Trained by Sansa Rayne

Chapter 17

I wasn’t sure I could do it. After all the time I’ve invested in Kate Atwood, triggering her implants wasn’t an easy decision. If not for our conversation about rationality and discipline, I’m not sure I’d have had the stomach to say, “Vetiver.”

In the past I would have sent a team with explicit orders not to harm her, but there was no way that would have been feasible. Anarchy, Inc. is too well-armed. Unless they left Kate behind, we wouldn’t have gotten close. So, there was only one realistic choice: kill her and put the blame on Death. She was in their possession at the time; of course the public will blame them for killing her.

The difference between someone like me and someone like Kate couldn’t be any clearer to me now. She tried to explain how one could act so irrationally, and I understood her point — now she’s demonstrated it. For all the progress she made in such a short time, learning incredible discipline, she reverted to her old ways in the end. She stupidly tried to escape, even though she knew this would happen.

Did Death make her some false promise of safety? Did he convince her he could save her, preying on her desperation? Maybe he legitimately tried to save her and realized he couldn’t. I’d like to think that’s the case, that he overestimated himself and failed. Odds are he didn’t care, though. She was just a news reporter turned TV clown — and a prisoner. She held no strategic value, other than as a media puppet.

I wish I’d gotten to enjoy one last twist of the knife. If I’d known she wouldn’t survive the day, I might have found one more way to watch her break a little. Despite the hell I put her through and the despair of knowing there was no hope for her future, she never tried to take matters into her own hands — she never attempted to injure herself or say something on air she wasn’t supposed to. To have her not reach the end of her rope almost feels like a failure on my part, like I didn’t push her hard enough.

Of course, it’s not that I needed to see her break to achieve some sort of satisfaction with her torment. Making her suffer wasn’t some means to an end — the torture was the point. That doesn’t mean I didn’t want to add to her punishment. After all, people always become accustomed to hardship. It’s simultaneously one of humanity’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. They learn to endure brutal conditions — but then they become inured to them and accept pain and defeat as normal, rather than fighting to improve their lives. Kate was no different.

Unless…

She had learned so well. She hadn’t made any serious mistakes since Ingram died. What if she didn’t make one this time?

She must have considered the possibility that Death could win this war. He could have told her so when he kidnapped her and promised her a way out. She knows plenty about the Masters, after all — Timo and Lincoln might have already talked but how much did they spill before they died? Kate knows plenty; she could fill in the gaps. She’s wanted to tell the world everything ever since Ingram first kidnapped her. Could she have struck a deal with Death? She could tell them about the Enclave, who the Masters are, the truth about Victor Sovereign’s death… And what better public figure to convince the world that Anarchy, Inc. is killing bad men and has been the good guys all along?

With her as an ally, that could very well be the last nail in my coffin. They would find our island.

And what if Kate’s not dead? Could they have a way of removing the implants safely? Timo and Lincoln could have told Death all about the chips, giving Death some time to figure out how to extract them… but was it enough? They would have had days, at most. They definitely would have needed prior knowledge of the devices. But how? Did someone successfully get out a secret message?

You know who else would have known…

Fucking hell.

It’s not possible.

He knew everything about the implants, and now he could have Kate…

If Ingram is somehow alive… it would explain a lot.

Forget what Kate could tell my enemy — if Ingram is the enemy, he knows everything. More than I do, in fact.

“Sir, the site we tracked Kate to just exploded,” Nick says via intercom. “Two vehicles are leaving the scene — including a van similar to the one back in Brooklyn.”

I shudder at the memory of that day.

“Destroy them,” I say. “And don’t fuck around. That van will be heavily armed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Also, send a team to Kate’s location, top priority — put out the fire and recover her body. I want those implants and I want to know how she died.”

“Understood.”

I load up the helicopters’ cameras on my tablet, then pour myself a whiskey.

Wind blows in from the west, a storm bearing down on Manhattan. Rain batters the windows of my penthouse. Lightning flashes over the skyline. Thunder claps overhead.

I pour myself another drink when the first helicopter goes down. Death’s using my fucking missiles. Within minutes he’s wrecked both helicopters and several cars — at least a dozen more of my mercenaries killed.

It’s another bloodbath — of course it is. Why did I expect anything else? Death is too well-armed. They knew we’d try to retrieve Kate and didn’t hesitate to blacken my eye. Plus, with the storm moving in we can’t track them via satellite. Did they check the weather reports before hatching this plan, or is it just my bad luck this worked out? On the other hand, the storm will suppress the fire at the farm. Death no doubt aimed to burn it to ash like the Waterston ranch, but this time we could recover some actual evidence. Luck can work both ways.

At least now I know they have Hamza’s missiles. It’s going to pose an interesting challenge, but if Death can buy armored vehicles so can I. The range on those missiles isn’t very far — if we can take out the launchers before they get close, they’ll be useless.

My hand shakes as I sip my drink. And what if Death has already incorporated this idea into his strategy, and is ready to hit me another way next time? For all I know, Kate could show up on television at any moment to tell the world about the Masters.

I think I need help.

—

Jamison Hardt picks up the video call within seconds, appearing on my tablet from his residence.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Ford. How was Kate’s interview with Death? Did you find out anything interesting?”

More mocking. I suppose it’s deserved.

“There was no interview, and Kate’s dead. Her tracker put her in Jersey, in the middle of nowhere. I believed she was trying to escape, so I killed her.”

Jamison flinches, unable to hide his pain. He definitely had a soft spot for her; to him she was an innocent victim, not an enemy. Is he remorseful he couldn’t protect her from me after Ingram’s death? Did he feel a sense of fealty toward her, out of loyalty to his departed protege?

“She knew the risks. I sent teams to recover her body. Then Death attacked,” I conclude.

“I gathered. It’s all over the news. The authorities are investigating. Did you get Kate’s body?”

I scowl, glancing at an image of the burning barn on my tablet.

“No. The barn where she hid was partially incinerated. They’re still sorting through the wreckage. They were lucky to get what they did — if not for the rain, there would have been nothing left.”

“I see,” Hardt says.

Perhaps he wished to give her a proper burial.

“Her death will raise a lot of questions. The media’s going to cover this story for weeks,” he adds.

I shrug. That’s the least of my concerns.

“At least until Anarchy, Inc. strikes again.”

“She didn’t deserve this,” says Hardt. “Have you no sympathy?”

No wonder it was so easy to overthrow his empire. He’s a soft, old man. He should have castigated Ingram for bringing her to the Enclave instead of killing her like they’d decided. Instead, Hardt let Ingram keep her as a pet. She could have died quickly and painlessly if Hardt had put his foot down. He didn’t.

“She would have destroyed us all if she could’ve,” I counter. “If it wasn’t for my intervention, her death would have caused the release of a cache of evidence about our organization. I neutralized it. If not for me, everything you’ve built would be crumbling — because of her.”

“It’s crumbling now, because of you!” Hardt seethes. “If you had left Ingram and Kate alone when they were in New York, they would be living there and not bothering anyone. Kate would have been doing as she was told; Ingram would have kept her in line. We would have been handling Anarchy, Inc. together.”

Assuming Anarchy, Inc. would even exist.

“Wouldn’t that have been a lot easier?” asks Hardt.

Of course it would have been. That wasn’t the point.

“I wasn’t worried about my mission being easy. When you’re trying to save the world, you expect it to be difficult.”

“Save the world?” Hardt snorts. “Please. This was always about revenge.”

That’s not entirely true, though I could understand why he would think so.

“When I learned that Ingram belonged to something big — something secret — I told myself that my life had a purpose beyond revenge,” I explain. “I didn’t want what happened to the Wilson family to happen to anyone else.”

“A noble goal.”

I nod.

“Yes, one that you stood in the way of, Jamison. You leeches, you parasites — sucking the world dry and feasting on its blood. My goal was incompatible with your existence. Taking over the Masters meant I could turn your power into a force for good.”

“And how is that going?” he chuckles.

A fair critique. All I’ve done since taking over is consolidate my power and torment Kate. I haven’t actually used it for anything else.

“You should have just assassinated Ingram instead of drawing things out,” he says.

“As a matter of fact I did, before I became a member. I tried to have him killed so I could have his spot,” I explain. “My assassins failed. But I’m glad they did, because I hadn’t spoken to Ingram since we were teenagers. Seeing him in person, talking to him and having him not recognize me — it stoked the embers of my hatred. I was glad I would have a chance to kill him myself, even if it delayed my ascension as a Master. Victor’s death put my plans back on track.”

“I hope it was worth it, Anton. If you’d killed Ingram after he and Kate left the island, you could have eventually taken over the Masters without usurping my position. You went too far, too quickly, and it could cost you everything.”

“My plans were working before Anarchy, Inc. showed up,” I argue. “No one could have anticipated that.”

“Oh yes we could’ve,” says Hardt. “I told you, we’ve faced challenges before. We might not have known when this would happen to you, but we knew it was coming.”

Unless it was Ingram, and he’s lying…

It would make sense that if Ingram survived, he had help. And who else on the island but Hardt could have been capable of somehow helping him escape?

“Jamison, are you saying you knew Anarchy, Inc. existed? Because I was under the impression we knew about these sorts of organizations and kept an eye on them.”

“No,” he says. “They’re new.”

“How do I know you’re being honest with me?” I ask. “The enemy of your enemy is your friend, isn’t it? You have a lot to gain if their campaign against me succeeds.”

His face reddens.

“I’m just as much a target as you, Anton,” he snaps.

“Are you? It would be easy for you to sacrifice men like Timo and Lincoln if it meant reclaiming your throne. For all I know, Anarchy, Inc. is your contingency plan should someone overthrow you. A sleeper cell poised to rise under the right circumstances.”

He laughs.

“I wish I were that devious.”

“I think you are. That’s why I made sure I could end you with one word. And right now I think you know more than you’re letting on. If you want to live, you should think real hard about telling me everything.”

“I have no secrets,” says Hardt. “If you don’t believe me, say my word. I’m prepared to die. I have been for years. But you’ll have one less ally, and right now you can’t afford to lose any.”

“Maybe I’ll have one less knife sticking out my back,” I growl.

Jamison shrugs.

“Do as you will,” he says, cutting the connection.

Fuck. I do still need help, otherwise I wouldn’t have contacted him. But, can he be trusted? Am I growing paranoid?

Damnit.

His word will have to wait.

I need answers. If Ingram’s still alive, someone has to know. Same goes for Kate. All I have to do is ask the right person.