Page 42 of Red Zone Awakened

CHAPTER17

Private Jet

Somewhere between New York City and Houston

Northern Territory

Daniel Mercer glancedup from his handheld datapad, where he was going over the report on the Freedom cell that’d taken over CommTECH’s research facility, to find his brother staring at the flight attendant.

“Quit staring at the man.”Daniel kept his voice low.This was a conversation just between brothers.“You’re making him nervous.”

The emotionless mask that turned toward him didn’t intimidate Daniel.He’d been looking at it since the day they were born.“We need to discuss payment for this job.”

And so it began—the game between twins.The one where Daniel played his part by keeping a monster leashed as best he could.

“There will be plenty of people in Houston for you to play with,” Daniel said.“You can have free rein in the building.”The terrorists were going to die anyway.Whether from a bullet or at the end of Charles’s knife made little difference.

A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he was lying to himself.It was a voice he’d heard more often in recent years, and he suspected it might be his long-dead conscience coming back to life.He ignored it and refocused on his datapad, telling himself that the agony his brother’s victims would experience was nothing more than they deserved.They were criminals.They caused the death of others.

Usually.

That was ifDaniel managed to contain Charles’s deadly hobby by aiming him at the people who needed killing.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t always successful.

“I’ll have the people in the building anyway,” Charles said in that flat, emotionless tone of his.“I choose someone else for my payment.”

“No.The Freedom terrorists are enough.”

It was the same argument they had before every job.Charles found it amusing to make Daniel feel responsible for every kill he made—by making him approve his choice of victim.It was his payment for allowing Daniel to lead a normal life.Well, as normal as it got, being one half of the Mercer twins.

“I want something more exotic for my knife this time,” Charles said, as though they were discussing the weather rather than his need to kill.

A chill passed through Daniel.By exotic, Charles meant innocent.“We’ll discuss it on the ground.”

“I’ll hold you to that, brother.”And then he returned to staring at the flight attendant with a look that would have caused trained combat professionals to wet themselves and cower.

This time, Daniel let him be.It was his brother’s idea of fun—terrorizing the help.Charles had no intention of killing the man; he’d already set his sights on someone else.And, yet again, Daniel had to come up with a way to redirect him.

It was how their game was played.