Specter's Gamble - 28. Chapter 28

He sat in his car for almost two hours. Specter and the kid went inside the apartment and they haven’t left it yet. Alessandro briefly wondered if Specter was entertaining himself with the kid in his own twisted way, but he discarded that idea almost immediately. Samuel seemed to be at an extreme ease around the man, and Alessandro knew that if Specter had even touched the kid, that ease would be gone in a heartbeat. No, he is not doing anything to him, Alessandro thought, and for some reason, he felt some weird pulsating relief deep inside his chest. Relief and something that suspiciously resembled weak gratitude.

He gritted his teeth. Gratitude? What the hell is wrong with him? This bastard killed his brother; never mind the fact that Andreas should have been more careful and less arrogant, and that he should have called Julian immediately after he found out about Specter’s whereabouts... His brother was a smart man, but he was also a man guided by his emotions. He hated Rayhe with a burning passion, ever since he got hit by Gabriel’s very unpleasant spell back when they tried ambushing both of them in Rayhe’s house. He didn’t even care much about Specter, in spite of the fact that the assassin was Julian’s primary concern – Salamander didn’t give a damn about Rayhe, not even after finding out that Rayhe was the one who placed a hit on his Uncle several years ago. Alessandro found it somewhat amusing that Julian actually felt thankful to the man -- in his own weird, twisted, and sometimes demented way, but he was thankful.

Andreas should have known better than going there alone; he should have known that Specter got his reputation for a damn good reason; he should have known... He went there anyway, and got killed as a result. By Specter. Who was inside that apartment right now. Who was inside that damn apartment with Samuel who apparently trusted that son of a bitch more than he trusted anyone in his entire life.

Alessandro gritted his teeth. His hand was absent-mindedly twisting his phone for the last hour or so. He needs to call Julian, he needs to let him know. Salamander is going to be furious when he finds out, Alessandro thought. He is going to waste both of them now – Specter and Rayhe. Crap, Alessandro thought. He’d have to make sure that the kid was safely far away from here when that happened. Yeah, but could he guarantee that Samuel was not going to come back unexpectedly while Julian was in the midst of his slicing and dicing? Alessandro knew that Salamander would definitely take his sweet time before finally killing both of them.

Considering the fact that those two were planning to leave tomorrow night, there was an excellent chance of the kid coming back here, Alessandro thought gloomily. To say his last good-bye because... “I’ll miss you... Both of you...”Goddammit, he growled softly. God-bloody-dammit...

“You know,” a very thoughtful voice muttered in his head. “Julian doesn’t have to know about this... I mean, he is satisfied right now. He has no idea, not a single shadow of a suspicion that he was fooled and that Specter is alive... He doesn’t need to know, it will only make him extremely unhappy... And we both know that an unhappy Julian is definitely not a good thing...”

Yeah, Alessandro agreed with that wholeheartedly. But he also didn’t want to repeat his brother’s mistake by trying to take Specter out on his own. The result could be disastrous for Alessandro himself.

“Well,” the same thoughtful voice said again. “Andreas wasn’t after Specter; he was after Rayhe... He also underestimated Specter – a mistake you are not going to make. You know what he is capable of, don’t you?”

He certainly did.

“Plus,” the voice continued reasonably. “If you take care of this on your own, you will be finally able to get your revenge. Julian got his, now it’s your turn. Killing him twice – how marvelous is that?”

“Bloody marvelous,” Alessandro muttered.

He would also kill Specter and Specter alone. He wouldn’t do anything to Rayhe. The man who was willing to play such a deadly game with Julian, just to have a chance to save someone he loved, deserved to be left alone in peace. Well, relative peace, Alessandro shrugged. Rayhe is not going to be very peaceful after he loses Specter for real, but that part didn’t concern Alessandro.

Finally, after almost another hour, the door of the apartment opened, and both, Samuel and Specter, walked out. Alessandro rolled his window down just slightly. He saw them talking and he was wondering what Specter was saying to the kid. The assassin didn’t even bother to keep his voice down, so the sounds reached Alessandro’s eager ears quite easily.

“Just go home,” he was saying with a small laughter. “He won’t be back until later...”

Alessandro immediately knew he was talking about Rayhe.

“You are coming back tomorrow, right?” Specter continued.

“You bet I am,” the kid laughed. “Take me with you!” he said, and Alessandro’s heart skipped a beat.

“We talked about it already,” Specter said and tousled the kid’s hair again, just like he did when Samuel came to the apartment.

“I know,” the kid nodded. “It’s just...” he shrugged. “I have nothing here... Nothing and no one... Just think about it, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Specter grumbled and slightly shoved him towards the car. “Just go already... I’ll talk to Rayhe,” he finished suddenly, and the kid whirled around.

“You mean, you are actually considering it?!” an insane hope in his voice made Alessandro grit his teeth.

“Go away already,” Specter grinned. He tousled the kid’s hair one last time and went back inside the apartment.

The kid stood by his car for several minutes, a wide grin stretching his mouth. Finally, he got inside the car and drove away.

“If I take him out now,” Alessandro thought. “It would be the perfect timing... He seemed to be relaxed enough, even though I know it’s not a good reason... But he is alone, at least for a while. He is not aware of me being here. If I wait much longer, Rayhe might come back... Go there, ring the doorbell, since that would be a better alternative than trying to climb through the window... If someone wants to kill you, they don’t ring the doorbell first, right? The minute he opens the door, knock his teeth out, and then break his damn neck. Simple.”

Right. Except, when it came to Specter, nothing was simple, Alessandro was perfectly aware of that. He debated with himself for the next fifteen minutes. Finally, he made his decision and got out of the car. What Julian doesn’t know, can’t hurt him. Alessandro was even willing to go as far as not to torture the bastard. He wanted to at first, he imagined that it would feel magnificent, but now he changed his mind. He’ll break his neck, clean and simple. The kid, he thought gloomily. The damn kid was the reason he didn’t want to hurt the assassin more than necessary right now. Somehow, Specter was able to reach out to that kid; somehow, he was able to make him smile the way he did, and that alone was worth a hell of a lot to Alessandro.

Ring the bell, keep your arm ready (the guy’s intuition was bloody legendary; if he feels that something is off, Alessandro doesn't stand a chance), knock him out the minute the door opens, kill him. That was the plan.

Alessandro briefly glanced around, making sure that nobody was around, and quickly walked towards the apartment building. He stood still for several seconds, intently looking at the door with number fifteen on it, and finally, he rang the bell.

“Yeah, yeah,” he heard a voice from behind the door. “What is it now? What did you forget this time...?”

Good, Alessandro thought. He thinks the kid forgot something and came back. He heard the sound of the door chain sliding off, and then the door started to open. “You let yourself to relax, Specter,” he thought with dark satisfaction. “You wouldn’t make such a mistake three months ago... You’ve gone soft, and it is about to kill you...”

The door had finally swung open, and Alessandro’s arm immediately shot forward. He knew exactly how tall Specter was, therefore, he aimed for that one spot between his eyes. Alessandro knew that if executed correctly, this move could knock out a horse. His move was executed perfectly. The precision was envious. Specter would be knocked out the minute Alessandro’s fist collided with his face if Specter was the one who opened the door, which wasn’t the case. Alessandro’s fist hit nothing but air, making the bigger man almost lose his balance. He regained it rather quickly, and then stared at whoever opened the door with disbelief.

“Samuel?” he said incredulously, and when the kid’s dark-blue eyes darted behind his shoulder, he knew he was screwed.

He tried to whirl around and throw his arm upwards, but even before he started to move, he knew he was too late. Before he could even move a muscle, he felt a very unpleasant, sharp prick on the back of his neck, and then everything became black.