Henry liked to think he was the one who kissed Delphi first, but it was actually the other way around. His hand had found its way to her cheek, completely of its own accord, his fingers skimmed behind her ear. He felt a scar. He traced a small x.
"An x marks the spot." she had laughed, pulling him closer and pressing her mouth against his.
He let that memory play over and over again in his mind as he stood, waiting for Aldrich. At least seven men lay dead at Henry's feet. They were the remaining security that John and Delphi had not met.
Aldrich was starting to realize that his plan was failing. He was also beginning to feel played. After he killed Delphi and Wick, Winston was next on his list.
Delphi did not quite know what to do with the scene in front of her. Preparing herself for the worst, she had expected to see her sisters, lifeless, lying on the cool concrete floor. Instead, there were three dead and mostly naked guards.
Delphi had shot Maria so she could think.
John made his way over to comfort his friend.
Upon looking in the vault, he was just as dumbfounded as she was.
Henry possessed a greater ability to kill than Aldrich Aalders, in fact, Henry couldn't remember ever seeing Aldrich kill anyone. He always had someone else do the dirty work for him.
Aldrich Aalders was just very, very angry. He wallowed in his anger as he parked his SUV and walked into the restaurant. He only grew more livid as he walked past the bodies of his help.
Delphi looked at John, and then back to the undressed men. A savage smile played on Delphi's face.
Henry cursed as three more guards walked towards him. He could have sworn he had finished the last of them off. Then Aldrich walked in. When it rains, it pours.
Delphi and John made their way back the way they had come.
Iris, Phoebe, and Cleo had dispatched the three men sent to kill them easily. They had known that Aldrich would not have the nerve to finish the deed himself, so when the men entered, the women pounced. They shot three times, for effect, then dressed themselves in the guards' uniforms and walked out very simply. Luckily, Maria had not been sent to stand sentry at the vault until after Aldrich had received the phone call from Winston.
John was beginning to suspect that he was just looking at the tip of the iceberg concerning the Kane sisters.
Henry was momentarily struck by how each of the three guards advancing towards him had their right hands bandaged. He understood just as Aldrich drew his gun and aimed at Henry's head.
Aldrich took a deep breath. It had been years since he had killed a man himself, and he was about to shoot the second in less than an hour. His mind flashed back to memories of him as a boy, hunting with his father. This memory only angered him more, reminding him of a son who had been stolen from him.
It was Delphi who shot first. She put a slug in Aldrich's shoulder. He had not even seen her enter the room. He cursed in Dutch.
Then Cleo shot, putting a round in his thigh, causing him to drop to the floor.
Iris acted next, her bullet entering his abdomen, causing him to cry out in pain.
Henry advanced and shot through Aldrich's other leg, leaving him on his knees.
They all turned to look at John, who shrugged his shoulders as he fired and created a hole in Aalders' palm.
John decided then that he enjoyed this sort of group work.
Phoebe made her way towards the father of her child. Her hips swayed as she walked, and she caressed Aldrich's face when she drew near to him.
Cleo had moved behind Aalders to restrain him; John was impressed with her strength.
Phoebe squatted so that she and the man were eye to eye.
Abraham Aalders was resting in bed at his apartment in Amsterdam. When he had received Delphi's package only a few days earlier, he had eyed the protective vest warily, she knew that he believed they only limited his movement. Now feeling the bruises, he was grateful he had worn them that night.
Phoebe asked Aldrich only one question. "How did you find out about him?"
"Egan?" Aldrich whispered. The women seemed to flinch when he said the child's name. It was sacred. Aldrich was breathing raggedly, but had enough in him to continue to answer. "Your old friend Winston told me about him."
John was shaken by the mention of Winston's name. He looked at Delphi, expecting to see his shock mirrored on her face. Instead, her jaw was clenched in rage. John thought back to his chat with Winston at the bar. It's that charm that gets people killed.
Though it hadn't been Delphi who had charmed Winston. That fell to Phoebe.
She had been the one to seduce the wealthy billionaire. She had kept his identity secret from her sisters, no easy task, but it was through Winston that she could keep an eye on all of them at once, and play the game for herself.
Phoebe knew that Winston would never forgive her. She just did not know that Delphi would trust him. Not until it was too late.
Phoebe huffed at Aldrich's reply.
He continued. "You should kill me. You've taken everything from me. My heart. My son. My brother. Why stop now?"
Abraham had moved to his kitchen where he was frying himself some eggs. He sipped on his coffee as he looked at the one photo hanging on his fridge. Luckily, his nephew favored Phoebe more than Aldrich.
The Kane sisters all laughed at his response.
Ruthless, thought John.
"You're right. Why stop now?" Phoebe finished as her bullet torpedoed through Aldrich's brain.