Collins opened his eyes and Jake’s world flashed back. One blue eye, one brown eye. He recalled the man from Savannah and the chamber in Ireland. Collins was the scariest man he’d ever met.
Collins raised his hand, exposing his silenced Beretta. He pointed it at Jake.
“As you requested, I’m unarmed.” Jake raised his arms and turned a full circle. “Now, release Kyli.”
“All in due time.” Collins smiled. “Don’t you want to hear why I killed your fiancée and your parents?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“But you must.” Collins said. “I insist.”
“You killed Beth.” Jake interrupted. “But not my parents. They’re still alive.”
“You’re bluffing.” Collins’ expression changed, brow furrowed, and his cold, mismatched eyes seemed to darken. “I saw the newspapers. I read the reports.”
“All fabricated for your benefit and you fell for it.” Jake said. “Bentley had been waiting for you to make your move for months. That’s why he had guards watching my parents.”
Collins fell silent. A man who abhors failure, especially his own. “Now, I’m going to kill you.” Jake said.
“Unlikely, Mr. Pendleton, as I am the one holding the gun. I allowed you to find me. And you should ask yourself, why?”
“Let Kyli go first, then you can explain it to me.”
“That is not going to happen.” Collins walked over and tapped the spacebar on his computer keyboard. “You see, Jake. I don’t trust you.”
When the side-by-side monitors came to life, Jake saw the two live video feeds, one of Kyli and one of a timer. The monitor on the left showed Kyli, bound and gagged in a small room. The reflection of sunlight danced back and forth along the wall behind her. The monitor on the right displayed a timer attached to explosives attached to a boiler. The room was dim and shadowy and the timer was set at forty-five seconds.
“Insurance.” Collins said.
“Let her go. I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“No, Jake, it’s not going to be that easy. You see she has feelings for you. I could tell at the funeral when she—”
“You’re a sick bastard, you know that?”
“Like I was saying, the young woman obviously has feelings for you but that’s a life from which you will deprived…by me.”
“Where is she?”
“In the basement, behind that door.” Collins pointed to a door in the hall. “When I leave here, you’ll have to get to her and deactivate the explosives. It will be a race against the clock. Quite frankly, I think you're too coward to try to save her.”
Years of playing chess had taught him to analyze every move, strategize attacks, anticipate counterattacks, and think at least four moves ahead. But most of all, learn your opponent’s weaknesses. Jake stared at the monitors assessing the rooms in the video feeds for options.
“You left your fiancée alone in the hospital and because of that she’s dead. Are you man enough to try to save this one…or will you run to save yourself?” Collins pointed to the basement door with his pistol. “What will it be, Mr. Pendleton?”
Jake said nothing.
“Decision time.” Collins pointed his Beretta at Jake’s head.
“Drop the gun.” Wiley shouted. The old man was pointing Jake’s gun at Collins.
“Mr. Wiley, get out of here. He has Kyli. He’ll kill her. Look at the monitor.” While Collins was focusing on Wiley, Jake slipped his hand into his front pocket.
“Let her go.” Wiley moved closer to Jake while keeping his gun trained on the assassin. “I agreed to your terms, I met my end of the bargain. I delivered Jake to you, as you demanded, unarmed. Now release my granddaughter.”
“Dammit. Get out of here.” Jake said.
“She’s all I have left, Jake.” Jake noticed sweat running down the old man’s forehead. His voice cracked. “Let her go Mr. Collins.”
Collins laughed.
“We had a deal.”
“Sorry, old man. I just cancelled it.” Collins pressed the Enter key, the counter started. He turned and fired at Wiley.
Wiley fell to floor grasping his shoulder, his gun tumbled in front of Jake’s feet. Before Collins could move, Jake dropped to a knee, flipped open his knife, and hurled it at the assassin.
Collins fired and missed.
Like a spear, the razor-sharp blade impaled Collins’ left leg. He dropped his gun and clutched his wound with both hands.
Jake grabbed Wiley’s gun and glanced at the timer. 30 seconds left. Jake reached down and pulled Wiley to his feet.
“Must…save…Kyli.” Wiley said.
Collins moved for his gun.
Jake focused on the Irishman as he reached his long arm toward the Beretta. Jake fired and the bullet pierced Collins’ hand. “Decision time, Shamrock.”
“Jake.” Wiley interrupted. “Kyli. Save Kyli.”
20 seconds.
Jake saw Collins’ face twitch. The Irishman’s plan had backfired and the big man looked worried. “Only a few more seconds and none of this will ever matter again.”
“Jake.” Wiley shouted.
“Mr. Wiley, get out of here…now.” Jake noticed Collins was sweating. “Ian, you killed the woman I loved, now I’m going to kill you.”
15 seconds.
“I can stop it.” Collins said. “All I have to do is hit the escape key.”
Jake aimed his Glock at Collins. “Stop it then.”
Collins pressed the escape key. The counter kept counting down.
10 seconds.
Collins pounded the keyboard. “I don’t know what’s wrong. It’s not stopping. We must get out of here now.”
Collins started to move and Jake fired.
Ian Collins’ head exploded, his lifeless body fell to the floor.
Jake glanced at the monitor.
5 seconds.
Wiley fell to his knees. “Oh my god. What have you done? What have I done?”
Jake grabbed the old man, threw him over his shoulder, and ran for the door. As he crossed through the threshold, the villa exploded.
EPILOGUE
Jake was talking to Kyli when The Toymaker regained consciousness.
The blast had hurled Jake and the old man thirty feet in the air before they crashed into the stone villa across the narrow street. The thick exterior stone walls of Collins’ villa remained intact after the explosion. Windows blew outward, glass and debris covered the streets. When Jake came to, smoke was billowing from the windows. He heard the firefighters say that the floor had collapsed and crumbled into the basement where everything soon engulfed in flames.
The old man suffered first and second-degree burns, a concussion, broken left wrist, left clavicle fracture, and multiple contusions. Jake escaped with only minor burns, bruises and a knot on the back of his head when he was thrown into a bicycle parked in front of the adjacent villa.
Kyli leaned down and kissed Wiley on the cheek. “I’m glad you’re okay, Grandpa.”
“Kyli? Is it really you?” Wiley tried to rise up but Kyli pushed him back down. His voice weak and strained, almost faltering. “I thought you were dead. What happened? Where’s Jake?”
“He’s right here.” She said. “He’s fine. He saved your life…and mine.”
“Jake…come here.” Wiley said.
Jake stood and walked to Wiley’s bedside. “How are you feeling?” Across the bed from him, Jake saw tears well up in Kyli’s eyes.
“Blown up.” Wiley grabbed Jake’s arm. “How did you know Collins was lying?”
“Simple, it was exactly as you said, a trap. Collins was trying to trick me into the basement.”
“Obviously…Kyli wasn’t in the basement.”
“He had her locked up.” Jake paused. “Just not in the basement.”