Andy McDermott - The Midas Legacy

Nina had no time for pleasantries or subtlety. ‘Let her go, you bastard! Macy, are you okay?’

The little girl struggled against his unbreakable grip. ‘Mommy, I’m scared.’

‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry!’ said Holly, tears streaming down her cheeks. ‘I was bringing Macy downstairs to meet you, he had a gun…’

‘It’s okay, it’s not your fault,’ Nina assured her. ‘What do you want, Fenrir?’

His cold blue eyes flicked towards the door behind her. ‘Where is Eddie? I would have thought he would be here to meet his daughter.’

‘He’s on his way.’

‘Then we shall wait for him.’ He leaned back slightly, watching her with what seemed almost like admiration. ‘I understand that you two achieved what years of diplomacy and military posturing could not by ending part of North Korea’s covert nuclear programme.’

‘You don’t seem too upset about that.’ She kept her voice slightly above its normal volume, wanting to give Eddie advance warning of the situation.

‘I got what I wanted from the North Koreans.’ A glance at a holdall on the floor. From its shape, it contained something spherical, about the size of a basketball: the Crucible. ‘Anything that happened subsequently is not my concern.’

‘You brought the Crucible with you?’

‘Having gone through so much to obtain it, I was not going to leave it behind. I hope you appreciate that I was correct about US hypocrisy, by the way: the Americans kept the warheads for themselves.’ He straightened. ‘But congratulations on your success. I am sure you returned to this country as heroes.’

‘How did you get into the country?’ she demanded, wanting to keep him talking. As long as he was engaging with her, he would be less likely to hurt Macy. ‘You should be on the top of the international most-wanted list.’

‘I have my ways. Similar to ones that I know Eddie has used in the past. All of which are considerably easier when backed by large sums of money.’

‘So why are you here? Why not just use that money to hide?’

Mikkelsson’s expression barely changed, a slight narrowing of the eyes and a tightening of the lips, but he became almost infinitely more menacing. ‘You killed my daughter.’

‘ Our daughter.’ Sarah spoke for the first time, her voice barely above a whisper. Nina’s attention had until now been on Mikkelsson; she realised his wife was clothed entirely in black. A mother in mourning for her child. There was no anger in her words, only deep sadness.

Mikkelsson did not react to her, his attention fixed upon Nina. ‘So I am going to take your daughter from you.’

‘Don’t you dare hurt her,’ Nina hissed, filled with sudden rage but powerless to act upon it. If she made a move towards him, he would shoot her before she had gone two steps.

‘I am not going to hurt her,’ the Icelander replied. ‘I am going to raise her. As if she were my own. You and Eddie took mine, so I shall take yours.’

Surprise formed on Sarah’s numbed, blank face. ‘What?’

‘Did you really think I would hurt a child?’ he said. ‘I am not a monster; surely you know that after twenty-six years of marriage. No, I am going to give you a beautiful new daughter.’

‘You… you think you can replace Ana?’ she replied, the words quavering with rising emotion. ‘Like getting a new phone? It… it doesn’t work like that !’ The cry exploded from her, startling Mikkelsson with its intensity. Macy wailed, afraid.

‘Sarah, I am doing this for you,’ he said. ‘For both of us!’

‘Our family isn’t a machine — you can’t just slot in a replacement part! You… you haven’t grieved for Ana, you haven’t even cried!’

The accusation seemed to sting him. ‘I am grieving, Sarah. In my own way.’ Nina risked a small step closer, hoping he was distracted but his gaze immediately snapped back, the gun shifting away from Holly and towards her. She froze again.

Sarah did not register the movement. ‘You do everything in your own way, Fenrir,’ she said, eyes brimming with tears. ‘You never let me close, and you never know what I’m feeling! You have no idea!’

‘Of course I do,’ he protested.

‘If you did, you wouldn’t be talking about making another mother go through what I’m going through now.’ Trembling, she looked at Nina. ‘You wouldn’t let anyone suffer like this! N-not even her.’

The gun rose, now pointing directly at the New Yorker. ‘She will not suffer for long, I assure you. She has lived a good life; now she will have a good death.’

Macy shrieked and struggled again, slapping at Mikkelsson’s arm. ‘Don’t hurt my mommy! Don’t hurt her!’

He squeezed her more tightly. ‘Do not worry, Macy. You will have a new mommy.’

‘If you kill me,’ said Nina, as fearful for Macy’s psyche as her own life, ‘you’ll traumatise her permanently.’

‘She is only three years old,’ was his dismissive reply. ‘She will not even remember.’

‘How would you know?’ cried Sarah. She stepped out from his side, moving forward and facing him. He had to shift the gun sideways to maintain his aim at Nina. ‘What do you know about raising a child? You were never there for Ana, you were always away working! She did everything she could to gain your approval and your love, to get you just to be there, but it was never enough. And she tried so hard to be what she thought you wanted her to be that… that it got her killed.’

‘That is not true,’ snapped Mikkelsson, a flash of anger cutting through his icy mask.

‘It is true!’ She stabbed a finger at Nina. ‘Her husband was a professional soldier, even better than Rutger. Ana didn’t have a chance. But you let her go against him anyway!’

The mention of Eddie made Nina wonder where he was. Even with his wounded leg, surely he should have reached the seventh floor by now? She listened for footsteps or the thud of his crutch from the hallway, but heard nothing. What was he doing?

A small movement of the gun brought her whole attention back to the scene before her. ‘Anastasia made her own decisions,’ Mikkelsson insisted.

‘She would never have made that decision if you hadn’t turned her into a killer! She killed Augustine, but she wouldn’t have done it without your… your permission.’

‘I did not tell her to kill anyone!’ The ice was starting to melt, heat rising beneath.

‘No, but it was what you wanted, and she would do anything to please you! And I won’t let you do that to another child.’ She took hold of Macy.

‘What are you doing?’ demanded her husband.

‘Giving her back.’ She tried to pull the little girl out from Mikkelsson’s arm. Nina tensed, desperately afraid that if they struggled the gun would go off, but after another flare of surprised anger he let her go. Sarah lifted her away, holding her for a long moment as she turned towards Nina… then put her down. ‘Go to your mommy, darling,’ she whispered.

Macy needed no prompting, running to her mother, who clutched her protectively. ‘Come on, honey,’ Nina said. ‘We’re going. Holly, you too.’

Holly started towards her, but Mikkelsson stood. ‘No,’ he said. ‘You are not leaving.’

‘Fenrir, please,’ Sarah said. ‘Let’s just get out of here while we can—’

As if in mocking denial, the warble of a rapidly approaching siren became audible from the street below. Nina knew at once what Eddie had been doing on his ascent: calling the police. But that still didn’t explain why he hadn’t yet reached her…

The answer came from outside as a familiar bald head peered around the side of the windows. Rather than come into the room to face Mikkelsson directly, he had entered one of the adjoining offices and climbed out on to the scaffolding. She suppressed any reaction to the sight. If the Icelander turned, he would see him.