Assassin (Assassin Series Book 1) Read online

  “It’s a possibility, sir.”

  He was slowly getting the picture. “My God! So, you think this Jamal guy could actually be heading into town to go after whoever killed his father?”

  Sarah completed the thought. “Exactly, sir and if Harrigan was in fact the assassin, does he realize the grief that’s about to rain down on him?”

  Johnson was now on the same wavelength. “Right, right, well, Sarah, he’s a big boy, so you need to stay out of harm’s way and keep me posted.”

  “Yes, sir.” she replied and put the phone down. She couldn’t help but think of Jake and his struggle with the loss of his wife whom he dearly loved. She was also concerned that in all likelihood he was the target of Arab gunmen, out to kill him.

  She also wondered, if she was right and this was the case, why would Jennings have revealed Jake’s identity to the Arabs in the first place?

  On reflection, she had no doubt that Jake could take care of himself, given sufficient warning that someone was coming after him, but could he survive a surprise attack? As the senator had pointed out, however, he was a big boy and anyone who hadn’t done their homework regarding Jake Harrigan, was more to be pitied than Jake himself!

  CHAPTER 18

  In Jake’s ground floor apartment, the ball game was well under way on the TV and the local Redskins were losing decisively to the Dallas Cowboys. Jake sat staring at the screen, a Scotch in his hand with zero interest in the game or the score.

  He was mulling over and over in his mind the events of the last few days and he was making little progress in finding out exactly who killed Nancy and her friend Nicole. He was methodically recalling the events, trying to get a clearer picture of what was really going on.

  He was now convinced that both Nancy and Nicole were the targets of a professional hit. He was all too familiar with the MO of Nancy’s death and he was more than ever convinced that Nicole’s death wasn’t a suicide. She had been in an excellent frame of mind when she had stopped by to see him, an hour before her time of death and he was also convinced that Nicole died because of what she had told him. He could still see in his mind’s eye, the ominous tail lights of what he was now convinced was a CIA SUV, out on the snow-covered lane, as it followed the unsuspecting Nicole, maybe to her death.

  He also realized that through all the events of the past few days, the Ashram Energy role was very significant. He himself had terminated the head of the family and what he hadn’t known at the time, was that Nancy had also been working on the contract for Ashram Energy, equally unaware of Jake’s assignment!

  Jake also felt very strongly that the CIA were involved in both hits. He also knew that certain individuals within the ranks of the agency, were up to their necks in some kind of subterfuge with Midecon, who also had Ashram Energy as a client.

  Then there was poor Nancy and Nicole, whose apparent knowledge of the goings on, had both paid for it with their lives.

  Now, Davidson, Jennings and whoever else was involved, were desperately wanting him to find the FBI mole in Midecon, which meant that whatever the CIA were up to, they sure as hell didn’t want the bureau finding out what it was!

  The noise of another touchdown for the Cowboys roused him from his thoughts and he got up to freshen his drink. He poured two fingers of Scotch in the glass and went over to the fridge to get some ice. He glanced at the fridge door and the familiar piece of paper, still wedged under a fridge magnet caught his eye. Scribbled in Nancy’s handwriting, were the four words. ‘DON’T FORGET THE DOG’.

  He took the piece of paper from under the magnet and held it in his hand for a moment, memories flooding back. He picked up the key to Dave’s apartment from the work top, put his glass down and headed for the door of the apartment. He gave a wry smile and mumbled. “Okay, Bruno, old son, the cavalry’s on its way!”

  The first time he had gone into Dave’s apartment across the hallway to feed the dog, he had been expecting to find a cute little puppy. He had walked into the hallway, almost gagging at the smell and he wasn’t surprised when he saw the size of the dog’s feeding dish. The size of the dish and the automatic hopper, should have been a clue to the canine’s size. He hadn’t wanted to even think about where the smell might be coming from, wondering what kind of a dog could eat that much food and he was about to find out.

  After calling out the dog’s name, he heard the noise of toe nails scratching hardwood flooring, getting louder until Bruno finally appeared. He was a huge Great Dane, very friendly with a particularly unpleasant tendency to drool on expensive clothing, as Jake quickly found out. The actual feeding of the dog had been pretty straight forward, it was when he had picked up his collar to take him for a walk that Bruno really got excited. The panting, whining and bouncing as Jake tried to put on the collar indicated the pent-up energy of the animal. The walk turned out to be more of a brisk jog, testing Jake’s cardio and his core strength, but at the end of the exercise, he was relieved to see the excrement on the sidewalk instead of on the kitchen floor!

  Not expecting it to take long, he left his apartment, his drink untouched. He locked the door, leaving the TV on and walked across the inner hallway of the apartment complex and unlocked Dave’s door, going inside and closing the door behind him.

  * * *

  In the street outside Jake’s apartment, two black SUVs pulled up silently at the curb, a distance apart, due to other randomly-parked cars of the other tenants.

  Inside the first vehicle, Jamal gave his men their final briefing. They were all armed with automatic weapons. Jamal was demented with revenge.

  “Now remember, my brothers, I want this infidel alive so that I can make him feel such pain that death will be a welcome relief!” he wound the window down and motioned to his last two bodyguards, approaching from the second SUV. “You men cover the outside of the building and do not let this man get away,” they nodded that they understood and he then turned to Anwar and the others in his vehicle. “You all follow me and remember, this man is a trained assassin, do not take risks, I just want him alive, do you understand?”

  They all nodded and climbed out of the vehicle, closing the doors silently as they moved across the lawn, converging on the entrance to the apartment building. The other two bodyguards quickly returned to their vehicle.

  * * *

  In the darkened apartment across the hallway, Jake was feeling his way towards the light switch. He was whispering to the dog, hoping not to cause any loud, excited barking, following the kind of complaints that he and Nancy had previously endured from the other tenants, when they had owned a black Labrador named Cole. If a fly entered his space, poor old Cole would start barking. Unfortunately, like most Labrador Retrievers, his predisposition to hip dysplasia and other afflictions associated with an aging canine, were all too apparent, so he and Nancy did the humane thing.

  Jake walked towards the kitchen, bumping into a chair on the way, bracing himself for Bruno’s unbridled exuberance. “Where the hell’s the light switch. Hey, Bruno, where are you? Here boy?” he carried on stumbling in the dark, when suddenly, he heard the familiar clatter of the dog’s toenails on the floor getting louder and faster.

  Out of nowhere, the huge, affectionate Bruno pounced on him, flattening him to the floor, playfully licking his face. He was momentarily startled. “Holy shit! Down Boy! Damn!” he finally managed to get up from the salivating animal. He found the light switch and struggled to his feet. “Easy, boy!” he stroked the dog, calming him down. “Now, let’s top up the food hopper again,” he walked into the kitchen, with the dog nosing him along. He found the huge bag of dog food, filled the hopper and Bruno wasted no time in attacking the contents of the large bowl.

  Jake smiled as he watched the dog eating. “Let’s get you some more fresh water. I’ll be back later for your walk,” he smiled. “Or more like our run!”

  * * *

  The outside door opened at the end of the ground floor corridor in Jake’s building and Jamal entered with
his men. They were all heavily armed and moved along the corridor in the direction of Jake’s apartment. As they approached the door, Jamal signalled his men to line up on each side of the entrance to the apartment and motioned to Anwar to try the door. His younger brother did as he was told and found that it was locked. He shook his head negatively. Jamal then signalled to the bodyguards to open the door. They kicked the door in, knocking the lock off as it swung open with a loud bang, still just about hanging by its hinges. The bodyguards then rushed in, weapons drawn with Anwar and Jamal behind them. They proceeded to methodically search the apartment.

  They rushed into the living room, where the TV was still on, smashing things as they went, but there was no sign of Jake. Jamal followed them in, and saw that the apartment was empty. He looked around and motioned his men to leave, frustration and anger in his eyes.

  In Dave’s apartment, Jake was immediately alerted to the commotion going on across the corridor in the direction of his apartment and he checked through the spy hole in the door to see what was happening. There was anger in his eyes when he saw his door broken and the Arabs leaving his apartment. “You bastard, Davidson!” he growled, holding the dog, calming him, his eye glued to the spy hole.

  He was still incredulous that his own superiors would actually send armed, vengeful vigilantes to try and kill him, in revenge for a military hit that they themselves had ordered him to make. He owed the fact that he was still alive, to Bruno and to Nancy’s note, reminding him to take care of the dog, just seconds before he would have been a dead man. Maybe Nancy was still looking out for him.

  One thing that his superiors would no doubt eventually learn, was that you didn’t give a man like Jake a second chance to get even. He was already committing to memory the faces of the men who had invaded his privacy, ready to cause him harm. Unknown to them, they had awakened a sleeping tiger.

  He continued to watch through the spy hole and when Jamal and Anwar emerged, a vengeful look crossed his face. He whispered to himself. “The Ashram Boys, I knew it!” Jamal motioned his men to pull the door, still hanging off its hinges, partly closed. They then left as quickly as they arrived.

  In Dave’s apartment, Jake rubbed Bruno’s head affectionately. “Thanks, Buddy, you’re a goddamned life saver!” he moved stealthily out onto Dave’s ground floor balcony, closing the door behind him, vaulted over the rail onto the grass, and sprinted from tree to tree to get back to his car. He quickly opened the door and climbed inside, thankful his car keys had been in his pocket. He inserted the key in the ignition and waited.

  Seconds later, Jamal and his men appeared and while Jake watched closely, they all climbed into one SUV and promptly drove away from the apartment complex. Jake gunned the engine and set off in discreet pursuit, but he didn’t spot the additional two men in the other SUV, parked further down the street. They were still watching the front of the apartment and had failed to notice him drive away slowly from the rear area, in pursuit of Jamal.

  Jake followed the car in front at a safe distance as Jamal and his men drove into the suburbs, finally stopping outside a sleazy, neon-lit bar where they got out and went inside. Jake drove slowly past and parked, watching through his rear view mirror. He let out a sigh. “Hmm, five of the bastards, I thought there were more.”

  Jake got out of the car, putting on a baseball jacket and cap and he walked quickly back towards the bar. He was working on the premise that the last place Jamal would think of looking for him, was in that very bar.

  Inside the darkly-lit bar, Jake mingled with the customers, having already spotted Jamal and his men converging on a table in the corner. His expression changed when he saw Davidson, Jennings and Benny get up and shake hands with the Arabs. He realized that his suspicions were correct, that he had been set up by his very own colleagues and for the first time he realized that Benny Kovacs was involved in whatever was going on. Jake had trained with Benny and knew that he was a ruthless and cold-blooded assassin. It was now clear to Jake, who was giving the orders and who was carrying them out. If Kovacs was the assassin who killed Nancy and Nicole, then his days were seriously numbered.

  At the table, Davidson looked closely at Jamal. “What happened?”

  Jamal was livid. “He was not there!”

  Jennings was surprised. “You’re joking!”

  Jamal gave him a withering stare. “I never joke about these things!”

  At a row of tables alongside them, with a partition in between, Jake slid into the seat with his back to them. He inserted a small hearing device in his ear, so that he could hear their muted conversation. A waitress walked up and he quietly ordered a drink. “Scotch, straight up?”

  “You’ve got it.” she smiled and walked off to get his drink as Jake settled in to listen to the conversation. Back at the table, Jennings asked Jamal. “Did you go in?”

  Jamal raised his eyebrows a little. “You could say that. My men may have been a little over enthusiastic.”

  Davidson asked him to elaborate. “What d’you mean?”

  Jamal looked serious. “We had to break into the apartment. Are you sure this is where the man in the video lives?”

  Jennings was adamant. “Absolutely!” he then quickly added. “Did anyone see you?”

  Jamal thought for a moment. “I don’t think so.”

  In the next aisle, Jake shook his head in disgust as he finished his drink. He left five dollars on the table and exited the bar quietly and unnoticed. He walked back to his car, jumped in and drove away. One thing was now crystal clear in his mind and that was that his colleagues in the CIA had definitely thrown him to the Arab dogs!

  He now knew of Kovacs’s involvement and could understand how the whole thing had gone down. He knew for a fact that the albino was familiar with the lethal tire-blowing device and he would also have had no problem in pushing Nicole over a balcony to her death. Now, what he had to do, was plan his revenge, but first he needed some firepower that was stashed back at his apartment!

  CHAPTER 19

  Jake drove back to his apartment, pulled up and checked out the scene before exiting his vehicle. There were no police vehicles there and the neighbors hadn’t called 911 for something as trivial as a broken door.

  Having seen no signs of activity near his apartment, he quickly moved across to the ground floor entrance and entered the building, making his way down the corridor to his apartment, where the broken door was still slightly ajar. He entered cautiously and looked around with a disgusted look in his eyes. “Bastards!” he growled.

  He went into the bedroom, carefully removed a panel on the wall inside the closet and grabbed a tote bag. This was one hiding place that Nancy had definitely not known about. He checked the contents of the tote to ensure that it contained money, different passports and an assortment of automatic weapons and ammo. He also pulled out his unregistered Glock, checked that it was loaded, stuffed it in his waistband and put a spare clip of ammo in his pocket. He also stuffed some clothes into the bag and made his way back to his car, after wedging the broken door of his apartment shut.

  He checked out the parking lot and it looked deserted, so he moved hurriedly towards his car. Suddenly, gunfire started to chatter and bullets were spraying off the ground next to him. He looked over his shoulder, his gun now in his hand.

  “Shit!” he gasped as he realized that Jamal had left the place staked out in the event he returned. He sprinted towards his car, returning fire at the two guys who were following him, He clicked the door open before diving headlong into the vehicle and starting the engine.

  He roared out of the parking lot, gunfire shattering his side windows. He looked up to see an SUV now with the two men back inside, in full pursuit, with one hanging out of the window, firing at him.

  Jake’s mind was in turmoil. At least he didn’t have to deal with Jamal and his other thugs as well as his CIA buddies, although the two men in the SUV had his full attention and the fact that he was losing ground didn’t help matters.
Jake went careening down the road, narrowly missing a car coming in the opposite direction, bullets still bouncing off the side of his car. In the pursuing SUV, the driver was already on the phone to Jamal in the bar.

  Jamal answered. “Yes?” he then listened to the conversation for a few seconds before turning to Davidson. “They’ve found him!” he got back on the phone. “Stay on him. What is your location?” he listened a second and turned to Davidson. “Jefferson and Main,” he went back on the phone. “Don’t lose him!”

  Davidson was already on his phone to another number. “This is Davidson, special ops. I want a chopper in the air, now!” he covered the phone and looked at Jennings. “What’s he driving?”

  Jennings thought for a moment. “A red Volvo.”

  Davidson got back on the phone. “Red Volvo, Jefferson and Main. Don’t lose him, we’ll meet you there.” A voice answered. “Yes, sir.” Davidson put the phone down and looked at Jamal. “Okay, let’s move it, we’ll pinpoint him, it’s your kill!”

  Jamal checked his gun. “Thank you.” they all got up and Jamal left a huge tip on the table before they all rushed out to their separate vehicles.

  Jamal drove along, a sadistic look of revenge in his eyes as he watched the road ahead. He was already contemplating the pleasure of hurting this infidel who had the audacity to kill the patriarch of the Ashram dynasty. One thing was now gnawing away at him, however. Since the search of the apartment had failed, he also realized that the element of surprise was now lost. He pounded the driver on the shoulder. “Faster! Faster!”

  Jake’s car was now screaming through the suburbs, the Arabs still in pursuit. Another burst of gunfire from behind shattered the rear window and Jake struggled to keep going straight. These guys were deadly serious. He roared around another corner and swerved violently to avoid a bus that was stopped, discharging passengers. The latter started screaming and diving for cover as the two cars went careening past.