“Yes… thank you. Mr. Way… is he… dead?”
I nod again.
She looks down. Her shoulders slump forward and she sighs.
I frown. “What’s wrong?”
She gestures to the women behind her. “We all hated him… but for many of us… for me… this was all we had. We have… nowhere to go.”
I put my hands on her shoulders and smile at her. “Hong Yun, you’re free now. Do you understand? You’re not in danger. You don’t belong to anyone. You are all… free. You can go anywhere you want and not be afraid. Don’t you have family somewhere? Someone who misses you?”
She glances to the side as if she’s really thinking about it. “I have… sister. She lives in the city.”
“Well, there you go — go and be with your sister. Start a new life for yourself.” I look up and glance over the rest of the women. “Same goes for all of you. If you have family or friends, go and be with them. Your life is your own now. You can all—”
“Adrian!”
A voice up ahead interrupts me. Without thinking, I push Hong Yun behind me and walk through the group of women, making sure I’m between them and whoever’s approaching. The rustling of undergrowth and the sound of heavy footfalls is getting louder. There must be at least five or six of them.
It can’t be anyone working for Way… He didn’t know my real name, plus, he wouldn’t have been able to reach the phone from under the desk anyway… fucking coward.
So, who the hell is—
“Adrian.”
A group of men appears before us from behind a tight clump of trees, rounding a slight bend. I was right — there are five of them. They’re wearing jungle fatigues and holding handguns. Drawn, ready, but loose.
“Let’s go,” says the man at the front, gesturing to me with his hand. He’s quite tall, similar in height to me, with a stern-looking, clean-shaven face and narrow eyes.
I frown. “And you are…?”
“…Here to bring you back in after a mission well done.”
“You guys work for The Order?”
He nods. “The name’s Pierce.”
“Christ… Okay, Pierce, where the fuck were you when I had a small army shooting at me a few minutes ago?”
He shrugs. “If you needed our help to get out of there, we wouldn’t be here to offer you a ride home.”
I roll my eyes. “Oh yeah — all part of my initiation, right?” I sigh. “Fine.”
I walk over to them, and they subtly fan out to surround me without getting too close. I note their positioning — two behind at wide angles… one on either side, practically level with me… and Pierce, who walked past me and took the lead. If I try to run, regardless of which direction, I’ll be tagged before I reach the guy I’m heading toward.
Smart. Effective.
I stop walking. “Hey, wait a minute…”
The men stop and turn. Pierce sighs — a hint of impatience. “What?”
I gesture behind me with my thumb. “What about the women? You’re not seriously just gonna leave them here, are you?”
He shrugs again. “They’re not my mission. Therefore, they’re not my problem.”
“They weren’t my mission, either. But given I’m not a world-class dickbag, I don’t wanna leave them here to fend for themselves. We’re in the middle of nowhere…”
The group of men exchange looks, and then Pierce reaches into his pocket and pulls out a cell phone. He presses a button and places it to his ear. After some inaudible muttering and the occasional nod, he hangs up and looks at me. “We’ll send another chopper for the women. It’ll take a few trips, but we’ll get them to safety somewhere in the city. That okay with you?”
I shrug. “Don’t tell me…” I glance over my shoulder and then back at him. “…tell them.”
He sighs and walks past me, stopping just in front of the women. He relays his message, which is met with murmurs of uncertainty. I move and stand next to him. We exchange a glance and he raises an eyebrow, almost challengingly. I look at Hong Yun. “My friends here are going to return in a helicopter and take you all to safety, okay? I promise you’re all gonna be fine. Just stick together until they arrive.”
She holds my gaze for a moment and then nods. “Thank you… Adrian.”
I smile. “Don’t worry about it.” I look at Pierce as I turn back. “You need to work on your people skills, man.”
I set off walking toward the chopper again, the group surrounding me keeping pace. Pierce marches past me and resumes his place at the front. A few minutes later, we enter a large clearing. The chopper is standing in the middle, with the pilot and co-pilot visible through the cockpit windows. The four huge blades on the roof slowly start to spin as we approach, and the smaller ones on the tail quickly follow suit.
As the speed picks up and the noise gets louder, we duck slightly as we all jog over to the open door on the side. Pierce jumps in first and turns to face us. “Everybody in!”
The two guys either side of me climb aboard first. One sits facing the cockpit on the far side, the other opposite him. Next, Pierce gestures to me. I get in and sit facing the cockpit in the middle seat. I fasten the belt around my waist as the two guys bringing up the rear get in, the last one shutting the door behind him. One sits on my right, while the other puts his back to the cockpit. Pierce sits across from me.
Less than a minute passes before we’re airborne, heading to God knows where. We bank right and I lean forward slightly in my seat, looking past the guy flanking me and out the window. The forest already looks so small and peaceful. It’s almost as if I was never there. Then I see a thin plume of smoke in the distance and remember that I always leave my mark on places I visit.
Now… where the hell are they taking me?
6
I’m standing on the balcony of an expensive hotel room, fifteen floors up, leaning on the rail and looking out at the Petronas Twin Towers looming over me. The heat in the center of Kuala Lumpur’s business district is already pushing eighty-five and it’s not even lunchtime. I’m only wearing a towel, as I’ve just stepped out of the shower, but I’m already sweating because of this humidity.
Yesterday, the chopper took us to Tan Son Nhat airport, a few miles north of Ho Chi Minh City. From there, a private jet flew us across the water to Malaysia. Once we touched down, Pierce and his team drove me to this hotel and said someone will be in touch. They told me not to leave my room — and reminded me I have a tracking device in my neck, so they would know if I did. They said to just sit tight and wait for someone to make contact.
It started out as a long-ass evening. I was pacing up and down the room with all kinds of things running through my head. But, eventually, I came to the conclusion that worrying and pacing wasn’t very productive. So instead, I ordered room service, ate like a king, and crashed out on the bed watching TV.
I slept like the dead.
Which makes sense… I mean, that’s what I am now, right?
Dead.
I took my time this morning, taking advantage of being able to lie in bed and not worry about who might try to kill me today. I ordered breakfast and grabbed a nice, hot shower before stepping out here for some air. Not that I’m getting much as it’s that hot!
I’m still exhausted after everything that’s happened in the last few days. Well, I say the last few days, but it’s been almost a month since fate decided my life would change forever. Almost a month since three assholes walked into my bar and dragged me into this shit. And now here I am, nearly four weeks on, standing alone in a Malaysian hotel room with very little to show for my efforts besides a heartbeat.