Rebels & Lies (Rebels & Lies Trilogy Book 1) (19 page)

“Let’s do it.”

“You want to break?”

“You’ve been the shit talker,” Kaspar replied with a smile. “You
break.”

Krys placed the cue ball in front. She then rubbed the square peg
against the end of her stick for a moment before she lined up her shot. Her
eyes focused solely on the target in front of her. Kaspar found himself unable
to take his eyes off of her while she concentrated.

She took another deep breath and was about to shoot when she felt
something along her ass. She jumped at the sharp pinch and stood straight up.
Kaspar had been too focused on Krys that he failed the see the bearded old man
from earlier move in on her. Upon closer examination of his sleeveless vest
revealed several blood stains at the left breast.

“There some sweet ass in this place tonight, eh, sugar?” the biker
asked, his smile revealed several missing teeth.

“So sweet,” Krys replied, “it’ll rot the rest of your teeth out.”

“That’s not polite.”

“Hey, leftover,” Kaspar said. The biker looked him in the eye, the
smile gone. “We’re just here to shoot around a bit. Leave us be.”

The biker turned to Krys. “Who’s this?”

“He’s my friend. Just please, leave us alone.”

“I don’t think so, sugar. Not until you show me what you’ve got
under them clothes.”

“Sir,” Kaspar called, his face red with anger, he slammed his cue
stick on the table. “Leave us alone, huh?”

“You mind your own fucking business, super boy. I’ll take over
from here. Fellas!”

Kaspar looked around, three of the biker’s cohorts moved in to
surround him. Why did he agree to come here? Of all the places to go, Krys picked
a biker hangout spot. He continued to move his head around. The sound of a
switchblade caused him to look towards the leader again. The animal moved in on
Krys, who put her hands straight up in the air and backed up until her back hit
the wall. There was going to be a fight now: the trick would be to make sure it
wasn’t a fair one.

The three men who moved in on Kaspar were too busy cracking their
knuckles and grimacing through their rotten teeth that they were not prepared
for what was coming their way. Kaspar reached forward and grabbed the white
ponytail of the leader. He yanked back and chopped at the knife hand. He
slammed the leader’s head against the fresh waxed surface of the pool table.

Kaspar felt a sharp blow to his right side. Without looking, he spun
and landed a hard right hook to that attacker’s cheek. The biker spit out blood
before Kaspar landed another hook to the cheek, knocking him out.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see another biker take a
swing at him. Kaspar ducked and landed a punch to the groin, followed by an
uppercut, the force of which broke the biker’s nose. The attacker backed away,
his nose now a geyser, and fell to the ground crying out in pain.

The final biker moved in on Krys. She poised herself in a
defensive position. She awaited the biker to make the first move. Before he
could do anything, he fell to the ground in pain. When he fell, she could see
Kaspar standing upright. He had shoved his knee into the biker’s back. Kaspar
swore that he could hear a couple of vertebrae crack.

Kaspar looked down at the mess of bodies on the ground and watched
with a joy that scared him at the writhing bodies. Krys looked to the bartender
and he gave her nod. The bartender knew her father. There was no way would he
turn her in. One of the bikers that lay on the ground, he tried to mumble
something. Kaspar moved in and kicked the fallen enemy on the side. The biker
winced in pain before he received another kick. Kaspar then bent down and
started to wail on his enemy. Blow after blow after…he could feel Krys’s hand
on his shoulder, but he ignored it. A left, a right, a…

“Ryan!” Krys called out. “Do you want us to get arrested?”

Kaspar said nothing and stood up, his face red with rage and his
breathing quick. He looked over to Krys, she looked afraid…afraid of the
monster that stood before her. He took a moment to calm himself before the two
ran outside towards the bike. Kaspar slammed his helmet on as the engine roared
to life.

This was a good idea, after all, Kaspar thought. Lots of practice.

Paxton looked feverously around the situation room. There was
still no sight of Kaspar or Krys. He looked down at his watch and cursed to
himself while Kilbourne and Li just stared at the projector screen. Kilbourne
had a wry smile on his face, Paxton unable to figure out what was so happy
about the situation.

The doors swung open and in walked the two missing persons.
Everyone looked back and stared them down. For her part, Krys ignored all the
stares. Kaspar gave them a nod and took a seat in the very back. Paxton folded
his arms across his chest.

“How nice of you two to join us.” he said.

“Sorry,” Krys replied, “we got held up.”

“Got held up? Just what were you two doing?”

“Took Ryan out for a ride, that’s all. The bike was having problems,
but I managed to fix it.”

“We’ll talk about this later.” Paxton said, not buying the
bullshit. “Right now, though, we’ve got a situation on our hands.”

Clarke clicked on his laptop which caused a mug shot of Forte to
shine on the screen. Kaspar noticed that this prick was a mean looking Agent.
The smug look on Forte’s picture made him want to punch a hole through the
wall. Or, better yet, put a bullet through it.

“I had an emergency meeting with Greg this afternoon,” Paxton
continued.

“Is he okay?” Krys asked.

“Not exactly, he’s been made. He thinks he’s been made, at least.”

“Does that shock you?” Kilbourne wondered.

“No, it doesn’t. But, from how he was talking, I do believe they
may have nailed him. RU is confronting CA about our extraction from the
underground church the other night. They now know they have an informant…it’s
only a matter of time before they find out who. He’s out, leaving today.”

“Where does that leave us?” Li asked. “How will we get Intel from
the inside now?”

“You let me worry about that.” Paxton replied. He pointed with his
laser at the mug shot. “This is Travis Forte, a detective within RU.”

“How deep is he involved in that department?” Kaspar asked, wide
eyed.

“He’s one of their best interrogators.”

“Then, he would know something…”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions.”

Kaspar sank back into his chair. He reached into his pocket and
fumbled around with his lighter. This was not the time to discuss it. He would
have to wait until they apprehended the son of a bitch. That would be the
time...the time when he might get some real answers. Best to just shut up and
listen right now.

“Moving forward,” Paxton said. He gave a nod to Clarke and a
picture of The Red Horse appeared on the screen. “He eats lunch here, every
day. He eats alone, so he’ll be vulnerable, that’s when we’ll take him.”

“This is risky,” Kilbourne blurted.

“I know it’s a risk, but there’s a high reward. Think of all the
information we can get from him. We must apprehend him and see what he knows.”

“This guy is looking for the RU, am I right?”

“Yes, Ron.” Paxton replied.

“He’s looking for us, you follow. So, what you’re suggesting is
going out there and apprehending him…revealing to him who he’s searching for?”

“What do you think is going to happen in there?” Paxton demanded.
He stared deep into Kilbourne. “Turn him loose? Let him run back to his
superiors?”

“I see.” Kilbourne replied, he leaned back in his seat.

“Kaspar?”

“Yes?”

“You know this place well, don’t you?”

“Sure do,” Kaspar replied. “Ran past that place every morning.”

“Good,” Paxton said. “You are going to follow him out.”

“Me?”

“Yes, you will follow him out. Then, when the time is right,
you’ll grab him and bring him to us, which will be….” the slide changed to an
abandoned convenience store. “Here.”

“You want me to tail him?” Kaspar asked again.

“That’s right. You know the area, you’re the perfect man for the
job. Or, should I have Krys do it instead?”

Kaspar looked towards Krys who gave him a sly grin back.

“I can do it.” Kaspar said.

“Good. You bring him to us and then we’ll take care of the rest.
He eats lunch at noon every day. You follow him out; our stop is on his way
back. Just…make sure you don’t get made.”

“I won’t.”

***

Kaspar stood outside the entrance to the restaurant. He wore a
baseball cap and a hooded sweatshirt in an attempt to conceal as much of his
identity as possible. The hood sat affixed on top of the, concealing the wire
from his earpiece that ran down his neck. He psyched himself up for this
moment, this chance to make up for what happened at the church. Not only did he
want to make the team proud, he didn’t want to let himself down, either. This
Forte, he must know something about Mother.

He listened with intent, but nothing could be heard so far. His
watch read twelve thirty-seven. Any minute—second—now and their target would
exit the restaurant on the way back to the office. He took a moment to breath
in the fresh afternoon air. The air was always clean and it seemed to get fresher
by the day. Kaspar looked up to the gray sky and it reminded him of a story
Mother once told him. She said that the sky once was blue…she talked about how
beautiful it was. When the USR took over, they launched aerosols into the
atmosphere to fight Global Warming (or, did she say Global Climate Disruption?)
and the once blue sky faded to gray.

“Should be coming out any minute now.” Paxton said through the ear
piece.

Kaspar regained his focus. He ignored the business men and women
who walked past him in all directions. He looked towards the entrance, still no
sign of Forte. His watch now read twelve forty-six. What was keeping him?

“He’s going to be running late,” Clarke’s voice said. “That’s
going to work in our favor.”

Forte’s ugly mug walked out of the restaurant. About damn time,
Kaspar thought. The dark red hair, red freckles, and the pits along his face
gave him away. Clarke confirmed it was him through the ear piece, Paxton
ordered there to be no screw ups on this one. Kaspar took a deep breath, then
held his head down, his eyes up at the target. He remembered Paxton’s
instructions: just follow him and don’t get made.

The mission officially had begun. Kaspar followed close behind
Forte. When Forte’s paced quickened, so did his. He hated the inconvenience
that his mark’s tardiness brought about. Forte would have to walk faster than
he thought. But, Clarke was probably right, as usual. He’s running late, his
attention to his surroundings would be lowered. Lowered enough, Kaspar hoped,
to not notice he was being tailed.

Kaspar got to within inches of him and he slowed down, something
inside told him he was too close. Kaspar bumped into a middle aged business
man. The man gave him a dirty look which he ignored. At least the man didn’t
get too upset and cause a scene which would have blown the entire operation.

Forte’s red hair was still in view, but the Agent picked up the
pace once again. Kaspar did his best to keep at a steady stride, but the flood
of human traffic during this lunch hour increased the difficulty. The mark
seemed to be a pro at this. He bobbed and weaved his way through pedestrians
like they were nothing. Kaspar kept bumping into people on both sides. Someone
bumped him on the left shoulder. He didn’t see it coming and nearly tumbled onto
the pavement. As he kept himself up, his eyes remained fixated on that red
hair. There was no way he was going to lose his mark.

“You’re almost at the checkpoint,” Clarke said. “Pick up the pace
and grab him. Remember: quick and silent.”

With his pace quickened, Kaspar started to nudge the people in
front of him away. As he got closer, the nudges turned to shoves. The men and
women started to yell at Kaspar, but he ignored it and continued to move
forward. He got to within a reach of Forte, but an elderly man blocked his
path. His focus on Forte, he grabbed the collar of the old man’s shirt and
yanked back. The force of the pull caused the old man to fall backwards. He let
out a yelp when he hit the ground.

The yelp caught Forte’s attention. He turned his body backwards
and looked to the man on the ground. Kaspar looked away, but he knew he had
been caught. Just have to buy some time and…

Before Forte could reach for his gun, Kaspar landed a sharp punch
to the right eye. Forte took a wild swing which Kaspar ducked underneath,
followed by a counter left hand to the chin. He grabbed the mark’s stunned body
and forced him to turn around. A second later, Forte had the barrel of a
Beretta 92 shoved into his right kidney.

“Keep moving,” Kaspar whispered into Forte’s ear.

Forte obeyed, he kept his legs moving forward and allowed his
attacker to direct him. The sound of cries and footsteps from those running
away filled the street. Kaspar looked around, gave everyone a fake smile, and
told them to move along. He also scanned the ground for Agents that might be on
watch. The streets were flooded right now. He doubted that he had caught any of
their attention. He didn’t see any move his way, at least.

It seemed a bit odd, but that didn’t matter now. All that mattered
was getting Forte to that little white door in the alleyway where the others
were awaiting them. The only fear he really had was that one of the bystanders
called the police with his or her phone. This gave Kaspar that extra incentive
to move forward as fast as possible.

The alleyway came into view. Kaspar angled his mark’s body towards
it and led him to the little white door. His free hand forced Forte’s head into
the wall. He buried the gun deeper into the kidney. Kaspar looked over his
shoulder to ensure that nobody followed him in there. When satisfied, he
ordered Forte to bang hard on the door until someone answered.

After three hard knocks, the door remained closed. Kaspar started
to grow impatient. He kept looking around, waiting for an Agent to blow him
away. Forte, for his part, kept his damn mouth shut. That saved him from being
hurt…prematurely. Another look over his shoulder revealed no one coming into
the alley, yet the door remained closed.

Kaspar started to tell Forte to bang harder, but the heavy metal
door finally creaked its way open. Krys stood inside the open door way, her
eyes grew wide at the sight of the mark’s beaten face.

“Come on,” she said. She took a step to the side to allow the two
clean entry.

Kaspar led the mark inside and the door closed behind them…

The back of Forte’s head collided with the front of Kaspar’s.
Kaspar stammered backwards in shock. His gun dropped to the ground. Forte moved
in to finish him off when he was met with a chop from Krys’s hand to his throat.

Forte gasped for air and kneeled to ground, unable to breath. Krys
retrieved a P99 from inside her jacket. She pressed the muzzle of the automatic
to the side of the mark’s head. Forte, still gasping for air, held up his
hands. Krys moved the gun upwards. Forte followed up along with the motion of
the gun. Once he stood upright, she reached down and pulled the gun from out of
the holster on Forte’s hip.

“I would advise you not try something like that again.” Krys said.

“Who—who are you people?” Forte demanded in between gasps.

“Just shut up and move.”

His senses began to return. Kaspar shook his head a few times and
rubbed at the sore spot right in the middle. Krys had saved him once more. He
started to get the feeling that he would owe her something at some point. He
continued to rub his forehead and followed the two down the narrow hallway. The
door at the end of the hallway was left open, Kilbourne stood at the entrance.

“Get this piece of shit out of my sight.” Krys said as she shoved
Forte’s body forward.

“With pleasure,” Kilbourne replied. He grabbed Forte’s shoulders
and led him to an empty chair in the middle of the empty room.

“You okay?” Krys asked. She started to rub at Kaspar’s shoulders.

“I’m fine…” Kaspar said in between pants. “He just…just got the
best of me, that’s all.”

Krys looked at the red mark on his forehead. “You’re going to need
some aspirin when we get back.”

“Shit…” Kaspar felt like he was going to pass out.

“You sure you’re okay?”

“I said I was fine.”

Kaspar felt embarrassed by all this. How could he let that red
haired punk get the best of him like that? It was stupid, he felt now like he’d
gotten lazy. That tune up at the bar didn’t seem to be much of a tune up after
all. He should have been more mindful…

“I’m just making sure he didn’t hurt you.”

“Screw you,” Kaspar replied, the throbs in his head increased in
intensity.

“Calm down,” Krys said. “It happens.”

“It doesn’t happen to me.”

“I hate to break it to you, but it kinda just did.”

“Let’s just get in there and get this over with.”

The pain in his forehead moved down to behind his eyes. He
followed at a slow pace behind Krys through the hallway and into the deserted
room. It felt like someone had both hands inside of his eyes and pinched every
nerve in sight. He leaned his back against the wall once inside and continued
to rub his forehead.