Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

out to Provins. He knew the layout of the house, and if Ekaterina was there,
    he could easily get her out. That was Plan A.
    Kael reached the mansion before midnight. Even as he drove by the security
    gates, he saw that the house was, for the most part, in darkness. There was no
    party going on tonight, and there were only two cars in the driveway. With the
    house quiet, Kael decided not to drive along the access lane in case the engine noise

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    Fyn Alexander

    drew attention. Instead he parked down the road in the lay-by he had used the first
    time. On foot he went back to the house, running as easily through the dark fields
    as he ran beside the Thames a couple of times a week. The gate was still unlocked.
    He smiled. Some security system. This should be easy.
    The French doors on the patio that he had walked through at the party were
    locked. The big lounge lay in darkness, but the double doors across the room were
    open and dim light from the hall beyond made it possible for Kael to see inside.
    Using a small shiv, he opened the door easily. He paused, waiting for some
    indication of an alarm system. Either there wasn‟t one or it hadn‟t been turned on
    for the night. Crossing the room on silent feet, he listened intently. Voices from
    across the wide entrance hall alerted him that someone was in the house and still
    awake. Kael went quickly from room to room, his GLOCK 26 with the silencer in his
    hand. Stealthily approaching the room with the voices, he halted and saw a man
    with his back to the door watching television. He moved on up the stairs and went
    directly to the room in which he‟d found Ekaterina. With great care, he opened the
    door. The bed was made and the room empty.
    From bedroom to bedroom he went, finding all the beds empty, the rooms clean
    and tidy. At the front of the house, around the open curved staircase, was the
    master bedroom. At the door, Kael stopped and listened. Someone inside was
    speaking Polish. It had to be Dudek. The voice that responded to him spoke halting
    Polish with an accent that was possibly Czech. With his gun ready, Kael opened the
    door a fraction. The room was dark, but the spotlights in the driveway created a
    little light through the partly open curtains. Dudek, a thin, unattractive man, lay
    on the bed, and beside him, a boy who appeared younger than Angel. The boy looked
    bored or perhaps tired, and didn‟t respond at once to Dudek‟s order. Dudek sat up
    and grabbed the boy‟s arm, slapping him hard across the head.
    Kael closed the door. Ekaterina was not in the house.
    He exited quickly the way he had entered and was on the road to Paris within
    fifteen minutes. Now for Plan B.

    * * *
    Two streets away from his target, Kael parked the rented car and walked to

    the three-story house, his plan carefully worked out. He knocked on the door, his
    shoulders slightly bowed, and when the door opened, he looked from side to side as
    if afraid of being seen. “How much?” he asked in working-class French. Assuming
    most men who visited brothels were anxious and afraid of being seen, he fell into
    the role.
    The man beckoned him in and closed the door, then locked it behind him. The
    hallway smelled of stale food and rubbish that needed emptying. The floors were
    bare, and the paint on the banisters and skirting boards was filthy. The man named
    the price, and Kael handed over the cash. “I want the youngest one you‟ve got.”
    “Top of the stairs on the left.”

    Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

    125

    He took the stairs two at a time, calm but hopeful that the child was there.
    The room was shabby and run-down like the rest of the house. The girl was about
    fourteen by the looks of her, but she could just have been undernourished. Barely
    making eye contact with him, she began to undress. Kael walked out and back down
    the stairs. The man who had let him in looked quizzically at him. “That was quick.”
    “She‟s too old. I want a younger girl.”
    “She‟s the youngest we have,” the man answered.
    Kael squared his shoulders now to intimidate the smaller man. “Give me my
    money back. I was told you could supply someone younger.”
    The man disappeared into the front room and returned a moment later.
    “Forty-three rue Chappelle.” He gave Kael half the money back and opened the
    door. Kael took the money and walked out without a word.
    Yes ! Everything was falling into place. It had to be Ekaterina.
    Again he parked a couple of