Happy Halloween! Double update day, don't miss chapter 17.
Stealthily he begins to approach the compound. Damon stands by the climbing roses of the fences surrounding the property. He listens intently. The evening has sent the birds to their roosts and the crickets sing in the swaying grasses. The shadows are now twice as long as themselves, the sun dips lower in the sky until the trees that line the estate stand as black statues silhouetted against the darkening sky, slowly their shadows melt away into the blackness of night.
"I'm in," Damon reports once he's infiltrated the Alaric's compound by climbing over a fence in the rear of the property.
"Proceed right through the garden area," Marcel instructs. "Main entrance is several yards ahead; I'm not seeing any guards but there's no doubt they're there."
"I'm at second mark," Damon says a moment later.
"Perimeter hold your positions," Marcel chimes in again, "You're clear to go."
As Damon approaches the front door, he's not surprised to see a man carrying an AK-47, watching his every movement. "How do you recommend I proceed?" he feigns stooping over to pick something so the guard won't catch that he's wired.
"You know your mission," comes through his earpiece that for all intents and purposes appears as though he has a pierced ear.
"Don't let me die," he says under his breath as he raises his arm to knock. Before his fist makes contact, the door swings open and he's urged inside.
"I'm here to see Ric," Damon raises his arms while he's patted down.
"Stay here," a big grungy looking man nods at the guard who waves his rifle around - then disappears through a set of double doors.
Moments later he returns, "This way," he sneers.
Damon sucks in a breath then follows him down a long corridor. When they reach an arched doorway, the man twists the knob, steps back and gestures for him to enter. It's dark and it takes a few seconds for his eyes to adjust when suddenly the light comes on.
"Hello, Damon," Ric is sitting in a big chair, his fingers tented, the pads of them bouncing against one another.
Damon's eyes are unblinking as he stares at him. He pulls out a chair, takes a seat without being told to and asks with a smirk, "Now what should we talk about?"
"I call the shots here, not you Damon," the corners of Ric's mouth lift but there's a deadly gleam in his eyes.
Damon's hands are clammy. His blood is rushing through his ears like a raft moving rapidly down the white water in a chaotic path, hurtling between rocks and the shore.
"Why Ric?" he asks, amazed that his voice doesn't reveal even a hint of the nerves that are wreaking havoc inside of him.
"Simple, money," Ric toys with a paper cutter that's shaped like a pirate's cutlass.
Damon pretty positive that he has a more lethal weapon within arm's reach, likely in the desk drawer or maybe even laying on his lap. "Why did you involve me in all of this? I thought we were friends."
"You were a means to an end...I needed to get the heat off of me so I fed you information. And as far as being friends goes, that was your mistake."
"I was close to getting what I needed to publish the story on Mayor Lockwood. Why did you blow it up now?"
"Because very dangerous people have been breathing down my neck. I had to make my move."
Ric pushes his chair back and Damon hears the slide of a drawer. When he looks at him again, he's brandishing a big handgun then moves around the front of the desk, leans against it and crosses his arms, his finger on the trigger. "Now why don't you tell me what happened to Mason?"
"Oh no, you don't get to blame me for that. He pushed that throttle like a madman, the boat flipped, it's a damn miracle that I survived. The Coast Guard was notified, that's all I know."
"Stand up," he growls, his face twisting into rage.
Damon does as he asks and with a twist of Ric's finger, he swallows and turns, hoping he won't get shot in the back of the head. The nudge of the muzzle against his back is actually a relief.
"Isobel," Ric yells and moments later the woman opens the door and steps back so Damon and Ric can walk through it. "Is the car ready?"
"Yes, my love. It's waiting just outside," she rakes her eyes over Damon then links her arm with Ric's. With the gun still nudging him forward, Damon walks across the foyer, his shoes clipping against the tiles, the door flies open when he reaches it.
When they arrive at the vehicle, Damon feels a sharp blow to his head as he's shoved inside. The last thing he sees is a hazy image of Isobel before his eyes fall shut.
Damon doesn't know how much time has passed when he becomes aware of his surroundings. He sits up with a groan and when he opens his eyes, he finds himself staring again at the barrel of Ric's gun.
Fuming, he spits out, "Would you put that damn thing down? I have nothing," he raises his arms in the surrender posture as if to mock his captor.
"Ah darling, he's upset," Isobel runs her nails up Ric's jeans-clad leg.
Rather than let them see him roll his eyes, Damon turns to look outside through the window. The vehicle begins to slow down to turn when he sees a big aluminum building, illuminated by pole lights.
When the car stops, Ric gestures for Damon to get out. There's an aircraft parked in the metal barn. His boots meet the ground as his eyes adjust to the silvery light. Looking around, the runway is lit up. It's a rough strip of land on the edge of the coast, hacked out of the woods. He suspects this place would be easy to miss if not for the two lines of electric bulbs burning at ground level, outlining the path for the plane.
"Where are we going?" Damon glares at Ric, meeting his eyes before turning to look at the horizon. He sees a flash of light, and hopes it's Marcel and his men coming to put an end to this once and for all...
"If we incinerate, we'll never have to worry about Alaric Saltzman again. He's been a knife in my side for a long time," Vincent comments as they speed to the plane hangar.
"And that wouldn't raise any eyebrows?" Marcel cocks an eyebrow and glances at Dahlia.
"Incinerating a private airfield is severe don't you think? And what about Salvatore?" She points out.
"Selling information to our enemies is severe," Vincent responds. "Our enemies should know that."
"I agree... For this mission, for all intents and purposes, Salvatore is one of our operatives and we're not going to leave him behind. Are we clear?" Dahlia's head snaps to her left to meet Marcel's piercing gaze.
"Once he's out of danger, you can burn it to hell."
Vincent activates the Comm-link. "Damon, stand by," he instructs, "We're on our way."
Once they're in position, they stare at the images on the screens in their high-tech van while Marcel drives. When they reach the perimeter of the compound, he gets out, readies his weapon and prepares to lead his men neutralize their target.
"So, it's going down right now?" Elena looks at her 'guard' Rebekah.
"Yes," she squeezes Elena's hand. "He'll be fine, Marcel and his people won't let anything happen to him."
"I want to believe that. But covert ops aren't exactly in Damon's repertoire..."
"Stop biting your nails," Rebekah sits down at the bedside.
"I'm worried, I can't help it...I love him. I think I have since he took me into his dad's garage to play train if you know what I mean," Elena's cheeks heat up at the thought.
"Do tell," Rebekah starts when suddenly the lights flash briefly. "Under the covers, pretend you're sleeping," she pulls her gun out of her shoulder holster and ducks into the bathroom just as a man clad in all black slips into the room.
Elena's trying to remain as still as a statue. Every single pound of her heart feels like a dagger poking through her chest. The approaching footsteps clip-clop on the bleached tile flooring, stopping suddenly...
The knife is snapped at the tip but the rest is sharp. The handle is cheap black plastic. Somehow it gives Alexander pleasure to end a life with something so cheap. It will slice through her hospital gown and into her flesh. For a moment he's lost, imagining her blood spurting out.
Snapping himself out of it, he raises his hand to drive the dagger in...
Thank you all very much.
RIP Sean Connery. :( Thanks for all the years of entertaining us. I loved him as Indiana's father too. There's an old Disney movie, probably one of his first roles - 'Darby O'Gill and the Little People' - he sings in it.
Chapter title: 'You Only Live Twice' by Nancy Sinatra from the James Bond movie.
It's actually my wedding anniversary. My husband insisted, said then he'd never forget.
Have an amazing day and a wonderful weekend.