Maximus (Guardian Security Shadow World #15)

Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

M ax walked to the vehicle that had been hidden, opened the trunk, and took out three jugs of water and a bar of soap. Stripping, he washed the blood off his body. In the morning, the authorities would find Abrasha and his message. The field where the man had died was not far from the road. He’d be spotted as soon as the sun came up.

Of course, the death would not be mentioned on Russian news channels, but word would spread like wildfire. That was one thing the Russian government couldn’t control. People talked, and they talked more when someone from the aristocracy was involved. Powerful, vicious people being humbled, or in that case, removed, was news, and word would spread faster than any government could manage.

He dried off, changed his clothes, and headed to Sochi. Max made no pretense about his movements. He parked in front of Elena’s office, walked to the door, and looked up at the camera. He punched in the code to enter the office and walked in. Once inside, he said in English. “She’s mine, she’s safe, and your boss is dead. Come and get me, you bastard.”

Max walked to the back loading bay, turned on the lights, and waited. He didn’t have to wait long. The door from the office opened, and Sokolov walked in. Both men had guns trained on the other. “Abrasha is dead,” Max said before he dropped his weapon’s barrel.

Sokolov shut the door behind him. “Soon, you will be, too.”

Max lifted away from the bench he was leaning on and placed his weapon on it. “Put your gun down and face me like a man, or would you prefer to beat up on a woman?”

Sokolov showed his teeth in a snarl. “She liked it.” The man lifted his weapon’s barrel to the ceiling and put it on a bench near him. Max moved to the middle of the bay at the same time as Sokolov.

Sokolov took a swing that Max dodged with ease. The Russian moved again, testing his reach against Max. Max slapped the jab away. One thing he’d learned while training was that getting into a person’s head or making them emotional was a definitive edge. Sokolov lunged, and Max danced out of his reach, slapping the man’s face as he passed.

Sokolov growled and feigned with a right, followed by a left. Max ducked the punch and jabbed with a right. He felt the bastard’s nose shatter under the force of his punch. Blood soaked the front of Sokolov’s shirt. The Russian let out a shriek and dove for Max’s knees.

Unable to move quickly enough, Max let the takedown happen and rolled, putting Sokolov on top of his shins, but with a poor grip. Max bent his knees, lifted his legs, and then kicked as hard as humanly possible, connecting in the junction of the neck and shoulder. He rolled away from Sokolov and sprung to his feet. Sokolov was quick getting up, too, but he’d hurt the fucker. His arm hung limply beside him, and blood continued to drip from his nose. In that instant, Max realized winning was no longer an option for Sokolov. How he died was.

Max smiled at the man. “Do you want to know what I did to Abrasha?”

Sokolov inched toward his weapon. Max countered the move and put himself between the weapon and the Russian. “Uh, uh, uh … we were settling this like men. No guns.”

Sokolov bolted for the bench and grabbed a screwdriver. He slashed at Max. The reach was just enough to snag his shirt and rip it. Max spun with the force of the slash and grabbed Sokolov’s hand. Spinning, he brought the man’s arm behind his back. Max stood behind the man and whispered, “I carved him up. Spread him open like a blood eagle. My people wanted to send a warning to everyone who preyed on innocent people.”

Sokolov yelled and dropped to his knees. Max heard the shoulder pop out of its socket. He backed up as the man fell forward and slammed his shoulder into the floor's concrete surface. Sokolov lunged up and grabbed for his weapon.

Max pounced on the gun at the same time. His grip fell over Sokolov’s on the weapon as they fell to the floor together. Grappling for control of the handgun, Max shoved his elbow into Sokolov’s neck. He wrenched the gun at the same time as Sokolov squeezed the trigger. The gunshot didn’t even register. Max pushed harder with his elbow. He felt the cartilage of Sokolov’s neck give … or maybe it was muscle. He didn’t care. Max twisted the gun violently and yanked it from Sokolov’s hand. He stood up, panting and pointing the weapon at the bastard on the ground.

“Kill me!” Sokolov baited Max. “Shoot me and be done with it.”

Max shook his head and walked over to the bench. He picked up a box cutter. “No. Shooting you would end your miserable life too early.”

Sokolov spat blood at him and tried to get up. “My men will kill you as soon as you leave. You’re a dead man.”

Max laughed. “Your men are already dead.” Or they would be shortly. Malice had been watching the office since he’d arrived the night before, and it was his job to eliminate anyone who might disturb Max’s … fun.

“You won’t get away with this.” Sokolov lunged to his feet and swayed.

Max pointed to the post in the middle of the receiving bay. “Does that remind you of a tree?”

Sokolov looked at the post and then back at him. “What?”

“There is this method of killing the Vikings used for those who had no honor. You know, like men who beat defenseless women. Men who traffic children, who protect the scum of the earth, and kill indiscriminately. Men like you.”

“Fuck you.” Sokolov spat at him again.

Max wiped the blood-tinged spit from his face and lunged forward so quickly that Sokolov didn’t realize what was happening. He made a deep cut in the man’s abdomen with the box cutter. “It’s time to take a walk.”

An hour later, Max walked out of the office to see Malice leaning against the white van. “Took you long enough.”

Max entered the van, and Malice slid into the driver’s seat. “He was stubborn in death.” Max cocked his head to the left. “And now I know why the Vikings used those methods.”

“Ah … dare I ask?” Malice said as he pulled away from the curb.

Max shrugged. “Probably not.”

“Copy. You sure there was no camera action last night?” Malice asked. “There are three very dead men scattered around this area, and I don’t like pictures.”

Max glanced over at him. “I disabled all cameras in the area before the party last night. The only one working was above the door to Elena’s office, and I will eliminate that footage.”

“Dude, just how good are you with those electronics?” Mal asked as they started their journey out of Sochi.

“I’m the best.” It was a simple statement that held the truth. No one had ever matched his ability with any system, and no one would. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing Archangel.

“Go.”

“It’s done.”

Archangel’s relieved sigh came over the line. “Status of operatives?”

“Malice and I are en route to our stand-down position. Once we’re under the cover of darkness, we’ll move to the safe house.”

“Affirmative. Check in when you make contact, and I’ll send the aircraft to retrieve you.”

“Elena will be with me. She accepts your offer of employment.”

“Good. Bring her home.”

“Affirmative.”

“Max?”

“Sir?”

“Did you send a message?” Archangel asked.

“A very ancient one. But one that is clearly visible.”

“And this is your last mission?”

“Affirmative, sir. My last mission.”

“Thank you for your service in this capacity, but thank God you’re done with that portion of your life experience.”

Max laughed. That was what he’d called going through the assassin’s training when he’d told his father and Archangel he wanted to do it. Strange the man would remember that over the years. “Maximus is clear.”

Malice looked over at him. “Your last mission?”

“As a Shadow, yes.”

“But you’re going to keep doing the computer shit?”

Max chuckled. “Yeah, I’m damn good at that shit.”

“Better than Con … hey, have you ever wanted to mess with someone?”

Max looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Did you know Con put a kid’s song on Fury’s phone? Made it play louder and louder. It didn’t start their feud, but, dude, it escalated it.”

“I was not aware, no.” Max chuckled. “Sounds like something Con would do.”

“Right? I was thinking maybe payback would be sweet. Could you do something like that to Con’s phone?”

Max snorted. “In a heartbeat.”

Malice hooted with laughter. “But you got to wait until he’s on a mission with us so we can witness it.”

“Does he still go out into the field?” Max hadn’t seen Con in the field lately.

“Don’t know. I can let you know if it happens.” Malice laughed. “Oh, man, that would be something to see.”

Malice chatted about this and that. Max tuned him out and walked through the issue of supercooling that needed to be solved for his latest system. Although he answered appropriately when Malice asked him a question, he wasn’t really present. That was until they hit the hill overlooking the field where Abrasha met his justice.

Malice slowed down and shook his head. “Fuck, man.”

Max looked at the field. With a chemical spray, he’d written the Russian words “He is a warning.” Each letter was at least ten feet tall, and at the top was Abrasha, sacrificed to the Viking gods for all to see. Vultures circled above the carcass. They could have him.

Malice kept the van going up the hill and looked over at Max. “What did you do to Sokolov?”

Max shrugged. “Took him for a walk.”

“A walk?” Malice said and glanced in the rearview mirror. “Remind me never to go on a walk with you, okay?”

“Will do,” Max said and closed his eyes. They’d ditch the van, move to a sheltered spot, and then get some sleep. That night, he’d be with Elena again. That physical and emotional connection welled inside him as if it were alive and needed her to continue to exist. He would feed and care for that connection until the day he died. He had no empathy for the men he’d killed. They were unimportant. Elena, however, was a critical piece of his world. Right then, she was the only thing that mattered. Well, Elena and solving the supercooling issue that he’d started working on when he tuned out Malice.