After a few moments, she looks up at me, staring right into my eyes, as if searching them for something. “What is it you want Mr. Way for?”
I purse my lips together and tense my jaw as I take a deep breath. I wouldn’t normally be this honest, as I don’t want to scare her any more than I already have, but seeing how she reacted when she saw the picture of him, I’m going to take a chance.
“Hong Yun… I’m here to kill him.”
She goes through a whole catalogue of emotions. She frowns, as if trying to hold back tears. She looks concerned, surprised, afraid… perhaps even happy, at one point. But then the tears start to flow again. This time, however, she buries her head into my chest and throws her arms around me. She shakes uncontrollably as she sobs.
That reaction speaks for itself, I guess.
I stand, my arms out to the side, with a woman I’ve just met crying on me. I stare ahead until my vision blurs. The last forty-eight hours fade away and I’m left with a familiar and comforting sense of purpose.
I don’t know who this Mr. Way is, but I know all I need to about him.
That piece of shit is a dead man.
3
My God, it’s hot! The tree line has thinned, and there’s less cover than before. The sun is beating down relentlessly, and it feels as if it’s sucking the air out of the forest. I’ve rolled the sleeves of my coveralls up over my forearms in a somewhat futile attempt to cool down, but it still feels like I’m walking through the Amazon!
I’ve managed to convince Hong Yun to show me where she lives — where Mr. Way is based. If I can get a good look at the place, I’ll be able to plan my attack.
I absently scratch the back of my neck where that asshole injected the tracking device into me earlier. I’m guessing Colonel Sanders is looking on, sat behind a fancy desk or something, watching a satellite feed in God-knows-where they had me when I first woke up.
I never thought they would have me jumping through hoops, or out of planes, taking all these tests. I kind of figured the fact they approached me to join The Order meant I was already in. But no… I have to prove myself. Prove myself? I’ve been doing this shit for nearly fifteen years! Everyone knows I’m the best in the business. Hell, they wouldn’t have come to me in the first place if they didn’t think that, surely? Having to audition for them is almost insulting. I know they saved my life and everything, but even so…
Hong Yun is walking a few paces in front of me. She hasn’t said much since we set off. I tried to find out whereabouts in Vietnam we are, but other than ‘north of Ho Chi Minh City’, I didn’t get much out of her.
I offered to carry her basket for her, which she reluctantly agreed to. After the first five minutes, she said I could help myself to a piece of fruit. I graciously accepted with no hesitation whatsoever. I’m so hungry! I’ve not eaten since I died…
It feels very weird saying that.
A handful of berries later, I was craving a steak and a Bud like you wouldn’t believe, but I have to block thoughts like that out for now. I have more important things to worry about.
We’ve been walking for maybe twenty minutes. I see a clearing up ahead, and Hong Yun slows down.
I draw level with her. “Is this it? Are we here?”
She glances at me and nods. “I… I can’t—”
I hold a hand up and smile. “It’s okay… I know you can’t take me in yourself.” I hand the basket back to her. “You’ve been a great help, thank you. And I’m sorry again for scaring you back there.”
A smile flashes across her face and she looks at the ground. “No apologize, Adrian. You… a… kind man.”
I shrug and try to hide how uncomfortable I feel receiving a compliment of any kind. She looks as if she wants to say something else, but she’s stopping herself.
“Hong Yun, what is it?”
She sighs. “Are you really here to kill Mr. Way?”
I clench my jaw muscles and nod curtly. “Yes.”
“W-why?”
Huh…
Well, I didn’t expect that… I had the impression earlier that she would be glad when this guy’s dead, but now she’s questioning my motives? And you know the worst part? I don’t really have an answer. How bad is that? I mean, what can I say? ‘Because someone told me to?’
I stroke my chin. There’s nearly three days’ worth of stubble there, and it grates against my hand as I contemplate my answer. But as soon as I start thinking, my mind rushes off on a tangent…
What the fuck am I doing here? I’ve never carried out a contract I didn’t research beforehand. And by me, I mean Josh, obviously. But, in all my life, going back to the Army, to the CIA — to D.E.A.D… I can’t remember a time when I’ve ever fired a bullet I wasn’t completely certain needed firing. And now, here I am, blindly following the instructions of a guy I don’t even know, who runs an organization I didn’t even believe existed until a few days ago. Granted, the guy saved my life, but what has he done since then? Imprisoned me and thrown me out of a plane? I’m angry with myself for neglecting to notice how much of a prick this guy actually is.
Hong Yun is staring at me expectantly, her brown eyes wide and innocent.
I sigh. “Tell me, is he a bad man?”
She nods slowly.
I shrug. “What other reason do I need?”
She smiles momentarily, and stares at the ground again.
Well, at least she believes me, even if I don’t.
I place a hand on her shoulder. “Look, you better head back before you raise any suspicions.”
She nods again. “The camp is not far.” She points ahead. “Just past clearing.”
“Thank you.”
“Be careful. There are… many men, and… many… guns.”
Oh.
I chuckle and wave my hand dismissively. “It’ll be fine…”
With basket in hand, she turns and scurries off through the clearing, bearing left. I watch her until she’s out of sight.
So… many men and many guns, eh?
Sounds like fun!
I decided to head left before the clearing and make my way clockwise around the perimeter in a wide arc. I reckoned the place where the path opened out would serve as the main entrance to the camp, so I would essentially be walking up to the front door and knocking if I followed Hong Yun. Not normally something I would worry about doing… but as I have no weapons, I figured discretion is the better part of valor.
It took me over ten minutes of careful maneuvering through thick bushes and tree lines before I was able to locate the camp’s borders. A tall fence, shrouded in forest, runs along the left side and, presumably, all the way around. I can’t get too close, but I’ve found a spot a few hundred yards farther on that gives me a good view. I’m crouching behind a small mound of broken trunk and trampled shrubbery, looking through the fence at the camp within.
It’s not what I expected, if I’m honest. The place looks more like a military base! There are guard towers… a vehicle pool… barracks… lots of men with guns patrolling the compound… look-outs — the works!
Who the hell is this guy? And more importantly, how the hell am I meant to—
Oh, shit!
I hold my breath. A guy’s stopped right in front of me! He’s maybe six feet away, stood with his back to me. He’s dressed casually, wearing jeans and boots with a thin jumper underneath a thick, sleeveless hunting jacket. Christ, he must be melting wearing that out here!
He turns slightly and I catch a glimpse of his gun. It looks like a variation of the old Vector SMG, but I’ve never seen this particular model before. The barrel is long and thin with a disproportionately large suppressor attached to the end. It has what looks like a magazine sticking out of either side on a forty-five-degree angle.