The Desert Lion's True Colours (36 page)

Breathing heavily, but not half as surprised as he was to see Aaron to begin with, Black took his time to gain his composure before saying ‘Kilo
-
Think about what you’re doing?’

‘That was never my name.’ Aaron replied.

Black laughed.
-
Not in that oh, that was so funny way
-
but more like well, you obviously don’t know the jokes on you kind of reaction.

‘You will always be my brother
Kilo
.’

Black’s voice trailed off; as he watched his soon to be killer flash his head from side to side. Aaron’s customarily calm demeanour was fading and quickly being replaced with frustration and that common disbelieving
‘what
the
fuck!?’
feeling. He was annoyed with the fact that Black was actually delusional.

‘You idiot!’ he said finally.

Aaron’s words were not just highlighting the irrefutable truth that Black was indeed a first class idiot but they also brought a tone of disappointment.
–
A feeling that could only be described as pity.

‘Don’t you get it… ?’ Aaron insisted. ‘. . . We were never friends, brothers, partners or bloods. You were an assignment, a case. The Agency sent me undercover to get information on your political family contact’s over in Haiti. That’s it! When you started to come up dry with information, Mr Upson here decided we should use you on a street level. God knows what I did, for them to go behind my back and work out a deal with you; but hey
-
Shit happens right?’

Black had heard enough so he cut in, ‘So what. You’re gonna kill me now, because I decided to look out for myself cause you turned out to be a rat?’

Aaron could not help but laugh.

‘A rat, I think that’s what they call, Pot… Kettle…’ He said between fake chocking. After feeling he had laughed enough Aaron pointed his head in the direction of Superior Upson and said ‘Kill him.’

Black looked confused but relieved all at the same time. ‘Why?’ He asked.

‘Good question but it doesn’t matter…’ replied Aaron. Slowly handing Black his other P-266 he repeated the order. ‘. . . Kill him.’

Superior Upson finally spoke. ‘NO! Don’t do it.’ His voice was horse and faint. ‘Please, I’ll pay you. Anything you want.’

‘Shut UP… !’ Aaron interjected. ‘. . . Even if I was to keep you alive, when Camistock find out I have the Bank bonds they will take everything you have, including your life. What will you pay him with then?’

Aaron’s laugh returned. Still with his aim focused on Black’s forehead Aaron repeated his order for the third and last time. ‘Kill Him.’

Black had fired his fair share of guns and lay to rest more people than he even cared to remember but at this moment in time he was stalling and everyone could see it, including Superior Upson.

‘Do you know what he wants from me?’ he said to Black.

‘I said shut up.’ Aaron yelled.

Superior Upson knew this moment was do or die so he had to lay it all out on the line. Give Black anything he wanted, promise everything, and sell his soul to the devil if it would keep him alive.

‘He wants the codes,’ blurted out Superior Upson. ‘Without the codes he can’t cash the bonds.’

‘That’s it.’ Aaron called out.

‘WAIT!’ Black shouted immediately after.

Aaron looked over at Black who had now had his gun pointed directly back at him. With his own aim expertly focused on the pupil of Black’s right eye, Aaron gently nestled his finger on the trigger of his gun and said ‘Don’t be foolish Black.’

‘Fuck you.’ Black replied. ‘I want to know what this man is saying.’

Without taking his aim off of Aaron, Black turned his head slightly to the right so he could get a better look at Superior Upson tied to the chair.

‘Apart from you, who else has the codes?’

Before the Superior could open his mouth to reply, Aaron said ‘See yah in hell old friend.’

This was then followed by the loud reverberating sound of two gun shots. The Superior let out a cry of fear as he watched Black’s 300lbs fall back against his desk and hit the floor with a heavy thud.

Aaron was never usually emotional when it came to killing the enemy but he found himself feeling oddly invigorated putting two slugs into the person who just tried to kill him. Getting carried away with the feeling he fired another unnecessary round into Black’s already lifeless body before turning his attention back to Superior Upson. Aaron let out a sigh before saying ‘See what you made me do.’

Upson looked up at Aaron knowing his turn was most certainly going to be next. Over his seventy plus years he had heard many people say how their lives flashed before their eyes right before they thought their time was up. But nothing came to his mind,
-
Just space and time. Enough time to clearly see Aaron move in closer and raise the now warm steel in his hand. A single tear made its way down the Superior’s cheek and with a stammered sigh he said ‘Ok. Ok. I’ll give you the codes.’

Aaron flashed a smile. ‘Thank you.’ He said. ‘That is all you had to say. Don’t you feel better?’

Aaron walked round Black’s body to the other side of the desk and retrieved his phone from its location next to the note pad with no pen. Dialling only three numbers and then hitting the send button Aaron waited for the person on the other end to pick up. After two full rings Usain was attentive on the other end.

‘Yes Comrade.’ He said.

‘Do you have the package?’ Aaron demanded.

‘Fifteen minutes away.’ He replied.

‘Good. As soon as you pick him up take him to location b.’

‘Understood.’

‘In the meantime have Jahed call me back right away.’

Usain knew what that meant and started to smile to himself.

‘Right away.’ He replied.

With nothing else to say Aaron ended the call. Turning back to Superior Upson he said ‘Well, what are the codes?’

Upson started to cough
-
triggering the pain in his head to return with a marked vengeance. Leaning his head to one side Upson closed his eyes as tightly as he could
-
as if it was possible to squeeze the pain out through them.

‘I’m waiting.’ Aaron goaded.

‘So have we.’ Leon called, bursting through the part open door.

Instinctively Aaron raised his weapon and pressed the trigger, but nothing happened, just the metallic click of the hammer hitting and empty chamber. Aaron discreetly swallowed.

‘What’s the matter?’ Leon asked in an unmistakable rhetorical tone.

Na’talia finally came into view and took her position beside Leon. Aaron covered his mouth with his empty gun and let out a chuckle.

‘You’re getting old Aaron. You forgot. The P-266 only carries 11 rounds.’

Aaron quickly went over how many shots he had fired; four through the door, then three, then two, another two and the final three into Black.

‘Shit!’ He said out loud.

‘Yeah, Shit foreal.’ Leon snorted before walking over to the other P-266 on the floor,
-
lying next to Black’s humungous leg. To his surprise it was empty and Aaron smiled to himself as he watched Leon discard it to one side.

‘So what are you planning to do son?’

‘I’m not your son!’ Leon shouted back.

The surprise revelation that Leon was aware of the truth caused Aaron to blink a few times but with no other feelings on the matter he just nodded his head and said. ‘So you know then?’

Neither Leon nor Na’talia replied.

‘Nathan, listen…’

(Hearing the change in Aaron’s tone Leon could not help but think how uncanny Aaron’s voice reminded him of a car salesman. Not the one you would find in a Maserati dealership,
-
He was sure of that. But the kind of salesmen that sold all 39 different makes and models, on the Dan Marino Super Car lot. From Ford’s to Lexus’ to pimped out Pinto’s. The cocky, tailored made, cufflink wearing, sly talking salesmen. The ones, who sized you up, worked out your weak points then obnoxiously try to brain fuck you into buying the worst piece of shit tin can on the sales floor for more than the actual sticker price. He had not only seen their type on T.V but had come across one or two of them in real life.

‘. . . You may not understand it now but everything was done for a reason.’

For a split second Leon froze, bound up in an overwhelming feeling of contempt. Not usually the kind of person to be so demeaning to another human but finding it hard to come up with another way to express the disgust he had for Aaron’s statement Leon let fly a descent amount of phlegm that flew through the air, landing centimetres from Aaron’s feet. Aaron casually looked down to check the condition of his shoes before looking back up at Leon with an almost satisfied, smug expression on his face. Na’talia took a step forward and cocked the double action pump rifle in one mechanical motion.

Looking directly at her Aaron said ‘What’s working you? You looking for some sort of revenge? If it is, it shouldn’t be with me. It should be with that bastard sitting behind you.’

For the first time Na’talia turned to look at Superior Upson tied to the wooden rocking chair.

‘Let’s share the bank bonds.’ Aaron said
–
continuing his sales pitch. ‘You have the codes in the book Eddy gave you. Twenty-two billion Nate. Think about it. Divide that three ways we have 7.3 billion each. How much does the Agency pay you a year? Thirty-five to thirty-eight thousand? Imagine what you could do with 7.3 million.

‘Do you really think it’s that easy?’ Leon blurted out. ‘You sent me away when I was nine. You set things up to have me killed. You had my mother sent away.’ Leon paused and then said ‘You killed our Father.’

‘Ha! Don’t make me laugh.’ Aaron snapped back. ‘Let’s get a few things straight. One; She was no mother. Neither was she a wife she was a whore; and as for Geddess
-
Ha, shit happens. He was soft. Never really had what it takes to be a True Desert Lion but somehow found a way to take what was mine. He had what was coming to him.’

Leon took two very quick steps forward so he was just a few feet away from the opposite edge of the desk Aaron was standing behind.

‘I dear you to say that again.’ Leon said coldly.

Aaron chuckled and then said ‘your mother was a… . ‘
-
but before he could finish Leon let a round go from his own P-266. With no time to react Aaron took the bullet in the top fleshy part of his left shoulder.
–
A little higher than where he himself had shot Jay. As the sound of the bullet could be heard hitting the wall, Leon watched his once upon a time father stagger backwards and slowly slide down the wall into a seated position.

‘That one is for Jay.’ Leon said out loud.

Motioning to Na’talia to untie the Superior, Leon tentatively walked round the side of the large oak desk and stood over Aaron with his weapon itching to fire another round. Leon stood there for a while. Not saying anything, just taking in Aaron’s agony ridden face. Aaron was breathing heavily, which caused flex of spit to fly through his gritted teeth. He was pressing his left shoulder up against the wall, applying as much pressure as he could bear with his right hand. The bullet went clean through,
-
bleeding more from the hole on the back of his shoulder. After taking in a deep breath Aaron slowly raised his head revealing a face of remorse.

‘Nathan. You have to believe me.’ Aaron pleaded. ‘You can’t do this. You can’t end things here. There is too much you don’t know.’

Leon’s initial thought process started to freeze.
‘He’s
right.
I
don’t
know
everything’
. Leon thought.

Na’talia had almost got Superior Upson out of his restraints and was about to ask him how he was feeling when Aaron removed the pressure he was placing on his arm and adamantly pointed his bloody hand towards Superior Upson before saying ‘You want to know where your mother is? Ask him. He knows. I’ve tried to get him to tell me but he won’t say…’ His voice tapered off.

Aaron himself was adequately trained in the art of mental manipulation and knew how to apply the perfect amount of pitch into the question “
do
you
want
to
know
where
your
mother
is
?” in such a way it would cause Leon’s brain to shut down. This process was then impounded by Aaron pausing just long enough to cause effect and then suddenly increase his pace to incite urgency by saying “
Ask
him.
He
knows
”.

Leon’s thought process had now been taken over. Not wanting to give Aaron any points but if Leon had just a slim chance of finding out where his mother could be, he had to take it. Aaron smiled as he could see Leon’s brain was now in complete melt down. Despite the feelings in Leon’s gut shouting towards his brain to press Ctrl
–
Alt + Del, Aaron’s mind twisting bug had been expertly planted into that part of Leon’s mind that was usually cut off from the rest of the world.

Leon lowered his weapon and turned to face the Superior who was slowly patting himself down, wincing every time his hands touched a particular area.

‘Well?’ Leon called.

Looking up at Leon, then at Na’talia beside him and then back to Leon the Superior raised his hands and said ‘He’s lying to you. I do not know where they have her.’

‘What do you mean!? Who? Who have her?’ Leon spat.

The Superior started to shake his head.

‘Talk!’ Na’talia snapped with a poke of her rifle.

Superior Upson’s mouth finally opened but to Leon’s surprise the sound heard was his own voice leave his mouth in the form of a gut churning howl. Tears came to Leon’s eyes and streamed down his face as he clenched them tight. He could sense Aaron moving around his feet before he heard the clatter of his gun on the floor and both the Superior and Na’talia shout something out at the same time,
-
but it was all a blur. Leon’s vision of the room unnervingly started to tilt as he realised he was no longer balanced and on his way down to the floor with a crash. Using his hands to try and break his fall Leon attempted to grab hold of the side of the desk however with only one foot unevenly planted on the ground and his body almost vertical, his centre of gravity was a no show so all he could do was push himself away from the desk,
-
giving him just about an extra three feet of space between him and Aaron. The pain caused him to blackout for only a few seconds but by the time he opened his eyes Aaron was standing near his feet looking down on him.