Merciless (Option Zero 1)

The woman on

the other side of the chair was an attractive brunette in her mid-forties. She wore a slight smile, as if she were enjoying a private joke. Ash thought she looked vaguely familiar.

When his eyes lit on the third person, the man sitting in the chair, he knew why the woman looked familiar and why she was smiling. The seated man was one of the most notorious mass murderers of this century. He was believed to have been in on at least eight terrorist attacks in the last decade. He had little to no allegiance to any country, nor did he have any kind of religious leanings. He killed for money, for fame, and for the sheer enjoyment of taking lives.

There was one other unique fact about Günter Rhinehart: The man was supposed to be dead.

Ash cursed himself for his lack of foresight. He’d been so focused on Carl Lang being here and dealing with him, he hadn’t for an instant considered that Omar had found a much more deadly buyer for the bioweapon.

Jules glanced over at him, and though her expression never changed, he saw the knowledge in her eyes. She, too, recognized the man.

Omar whirled around and clapped his hands as if he were a child at his own birthday party. “This is my biggest delight of the year. I can see you’re just as surprised as I’d hoped you’d be, Humphrey.”

Yeah, he was surprised, and he’d like nothing better than to grab hold of Omar’s skinny neck and squeeze until his eyes bugged out. The bastard knew exactly what kind of destruction Rhinehart would inflict if he got hold of a deadly bioweapon such as the one Humphrey was selling. And he did not care.

“This is indeed a surprise.” Humphrey’s voice held both surprise and delight at the turn of events. “I’m assuming you have an additional buyer for my product?”

“Not additional. Exclusive. Günter is willing to pay an exorbitant amount to ensure he’s the only bidder.”

Well, this op had taken a downward turn in a hurry. Ash had a choice to make. He could take down Rhinehart and his goons, capturing an evil man whom the world believed to be dead. His cover would be blown, and he’d have Omar and his guards to contend with, too. Between him and Jules, it’d be a rough go, but they had the element of surprise going for them.

Another option might be harder to pull off and was iffier. Could he manipulate the situation so that Rhinehart and Lang bid against each other, giving him access to both of them? Turning Rhinehart down and insisting on going to auction as planned could have deadly consequences. Offending the bastard might be the last thing he did. Plus, he’d be putting Jules at greater risk. That wasn’t something he took lightly. She had agreed to work with OZ, knowing the danger, but this was different. She didn’t sign up for certain death. That’s exactly what she’d get if this plan went awry.

“Darling,” Elsa said calmly, “introduce me to our new friends.”

With those words, Ash knew she was all in on whatever decision he made. If it wouldn’t have been completely out of character for Humphrey and Elsa, he would’ve grabbed her and kissed her in front of everyone.

In a split second, he decided on a third option. Günter Rhinehart could not leave here alive.

Taking Jules’s hand, he moved toward the trio. Rhinehart had an unhealthy pallor, so even though he wasn’t dead, the explosion thought to have killed him had done some kind of damage. He was, unfortunately, breathing, and that meant he was still a threat.

Standing before the murderer of thousands, Ash held out his hand. When Rhinehart merely shook his head, Ash looked down curiously and noted that one of the man’s hands was mangled, and the other was missing three fingers. Rhinehart was notorious for making his own bombs and had apparently had an accident with one of them. Or had the explosion that was supposed to have killed him destroyed his hands? Either way, Ash was glad to see that there was some justice in the world.

“Please excuse me for not rising, Mr. Humphrey. As you can see, I am a bit under the weather.”

“Many believe you dead.”

“And that is exactly what I want them to think. With enough money and influence, you can make people believe anything.”

Yes, but only for a short while. The truth always came out. Maybe not as quickly as some would like, but usually someone or something revealed the secrets.

“I’m sure you’re right. May I present my companion, Elsa Olsen. Elsa, this is Günter Rhinehart, one of the most hated and revered men of this century.”

“Lovely to meet you, Mr. Rhinehart.”

“And you as well, Ms. Olsen. May I introduce my companion, Renee Kirkson.”

As the two women nodded greetings to each other, Ash studied Rhinehart’s female companion. Their relationship had been well known, and since Renee hadn’t been seen since the blast, it was believed she had been killed alongside him. There wasn’t much known about Rhinehart’s private life, but Ash had seen many reports in which a wife and several young children were mentioned. Were they holed away somewhere, or did they, too, believe he was dead?

“And this is?” Ash raised a questioning brow at the large man standing beside Rhinehart’s chair.

As if the man was of no consequence, Rhinehart flicked a mangled hand with a careless gesture. “Fredric, my bodyguard.”

There was a small awkward silence and then Omar, practically glowing with pride, said, “Now that we’ve all met each other, let’s get refreshments all around. Dinner will be ready in a half hour or so. After that, we’ll get down to business.”

Humphrey and Elsa settled onto a sofa together. And while he made small talk and pretended to enjoy the hors d’oeuvres, he gauged the atmosphere and the man across from him. One wrong move, one way or the other, and everything could implode. He and Jules would be lucky to get out of the resulting mess alive.

By the time the dinner bell rang, Ash had devised a plan. It was risky and could blow up in their faces, but it was the only one he believed might work for what they needed.