Paris, France
I had so much confidence two days ago; 48 hours later and I’m a mess. If I can only stop shaking…just…just long enough to take the shot.
I’ve spent the best part of twenty years of my life on an island off the coast of Scotland with two of the most loving people on earth. Now I find myself forcibly abandoned in an environment of hostility and bitterness.
Some of this is my fault – I have to admit that. I chose to take this step – I chose to take it further, to follow it through to the bitter end.
My parents have been warning me about this, protecting me as best they could since I was an infant. I simply have no choice. It’s either them or me – and after what they did to my parents – to my life – it’s going to be them.
I intercepted a string of mobile phone calls that led me to this moment. I am sure that on any other day it would be impossible not to fall in love with this city…the architecture…the history…its people…on any other day. But not today.
Seven floors above the street I wait – for a light to come on, for a man to enter the room and then…then what? I planned this down to the last detail. I’m ready for anything – everything – I’ve got a plan B and a plan C. I’ve got a quick out and an alibi ready if I need it, all set up and ready to go…
So why can’t I stop shaking? Why does every bone in my body scream at me to get down from here, take the money my parent’s left me and disappear into the English countryside and try to forget what’s happened? I already know the answer – and to back it up I look at the photograph again.
Happy days – days that are long gone but never forgotten.
For them I have to be strong, I have to balance the scales.
For them I will endure.
****
Amsterdam, 20 years ago
To anyone else walking through the park, they were just another couple in love. He was tall, dark and handsome, she was a svelte red-head with quick eyes and an even quicker mind. As he held her in his arms, she whispered in his ear.
“You know David, sometimes you can be a real ass…”
“Is that any way to speak to the man you love?” He replied.
“This is so dangerous – stupid even – exposing ourselves in public no less.”
“Danger is my middle name cupcake,”
“Among twenty others I don’t care to repeat.” She snapped back at him as her lips closed on his.
“Well, you have a point,” he broke away from the kiss. “But I had to see you, even for only a second away from the Agency.”
“I think love is clouding our judgement.” She said as she nestled herself in his arms. “What time is your meeting?”
“In about forty minutes.”
“Then you’d better hurry. I know you’re meeting with that Natasha woman – I’m not thrilled about it – you know how I feel about her…”
“Katie, you know that it’s all in the name of freedom and all that poppycock. She means nothing to me.”
“Right. Freedom. Now I’m convinced.” She shot back at him. He felt her fingers grip him tighter.
“Ha ha, you know me too well – I assure you, that was the old me. I’m a new man because of you darling.”
“Convince me then.” He met her challenge with a passionate kiss. She reluctantly pulled away from him.
“You’d better get back to the lab before someone suspects something.” He said lightly smacking her on the bum as she turned away.
“Suspect? David, you know who we work for.” She smiled. “Be careful.”
“Done.”
An hour later, David Tempest was still sitting on the bench waiting. He took another look at his watch and scanned the surroundings once more with eagle eyes. They eventually settled down on a figure skipping along the path. It struck him how much her near-white coloured hair reminded him of an avalanche running down the side of a mountain. Dressed in what appeared to be a short blue dress with a wide white belt and matching white boots, Natasha made little attempt to shy away from attracting attention to her with her entrance.
“I’m sorry I’m late David – I had to find the right boots and gloves to go with my new Gucci dress. What do you think?” Her accented English was clear to hear to those around them. Several people looked around; a Russian? In Amsterdam?
“When it comes to ladies wear, I tend to think that less is more.” David replied.
Status red – Natasha has entered the park – be on alert for anything odd – we don’t want to give away our position
“So Natasha, do you have the microfilm you promised me?” David asked as they walked through the park. Natasha giggled like a schoolgirl.
“All business today aren’t we? Last night I couldn’t get you to talk about work…”
“Well today I’m on the clock and up against a deadline. We need to know what type of technology we are up against…”
“You are a bigger fool than I thought,” Natasha laughed. “You think you can wine and dine me and I’m just going to roll over on my country. Please, you weren’t that good in bed.”
“Well if your way of complaining is to moan loud enough to wake the neighbours then I must have been pretty bad,” David scowled at her. “Give me the microfilm.” His voice was a growl now. Natasha smiled.
“Make me.” Her riposte was met by his hand slapping her face. The force of the blow was enough to knock her to the floor. As she wiped the faint trickle of blood from her mouth she looked up at him. “Does that make you feel good? Does it make you feel powerful, slapping me?”
“There was a time when you begged me for that and more,” David spat. “I need that microfilm.”
K1 to Eagle Eye – we have a visual on the two of them – awaiting your word.
“Bastard,” Natasha hissed. “I wonder if these are bullet proof?” David didn’t even see her draw the pistol – the first thing he knew about it was when he saw it pointing at his groin. Grabbing her wrist, he managed to alter Natasha’s aim enough so that she only succeeded in shooting him in the leg. Sulphurous curses spewed from his mouth as he hit the floor. Natasha got to her feet.
“Dear David, looks like it’s your day to die,” she cooed. David saw he eyes go wide as she realised that he had reacted to the situation in the only way he knew how.
“Not today my dear!” He said as the department issued Walther PPK fired once. Natasha felt something in her stomach. She touched it – her eyes looked down and saw her white gloves stained with blood.
Her blood.
She felt the world begin to spin and Natasha Nicolov collapsed to the warm grass beneath her feet.
Natasha is down. Repeat, Natasha is down – K1 get into that park and kill Tempest
From a small car on the edge of the park, two men got out. They moved quickly and with purpose as they approached the clearing where David Tempest was struggling to get to his feet. Both men were experienced agents and they drew their weapons as they moved towards David.
“Careful Sergi, Tempest is the best they’ve got.” Yuri said as approached the man who was trying to get back onto his feet with little success.
“Remind me to slap you later Yuri,” Sergi muttered as he lifted his pistol and fired two shots in quick succession.
If I can just get to the trees, David thought as he stumbled, then feel back to the grass, I can take cover…The ground next to him exploded in a puff of soil and grass. David rolled onto his back and aimed quickly, letting off three rounds in response. Sergi fell to the floor – two bullets lodged in his chest.
Yuri lifted his own pistol as he saw David switch his aim towards him. Bracing himself for the gunshots to come, Yuri fired wildly, the bullet hitting the ground by David’s feet. David pulled the trigger on the Walter.
Click! Click! Click!
Both Yuri and David couldn’t believe it. David tried to pull the slide back on the compact little pistol, realizing that somehow the firing mechanism had become jammed. Yuri walked up to him and stopped when he was within six feet of David’s prone position.
“Looks like your luck has just run out Tempest,” Yuri said as he checked his Russian issued Makarov one last time. He took aim and a gunshot rang out.
Yuri Demetriov fell to the ground with a bullet wound in his head.
David looked back at the trees and saw a familiar figure step out with a smile on his face. Dressed in a drab brown trench coat, Alex Stone took the opportunity to light a cigarette before either man spoke.
“Alex, nice to see you.” David said, looking up at his friend and colleague. “Thanks for saving my arse again.”
“Don’t mention it,” Alex replied. “After all, what are friends for?” He walked around to examine the dead Russian, then looked over at David. “Can you walk?”
”Doubtful,” David replied. Alex nodded, then aimed his pistol straight at David. “Alex? What are…?” His question was cut off by the gunshot. David felt the grass beneath his body as he looked up at his friend with disbelief written across his face.
“I probably should have let the Russian kill you, but where’s the fun in that for me?” Alex said as David felt himself sinking into shock. “Anyway, I have to run, people to see, secrets to sell, money to make – you know the routine.” Alex took a step away from David before stopping. “Oh, and I’ll make sure that I look after Katie for you.”
****
Paris, France
Got to remember what Mom taught me…breathe normally…relax…exhale on the squeeze…focus on the job at hand, take a step out of your own head and make the weapon an extension of yourself. Turn on the laser scope and read out the type of glass.
Reading…
Four inches thick, probably high-impact bulletproof glass. Need to make an adjustment to factor in the density, projection and speed. Movement inside…come on, turn on the light.
Bingo! If my calculations are correct, Alex Stone is going to have the headache of his life.
Relax…breathe…come on, easy does it…the rain isn’t helping…come on Amy, shape up…remember, this is one of the people you hate the most in the whole wide world…he’s partly responsible for everything that’s happened…he deserves what’s coming to him…that’s it Alex, one step closer…
From within his office, Alex Stone heard the sound of the glass shattering a fraction of a second before he felt the stinging sensation tearing at his left ear. His hand flew up to it instinctively – and realized that there was next to nothing left there.
“Son of a bitch!” He screamed, the fingers of his right hand stabbing at the intercom on his desk. “Charlie! Charlie! Get security up here now!” Alex looked over at the shattered pane of glass. “Bulletproof glass my ass!”
Not exactly where I wanted it, but if I play him right, plan B will work out just as well.
I unhook the zip line and fire it across the gap between the two buildings – the small, gas powered device drags me out into the Paris night…on any other day I could spend an eternity walking around here…on any other day.
I reach the roof of Stone’s building and head straight for the emergency exit – if I’m right, he’ll be squealing for help right about now.
“Wilson? Where the fuck are you? Get your fat ass out of the car! Someone has just tried to kill me!” Alex screamed into the intercom.
“On it boss – coming through the front door…Boss, someone seems to have put something on the elevator doors and they’re welded shut…same for the stairs…it doesn’t look fresh either…”
“Which means whichever dumb fuck is trying to kill me is in the building!” Stone said, killing the intercom feed and pulling his pistol from the holster inside his jacket. Tilting his head and trying to ignore the pain, he heard something.
Nine gunshots rang out, peppering the door and tearing huge holes through the wood. Alex stood still for a moment before he heard a voice. A young woman’s voice.
“Clip is empty Alex.”
“Whoever you are, my men are on their way up – it’s only a matter of time…” something rolled through one of the bullet holes he had made – accompanied by a hissing sound. He coughed several times before his vision began to fail. As Alex fell to the floor, the door to his office opened and Amy Tempest entered. Dressed from head to toe in black, her face covered with a gasmask, she walked over to Alex and looked down at him.
Could kill him now, but then I’ll have wasted the last two weeks of my life.
****
“Where to sir?” Wilson asked as the car pulled out of the garage. “Should I take you to the hospital or to one of the company facilities?” Alex was holding the hastily constructed bandage to his ear.
“Hospital.” Alex’s brusque response told Wilson all he needed to hear.
“Who do you think she was working for?”
“Fuck knows – I’ve crossed sides so often it would be easier to figure out who it isn’t. The puzzling thing is if she didn’t want to kill me what was she looking for? And did she find it?”
“Well, whoever she is she sure did a thorough job. Not only was every doorway sealed but the front office downstairs said that the power was cut to the surveillance room, which means that there’s no surveillance tapes of her. The hard drive on the computer looks like it was downloaded to some sort of external device, but it will be a couple of hours before we know exactly what she took.”
“Sounds like you want to form a fan club Wilson.” The female voice startled both men. The barrel of a pistol was pushed into Wilson’s neck. “Take a right at the next set of lights, then another quick right into an alley. Do it now or I paint the windscreen with your brains.” Wilson did what Amy asked, bringing the car to a halt in the dark alley, surrounded by buildings on three sides. “Now turn off the engine and both of you put your hands on the dashboard slowly…turn around and I will be the last thing you ever see.”
“Now slow down little lady, let’s just take a minute and talk about this…” Wilson said. Amy noticed a twitch in the movement of his hand as it strayed towards the inside of his jacket.
“Stupid.” The gunshot sounded so much louder in the confined space. The windscreen shattered with the shockwave. Wilson’s dead body slumped against the steering wheel.
“Let’s try this one more time.” Amy said, addressing Alex with the warm barrel pushed into his neck. “I want you to reach into your jacket pocket slowly.” Alex did as she asked – and found a photograph therein.
“David and Katie Tempest? What have they got to do with this?” Alex said, confused by the turn of events.
“Everything.”
“Everything?” Alex asked, and then a look of recognition swept across his face. “I get it – you’re their kid, right? Did you know that I’m the guy that almost put your Dad six-feet under years ago? We were close back then, hell, we were friends – shared everything, except your dear old Mom. She was so beautiful, bit of a slut too from what I recall – now there’s barely enough of both of them to fill an ashtray.” Amy slammed the butt of the pistol against the back of his head.
“Shut up!” She said, lifting her arm to strike him again. Alex reacted quicker this time, grabbing her arm and pulling her forwards, throwing Amy out of the broken windshield and out over the bonnet of the car. He struggled with his seatbelt, eventually unbuckling it after what felt like an eternity. He got out of the car and scrambled around to the front with his gun in his hand, expecting to see Amy on the floor.
Nothing – she’d vanished, he realized as he looked around the car, searching for her. He grabbed his mobile and keyed a number into it.
“Natasha, it’s Alex, listen…” The call was cut off. “Bitch!” he dialed again. “Don’t you dare hang up on me Natasha! We’ve got a problem – it’s Tempest’s daughter – she surfaced. She’s raided my office, killed Wilson and blown one of my fucking ears off!” Alex looked around the alley, wondering where Amy had disappeared too. “She knows about us, about Ravenstone…don’t tell me to shut up bitch! We’ve got a situation on our hands…”
“Are you finished?” I can hear everything they are saying – modern technology is amazing – and he hasn’t got a clue where I am. “As she’s Tempest’s daughter we can assume that she’s not stupid – unlike you Alex. You’ve compromised my location with your call – this is the last time we’ll talk. As far as I’m concerned, you no longer exist. If she doesn’t kill you then I promise you that I will.” Bingo! Thanks Alex. Oooh, someone’s making friends all over the place today.
There was a reason why I chose this alley – it’s the other side of the building that I shot Alex from. I can see him now, panicking. He knows he’s in trouble – and it’s not just me who’s looking to kill him. I lift the rifle up and take aim again.
“Bitch!” Alex said, looking around – the car was useless and he knew that he had to get out of the city. He heard a cracking sound, then felt the impact of the bullet tearing at his right ear. “Fuck!” He screamed, stumbling out of the alley. “I’m gonna kill you, you fucking…” Alex Stone felt the vibrations on the road beneath his feet – he looked up and found himself staring into the headlights of a large lorry bearing down on him at an unstoppable speed. “…bitch…”
I wince at the impact of the truck as it hits Alex Stone head on. I can see his body hit the floor and despite the best efforts of the driver, the large lorry drives over him, tires breaking bones and crushing organs. I’m sure he’s dead, but I hang around on the rooftop for a while to make sure. When they start hosing down the blood off the street I resolve to call it a night.
After all, I have eighteen hours until I fly back to England – I might as well enjoy the rest of my time in Paris.
by 
Mark Cooper
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