The Devil's Revenge (The Devil's Eyes) (18 page)
It is early one night, when the alarm sounds. I have never heard it before and was confused on how to react. Nick however, reacted quickly. Grabbing me with one arm and getting Nicky with the other. He doesn’t say a word when he leads us into a safe room with a guard. I am not able to say a word before he locks me in and runs off to meet up with Ryan. All I can do is watch the video screens as a battle erupts at our own home. Ellis is determined and is coming at us full force it seems. I watch our guard as he intently watches the screens and holds his gun with a shaky hand. Not exactly reassuring. Nicky begins screaming for Nick as I hold him. Kissing his head I begin to run my fingers through his hair when I notice, my own hand shaking. Hours go by and I begin to realize that Ellis’s intent is not to get in but to hold us captive here for as long as he can. I watch Nick make frantic calls and can only assume we are being attacked in more than one place. We are outnumbered, but he sends no one in to help us.
One … two … three hours pass. Four … five … six hours more go by. It has been seven hours and I haven’t blinked, I haven’t moved, I simply sat holding my son and watching every move Nick makes, looking for a sign that he has it handled and everything will be okay. As the sun rises, so does the smoke, revealing what is left over from the chaos.
We regroup cautiously. They are waiting for us to make a mistake. Surrendering at this point is not an option. We need more time, Nick says. We need to understand more about Ellis, find his weakness. It is clear that we can’t successfully compete with him one-on-one so we have to find the Achilles’ heel that breaks him and Nick believes he knows what that is.
We have scouts photographing Ellis every day. He is never alone and never accessible. The only thing I find odd is the wiry, bowtie adorned man that accompanies Ellis most everywhere. For some reason, Nick is more interested in him than Ellis himself. I only hope it is not to learn his fashion style. We do nothing but wait and watch, until finally the man separates from Ellis. Ellis sets off for a dinner party at Bellasandro’s, sending his wiry shadow on his way with a large entourage of men to protect him. More men than Ellis himself. “I think maybe you are right, Nick.” I confess, enjoying his know-it-all smile.
“Strange, isn’t it? There is definitely something about this guy. One of Ellis’s inside men gave me some great insight into Ellis’s operation, and this guy clearly holds all the keys. I am just not exactly sure how. Lena couldn’t find a thing on him, he has been completely wiped off the radar.” Nick says, considering our next move. With a gleeful acceptance, Nick decides quickly. “Let’s run at him now while we have a chance, pull everyone. Have our speedsters drive an -
interlace and break
. Then drag him to the yard, have our guns take care of the remaining cars. The rest of us will finish the job and capture Ellis’s heart and end this thing before it goes any further.”
We wait until his car leaves and begins to head out to the interstate. From the moment their tires leave the ramp, our newly acquired drive-masters, begin to speed around them. Lagging behind, the boys speed forward in front and then fall back again. At a dizzying pace, they begin to intertwine between the motorcade, threading through the line of vehicles, creating confusion and frustration. Back and forth they weave until isolating the car we want, and like
magic
we displace him from his pack and leave the others to fight it out with the second wave. We follow them and line up accordingly. The car is surrounded and the three protective guns with him are easily controlled by the time Nick and I pull up. Nick steps out and cocks his head to the side, looking into the opened car door. “You can get out of the car now.” Nick yells at the man hiding in the backseat. Peaking out the edge of the car door, he begins counting us all before darting back within. “What the fuck! Get out of the car, now!” Nick yells, his patience is clearly breaking. Creeping slowly out of the edge of the car, is a white handkerchief at the end of an umbrella. Nick looks back at me with an odd expression, but I have to hide my mouth to keep from laughing. “Get out of the DAMN car!” Nick yells again. Nick only waits half a second more before he nods towards Dwayne. Reaching into the car, Dwayne pulls the man out by his belt loops.
“Alright! Alright, I was coming!” Dwayne sits the exasperated man down in front of Nick and he immediately straightens his tie before looking up at Nick and flinching backwards. “Gees! What’s with your eyes!”
Nick snarls at the squeamish man and looks down on him, “What is your name, and please don’t make me have to repeat myself. I don’t like that.”
“No repeating got it.” He nods looking around himself once more before facing Nick. “My name is Benedict Eddy.” He says, holding his hand out to Nick, “Nice to meet you.” Nick glances down at his hand and huffs. “Okay, I guess you don’t like handshaking either.”
“Get in the car.” Nick reaches out and grabs Eddy by the collar as he tries to go back to his own car. “Not that car.” Eddy sits in the car with Ryan and Dwayne squeezed in on either side of him. Nick helps me into the car and Eddy takes on a wide smile until Nick growls. “What is your job? What do you do for Ellis?” Nick asks, changing Eddy’s attention to more important matters.
“That’s a little complicated.” Eddy says, still glancing over at me.
Nick snaps his fingers at him to gain his attention back, “Explain it then.”
“I don’t think I am supposed to tell you that.” Eddy graciously declines.
Before Nick has a chance to break again, I lean towards Eddy and take hold of the edges of his tie. Smiling sweetly into his eyes, “Eddy, I can’t imagine how important you must be, to have all these big men following you everywhere … protecting you …looking after you like you are gold. How
very
important you must be.” I lick my lips, biting my bottom lip with just the right amount of desire, “Please tell me what you do to earn such respect?”
Eddy, smiles drunkenly, “I memorize for him.”
Nick sits me back in my seat, “Memorize what, exactly?”
Gulping, Eddy realizes he doesn’t have much of a choice now. Trying to sit forward, he finds his slender arm stuck behind Dwayne’s robust muscles. “Do you mind? I need this.” He says to Dwayne, earning an eye roll before regaining the use of his arm. “Okay. You see, I remember everything I see and exactly what day I saw it. I remember faces, numbers, calculations and records of all things. I am his personal database, you could say. Mr. Ellis doesn’t keep any written record of anything he …”
Nick sits back with a knowing smile, “He has you remember it all.” Eddy nods. “So you know all his shipments, supplies, accounts and …”
“And all his codes for those accounts.” Eddy says smiling when he sees Nick do so.
“Benedict,
you
are hired.” Nick says taking my hand.
“I … I …” He stutters, looking up at Dwayne and then Ryan before finally focusing on me as I smile. “Okay.”
As soon as we get home, Nick sits Eddy down in front of a computer. “I want you to access Ellis’s accounts.”
“Oh, I can’t do that, he will kill me.” Eddy says. Nick eyes him, causing Eddy to swallow hard. “And I guess you will kill me if I don’t?” Nick smiles. “If you kill me though, I can be of no use to you.”
“Wrong. If I kill you, then you’re of no use to him, and that’s all I really care about. So …” Nick leans in and grabs hold of Eddy’s bowtie and straightens it tight. “Do what I say.” The intensity in Nick’s eyes threaten Eddy to a frenzied pace. Eddy breaks into Ellis’s accounts and transfers all the money into one of Nick’s offshore accounts, then has him write down the location of all of Ellis’s hiding places. Next, Eddy makes a map of Ellis’s compound that we quickly take advantage of. By the time Ellis finishes his party, most of his men have retreated in fear after their failure to keep his prize possession protected. His accounts have been emptied, his house has been burned to the ground and everything he once held, is now being stolen, one after the other. Ellis is in disbelief and doesn’t even put up a fight when we send in the next team to finish him.
Nick is in a great mood when I find him happily playing with Nicky in his room. “You look happy.” I say, leaning down to give him a kiss.
“It’s been a good month.” He says, letting Nicky climb into his lap with his favorite book.
“Yes, it has. What is our next move? Estrella?” I ask.
“Yes, but we need to step back and organize a bit. Enjoy our triumph. Maybe go to a party. Yeah, I think a party would be just what we need.” Nick says, stopping short of giving me anymore detail.
Nick has told me to prepare for an evening out tonight. I am unsure of exactly where we are going, but from the way Nick is acting, I am betting it has something to do with business. My husband is handsome as ever in his tux and greets me with respect as he kisses my hand and escorts me to our awaiting car. “So, are you going to tell me where we are going?”
“We are going on a boat ride. You like the water, right?” He asks, nudging me playfully.
“I do like the water, but aren’t we a little over-dressed for a late night swim?”
Smiling with a quiet laugh, “Can I never surprise you without you having to know every detail?” I respond only with a deceptive smile. Arriving at the boat dock, I notice a celebration of sorts and security beyond what I have ever seen. I get a little nervous by the prestige of the crowd and take hold of Nick’s arm a little tighter. We are searched overtly before we are allowed to board the boat. Immediately it is clear who this fundraiser is for, Jonathan Coulton. I know of him, but I don’t care for politics and therefore rarely follow it. How anyone is supposed to be encouraged to follow devils pretending to be angels is beyond me. I prefer the unashamed, self-proclaimed devils.
We sit for dinner as Coulton enters with his polished smile and pageant wave. He speaks with assuredness and likeability. When he is done, he greets everyone with his similar, flawless wife at his side. He is handsome and, for political purposes, has it all. I am still unsure exactly why we are here, but Welch’s presence makes it clear what the general idea is. He doesn’t notice us as he cheers on his expected running mate. The thought of Welch ever being Vice President makes me want to become a lot more political and fire up the opposition. Coulton waits until after dinner to begin his one-on-one greetings with each of his guests. Nick is watching him as if he is eager to greet Coulton causing me to take an interest in what his real purpose for being here is. Coulton approaches with his hand held out and Nick takes it quickly, locking eyes with the candidate. Coulton pauses with not even a breath taken.
Silence.
I believe I am the only one that is noticing the odd exchange. Nick swipes his hand quickly across the man’s neck leaving a trickle of blood.
