I look around my apartment again. “It must’ve been the bad guys I went after in New York,” I say, turning back to him. “If they knew I was coming for them, they maybe tried to pre-empt my involvement by taking me out here. They were just a few hours too late…”
Raynor shakes his head. “We arrived as they were leaving your place, but I don’t think they were here for you.”
I frown. Who would they be after, if not me? A split second passes, and my eyes go wide, realizing who their only logical target could’ve been.
“John… is Tori alright?”
His mouth forms a grim line of regret. “We exchanged gunfire, and then chased them in squad cars. All the way to young Nicki’s house… Adrian, I’m sorry — but the woman of the group put a bullet in Nicki’s head, right there in front of us, and two of the men bundled Tori into the trunk of their car.”
I glaze over, numbed by the news that Tori was taken. But my brain kicks in after a few moments, and alarm bells sound as I process what Raynor had told me.
“A woman?” I ask.
“Yeah, real evil-looking bitch — excuse my French. Dark eyes, bit too much make-up, wore a cat suit…”
Clara Fox!
“What did she say?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he shrugs. “She just pulled out a gun so big I was surprised she could lift it. Had it strapped to her back. She just unloaded at us — destroyed both cruisers. Killed one of us; injured the rest.” He reaches behind him and pulls out a disc in a plastic sleeve, then hands it to me. “She threw this at us before leaving. Got your name on it.”
I feel a rush of anger explode inside me, waking my Inner Satan from his slumber. It’s like a river of heat coursing through me, making me shake with fury. The only thing stopping me from properly losing my shit right now is the sadness and despair I feel, unable to get the image of Tori lying dead somewhere out of my mind.
I shake my head.
No. She’s alive. If Clara’s taken her, it’s to draw me out, so she won’t kill her only bargaining chip just yet. I pick up the DVD and examine it.
“Come on,” I say to Raynor, focusing on the problem and trying to distance myself from it emotionally. “Let’s see what she has to say for herself.”
I walk over to my TV, which is still in one piece. Clara must’ve had this whole thing planned from the beginning — they destroyed my apartment, but left the TV in one piece on purpose, knowing I’d need to watch this DVD.
He follows me, and I put the disc in the DVD player and press play. We stand side-by-side, my arms folded across my chest, watching the TV intently as Clara walks into view. It looks like it was filmed on a cheap handheld camera — the picture quality is grainy, and the background noise is hollow.
The room she’s in is pretty basic, and could be anywhere in the world — plain dirty walls, no carpet on the floor, no visible windows…
“Hello, Adrian,” she says.
She stands silently smiling at the camera for a moment. The first thing I notice is the long scar across her face, running from her right temple diagonally across to the left corner of her mouth.
Hope that hurt, you heartless bitch.
Her hair is jet black now, not blonde like I remember. She definitely has too much make-up on, like Raynor said. Her dark eyes betray no emotion.
“It’s been a long time,” continues the video. “What is it? Four years? Four years since you left me for dead in the desert… four years since you killed my father… and for four years I’ve been itching for a chance to have my revenge.”
Raynor looks at me out of the corner of his eye. I see it, and I know what he’s thinking.
“Yeah, I killed her father,” I confirm, turning my head to look at him. “He was a terrorist trying to kill a whole lot of American soldiers. I beat him to death and blew his base off the face of the earth.”
“Fair enough,” replies Raynor, shrugging.
I re-focus on the video. “…geddon Initiative will soon be able to hold every nation on the planet to ransom. I know Yalafi Hussein has already tried to recruit you, but I told him that wouldn’t work, you fucking Boy Scout! But in typical Adrian Hell fashion, you had to start asking questions about things that didn’t concern you, and now… now we’re at the stage where we need to make a concentrated effort to remove you from the picture.
“If you’re watching this video, we have your little girlfriend. We’ll make sure she’s looked after until you get here.”
She’s pacing around as she’s talking, trying to look scary and intimidating. She looks more like a psychopath than the last time I saw her, and from her body language, I get the impression she’s harbored a grudge toward me that’s consumed her entirely.
“I’m sure you won’t have any trouble working out where we are, so I’ll wait patiently for you to arrive. Oh, and to be clear, our plans will not be delayed any further by your interfering. In seventy-two hours, we’ll control the world, and my vendetta against you will be obsolete. At which point, if you’re not here, I’m going to cut your girlfriend’s fucking head off and mail it to you… Bye for now.” She smiles at the end and blows a kiss to the camera before walking out of shot.
I turn back to Raynor. “I have to find her,” I say to him.
“What do you need from me?” he asks.
“I’ll let you know when I have a better idea what I’m up against.”
We’re interrupted by the sound of a very deep, haunting, foreign voice.
“Adrian…”
We both frown and look at the TV. We’d left the video playing, and the camera had obviously been left recording after Clara had gone. On screen is a man sitting cross-legged on the floor. He’s Middle Eastern, with a long black beard and a turban. He also has an eye patch over his left eye. He’s hugging his knees as he stares at the camera. I must admit, looking at him makes me a little uncomfortable. The look on his face… it’s like he can actually see me.
“Adrian… I am Hamaad El-Zurak. I control the Armageddon Initiative.”
Jesus. The man himself.
“I have heard much about you. I need you to understand that you cannot stop what we have started. We will change the world, and I promise you will not be alive to witness it.”
He stares at the camera for a moment — it’s like he’s staring through the screen, right at me. I don’t know what it is about him. He doesn’t scare me or anything, he’s just… I don’t know — un-nerving.
I’ll find him and put a bullet between his eyes, just to be on the safe side.
I turn the DVD off and remove it from the player. I slide it back into its cover, and then walk over to the door to retrieve my bag. I bring it inside, resting it on the floor in front of the TV. I open it up, throw the DVD inside, and take out my other Beretta, and my custom holster. I stand, strapping the holster in place at my back, and then slide the guns inside it.
“They’re mighty fine-lookin’ weapons,” says Raynor, approvingly.
“They do the job,” I reply, shrugging.
I grab the burner phone from inside the bag and dial Josh’s number from memory.
“I need your help,” I say as he answers. “It’s Tori, she’s been—”
“Adrian, where are you?” he says, cutting me off. The panic evident in his voice.
“What? I’m back in Texas, why?”
“Shit. Adrian, you need to run. Now!”
I feel my eyes go wide. I’ve never heard fear in Josh’s voice before.
“Why?” I ask.
“They’re coming for you. For all of us. Just run — I’ll call you.”
The line goes dead. I look at Raynor.
“What was that all about?” he asks.
“I don’t know… but Josh was spooked, and he said we should run right now.”