Hitman's Creed - 32

 

"She's asleep," Joey's mother said softly. Then she eased Mary's feet off her lap and stood up, pointing to the kitchen. Joey nodded and followed her. Once the door to the living room was closed she went to the refrigerator to see what she could use to make them something to eat. When Joey frowned she said, "We're stuck here so I doubt Glenn will mind."

She found the makings for sandwiches and put together three, one for herself, two for Joey, then sat down at the table. Joey took one of the sandwiches and after the first bite he realized he was definitely hungry. He finished it and was halfway through the second when his mother said, "So?"

"Umm, what?"

"What were you and Glenn doing when you went upstairs?"

Joey smiled ruefully. "Not what you might be thinking. He was showing me the, umm… well…" He blew out a breath and took another bite of his sandwich.

"Yes?" she said, not willing to let it drop.

"He's got a whole damned arsenal up there."

"For hunting? He doesn't seem the type, or at least not the way we think of hunting, although maybe he does in his own way. He is going to try and capture your father."

"Mom, I think… Damn it, I don't think he's planning on capturing him." Joey told her how Glenn had armed himself.

"Really?" she replied with apparent unconcern

"Mom, he's going off to kill him!"

"In case it escaped your notice the bastard has murdered at least one person, held his own daughter captive and repeatedly molested her, and he abused me before he decided to move on to someone else. Whatever happens to him he's earned fair and square."

"But what Glenn plans to do is against the law. If he gets caught…" Joey scrubbed a hand over his forehead.

"I doubt that will happen. Glenn seems to know what he's doing."

"But why? I mean why does he know and why does he have enough firepower to take out a small army?"

"He says he used to work security," Joey's mother pointed out. "Perhaps it was more than just being a door shaker."

Joey smiled slightly. "That's what he said; only he called it rattling door handles. I suppose he could have been something Federal, or military."

"That would be my guess. So when it comes down to it, he's not much different than what you're planning on being, only maybe, probably, much deadlier."

"It will still be considered murder if he kills him. He doesn't have any legal authority to do that." He pounded a fist down on the tabletop angrily. "I should have, he should have let me go with him. I'm not completely helpless no matter what he thinks."

She took his hand with a shake of her head. "I doubt he really thinks you're helpless. My guess would be he feels very protective of you, well of all of us from what he's doing, but especially of you."

"Yeah right. He thinks I'm a kid who needs looking after. I'm not, damn it! I'm an adult. Why doesn't he see that?"

"Give him time. If he's at all interested in you then eventually he will. You have to realize that he really is a good deal older than you. And, if we're right, he's spent his life doing things most people can't even imagine outside of whatever thrillers they happen to read."

"Yeah, I suppose," he replied with a sigh. "I don't …" he sighed again.

"You don't what?"

"I don't get why I care about him, but I do."

She patted his hand. "If anyone could really explain why one person falls for another they could make a small fortune. Just don't let your heart get broken if he doesn't reciprocate your feelings."

"Bit late for that but…" He stared off into space for a long moment before he said, "If he doesn't, I'll survive."

"You will. We all do in the end. Now finish your sandwich while I go check on Mary."

When she left the kitchen, Joey did as she'd asked even though he didn't really feel like eating the rest of it. "Caring for someone sucks," he muttered dispiritedly. "At least, damn it; come back here in one piece, Glenn. Please."

 

Hitman's Creed - 31

 

As soon as Joey left the room Glenn went back to the computer. He put what he was carrying down on the edge of the desk then logged into a website. While he waited for Mary to make the call he stripped and redressed in his working clothes. One of the knives he strapped to his calf, the other to his forearm. The holstered gun went onto the waistband of his sweatpants. He finished just as the site let him know that it had located Fairburn.

"Now if you just stay there," Glenn muttered. He shut down the computer, put on his jacket, grabbed the bag and headed back to the living room. When he got there he was faced with three sets of eyes that looked at him with varying degrees of concern.

"Will you… can you find him?" Mary asked.

"Should be able to now. You stay here with them. I'll let you know how things pan out," he replied tersely as he walked toward the kitchen. Before he got through it to the back door, Joey came up beside him.

"Be careful," he said quietly.

"Plan on it. You make sure Mary doesn't get her hands on a phone, just in case. Okay?"

Joey nodded. He looked as if he wanted to say or do something more. Then with a swift shake of his head he turned away. Glenn put a hand on his arm to stop him.

"I'll be back, I promise."

"I… yeah." Joey stared at him for a long moment then turned on his heel and left the room.

"I will," Glenn said softly.

Once he was at the car Glenn became the man he had been, not the one he was now, cold killer instincts overriding everything else. He had no intention of trying to negotiate with Fairburn.

The man had chosen to hide a few miles outside of town. The location, according to the tracking system, turned out to be farm property. Glenn checked a satellite map via his phone and found that there was a house, a barn and some outbuildings. He presumed they were abandoned. He hoped they were and that Fairburn hadn't holed up in a barn or shed somewhere on the property without the owner's knowledge.

By the time he got onto the road that would bring him close to the farm it was dusk and a three-quarter moon hung low in the sky ahead of him. There was still enough snow on the ground to work to Glenn's advantage. Twenty minutes had passed since Mary had called Fairburn.

Four minutes later he was at the access road that led to the farm. He turned and pulled off beside a small tract of trees that would keep the car from being noticed by anyone coming down the main road.

Before getting out of the car he took off his jacket, reversed it so that the white would be on the outside and donned it again. Then he opened the bag and put the gear that he'd need into the jacket's deep pockets. He left the car, closing the door silently, put the bag into the trunk, locked up, and turned to face the farm half a mile ahead of him. The side facing him had a thick row of trees that would serve him well once he got there.

He walked quickly but cautiously along the side of the road, looking for any signs that Fairburn might have already left the farm. He saw nothing to indicate that the man had. From the splash back of snow caused by the only tire tracks he saw he could tell they lead toward the farm, not away from it, and Glenn knew this was the only way a vehicle could get to the main road. That didn't mean the man hadn't walked out but Glenn seriously doubted he'd leave until he got the second phone call from Mary.

When he reached the trees he inched through them. The farmhouse was in front of him to his right. From what he could see of it through trees that lined its driveway, it appeared abandoned since there were no lights on and the snow on the driveway was unbroken by either tire tracks or footprints. A few hundred yards to his left was the large barn. The access road curved around to the front which was out of his sight at the moment. Very carefully he inched his way toward the side closest to him.