Angel and the Assassin

sitting on the grass with the kids. Don‟t speak to him; just take off your shades
    and make sure he sees you, then come back to me.”
    A question immediately appeared on Angel‟s face, but he refrained from asking
    it and stood up. “Yes, Sir. Do you want one?”
    Kael shook his head.
    He’s learning to obey me without question; that’s good.
    Angel‟s walk was not manly; it was like a long-legged young colt about to break
    into a run at any second, graceful but still powerful. Kael could not help smiling as

    Angel and the Assassin
    121

    he watched his boy half run, half walk toward the ice-cream vendor. The pale sun
    shone on his light blond hair, which bounced as he walked even with the gel he put
    on it to enhance the long spikes that were cut into it.
    Exactly as ordered, Angel bought an ice cream and, licking it as he went,
    walked directly to Conran, who was preoccupied with wiping a drip off the chin of
    one of the little boys. Angel stood about five feet away, watching until Conran
    looked up at him; then he turned and walked back to Kael. Recognition washed over
    Conran‟s face slowly. His eyes followed Angel until they fell on Kael. He got up and
    spoke hurriedly to his wife and then began walking toward them.
    Angel plumped himself down on the bench, leaning into Kael‟s side. “Daddy,
    that‟s the guy who was in your dungeon. I didn‟t recognize him till I was up close.
    He looks different in clothes and without a blindfold.”
    “Everyone does.” Kael laughed.
    Conran wore jeans and an Aran sweater with a shirt underneath. Kael had
    never seen him dressed so casually. He came to a halt in front of them, looking left
    and right as if expecting more surprises. “What the hell is going on, Saunders?”
    “Hello, Stephen. This is Angel Button,” Kael said.
    “I know who it is. Why is he here? You said he was dead.”
    Kael pointed at the fountain. “Sweetheart, go and sit over there and wait for
    Daddy,” he said to the boy.
    “Okay, Daddy.” Angel obeyed at once.
    Kael patted the bench. “Sit down, Conran, and let me tell you what you‟re
    going to do for me.”
    “Are you mad?”
    “Sit!”
    Conran obeyed, leaving a foot of space between them. “If anyone from the
    Service knows that boy is alive and knows anything about Andresen‟s death, they‟ll
    snatch him.”
    “I know, which is why I‟ve been keeping him hidden. But that can‟t go on
    forever. You‟re going to protect him. You‟re going to get him a British passport and
    citizenship. You are going to make sure everyone forgets where I got him.”
    Conran looked directly ahead of him, refusing to meet Kael‟s eyes. “It‟s not
    going to happen, Saunders. The best thing you can do for that boy if you want to
    keep him safe is to send him back to America. Even there he might not be safe.”
    “What about the Bosnians who made the arms deal with Andresen? What if
    they go after him? He saw some of them in New York; they met Andresen at his flat
    in Manhattan.”
    “That‟s not my problem,” Conran said. “But you are, and you‟re compromising
    yourself for some little teenage boy.” He looked at Kael, bewildered. “What‟s the
    matter with you, Saunders, you who never give a damn about anyone but yourself?
    Now you have a teenager calling you Daddy. I never took you for a pervert.”

    122
    Fyn Alexander

    Clenching his fist, Kael raised his hand and slammed it down into Conran‟s
    thigh. Conran almost collapsed with pain, leaning forward, gasping. “You wouldn‟t
    think of being sarcastic with me, would you, Stephen?” Kael said, his tone
    conversational.
    “I was not being sarcastic.” Conran was breathless with pain, but appeared
    more concerned that his wife and children should not see anything, and he watched
    them carefully. “You overestimate my power. I cannot arrange citizenship for that
    boy, and I can‟t protect him.”
    “If you can‟t do it, you know someone who can. You can arrange this for me,
    and you‟re going to. You want to spend more time in my dungeon, don‟t you?”
    Conran threw a quick look around them to ensure no one was within earshot.
    “I don‟t want it so much that I will compromise my position or risk my income.
    There are some things that are beyond my control, and that is one of them.”
    Kael stretched out his long legs as though he was at home on his couch. He
    looked so comfortable that no one would know he was continually scanning the
    park, watching