Annja set down the tray she carried and began preparing the hypodermic needle. “You’ll be here with us for a few weeks, I understand?”

  “Yes, just long enough to get the operation completed and make sure there will be no infections.”

  Annja nodded and stuck the syringe into the vial. “We’re getting you right in there, apparently, so please lay down on the table and allow me to get you relaxed.”

  Agamemnon had just a robe on and lay down on the table, exposing the vein in his right arm. “Very well.”

  “You’ve had a long journey?”

  He smiled. “Feels like it, yes. But I’m looking forward to a long rest.”

  Annja bent over and slid the needle into Agamemnon’s arm. She pressed the plunger down and sent the drug mixture deep into his vein.

  As she did, Agamemnon looked at her. “You’re a very beautiful woman.”

  Annja smiled. “Thank you.”

  “You look a bit familiar. Have we met before?”

  Annja shrugged. “I don’t think so.”

  She withdrew the needle and turned back to the table. She heard Agamemnon sit up.

  “Are you sure?” he asked.

  The door opened and Vic walked in. “How are we doing?”

  Agamemnon frowned. “Your nurse looks familiar to me.”

  Vic raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

  “I think so.” Agamemnon slurred his words now. “What was that you gave me, anyway?”

  “Just a muscle relaxant,” Annja said. She looked at Vic. “Doctor, is it okay if I take my mask off now?”

  “I think that would be fine.”

  Annja turned and faced Agamemnon. Slowly, she took off her mask. And when she stared at him, his eyes widened. “You!” he shouted.

  Annja smiled.

  Agamemnon tried to leap at her, but his movements only toppled him off the table onto the floor. Vic got him back up on the table. “Now, now, we can’t have you hurting yourself. Not yet.”

  Agamemnon looked at him. “Doctor?”

  “Actually, no,” Vic said. He slid off his mask and then tore off the plastic nose putty. Agamemnon’s eyes widened again. “This can’t be.”

  Vic laughed. “Yeah, funny thing about that—turns out your pal the colonel knew some interesting things. Right before the Chinese put a bullet in his head, they got him to talk about your vacation plans and all. You know, the trip to see the good doc and get yourself a brand-new face, maybe go back to being Chinese after having been a Filipino for so long. Anyway, as part of their atonement for their rogue officials, Beijing let us have you instead of sending their boys to finish the job.”

  “Awfully kind of them, wouldn’t you say?” Annja asked.

  Agamemnon tried to sit up, but his body wouldn’t obey his commands. “I wouldn’t,” Vic said. “That drug Annja slipped you is potent stuff. You’ve got just enough willpower left to tell us where the money is.”

  “What money?”

  “The fifty million dollars the colonel wired into your account for successfully completing your assignment.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Annja leaned close to him and whispered in his ear. “You promised Miki that you would send his family money for his sacrifice. Miki’s dead. And he would have followed your orders, I know that. So, even though the nuke strike didn’t happen, Miki completed his assignment. The least you can do is honor your promise to him. Tell us where the money is.”

  Agamemnon looked at her. “You’ll protect me from Beijing?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she said.

  He sighed. “Very well.” He gave Vic the bank information. Vic copied it down and relayed it to the team outside. “They’ll make sure Miki’s family gets a nice check in the mail.”

  Vic looked at Annja. “I think we’re just about done here. Did you want to go and wait outside?”

  “I think so.” Annja looked at Agamemnon. “I hope you find justice in the afterlife. You’ve committed some pretty heinous crimes against humanity and I hope you’re punished for them.”

  “One thing is for certain.” Agamemnon smiled. “I won’t be judged by you.”

  “You already were,” Annja said. “And now it’s time for your sentence to be carried out.”

  Vic walked over and held another needle in his hand. As soon as Agamemnon saw him, he started thrashing about. But the relaxant Annja had administered had turned his body into a disobedient mass. He flopped once and then Vic simply held him down with his free hand.

  Annja looked at Vic. “I’ll be outside.”

  Vic nodded. “I’ll be along shortly.”

  Annja looked one last time into Agamemnon’s face. But now, the bravado was gone. And for the first time since she’d known him, she could see the fear welling up in his eyes. Tears started rolling down his face.

  “Now you know how all the people you’ve killed felt in the last few seconds they had on earth.”

  Vic leaned down, already aiming the needle at Agamemnon’s arm.

  Annja closed the door behind her as she walked out.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-3290-1

  SACRIFICE

  Copyright © 2009 by Worldwide Library.

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Worldwide Library, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

 

 

  Alex Archer, [Rogue Angel 18] - Sacrifice

 

 

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