The guard returned with a plastic tray full of horrid looking noodles and mush for Aaron’s cell mate, and another tray of fresh salad, baked potato and pork steak for Aaron. Though he appreciated the gesture, the food was wasted on him. The only thing he needed was what flowed through the guard’s veins.
After the guard walked away Aaron offered his tray to his silent cell mate.
The man grinned and accepted it. He set aside the garbage slop and immediately dug into the salad from Aaron’s tray. “You must have very good friends.”
His voice didn’t have a hint of Slavic accent, and his English was impeccable Southern-fried American.
“Who the fuck are you and what do you want?” Aaron stood up, claws out, ready to cut the lying bastard to pieces.
The man held up his hands in surrender. “Whoa there! I don’t mean no harm. I just wanted to meet. Urvashi told you she’d set up a meeting, right?”
Son of a bitch.
The man held his hands up in the air until Aaron gradually sat back down and nodded. “Yeah. But this isn’t what I expected. To be honest, you’re making me nervous right now.” He flexed his claws and tried to relax while the adrenaline was still spiking hard and every instinct in his body told him this man was a slippery, dangerous motherfucker.
Aaron speared his mind and hit another one of those firewalls, a blockade keeping him out.
The guy tapped his head. “You’re not getting in here that easily. Besides, I doubt you want to see all what’s in my head. It’s not a very pretty place, Aaron.”
The fact that the man knew his name was not helping the situation at all.
He reached out for Urvashi. {{Why didn’t you tell me he was coming to see me in jail? Why did you let him sneak up on me like this?}}
{{He? Oh Gavin. I didn’t know. Gavin only said that he wanted to meet you. He never told me precisely when or where.}}
{{He’s right here next to me, in a Moscow jail, pretending to be a drunken Russian. He’s American. Why didn’t you tell me I was meeting with an American?}}
{{Do not make any commitments without consulting me first, and watch your unruly tongue. Please listen to what he has to say before you speak.}}
{{Thank you, oh wise and venerable Urvashi. Your counsel is so enlightening.}}
{{This is serious, Aaron. Keep me advised. Do not agree to anything without my approval.}}
“Well, Gavin, you have me a little uncomfortable here. I don’t really know who you are or what you represent, but you seem to know things about me.”
The man smirked. “You really do have a direct line to her, don’t you? The boys over at R & D would love to get their hands on you two and see what makes you tick. But that’s not why I’m here, and you don’t have to say it, I already know. Urvashi would never consent to become a lab rat.”
Aaron nodded. He doubted these people had a clue how inhuman she really was. All this talk about R & D had Aaron more intrigued and intimidated by the minute.
“I’m here on a recruitment drive, Aaron. Be all that you can be and all that patriotic … stuff.”
Aaron could hardly wrap his head around the implications of the man’s words. “Recruitment? Are you talking military?”
Gavin chuckled and shook his head. “No. Nothing official. This is what we call contract work. The private side of the U.S. government. Strictly off the books.”
“What makes you think I would want to work for you? I don’t need a job. I don’t need your money, and I don’t believe in any of your ideals or causes. I’m not really the kinda guy you’re looking for.”
Gavin grinned wide and chomped down raw celery. “Actually, that’s precisely the kinda guy we’re looking for. Plus, you have a few …rare talents. I’ll spare you the propaganda speech and get right down to it. There’s a lot of shit about to hit the fan internationally, and we need versatile, lethal players who can get inside someone’s head, dig out the info we need, and then finish the job and cover their tracks. Now, you got the first two parts of that nailed, getting in someone’s head, or simply taking it off.”
He chuckled at his own joke. “But you have a lot to learn about covering your tracks. That’s a real big problem for you, right about now.”
“Yeah. I got problems. Like you said, I also have some very good friends. My problems are being solved as we speak. I won’t be here much longer.”
Gavin tore off a chunk of pork steak and chewed on it for a moment. “You see, the problem with these Eastern bloc-heads is they don’t play well with others. They don’t cooperate with the European Union. So, the Union doesn’t really cooperate with them. Money and connections can buy you anything on this side of Europe, even buy you out of a murder case that’s been photographed and videotaped by half a dozen witnesses. But that dirty shit doesn’t fly in Britain. Your power, influence and money here in Moscow means nothing over there. The British take their murder cases very seriously. You won’t be bribing your way out of that … ever.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Interpol, Aaron. They gotcha. Your case in Moscow might be swept under the carpet by this diseased, corrupt thing they call justice, but that case you left behind in London has been looking for DNA and fingerprint matches, and Moscow’s booking system just made that connection via Interpol. You are on the radar buddy. They’re coming for you with an extradition order.”
“You’re full of shit.”
“Ask your attorney. Ask Urvashi. They’re probably hearing the news by now.” Aaron’s phone buzzed in his pants pocket. Gavin nodded. “You’re gonna want to answer that call.”
As he brought the phone to his ear, the euphoria of his pending release was replaced by the heart-squeezing breath-taking panic of Svetlana’s anguished admission that she’d just received a call from the prosecutor. Interpol had filed an order for extradition to London on a separate, unrelated multiple homicide case, and there would be a hearing for his extradition in two days.
Aaron wasn’t going anywhere – not as a free man.
“Let me call you back. There’s someone here I need to talk to.” He ended the call and slipped the cell phone back in his pants pocket. Anger and frustration warred with a powerful urge to kill everything in reach. If that stupid guard showed up and opened the door again, he’d surely gut the man and use his keys to walk right out the front door of this moldy piss-stained shithole.
“Aaron, calm down.” Gavin had an air of authority that held Aaron’s attention. He had something to say and Aaron needed to hear it.
“Under the circumstances, I don’t think I can calm down. But I definitely want to hear what you got to say.”
Gavin slipped his hands through his shaggy grey-streaked dark hair and stared Aaron right in the eyes. “You can’t fight extradition. You’re not Russian. These people don’t give a shit about you at all. You’ll never beat extradition as a foreigner. I don’t care what any attorney tells you, it won’t work. You will be extradited to London. You will be prosecuted for that massacre in Soho, where you left all your fucking DNA all over the goddamn floors and walls. Then, if you can find your way out of a British prison in the next forty or fifty years, you’ll face extradition to the US, for the mess of bodies you left in Vegas, and the dirtbag cops you killed in New York.”
Breathing hard and heavy, trying not to hyperventilate, Aaron swallowed it down and looked for a way to gather a semblance of calm, a way to get a grip on the panic. “You’re not helping me, Gavin. I thought you had a way to help me.”
“You’ve been running from city to city, leaving blood, hair, dental impressions, fingerprints, and even security video footage. I’ve seen the files on each case in each jurisdiction. They haven’t connected all the dots yet, they don’t know who you are yet, but once you get caught in the British meat grinder and your DNA and fingerprints hit the wire, you’re fucked.”
Aaron tried his best not to take the man’s head off, but the rage, fear, and frustration had his claws out an
d his fangs fully elongated, ready to rip, shred and tear something, anything. Some kind of outlet for the panic that he couldn’t hold in any longer.
“Which brings us to the point.” Gavin rubbed his hands together. “If we can find a way to get you out of this gargantuan shit pile you created, you have got to learn how to be more discreet, cover your tracks. If not, you’ll end up right back in jail facing life sentences. Or catch a lethal injection in some country with the death penalty.”
A spark of hope glimmered on the horizon. Gavin had something in mind, a way out. “So this is what you’re offering? You get me out of this mess, do your government magic and make all this shit go away, and I have to agree to become one of your contractors?”
“If I had that kinda magic, I wouldn’t need you.” Gavin chuckled and shook his head. “Your name is mud. Aaron Pilan is scorched earth, a burnt bridge. The only way out of this deep mountain of shit is with a whole new name and a whole new game. That’s my magic, the only magic I got. Well, we do have some pretty cool toys, and we’ve got the support network that’s there when you need ‘em – like the cleanup crew that removed thirty something dead bodies from Dmitri’s little casa. Say, what’d you think of how we shut down Dmitri’s security system the night you guys took him out? You gotta admit that was smooth.”
Aaron did a double-take. “Okay, you’re telling me I can’t be Aaron anymore. You just give me a whole new identity? And how did you get involved with us and Dmitri? I didn’t see you there…”
Gavin grinned. “That’s the trick ain’t it? To not be seen. How’d you think Urvashi set up that sweet little helicopter ride and the high tech body armor? How’d you guys drop in on a multibillionaire without getting your asses blown out of the sky? The Farm has all the badass toys. That’s what you get to play with when you join my world. And yes, I can get you a whole new identity – social security number, passport, the works. I think you will need several identities by the time we’re finished training you. You’re bound to burn at least one more name. Shit happens.”
“Give me a minute to process. It’s a lot to take in all at once.”
Gavin nodded and finished chewing on his rabbit food and pork steak.
All this time Urvashi had been dangling Aaron in front of the CIA, using their tricks and toys, bartering his life to get what she wanted out of the deal. Fucking bitch. That’s why she was training him with swords, to become one of their assassins. She’d been working towards this from day one. But why? Just to trade favors?
This was moving way too fast. He felt like he was missing something vital. {{Why didn’t you tell me you’ve been in bed with the CIA all this time?}}
{{There are many levels of truth to be discovered through life and experience. You’re not ready for all of it. These things come in time. If you will trust me, trust my intentions for you, we will have all the time in the world to discover the wonders of life. Do not let Gavin create undue suspicion between us. I am on your side, Aaron, always.}}
{{You know I have no choice but to take his offer. He wants me to become his black op killer. I just want to enjoy my life, Urvashi. I don’t want to hunt people and play in these nasty games of intrigue and murder. I have Lana and the girls and Michelle to think of. Why are you leading me down this path? It’s not what I want in life.}}
{{Aaron, I have told you before, and I will tell you again. We must all accept who we are. You’re a killer, Aaron. Your body is a weapon. Own it. The sooner you embrace who and what you are, the sooner you will begin the path to true enlightenment. Gavin wants something from you. It’s in your power to give him what he wants. What he gives in return is license, resources, influence, and the training that you have been lacking, which I haven’t had time to provide. You’re a diamond in the rough, Aaron. There is no limit to what you could achieve with a little polishing and life experience.}}
{{Isn’t this one of those jobs you never get to quit? I’ve seen the Jason Bourne films and the Bond films. You don’t just walk away from this kind of deal. They are going to expect me to travel all over hell and back, killing people whenever they want, whoever they want. How do I escape that life once I start?}}
{{Their world is measured in decades, Aaron. Our world is measured in centuries. Time and circumstance changes everything. In time, you will learn everything they have to teach, and the student will become the master. When you have reached that level, there will be little they can do to stop you from walking away, or disappearing completely. Their limited minds only grasp a sliver of your potential. They cannot see how easily you will surpass them and their ability to control you.}}
She always did this to him, convinced him of a bright-shining future waiting just around the corner. But he kept stepping in the shit every time he turned that corner. Maybe he did need to learn a few things about covering his tracks. Maybe he could use a new identity, or two or three.
Fuckin’ A right. Bye bye Aaron Pilan.
Aaron focused on the salt and pepper haired man who artfully looked and smelled like a drunk bathed in vodka. “You got Urvashi drinking the cool aid. She’s convinced working with the CIA is a path to enlightenment.”
He started chuckling again. “Don’t know if I’d use those words, but it will certainly be a learning experience.” He grinned, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes all the way. Though he did a good job of hiding it, there was a heart of darkness deep inside Gavin.
Aaron wasn’t too worried. His own heart had gotten pretty black as of late. He reached out to offer Gavin a handshake. “I’ll do it.”
* * * *
Chapter 26
A day later, and one hundred million rubles shorter, Aaron Pilan walked to the front entrance of the Petrovka 38 jail, escorted by two very nervous guards who had earned ten times their annual salaries in this one act of corruption. The guards retreated into the building as he stepped out the door.
Gotta love Moscow police.
Aaron slipped past the iron gates surrounding the square of the Moscow police headquarters, and kept on walking. Gavin sat across the street in a gleaming black Mercedes with pitch black window tint awaiting Aaron’s arrival. He sipped from a steaming mug of Starbucks coffee. When Aaron sat down in the passenger seat, Gavin reached out with his coffee. “Want some? Starbucks marks the glorious spread of western capitalism across the globe. Drinking this coffee is like waving an American flag. Besides, you look thirsty.”
Aaron couldn’t help but grin at the cheesy line. He hadn’t tasted blood since Svetlana’s visit yesterday, and he was thirsty enough to drain an entire family of obese Texans cruising through Walmart on a train of electric scooters. Aaron shook his head and sighed. “Shouldn’t we be getting out of range of those cameras on the front of the building?”
Gavin started up the Mercedes and cruised off into the flow of traffic. “I like the way you’re thinking, kid, but you’re about five steps behind the curve. Those cameras are seeing nothing but snow right now. Every camera in that building is on the fritz for the next thirty nine seconds, including the three cameras coming from the retail businesses that have a view of this part of the street.”
Aaron ate his chagrin and nodded.
Gavin winked at him. “These things are planned out with methodical attention to detail. The devil is in the details.” He sounded as though reciting a mantra. Probably Aaron’s first lesson – one of many to come.
“Did I miss anything important while I was gone?”
Gavin shook his head. “Nothing a lot of money and leverage couldn’t smooth over.”
One part of Gavin’s master plan had Aaron nervous and seemed like a major loose end. “I can’t really change my DNA, Gavin. Even if I can mask or hide or burn the skin off my fingertips, the DNA will always be a match. How do we deal with that?”
“We don’t. You deal with it. You make damn fucking sure that you never leave your DNA anywhere near a potential crime scene ever again. No blood. No bodily fluids. No hair. Nothing. We’ll teach you hab
its of cleanliness, how to go in clean, how to sweep clean when the job is done, but it’s up to you to make sure it happens. You’ve used up a lot of grace in a very short time, Aaron. You need to start earning some more grace.”
Earning grace by killing people.
Winding through the streets of Moscow, Gavin lit up a cigarette and huffed away. The smell of it made Aaron want to gag. Gavin watched him out the corner of his eye and snickered. “I don’t like ‘em either, but have you ever noticed how many Russians smoke? Russians smoke like dragons. Especially in Moscow. If you want to blend, to be unnoticeable, you need to be doing the same thing as everyone else.”
Aaron doubted he’d ever be willing to light up a cigarette to blend. He shrugged. “So, do I get some kind of salary or contract fee in this deal?”
Gavin sucked on his disgusting cigarette and nodded. “That should have been one of the first questions you asked me back in Petrovka. Not now, after the deal’s already been made.”
Aaron tried not to growl in his face. Instead he looked out the window at the passing buildings as the twilight of sunset approached.
“To answer your question, yes. There will be a fund setup for our projects. You’re gonna love it. Urvashi has all the details, she’ll fill you in. She also has your new identity paperwork and background bio, Mr. Richard Sanguine. Get used to the sound of it. Aaron Pilan is no more.”
“Sanguine? Seriously?”
Gavin laughed again. The guy smiled way too much for a black ops CIA man. He slapped Aaron on the arm. “Never let it be said the guys on The Farm lack a sense of humor.”
* * * *
Gavin dropped him on the street in front of Dmitri’s sprawling estate and zipped away in his black Mercedes with plans to contact him later. Aaron marched through the iron-gated entryway, which oddly enough, felt like a gloriously strange homecoming. The security guard drove him through the private streets and around the massive fountain to the front steps of Dmitri’s mansion. As soon as he opened the door of the security truck Svetlana, Oksana and Michelle poured out the double doors to smother him with teary eyed kisses and a massive group hug. He’d begun to really appreciate the unabashed emotional reactions of Russian women.