Chapter Twenty-Nine Dixie

Vladimir has followed Pirate's orders and checked himself into the hotel. Pirate gave him several rooms that will work for our fake assassination and Vladimir got the best one. Money and influence, not to mention a little charm, likely helped him achieve this.

I enter the hotel through a service door. This door opens only from the inside and has just the one camera monitoring it. The camera is outside the door and easy to disable. We're counting on the door being of little concern to hotel security so that no one comes to investigate.

Once inside, I move down the empty hallway past the busy kitchen where everyone is so intent on their tasks that I could have ridden my motorcycle through the room and they'd not have noticed. I slip into the stairwell and make my way up the stairs to the fifth floor. Vladimir's room is the first door on the left. I no sooner than complete the agreed upon knock than the door opens and Vladimir moves aside so I can enter. He's alone in the room and I realize he's showing me a level of trust that I'm certain few have earned.

"Let's get everything set up," I say, putting the duffel bag I'm carrying on the bed. "You know how to get out of here?"

"Stairwell down, past the kitchen, and out the door at the end of the hallway," Vladimir says. It's the same way I came in and the way I'll be leaving. However, we won't be leaving together. He'll leave first and once I know he's on his way, I'll follow behind.

However, I'm eager to get back on the road so I can meet up with my brothers. I don't want to leave them shorthanded, even though Vladimir is supplying additional men. One more man, especially one with my skills, can make the difference between success and failure.

"How is this going to work?" Vladimir asks me, interrupting my thoughts.

"I have fake blood and makeup that we'll use to make you appear dead. Then I'll take a photo and send it to Pirate. He'll add the embedded code to help us track who receives the image. I'll send it to Sigil and they'll send it on to the client. Hopefully, we'll learn who payed for this hit."

"Good," Vladimir says. "Is the photo the only confirmation they need?"

"Usually, but we're not taking any chances. Pirate acquired some news footage that we're going to reuse. This hotel had an accidental death a few years back. The footage includes police cars and an ambulance parked outside the hotel. Several stations covered it, so he's taking the footage and tweaking it so that it will include news of the murder of a local business owner. He'll get the coverage on the website. In case someone does a search."

"Good man to have on the team," Vladimir says and I nod.

"They're all good men. Speaking of which…"

"I got a call from my guy. They've met with Hex and the others. Trust me. These guys are ghosts. They can get in and subdue the guards before they know they're under attack. They've had experience getting into more secure locations. Your brothers are in safe hands. They cased the building earlier and found the security lax."

I frown at his words, because when we were there earlier, there were several guards on the roof and outside. However, our definition of lax probably differs.

"Why do you have a team that are experts in infiltration and extraction?" I ask.

Vladimir studies me, but says nothing right away. "Maybe one day I'll tell you, but not today. We don't have the time."

I nod in agreement and get to work. I hand Vladimir the contact lenses that will cloud his eyes. While he goes into the bathroom to put them in, I arrange the room and ready the tools I'll need to finish the farce. When he returns, I apply the makeup that turns his tanned complexion gray. Then I make a hole in his shirt right over his heart before adding the blood and black soot to mimic the gun shot. He lies on the ground while I adjust his clothes and position to mimic several actual kills that I've completed in the past. Once he's in place, I take the photos and send them off to Pirate.

"You can get cleaned up now," I tell Vladimir, who disappears back into the bathroom. I hear the shower running as I clean up and wait for Pirate to get back to me.

Vladimir comes out of the bathroom wearing jeans, a white t-shirt with a dark blue hoodie, and a baseball cap with the Red Sox logo. He's also clean shaven, and he's styled his hair differently. He's done a decent job of changing his appearance. Only someone who knows him well would recognize him now.

When my phone pings, I glance at the display and see the updated image from Pirate. Before I send it, I show it to Vladimir, along with the completed ‘news report' that Pirate will post to the various news sites later.

"Shit, that's an image I never want to see again," Vladimir says, looking at his dead body. "You do good work. I take it you've seen a few actual deaths in order to recreate it so perfectly?"

I shrug. "I've seen my fair share."

"You planning on continuing as an assassin?" I nod. "What does Delphine think? She doesn't see what you do as being wrong or dishonorable?"

"She's fine with it as long as I take out the men and women who add no value to the world."

He nods slowly. "Women are often more practical than men."

His comment makes me chuckle because he isn't wrong. Men often think we're the ones who approach a situation with logic and detachment while operate on emotions only. But sometimes women surprise us with their cold-blooded approach to life.

"Ready?" I ask. "You've got everything you need?"

He picks up his bag and jiggles it, letting me know he's set. As he heads for the door, my phone rings. Vladimir turns around and waits for me to take the call. He's likely hoping to hear Pirate has the name of the client who ordered the hit. But it isn't Pirate. It's Hex. I put it on speaker.

"We're finishing up here and I'm on my way," I tell Hex.

"Don't. The building's a bust." The anger in his tone is palatable, but before I can ask, he continues. "They must have gotten wind that we were coming and cleared off. But that's not why I'm calling. The women are gone. Our women. Cleo, Delphine, and the others. They were waiting in the SUVs. Levi's down. Lake's tending to him. Levi said Irish ambushed him. We think Irish took the women. We just don't know where."

I lock eyes with Vladimir, who drops his bag and pulls out his vibrating phone.

"I'm still with Vladimir. Someone's calling him," I tell Hex.

Vladimir picks up, but listens quietly before saying anything. "Do what you can to get them off the ship. We're on our way." Vladimir ends the call and turns to me. "I have a guy on the inside who is close to Maxim. He confirmed Maxim has the women. We need to get over there and get them off that ship before it sails."

"You're taking a risk," I remind him. "If someone sees you…"

"No one will see me who shouldn't," Vladimir says. "Besides, this may work out better than my original plan."