I finish off the beer and place the empty bottle next to it. I look over at Lily. My brow furrows as I think about what she’s saying. “You said I have the freedom to live my life however I want now, providing I stick to your three rules, right?”

She nods. “That’s right.”

“So what happens if I do something illegal and the police get involved? Would The Order bail me out?”

She pauses for a moment. Her expression tries to hide a slightly bemused smile. “The police… aren’t a concern for us.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, wherever you are, whatever you do—providing you stick to those three rules, no one is going to bother you. You’re free, Adrian.”

“Really…? Well, that
is
interesting…”

I pick up one of my chopsticks. It’s thin, but made from something sturdy, like bamboo. I snap it about a quarter of the way down, leaving a sharp, jagged point. I hold it in my fist with the business end facing away from me. I look at Lily and raise an eyebrow.

Screw it. Let’s see just how free I really am, shall we?

I lash my arm out to the side in a swift arc. The splintered chopstick connects perfectly with my target, piercing the thin flesh of his throat, just below his Adam’s apple. I turn and stare at him. He looks around at me slowly, his eyes wide and his mouth open. I let go, leaving the makeshift weapon sticking out of him. He clutches at it as he makes an awful gurgling sound, desperately trying to take a breath, but slowly choking on the blood gathering in his esophagus.

No one’s reacted yet. The people in the immediate vicinity haven’t quite registered what’s happening. I stare into the guy’s wide, disbelieving eyes, waiting to see the light in them begin to fade.

It doesn’t take long.

I reach across and yank the chopstick from his throat. A thin fountain of blood erupts from the wound, soaking both the table in front of him and the person sitting opposite. I quickly place my hand on the back of his head and slam him face first into his plate. He tries to struggle free, but his efforts are futile. I hold him there for another moment, waiting.

I lean forward to check and…

Yeah… that’s it.

He’s gone.

I sit back in my chair and look at Lily. Her expression is neutral, devoid of any sentiment or emotion. We stare into each other’s eyes until the shock wears off the people around us and the screaming starts. Neither of us makes a move. As people leap to their feet and rush around in a panic, fleeing their tables in all directions, we both sit, silently regarding one another like a game of chicken, seeing who will move first.

I shrug. “See, I told you—all I need is a valid reason. Job done.”

She finishes her drink. “What if I was lying?”

“You weren’t.”

“How do you know?”

“Because, believe it or not, I’m better at reading people than you might think. And I trust my spider sense. You weren’t lying. You were just reluctant to give me a reason because it’s against your rules.”

She flicks her eyebrows up and flashes a perplexed smile. “Okay. And what’s your spider sense? Is that something out of
Star Wars
?”

She pulls a face, possibly being facetious. I shake my head. “No, it’s not out of Star Wars… Good God, woman!”

She chuckles and stands. “Come on, the police will be here any minute.”

“I thought they weren’t a problem?”

“They’re not, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any paperwork. Let’s go.”

I follow her outside and we head left. I glance back over my shoulder at the restaurant. There’s a crowd of people gathering out front, cell phone cameras going crazy.

Some things never change…

That actually felt quite liberating—getting back to basics and just taking out a target. No fuss, no fallout… just me and the kill, like the old days. It’s almost comforting to have something I’m familiar with, something that makes sense to me. God knows those things have been in short supply lately.