Cobalt (16 page)

       ‘So you’ve got a little fight in you? I like that. The others begged me to spare their lives. They thought if I got the sugar, I wouldn’t kill them. How can twenty-seven women all be so stupid? You’re not like the others. You know I’m going to kill you, whatever you do, but then you’re a cop, so you should. Come on. Give me some sugar.’ Holding her wrists to the ground with one hand, Barnem grabbed at her breast with the other. Using a move she had learned in training, Madeline succeeded in throwing Barnem from her. Rolling to scramble to her feet, Madeline’s efforts were brought to an end as Barnem used his five-foot eight,  210 pounds against her. Grabbing her around the waist, Barnem dragged Madeline through the house, and out into the backyard, to where he had a chopping block and an assortment of cutting implements. Barnem threw Madeline on to the ground, next to the chopping block.

      ‘I’ve decided, unlike the others, I’m going to kill you first. After all, I don’t need your head, for what I’m going to do to you. I’ve also decided you get to watch me kill you.’ He said as he tied her to the block, face up. ‘You know, they say when one is decapitated, one remembers the sight of the implement used, the feel of it slicing through the skin and the sight of their body as the head falls to the ground. Won’t that be nice?’ After checking to see if her hands were securely fastened to either side, Barnem then began to wander through his tools, trying to decipher which one he should use this time. Each implement he passed was given a running commentary; ‘Ah, the faithful axe. So many have lost their heads to it.’ Barnem stopped next to an old samurai sword. Picking it up, he swung it round his head a few times before approaching Madeline.

      ‘My grandfather gave this to me. Said he confiscated it off a Japanese soldier, during the war. I think he said he was stationed in Taracan. On the beach.  I haven’t used this one before. I hope you’re a history buff.’ Barnem laughed at his humour, until he noticed Madeline’s expression. There was no hint of fear, or anger, in fact, there was no emotion at all. He knelt down over Madeline, and pushed his face into hers.

     ‘Aren’t you the least bit afraid of me?’ He said looking directly into her unwavering eyes. When she showed no response he hit her across the face.

      ‘Mr. Barnem,’ Madeline stated evenly, not shifting her gaze. ‘You should never look into the eyes of the person you are going to kill. They will haunt you for all eternity.’

     Barnem grabbed her chin. ‘There have been so many.’ He kissed her. ‘Why should you effect me, when the others haven’t?’ Barnem then turned her head, and licked her neck and face. Stepping away from her he raised the sword over his head. At that moment Rick and six other agents burst through the back door.

      ‘Freeze! Drop the weapon.’ was shouted by one of the agents. Barnem attempted to make the cut, to make one final murder. Rick shot Barnem in the upper shoulder. The impact of the bullet threw his aim. The sword wedged into the block five centimetres above Madeline’s head. Then the team was upon him, pinning him to the ground. Rick raced to Madeline’s aid. She couldn’t look at him. Rick cut the cords that held her to the block, and she stood, breathing deeply as she did so. Rick tried to help her, but she pulled from his grip.

       ‘Are you alright?’ he asked, his concern for her, coming through in his voice.

      ‘Fine!’ Madeline responded coldly, over her shoulder, as she approached one of the waiting cars.

      ‘What did he do to you?’ Rick questioned, worried that his tactic was not the best solution to the problem after all.

     ‘Nothing you haven’t tried, in one way or another…’ Madeline said closing and locking the car door between them. Looking at Madeline, Rick realised that he had been completely out of line with his actions on this case. That he had treated her in the worst possible way, even worse than anything Barnem could have done to her in the time that he had her. Listening to the tone and the words she used in her responses, Rick knew that he had lost her.

Harold Barnem was convicted and gassed for the murders of twenty-seven women, and the attempted murder of one undercover CIA agent. Rick received the promotion for the brilliant and insightful apprehension of Harold Barnem, despite the fact that it was Madeline who had put her life on the line, and that it was Madeline’s reputation that had suffered. Rick became the Deputy Director four months after the conclusion of the case, and Marcus, the new Director, not wanting to separate a perfectly good team, left Rick and Madeline partners, as they had remained ever since. The only difference, before the case they had been more than just business partners, but from then on Madeline withdrew from the relationship, on an emotional level. Never again, she decided was she going to allow herself to be used by a man.    As they passed silently under the Rialto Bridge Madeline sighed. Her ride was almost over. When the gondola stopped back at St Mark’s square, she thanked Giaccamo, her gondolier, and made her way slowly back to the hotel. Passing a cafe still open at two in the morning, Madeline went inside and enjoyed the solitude over a cappuccino. As she sipped the last of the coffee, she warily stood up and left the cafe. Strolling the three doors to the hotel, Madeline smiled to herself. It took nine years, after that case, the accusations, before she allowed herself to trust him, before they completely re-found each other’s love. The beauty of love, she thought, is that in all actuality they never lost it. That while he remained slightly aloof, and she, emotionally barren, deep inside it had always been there. They had continued working together, sleeping together, using each other for the past nine years, and they would continue to do so while they benefited from each other.  Madeline laughed quietly to herself, as the doors on the lift closed, leaving the concierge staring after her.

CHAPTER 21

She entered the hotel room, and found Rick seated on the couch, files spread all over the coffee table, reading one of the many folders. Progress reports, Madeline surmised. Rick must have had the front desk print them out for him, she thought, knowing that they did not carry a printer with them. He looked up at her, removing his glasses in the process.

     ‘So how was it?’ he asked, following her with his eyes as she sank down into the cushions beside him and leant her head into his shoulder. He placed his chin gently on top of her head, slightly nuzzling into her thick mahogany tresses.

     She sighed. ‘Nice. I'm hoping the coffee, I had, can keep me awake to help you finalise these reports. So far...’ She yawned, closing her eyes, ‘It's not working!’

      He chuckled sympathetically. ‘You know what?’

     She mumbled an incoherent ‘Hmm?’

     ‘Why don't you turn in for the night... uh morning? Get some rest. You could...’ His voice trailed off, sensing she wasn't listening. Tilting his head down, he looked at her face. He saw that, indeed she wasn't. Madeline was sound asleep. He smiled and shook his head in amusement. Being careful not to jar her, he slid from underneath her and stood, keeping her propped up with one hand. He slipped that arm completely around her back, and snaking the other one under her legs, at the knees,  delicately lifted her body from the couch.

Eyes still closed, one of her arms hanging limply by her side, the other draped over her stomach, Madeline was only partially aware of the fact she was being moved. Planning on asking where she was being transported to, she instead ending up murmuring a string of barely audible sounds, just too tired to make a complete, coherent sentence.

            Rick tightened his grip on her, as she moved slightly in his arms. ‘Shhh’ he whispered against her ear. She moved one of her arms, and Rick thought she was going to cling about his neck. Instead her hand reached his shoulder and then slid down his chest to rest across her stomach, and other arm. Her fingertips still touched his abdomen.

She soon felt the support of a mattress beneath her back, her shoes being removed, and a light blanket being drawn over her body. She faintly heard the words, ‘I'd say goodnight, but that doesn't seem appropriate at three- fifty-seven a.m. So, Good morning.... I love you.’ He leaned over her sleeping face and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She lightly touched her lips with her left hand, and then smiled. He watched her slide her hand from her lips, down her body, to rest it on her chest, just under her right breast. He touched her hand gently and kissed her cheek. Satisfied Madeline would be comfortable for the duration of her sleep, Rick returned to the couch, and his unfinished work. Maybe I should try coffee... he thought. He rubbed his eyes and readjusted his reading glasses, having picked them up from the coffee table, where he had put them when Madeline came in. Grabbing the file closest to him, Rick began scanning it for relevant data. Sometime later his cell-phone rang, disturbing the quiet room, drawing him from his thoughts. He answered it after one ring, only to silence it, so as not to wake his sleeping partner.

     ‘Yes?’ he whispered.

     ‘Is this a bad time?’ He heard Lychart’s voice on the other end of the call.

     ‘No, no. Madeline's asleep, that's all.’ he answered.

     ‘Suspect at target, tomorrow at oh ten hundred.’

     ‘Confirmed.’ Rick stated.

     ‘Communications re-opened. Leak identified and terminated.’

Rick hung up the phone and looked at his watch. It read four, twenty-five a.m. He decided he would wake Madeline in four hours. That would give them plenty of time to decipher what tactic they should use in apprehending Teslovich. Rick yawned and turned his attention to the sleeping figure in his bed. He smiled, watching as her chest rose a fell evenly with her breath. He stood and moved over to the bed, wanting a better view of her. Madeline looked so peaceful. Rick climbed in beside her, carefully so as not to wake her. Lying back he closed his eyes. When they completed this mission, he was going to request a Caribbean vacation. They deserved one.

CHAPTER 22

An unusually large group of tourists gathered around the edge of the White House, and excitedly watched in awe as the National Security Adviser whispered something to one of the security guards seated by the metal detector by the door. Sensing he was being watched by the tourists, Ted Randal turned, smiled and waved at the large group. It was not often that the White House tour guides escorted more than ten tourists at a time, but then today was special. The President had agreed to meet with as many of the groups, as he could. It was another of William’s little schemes, a way in which he could appear more accessible to the masses. Ted knew that he’d probably only see the first two groups, and then return to his normally busy schedule, disappointing those of the public that arrived after ten. Ted walked off down the hall as the first group of tourists were ushered into to the building. As the last ten men of the group entered the building, through the metal detector, each held their breath. If they had timed this incorrectly they would set off the detector, as each man carried a compact, semi-automatic riffle concealed under his jacket. Fortunately their timing could not have been more perfect. As the first man stepped into the detector the small light, only visible to the guard directly in front of it, blinked out, his body position obscuring his partner’s view of the light. As the last stepped through, the guard stepped away, and the light looked as if it had always been on.

     ‘Ladies and gentlemen, My name is Vanessa, and I will be your tour guide.’ The African-American tour guide began, ‘We will begin our tour, today on the ground floor, where I will show you the largest room in the whole White House, the East Room, make our along past the China Room, and the Presidential Library, before we head up the stairs to the first floor and the executive offices, located in the political wing of the White House. In this area, commonly referred to as the West wing, we will end our tour at what is probably the most famous room in the entire building, the Oval Office. It is here that it might be possible for you to meet our nation’s President. So, if you please, follow me.’