All Shadows Fall
10
Vlad waited until he was safely alone inside of Cliff's Range Rover. He placed the security spike in the ignition and the car thrummed to life. He used Cliff's car phone to make the call. The phone picked up after one ring. Despite the call coming from an unfamiliar phone number, Ms. Johnson knew it was him. She didn't bother to say hello. " What do you have for me Vlad?"
" The package has been saved," he said.
"Excellent. What's your location?" she asked passively, as if she was certain of the answer. He told her anyway.
" Is the team still intact?" she questioned with a voice that led Vlad to believe that she was nervous, about how he would answer. But why?
"Mostly. Cutter was sacrificed on route to the hideout."
" That is disappointing news, but I'm certain we can work around it. I want you to stay with the unit for the time being. The KE authorities have already been appraised of your groups whereabouts and will be at your location shortly. It is critical that your group survives the encounter. Kill as many of the KE officers as you can before you attempt an escape." He could hear relief and elation in her voice.
" I understand." He didn't understand.
" Oh and Vlad, be a dear would you and dispose of that package before the sec team arrives, would you?"
"Ma'am?" She hung up without responding.
Vlad freed the security spike and the Range Rovers engine died, whining. How did KE already know where they were? How long did he have before they got here? Minutes? Hours? There was no way of knowing when the sec team would arrive to finish them off. He stepped out unto the wet street. The night winds howled and the moon glared at him like an angry white eye. His hurried footsteps filled the empty street as he raced towards the entrance he'd planned to use as an escape route if necessary. Its purpose was inverted now. Dispose of the package. Kill the girl. That was Ms. Johnson's request. That was what he had to do. Vlad fumbled with the back doors lock, pulling at the rusted metal coil for what seemed like hours before it finally gave with a dry 'snap!' He trotted the length of the hallway and was out of breath by the time he reached his captives makeshift cell. He undid the latch, opened the door, and then paused to catch his breath. The girl was still there, squinting in the glare of his flashlight with teary eyes.
?His footsteps were uncertain. He'd promised himself that he would never kill a child again. A man is only a man so long as he keeps his word. His grandfather taught him that once. His grandfather taught him a lot of things, but his Grandfather wasn't here. His Grandfather didn't have to wonder if he would be killed himself if he didn't complete the assignment. The moment built as he stood swaying in the doorway, unsure of whether to break his word or chance his life. He wouldn't break his word. He wouldn't kill a child.
?"You're no child." He cursed at her. Fifteen! She was old enough to make her own decisions. She was old enough to die.
" I'm sorry…" Vlad closed his eyes and let his blade pierce her skin.
Vlad was moving again, running away from what he'd done before the first drops of her blood kissed the ground. He staggered down the hall behind his flashlights bouncing beam. Regret hung light bright diamonds in his eyes. He muttered 'damn you' over and over again. All the rationalizing in the world wouldn't change the truth of the moment for him. Vlad could tell himself a million times that it wasn't a child that he'd just killed. That still wouldn't make it true.
" Forgive me." He begged of himself and of his Grandfathers memory. He slowed to an unsteady walk when he reached the doors that led away from the kitchen. He had to show composure, The others couldn't know what Vlad had done. Vlad pressed a trembling hand against the door and closed his eyes.
Linnea's shocked expression when the blade finally cut into her windpipe, Ms. Johnson's callous laughter at Vlad's perception that his life was his to lead, his choices his to make; those bright faces joined him in the darkness.
How could you do it? His heart questioned in a voice that wasn't quite his own. He wasn't a person anymore that's how. A person, a man, sticks to his word no matter the cost. I won't kill another child. Isn't that what he said? His word, the word of an assassin, didn't mean anything so long as he wasn't capable of keeping it. Ms. Johnson wouldn't allow that. He wasn't capable of feeling the way most people were. She wouldn't allow that either. He was an assassin, a shadow. Fear and pain were all he ever felt; all he was ever allowed to feel. It wasn't worth it. Ms. Johnson wasn't worth it, the organization wasn't worth it. Nothing was worth feeling like this. He drew his blade again and studied it in the light. Some of her blood still clung to the point. He would join his own with it. That would make everything right. A life for a life. Even if he hadn't lived with honor, he could die with it. Vlad sucked the musty air in through his nostrils, sucking in thoughts of everything good in his life with it and said one last goodbye.
I feel it too.
Cliff's face joined the others in the darkness. His lopsided grin cut through Vlad's guilt. Maybe Vlad was human. Maybe he was like other people. How else could Cliff feel the things Vlad felt if he wasn't like other people? How else could Cliff trust him if he wasn't like other people?
A life for a life.
He would have to pay for what he'd done, what they made him do. But there were other ways. He didn’t have to give his life for it.
Coward! His mind screamed. You're just making excuses. You don't even have the guts to kill yourself! Maybe it was true. He was afraid of dying, that’s for sure. Maybe what he thought about Cliff was just an excuse not to face up to what he'd done to that poor girl. If it was, or if it wasn't Vlad had to find out. There would be plenty of time to die later. He twirled the knife in his hand before finally putting it away. His eyes slowly opened and the tears began to dry on his cheeks. He walked into the restaurant.
?" Dat you Vlad?" Cliff called across the restaurant.
?" Yeah it's me." Vlad called back. The assassin was surprised at how relieved he was to hear Cliff's rough voice. His heart still pounded in his chest as he walked past the private section of dusty tables, overturned chairs, and forgotten silverware. He paused when he came to the front area of the bar, struggling to find a way to tell them that KE would be coming, without explaining how he knew.
" What's the matta chum? Not enough creds to get our food?" Cliff asked. Koto glanced over from where he was lounging atop the bar, a gun lying across his chest.
?" No… I--"
Shimmer's head jerked up violently. He fixed his wide eyes on the door in fear. " They've banished Kalis."
?"Who's Kalis? What the frag is going on?" Koto sat up, gripping his Uzi tightly, not knowing what was happening around him. It had begun. Vlad moved hesitantly at first, not sure whether to stay with the others or to leave while he still could. He backed quietly towards the long wall that divided the restaurant. Kalis had been Shimmer's elemental. Another part of magic that Koto had no knowledge of. Elementals were servants conjured from the fabric of astral space. Sometimes people likened them to familiars, like old witches had centuries ago. That wasn't entirely correct. They were like a witch's cat in that they did assist you. Only, they were more like genies in that they were only bound for a certain number of tasks. Shimmer told him that he had assigned the elemental to guard the door and not to let anyone past. If Kalis had been eliminated, then without a doubt, the 'visitors' Ms. Johnson warned him about were already there. Cliff knew too. He hadn't told the Troll anything, but Cliff knew something was about to happen. He hoisted 'Carla' into his arms and swiveled her toward the door.
Waiting…
The front door exploded inward, scattering across the restaurant in plastiwood needles. A pair of armored Sec officers raced in behind it only to find themselves blasted back out as Cliffs Panther cannon shook the room.
Thoughts raced like quicksilver, colliding then drifting away from his consciousness. He couldn't hold on to a single fresh idea. That's why he always planned ahead. Cliff's cannon drowned out every sound when it fired. Noise rushed in to fill the vacuum it left when it was done. Vlad was overcome by it all. Fear pumped adrenaline through his tired veins. Without thought his legs carried him away from the fray, away from his job, his responsibility, his friends? Cliff? None of that meant anything anymore. Instinct took over and survival became his only motivation.
Gunshots crashed in the distance. Vlad used the sounds to navigate through the echoing halls of Glengarry. The escape route he had plotted could already have been compromised. He couldn’t worry about that now. Anything was better than diving back into that firefight. Sweat fell in hot droplets on his elbows as he groped desperately at the kitchen doors. They gave way and he tumbled into the darkness…