Matt Hilton - Judgement and Wrath

This time his flight was fuelled by adrenalin and all his hurts were forgotten.

It seemed my CIA friend, Walter Hayes Conrad, wields only a limited amount of power. He'd pulled enough strings to ensure Kaufman offered me a level amount of leeway that I was allowed along for the ride. But SAC Kaufman had said that I'd only be given free rein until his own men arrived. It had obviously been his plan to take me out of the picture as soon as he had back-up at the scene. I'd been wrong about Kaufman. He was as much a bureaucratic asshole as most others in his position. He was still the Special Agent in Charge, and he wasn't about to allow me — a loose cannon — the glory of bringing down the professional hit man who'd killed his colleague.

It was bad form taking down Kaufman's men the way I did. I probably hadn't endeared myself to anyone. My only saving grace was that I hadn't left any of them severely injured. I could foresee that Walter was going to have to kiss a few butts before this was over with. Maybe I would have to as well. But I didn't let that concern me. I had Dantalion in my sights.

The white-faced killer had a good lead on me. I jumped the irrigation channel, raced after him. I could have taken him out with a rifle, but something had made me throw down the FBI agent's gun in favour of my trusty SIG. Things had grown very personal between us and I'd only be happy if I was looking into the bastard's face when I killed him. Using my SIG meant I'd be able to see the whites of his eyes.

It wasn't hard to see where he was heading — a complex of buildings surrounded by a chain-link fence. My best guess was he wanted to find cover and then pick me off while I was in the open and exposed. So I ran harder, taking that option away from him.

Then a chopper rose into view from behind the buildings.

Recognising it as the Bell Jet Ranger I'd hitched a ride here in, I realised that SAC Kaufman was on an ass-covering expedition of his own. There was the roll of automatic gunfire and I staggered against the blast as the chopper went supernova.

SAC Kaufman didn't need to worry about answering awkward questions any longer.

The air was full with the stench of aviation fuel, as viscous as warm treacle on my skin. Smoke billowed, but I caught a snatch of movement as Dantalion came to his feet. He set off running, and it was more than my approach that lent wings to his heels. The fucker was unarmed. And he was running scared.

The thunders of judgement and wrath are numbered, you freak!

I charged after him. Lifted my SIG and fired a quick volley.

Contrary to popular belief, even a trained gunman like me can't hit targets at a run. Handguns are notoriously poor for killing people unless you are very close to a static target. But that was OK. My only wish was to keep him running and keep him frightened. My bullets kept him moving, and his face when he glanced back at me was a mask of horror.

Dantalion reached the fence and he launched himself at a rent in the wires. His clothes snagged and he tore at the wire to free himself. All the while I was gaining on him and I fired again. Sparks marked where my bullets cut through the wires.

Fifty yards or so separated us. But that distance was shortened with each step. So, I told myself, was Dantalion's time left on this earth.

The phone in my pocket vibrated.

Without halting my charge I plucked the phone out of my pocket.

There was only one person it could be.

'Rink?'

'Just lost your signal, buddy. Thought I'd check you were still alive.'

Above my head was a tangle of high-voltage cables. The buildings appeared derelict but I could hear the faint buzz from the wires, felt the hair stirring at the nape of my neck. There was still power surging through the network, so we were lucky to be able to speak at all.

'Still alive, Rink,' I huffed as I ran. 'Where you at?'

'Can't be far off. I can see vultures circling in the sky, and if I'm not mistaken they're looking for pickings from some big old barbecue.'

Snatching a glance over my shoulder, I saw Rink's vultures. The two 'Little Birds' circling the devastation of the Bell Jet Ranger. The barbecue was SAC Kaufman's funeral pyre.

'Follow the portents,' I told Rink. 'You ain't too far off. The FBI are playing at assholes now. Can you keep them off my back so I can finish Dantalion?'

'I'll do my best.'

'Would have liked you with me, Rink, but things are about to come to a head here.'

'Just kill the frog-giggin' asshole so's I can go back to my mom.'

The phone cut out.

I jammed it back in my pocket, then vaulted through the hole in the fence that Dantalion had used. A metal door in the large building directly in front of me had been pulled askew. Dantalion must have rushed through the door and into the darkness inside.

I was pretty sure that Dantalion had lost his gun. But I would have been an idiot if I'd blundered inside and been cold-cocked if he was waiting just inside the door. I slowed down. Peripherally I was aware of one of the sleek gunships racing my way. Perhaps they blamed me for the death of their leader. Maybe they were coming to shoot me. But I didn't think so. I waved to the pilot, directing him over the building to cover the exits at that side. The chopper had to swing around the high-voltage cables strung above the compound, but it looked like they were complying with my directions. The other chopper headed away, taking Bradley to safety.

Marianne Dean was safe. So now was Bradley Jorgenson. There was only one thing I wanted: to ensure that Dantalion couldn't threaten either of them again.

Pressing myself against the wall to the side of the open door, I drew my Ka-bar. Dantalion could be hiding anywhere, and the knife would be a better weapon than my gun if I stumbled into him in the dark. I shoved the SIG into the waistband at the small of my back, then quickly slipped inside the building.

My first act was to move away from the light seeping in through the door. Randomly choosing to go left, I moved silently through the shadows. Then I came to a standstill. I held my breath, closed my eyes against the darkness. Even in a pitch-black place the eyes can play tricks on the mind. You see movement in the darkness that isn't there, you jump at images conjured by the mind as the brain attempts to make sense of the sudden blindness. Far better is to trust your other senses and shut off the one suffering deprivation. We naturally close our eyes, so the brain does not rebel against the act; rather it heightens your hearing, your senses of smell and taste and touch. I'm also a firm believer in a sixth sense, that extrasensory perception that warns of impending danger. Maybe it is simply all the senses working in complete unison, maybe it's something paranormal, but it's there. I attuned myself to the dark, listening, smelling, tasting the air. A cool but steady draft wafted from deep inside the building. It caressed my face, but there was no flutter in the breeze, nothing to indicate that a human body moved nearby, disturbing the flow.

Confident that Dantalion did not lurk close by, I moved further inside. Ten paces on, I paused again. The breeze remained constant. But something plucked at my olfactory senses, and I realised I could smell blood. The coppery tang was faint. But it was there. I moved again, and the smell grew stronger.

I'm no bloodhound, so it wasn't as if I could sniff the killer out, but I was pretty sure that I was heading in the correct direction. A change in the draught told me that something ahead had affected the dynamics of the atmosphere. Dantalion had silently opened another door and was seeking refuge in an antechamber.

The smell was now of rusting machinery coupled with a hint of ozone. Somewhere nearby I could detect a static buzz. I tried to tune all these things out, but it was no good. I opened my eyes, and my night vision had adapted so that I could now make out the bulk of machines on either side of me. They squatted like amorphous creatures, silently watching my progress through the building. Ahead of me I could detect a darker shadow. I edged towards it, the Ka-bar held tight to my body so that Dantalion couldn't knock it from my hand. My boot touched a raised platform and I found I could step easily on to the first of a number of concrete stairs. Grit crunched underfoot. I halted. Listened for a response to my movement.