Mia's Journey: An Erotic Thriller (29 page)

“No trait is more justified than revenge in the right time and place.”

Meir Kahane

Chapter 80

The SWAT team set up positions outside the estate.

Daddy knew their first priority would be to get ‘eyes’ inside the study in order to know who, how many, and what they were dealing with. Once they knew that, they would start negotiations. If they couldn’t negotiate, then they would try to flush him out. If they couldn’t flush him out, they would forcibly enter.

Daddy looked over at William Prescott still pinned to the desk by his hands.

“How you doing over there, Prescott? Have you wet yourself yet? Sorry to hear about your son. My guess is, he didn’t die well.”

“It’s going to be a pleasure watching them kill you, I can tell you that,” said Prescott, grimacing through the pain.

“After beating helpless girls, I bet watching a killing is right up your psychotic alley in terms of entertainment,” said Daddy.

Daddy watched as a small telescoping camera was slipped under the door. He was ready for it and sprayed the lens with black paint, ruining it. It was withdrawn. They would try the ventilation system next.

His cell phone rang. “Yes?”

“I’m boarding the plane, Daddy,” said Mia.

“Okay, good. Tell them once they get in the air, your destination is Geneva, Switzerland. Call the number I gave you now and call me when you land.”

“Okay, Daddy. You’re coming, right?”

“I’ll be there one way or another, Baby Doll.” Daddy flipped his cell phone shut.

“That’s so sweet,” mocked Prescott, “’Daddy’ and ‘Baby Doll.’ I almost want to vomit.”

“Go ahead. You’re the one that will be standing in a stink of your own making. A feeling you should be familiar with.”

“You realize of course, the longer I stay in this position, the bigger chance I have of bleeding to death.”

“You realize of course, I don’t really give a shit.”

Right then, the phone on the desk rang. “I’d ask you to answer it, but I guess you’re pinned down at the moment,” said Daddy, nonchalantly. He picked it up without saying hello.

“I’m John Huntly, the police negotiator. Who am I talking to?”

“You can call me Daddy.”

“Daddy?” The request clearly caught him off balance. Daddy grinned to himself, at the discomfort this was causing the negotiator. Tough to be a hard ass police negotiator, if you had to call your opponent “Daddy.”

“Okay, ‘Daddy,’ do you have any immediate requests?”

“Just one. Is Officer Flynn among the able and willing out there?”

“He is.”

“Send him in then. He’s the only one I’ll talk to.” Daddy disconnected the call.

“Hey, Flynn, come here,” ordered Flynn’s immediate superior.

“Sir?” said Flynn.

“Your presence has been requested inside the mansion by the perp. I need to know the relationship you have with him and why he would request you.”

“Here’s what I know,” began Flynn. “He’s a professional and he’s probably anticipating every move you make. He could have killed me, and he didn’t. He goes into nothing without a planned entry and exit. And truthfully, even with the firepower you have here, you’re probably out matched.”

“Well, thank you for the vote of confidence, Sergeant Flynn. He has requested you. Any idea why he would do that?”

“None,” Flynn, of course, knew exactly why he had done it, or at least he had an idea. However, this didn’t feel like the right time to share that information.

“Well, he requested you go in. Do you want to go armed, or with body armor?”

“Did he say to go in unarmed?”

“He said nothing of the sort.”

“Then it doesn’t matter one way or the other. If he wanted me unarmed, he would have said so.”

“I think we ought to outfit you with a camera and a wire.”

“He’s just going to find it.”

“So what are you proposing?”

“Why don’t I just go in there and see what he wants?”

Flynn knocked on the door.

“Is that you Flynn?” asked Daddy.

“Yes, sir, it is.”

“I assume you’re alone?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Are you wearing a camera or a body mic?”

Flynn sighed, “No, I am not.”

“Are you armed?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Then enter slowly. Open the door just enough to squeeze through, no more.”

Flynn opened the door slowly and squeezed through as instructed. Once inside, both men stood looking at each other. Daddy smiled, slightly.

“You look good, Flynn. I bet the rope scar around your neck hasn’t hurt with the ladies. Chicks dig scars, for some reason.”

Flynn smiled back. Perversely, there was an intimate connection between the two men now. Flynn knew perfectly well that by sparing his life, he owed a debt of obligation to Daddy. It was a strange relationship based on unspoken respect between warriors.

Flynn looked over at Prescott, still knifed to the top of the desk.

“Mr. Prescott,” Flynn said, acknowledged him.

“Flynn, shoot this son of a bitch and get it over with,” said Prescott.

“What do you think, sir, should I shoot you?”

Daddy shrugged his shoulders as though the question had no importance.

“Do what you have to do,” Daddy said, “speaking of which, I wanted to give this back to you. I had to borrow it the last time we met, but I didn’t want you to think I was stealing it. There’s one in the throat, and sixteen in the magazine. The safety is on.”

Daddy held out Flynn’s Glock 17 to him, dangling it from his hand with one finger in the trigger guard.

“Does that leave you unarmed?” asked Flynn.

“It does.”

“Are you giving yourself up?”

“No, not yet.”

“But you’re giving me your one and only weapon?”

“Sure, why not?” Daddy said, smiling.

Flynn took the weapon and looked at it. Looked at Daddy. He could end this right now, and be the hero of the day once again.

Instead, he flicked the safety off, turned, and shot William Prescott directly through the head. The bullet entered his forehead perfectly between the eyes and made a wide spray pattern of blood and brains on the wall behind him. Prescott collapsed, his hands still pinned to the desktop.

Flynn keyed his lapel mic at once, “Stand down, stand down. That was a misfire. This situation is under control.”

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” Flynn said. “Him and his son both are a total waste of the human race.”

“I know the feeling. By the way, his son is dead upstairs as well. Mia said she wasted him.”

“Good. I am, of course, going to blame both deaths on you. One in the throat, fifteen in the mag, safety is OFF.” Flynn, reversed the grip on the gun, and held it out to Daddy. This time he was dangling the gun with one finger by the trigger guard.

“I’d be insulted if you didn’t.”

Daddy took the Glock, clicked the safety on, and motioned Flynn over to a table to sit down, putting the Glock on the polished wood.

“So what do we do now?” asked Flynn as both men sat down, and Daddy poured a shot of Prescott’s whiskey for both.

“We wait, and drink Prescott’s whiskey.”

“Look,” said Flynn. “You’re going to have to give me your name because I’m not going to call you by the ridiculous name of ‘Daddy’.”

Daddy laughed then. It struck him as completely funny. Both men started laughing, first chuckling, then guffawing, then out and out laughter as all the tension of the situation dissipated.

“My name is James Cobalt,” said Daddy. “But anyone who knew me by that name simply called me Cobalt.”

“Is that your real name, or another alias?”

“It’s my real name. You are among five people in the world who know it.”

“So Cobalt, what do we do now?”

“You understand you owe me, right?”

“You didn’t need to voice that.”

“I know. Even so, I was making sure all the cards were on the table.”

“They are. Name your ask.”

“We wait for a call. When I get that call, which should be in about six hours, then you’re going to kill me. I prefer a warrior’s death. The same as you wasted on Prescott there, who didn’t deserve it.”

“Suicide by cop? It doesn’t have to end that way. I can get you out of here, I could…”

“To what end?”

“To go be with your woman in peace. Disappear. It’s what you do, isn’t it?”

“No. It’s what I
did
, a long time ago, not what I do. The journey ends here, Flynn. I’m tired. Mia is safe, she is taken care of. I did what I came to do. This is my last operation.”

“I’m not sure I can accommodate that request, sir.”

“You owe me, Flynn.”

“Yes, I do. But it wouldn’t be honorable.”

“Ah, honor. Now we get to it,” said Cobalt.

“The lines on your face are your medals. You’ve earned them, so why shouldn’t they be worn with honour?”

Cherie Lunghi

Chapter 81

The two men looked at each other in silence, drinking their whiskey.

“Have you lived an honorable life, Flynn?” asked Cobalt.

“I have tried, but I have slipped, as you well know. Have you lived an honorable life, Cobalt?”

Cobalt smiled. “I have tried but I have slipped as well.”

“Try this on for size. I lead you out of here in handcuffs. I tell the team outside that part of the deal of giving yourself up included me and only me, bringing you in. Once we get out of here and away, you overpower me, maybe shoot me in the arm or something, and get away.”

“I think it would work in the movies.”

“Why won’t it work?”

“I took out a Black Snake team. You think they are going to let me walk out of here? Those boys are going to want payback, and I’m sure there are snipers waiting out there now. As soon as I show, they will open fire. Your protection won’t matter. It might even get you killed as well.

“Even if I get away, they will hunt me down extra judiciously. They will follow me no matter where I go and that will put Mia and the baby at risk all over again. I’m not going to do that.”

“Mia’s pregnant? I didn’t know that. Congratulations!”

Cobalt got up from the table, walked to Prescott’s desk, and got two cigars.

“Join me?” motioning to the cigar.

“Sure, why not.”

Both men lit up their cigars. Cobalt poured another shot of whiskey, and they smoked in silence.

“Okay then,” continued Flynn, “what if we faked your death?”

“They know all the same tricks I do. They are going to be watching for it. Flynn, I’ve thought this through. There’s only one way out. I do need to do one thing while we’re waiting though.”

Flynn waved his hand in the air through the smoke as if to say ‘Knock yourself out’.

Daddy walked to a corner, opened his cell phone and called Switzerland. He spoke out of earshot for a long while. Flynn smoked his cigar and ignored him. When Cobalt came back to the table, Flynn said,

“Do you have any idea how much bullshit I went through losing my service weapon AND a surveillance van?”

“Oh? And you think getting hung by your arms and beaten with baseball bats was a piece of cake?”

“True. You have me there. Why’d you let the vet stick that prod up your ass?”

“I told him in exchange for not killing him, to substitute my sperm with horse sperm.”

“You’ve got to be shitting me?” Flynn said, laughing.

“No, I’m not. That was when the Prescotts saw their whole plan unraveling. They wanted to pin Mia’s rape and abduction on me. So, it was going to be pretty hard to do that unless the Mayor wanted to admit his wife like being fucked by horses. But you knew that. I thought you were in on that.”

“I was hired help. No, they never shared their grand plans with me.”

“And now, they never will.”

The shadows started to deepen into late afternoon.

Flynn’s shoulder mic came alive.

“Flynn? Report. Is everything still under control?”

Flynn keyed his shoulder microphone. “He’s going to give himself up. Final preparations are being made now. Stand down.” Looking at Cobalt he said, “I gotta tell them something to keep them from storming the castle.”

Cobalt shrugged. Not real concerned, one way, or another.

“How do you feel about dying?” Flynn asked Cobalt.

“The same way I feel about living.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“How many dead people have you seen, Flynn?”

“Too many to count.”

“Did any of them, and I mean any of them, look like they gave a fuck?”

“Some looked surprised. Some looked scared.”

“How do you feel about it, Flynn?”

“It’s not my time.”

“There you have it. I feel it is my time. I’m getting older. I don’t want to look forward to failing health, and a fading memory. I’d rather go now while the decision of when, where, and how is still in my hands.”

“You’re not afraid of death?”

“I’m more afraid of dying stupidly. I used to see people get killed in Asia. Many times, most times, it was because of something stupid. Some pointless detail they overlooked. Like not taking the safety off a weapon, or not cleaning it properly. I don’t mind dying for something worthwhile, but I live in fear of wasting my life over something stupid. Like getting hit by a bus. This is a worthy reason to die. I can be at peace with that.”

“What about your family?”

“I’m going to miss them. If I have any regrets, it is there. I don’t want my son to grow up without a father. But if he has to, then I want him to know, his father died with honor, standing up for what he believed in.”

Cobalt’s cell phone rang then. He flipped it open.

“Yes?”

“I’m here, Daddy.” Mia said, “It’s cold. It is very beautiful. You’d like it. Lots of mountains. They met me at the airport just like you said they would. They are taking me to a hotel now, and tomorrow I will go meet a man you named.”

“Very good. Remember, you’re safe. You never have to worry about anything ever again, except making sure our daughter grows up properly. Teach her the things I taught you.”

“You’re scaring me, Daddy. Why don’t you teach her?”

“I’m just saying she’ll have lots of teachers.”

“Daddy, it’s so beautiful here. So quiet, and so clean.”

“The Swiss are good people. You’ll like them. You might have to learn a new language.”

“When are you going to get here, Daddy?”

“As soon as I can.”

“I love you, Daddy. Get here quick, because I want to share this with you.”

“Okay, Baby Doll. I love you too. Always remember that.”

“I will, Daddy.”

Cobalt flipped the cell phone shut. Knowing perfectly well it was the last time he would ever talk to her in this life.

Cobalt looked at Flynn. “You owe me.”

“You saved my life in order to ask me to take yours?”

“Yes, I did. Well, among other reasons. I also saw a man of honor.”

“As a man of honor, I refuse.”

“I understand,” Cobalt said quietly, “Then I ask this. Extend my debt to Mia and my son. Whatever she wants, whatever she needs, anytime, anywhere, for the rest of your life.”

“That I can do.”

Cobalt stood up. “Few men get a second chance at life, Flynn. I extended it to you because I felt you would use the gift wisely. I’m glad I wasn’t disappointed. Live your life with honor.”

“I intend to. Also, thank you for not killing me,” Flynn said with a wry smile.

“My pleasure.”

Cobalt walked toward the curtained, blacked out window, seemingly lost in thought. A random poem came into Daddy’s head.

I was born the son of a blameless man,

I tried to right some wrongs,

With a gun in my hand.

I went too far and a bad man died.

A righteous jury,

And the witness lied.

I was tried and convicted,

And sentenced to hang.

But the reaper was conflicted,

When the church bells rang.

I was left alone and my heart evicted

When the reaper finally sang.

When he reached the window, he turned around and said,

“Please tell Mia when she calls that I will always be with her, and that everything will be all right. It was a pleasure knowing you…”

“Wait, don’t…”

Cobalt opened the curtains, his arms wide forming a crucifix in the window.

The shot came almost instantaneously.

The police sniper’s aim was dead on.

The large caliber round hit Daddy in the forehead, knocking him backwards.

Daddy’s spirit left his body before he hit the floor.