Hitman's Creed - 61

 

Glenn looked at his handiwork and nodded. 'That should end that problem, I hope.'

He’d just finished the repairs to the place on the roof where wind or maybe a squirrel had torn up two of the shingles. As long as he was up there he decided to check the rest of them for damage, so he made his way to the peak of the roof where he could see it in its entirety. The back side looked fine. He turned his attention to the front and paused when he thought he saw a car on the road that ran past his place. When it vanished from view behind the trees he shrugged and went back to what he was doing.

Then he froze when he heard it pull onto the lane. Seconds later it came into view. The sun hit the windshield so he couldn't see who was driving. 'Just a nosy parker, better get rid of them.' He slid down the back side of the roof, detached the safety rope tied to the chimney from around his waist, climbed down the ladder, and went around to the front yard.

"Well, well, what brings you to my neck of the woods?" Glenn said, trying for casualness he definitely didn't feel when he saw Joey get out of the car.

"Just checking to make certain someone hadn't decided to break in here." Joey replied. The excuse he'd finally decided to put to use sounded lame even to him. "Someone reported they thought someone was up here and…" He shrugged.

"And it never occurred to you that I might have come back? It is after all my house."

"Yeah, well…" Joey looked down at the ground, mumbling, "Now that I know it's just you I should get going."

"Don't go." Glenn immediately regretted the harsh and yet pleading tone in those two words but he couldn't retract them now so he amended it. "Stick around. We have a lot to catch up on."

Joey bit down on his lip as he considered the wisdom of doing just that. It was why he was here and yet… Finally he looked up and nodded. "Might as well."

Glenn thumbed toward the front porch steps. Joey nodded again and followed him, sitting guardedly on the edge of one.

"So you're a cop now," Glenn said with the hope that statement might make Joey relax a bit, if it were possible for either of them to do such a thing.

Joey nodded. "I am."

"I knew you'd make it."

Joey lifted his eyes to look at Glenn. "Yeah, you did have that kind of faith in me at least. And you? Are you still running around rescuing people from bad guys?"

"Nowadays, yeah, sort of. Wasn't really doing that back then. Helping all of you was just… It just happened."

"A lot of things 'just happened' back then," Joey replied somewhat snarkily. "At least that part ended… successfully?"

"All things considered, yes it was successful. How's Mary doing now?"

"She's alright, seeing a guy on the force, he's older but they seem to be making it work."

"Does he know...?"

"What happened to her? I have no idea. That's her story to tell when the time comes."

"And your mom?"

Joey smiled. "Mom is mom. She's good."

"And Harv? And hell I don't care about how he's doing. How are you doing? Do you… are you...?" Glenn looked away, not wanting to see Joey's face if he said he was involved with someone.

Hitman's Creed - 60

 

Nate pulled out of Joey's embrace to look at him. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think anything is?"

"Your mind wasn't on what you were doing."

Joey smiled, touching Nate's lips with a fingertip. "I was kissing you and believe me my mind was definitely on that."

"No it wasn't." Nate leaned back against the arm of the sofa, pulled his legs up to wrap his arms around his knees, and shook his head. "Is something wrong at work, or with your family?"

"All right, yes something is bothering me. I keep worrying about Mary. She's so young compared to Eck," Joey replied, lying through his teeth. No way would he say anything to Nate about Glenn. After all what was there to say? He hadn't even seen Glenn since his rumored return. He could have checked it out, could have made a run up to the house while he was on patrol with the excuse that he was there to make certain the place hadn't been broken into. He'd even contemplated doing that, and chickened out.

He came back to the moment to hear Nate say, "…is only a number."

Nate sighed when Joey looked puzzled. "Pay attention. I was saying that age is only a number; it's what they feel in their hearts that counts. If you were ten years older than me instead of just one would that make a difference as far as you're concerned? I know it wouldn't to me."

"I… no. No of course it wouldn't. I'd still feel the same way for you that I do now. At least I guess I would." Joey smiled at him. "I mean how can I say for certain? I'm not ten years older. I suppose I'm worrying because she's my sister and I don't want to see her get hurt."

"Which makes you a good brother. That's one of the things I really like about you, you care about everyone."

"Especially you." Joey grinned at Nate because he needed to get back into the moment, not remain in the past. He took Nate's hand to pull him back beside him. "Now where were we?" he teased.

"I was about here…" Nate shifted, "your arms were here…" He wrapped Joey's arms around him again then shook his head and moved away again.

"What now?" Joey asked with a frustrated groan.

"If you do care about me then tell me what's really going on in your head. Perhaps Mary is part of it, but I don't think that's all." Nate watched Joey's face as he said that and saw it shut down. He stood and walked away from the sofa then turned back to look at Joey. "Is there someone else?"

Joey wanted to deny that there was, especially since there really wasn't except in his own mind. He owed Nate the truth however. "This is hard to explain," he began.

"Then there is." Hurt flashed across Nate's face.

"Not in the way that you're thinking." Joey patted the sofa but Nate shook his head and stayed where he was, his arms crossed over his chest. Joey nodded and continued. "A little over two years ago I met a man, a much older man, who…" He blew out a long breath. "I thought we had made a connection even though he kept trying to push me away. I thought that I loved him."

"That explains why you're worried about Mary and Eck," Nate murmured, avoiding the last part of what Joey had said because it hurt too much.

"Yes, in a way, even though they seem to be making it work. I couldn't. Make it work that is. If he cared for me he wasn't willing to admit it, at least to me. Instead, he… ran."

"And you've been pining after him ever since. That doesn't say much for how you feel about me."

"No! No. It took time but I finally got him out of my head then I met you." Joey smiled at him. "I do care for you, don't doubt that for an instant."

"You care… but. I can feel there's a big one coming."

Joey chewed his lip and nodded slowly. "I think he's back in town."

"You think, you don't know? How is that possible?"

"He's got a house but it's not in town. Eck said someone was living there now."

"The man." Nate sighed deeply. "Why haven't you gone to see him, or have you and you just don't want to tell me?"

"I haven't. Nate, damn it. I want to, I think, but I don't know. We, you and I, have something between us. It wouldn't be fair to you…"

"Screw fair," Nate spat out angrily. "What's not fair is my wondering if at any moment you will go to him and that just maybe whatever you thought might have been happening before..." He sighed again. "Joey, you need to find out. Maybe he's back just because it's his house, or maybe he returned because you're here." Slowly he walked back to the sofa and sat, but not too close to Joey even though he did reach across to take his hand. "You and I can't move on until you face this man. If he, if you," he dropped his eyes, "if you do love him and he loves you…"

"And if we don't?" Joey squeezed Nate's hand. "Now that you know, how could you be willing to be with me anymore?"

"Because I do care for you. It's not love, yet, but I do care." He looked at Joey, his face as serious as his voice. "Go talk to him. If it works and you want to be with him I'll understand. If it doesn't," he smiled slightly, "I'll be here for you however you want me, as a friend or more."

"You're damned amazing," Joey said with heartfelt sincerity.

Nate shrugged. "I'm just me." Then he leaned close enough to kiss Joey softly. "Now go. See what happens, for all our sakes."

Joey stood slowly, bent to brush the softest of kisses across Nate's lips, and started to say something. Nate shook his head. "Just go." Joey nodded, touched Nate's cheek, then left.

Hitman's Creed - 59

 

"Hey, you know the old William's place," Eck said while he waited for Mary to finish up with closing chores at the coffeehouse. "Looks like the man who used to live there is back. Or else he sold it and the new owners have moved in."

Joey, who had stopped in to pick up coffee on his way to work, felt his heart stutter. Mary on the other hand let out a whoop. "Glenn's back." She turned to Joey's mother. "Did you hear that? He's back."

Miriam nodded, her eyes focused on Joey. "Like Eck said, it's probably someone who bought the place. I doubt he'd come back after all this time."

"Who's Glenn?" Eck wanted to know.

"Just a man we sort of knew," Joey told him. "He lived there for a short time then moved. Guess he didn't like small town life."

Mary looked like she would refute that until Miriam shot a look at her. "Yeah," she said instead as she linked her arm with Eck's, "he was sort of a friend for a while. He was nice," she added almost defiantly.

"Nicer than me?" Eck teased.

"Well…" Mary pretended to think about it then grinned. "Not even."

With a kiss to her forehead, Eck suggested they'd better leave or they'd miss the movie. When they were gone Joey ran a hand through his hair and sighed deeply. "Why now?"

"You don't know it's him," his mother pointed out. "And even if it is, why does it matter? You have Nate and you care about him. Don't go looking for trouble, Joey."

He gave a slight nod. "I know, mom. But why is he… Why would he come back?"

"The house does belong to him. Perhaps he's there to pick up whatever he left behind?"

"After more than two years? Come on."

She walked over to stand in front of him, her eyes searching his face. "Do you still care about him?"

"I never stopped," he said sadly. "I put him out of my mind, as much as possible, but not out of here," he touched his chest.

"But you and Nate…"

"I like Nate, I really do. We're good together. We mesh, if you know what I mean. But…" Joey turned away, looking toward the window.

"The passion isn't there," his mother said, understanding.

"Yes, I suppose that's it. I don't feel as if it would be devastating if he…well, if he suddenly decided to move on, or move away. I'd miss him but…but not like I missed Glenn. And that's so stupid." He spun back to look at his mother. "I hardly knew Glenn, not really."

She smiled softly. "No, but you were attracted to him from the first moment you saw him. I remember how you tried to pretend you weren't but a mother knows. The question is what are you going to do if he shows up in town? Because if it is him, and if he has moved back, it's inevitable that he will."

"Run like hell in the other direction?" Joey replied with a small quirk of his lips. "Honestly, mom, I have no idea. I just know that when Eck said what he did it felt as if somehow my prayers had been answered. Stupid, huh?"

"No, not at all. Whether or not there was more between the two of you than just being momentarily attracted to each other because of the circumstances, you never had closure so of course you still feel that he's…important for lack of a better word."

"He didn't feel the way I did, I know that, so why am I still hanging on to the dream?"

She looked at him, debating the wisdom of revealing what she knew of Glenn's feelings for him.

He returned her gaze, saw something in it, and asked, "What?"

"He did care. I think, no I'm certain, that's why he left." She smiled slightly. "I did the mother thing and talked to him. I needed to know… I didn't want you hurt so I had to find out if there was any chance that he might have felt something for you."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Joey asked, anger surfacing.

"It wasn't my place to at the time, and afterward what good would it have done? It would have just made you put your life on hold while you hoped he'd come back to you. For you. Something about his life, and I don't think it was entirely the age thing, made him fight the idea that he could be what you needed."

Joey scrubbed a hand over his face. "So now what do I do?"

"That I can't tell you. It's your decision to make."

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Hitman's Creed - 58

 

When Glenn drove up the lane he felt as if he was coming home. In truth he realized that he was. No matter what had happened in the past, no matter what might happen in the future, this house was his home and he had missed it.

He had a sneaking suspicion, as he drove slowly around the side and parked in back, that he'd have a lot of cleaning up to do before it was truly habitable again. It had after all been standing vacant for over two years. But he didn't give a damn. He’d taken a month's leave and fully intended to use every second of that time to turn the place into a real home, one he would come back to whenever he wasn't on a job.

After he'd parked he opened the back of the van to take out the two bags that held the clothes he'd brought with him and carry them onto the porch. Next he got the two cases that held his tools; one held those of his trade, the other those that he'd need to start fixing the place up again. Then he unlocked the back door and immediately checked the alarm box, disarming the system since he'd called the previous afternoon to have the electricity turned on.

He took in what was on the porch, made two more trips for the rest of what he'd brought with him, and began a walk-through to see how well the place had survived his two-year absence. Surprisingly well as it turned out. There had been no vandalism which he had to admit surprised him. A couple of windows were cracked, probably the result of windstorms tossing debris around or birds hitting them. There was water damage in one of the upstairs rooms which meant he'd have to check the roof above it for a leak. All in all he was happily surprised that the house was in such good condition other than a thick layer of dust on everything. He set to work dealing with that amid much sneezing and coughing.

He carried one of the boxes upstairs to his bedroom and after he turned the mattress and made certain nothing had managed to sneak in and make its nest in the stuffing, he made the bed and put out towels in the bathroom. 'Damn, I'm almost domestic,' he thought when he finished and went back downstairs with towels and dishrags for the kitchen.

Clothes were next and he hung them up neatly in the closet. Then he went into what had been his office. With the electricity on, he was able to open the storage closet. Before he'd left he had put the electronics on the shelves. Now he took them out, replaced them with his weapons cases, and locked the door again. He set up the computer, checked that it was working, with the thought that he really needed to get a newer one, and took the television down to the living room.

'All the comforts of home.' He chuckled softly. Not all, but a beginning.

Among other things there was no food other than what he'd brought with him. He had a sudden thought and went to open the refrigerator. "Oh hell," he growled. In his hurry to get out of there two years earlier he hadn't even thought about clearing out the food. Now he had what amounted to major science experiments in there, rancid, stinky ones whose smell turned his stomach. He slammed the door closed. 'Blood and guts I can deal with, that…' He shuddered, very glad he'd only picked up canned goods, cold cereals and bread that could stay on the counter for the time being, once he'd washed said counters down.

By the time he'd finished it was dark outside and he was hungry. He found a pan, opened a can of stew, heated it, and with bowl in hand he went out to sit on the front porch. The evening was still warm and a three-quarter moon lit the front yard.

'Another thing to do in the next couple of days, turn the wilderness back into a lawn.' He smiled as he leaned back against the stair railing and savored being home.

'Yes, this is indeed home.'

Hitman's Creed - 57

 

"So Mary and Eck…?" Nate leaned back in his chair, toying with his coffee cup as he looked at Joey.

"I think so. They seem to be forming some sort of bond despite the age difference."

They were at the coffeehouse, Joey just having gotten off shift. He was working nights now, patrolling the quiet town. Nate was on his way to work, with the stop to get coffee and a pastry first. At least that was the ostensible reason. In reality, with Joey's new hours, the two young men took any chance they could get to see each other. They were still getting to know each other, their likes and dislikes and all the other details that melded into a relationship. On a physical level they were still exploring, which involved a lot of kissing and touching but nothing more… yet.

Joey was hoping to change that sometime soon. He thought Nate was as well. They were still dancing around it though, Nate out of shyness. Joey, well he wasn't certain why it had taken him so long to want to make the final step. He just knew that something had been holding him back.

"She certainly looks happy," Nate commented.

With a laugh, Joey told him, "According to mom, if Mary were any more bubbly she'd be floating on the ceiling. Eck's changed too. Last time I rode patrol with him all he could talk about was how sweet she was. And he never even looked at any of the girls on the street. It was like they didn't exist to him."

"It's serious then," Nate opined with a laugh.

Joey's thoughts turned inward for a moment as he remembered what Mary had been through. "As long as he doesn't push her there's a chance for them," he said under his breath. Nate looked at him in question. Joey shook his head. "Just an observation, nothing more, since he is older."

"Sometimes age makes no difference."

"To some people, yeah," Joey replied, hoping the bitterness that suddenly hit him didn't show. He smiled to cover it, reaching over to take Nate's hand. "Not a problem for us, unless you consider a year's difference a problem," he joked.

"My God yes, you're positively ancient. You must feel like you're robbing the cradle," Nate said with a straight face.

Joey replied with equal seriousness. "I sure do, and the diapers are a pain."

Then they broke into laughter. After a fast look around to make certain no one was watching, Joey gave Nate a quick kiss. Then he looked at his watch and sighed. "You'd better get a move on or you'll be late."

"Clock-watcher," Nate growled as he swallowed the last of his coffee and stood up.

"Comes with being the elder, I take my responsibility for you very seriously."

"Uh huh, sure." Taking his own look around, Nate bent to drop a fast kiss on Joey's lips before telling him he'd call as soon as he was off work.

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.

Hitman's Creed - 51

 

Glenn sat in the restaurant off of the hotel's lobby, his nose buried in a book. At least that's what it would have looked like to anyone who saw him. His concentration appeared to be totally on what he was reading. In point of fact he was barely aware of what was on the page. Instead he watched a man who was in the small bar sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant. He was his target and probably one of the most dangerous men Glenn had ever gone after.

Dangerous because he was exactly like Glenn.

'So who's your target?' Glenn wondered. If he could find that out it could give him the edge he needed. So far Glenn had been in the city for twenty-four hours and the man he was after hadn't even left the hotel. 'Someone here or someone who hasn't arrived yet?'

When the man turned on the barstool to glance toward the lobby Glenn cautiously checked to see what had captured his attention. There were four people on their way to the check-in desk, each one with luggage, none apparently with any of the others. The man returned his gaze to his drink but Glenn saw his eyes flick to the back bar mirror which would give him a decent view of the elevators.

Two of the new arrivals finished signing in and headed to the elevators. Glenn's target shifted but stayed where he was. Glenn knew he was tracking which floors the elevator stopped at. Then the man finished his drink and ordered another, apparently not interested in the remaining pair still at the desk.

'That narrowed it down a bit.' Glenn closed his book, and left the restaurant after he'd stopped to pay for his meal. In need of a smoke, he stepped outside and lit up. Then he strolled far enough from the entrance that he wouldn't be hassled by the doorman and leaned against a pillar, ostensibly just enjoying the cigarette and the cool night air. In actuality he had a good view of the elevators from where he stood. He knew which floor his target was staying on, so if the man stopped at another one he'd know where to find the person he was after.

It took twenty minutes and another cigarette before the man left the bar and headed to the elevators. Just as Glenn had hoped, the man was alone when he got on, and he rode up two floors above what would have been his normal stop. Five minutes later the light for that floor lit up again and the elevator went down two floors and stopped.

Glenn headed back to his room to send an encoded email to his friendly hacker with the name of the hotel, the time the two men had arrived and the floor he was interested in. Ten minutes later he got his reply.

"Well professor," he murmured under his breath, "let's see if I can keep you alive and still deal with the man I'm after."

The man who hired Glenn had worked quickly once Glenn came up with a plan. The ID Glenn needed, plus two other items, arrived by private courier just after two am, along with the keys to a university security car which had been left in a parking garage a block away from the hotel. Glenn picked up the car, drove it to the hotel's front entrance then told the doorman that he would be back as soon as he'd collected his charge.

'If it were me I'd take him out on his way to the lab.' Glenn smiled tightly. 'But then he's not me and he likes to show off. So, where would make the biggest impact, and how? At the lab. Yes.'

Those were Glenn's thoughts when he rapped on the professor's hotel room door, He adjusted the dark glasses he was wearing as the professor opened it and introduced himself as a member of the security team from the lab.

"We may be acting overcautious," Glenn said as he showed the professor his ID, "but better that than having some disgruntled dissident trying to take a potshot at you."

"Absolutely," the professor agreed haughtily. "I shall be ready to leave in ten minutes."

Glenn paced impatiently as the professor took his time making certain he had everything he needed. Finally the man said he was ready. Glenn nodded, held up his hand, and stepped into the hall. When he determined it was clear he beckoned the professor to follow him. Three minutes later they were in the car.