The Awakening Read online

  Angela looked past her, eyes wide in terror and screamed as the demons leapt for the kill. The metal in Katarina’s hand burst into a sword with a searing flame and with powerful strokes, she dispatched both creatures. Arms up protectively, Angela panted as she tried to understand why she wasn’t dead.

  Katarina bent and slashed at one of the demon’s hands before turning to look at her, tossing the sword to the side. The fire vanished and it reverted to a twisted piece of metal before clanging off a shattered stone. Extending her hand, she waited patiently for Angela, then pulled her to her feet and---

  ***

  ---they were back in the dingy room.

  Nothing had changed. Katarina was still locked to the chair, gripping Angela’s wrist. Angela was panting from fright, looking about wildly before ripping her arm out of Katarina’s grip. Stumbling backward, she drew the pistol and held it in shaking hands, aimed at Katarina.

  “How?” she screamed. “Show me your hand!”

  Katarina smiled and held her hand out as far as the cuffs would allow, turning the palm up. Angela leaned forward to peer down at it.

  “I showed you something real. Something that cannot be allowed to come here,” Katarina said.

  “Bullshit! You had something. Some kind of transdermal patch to deliver a hallucinogen or something!”

  “Check you back pocket. Carefully. It’s very sharp.”

  Angela slapped the indicated pocket, her face registering surprise when she felt something. Thrusting her hand in, she yelped and jerked it free. Blood was already pouring from a long, clean gash on her index finger. Eyes wide, she holstered the pistol and with an abundance of caution reached into the pocket again and withdrew a cruelly curved black claw several inches in length.

  “That’s what I cut off one of the creatures I killed. You saw me do it, and now it’s here with us.”

  Angela dropped the claw and moved away as if it would spring to life and attack her.

  “You should put some pressure on that.”

  Katarina nodded at Angela’s hand. It was bleeding freely and after a few moments she hurried out of the room. When she returned, a cloth was tightly wrapped around the wound, but blood was already soaking through.

  “I don’t...”

  She looked at Katarina with a frightened expression, unable to complete her thought.

  “I didn’t either. But I’m starting to remember. If you sit down, I’ll explain everything I can to you.”

  After a long hesitation, Angela lowered herself into the other chair. Her face was troubled as she waited for Katarina to start.

  “To begin with, we’ve known each other for a very long time.”

  Angela frowned and shook her head in confusion.

  “I’ve never met you before tonight. I’d remember.”

  “You met me a very long time ago. You’ll have to trust me on that. We were never friends, but at one time we were allies.”

  Katarina talked for an hour, holding nothing back. She needed Angela to believe her. She’d anguished over the decision to reveal everything to the other woman but had finally realized that if she repeated the story, no one would believe her. There was nothing to lose and hopefully something to gain.

  “You’re insane,” Angela said when she was finished. “You’re fucking insane. I’ve done enough interrogations to see that you think you’re telling the truth, but---”

  “Explain that,” Katarina interrupted, looking pointedly at the claw lying on the floor.

  Angela drew a breath and held it as her eyes were drawn to the spot. Then she held up her still bleeding hand and examined it.

  “I’m telling the truth, Angela, and you know I am. Somewhere deep inside, you know. I reacted the same way at first. Now, you have a decision to make.”

  “So, what are you saying? That without you the world’s going to be destroyed by a horde of demons? Is that seriously what you expect me to believe?”

  “I have no idea if I’m the only one who can stand against them. There could be a million more out there, just like me. Or I could be it.”

  Angela shook her head, struggling.

  “You’ve been to war,” Katarina said. “You know that sometimes it’s a single person that makes the difference between victory and defeat. What if I’m that one?”

  “Seriously? Do you have that high of an opinion of yourself?”

  “No. I truly don’t. But what if I am?”

  Angela leapt to her feet and began pacing the room. Katarina didn’t fail to notice that she gave the claw a wide berth as she moved about.

  “These things are really here. Inside people. And you can see them.”

  Angela made the questions into statements and Katarina knew she was close. Instead of speaking, she simply nodded agreement with what had been said.

  “And what am I supposed to do?”

  “Nothing. Just let me go.”

  “You’re a quarter-million-dollar payday for me, honey.”

  “Hard to enjoy money if the world has been destroyed.”

  Angela took a breath and puffed it out in thought, then came to stand over the claw and stare down at it.

  “If I let you go, it’s not just my ass I’m risking, it’s my reputation. I won’t get work again. You’ve got a bag of money. I want half.”

  “That’s a million more than you were going to get for me!”

  “Take it or leave it,” Angela said. “I’ve been poor. I’m not doing that again.”

  They held each other’s eyes for a long time before Katarina nodded.

  “Agreed. Now take these goddamn cuffs off me before I piss my pants!”

  Katarina had just returned from relieving herself when Angela’s phone rang. She looked at the screen and her eyes flicked to Katarina before she answered. Phone to her ear, she listened for a moment before surprising Katarina by responding in Mandarin. The exchange lasted several minutes and seemed angry, but most conversations in a foreign language sounded that way to her.

  “What was that?” Katarina asked when the call ended.

  “Nothing. Just my employer. He wanted me to bring you to him. I told him you managed to escape and he’s not very happy.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Whatever. Now, let’s go get my money.”

  Katarina nodded and Angela gestured for her to lead the way to the door. The instant Katarina’s back was turned, she raised a syringe and injected the contents into the side of her neck. Katarina whirled, her hands starting to come up, but it was too late. She collapsed to the dirty floor and stared helplessly up at the other woman.

  “Always a better deal to be made,” Angela said, looking into Katarina’s eyes and smiling. “My employer must really want you. You’re now worth a cool two mil. That’s enough money to buy a place that will survive your demon apocalypse.”

  She bent to gather Katarina’s limp form in her arms, pausing for a beat as she cast a thoughtful glance at the claw. She shook her head and went to work.

  Sixty-One

  At eleven thirty, Liam sat in a small café overlooking Vancouver Harbor. He’d called Baldwin the instant he’d driven out of Lin’s gate, but there hadn’t been an answer. He was concerned. When he’d left the estate, he’d noted the four armed men who’d searched him were nowhere to be seen. There was little doubt they were already racing for Lighthouse Park to find and eliminate the sniper.

  But he suspected they were about to have a very bad morning. There’s a big difference between being a thug for organized crime and being a combat veteran. Their tools were intimidation and violence to get what they wanted. Baldwin had faced a far more frightening adversary in Afghanistan and was still around to talk about it. Despite his worry, Liam’s money was on the Marine.

  Not leaving a message, he’d driven into the city where he could blend in with the locals. He’d visited several coffee shops, moving to a new one every hour so no one began to wonder why it seemed he had nothing better to do on a work day.

&nb
sp; Now he was at a small table with a fabulous view of the water. He’d finally heard from Baldwin half an hour earlier. There were four dead Chinese men in Lighthouse Park, the bodies well concealed in the forest and he was on a tour bus heading toward downtown.

  After killing the last enforcer who was hunting him, he’d moved to the northern edge of the park with the idea of stealing a car. A bus had been idling in the parking lot, waiting for a large group who had trooped through to visit the lighthouse on the southern point. Baldwin had settled in behind a tree, waiting. When the tourists had returned, he’d simply joined them, striking up a conversation with a couple from Australia and following them onto the bus.

  Checking his watch, Liam raised a disposable phone and placed a call that was answered on the first ring.

  “Jimmy’s here! Who’s there?”

  “They still trying, Jimmy?” Liam asked without bothering to identify himself.

  “Oh, brother man! Hells yes they’re trying, but Jimmy’s got them all confused. They’re pissing up the wrong tree!”

  “Barking,” Liam said, automatically correcting him.

  “Barking? Jimmy’s not barking.”

  “Never mind,” Liam said with a sigh. “Any chance they’ll defeat what you did?”

  “None!” Jimmy cried. “No one can beat Jimmy’s code, dude.”

  “Alright, Jimmy. Sorry. I don’t doubt you, I just had to ask.”

  “All cool, dude!” Jimmy said brightly. “How long you want Jimmy to keep this up?”

  “One PM, Jimmy. If you haven’t heard from me by one, vaporize it.”

  There was a moment of surprised silence as Jimmy processed the instructions.

  “All of it?” he asked breathlessly. “Dude! This is like over a hundred million bucks, not counting the businesses.”

  “Listen to me, Jimmy. One PM. Unless you hear from me, you destroy it. Give the cash to charity or keep it yourself. I don’t give a shit. Just be sure there’s no way anyone can trace it and recover it. Or come after you.”

  “Oh, dude! Jimmy’s all about protecting his ass. No one goes near Jimmy’s ass! But what about the businesses?”

  “What are we talking about, Jimmy? What kind and how many?”

  Jimmy began reciting a list that included strip clubs and casinos and half a dozen other types that operated primarily on cash. Liam interrupted him, not needing a complete accounting.

  “Empty their accounts and make the money disappear. Then, do as much damage to their systems as you can. Make it as difficult as possible for them to resume operations. Can you do that?”

  “You ask, Jimmy can do. This is going to be fun!”

  “Not until one o’clock, unless I call it off, Jimmy. Got that?”

  “Jimmy’s got it, Jimmy’s got it! Don’t get your bro-panties in a bunch, dude. If Jimmy doesn’t hear from you by one, he rains fire and brimstone down on these dudes. Cool!”

  Liam thanked Jimmy and ended the call. Checking his watch, he sighed to see there was still ten minutes before he’d told Lin to expect his call. Staring at the water, willing the time to pass faster, he looked around in surprise when he realized someone was standing at his table. A pair of Vancouver police officers were looking at him, spaced well apart and obviously prepared for a confrontation.

  “You need to come with us, sir,” the older of the two said in a quiet but commanding tone.

  Liam’s eyes narrowed as he looked between them. There was nothing he’d done to draw the attention of the police, which only left one possibility. These two were on Lin’s payroll.

  “Tell Lin this isn’t going to work. I don’t know how to undo what’s been done.”

  The closest cop leaned in and firmly grasped Liam’s upper arm.

  “We’re not asking again. You’re coming with us.”

  Liam’s eyes darted around the café, noting the other patrons watching with a mixture of concern and curiosity.

  “You don’t want to do this,” Liam said calmly. “Lin is done. He just doesn’t know it, yet. You’d better walk away while you still can.”

  The cop gripping his arm either hadn’t been on the street very long or was overconfident. Either way, when Liam spoke, he squeezed tightly and pulled, intending to drag him out of his chair.

  Instead of resisting, Liam lunged with the pressure and the cop was instantly off balance and falling backward. A savage right hook to his jaw sent him sprawling onto another table which collapsed beneath the impact.

  The second cop was instantly in motion, ripping a Taser off his belt. Liam let momentum take him as he spun into the man’s body, grabbing his wrist and snapping it. As the Taser clattered to the floor, he delivered a devastating punch to the officer’s solar plexus, then a brutal elbow to his head. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

  Snatching his phone off the table, Liam sprinted for the door, bulling a couple of patrons and a waiter to the side. Blasting through to the parking lot, he ran hard for the SUV. As he leapt behind the wheel, there was a shout from across the street.

  Baldwin had just stepped off the tour bus and was running towards him. Liam glanced back at the café, relieved when he didn’t see either of the cops in pursuit. Baldwin hadn’t even closed his door when Liam hit the gas and shot out of the lot. Horns blared and tires screeched as panicked drivers fought to avoid an accident, then the SUV was streaking away.

  “What the fuck?” Baldwin asked, twisting to peer out the back window.

  “Took out a couple of cops.”

  He made two quick turns then lowered their speed to the posted limit.

  “Took out?”

  “Knocked out,” Liam clarified.

  “What did cops want?”

  “They had to be working for Lin. He knows who I am, so he probably put a bounty on my head.”

  “Pretty gutsy, if he did. His money still tied up?”

  Liam nodded and turned into a large parking area that was mostly full. He circled for a few moments until finding a vacant spot far enough from the street that they couldn’t be spotted unless someone searched the lot.

  “I talked to Jimmy just before the cops showed up. All of Lin’s assets are still locked. Feels like he’s desperate.”

  “Or pissed. He can’t be happy about losing four of his guys this morning.”

  Liam shook his head as he opened the cell phone.

  “Guy like him doesn’t give a shit about four soldiers. Especially when we’re holding over a hundred million of his dollars as ransom.”

  Baldwin’s eyes went wide and his mouth fell open in surprise.

  “A hundred...”

  “Million,” Liam finished for him with a confirming nod.

  He was about to place the call to Lin when Baldwin reached out and put a staying hand on his wrist.

  “Guy like that is a bad enemy to make. Even if you release everything once we get Kat back, he’s not going to let this go.”

  “I know,” Liam said.

  “So, you plan on being on the run for the rest of your life? That it? Or you got something cooking in that so-called brain of yours?”

  “He’s not getting any of it back.”

  Baldwin stared for a moment before a frown creased his face.

  “Okay. I’ll bite. What’s going to happen to a hundred million dollars?”

  “Told Jimmy to do whatever he wanted to with it. Knowing him, it’ll probably go to a few dozen charities around the globe. His parents left him a fortune, so he doesn’t need it.”

  “What about the rest of us?” Baldwin asked, surprising him. “Not everyone has a rich daddy.”

  They looked at each other, the tension mounting as both men remained silent. Liam was the first to speak.

  “Katarina thought money would solve her problems, too,” he said gently. “Look what it’s gotten her.”

  “Yeah, I get it. But if you’re going to rip off a drug lord, maybe you’d better have a more ingenious plan for how you’re going to survive. This guy ain’t gon
na give a shit if you gave it to charity or spent it on booze and whores. All he’s gonna care about is getting it back and making all of us a shining example of what happens to people who fuck with him.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” Liam said, waggling the phone in the air. “It’s time to make the call.”

  He pressed the green button with his thumb, ignoring the look he was getting from Baldwin. The phone was quickly answered, then Lin’s voice was in his ear.

  “Your cops aren’t worth the money you’re paying them,” Liam said.

  “Apparently you are correct. That is why I am willing to reconsider my earlier offer. Two million per year, Agent Macleod. For next to nothing. To pass information to me from time to time. To warn me of any operations that have the potential to threaten my business.

  “And, as previously mentioned, Agent Daniels shall be returned to you, unharmed, forgiven, and allowed to keep the cash she took. Can we now put this nonsense behind us and move on to more profitable endeavors?”

  “You’re not in a position to negotiate.”

  “You may hold a significant amount of money and business assets hostage, but what you do not realize is that they are merely a drop in the bucket. My family has been quite fortunate and while you might cause me some minor inconvenience, you have not and cannot reach the bulk of my finances.”

  Liam was quiet for a moment, trying to decide if Lin was telling the truth or trying to bluff his way through the situation in hopes of having his money returned.

  “And, Agent Macleod? I must correct you. I am in a perfect position to negotiate. You see, there is someone with me that is most anxious to speak with you.”

  A moment later, Liam heard Katarina’s voice call his name before it was silenced with a loud slap.

  “Come stand in front of me, Agent Macleod, or I will slice her into pieces and feed them to the dogs. Come agree to my proposal and restore my assets so that we may begin a mutually beneficial relationship. You have precisely one hour before I remove her right hand.”

  Sixty-Two

  Liam pushed the heavy SUV hard as he weaved through traffic. Next to him, Baldwin held on for dear life but wasn’t about to tell him to slow down. With one hand, Liam dialed his phone and put it on speaker.