Hitman's Creed - 56

 

Glenn sprawled on the hotel bed, relieved that the job was finished. It had been three months since he'd become a legitimate freelance…liquidator he supposed was the best word for it. Hitman sounded so tacky now and he wasn't really an assassin.

The only problem with the whole thing, legit or not, was that he was back at square one. It had been a little over three years since he'd decided to get out of the business and here he was, still in it and no closer to having the sort of life he longed for than he had been back then. If anything he was even further away from it.

'Or am I?' he pondered. 'There's no reason why I can't have my own place now and still do what I do, as long as no one knows where it is. And that means no one. Not the boss-man or the people he works for. No one.'

That took his thoughts to the one place that he had, however briefly, called home. It was still his; he'd bought it outright and kept up on the taxes, all in some perverse hope that someday he'd return.

'So why shouldn't I? There's not a person in my world, past or present, that knows about the place. The only ones who do couldn't care less by now I'm sure.'

That thought hurt but he was certain it was the truth. Joey would have moved on by now. He was young and there had to be someone in his life now that meant more to him than Glenn ever had. 'It was a passing infatuation, nothing more. For him, for me, for both of us.'

He sighed. 'If that's the truth then why is he still on my mind? Why doesn't a day pass when I don't think about him? Damn, I'm like some love-struck teenager and it's been forever and a day since I was even close to that.'

God knew he'd done his best to put it behind him. He'd had more quick, down and dirty one night stands than should be allowed for a man of his age. And not one of them helped relieve the real ache, the one in his heart.

'It's insane! And the only way I'll get over it, over him, is to go back there and face my demons. When I see that he's happy with someone else I can move on, make a real life for myself. Hell, maybe find a man or woman of my own who'll care for me.'

He sat up and looked at his reflection in the mirror on the dresser across from the bed. 'I'm old. Well, older. It's time to put the past behind me.' He smiled wryly at his reflection. 'Look out world, the new me is about to make an appearance.'

Hitman's Creed - 55

 

Joey bent to touch his toes then straightened again to look at Nate with a grin. "Your turn."

"So you can watch my ass?" Nate replied.

"Well you just watched mine."

"Supposition."

"True enough. You ready?" Joey pointed to the trail ahead of them.

This was their first date for lack of a better description. Since neither of them was out except to their families, and in Nate's case a very few close friends, they’d come to the mutual decision that seeing each other should be done in such a way that no one would question it. Going running was a logical choice.

"Ready." Nate took off with Joey just behind him for a moment before he drew up beside him.

"Cheater," Joey grumbled.

"You're in good shape, I'm not so much. I need every advantage I can get."

"You're younger than me, that gives you an edge right there."

"Only a year younger and you're a cop, I'm a desk jockey," Nate protested with a laugh.

Joey picked up the pace a bit just to be ornery. They made it half a mile up the slope beside the riding trail before Nate stopped, bending over hands on his knees, panting.

"You okay," Joey asked, slightly worried.

Nate stood up again, grinned, and took off at a fast pace.

"You are so dead," Joey called after him.

"First you have to catch me," Nate shouted over his shoulder.

Joey didn't waste any breath on talking as he went after Nate. Seeing a soft patch of grass just ahead he sped up and tackled Nate just as he reached it. They landed in a tangle of arms and legs, their laughter echoing through the trees.

Joey recovered first. He looked down at Nate, who was half under him, with a smile. "I win."

"Like hell."

"No," Joey smiled. "I win because I captured you."

"So now I'm your prisoner."

"Uh huh."

"And your wish is my command." Nate looked up into Joey's startling blue eyes and said softly, "I can live with that."

"I can too," Joey whispered while he traced his finger over Nate's lips. Then he kissed him.

Hitman's Creed - 54

 

"Job well done."

Glenn refrained from snorting when the man across the desk said that.

"Better than well done actually because the lab's security guards took the responsibility for the kill." He studied Glenn thoughtfully. "You've done much better than I'd envisioned."

"No faith in my skills?" Glenn smiled slightly.

"Believe me Mr. Tanner, your skills were never in question, but your loyalty was."

With a shrug, Glenn replied, "I came to you, not vice versa."

"True. Several of my compatriots were, shall we say, less than enthusiastic about your request, as you know well. You're very lucky you're not sitting in a federal penitentiary right now."

"A trade off, my expertise for my freedom. It was worth it to me to take the chance."

The man nodded. "I understood that from the day you first contacted me. Now I have something I need to discuss with you. Before you say anything, hear me out. As of this last job, your contract with us is fulfilled. You're free to walk away knowing that you can never be arrested for your past crimes. I know," he held up a hand to stop Glenn from stating the obvious. "Tying you to what you used to do would be virtually impossible but as you pointed out when you asked for my help, there are people who could have turned on you and ratted you out as you put it. If they tried that now they'd be laughed at to put it mildly. And that said, I have a proposition for you, continue to work for us, freelance and on your own terms."

Glenn leaned back, tapping his fingers on his thighs. "An interesting offer," he finally said. "No strings?"

"No strings."

"I can turn down a job if I want to?"

"I said freelance. Off the books, no way to tie you to us, so of course you may."

"I don't work for peanuts."

"How 'bout cashews?" the man asked with a chuckle.

"Macadamias."

The man laughed. "Macadamias it is, figuratively speaking. Will you consider it?"

Glenn nodded. "I have, and I will, as long as there are no written, auditory or visual records of our agreement. This is between you and me, how you arrange payment is your problem."

"This room is secure."

With a tight smile Glenn said, "I know. I've checked it several times."

The man's eyebrows rose in amusement. "Why am I not surprised?" He held out his hand. "So we have a deal?"

Glenn shook it. "We do."

 

Hitman's Creed - 53

 

'Well, well,' Joey thought as the door to the coffeehouse opened and Nate came in. Joey was doing as he'd promised, covering Mary’s shift for the day in exchange for her having gone with him to the bowling alley. He smiled when Nate came up to the counter. "Coffee, tea…?"

"You?" Nate smiled shyly. "You didn't finish the statement."

"Well if I had it would have been me not you," Joey pointed out.

"True. And I'll take coffee, just plain, no fancy stuff."

Joey nodded. "I think I'd have figured that. Something to eat?"

Nate looked at the pastries in the case. "A bear claw, please."

"You got it." Joey filled his order before saying, almost as an afterthought, "I've never seen you in here before, not that I'm usually am here these days, of course."

There was another shy smile from Nate. "This is my first time believe it or not."

"Be still my heart, you came because you knew I was here," Joey said, laughing so Nate would know he was teasing, straight guy to straight guy style.

Nate looked around then said softly, "I did."

One eyebrow shot up in surprise as Joey replied, "For real?"

"Look, I may be way off base here but I honestly hope not. Yes, I did because… well…" Nate chewed his lip.

Joey hesitated for a long moment. "You're not off base," he finally admitted so quietly he wondered if Nate would even hear him.

"Thank God." Nate smiled yet again, this time not as shyly as before. "Of course, just because… I'd better go." He picked up his order.

"Phone number?" Joey blurted out.

"Oh, I have one." He tore a strip off the top of the bag holding the pastry and wrote it down.

"I'll call and maybe…?" Joey slipped the number into his shirt pocket.

"I think so, yes." Nate smiled broadly before he headed out of the coffeehouse.

'Well… damn.'

Joey's mother watched Nate leave then she looked at Joey and gave him a thumbs-up. He nodded, chuckled, and got back to work.

Hitman's Creed - 52

 

The drive to the lab was uneventful. When they arrived Glenn handed the professor over to the real security people who stood at the front entrance. Then he drove the car to the side of the building, parked and got out. Two minutes later he was back inside the building although no one was aware of it thanks to the back door access card that had been sent to him along with the ID.

He paused just long enough to secure the door so that no one else could use it and to orient himself. Then he moved stealthily down the hallway. When he passed a door marked 'Janitor' he took off his jacket and left it inside the closet.

Now all that was left to do was find his target. He was more than certain that the man was somewhere in the building.

The professor, one of the foremost experts in his field Glenn had found out from his hacker, was at the lab to meet with the director and his people. That meant they were probably in a conference room. To take the professor out in a public venue in front of his colleagues would tickle the fancy of Glenn's target.

Glenn knew there were three conference rooms on the second floor of the lab so he made his way up there using the fire stairwell. A long hallway greeted him, several doors flanking it on either side. He was about to check out the room behind the first door when he saw another at the far end of the hall open. Quickly he moved back to the stairwell, leaving the door open just enough to watch. His target stepped out of the room, all of his concentration on the elevator doors at the moment.

'You're slipping, you didn't make certain there wasn't anyone else here,' Glenn thought as he freed his gun from its holster. He could see, as his target finally turned slightly then to check the hall, that the man held a pistol by his side.

The ding of the elevator announced its arrival. The man raised his pistol. The elevator doors began to slide open. Glenn stepped silently into the hall and fired. His target swung around from the impact of the bullet, saw Glenn, and shot at him. Glenn flinched as the bullet dug into his side and fired again. The target fell forward onto his knees just as two security guards stepped off the elevator, their guns drawn. They were beside the man seconds later, one of them kicking his gun away while the other ordered him not to move.

Glenn snorted softly, closing the stairwell door on the scene. The only moving the target would be doing was to collapse the rest of the way onto the carpeted floor. A bullet to the heart did that to people. Glenn pressed his hand to his side as he ran down the stairs, feeling dampness where the bullet had grazed him. By the time he reached the basement of the lab, alarms were sounding. He raced to the exit, hit the panic bar to open the door, and sped up the short flight of stairs that led to the side of the building where he'd left the car.

Twenty minutes later he stood in the bathroom of his hotel room while he assessed the damage to his side then bandaged it. "Twenty to one," he grumbled as he put on a clean shirt, "I'll get a 'Job well done' and a new assignment as soon as I get back." Now he had only one decision to make, was he going directly back or would he make a brief side trip first. Taking a coin from his pocket, he flipped it, caught it, and nodded.