The Shepherd's Crook Pt. 01

The squads exited the vehicles and penetrated the western edge of the nature reserve surrounding Ashburn Court. Half their number followed the fence on the northern side as the others paralleled the tall wooden wall on the southern side, stationing the troops along the perimeter until the remaining members from both groups met at the far, eastern edge of the neighborhood.

They were ready to repel any armed intruders.

A small reserve from both squads remained in the transports, ready to drive directly into Ashburn Court.

Killcade waited until the squad deployment was complete and kept an eye on the feed from the hovering surveillance drones. Finally, they spotted the enemy beginning their infiltration at the eastern boundaries of the nature reserve as expected.

It was time.

She slipped into the woods to begin her hunt. Within minutes she found two mercenaries with a case of rocket-propelled grenades. They were planning to do some significant property damage.

Determining these two weren't the brains of the attack force, she decided they were expendable. She silently slipped up behind the first and drove her blade into his back, and deep into his heart. His partner took a silenced slug through the eye, painting the forest floor with his brains. She carefully placed their bodies over the weapon crates they'd carried in before moving on.

Her next target had his throat slit, ear to ear and silently drained his life out into the soil.

Killcade moved silently from kill to kill, letting none of them make even the slightest sound as she extinguished their lives. This is what made her a highly effective weapon for the army. While she took no pleasure in killing these mercenaries, she felt no remorse in following her orders. There was no hesitation in her movements and no second-guessing. She'd become highly skilled at the task and, truthfully, she strived to be the very best at everything she did.

She bypassed a lone mercenary she identified as having the highest potential of being their leader. Only after she'd dealt with the remaining killers for hire did she circle back to confront the central man who by this point was discovering he could no longer reach the rest of his team on the radio.

Better trained than the others, he spotted her approach and managed to fire two shots at her protected torso before she kicked the gun from his hand.

Sucking in a painful breath between her gritted teeth, she palmed two daggers and circled him. He slashed at her face with a ten-inch blade which suddenly seemed to appear in his hand. She danced back out of his reach. He immediately spun and raced in the opposite direction. She gave chase and saw him duck into a pathway between the houses that led into the neighborhood. She picked up her speed and raced after him. He saw her gaining and snarled back at her as he was forced away from the nearby homes into the circular park in the center of the court. He spun there and threw a small dagger. She wrenched herself to the side, but the chase drained her, so her move was too slow to avoid the blade. It struck her right shoulder just under her armor and dug in. She dropped her dagger on that side as her hand spasmed temporarily.

He immediately attacked her right side, but she spun and plunged the dagger from her left hand into the back of his right hand before rolling away.

She popped up to her feet and barely avoided his kick to her head. She threw herself back into another roll, but this time he couldn't recover quickly enough to follow.

Other soldiers rushed into the park and surrounded them, just outside his striking distance.

"This is where you drop your weapons and surrender," Killcade said calmly as she panted.

The grim man's eyes jumped from soldier to soldier and saw they were all ready to put him down.

"Better to die- uuuuhhnn" he began then slumped to the ground as her thrown dagger struck his temple solidly, handle end first. The moment his body hit the ground she was on his back binding his hands. Before he could recover, she slipped a couple of zip ties between his teeth and closed them behind his head. He gagged, but he couldn't remove them or completely shut his mouth. A final zip tie went around his ankles.

That done, she picked up her thrown dagger, plus the one she dropped and cleaned them before putting them back in their sheaths. She glanced at the blade sticking out of her arm and was grateful that, while it hurt significantly, it didn't seem to be cutting off any sensation or limiting her movement too dramatically. She left it in until the medic could remove it.

One of the soldiers stepped forward.

"Why the hell did you zip tie his face? That's gotta be against some prisoner treatment convention!"

She blinked at the soldier because the answer was obvious. She thought he might be teasing her and smiled, but that faded as his frown remained. She finally decided to answer.

"He indicated he wanted to die. I prevented him from biting down on any poison filled fake teeth he might have until we can confirm this."

"Cyanide capsules in fake teeth went out with the Cold War!" the soldier barked.

She shook her head. "Better to confirm. He's old. He might use old-school methods. We need him alive for questioning." She blinked in confusion at the soldier's attitude. When he finally shrugged his agreement, she gave him a smile and a nod.

The squad moved to collect the weapons and bodies in the woods as the transport vehicles rolled into the neighborhood. The bodies were bagged, and additional trucks arrived to take them and the munitions away. A third vehicle took their prisoner after Killcade passed along her instructions to inspect his teeth.

Killcade finally saw a medic and had the dagger removed, and her injury stitched closed. The injection to freeze the area brought her some relief from the pain.

The early morning light was painting the tops of the trees as she looked at the lovely little community. She was very impressed with Ben's choice of habitat. It would be exactly what she would have chosen for herself. Most of the homes were large, but they fit within the mature trees.

Turning away from the road that brought them into this court, she looked to Ben's home with its tower and elevated deck. She'd overheard the Captain's praise of the vantage point. He'd claimed the view was lovely and she imagined it must be, up there near the canopy of the forest.

Then she noticed two women standing on the porch of Ben's home. Feeling rather pleased with herself, she decided to speak with them to let them know the danger had passed. They watched her approach with curiosity and caution in equal measure. She reached the bottom of the stairs and smiled up at them, drawing timid smiles from them.

"Good morning! I'm Corporal Evelyn Killcade. The threat reported to Captain Kendricks has been neutralized. You're perfectly safe, now." She felt good telling them this.

The petite Korean woman's face showed more alarm, not less. "What threat? Who reported a threat? Is that blood?"

The Corporal looked down at her uniform and realized she was somewhat splattered with the blood of the mercenaries she'd dispatched. She opened her mouth and closed it again. She nodded instead.

Her companion, a young woman with unique tattoos, also looked upset and gripped the other woman's arm. "Was it Ben? Is he ok? Is he in danger?"

Killcade wasn't sure how to address these questions as she was a little surprised they didn't feel relief from her assurances. "Mr. Shepherd informed the Captain that the Russian crime boss he was visiting was threatening the people in this neighborhood. The Captain sent us to prevent that from happening. We did. All of the criminals have been neutralized. You can relax now." She didn't understand why their upset kept increasing as she was giving them the good news!

The auburn haired beauty looked like she might cry and the smaller woman looked shocked. "Russian crime boss?" she exclaimed.

Killcade realized she was handling this very poorly and regretted speaking with the ladies. "I'm sure Mr. Shepherd will return from his visit with no issues."

The ladies squeaked and rushed back into the home.

Evelyn remained frozen by indecision at the base of the stairs. That hadn't gone as well as she'd hoped. Worse, it may have jeopardized her plan to be a key support member of Ben's household.

She turned slowly and with a nervous glance back over her shoulder, she made her way back to the waiting truck. She saw she was getting uneasy looks from the soldiers waiting for her. She was familiar with those looks. She sighed.

Why were people so complicated?

Chapter 6

"Who the fuck builds a country estate this far out in the boonies!"

Ben snorted and glanced over at his travel companion. Even though he was worried about putting her in this danger, selfishly he was glad Trish was with him. "I think that's the whole point of a country estate." He understood it was just her nerves needing an outlet. He was nervous as well. He had no idea what they'd find when they got to their destination. They'd been driving north for hours, and aside from the highway, there were no other signs of civilization this far out.

Thinking back on how his lawyer Walter started this, he resolved to talk with the man when he got home to let him know exactly how much trouble curiosity could deliver.

The vintage car they were making the journey in was a piece of junk. It was noisy, felt like it might shake apart, but it was good enough to get them to the estate. Dan explained that its most significant redeeming value was that it was untraceable. How that was important wasn't revealed. All he needed to know was that it was important when dealing with people like Gruzinsky. He and Trish were also wearing gloves to leave no fingerprints in the car. Ben's were a little tight, and he heard the leather creak as he tightly gripped the wheel.

They continued until Ben saw the turn off exactly where the directions indicated it would be. With another glance over at Trish, he pulled off the highway onto the rough lane leading off between rows of tall trees. They drove down this twisting road until all sight and sound of the road were swallowed up by the intervening forest.

Rounding a final corner, they entered a clearing which stretched away in both directions and surrounded the property. Large gates were ahead of them and a ten-foot high chain link fence extended from this in either direction to encompass the vast expanse of lawn encircling a monstrous gothic mansion. It was so out of place and sinister, Ben couldn't suppress his snort.

"Fuck me if that doesn't look like the lair of an evil doer!" Trish giggled, half nerves and half amusement.

"At least Yuri lives up to his reputation," Ben said with a nod. He noted a guard in the far distance patrolling the property with a gun in his arms.

Three goons in suits stood by the gate, one in a small booth and one on either side of the fence's entrance. Each had a small but deadly looking machine gun, its strap crossing their bodies.

Ben stopped the car a short distance from the gate and reached down to crank open the window. He supposed power windows wouldn't have been available on a vehicle this old. He was surprised the handle didn't break off in his hand for all the squealing it did.

He looked up at the guard who approached his window. "Ben Shepherd to see Yuri Gruzinsky."

The man nodded to him. "Exit car, please."

Ben shut off the motor and stepped out. Trish got out on her side.

"Arms out, please." Ben stretched his arms out to the sides, and the guard gave him a quick but thorough pat down. "Move here, please," the guard said pointing to a spot a little further from the car.

The goon on the other side of the car grinned at Trish as he moved forward to pat her down.

"Touch anything you shouldn't, and you are in for a world of hurt," Trish said menacingly, stopping the man in his tracks. He began to growl.

The guard by Ben said something and the other man gave him a sour look but moved to the passenger side door of the car instead to begin an inspection.

"Come here, please," the guard near Ben said to Trish. She walked over to stand before him and held her arms out. He patted her down as she held Ben's eyes. Once he was done, she walked over to stand next to Ben. They watched as the two men efficiently searched the car. Looking for weapons? Explosives? Ben could only guess.

He looked through the gate and saw a sizeable barnlike building to the right side of the house. There were large garage doors on the barn, so Ben guessed that's where they kept the cars. There were large windows above the garage so, offices or living quarters for the guards maybe? He spotted another man patrolling the grounds with an automatic weapon in his arms. It was starting to get dark. He wondered if they wore night vision goggles for their night patrols.

"You may go in," the guard said once their inspection completed.

Ben squeezed himself behind the wheel once more and managed to coax the engine into starting as Trish settled into the passenger seat.

Once the gate was open, he got them moving up the now paved driveway, and Trish turned to him. "Pretty intense security for a country estate."

"Must be the price of his lifestyle and career choices," Ben growled, thinking of the danger this man was bringing to his peaceful neighborhood. He struggled to control his urge to drive the piece of junk right through the front door of the mansion to park it on Yuri's chest.

Instead, he stopped by the front door and shut the motor.

"Showtime," Trish said with a tight grin.

They got out and went to the door, but it opened before they could knock. A man dressed as a butler greeted them and invited them in. He led them through the house and Ben got a good look at the riches hanging on the walls and furnishing the larger rooms. Yuri surrounded himself with luxury. If this was his country estate, Ben wondered what extravagances could be found in his main house.

They approached double doors at the end of the hall, and the butler opened them. Ben and Trish stepped into a broad and deep office. It had to be a good twenty feet from the entrance to the other end. The walls were lined with darkly stained bookshelves with a large seating area closer to the door. Plush leather couches faced each other across a dark wood coffee table. At the far end of the room, a huge wood desk sat before a large picture window facing the open field next to the mansion. A second picture window was to the right of the desk facing the back of the property.

As Ben approached the desk, he could see a well-lit helipad in the backyard, but what truly caught his attention was the large, attack helicopter resting on the pad. Military. Ben recognized it from a documentary he'd seen. Two soldiers stood on guard next to it. His uneasiness grew.

Trish was inspecting the room, touching the soft leather of the sofa, peering at the objects on the shelves inside the closed glass cabinets next to the bookshelves. Then she walked over to the three chairs arranged before the large desk. They didn't look very comfortable, but as the mansion was designed after some evil villain's castle and the office was the den of an evil mastermind, the uncomfortable chairs seemed like a natural fit. The ornately carved wood chairs had high but flat backs with lovely tapestry style cushions between the tall back legs. She held Ben's eye. "These chairs are perfect!" she said with a grin. He examined them and nodded to her. She moved on.

A sound behind them drew their attention back to the doors. Yuri walked into the room and smiled at Ben after glancing to the antique clock on a table just inside the entrance.

"Good. You are punctual," Yuri said with a nod.

As Yuri approached, Ben tossed the memory stick to him.

Frowning, Yuri glanced down at the small device in his palm.

"Can we begin the non-interference phase now?" Ben grumbled.

Yuri gave Ben a sour look as he continued past them to walk behind the big wooden desk. He unlocked a desk drawer and removed a tablet. He laid it flat on his desk and punched in the code to open the tablet's interface. Then he placed the memory stick in the reader port.

He viewed a few of the files then shut down the tablet. He plucked the memory stick from the tablet and tucked it into the pocket of his shirt. "Were copies made?"

Ben shook his head. "No. It never left my pocket from the time I left the bank."

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "Of course, you could be lying."

"I don't lie. Ever," Ben growled.

"That was mentioned in the relatively few articles I could find on you, but the press likes to embellish their stories. The 'knight-in-shining-armor' story you Americans love so much sells very well." He looked closer at Ben. "How did you get possession of Rainor Hahn's safe deposit box?"

Ben frowned as telling this man anything personal made him queasy. Still, they were in a dangerous place. "It was part of an inheritance left to me by Gretchen Hahn who inherited her husband's estate when he died. I had no idea she'd willed everything to me. I want nothing to do with Rainor and his past business."

Yuri smirked cruelly. "Perhaps you shouldn't have interfered with another man's wife then."

"Speaking of that, back to my original question. Can we begin the non-interference time now?"

Yuri tilted his head at Ben as he walked around his desk. "I understand that you are an engineer. One in high demand with contracts with the US Military. I have a business acquaintance who would very much like to speak to you."

"Not interested. Am I free to go, or is the threat against my family still in effect."

Yuri scowled at him. "Americans are so rude."

"Hey, you were the one who issued the threat to get me to come here in the first place," Ben reminded him.

Scowling angrily, Yuri looked up into Ben's face. "You will speak with my business acquaintance." He walked away to the double doors. He hadn't even acknowledged Trish's existence yet. Ben looked over at the redhead who smiled at him. She preferred to be underestimated.

A moment later Yuri returned with a man wearing a Russian Military uniform. He was carrying a double width attaché case which he set down next to the couch before continuing into the room. When they stood before Ben, Yuri spoke. "Ben Shepherd, this is Colonel Aleksei Vasiliev."

Ben cautiously examined the shorter bald man with a bushy white mustache. He was slim and fit, likely in his sixties but his gaze missed nothing. His cap tucked under his arm, he faced Ben with a broad smile under his mustache.

"I am very excited to meet such a brilliant engineer!" the man said with a gravelly voice.

Ben couldn't stop a smile from appearing on his face. "It's a relief, for once, to be recognized for my work as opposed to everything else."

Aleksei nodded enthusiastically. "I'm very much looking forward to working with you!"

Ben's eyebrows went up as he looked to Yuri in question and received another scowl. He looked back to the Colonel. "Perhaps Yuri misrepresented this visit. I was brought here under duress, and I have no plans to work for the Russian Military. I don't work for the US Military, well... not the weapons division at least."

The Colonel turned to Yuri with a frown made all the more dramatic by the thick mustache. He took a few steps away from Ben to stand before the Industrialist. "Have you brought out Liliya yet?" Yuri shook his head and left the room once more.

The Colonel turned to Ben once more, but now his revolver was in his hand, pointed at Trish. "Thanks to the media, we are all aware of your propensity for aiding women and children in danger. I'm grateful you brought along a hostage to inspire your cooperation. You see, we don't believe you when you say you don't develop weapons for your government. I've been watching your career, and I'm aware of the innovations that flow from your clever mind. This will lead to an imbalance in a very delicate game between the United States and Russia. I've made my chain of command aware of the threat you represent. So, you are going to give some of these innovations to Russia. We have plenty of puzzles for you to solve."