“So,” I continue, mind racing. “It's not the money. It's not the toys. I'm almost certain there's no hidden motive of revenge, a deep-seated hatred because ye lost someone ye loved to a MacTavish maneuver.”
She nods pleasantly. “No, none of those things.”
I have six soldiers here. My mind races through the possibilities. Every MacTavish is equipped with a tracker so a rescue team can find us anywhere on the globe. However, rescue only comes when they’re alerted to disaster and even then, help would be ten hours away. We don’t have any closer allies than the Matsumori Yakuza in Japan, no one loyal enough to our family who would step in.
There must be fifty guards on this estate. And my wife is alone with only Ian. All our weapons surrendered upon entry as is expected from an ally. This sends the rage cycling through me again with a leaden undertone of terror for my wife.
“While I recognize this is not a Bond film, and you haven't been vibrating with the need to explain your dastardly plan,” I say coldly. “I would, of course, enjoy understanding why." Straightening my cuffs as I reach down to take my own drink from the sideboard, I twist my watch, pressing the button on the back that is only used to signal the most dire of emergencies. The reality here is that Xenia could anticipate any emergency signal we send out, because she created all of them.
Except for this watch, passed down from my father.
“Well,” she says thoughtfully, settling more comfortably against the cushions. “I guess I just wanted to see if I could do it.” There's no regret there, no guilt. Not even satisfaction, really. Her expression is blank.
“You've killed over one hundred MacTavishes over these last three years,” I say. “Ye did it because ye just wanted to see if yecould?"
“Well, it's sweet that you all trusted me,” she says. “And who can blame you, because Iamvery clever. But I'm a girl who likes to keep busy and things were getting a bit dull with this irritating slide into the family’s legitimate focus. It was easy enough to do my work while coming up with a few things to entertain myself on the side. Even if your father didn’t narrow it down, Georges was becoming suspicious of me,” she says sourly. “You'd really think that if you fucked a man long and well enough, he'd be happy to mind his own goddamn business. But I could see his hesitation, how he'd start double-checking certain programs with that little concerned frown he always gets.”
She chuckles fondly. “Really, it's so cute. So, now I'm torn between a massive flameout where I turn every ally you have against you and stand back to watch the carnage or just move on. I've left enough land mines that even if you trigger half of them, the MacTavish Mafia will be a laughingstock. And probably a bunch of you dead.”
"Xenia," I say gently, "appealing to you for the loyalty we've shown you, or the times that we've saved your life seems unlikely to be useful at this point."
“This is true," she says. “Your cute little wife? We were talking about how you must be a little bit crazy to be a Chieftain and I told her; I also have to be a little bit crazy handling the digital defense department as well. She didn’t even get a tingle of concern at that. I'll go find something new and fun to do. I'm giving the Matsumoris enough information tonight that they should bedeeplyfond of me for quite a while, and happily offer protection as I make my next move.”
“As clever as ye are,” I say, barely keeping myself from leaping on her and pulverizing her face. “Ye do realize I could fecking gut ye like a fish before they could even get the door open.”
“Yes, that,” she says tapping her finger to her lips thoughtfully. “But then, your wifey. Sweet little Sophie. Jesus Christ, the way you two look at each other is so fucking sweet. I got a cavity every time I was in the sameroomwith the two of you. Anyway, things could go so very badly for her if you got all stabby right now.”
“So, what's your plan then?” I say, seating myself with my drink. I can throw this glass hard enough to cave in the side of her skull. Right on her left temple where the bones of the skull are thinnest. This is a good, heavy piece of well-crafted crystal. But Xenia is right. What I need now is time. Time to stretch this fucking disaster out until I can see Ren’s play in this, reunite with my wife, and possibly use one of the Matsumoris as a hostage to get out of here.
And so we talk, Xenia and I, until the door opens again.
“Michael!”
Sophie races across the room to me. “What's happening here? The guards just pulled Himari and me out of her room, and-” She turns, her eyes widening with shock as she spots Xenia still giving that strange, blank little smile, her eyes flat and dull.
“Now Sophie, it's important that you don't take this personally,” Xenia says graciously. “Our karaoke sessions when we were out with the girls? I really enjoyed them. And outing your mom to Robert Taylor? That was so much fun. He'ssucha fucking moron. There's nothing in this game that was going to bring his syndicate out of the hole he dug it into. Good God,” she says with a chuckle, “that man is a walking septic tank. However, with your mom and you being so close to the family, I knew that cut would be the deepest.”
There’s a low rumble, like an earthquake, or a huge freight train passing close by. The far wall of the room crumbles, exploding inward and sending a ton of rubble and rock through the room.
Pulling Sophie behind the couch, I rise just enough to yank one of Ren’s ceremonial daggers off its wall scone, mentally thanking him for his weapon’s display. The gunfire is thunderous, percussive rounds of bullets spraying everywhere but near us. Rolling, I kick Xenia’s chair with all my strength, sending it skidding across the room and into the line of fire. The chair and the woman sitting in itexplode, shards of wood and bloody silk flying loose.
A sword slams down right where my head had been and I surge up with the dagger. Ren is the one wielding the weapon, both hands fastened confidently around the gleaming sword’s grip and as he raises it again, I throw my dagger, sending it into his right eye.
His shock freezes on his face as he bleeds out. Did he really think I would engage him in some misplaced sense of honor?
“Michael!” Ethan roars, “Do ye have Sophie?”
“Aye,” I say, checking to make sure the room is cleared before helping her to her feet. Minato is crumpled by the door, nothing but bloody scraps of flesh. I can hear three more explosions, close enough to crack the marble floor and shatter the remaining intact windows.
“That would be Uncle Lachlan and Logan,” Ethan shouts. “Time to go.”
Huge sections of the house are ablaze and I can hear the dim sound of helicopter blades, more than one chopper, most likely.
Ethan speaks into a headset. “Did ye get all three of the guard towers?” Another thunderous explosion rumbles through the courtyard and a fireball shoots up into the night sky.
“I guess that means yes,” I say. Keeping my arm around my wife as we dodge around the debris and out into the garden. The first helicopter is already landing close by as gunfire intensifies on the other side of the castle.
“Ye two are in this one.” Duncan materializes next to us; his face covered in black ash and a huge grin. “Get your arses in. Leave now. Talk later.”
