Brothers in Arms

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Drake and Romero quickly executed the next stage of their plan, both feeling a somewhat immature excitement as they neared the time when they would contact Washington. They stole a battered, white minivan from Harbin Station — one of literally hundreds — and started on the long road that led to Vladivostok, Russia. From there, they would board a plane to Moscow. Soon, they wouldn’t have to make their own plans anymore.

Soon, the American government would pave the way for them.

Drake watched as Romero drove. The winding road opened before them, murky, deserted and split only by their headlights. He sorted through the cellphones he’d collected, choosing the newest and most advanced looking — a Sony Ericsson.

“Hope they’re in.”

He tapped out the agency’s number and waited for the connection.

“Yes?” Karin’s voice, suspicious and reserved as it should be.

“It’s Drake. I guess you’d better put me on speaker.”

Karin emitted a few expletives, shouted across the office, and almost burst Drake’s eardrums as she shuffled excitedly around and then came back on, sounding breathless.

“You’re on!”

Drake gave a situation report and their position in as few words as possible. Even then it took him fifteen minutes with Romero chirping up all the time. He didn’t mention it, but was relieved to hear everyone sound so happy to hear his voice. He made a point of stressing Mai and Smyth’s tricky situation on the island.

“Let me get this straight,” Hayden repeated his last words. “You and Romero are heading back to Washington — across Russia and Europe — and on the way you’re taking down a human trafficking ring. That right?”

Drake shrugged in the dark. “What else would you expect?”

“Alright, well, we have a situation of our own right here.” Now Hayden began to talk, explaining about the mysterious American-bred assassins with their blank eyes who were taking their own lives as well as that of a single target. She told him that they now had three survivors including the Senator and that they were about to try and find a link between the five victims.

“How does it connect to the island?” Drake’s immediate thought.

“Through Dai Hibiki’s original message. The first intended victim was Senator James Turner, though they missed him and hit his staff. Since then, same kind of assassins, same MO.”

“High profile hits?”

“No. Civilians. No clear link.”

“Second attempt on Turner?”

“Never happened.”

Drake pulled the phone away from his ear as a double-beep sounded. “Damn. Bloody thing’s running out of battery already. Listen, I’ll contact you again soon, but first I need to speak to Alicia. Is she there?”

A moment’s pause followed. Then a voice said, “Right here, Drakey.”

His lips curled upwards. “Missed me?”

“Hmm…not half as much as your little sprite friend. You really trying to say you were marooned on a desert island with her?”

“And two other men.”

“Lucky bitch.”

“Listen. I have a job for you. One you’re definitely gonna love.”

“Oh yeah?”

“You remember that biker gang? The one we used in Luxembourg?”

Alicia didn’t speak for a moment, then sounded bored. “Vaguely.”

“Would you fly over there and enlist their help again? Then you all ride to meet me in Frankfurt, Germany. We have a big, bad HQ to take down and I think we’re gonna need some help.”

Alicia cheered. “Now you’re fuckin’ talking!”