Author's Note: I'd like to thank phnxgrl and TORONTOSUN for their reviews. TORONTOSUN: Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year to you as well. phnxgrl: I love that you love it. Thank you both for commenting! For those of you who are not a fan of graphic violence, I must warn you that this chapter could be considered rather explicit. I am warning you up front so I don't get a lot of hate for it. If graphic violence is not your thing, skip this chapter. Otherwise, enjoy!
Chapter 31
Alex sat in her car in sight of her target's home and waited. Candace Robinson had been out most of the day, most likely in court or prepping for it. Around dusk, she arrived home with her security detail. This detail was a recent addition. At the beginning of her surveillance, Alex had only seen one bodyguard. The day before she had originally planned on killing the mark, four more men started protecting Robinson. Alex had been forced to rethink her strategy.
But she was ready now. Alex had added a few weapons to her usual knife. Tonight she was wearing a tactical bulletproof vest with two throwing knives at her shoulders, one for each hand. She also had one sheathed to the inside of each of her arm guards. Another pair of throwing knives were hidden in the sheaths inside her boots. Holstered at the small of her back was a gun, though she had no intention of using it. Her WingWalk was on her right hip. This weapon would hopefully only be used on Robinson, though that might change.
Alex unzipped her jacket enough to check her gear and then bundled back up again. Robinson had just gone inside with two of the men. The other three were taking their usual posts. One would stay out front, one would cover the back, and the third would take up a roaming patrol; she had nicknamed them according to their posts. Alex waited until Back Door and Roaming Patrol headed for their posts before getting out of the car. She had one more weapon, but it wasn't on her. Earlier today, she'd hidden the weapon she intended to use on Back Door near his post. If luck was on her side, it would still be there.
She walked on the opposite side of the street across from Front Door, keeping an eye on Roaming Patrol and Back Door as they headed down the street. It would take Roaming Patrol approximately ten minutes to complete his route once he left Back Door. That gave her plenty of time to eliminate the two guards inside and Robinson. Up ahead the two turned the corner. Alex waited until she had reached the crosswalk to follow.
The pair turned the second corner. Alex kept her pace the same. She didn't want to attack Back Door until Roaming Patrol had turned the third corner and could no longer see the stationary guard. At the corner she pulled out her phone and paused to watch the guards separate while pretending to check something. Once they were no longer together, she pocketed her phone and moved down the street. Three doors from her target, Alex stopped to tie her shoe. At least, that's what it looked like. She was really retrieving the awl she'd hidden earlier.
She'd chosen the back door as her entry point because the guard here was the least attentive of the exterior guards. Usually he was sitting on the stoop and playing on his phone within fifteen minutes of arriving at his post. That meant Roaming Patrol had at least made one trip around the block and passed him again. The only reason he hadn't been fired yet was he had learned the timing too. At the seven-minute mark of each patrol, he would pocket his phone and stand up until Roaming Patrol passed him. Right now he was sort of turning a slow circle to survey his surroundings.
Alex waited until he had started to turn his back toward her to stand up again. She moved toward him quickly and quietly, keeping an eye on her surroundings as well. Thankfully, no one who was outside was paying any attention to their direction. Alex grabbed his shoulder and thrust the awl into the back of his neck right where the spine and skull met and then jerked the awl quickly to one side. Back Door froze and then shook with a seizure as his brain stopped sending and receiving signals to and from his body. Alex guided his fall to ensure his body would be hidden behind the bushes along the sidewalk near Robinson's back door. In seconds he was dead, no sound, little blood.
Alex left the awl where it was and inserted a skeleton key in the lock. Thirty seconds after she had stabbed the guard, she was inside. She shed her jacket and pulled the throwing knife from the sheath on her right forearm with her left hand, changed which hand was holding the knife, and started moving silently through the Brownstone. The two interior guards were playing chess near a television screen that was cycling through the footage from different security cameras placed around the house. Alex wished Sloan was here to guide her through the minefield those cameras made. His absence from her life was getting more pronounced with each mission she made. Alex shook her head, now was not the time for a pity party. She was about to throw the knife when one of the guards stood.
He took off his suit coat. "Don't move anything. I'm going to do a sweep of the house."
"We did that when we came in."
"You can't be too careful. Keep an eye on the monitor."
The guard walked off, heading upstairs. Alex waited for two minutes to make sure he would be out of earshot. The other guard got up and walked around the living room. When he wasn't near any furniture, Alex threw the knife at the guard; it buried itself in his thigh. He dropped to the floor, surprise keeping him silent for now. She rushed forward. The guard saw her and started to yell for help. In one smooth motion, Alex unsheathed the knife from her left shoulder and flung the blade into his throat.
Loud sounds from the guard instantly ceased. He made a few gurgling sounds as blood from his neck wound invaded his trachea and lungs. Alex could tell he would no longer be a threat and glanced up at the monitor. The second interior guard was speaking with Robinson in the office. Neither of them appeared jittery, so they hadn't heard anything.
Alex headed up the stairs. She still had one guard to eliminate and then Robinson would get a taste of her blade. Alex pulled the throwing knife from its sheath on her left forearm. She quietly opened doors, looking for the office. Up ahead, the door to the office opened. Alex hid in a doorway, took a mental note of where the office was, and waited for the door to close again.
Soon after it did, she threw the knife at him. This one tagged him the shoulder. He looked up in surprise as Alex charged toward him. She unsheathed the knife on her right shoulder and stabbed him in the throat while pushing him into the wall. When she let go, he collapsed as death claimed him. Alex checked her watch. She had been inside for six minutes already. The exterior guards would come in soon when the body of Back Door was discovered by Roaming Patrol. There was no time left to waste.
Alex opened the door to the office and closed it behind her. Robinson looked up and then froze. Alex reached to the WingWalk on her hip and slowly drew it from its sheath. Robinson's neck muscles flexed in fear and her breathing sped up a little. Alex started to walk forward.
Robinson stood up quickly. "Shaun!"
"Is that the guy who left a minute ago? 'Cause he's a little unavailable at the moment."
"You killed him?"
"And everyone else on your detail." Okay so that wasn't entirely true. "You really should have hired better men."
"Who sent you?" Robinson was backing away as Alex advanced, but soon she would be out of room. "The cartel? The human traffickers? Phillip Gratin?"
"No, the man who hired me is known as The Gentleman."
Robinson hit the bookcase behind her. "I've heard of him. Why does he want me dead?"
Alex shrugged. "Don't know, don't care. I'm not paid to ask questions."
Robinson grabbed a book off the shelf behind her and threw it at Alex, who ducked under the flying book. Robinson tried to rush past the assassin, but Alex simply punched the AUSA in the stomach. Robinson doubled over as the doors burst in. Alex grabbed Robinson by her hair and spun her to face the exterior guards, turning Robinson into a human shield. In the same motion she stabbed Robinson in the back.
The AUSA gasped in pain as Alex whispered in her ear. "Okay, so I lied about everyone being dead."
The two guards had their guns pointed at Alex. "Let go of her now!"
Alex grinned. "I wouldn't say that if I were you. If I let go, my knife won't be acting as a plug anymore. She'll die in minutes."
The guards glanced at each other. "What do you want?"
"I've been hired to kill her." Alex twisted the knife a little and Robinson groaned. "I'll be blunt. No matter what you do, she'll die. So, what are you going to do?"
Alex was moving closer to the desk as she spoke, bringing Robinson with her. The guards were unsure what they should do. There wasn't a clear shot, so if they took a shot, they might hit or kill Robinson. Not taking the shot meant the AUSA might die. Then again, this killer said Robinson was going to die either way.
"Who are you?"
"They call me The Shadow Fox." Alex pushed Robinson off her knife and to the ground, taking cover behind the desk. Three shots whizzed over her head and hit the shelves behind her. Alex set down her WingWalk, unsheathed the throwing knives from her boot holsters, and waited.
The two guards were moving to flank her from each side of the desk, though one was moving faster than the other. The guard on her left came around the corner first. Alex flicked her left arm in his direction and the knife hit him in the eye, dropping him immediately. Alex quickly threw the other knife at the last guard standing and hit him in his gun arm.
He dropped his gun and stumbled backwards, pulling the knife out of his arm. Alex grabbed her WingWalk and came around the desk, grabbing the guard's hand that was holding the throwing knife with her left and redirected it into his throat before he could resist. He collapsed to the ground, hand still holding the knife that had signed his death certificate. Alex stepped over his dying body and turned to Robinson. She had somehow not gone into shock and was currently trying to crawl away. She wasn't going to get far.
Alex approached slowly, letting Robinson know she was coming. Robinson whimpered in fear. Now everyone she had hired to protect her was dead and she knew she was next. Alex stopped next to Robinson and watched her crawl a little farther before she stabbed her twice more, completing her signature. Alex then turned Robinson over.
Tears had run down her face and she was breathing quickly, though her strength was leaving her as quickly as her blood was. Alex stared at her coldly for a couple moments before slitting her throat. In the silence, Alex could hear what sounded like a radio talk show on low volume. She followed the sound to the last guard she'd killed. In his pocket she found a phone with the line open to 911.
"Leichtsinn!" The call had already lasted three minutes. Alex ended the call and ran. There was a subway stop a block away. If she could make it there, she just might be able to escape.
Outside, sirens were wailing. Alex pulled on her coat as she ran, racing to get to the station before the cops could block her path. As the entrance came into view, so did a police car. Alex dashed across the street, putting everything she had into her run. The uniforms exited the car, yelling into their radios as they tried to cut her off. Alex beat them to the station entrance and rushed down the stairs, the uniforms hot on her trail.
A train had just pulled into the station, but Alex had no intention of boarding the train. She ran onto the thinner service platform leading into the tunnel at the front of the train. Twenty feet in, Alex flipped the switch on the Lenny box and plunged the tunnel into darkness before jumping onto the tracks. A little farther down, on the opposite side of the tunnel, was a safety indent. Alex slipped into it as the cops flipped on their flashlights to try and find her.
She attacked when they got close enough to her hiding space. Within a minute, she had knocked them both out. She then dragged them into the unusually large safety indent and used their own handcuffs to tangle their arms around each other. More cops would soon be coming, and now that her position in the subway had been broadcast, Transit cops and the NYPD would be trying to eliminate exit points. Good thing she knew this city like the back of her hand.
Meanwhile...
"What about Italian?"
Kate shook her head. "We've had that the past couple nights. I'm thinking we should go to that new Japanese place."
Rick nodded. "That does sound good. Let's go."
Kate got up to get her coat when her phone rang. "Beckett. We'll be right there."
"We got a body?"
She nodded. "Yeah. Possibly a Shadow Fox hit. I didn't get more than that. Address is in Brooklyn."
Castle grabbed his coat and helped Beckett into hers. "No name?"
"They didn't give me one. I'm sure we'll find out when we get there."
Castle locked up. "You think it might be The Gentleman?"
"Maybe."
A/N: What's going to happen now? Drop a line below with your guesses! Thanks!