Alex remained silent as he was directed to Oakland and Nate instructed him to park up on Brush Street. The gun hidden from view. His new partner seemed to have taken his compliance as proof they were working together. The pair then walked to a Chinese Fast Food Place and his 'owner' ordered Chicken Chow Mien, Seaseme chicken, house fried rice, egg rolls, sweet and sour pork and two Dr. Peppers.
The sat down with their drinks and Nate started to explain his situation. "Two absolute low life's, ya know, ex-SCORPIA offered me the easy job of killing you, told me where you be, promised me the 50K for my troubles. Only the two wise guys have a bounty on them, 200K if I ice them. I figure they sent me to see what protection you had. Only you had none. They were expecting the full smash, so sending in expendable me. So, family history. My sister brought me up. We was doing OK, cause she did the books for the the local whorehouse/crack den. Beggars can't be choosers. SCORPIA were paid to do a complete takedown of the existing mob set up to let the Russians in. My sis was iced. So, these SCORPIA guys want you dead. Wanted me dead ten years ago, only I met up with Brisco and he kept me safe, teaching me what I needed to know. I kill people for money, but guys like them, thats the real deal. They told me you iced someone high up in SCORPIA. So, kid it works like this you tell me how to take those guys out you pay off your debt to me and we're both happy. I do the killing, I need to pay them back for Suzi. If you are the real deal, then you teach me how to keep ahead of the game and we both move on. You run where ever you want to go, with a nice nest egg."
Alex pondered this, a case of his enemy's enemy was a friend. In a soft low voice, the teenager confessed his beef with anyone SCORPIA. "They killed my sister too. You can kill them all. I won't stop you, I'm happy to help. If you want to be top of the game, well you are in for pain mister. I can fashion you into a killing machine, but its to going to be far from easy."
"Never said it would be a walk in the park. To our new partnership. What do I call ya?"
So, Nate wanted to move from casual killer to assassin. Alex had the means to achieve this thugs goals. To fashion brutality into the grace and skill of Yassen. He would be a handler rather than asset in a new game of revenge. Hunter not hunted. Player not pawn.
Alex ate his bland chow mien, and thought on burying his past. He remembered the dialogue from the film he watched three days ago. Where Sean Connery had played a defecting Russian submarine captain 'When Cortez arrived in the New World he burned his ships', a metaphor for no going back. "Call me Cortez."
…
Dan Stephens was a senior agent with the FBI, ten years working up from field agent to lead a team. Before that he had been CIA, then briefly with Covert Operations. He had known about SCORPIA and their formidable reputation, from logistics, money laundering, training, torture to ruthless, deadly and coldly efficient assassinations. While at the CIA he crossed paths with their former operatives occasionally, but mostly just their victims.
Dan liked patterns and the case in San Diego had sparked his interest. A bodyguard to a retired boxer had been found hanged, only the guy had been expertly tortured. A pattern was emerging of the assassination of known operatives of the long defunct terrorist group. Operatives who had predominately stayed freelance, some working for the mob, some in legitimate security. There were similarities to a cold case from 2002, two dead fixers in San Francisco, case on file as a drug deal gone wrong, assailants unknown. His dead bodyguard had been a former team member of those dead operatives, all three wanted by the Egyptian Authorities for terrorism, kidnapping, assault, attempted murder and murder.
He had put a trace through Interpol for the same MO and got a series of killings from Mexico in 2004, Columbia, Guetamala, Venuzeula and Brasil in 2005, Mexico and Florida in 2006, now San Diego in 2007. Someone, a serial killer, was wiping out the former SCORPIA network in the Americas. The bodyguard, Hernando Salas had done a decent job of covering his past up. Only a full background check had shown him with links to SCORPIA operations between 1999 and 2002, with an open warrant from the Egyptian Authorities. Maybe it was time for Dan to call up Langley and see if they were aware of this pattern of homicides.
Two weeks to retirement and this brewing storm arrived on Joe Byrnes desk. He put on his jacket and went to liaise with the Federal Agent, a former colleague, who had noted this blow back. Byrne had a good idea who was behind these very professional hits, two ghosts with the aliases of Nate and Cortez. Both had enough tradecraft to be former agents or SCORPIA operatives themselves. If they had form before 2003, they had had different names, aliases or worked far from America. The first four killings bore the hallmarks of the serial killer Nathaniel Brisco; only he died in the summer of 2002. His coven of 'chosen' dead beside him, by their own hands. Five kidnap victims taken as teenagers and trained to be pet killers. Case closed there, but had there been another kid/killer? The later assassinations were all completely professional, like Cossack had risen from the grave. Or the killer had gotten himself a trainer and upped his game.
…
Dan got more coffee, only this needed a stronger brew than on offer here; only he knew Byrne had taken the pledge. "Did you liaise with SFPD over the Brisco link?"
"No, this is a pet project. I have chronic insomnia, I work on cold cases at home. Off the record, I'm looking for clues to the disappearance of a friend's nephew. August 2003, he vanished into thin air after seeing his therapist. Bastards in San Francisco Police Department would not put any manpower on the case of a depressed, grieving fifteen year old disappearing. Alex would not kill himself. I had requested the surveillance of the two SCORPIA guys, only budgetary constraints do not mix well with mere hunches. They end up dead at the same timeframe as the kid disappeared. I do not believe in consequences. The killer either got to the guys after they snatched and killed Alex, which is the most likely scenario. Or Alex joined forces with him. If he was a copycat of Brisco, he would be a Svengali to Alex." Byrne left out that both operative had hefty prices on their heads, money paid out, suggesting it had been a hit.
The Special Agent then asked "the kids name and date of birth?"
The CIA Assistant Director was silent for a moment "Alexander John Rider, 13th February 1987. You will hit a wall on any official searches, MI6 wiped his records when he'd been missing for over three years. Born on London. Parents Helen Beckett and John Rider deceased May 6th 1987. Uncle was a good friend, MI6 Special Operations Operative, died February 27th 2001, Ian Rider's records were wiped after he died on the job, company policy. If you want files, Edward Pleasure has a full copy for Alex and some for Ian and John. He works freelance for the Post, lives in Georgetown. Works nights volunteering at the homeless shelter near the university. My money is on Nate crossing paths with Alex, but the kid was complete a Dudley Doright. Not a killer, not a psycho."
Dan shook his head, "We both know that you can turn anyone into a killer. Training, motivation and psychological programming. Is Alex this Cortez?"
"Maybe…Probably. I hope I'm wrong, because that kid deserved a good life, a quiet life" Byrne hoped and prayed Alex had not becoming the weapon of revenge his uncle and Blunt had trained him to be.
