C.R. Daems - Kazak 2 - The Unthinkable Read online

"Sorry, I haven't got time for that," I quipped. They didn't like me and nothing I could say given I wanted to, which I didn't, would change their opinion.

  "Who the hell do you think you are telling us we can't accompany Miss Waldenmyer when she leaves the house. Director Williamson told us to tell you to go to hell." He smiled. I took out my iphone and hit "1."

  "What is it Lynn?"

  "Director Williamson still mad at me? He told the agents here to ignore me and accompany Sandra wherever she goes." I heard a click and hung up. Vernon was smiling.

  "Where is Sandra?" He didn't answer so I made my way in the direction of the female voices. Three young women were in the kitchen fixing lunch: a redhead and two blonds.

  "Who's Sandra?" I asked. The redhead and a blond turned towards me, the other blond didn't look up but nodded in the redhead's direction.

  "Are you the Kazak?" the redhead asked. "Vernon told me two of you just recently killed their clients. He said his director has found the Kazaks unstable and feels they should be disbanded before they kill anyone else. I don't think I want a Kazak for a guard."

  Vernon attempted a smile. It didn't fit the face.

  "Sorry, it isn't optional."

  "You're fired. Please leave or I'll call my mother." Sandra pulled out her iphone as Vernon's phone rang.

  "Yes, Mr. Williamson." Silence as his face went from shock to anger and then a small twitch of his lip. I didn't like that. It meant he was going to be trouble. "Mr. Williamson said you can guard her yourself."

  Sandra stood there with her mouth open, but then put her iphone away. "I don't want to die."

  "Sandra, I'm a Kazak. Right now, your life is my only concern. And although I'll risk my life to save yours, whatever is behind these recent extortions is more important than you and me." I turned back to Vernon. "I don't know what Williamson said to you, but if I see you or any of your people, I will assume you are working with the extortionist. That will give me justification to shoot that person. If you doubt I will, ask Director Williamson." I took a few steps backwards and stood leaning against the wall. Eventually, everything returned to what passed for normal. Vernon's team comprised of four men. Three remained outside watching the perimeter, while Vernon and another remained inside. After lunch, the three huddled in a bedroom discussing the situation. Their reactions varied from scared to humorous. Afterward Sandra sat quietly in the kitchen drinking an herbal tea. Finally, she looked towards the corner where I stood.

  "Don't you rest? Vernon and the others wander in and out. They don't stay with me all the time."

  "They're FBI and I'm a Kazak. From now until this situation is resolved and you are safe, I'll be your shadow. Where you go, I go. To kill you, they will have to kill me." I didn't bother with telling her my rules. For one thing, I decided she was safe anywhere she was out of my sight, like a bedroom or washroom. I trusted Samuel and Vince's version of events, which meant the killer needed Sandra in my sight to act.

  "Well, I'm off. I have an Environmental Geology this afternoon." She proceeded out the door, grabbed a bike on the porch, and peddled off. She almost fell off when she saw me peddling behind her. We made our way up Andersen Street, which was a pleasant ride through a thickly treed area. Before long, we were on the main campus. She stopped at a four-story gray building with narrow windows.

  Inside, I sat in the back of the class, which had less than twenty people. Normally, I would insist she sit in back with me, but I was convinced Sandra wasn't the target-directly at least. The Kazaks were real target.

  ***

  The next day, we left early for a morning class. I knew the young man on the porch yesterday was following us. I sighed. The idiots were going to screw everything including me. I flipped open my phone and hit "1."

  "Yes." Witton sounded tired.

  "They're following Sandra and me. There is a lot a stake here, boss."

  "Don't kill him." He hung up. When we got on campus, I steered Sandra between two buildings and stopped her. I put my finger to my lips before she could speak. I few minutes later, he came around the corner. I sent a roundhouse kick to the stomach. As he bent over, I grabbed his wrist and swept his feet from under him. I let go of his wrist when the torque snapped the bone."

  "Why?" she asked, staring at the man on the ground.

  "Because my boss told me not to shoot him." I turned her face so our eyes locked. "This is not a game, Sandra. Many lives besides ours are involved and this fool Vernon is concerned with his ego. I'm sorry you are caught in the middle but you are. Trust that I will risk my life to save yours." I left the young man there, without a gun. I felt sorry for him. It was Vernon's fault.

  The rest of the day was boring. As usual, I scanned the buildings, grounds, and students, but everything suggested an illusion. A Liar Assassin couldn't convince you do something against all reason. Neither a Ghost nor runner could create an illusion. Yet, an Illusion Assassin could make himself look like a client but that didn't explain how the client looked like an assassin. But the client had looked like an assassin-I believed Samuel and Vince. The paradox was giving me a throbbing headache. When we arrived back at the house, Vernon was standing on the steps glaring at me.

  "You lesbian bitch. Touch one of my men again I'll kill you. Who the fuck do you think you are?" He stood on the top step, face twisted in fury, and pointing a finger at me.

  "Call your Director Williamson and have me removed. The only reason I didn't shoot him because it would have scared the kids and shut down the campus." Actually, that wasn't really completely true. My boss did ask me not to kill him. I mentally dropped into fighting mode in case he was stupid enough to get physical. I walked my bike up the stairs past Vernon and waved for Sandra to follow. The rest of the evening was boring. I slept on a chair in the living room. Vernon left with the change of shift.

  ***

  The next week settled into a boring routine. At times, Sandra forgot I was tagging along. Even when she was aware of me, she made little attempt to engage me in conversation. Maybe because I made no effort to stay glued to the hip as I usually did, because I knew what the confrontation would look like. I just didn't know how it was done. Although I couldn't detect anyone following me, I knew that idiot Williamson had one or more people following me with rules of engagement that made me the target of choice.

  I hit "1" on my iphone. And spoke as soon as I heard the pickup.

  "I hope you have your resume up to date. I'm not going to survive this alone." I said in a normal voice. I wasn't scared. Just disappointed.

  "The Committee had Ann Woehl and her team reassigned to you but somehow Williamson has delayed it. She should be there tomorrow. I've got three Kazaks on the way. They will be there tonight. I've had to coordinate with the Committee to delay assignments. For some reason the Committee was slow to react."

  "Williamson has people tailing me. Vernon all but admitted it. If I live through this-"

  "DIE, YOU BITCH!"

  The sound was behind me. I scanned the multiple of students walking as I spun around, slipping into a snake stance. Sandra stood about ten yards away, pointing behind me. "HE'S GOT A GUN." I uncoiled back to my original position facing...a man with a gun pointing past me at Sandra...who was behind me?" I fired twice into his chest. He... Sandra jerked backward, her chest covered in red. I spun around again looking for Sandra, she was gone. My head felt fogged. My mind fought to sanity. People's reaction was mixed. Most were running away, a few had dropped to the ground, and two looked to be considering something foolish-like rushing me. An oddity existed. A woman walking away like nothing had happened. I shot her in the back. She stumbled and landed on one knee. When she turned back, it was Sandra. It couldn't be-so I shot her again. Her t-shirt was red on her back and side. She staggered up and lurched into a run. I took careful aim and shot her twice in the head. She fell face down.

  The two men were bearing down on me. I drew my second Glock, which I carried with a round chambered, and put a bullet in the lead man'
s knee. He went sprawling face first into the dirt. The other man skidded to a stop and took off running in the opposite direction. I looked over at Sandra. She lay quiet. I jumped up and began running towards the other woman I shot. Halfway there shots rang out and dirt sprayed behind me. I dove to the ground, located the shooter, who was shooting while trying to pull off his shirt to display the FBI sign underneath. I shot him in the chest. The impact stopped his forward motion and knocked him to the ground. His partner had stopped to take off the shirt and was a little slower. He stopped when his partner went down. I shot him in the chest before he recovered.

  "Throw the guns away, or the next bullet is in the head." Clare is going to be pissed I just didn't do it. They both threw their guns well in front of them. I shuffled to the downed woman keeping an eye on the two. When I reached her, I used my knife to rip her t-shirt, bind a strip around her head covering her eyes, and bound her arms and feet. I had just finished when gunfire exploded from an automatic weapon. One hit me in the shoulder and spun me to the ground. I rolled away from the body as the ground around me sprayed my arms and face. For a minute, I was blinded. I reversed course, just in time, as six or seven bullets hit the ground where I was. As my vision cleared, I saw Vernon about forty yards away, walking, firing, and laughing. I put two bullets in his head. It spun him around, blood spraying out like a halo. By now everyone had disappeared behind cover. I'd bet there were a thousand photos being posted on Facebook.

  The rest of Vernon's team peaked around the corner. They ducked back when I fired. I hoisted the woman over my shoulder, fireman style, and entered the closest building. The kids that had been watching through the door fled into the nearest classroom. I punched "1" as the campus police cars began rolling up. They were armed.

  "Boss, the FBI and campus police are trying to kill me. I killed one FBI, shot two others, and a student. More are going to die and I don't have an unlimited supply of ammo." Silence. I dragged the woman away from the door and opened the closest classroom door.

  "Out." I waved my gun at the three women and two men. Go stand in front of the door. I'll shoot the first one that tries to leave. Think of this as a great story to tell your grandchildren." That would keep the police from shooting and rushing the door. Of course, there were other entrances.

  "A SWAT team is on the way. I believe Williamson will delay responding to his boss. Five minutes." All quiet on the campus. Of course, men with guns were sneaking around one or more of the entrances with Williamson's rules of engagement. Then I heard and saw the SWAT trucks arrived. A minute later an ambulance appeared.

  "CEASE FIRE." A megaphone blasted and the team starting fanning out and identifying those with guns. One of the FBI men walked over to the person who seemed in charge of the SWAT team. They talked. After a minute, he picked up the megaphone.

  "KAZAK LYNN. COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR. YOU ARE UNDER ARREST FOR THE MURDER OF AN FBI AGENT." All the guns came back up in my direction. Shit. I could get away if I could leave the woman on the floor-I couldn't, she was beyond dangerous. I could hold out longer if I had more ammo. Shit.

  "Cease fire," a woman's voice. When I peeked out the glass door, Catherine stood there in front of the SWAT team commander with a badge stuck in his face. Four armed men surrounded her, with guns scanning the area. They looked ready to shoot.

  "CEASE FIRE." The commander megaphone came to life. "EVERYONE DROP THEIR WEAPONS. NOW" Slowly weapons were put on the ground.

  "You can all leave now," I said to the bunch in front of the door as Catherine approached the door.

  "Hello, Lynn. I hope you've solved the mystery. You've upset a lot of people."

  "Stop that ambulance. I want to go with my client to the hospital, and we need to bring this one along."

  "Your client not dead?"

  "She will probably have a black and blue chest and tits, but she'll live."

  "What about her. It looks like you shot her in the head."

  "She'll probably wish I had, but she's alive too." Catherine nodded as she gave directions to her men outside. One came inside and carried my prisoner to the ambulance with us following.

  "Looks like you need a medic." She gently examined my side when we stopped.

  "Don't touch that woman," I shouted at a medic who was about to examine my prisoner.

  "She needs immediate attention...oh, that's paint...just like the woman over there." He nodded towards Sandra.

  "This isn't paint," Catherine said. "We need you to get to the hospital, now."

  "Catherine, have one of your men take some gauze and wrap her head so that her eyes are securely covered."

  She nodded. At my insistence, he wrapped the gauze over the ripped shirt already there and added plastic restrainers to her wrists and ankles. Sandra had already been sedated and I had my prisoner given a dose. One of the medics removed my shirt and applied a compress to stop the bleeding.

  "I've been informed that Witton and three Kazaks are on the way to the hospital." Catherine seemed to be in communications with everyone. At the hospital, I demanded Sandra, my prisoner, and me be in the same room and they delay operating on me until I was relieved of my responsibilities. Witton arrived shortly after to my relief. I was tired and weak as a baby.

  "Lynn, Clare is going to be pissed." Was the first thing out of Witton's mouth. "Tony the Panther will take responsibility for Sandra, and Catherine and her people will take responsibility for your hog-tied friend."

  "Keep her blind folded and tied so she can't remove it. She's very dangerous-"

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  When I opened my eyes, Catherine was sitting in a chair in the corner. She stood and walked over to the bed.

  "They removed two bullets. One cracked a rib. They've spliced it together with a titanium plate. Should be healed in a month or two. The Doctor said you were lucky...again. You have lots of scars."

  "It's me or the client and Witton gets pissed when it's the client. Not to mention the client." I'd bet Catherine didn't have a blemish anywhere on that glorious body.

  "She milks every scar for all it's worth," Witton said as he walked into the room with two coffees. "I hope you don't think this is going to get you time off and the use of the company plane."

  "Please," I batted by eyelids and tried to look coy. Catherine laughed.

  "If you two are through with your handshake, I would like Lynn to connect the dots. What we deduced so far is like reading every fifth page of a mystery."

  "It falls into place if you believe Samuel and Vince. I did, therefore, I knew I would shoot my client, since I'm no smarter, more dedicated, or trained than them. I loaded my primary gun with the paintball bullets we use on the Hill. They hurt like hell and cause nasty bruises but are unlikely to kill you. Knowing what happened to Samuel and Vince, I hoped I would recover from what the Assassin did to be able to identify him."

  "What if it had been a real assassination?" Catherine asked.

  "I gambled it wasn't. A small risk, unless you believe Kazaks kill clients when they are assholes. After I shot Sandra, I spun around and identified the...Mind Bender." I kind of liked that term for the new Assassin.

  "How?" Witton asked.

  "She used good logic at the wrong time. If you commit a crime, running when everyone is walking makes you stand out; however, when shots are fired, everyone runs. She walked away."

  "That was a mistake. Why didn't you want the FBI following you?" Catherine asked.

  "Because when it appeared I killed my client, they would demand I drop my gun. When I didn't, they would have tried to kill me-like they did."

  "You shot the first two FBI agents in the chest but Vernon in the head. Was that because he had people following you?" Catherine again.

  "No. Because he was an asshole. I shot the agents in the chest because I knew they would be wearing protective vests. They stop bullets but not the impact. I shot Vernon in the head because he was firing an automatic weapon at me. Fortunately, he was a worse shot than me."


  "Thank you, Lynn. The witch Meztlil named you well. Samuel and Vince will be released immediately and their records made to reflect they acted appropriately under the circumstances. After all, we don't win them all. And I will add a new type of Assassin to our list-Mind Bender. Hopefully she is the one and only." Catherine nodded and left.

  "I'm going to let you explain this to Clare. Call me when you feel ready to return. It's going to take time for that rib to mend. Ann Marie will book the company plane or Gendel's if it isn't available when you are ready." He stood silent for a minute. "Catherine delayed me getting Kazaks to you. Why do you think?"

  "My guess is that Catherine is the Committee's trouble shooter. As such she has the Committee's full backing. If I killed Sandra, she wanted me to take the heat. If several Kazak were there supporting me, the organization would take the blame." I noticed Witton's face tightened at the suggestion. "By the way, General Udella hired the Assassins to kill or discredit me for his son's punishment. Of course, the Assassins liked the idea of getting rid of the Kazaks."

  "Director Williamson has been removed for delaying his order to cease firing and will do jail time. The SWAT commander has been fired for not following orders. You fired Vernon. And Udella will join his son. Have a good vacation, and say hello to Clare after she calms down. This time she has a good reason to be mad at me-I knew this was a hard assignment."

  ***

  I stayed in the hospital for two more days and spent another three days at my condo, mostly so I wouldn't look too beat up when I saw Clare. I've created far too much stress in her life. It turned out to be a good thing as everyone was interested in the details of the encounter and, in particular, the Mind Bender Assassin. Witton received letters of complaint from Sandra, Sandra's mother, and the FBI. Ann Woehl called to say Director Williamson's removal got her a promotion and one step closer to the Directorship. She was sorry she missed the party-sort of-and confirmed Vernon was an asshole.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN