The Hitman: Dirty Rotters (32 page)

“
Where’s Palo?” I aimed the
gun at her face.

No change. Her eyes were icy cold.
Killer’s eyes.

Ivana erupted in madness, screaming
like a banshee, bringing her hands up, holding a gun, not a wound.
I fired. One shot between the eyes. The bullet sent her last poor
idea to the back wall. She dropped to the floor.

I reached the side of the island and
stepped around. On the floor lay Ivana, as quiet then as she was
supposed to have been, and no one else.

Dirty Rotter all
along.

Ivana was a spy. I knew earlier. She
took Anna to her safe house and then told Jeff Dimeglio where it
was. I knew she had betrayed Palo and Anna the moment I saw her in
the bedroom with The Bear. It was the look in her eyes then. She
wasn’t excited to see me. She had the look of a child being caught
doing something wrong.

I looked to the three closed doors
against the wall. Two bedrooms, one bath. Two empty, one a
surprise.

I chose door number one. It was empty.
The middle door was too. I opened the third and saw Palo lying on
the bed with a limb tied to each bed post. Her mouth had a rag
stuffed in it. On her chest were stacked a few grey rectangular
bars and a small digital clock. I knew right away what it was. C-4
explosives and a timer. In twenty minutes, the entire recycling
center would be wiped off the map.

“
Palo, don’t
move.”

Like she could.

I slowed my approach. I went to her
carefully. She was scared out of her mind and crying
freely.

“
Palo, it’s okay. Stay
calm. I’m getting you out of here.”

I stared at the bomb and took a deep
breath. There wasn’t much to it really. I gently placed my hands
underneath it, brushing the backs of my hands across Palo’s
stomach, and lifted. I was calm and relaxed. No reason not to be.
If it exploded, I wouldn’t feel a thing. I wouldn’t even know it.
I’d be plastered across the lawn outside, scattered in
millifragments with no way for anyone to identify me. It would be
over before I knew it began.

Simple.

Just the way I liked it.

I set the bomb on the dresser. Real
carefully. No reason to push my luck. I turned then and rushed to
the bed. I removed Palo’s binds quickly, ankles then wrists. I
pulled the rag from her mouth and she yelled, “Ivana!”

“
I know. She’s
dead.”

Palo latched onto me like a leech. She
cried hard. I held her close, squeezing her. I cried a little too.
Then a lot.

“
Hitman, you saved me! I
knew you would!” Palo smiled. “I knew you would.”

Palo looked me in the eyes, then
kissed me, hard and passionate. It happened so fast, and I was so
caught up in the moment that I let her. I kissed her back. My hands
rubbed and squeezed her tighter. I didn’t want to let
go.

“
You’re my angel,” she
said, breaking away, in tears. The sadness in her blue eyes slowly
broke to relief.

“
Come on. We have fifteen
minutes to get out of here.”

We stood up and raced to the door. I
stayed in front of her, eyes peering this way and that, always
cautious, alert and ready. I still had not seen The Bear and who
knew how many more foot soldiers he had.

We raced by the kitchen area and Palo
saw Ivana’s body. “I had trusted her,” Palo said. “Did you kill
him? My father?”

“
I don’t know where he
is.”

Palo stopped. “He was leaving with
Vladimir!”

The plane.

Belsay!

“
Come on!” I pulled her
along, running to the steps.

Then there were voices and a
thundering of footsteps above us. Before we could hide, Anna,
Frank, and Sally were rushing down to meet us. I hugged Sally
close. Frank shook my hand. He saved his woman. I saved
mine.

“
This place is going to
blow sky high,” I said.

I told them about the bomb. Then I
told them about The Bear’s plan to exit the country.

Frank exclaimed, “Belsay!”

“
Listen, I think I have a
plan.”

Frank groaned. “Think?”

“
Yeah. I’m not real good at
this, but listen up. Anyone know how to diffuse a bomb?”

Anna nodded. “I am trained with
explosives.”

I told them what I wanted to do and
what they needed to do to help. There was no reluctance. Belsay was
in trouble. They were in. We had to be fast.

I looked at Anna. “Are you sure you
can do it?”

Anna’s look was marvelous. “I can do
everything.”

I looked at Frank, then Sally. “Meet
us in the lot in five minutes.”

They bolted up the steps, outside to
the train.

Anna led me and Palo back to the
bedroom.

Time was ticking.

Chapter 27

Speeding with a cop driving is
fun.

Frank drove us to the airport using
one of the luxury SUVs from the recycling lot that was supposed to
be shipped back with Vladimir. It was a new Land Rover Range Rover.
It was supercharged and handled beautifully. It had been stolen.
Frank sure drove it that way.

I sat shotgun with the women in the
back and in the rear were black duffle bags. They were on our
minds, definitely. The ride was otherwise quiet.

We made it to the airport
and drove straight to the cargo plane. The white Phantom was parked
beside it.
The Bear
. We saw no one outside the plane and there were lights on
from within. Frank was doing his best to calm Sally. I said
nothing. She had good reason to be worried about her brother.
Belsay was in over his Q-tipped head.

We exited the Land Rover. Sally Rhode
and Frank had taken their police issued Glocks and moved into
position behind the SUV, taking aim at the door of the plane. Anna
and Palo remained in the Land Rover. They wouldn’t be seen through
the tinted windows. If things got ugly, they were to drive out of
there. I took the money bags and walked towards the plane’s ladder.
I set the bags on the asphalt.

“
I want to make an
exchange!” I yelled up to the open door and waited. I was nervous.
I had hoped that Belsay was still alive but there was no real hope
that he would be.

“
Bring out the cop!” I
yelled.

A second later The Bear moved into the
doorway. His frame filled the entrance. He looked down on me. Frank
and Sally wouldn’t shoot. Not yet anyway.

“
You dare to come here!”
The Bear screamed. “I will cut you into a thousand
pieces!”

“
Shut up and listen!” His
face twisted. He wasn’t used to taking orders. “I have all the
money from Vladimir in these bags. You can have it. But I want the
cop sent out first.”

The Bear laughed hard. He was a
twitchy man. He was nervous and fidgety. I doubt he fell asleep
easily. He looked back into the plane and said
something.

When he looked back to me he started
laughing. “That’s not going to happen, comrade! I like him where he
is!”

I could hear Sally speaking to Frank.
She was going to shoot him, I knew it. But The Bear stepped back
into the plane, just out of their view. He was talking again, maybe
to Belsay, maybe to the pilot. I grew nervous.

“
The entire place will be
crawling with police in a few moments. This is your last
chance!”

More laughing. “I am the police! You
have no idea who you’re dealing with!”

The plane started. We were going to
lose. He had no reason to hand over Belsay. I looked back to give
the signal for the real cops to shoot him down.

“
Father! I am here!” Palo
screamed beside me.

I wasn’t ready for it. It wasn’t part
of the plan. I gave her an incredible look, but she didn’t look at
me.

The Bear stopped laughing. I could see
the anger in his eyes. He would kill her as soon as he
could.

“
Let him go.” Palo said. “I
will bring you the money. You have my word.”

Hesitation on his part.

“
Palo, I can’t let you do
this.” I whispered.

She didn’t look at me. “It ends
tonight, Hitman.”

“
He’ll kill
you.”

She turned to me then. Her beautiful
eyes were filled with so many emotions. “You are an angel. But now
it is my turn. I will let no one die because of me.”

The Bear began yelling into the
plane.

I stared into Palo’s eyes. Hers began
to water. Mine already were. “I love you, Palo.”

Palo kissed me.

I wrapped my arms around her and
squeezed. It hurt. We broke apart and wiped our tears. I turned
back and yelled towards the Land Rover, “Shoot him!”

Palo called them off. She took my
hand. “Do not worry for me. Have faith.”

“
Bring the money up!” The
Bear called down to us. “Then I let the cop go!”

“
He won’t,” I said to Palo.
“He’ll kill you all.”

She gave me a faint smile then picked
up the duffle bags carefully and began walking up the steps, taking
my heart with her.

I watched her go into the plane. The
entire plan had gone awry. I began to panic. Anna, Frank, and Sally
raced to me. Frank was already barking orders to race up into the
plane. But then a figure stood in the door, hands held before him,
tied together, with a white wrap around his head. He was shirtless
and bleeding from cuts on his back and chest. Wounds that would
scar ugly.

Belsay moved down the steps to us. He
was crying.

Before he reached the asphalt, The
Bear jumped into view holding a pistol, shooting rapidly down at
Belsay. Frank and Sally returned fire as I dove forward and tackled
Belsay to the pavement, covering him with my body. Shots were being
fired all around us. Belsay was screaming that his leg had been
hit. I stayed on him for a moment more, then the shots quit and the
plane began to drive away.

“
Michael!” Sally
yelled.

I scrambled to my feet in time to see
the ladder folding back into place and the plane’s door had been
shut. It was driving away, picking up speed in a hurry.

“
No!” I screamed.
“Palo!”

We all screamed helplessly. Frank
began ordering us to do something, some idea hatched out of thin
air that wouldn’t bring Palo back. But I had stopped listening the
moment he began. I stood frozen. Capable of doing only nothing. I
was in a trance of disbelief. Heartache crippled me. I stood and
watched the plane leave the airport and ascend up into the dark sky
above.

I couldn’t feel my fingers or
toes.

“
Michael!” Sally screamed.
She had been yanking on my arm trying to snap me out of it. The
others were waiting in the Land Rover.

“
We’re going-”

“
I’m not going anywhere!” I
snapped at her. My eyes stayed on the plane’s lights as it made a
sweeping arch, heading east. “There’s nothing we can do, Sally!
It’s over!”

“
Michael…”

Then she hugged me. I shook in her
arms, trembling uncontrollably. I broke down. Palo was going to
die. I fought so hard to save her, just to have it all end up like
this. It was unbearable. I shoved my face against Sally’s shoulder
and cried hard.

Frank began speaking again, but I
didn’t listen this time either. I didn’t want to hear anyone. I
didn’t want to see anyone. I didn’t want to do anything
anymore.

Then Sally was turning my body away
from her. One hand was pointing skyward. I looked. I saw the plane.
Then in the darkness I saw something else. Something dark falling.
Then a parachute opened from it.

“
Palo!” Anna was
yelling.

I rubbed the tears from my eyes and
focused hard. I could see her blond hair. My heart pounded faster.
I panicked. “Go! We have to get to her!”

We raced back to the Land Rover. I
drove this time. The others piled in wherever. It didn’t matter. My
foot hit the pedal and we were gone. I kept my eyes on the body
drifting towards the ground. She was about two hundred yards away.
Still within the airport grounds. I drove off the runway strip,
speeding across the flat ground.

We were about fifty yards away when
she hit the grass. I didn’t know if she was alive. It occurred to
me that The Bear had killed her and tossed her body down to us. I
was nervous enough to vomit.

As the headlights came across the
parachute, I locked on the brakes and skidded to a halt. We all
broke loose outside, racing towards the body somewhere underneath
the nylon and silk canopy. We all began looking.

I found her. Face up. Her blond hair
across her flawless face.

She was breathing.

“
Palo!”

Her eyes opened and found mine. She
smiled right away. “I told you, Hitman. Did you not have
faith?”