Angel and the Assassin: Be Brave

and grandmother have been
    located and informed. There‟s no father in the picture. It seems the mother fell to
    her knees, completely overcome, when she was given the news.”
    Angel leaned his head on Kael‟s shoulder and hugged his arm. “Ekaterina
    loves Daddy. We visit her at least three times a week at Freddie‟s. She always runs
    to him.”
    Conran smiled every time he looked at Angel, seeming very fond of him. “I
    spoke to Freddie this morning. I‟ve arranged for the child to be escorted back to
    Russia tomorrow by a woman from children‟s services.” He looked at Kael. “After all
    you did for her, it would be nice if you could go with her, but there‟ll be a good deal
    of media attention when she arrives and you can‟t be part of it, I‟m afraid. You‟ll
    have to say good-bye to her quietly. But I applaud your persistence in rescuing her.”
    “You‟re not a bad bloke, are you, Stephen?” Kael said.
    “I try to be a good person, you know, to make up for being a snotty little fuck at
    school.” Kael laughed out loud and looked at Angel. “And you‟re more human than I
    ever assumed you were too, Saunders. Risking your life to save a child? Speaking of
    which, you killed Dudek. That wasn‟t supposed to happen. There are a lot of people
    very unhappy about it. They were ready to start the operation, and they wanted
    him on trial to make a big public spectacle and garner awareness of the whole
    human trafficking situation.”
    “Actually that was me. I killed him,” Angel said. He picked up his glass of milk
    and took a long drink.
    “How did that come about?” Conran asked, shock plain on his face. “You know
    the girls phoned the police as soon as you left the house? Dudek died from a precise
    cut to the jugular, according to the autopsy.” He looked at Kael. “I assumed that
    was you.”
    Angel put down his glass. “Mr. Conran, that house was rigged with alarms.
    The moment Dudek got me in there, he beat me up to show me who was boss. All
    the dudes guarding the place had guns. The only way out was to start killing people.
    I killed Dudek because it was the only way to get Daddy and the little girl out of
    there alive.”
    “With a scalpel in his jugular?” Conran looked at Kael again. “Who taught him
    that?”
    Kael shrugged. “He‟s my boy. I teach him my skills just as I assume you teach
    your boys things.”
    “Yes, golf and chess. That sort of thing.”
    Kael laughed. “We teach our boys what we know. What we‟re good at.”
    Conran crossed his legs. “Are you still adamant about keeping him out of the
    service? Still wanting him to have a respectable job as a diplomat or something?”

    158
    Fyn Alexander

    “Daddy, no!” Angel pouted childishly.
    Kael kissed the top of Angel‟s head, inhaling the fresh, delicate smell of the
    boy he loved. “I don‟t want him in harm‟s way, though he seems unable to avoid it.”
    “Angel, how did you feel about killing Dudek?” Conran asked.
    “He had it coming. The dude was a piece of shit.”
    “But how do you feel now, a few weeks later?”
    “I had no regrets about the guys in Bosnia, and I have no regrets about Dudek.
    I haven‟t lost a moment of sleep, and my appetite is great.”
    “That‟s my boy.” Kael grinned.
    Conran looked at him thoughtfully for half a minute, then stood up decisively.
    “I must go. The crumble was delicious. Thank you, Angel.”
    “You‟re welcome, sir.” Angel smiled.
    “Dishes.” Kael pointed at the table and walked Conran to the front door.
    In the privacy of the hall, Conran said, “You could be an amazing team. Plato‟s
    army of lovers and all that.”
    “I know,” Kael admitted. “We‟ll see how things go. I want him to finish school
    first.”
    Conran looked down at his feet while he said, “You know, we can provide
    psychological counseling. Hostage situations can have long-term effects.”
    “I‟m fine, mate. This is me you‟re talking to, Kael Saunders. Master of all I
    survey.” He chuckled.
    “What kept you going—psychologically, I mean? At some point you must have
    given up hope of getting out of there alive.”
    “No.” Kael shook his head. “I‟ll tell you exactly what kept me going. Thinking
    about my boy kept me going. Angel needs me.”
    “And you need him,” Conran said.
    ”Yes, I do. Thank you for being kind to him and for sending Mattie after me.”
    “Angel was not supposed to go. You do know that?”
    “I know everything. Angel