Instead of spending hours writing this, which I enjoy and relish, I have to spend hours writing essays. Which I don't enjoy. With or without relish.
Ashleigh swallowed hard as she realised that she was very far away from the pleasant tourist traps of Havana. In the dark alleyway she picked her way over the remains of food, rubbish and filth, and held her breath against the stench. The air seemed to coat her skin with a fine layer of dirt and she resisted the urge to rub frantically at her bare arms.
She was aware of the eyes watching her from the shadows, and subconsciously threw her head back arrogantly. Let them watch her, if any of them tried anything, well, they'd regret it. She was in a dark mood.
Wade had dropped her at the beach house, still unsure what to make of her. He had reached for her hand as she had tried to slip out of the Jeep, and pulled her back.
'You're really Trevelyan's wife?' he had asked quietly.
She had looked away then, not trusting herself to make eye contact in case it broke her. 'Yes, but please, try not to hold it against me.'
He had been confused, Ashleigh had known that. He had looked at her, an English spy, and tried to connect that with his feelings for Janus.
'You don't seem surprised,' Ashleigh had said slightly archly, 'about Alec being alive.'
'Why should I be?' Wade had said, and this time he had refused to meet her eyes. 'I knew he was alive, and I thought I knew him, and if you'll excuse me for saying, I don't know you from Adam, or Eve,' he amended quickly. He had slid a hand under his cap to rub his head. 'I guess what I'm trying to say is that nothing surprises me in this business. What folks do is their own concern.'
Ashleigh had nodded, acknowledging his words, but unable to say anything.
'Maybe he's changed,' Wade had said slowly, but had hurried on when he saw the frantic gratitude flare in Ashleigh's eyes, 'and maybe he hasn't. I know him by reputation, and I've seen what he is capable of. I followed him around Russia on that damned train of his, and I was the one who sorted out the mess that he left behind. Oh he never did any of the dirty work himself, but I know he's ruthless, and without a conscience. Least I never saw it. I saw what happened in Cuba and I spoke to Bond afterwards…'
'Bond?' Ashleigh had interrupted with a harsh laugh. 'He can hardly be described as an unbiased character witness, can he?'
Wade had looked at her, long and calmly. 'I don't know what you think of Bond, but I happen to know him, and I trust him. And you know that trust is a rare thing in our world. Bond was there during Goldeneye and you weren't. So you only have your husband's word for it.'
Wade had paused. He wasn't an unkind man, and he had seen the tension rise in Ashleigh's body, the way her fists had clenched, a faint flicker in the line of her jaw. He had leant out of the jeep, reaching for her arm with a large beefy hand and had squeezed it.
'He's your husband, honey. But I'm guessing you have some serious doubts about him.'
'You can guess all you want, Wade,' she had said dully.
For a moment, he had thought she was going to say more, and when he realised she wasn't, he had let go of her arm.
She had been trying not to shake. Wade's words had cut deep, and she feared that in doing so he had exposed her somehow, and that all her doubts and terror would come flooding out.
'You love him?' he had asked bluntly.
'I thought I did,' she had whispered truthfully, the pain of the statement tearing through her. She knew she was being melodramatic, but she had no way of describing the strange blend of hatred and love that she now associated with Alec.
'He love you?'
She had almost snorted. 'I thought that too,' she had said harshly.
'He's a fool to cross you, sweetheart,' Wade had assured her. 'Love of a good woman is the one thing that can redeem a man.'
Yes, Ashleigh had thought bitterly, you perhaps. But not Alec. Alec was only out for what he could get. She had given him a daughter, and would perhaps have given him other children if Natasha hadn't been taken. Family was what Alec wanted, blood and roots. Ashleigh was dispensable.
'You get him,' Wade had told her. 'You get him, and you find your daughter.
She didn't know what he had meant by 'get him'. She hadn't dared to ask. She already had her own ideas on what 'get him' meant, and she was disturbed by her own thoughts.
Alec believed that revenge was sweet. Ashleigh wanted to find out how sweet.
This was the thought that drove her onwards through the darkened alley. It was getting late in the evening and the city was beginning to wake up after the heat of the day. In the distance she could hear music, growing steadily louder all the time and she was grateful for it.
The apartment block was ramshackle, battered and bruised. Garbage was strewn up against the side of the building, almost all the windows were boarded up, except for a few on the first floor. She looked up at these windows, and saw flickers of light from behind them. On the ground floor, there was nothing but another boarded up window, and a narrow wooden door with a cracked panel. Ashleigh looked the building up and down once more, furious with the chain of events that had led her to this.
She rapped her knuckles hard against the door.
She heard feet behind it, a pause, and the door opened a crack.
'What do you want?' a cruel voice asked.
'Supplies,' she said coldly.
'Ain't none here.'
'Not what the Americans tell me,' Ashleigh growled.
'None of that shit here,' the man repeated and made to move the door. Ashleigh moved quickly, slamming her shoulder against it, using her advantage of being on the outside of the door to push it open once more.
She heard swearing behind the door, and doubled her efforts. She was strong for her size, but she felt the sweat beginning to break out of her skin as she strained against the wood.
'I was told you had the best armoury outside of the Middle East here,' Ashleigh snapped. 'I have the cash, if that's the issue.'
'Dollars?' the weight behind the door suddenly shifted.
'Dollars. Sterling. Euros. Yen, if that's what you want.'
'How much?'
'I pay for quality, not quantity.'
The door opened. The man standing there was tall, lean and dressed in a black leather jacket and black jeans. He had a couple of days stubble on his face, and was evidently attempting to cultivate his bad boy status. Ashleigh looked him up and down.
'I want to talk to Huang,' she said, attempting to stare him down.
'No one talks to Huang. You talk to me,' the man said, putting his arm across the door, blocking Ashleigh's way. She narrowed her eyes, and her hand twitched towards her concealed weapon, but she stopped, just in time.
Instead she forced a smile onto her face. 'I'm sure we can come to some arrangement,' she said huskily, resting her hand lightly on his arm.
The man glanced down at the small hand on his arm and then at the woman. Tailored grey shorts stopped at her knees, revealing strong, smooth calves. The black camisole she wore had thick straps that showed off narrow shoulders. The camisole was empire line, fitted at the bust, and then flowing loosely down over her stomach and hips. The clothes looked expensive, he decided. She looked expensive.
'Maybe,' he said throatily. 'What have you got in mind?'
She smiled languorously. 'Why don't we step inside and I'll show you.'
She took a step forward, and the arm moved away.
'There's a good boy,' she murmured, deliberately slinking closer.
'Who the hell are you?'
Ashleigh glanced up at the new voice, and swore silently. She could just see inside to a hallway, with a narrow set of stairs leading to another level. Coming down the stairs was another man, slightly older, but just as greasy looking. He too looked Chinese in origin, with heavy brows, and limp black hair falling messily to his shoulders.
'I heard you've got the best in town,' Ashleigh said haughtily.
'No drugs here,' the guy said, squinting darkly at her.
'I'm not talking about drugs,' Ashleigh said with more than a hint of disdain in her voice. 'You know what I'm after. I'm interested in… working with you, shall we say?'
'In what way?' the older man asked. The other man, who was little more than a teenager stood awkwardly to one side, avoiding all eye contact.
Ashleigh decided a new tact might have to be developed. 'I work for a gentleman in London. He's interested in your merchandise, and would like to see if it lives up to its reputation.' A little bit of flattery wouldn't go amiss. 'If I'm happy with what I see, then I have his permission to organise a rather large deal.'
Ashleigh glanced around at the alleyway. 'I'd rather not discuss this here. Shall we go inside?'
'Your watch.' The older man gestured at her wrist.
'Excuse me?' Ashleigh asked coldly, her hand wrapping around her watch defensively.
'Give me your watch.'
'Why?'
'I like it.'
'So buy one.' Ashleigh tilted her chin defiantly.
'No watch, no entry.'
'Fine,' Ashleigh said, turning away. 'Your loss,' she said idly, shrugging her shoulders.
The two men glanced at each other. 'You have cash on you?' the younger man asked.
'Inside,' Ashleigh said. 'I'll show you inside.'
Greed overcame security. The two men let Ashleigh step inside. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a leather wallet. She held it open, letting them see the stack of notes in there. She pulled out a few, and tossed them onto the floor of the hallway. The younger man fell eagerly onto them, scooping them up and into his pockets. The older man shut the door.
'My father is a busy man,' Huang Jr. said. 'You will deal with me, and me alone. My brother will be witness.' He jerked his head towards the younger boy. Ashleigh smiled sweetly at him.
'My employer would really rather I spoke to your father. I'm sure between the three of you, you should be able to broker a deal that will be satisfactory to all of us.'
'You will deal with me!' Huang Jr. almost howled, and Ashleigh caught the scent of rum, as his fetid breath washed over her. She managed not to flinch.
'Fine.' Ashleigh said darkly. 'Then I suggest we conduct our deal somewhere a little more business like.'
Huang Jr. glared at her once more, but if he was trying to intimidate her, then he had chosen the wrong woman, Ashleigh decided. She was just about to stalk past them when a gunshot rang out above them.
'Shit,' Ashleigh swore, ducking quickly, hands over her head. She pressed herself against wall, resisting the urge to once more draw her weapon.
The two Huang boys seemed startled for a moment, almost frozen to the spot. Then with a shout of fear and rage, they both moved, sprinting up the stairs, Ashleigh close behind them.
The elder Huang Jr threw open the door to a room lit only by candles. It was dark and filled with shadows, and Ashleigh, trapped behind the two men, struggled to see what they were staring at.
She was about to find out.
Huang Jr turned, murder in his eyes. Reaching out, he grabbed Ashleigh by the arms, forcibly throwing her into the room.
She landed hard, hitting the coarse wooden floorboards awkwardly. For a second, she lay winded, and then turning, she stifled a scream.
Less than a foot beside her lay an old man. His rapidly dulling blue eyes stared unseeingly at her, flecks of dust already beginning to settle on his drying corneas. He was Chinese in appearance and Ashleigh quickly noted the resemblance he bore to the two greasy young men.
'My father!' Huang Jr. screamed at her, gesturing angrily with a suddenly appeared weapon. 'My father!' he repeated, jabbing the barrel of the gun into her face.
Ashleigh risked glancing down again. The old man was lying flat on his stomach, his head turned to the right. His once pure white hair was now vivid red in places as blood soaked the fragile strands. He was very definitely dead, Ashleigh didn't need to be a doctor to make that assessment. A grapefruit size hole was blown out of the back of his skull, Ashleigh could make out delicate, bloodstained tissue beneath the shattered bone. The urge to vomit rose, she had seen death too much, but rarely in this much detail.
'You!' Huang Jr. shouted once more, his voice louder than ever in the silent room. The younger Huang Jr. looked shellshocked, his face a pale green, and he staggered slightly, before finding support in the frame of the door.
'You did this!' Huang howled again, stalking across the room towards. 'You did this!'
'How?' Ashleigh stammered, pushing herself backwards across the floor, away from Huang Jr, away from the body she presumed was Huang Sr. 'How? I've only just arrived. I've been with you the entire time.'
'That English bastard!' Huang Jr. was gone beyond reason or rationale. 'You work with him! The scarred bastard!'
Scarred? Ashleigh's mind frantically took in this detail. Scarred? Alec? Had he been here.
'What scarred bas-, what scarred man?' Ashleigh changed her words quickly.
'The blond man, your boss! He was here, he killed my father. Now, I kill you,' the gun was once more pointing at Ashleigh's head.
She had to act quickly. She leapt to her feet, and grabbed the nearest chair. Knowing it would be useless as a shield, she took advantage of the Huang brothers' bereaved state and dashed across the room swinging the chair wildly. As her attack came closer, the brothers backed off, stepping out of the room. Ashleigh seized her chance, and putting all her strength behind it, threw the chair hard at them.
It worked, she thought for the briefest second, as the brothers threw themselves backwards, and halfway down the stairs. Ashleigh slammed the door shut hard, turning the key in the lock and scanned the room, looking for something, anything that she could use to blockade the door.
Her eyes fell on Huang's body. She paused. She couldn't.
Could she?
Respect for the dead overcame Ashleigh's need for a plan. Swallowing hard, she saw she only had one escape route. The window.
It had been left open, common enough in the stifling heat. With a catlike leap, Ashleigh sprang up onto the sill, one hand gripping the wood above her head. There was another alleyway ran beneath the window, again rubbish strewn and only half lit. Ashleigh glanced up. A fire escape, narrow and ladder like led up to the roof and Ashleigh half heartedly reached for it. It was at least a foot above her reach, and she sighed softly, knowing her only option would be to jump. A loud bang made her jump, and she realised that the brothers had decided to kick the door in. She steadied herself, estimating that it was at least twelve feet to the ground below.
Gracefully, she jumped, landing in a crouch in the middle of the alleyway. She glanced down at her simple flip flops and smiled to herself, not the most ideal shoes to be jumping in.
Music was coming from beyond the alleyway, along with the sounds of people revelling. She heard the crash of wood coming from the open window above her head, and she stood, quickly checking that she hadn't damaged her feet or legs in any way, and with a final glance above her, she darted into the night, towards the music, towards people and away from death.
She had no doubt that they would be after her. And no doubt that they would kill her when they caught her. Her plan was simple. Don't get caught.
High above her on the roof, Alec watched her run. He too had made his escape through the window, but had chosen the fire escape route, dragging the metal ladder up after him to prevent anyone following.
His face was impassive as he stared after his wife as she disappeared into the distance. Reaching into his jacket, he took out his weapon once more and idly checked the clip. Satisfied, he walked to the edge of the roof, and leapt to the next adjoining building.
Below him, voices were raised as they realised the woman had made her escape.
The hunt was on.
