Page 9 of The Echelon (Spy Girl 7)
I could go in there, but then it would be two against one in very tight quarters.
It might be better to play this another way.
I yell out, “Madelyn! Are you okay? I thought I heard you scream, and your front door is wide open!”
I hear a muffled scream and a deep voice whisper, “Go take care of that.”
The next thing I see is a gun, held out in front of a man coming out of the hallway opening. I’m standing flat against the wall separating the living room from the bedroom. The second I see the gun, I knock it from the man’s hand, so I don’t end up like the concierge.
The man is surprised but recovers quickly, barreling toward me, assuming that his strength is his greatest asset. I simply move my hand upward in a way that looks like I’m trying to protect myself from a blow to the head but instead causes the poisoned spike to connect with his chin—the spike that causes paralysis and then death.
It works quickly, the man toppling to the ground. I leap over his body and rush into the bedroom. Madelyn is duct-taped to a wooden desk chair, and the second mercenary is moving away from her, toward the door, wondering why his partner hasn’t returned.
He sees me and reaches for the pistol holstered at his hip. I throw my arm out, my knuckles connecting with his face, tearing a gash above the bone over his right eye. I follow it up with quick blows to his kidneys.
But the man isn’t fazed.
He comes at me with a barrage of punches. One connects, hitting my cheekbone and making him feel as if he has the upper hand. He grins and then pushes me hard, causing me to fall, but just before I hit the ground, I swing my foot in a circular motion, the blade on my shoe slicing both his trousers and the skin on his upper thigh.
I don’t manage to hit an artery though, and all it seems to do is piss him off more. He lets out a guttural growl and moves closer to me. I know what’s coming next—debilitating kicks to the head, meaning I must move fast.
I tuck and roll in a neat somersault, his leg slashing through the air and causing him to lose his balance and slam into the wall behind him. It’s at that moment I leap for the pistol on the floor.
Afraid of me getting the gun, he jumps toward it, but he’s too late. I roll away from him with the gun in my hand.
He lunges at me just as I fire three successive shots to his chest, stopping him in his tracks and killing him dead.
Madelyn screams.
I tuck the gun in the back of my pants, run to the kitchen, grab a pair of scissors, and then go into the bedroom.
“It’s you!” Madelyn says, mixed emotions crossing her face. I can tell she’s both happy I’m here and worried that I am. “Cut this tape off of me. We need to get out of here in case more men are coming.”
But I don’t.
Instead, I pace in a circle around the chair.
“I’m not doing anything until you tell me where Sophie is.”
“How did you know how to kill them?” she asks.
“I went to a special school, and I know why those men showed up. As soon as you got home, you called her, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” she says. “I’m only supposed to call her with a burner phone, but I was flustered and used the phone in my flat.”
“That means, they had tapped your phone and heard everything you said to her.”
“She didn’t answer. I had to leave a message.”
“What did you say?”
“That someone was asking about her tonight. That I was scared.”
“Did you mention my name? Any other details?”
“No, I was very vague,” she replies as I notice an overnight bag lying open on the closet floor.
“You packed a bag. Where were you going?”
“To see her. We have a code thing set up—a place I can go, so she will know if it’s safe.”
“Do you understand now that you are in danger?” I ask her, pointing at the dead man. “Do you believe me?”
“Yes,” she says, tears filling her eyes.
“That’s why you must tell me everything. It’s the only way I can help protect you both.”
And, thankfully, she does.
Once she’s spilled out the truth, I cut her loose and say, “Since the message you left Sophie was short, they wouldn’t have been able to pinpoint her exact location, but they will get close enough. I need to go help her.”
“I’m coming with you,” Madelyn says. Her eyes are full of tears. She’s scared. But she’s willing to risk her life for her friend.
And, for that, I admire her.
“No, it’s much too dangerous. Do you have somewhere you could go hide out for a few days? Somewhere not in London?”
“My grandmother has a cottage up in the Lake District. I could drive there.”
“They might have tagged your car with a tracking device. Actually, come downstairs with me. I have an idea.”
She grabs her bag, and we take the stairs down to the lobby.
“You wait here,” I tell her as I run out the front door, finding the woman with my phone.
“Help is on the way,” she says.
“It’s okay. The men are dead. And Madelyn is safe.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” she says, handing me my phone. “He has a very sexy voice.”
“Yes, he does. I have to go, but would you wait inside with Madelyn until help arrives?”
“Of course I will.”
“Oh, and tell her the men will take her somewhere very safe.”
“If that man on the phone is going to be there, I might have to escort her.”
“You should do that,” I say before taking off in a sprint toward the nearest train station.
T-MINUS:09:36:41
Once I’m on the train, I call the villa.
Intrepid answers.
“I need a cleanup in aisle four,” I say, trying to make light of the situation even though my cheek is sore and my throat is killing me—probably literally.
“That woman you told to call me was a hoot. I’ve got two agents currently on
the scene. They’ll be taking her and Madelyn to a safe house to ride this out. The mercenaries’ bodies are being discreetly removed from the premises and will be identified ASAP.”
“Thank you. Can you tell Ares that I’m on a train, headed to the heliport, and I’ll need a ride back to the airport?”
“Does that mean you found Sophie?”
“I found out where she is, yes. But those two men showed up after Madelyn panicked and called Sophie from her house phone. Sophie didn’t answer, fortunately, and the message was very short, so I’m thinking they shouldn’t be able to pinpoint her exact location.”
“That’s correct,” Ares says, coming onto the line. “If we’re lucky, they would have traced only the general region, not a specific cell tower. The chopper and the plane are on standby. Where are you going?”
“Ronda, Spain.”
“Before you go, Huntley, you should know, this might be the last time we are able to communicate with you,” Ares says. “A cyberattack on Montrovia has started. I’m not sure if it’s from a rogue nation wanting to take advantage of the situation here—”
“Or if that’s the reason Sergey Olander was invited to join The Echelon,” I finish.
“That was my thought as well. The internet has been down for a couple of hours, cell service is intermittent, and even the satellites seem to have been affected. I believe they want Montrovia cut off from the rest of the world.”
T-MINUS:08:52:22
I’ve just taken my seat on the jet, and I am buckled in, ready for takeoff, when my phone rings with a call from Daniel.
“I’ve got the rash,” is the first thing out of his mouth when I answer.
I let out a rush of air like I just got punched in the gut.
“I watched my mother die,” he says. “I’m going to watch my father die, my friends die, and then I’m going to die. Are you not sick yet?”
“I was sitting next to your parents at the opening ceremonies, Daniel. I’m going to die, too.”
“Do you have any symptoms?” he asks, sounding worried about me.
