The Syndicate (17 page)

“That’s what I’m talking about,” says Petric, punching me on my arm.

“Take it outside,” Ovidui says, cutting into his pancakes. “Have some respect around the table. Some of us are still eating.”

Henri leans back, appearing full. “Oh, Ovidui, they’re just boys. So, so young. Let them have their fun while they still can.”

Nicolae speaks up while holding his glass in the air. My gaze is drawn to the orange juice that is now traveling in a faint circular motion as he holds the glass in place of pointing a finger. “The fun never stops, boys. It only takes more of it to feel the thrill.”

What is that supposed to mean?
I decide not to care, and head out of the room physically slower than how I want to. By the time I reach my room, I’ve turned my day over a thousand times. Basically, I know Riley is in danger and there isn’t much time before Alexandru goes for her.

If I’m going to keep her safe, I have to make a move sooner rather than later. I need to pick her up right now and take her away, but my target is still out there. No matter how I feel about what Henri is up to, I can’t leave with that job unfinished.

Just as my frustration level is at its peak, Rosie barges into my room.

“I’ve got what you need.”

I hop off my bed and snatch the paper she holds out to me. “Perfect, Rosie, I knew you’d come through quickly.”

“Wait,” she says.

“What?” I’m looking at the paper. John Major Marshall. Twenty-one years old. Works Tuesday through Saturday, four to close at the local gym. Lives alone, in an un-gated apartment community. “What’s the problem?”

She walks past me. “I just think you’re rushing, Vasi. Something doesn’t feel right.”

I turn toward her, my gaze following as she paces my floor. “Tell me about it.”

“No, I’m serious.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“No, listen!” She stops pacing and crosses her arms, square to me. “I mean it. I get it that you’re trying to protect Riley. I’m with you on that. But you don’t work like this.”

“Like what?”

“Rushed!”

“Well—”

“Well, nothing. It’s not safe. I don’t like you going into this without giving me a chance to get more.”

I’m looking at the paper. “It looks like you have everything to me.”

She huffs and rolls her eyes. “No, I don’t. I tailed him for one day. One day. It’s ninety percent research. It’s not enough.”

I’m looking at my baby sister and noticing something in her that I’ve never seen before. Worry. It sparks a small smile from me. “Rosie. It’s one Hybrid kid. I don’t have time for you to trail him for four days and tell me the same stuff that’s on this paper. I’m sorry. It’ll be fine.”

Our gazes meet, and I can almost read the words of concern flying across her face. “I don’t like it, Vasi. I need another day.”

Stepping forward, I take hold of her shoulders. “We don’t have another day. Look. It’s just me and you here. We can do this. We’ll figure it out, but I can’t protect Riley until this Hybrid is gone.”

She tilts her head to each side, stretching out the tense muscles in her neck. “You’re not going to listen to me, are you?”

“Not until tomorrow. Right now I need a huge favor.”

She wriggles her shoulders free and takes a deep breath. “What is it now?”

T
he urge to keep anything from happening to Riley is pressing at me, making it nearly impossible to contain my impatience, and that’s what has Rosie so spooked. I’m not usually like this, but I can feel Alexandru planning his approach at this very moment, so I have to act quickly.

I ask Rosie to go to the mall at Tysons Corner. It’s crowded and convenient to all of our locations. The plan is to leave a baby stroller in a second-floor dressing room at Macy’s and then wait in the parking lot for Riley to come out. She’s to take her to Crystal City, check her into a hotel under a fake name, and then come straight home so no one suspects her involvement.

Riley is to park and enter the mall on the opposite end. Most likely she’ll be tailed, but Scouts are usually pretty distant unless they suspect something out of the ordinary. And as far as I know, Alexandru doesn’t have cause to believe I’d be so bold as to interfere with someone else’s assignment. Plus, Alexandru’s Scout is a guy, so he’ll keep his distance from a lady’s dressing room so as to not draw suspicion.

When Riley arrives, she’s to shop around casually for an hour, just long enough for the Scout to get bored and complacent. Once she has a handful of clothes, she’s supposed to go to the dressing room and change into old workout gear, tennis shoes, and a hat that were packed beforehand in one of her large handbags. After changing, she’s instructed to put the large handbag in the stroller, cover it up, and walk out toward the nearby exit.

Alexandru won’t do anything in a public place, and he won’t have enough info on her apartment complex to feel comfortable eliminating her in broad daylight, so I feel pretty confident that Riley will be safe through this.

Even so, I talk to her on her cell phone from the moment she leaves her apartment until she gets inside the mall. Another precaution. None of us would attack while a target was talking on the phone.

Once she’s in the mall, I have to let her go. Too much talking would raise suspicion and take away from her in-store performance. At this point, I have to trust her and Rosie to take it from here.

While she’s in the mall, I busy myself with preparations for my own assignment. Downstairs, I arm myself with more weapons than usual. Not sure why, other than I feel like taking some serious aggression out on someone. This poor Hybrid doesn’t have a chance. In fact, there may not be anything left to bring back.

I kill an hour doing target practice and make sure to spend some time in the garage overtly gathering up some empty trash bags. This is for show. If Henri is sitting on his spying perch, I want him to be at ease knowing that I’m not missing a beat on my duties.

Then I begin messing with my ATV to draw attention to a future alibi. I start it up, rev the engine, and make noise with the ramp in preparation for putting it on the back of my truck. Within minutes, the noise has already brought Dani outside.

“All right, man, I draw the line. What in the—”

He’s looking at me like I’m a math problem. “Nothing. Just preparing for a little weekend getaway.”

“You want me to come?” he asks.

I shake my head.

“Don’t BS me, man. I know you’re up to something, and this proves it.”

“How so?” I ask, pushing the four-wheeler toward the ramp at the back end of my truck.

“Because you don’t mess with your rides while packing that many knives and guns.”

I look down at myself, wondering if it’s that obvious. I am packing some heavy artillery, but nothing anyone would pick up on unless they were looking.

“Dani, I’m about to go on a kill, and then I want to blow off some steam tomorrow.”

I lift the four-wheeler into the bed, and his gaze is burning a hole in my back. When I have it situated, I turn back around to see Henri standing next to him.

Never before have I thought Dani favored Henri. He’s nothing like his father, but looking at the two of them studying me is making me see a resemblance.

“Why Vasi, what’s with all the raucous during the dinner hour?” Henri asks.

He doesn’t care about the dinner hour. “Sorry, Henri. I’m just gearing up for tomorrow. I’m going to the mountains.”

“Is that so? A time of leisure? It doesn’t quite fit your profile.”

I take the opportunity to lean against my truck and cross my arms. “Why not?”

“For one, you have an assignment. And two, since when do you go joy riding alone?”

I doubted Henri before, but never suspected he was as rotten to the core as he appears to me now. Okay, so yeah, I was ignoring the Syndicate code or whatever, but he seems way too concerned with my agenda.

I propel myself away from my truck with ease, open my jacket to reveal two guns, and pull up a pant leg to reveal a blade. “I’m taking care of my assignment this evening.” Allowing my clothing to fall back into place, I continue with just enough truthfulness to hopefully get him off my back. “And then, I’m going to blow off some steam. It’s getting too crazy around here for my taste.”

It’s true, and because I’ve stated it outright, it appears I have nothing to hide. He knows that his ordering a girl’s murder rubs me the wrong way, and it would only be natural for me to want some breathing room.

I nod to both of them and then make my way over to the unmarked assassin car. Dani calls out, “Vasi, why don’t you eat?”

Since when does Dani care when I eat. I turn, confused. “I’m good.” The look in his eyes says something unfamiliar. The mix of anger, disappointment, and maybe even worry tells me he’s not too keen on my uncharacteristic behavior, but I don’t have time to decipher it.

I keep my gaze on him long enough to hope he can get the picture that he’s messing with my plan, and not in a good way. Then I nod to both of them and get in the car. Halfway down the driveway, I take a peek in the rearview mirror to see Henri and my best friend, who, for the first time in my life, looks like a copy of his father. I shudder and blink away the view, hoping to relax.

I’m hitting the highway just as my phone goes off.
It’s about time
, I think, taking a little bit of my irritation out on Rosie.

“Hello?”

“Vasi, I’ve got her.”

Forgetting to express my appreciation, I quickly ask why Riley didn’t call me herself.

“Gee whiz, Romeo, she’s right here. She hasn’t even buckled her seatbelt yet.”

“Well, get out of there and make sure you’re not followed.”

“Yes, brother sir. Here she is.”

Before I can retract and thank Rosie for completely trusting my insanity, I hear music to my ears.

“Hey, you.”

I have no idea what it is about this girl that melts my insides like a freakin wimp, but she does. It’s like I turn into somebody else. Someone with a weak heart made of warm wax. It doesn’t make sense, and it feels contradictory while I’ve got three guns and two knives attached to my body. I decide to toughen up and keep it formal.

“Hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Rosie was exactly where you said she’d be.”

“Good. You weren’t followed?”

“No, I don’t think so. Rosie’s good. She moved my car too.”

“She what?” That wasn’t in the plan.

“Yeah, she said she hotwired it while I was shopping and moved it to a nearby apartment complex. That way when the Scout or whoever goes back out there, he’ll just think I left and he missed me.”

Clever
. I hadn’t even thought about that. Rosie definitely just bought us some extra time with that. Even if he found her car later, he’d think she was inside an apartment. It was perfect. I’d have to thank her for sure, and agree to whatever bribes she’ll ask for.

I smile. “Okay, well Rosie is going to take you to a hotel. I want you to stay there, and I’ll see you in the morning.”

“The morning? Why not tonight?”

Even if I could, it wouldn’t be a good idea to spend this night away from home and then disappear for a few days. Henri would know something was up. With my story and Rosie’s brilliant idea of moving Riley’s car, there would be no reason for Henri to suspect me of anything…yet. I’m not going to ruin the leeway we have now. Plus, I have something important to take care of.

“I’ve gotta handle something tonight, but I’ll come and get you tomorrow.”

“Handle what? Like a Hybrid?”

This is when I hear Rosie ranting in the background. “He’s an idiot. Let me talk to him.”

In a soft voice, clearly not wanting to challenge Rosie, she says, “Um, your sister wants to talk to you.”

I don’t even bother telling her it’s okay, because I know Rosie’s already pulling the phone from her hand.

“It’s not nice to snatch, Rosie.”

“Whatever, Vasi. Seriously, this is not cool. I’ve done what you asked. Now you have to trust me and please let me have another day or two to tail that thing.
Please
.”

“I don’t have a day or two, Rosie.”

“Yes you do. I’ve got Riley. She’ll be safe in the hotel. Another day or two won’t make a difference.”

“Yes it will. In a day, Alexandru will know she’s missing, and you better believe they’ll be watching me like hawks. I’d never get to her. Now please, just go with the plan, and I’ll see you soon.”

I hang up the phone, feeling sorry for putting Rosie through this and even more sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye to Riley. But, I can’t worry about that. It’s peanuts compared to taking out a Hybrid. I have to get focused, and right now it’s hard.

My mind keeps traveling back to my conversation with the girls. As if on cue, my phone vibrates with a text. From Riley: “Be careful. I’ll be waiting.”

It’s enough to prompt a smile from me, but not enough to mess up my concentration. It’s perfectly Riley. With a sense of optimism and confidence, I eagerly head for my hour and a half trip to Culpepper, Virginia, the home of a soon-to-be-dead Hybrid.

Even though stuff is about to hit the fan with Henri and Alexandru, I can’t help nurturing a sense of satisfaction. One would think I’ve completely gone off the deep end, but it seems right. No way to explain it.

Driving, I feel the presence of my mother and father, encouraging me to be strong and follow my instincts. Not one ounce of me feels like a disappointment to the Syndicate. Not one.

I do know right from wrong, and nothing is right about targeting and killing a girl. And even if she weren’t a girl, she’s completely human. That’s two nos. And to think I almost lost my true self to Henri’s propaganda.

It doesn’t matter anymore. I’ve made my decision. Alexandru is not getting within a mile of her, at least not without getting through me first.

Just thinking about Alexandru and his smug overconfidence gets me ready for a confrontation. By the time I reach my destination, I’m pumped. I pull into the apartment complex. It’s just as Rosie described. It looks like it’s about thirty years old and left standing after a bout of modern build-up around it.