The Desert Lion's True Colours (37 page)

The initial shock of whatever caused him to be in so much pain had subsided and now Leon was trying to compartmentalise it. The pain rose from the lower part of his right leg,
-
His ankle.

‘You ok?’ Aaron said smiling. ‘You see that pain your feeling. It’s called future planning. Go ahead, Look.’

Raising the top half of his body and bringing his right thigh into his chest, Leon looked down at where the agony resided and to his horror was a silver fountain pen sticking through the back part of his ankle, tearing a hole through his Achilles tendon. The pen itself belonged to Superior Upson. Aaron had lifted it from the desk and put it in his sock right after tying Upson to the rocking chair.

‘You see Nathan. That right there is what we do. We plan for everything.’ Aaron started to laugh. Leon knew his movements would be severely limited with the pen situated where it was, so with a firm, swift tug he pulled the fountain pen back through the hole made in his flesh and pants. Leon kept his mouth closed but let out a groan that sounded oddly like a stifled laugh. After taking one more look at the pen in his hand Leon fell flat on his back. From his position on the floor, Na’talia seemed to be standing upside down. With the Superior taking cover behind her, she took aim for Aaron’s mid-section.

‘Go ahead…’ Aaron said smugly. ‘. . . You know as well as I do. I’ll get at least two rounds into your brother before the first buck leaves the chamber. Is killing me really worth it?’

Aaron was smiling but Leon could tell he was contending with his own pain and still losing quite a bit of blood. With Leon’s gun clenched firmly in his hand Aaron took aim for Leon’s head.

‘I’m warning you!’ Na’talia shouted.

‘Please. Give me a break.’ Aaron replied. ‘You’re not going to do it. So stop making yourself look bad.’

He was about to say something to Superior Upson but was interrupted by the ringing of his phone. Keeping his aim on Leon Aaron picked the phone up from off the desk and smiled as he saw J1 on the screen.

‘Articulate…’ He said answering the phone.

With his focus darting between Leon on the floor and Na’talia in the doorway Aaron held the phone to his ear in silence. The longer he stood their listening to what the person had to say on the other end the broader his smile became.

‘Who’s that?’ Leon enquired.

Aaron pointed his gun back down towards Leon’s face. ‘I take it, you have never heard of curiosity killed the cat.’ He said. ‘What does it matter who I was talking too? You’re going to be dead in less than three seconds.’

Finding a little courage Superior Upson spoke out from behind Na’talia’s back. ‘It’s his contact, calling for the codes.’

‘Codes? What codes?’ Leon insisted,
-
trying to drag things out.

Taking a step forward Aaron brought the nozzle of Leon’s trusted weapon into his view. A few tense seconds passed before Aaron finally let out a sigh and said ‘Hey, what the hell. That was Jahed. My computer expert.’ Aaron paused for a moment and then with an
-
Oh!
I
almost
forgot
kind
of
attitude
said
–
‘Coincidently he went to Glenmuir like you and Jay.’ Aaron chuckled at his own statement then said ‘He’s the one who set up my
Human
Accounts
with a few offshore banks. He’s waiting for the codes to unlock the bank bonds from the Department of Defence’s expenditure account. Motioning to the familiar Gucci bag carrying the bonds Aaron said ‘While I have the paperwork. They mean nothing without the codes.’

Finding a way to tap into his inner soldier Superior Upson stepped out from behind Na’talia, mockingly stifled a laugh and said ‘You have nothing…’

He then reached for the gun on Na’talia’s waist and said, ‘. . . Now look who’s going to die. You piece of shit.’ However due to his slow, stiff movements he ended up missing Na’talia’s holster by a few inches.

‘What you think you’re doing?’ Na’talia exclaimed.

Aaron had seen and heard enough. The Superior was not going to be of any real help and he currently had the upper hand on Leon so he decided the Superior had to go. With that Aaron fired two shots into the Superior’s chest with Leon’s gun. Na’talia immediately ducked over to her left
-
away from the Superior’s position and hurled herself to towards the corner of the room beside a small wooden coffee table next to the window. Aaron Laughed and then said ‘I wasn’t aiming for you Nat; I can’t kill you until I have the codes. Now where is the book Edwards gave you?’

With the pain in the lower part of his leg under better control Leon slowly started to raise himself up from the floor. Aaron silently watched Leon gain his balance on one foot and use the edge of the desk as a crotch for the other. Purposefully, Leon positioned himself directly in between Na’talia and Aaron’s direct line of sight. After taking in a few breaths Leon said ‘I don’t have them on me. They’re in a book, outside in the truck.’

Aaron frowned. ‘That’s a pity,’ He said. ‘. . . Because that means I’m going to have to kill you NOW.

While Leon watched Aaron align his aim towards the space between his eyes all the hairs on the back of his neck rose, his heart started to beat faster and he could feel a rush of adrenaline make its way through his veins. Eyes focused on Aaron’s finger around the trigger Leon waited until the very last second to bend at the knee of his good leg and jump back towards his right side revealing Na’talia in her crouched position already waiting with her rifle focused on Aaron. Because of his speed Aaron managed to hit Leon with his first round but by the time his finger could pull the trigger for the second time the loud obnoxious sound of Na’talia’s rifle had already made itself heard and the buck shot that came with it had hit Aaron flush across the top part of his chest. The force caused Aaron’s whole body to jerk back. With his feet in the air Aaron hit the wall behind him with a thud.

Na’talia scrambled to her feet and ran over to Leon who was curled up on the floor and said ‘Nathan, you ok.’

Not wanting to say she was being a little too rough Leon tactfully pulled away and raised his arm to show her it was just a flesh wound.

‘He ain’t that fast.’ Leon said finally, forcing a smile.

After scrutinising the graze and her immediate alarm tapered with the knowledge that it was nothing more than a scratch Na’talia finally let all her emotions go and burst into tears. On her knees and with her arms around his neck Leon sat there in silence and allowed her to let it all out. After a minute or so Leon gently patted her on the shoulder before saying ‘It’s going to be ok.’

Na’talia backed away showing an expression that told Leon she was not so sure.

‘You were right?’ she said.

‘What you mean I was right.’

‘I mean, you were right. What now?’ She said frustratingly. ‘. . . The Superior is dead, Aaron is dead the Chief is gone and we still don’t have any answers.’

Motioning to the Gucci bag on the floor Leon said ‘Do we really need any?’

‘What about your mother?’ Na’talia replied.

‘We have 22 billion dollars in untouchable US bank bonds. Whoever is in possession and holds the necessary documentation has rights and if I’m not mistaken that’s us. I’m pretty sure we have enough to buy information.’ A smile started to appear on Leon’s face before he said, ‘Now help me up and let’s go get Jay and get out of here.’

As Na’talia began to help Leon to his feet they were both surprised by the sound of a phone starting to ring. It was not Leon’s, neither was it Na’talia’s and it was none of the phones belonging to Aaron or Black.

‘Where is that coming from?’ Leon asked.

‘I’m not sure.’ Replied Na’talia,
-
trying to trace the ringing tone. Walking around the desk she followed the sound to the third draw down the front of the desk. Opening it slowly, she gently moved some papers out of the way before pulling out a grey Qualcomm MPX000124 satellite phone
-
Standard CIA issue for all field agents. ‘We might have a problem.’ she said holding the phone up for Leon to see.

Reaching for it Leon said ‘Here, let me handle this.’

Without looking at the number or name Leon took the phone from Na’talia, put it to his ear and then said. ‘Hello’

‘Hello’ the voice replied warmly.

‘Hello, who is this?’ Leon demanded.

‘All in good time young cub.’

Leon was a little taken aback by the man’s reference but he stayed cool.

‘Look. I don’t know who you are,’ Leon replied, ‘But since I’m guessing you called for the Superior I think I should tell you, he’s dead.’

Before Leon could say anything else the man on the other end replied. ‘I know. My colleagues and I saw everything; And while it is a shame to see our old friend Upson be done away by the hands of someone like Aaron we are quite pleased that said person is no longer with us. Aaron had proven to be a thorn in our side for far too long and if he had succeeded
-
Well, let’s just say he would have caused much more harm than good.’

‘Oh really?’ Leon interjected.

‘Yes, really.’ The man replied calmly.

‘So what do you want from me?’ Leon requested.

‘Well, I think that is quite obvious young cub. Go get the codes from Na’talia’s truck and leave it along with the bonds right there in the room.’

‘And.’ Leon pushed.

‘And…’ The man paused as if he was waiting to take an order from someone else before saying ‘we will allow you to live your life. Do whatever it is you want. On the condition that if we should ever call you, you come running.’

Leon was silent.

‘Do we have a deal?’ said the voice.

‘And what about Na’talia and Jay?’ asked Leon.

‘The same for them,’ the man replied. ‘So, do we have a deal or not?’

‘And what if I say no deal?’

Leon’s question caused the man on the other end to laugh. ‘Well that young cub would not be very smart,’ he replied. ‘You see in 10 minutes, the late Superior Upson’s house will be overrun with twenty of the most highly trained killers the United States Government could buy and they are going to tear up that house from top to bottom, killing every living thing including the fucking rats. Now if you, your sister and your friend waiting outside would like to see tomorrow I honestly don’t think that is an option. Do you?’

Leon moved the phone away from his ear and focused on Na’talia who had stopped peering outside and was now standing directly in front of him. Shaking her head she said ‘I can’t see anything.’

Leon nodded before cupping the phone in his hand and whispering ‘They have cameras in the room.’ Na’talia’s eyebrows reached skyward before she started looking around like a paranoid person. But she was not paranoid. It was obvious to Leon whoever was on the end of the phone had to keep Superior Upson on a short leash. Which meant 24 hour surveillance
-
‘that
suck’s’
Leon thought.
-
With all that money and power not even the Superior was free.

Placing the phone back to his ears Leon said ‘I have one more question?’

The man started to laugh again and this time Leon was sure he could hear other people’s voices in the background.

‘Ok. Sure, you can ask. But just so you never say I warned you, you now have only five minutes.’

‘What about Karim?’ Leon asked.

‘Ha, Ha, Ha…’ The man on the other end sounded as if he was going to end up having a fit. ‘. . . Young cub! Oh My… !’ he said between chuckles. ‘Whatever is it do you think you know?’

‘I know Aaron was looking to take your Billions, kill Karim and somehow blackmail you into giving him amnesty.’ Leon replied.

‘Not bad,’ the man replied ‘but no dice. Aaron did not want to kill Karim. His intention was to enlighten him.’

‘What? What does that mean?’ Leon demanded.

No reply was given.

‘Hello! You can’t get quiet now. Talk to me… !’

‘That is all the information you will be getting today,’ the voice finally replied. ‘You know what your choices are.’

With that said the guy on the other end of the line closed the call.

‘Who was that?’ Na’talia asked as soon as she realised he was off the phone.

‘Not now Nat.’ Leon replied. ‘Let’s just get out of here.’

Not having to say another word, Na’talia quickly went around the room and picked up the fallen weapons and phones and dumped them all into the Gucci sports bag along with the bank bonds.

‘Wait.’ Leon called with his arms stretched out.

‘What’s wrong?’ she asked hurriedly.

Leon could not answer as quickly as his sister wanted. He was trying to go over every conceivable scenario that could transpire. Should they take the paper contents of the bag the immediate and future comeback did not look good. With that said those bonds along with the codes were the only leverage they had and if anyone had the answers to his questions it would be the guy who was on the other end of the phone.

‘Well, what are we doing?’ Na’talia insisted.

‘With a quick smirk Leon said were getting out of here.’

At that Na’talia helped Leon around Black and the Superior’s body before leaving him to hop his way to the front door while she stayed ahead of him with the Gucci bag over her shoulder and her pump action shot gun at the ready. By the time they got to the front of the house they could see two black H2 Hummers, followed by three black Ford Excursions. They had already passed Na’talia’s Yukon parked on the side of the road and were about 50feet from the main entrance of the drive way that led up to the house.

‘Shit!’ Natalia said bluntly.

‘Shh, it’s gonna be cool. Leon replied with a smile.

‘I don’t see how this is cool Nate.’ She replied exasperated. ‘In less than two minutes were going to be surrounded by soldiers whose sole mission is to kill us.’

Steadying himself on his good foot Leon swiftly let his open palm fly and gently, but firmly tagged his sister on the cheek. ‘Sorry…’ He said immediately after. ‘. . . I needed to do that. Get yourself together girl. Where is that kick ass chick I saw earlier
-
who was only too happy to tell me and Jay how she took down three guys to save us.’