"You ungrateful little shit." Ivan takes off after Ace who starts running as soon as he realizes Ivan is coming for him.
"Come on Kat. They may be at it for hours at this point. Let me show you your room so you can get settled."
I start to follow Ana to the house when Ivan calls out. "She goes in the blue room."
Whatever the blue room is, it stops Ana and Ace. No one moves until Ana breaks out of the stupor Ivan's words put on everyone. Her face breaks into the biggest grin and when she takes my hand she is all but pulling me towards the house now. The last words I hear before I'm too far away are Ace saying, "So it is like that."
11
____________
Ivan
As soon as Ana takes Kat inside the house I'm turning to Ace to get down to business. "Did you find out anything?"
"Oh, I found out lots of things. Like how Uncle Ivan has a crush and didn't let me know anything about it on the phone. Or about how you never give out nicknames willy-nilly and this girl you brought who can't be much older than Ana has a nickname. Kat, huh?"
He talks all the way to the barn. Ace isn't much younger than me; about ten years give or take a year. Even with all he’s experienced, Ace still has a more innocent view of the world. I'm not sure if it's just his good nature or how his mother raised him - Ana has the same innocence about her too. Still, he wouldn't be where he is today if he wasn't good at taking care of himself and kicking people's asses.
He's in a special military team that operates in the dark. No one knows about them and no one asks questions. His team came and got me out. Little did I know when I helped the twelve-year-old boy escape Russia with his family that he would return the favor fifteen years later. I was close to his father; the man would be proud of Ace and all he's accomplished. Hell, I'm proud of him.
But Ace has a mouth that will get him in trouble every time. It's that mouth that I have to remind myself not to hit because he is helping me out. I had every intention of bringing Kat here and leaving her here with Ace and Ana but after last night there's no way I can leave her. Ace is blowing smoke when he flirts with her and I still have to fight back the red I see. I am well aware of just how much shit I am going to have to take over asking Ana to put her in the room I usually stay in when I come to the farm.
"You will leave Kiska out of this." Hearing me call Kat kitten is enough to make Ace shut up. Actually, his mouth falls open but he is silent so I am counting it as a win. "Have you tracked the men I need to kill to keep her safe?"
"Better," he still looks at me like he is seeing someone who took over his uncle's body, "I know who ordered the hit and why. We know the intended target of the hit AND I am currently running down the insider in Roberts' department."
"Well?" Both of us go to the wall where all of the horse bridles hang and when he pulls the handle of the third bridle the wall slides back to reveal a large metal wall with a lock on the front. It's biometric to either me or Ace or Ana; we didn't want her to need something and not be able to get to it. Ace puts his palm on the pad and the door unlocks. Behind the door are rows of guns and ammunition, knives and other assorted odds and ends that come in handy when you go hunt for someone.
"So this lawyer you gave me the name of, he helped one of the Senator's lackeys go free, I mean they weren't even going to charge him or anything if he turned on them. Gave them the names of men and women that helped with this trafficking ring. They put some damn good men on it too but when everything settled back down these names started showing up as dead bodies. We figured the guy was cleaning house but we didn't have a fucking clue how to prove it or where he was going to go next. Now we do."
Ace gives me a look that tells me I should get comfortable being used as bait.
"The Senator is the one cleaning house. Not only did he get the attorney but the guy he got off was killed yesterday in a drive-by. Word on the street says that you and Kat are one of the last loose ends the good Senator has to tie up."
"The man's trial is coming up soon isn't it?" Ace nods an affirmative. "It makes sense that he would want everyone dead before anyone talks. Why not just wait for the lawyer to go home and kill him then, make it look like a suicide?"
"That's what me and you would do, but Archer, you remember him right?" I nod at the mention of Ace's boss's name. "He thinks all this spring cleaning is a warning. We know someone else is involved in all of this, someone that was shopping information around using the Senator to do it. Archer thinks the Senator is telling this mystery guy he's prepared to kill to keep his own ass safe."
I pick up an M-17 and check the barrel and the clip that's laid out beside it. "This Senator, Brad...what's his name?"
"Senator Brad Johnson. A man with a distinguished military career who got voted in on the promise he would 'clean up America's streets'. Yeah, he cleaned them up alright, by sending women and children on the streets overseas to be peddled in the sex trade. Fucking jerk."
Brad Johnson. He doesn't know it yet but he just signed his own death warrant. I pick up a Mark III Navy knife and put it in the sheath I wear around my leg and place the one I was wearing back in the Mark III's place to be sharpened at a later date.
"Ivan," Ace sounds way too serious for us just discussing information on a mission. I look over at him and give him my full attention. "They killed your neighbor yesterday. Jenny Anders. They went to the address you gave them at the station and killed her when she couldn't tell them anything about you or the woman you were with. These fuckers we're dealing with, they don't care if it's a man or a woman or what. They just want the job done."
"So they have to be stopped before they can do any more damage. And what do you mean 'we're dealing with'? I don't recall asking you to help me kill these men. I just want your help keeping Kat safe."
"Funny thing about that Ivan, Archer's been after these guys since May. No way is he letting you fly solo on this one. He wants the name of the guy selling to Johnson and he isn't particular about how he goes about getting it." He slaps me on the back before continuing, "Welcome to the team, Uncle."
***
I'm not sure I am a team player; it's been a long time since I had to fall in line with anyone else. That being said I have worked with the guys on Ace's team before. Most of them are younger than me but the team leader, Jamison Archer; he is about my age, maybe older. It's hard to get a read on just how damned old he is.
He's damn good at his job. I respect the man and I don't offer my respect to many. Me and Ace start setting up a sort of command center in the library once we hide the bike in the barn. This farm is owned by Ace and he has shit hidden everywhere so that if someone comes in it's going to be a bad day for them. It's one of the reasons I wanted us at the farm. I can keep her safe here better than anywhere.