Ice Storm - Anne Stuart [106]
“I’ll get him,” Peter said, limping past Thomason’s unmoving figure. A moment later Mahmoud came flying out of the room, his video game clutched in one hand. To Isobel’s amazement, he flung himself at Killian.
Killian grunted, falling back for a moment at the child’s onslaught. A child who weighed very little, and Killian was very strong. How badly was he hurt?
He put his hand on the boy’s hair, ruffling it with affection, speaking to him in Arabic. “Is Reno here?” he asked Isobel. “He wants Reno.”
“He’s here. Come along, kid,” Peter said. “I’ll take you to him.”
Mahmoud was already racing ahead of him, but he paused for a moment to look at Isobel. He said something to her, something long and incomprehensible, and then took off, Peter trailing behind him.
Bastien made a choking sound, and she remembered he knew Arabic. She wasn’t about to ask Killian, who was looking strangely amused beneath his pallor. “What did he say?”
“Just good wishes for your future health and happiness,” Toussaint said.
“Vermin,” Harry said, struggling to his feet.
“Bastien,” she said, “do something about these two, would you?” She gestured toward the remaining men Harry had hired.
“What about Thomason?”
“I’ll take care of him.”
“You sure?”
She arched an eyebrow. “You think I can’t handle a pathetic old man, Bastien?”
“Of course you can, chérie. You’re the Ice Queen.” He glanced toward Killian. “What about him?”
She had no choice but to look at him. He still had that vaguely ironic expression on his face. “Get out,” she said in a low voice. “Go back to Langley and tell them that if I ever see you again you won’t be left standing.”
“Not the forgiving sort, are you?”
“Get…out,” she said.
He started after Bastien, moving slowly but with no particular limp. Maybe it was someone else’s blood on him. Maybe it was a flesh wound. Maybe he was dying.
She didn’t give a flying fuck.
She ignored him, turning back to Harry. “So what am I supposed to do with you?”
“There’s nothing you can do. You can’t prove anything, not without bringing our entire business to light, and you wouldn’t want to risk the few operatives that are still alive. Though I’m not sure quite how many there are…. I’ve got someone in Japan about to take out Takashi O’Brien and his new wife, and the operation in Somalia is in ruins. My men must have got to MacGowan, as well. They’re going to take your toy away from you, Isobel, and there’s nothing you can do. You were too weak to run an organization like the Committee. You couldn’t do what needed to be done, so in the end I win. I may not have control back, but you can’t touch me without getting yourself dirty. The Committee will replace you, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they put me at the helm, after all. We’re run by some very pragmatic people, and the end justifies the means. I’ll be ready to accept your resignation, of course.”
“They’re not that stupid.”
“Not stupid. Just not bothered by sentimental nonsense about human rights and fair play. We’re fighting the forces of evil, Isobel, and you haven’t got what it takes to wage that war. You haven’t got the stones to do what needs to be done.”
“Yes, Harry, I do,” she said. And she pulled the trigger.
The expression on his face was shocked, almost comical, as he slid to the floor. A head shot, quick and silent, as Bastien had taught her. His body splayed out, and something slipped out of his pocket, a gold watch falling onto the stone floor, the engraved cover flying off as it dropped into the pool of blood, the glass face shattering on impact.
She didn’t move. The gun was heavy in her hand, shaking, and someone came up behind her. She knew who it was. He took the gun away from her with his bloody hand. “I would have killed him for you, princess,” he said softly.
She wouldn’t look at him. And after a moment he walked