‘Don’t presume to think you understand what’s going on here. I’ll crush you.’
Sebastian stared at her dully and stood up. ‘Do your worst, Valerie. I’m going ahead with this investigation.’ He walked away. When he was outside, he looked back through the plate glass and saw that she was on her cell phone-probably trying to get her superior to pull strings with the Director. He had no fears there. The former admiral had told the spooks to keep their hands to themselves in the past and he had invested too much in the Rothmann investigation to pull it now.
He got into his car and put the key in the ignition.
‘Put your hands on your thighs, please.’
Peter Sebastian looked around in amazement. ‘Arthur?’
That was his last word. A well-honed knife cut his windpipe and his chest immediately felt like two strong hands were crushing it. He thought of Matt Wells. Had he found Heinz Rothmann, or was the bastard going to remain at large?
Then his soul went lamenting into the dark.
I heard the three shots and assumed that Apollyon had disposed of Rothmann. Then, to my surprise, the Nazi piece of shit stood up, a Glock dangling by the trigger-guard from one of his raised hands.
‘Drop it!’ Sara yelled. ‘Now!’
Rothmann obeyed the order. There was dirt on his face, but the two livid scars were still prominent. He looked badly shaken as he came out from behind the wall. When he was in the middle of the roof, Sara went over to the low wall and looked down.
‘Apollyon’s dead,’ she said, sounding disappointed.
I turned to Colonel Singh. He had taken a bullet to the upper arm, but his expression was triumphant. ‘Keep us covered,’ I said. ‘And watch out for more gunmen.’
He nodded and passed on orders.
I walked into the open, the barrel of the Kalashnikov resting on my shoulder.
Sara was running her hand over Rothmann. ‘He’s clean.’ She stepped back and leveled her machine-pistol at him.
‘No!’ I shouted. ‘Wait!’ I still wanted the bastard to pay for what he’d done to Karen and our son, but in the light of what had just happened in the Hades complex, my priorities were changing. I wanted to find out who was behind this dump and I was sure Rothmann knew.
‘Matt,’ he said, his voice low. ‘Don’t do anything hasty.’ He looked over his shoulder. ‘Don’t allow this…individual to do anything hasty.’
Sara kicked him on the back of the knee, causing him to stumble forward. ‘I’m not an individual,’ she growled. ‘I’m your worst nightmare.’ The words were aggressive, but I could see the fight and her wounds were getting to her. There was even more blood on her tunic and her face was dripping with sweat.
‘Matt?’ Rothmann said, fear making his voice uneven. ‘Don’t let her-’
Sara emptied the magazine of her machine-pistol into the floor beneath his feet. He must have taken some ricochets, because he collapsed, clutching both ankles.
I stepped closer, raising a hand at Sara as she aimed her pistol at his face.
‘Matt!’ he screamed. ‘Haig! Haig!’
The trigger kicked in instantly. As part of me separated from my body and rose above the roof of the ravaged building, all I could think was how smart it was of Rothmann to use a non-German word. Not least the name of the British commander whose tactics eventually defeated Germany in the First World War. Doctor Rivers would never have thought of that. I was so amazed that my attempts to gain control of myself became frantic, and the zone that I had practiced so often eluded me. Nothing.
I watched impotently as my brainwashed self swung the Kalashnikov down at speed. I fired a burst into Sara that sent her flying across the uneven surface.
Then, just as quickly, I found myself back in my body and in command of what I was doing. Either the trigger command was brief or I had fought it off somehow. I ran across to Sara and lifted the upper part of her broken body onto my thighs. It was obvious she was beyond medical help.
She gagged, blood running out of the corners of her mouth.
‘You finally…you nailed me, Matt.’ Her crimson lips formed into a shaky smile. ‘I’m…I’m glad it…it was you.’
I looked across to Rothmann, who was still writhing around. One of the Indian troops was kneeling near him, Kalashnikov at the ready.
‘Sara,’ I said, leaning over her. ‘I didn’t mean to do it. The conditioning…’
She was still smiling. ‘Of course…you meant to do…it, Matt.’ Her forehead furrowed in agony. ‘It’s better…better this way.’ She pulled me closer. ‘Sellers and Kolinski, 168 Ditmars…Boulevard, Queens, New…York… Ci…’ She took a deep breath, which rattled in her throat and chest. ‘I left a file there. Tell…tell them you’re my cousin…my cousin from…Surbiton.’ Her eyes closed, and then opened again briefly. ‘Get him, Matt…get Rothmann…for…me…’
‘Sara?’ I put my cheek close to her mouth, but no breath brushed against it. I rocked back on my heels and smoothed her eyes shut with my thumbs.
I had finally put an end to my former lover, but at the last I hadn’t wanted to-if it hadn’t been for the Rothmanns’ conditioning, I would probably have let her live, but would have made sure she was arrested for all the horrors she had committed against me and my friends. Quincy Jerome’s dead face rose up before me again. She was a cold-blooded killer, but I had been close to her in the past. It seemed that love couldn’t just be thrown away, no matter how much pain it brought about.
I let her shoulders and head slide off my thighs and slowly got to my feet. If I got out of Hades alive, I would go and see what she’d left behind.
‘Sir, sir!’ Colonel Singh was saying. ‘I have assembled my surviving men. There are more armed men approaching. We must go!’
I went over to the parapet and shots flew over my head. In the distance I could see men in fatigues approaching. Cerberus Security was coming to finish us off.
I grabbed Rothmann under his arm and pulled him to his feet, not concerned about how much that hurt him. Heading for the gigantic red screen that marked the boundary of Hell, I gave Sara’s body a final glance. She looked at peace, whether she deserved that or not.
Valerie Hinton was standing at a pay phone inside Union Station.
‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘Your name wasn’t mentioned and neither was the company’s.’
‘Are you quite sure about that?’ Rudi Crane’s voice was less imposing than usual.
‘We had a man present. He dealt with the knight before he could do any real damage.’
‘He dealt with him? Won’t that have left a trail?’
‘Don’t worry. He used a new compound. Besides, the postmortem will never be made public.’
There was a long pause. ‘Very well. And you say there will be no further investigation?’
‘The Director will be made to see that is not in his interest.’
‘What about the lead investigator?’
‘The saint who was shot full of arrows? Don’t worry, he’s gone to another place.’
‘That is a veritable piece of good news.’
‘Do you have any such news for me?’
‘You mean from the Lone Star State? All is well, as far as I am aware.’
‘I hope so. There are several people down there who we never want to see again.’
‘Quite so. Fear not! By now, they will have started on their last journeys. Praise the Lord!’
Valerie Hinton hung up the phone and shook her head. One of the downsides of working for the Company was that you had to deal with the most objectionable people. Still, whatever it took to ensure the nation’s best interests were secured.
She pulled her hat down and walked into the chill night air. There was one thing she had to do before she turned in for what would be a short night’s sleep. Arthur Bimsdale had turned out to be a very satisfactory recruit. She needed to clear an evening to get better acquainted with him.