The New Player
2149 Words
The coffee shop was called The Daily Grind. It sat on a corner in Arlington, across from a parking garage and next to a dry cleaner. Ordinary. Forgettable. The perfect meeting place.
Cole arrived at 11:50. Ten minutes early. Old habit. He ordered a black coffee and sat in the back corner. His back to the wall. His eyes on the door.
Kane walked in at 12:03. He looked different. Thinner. The circles under his eyes were darker. He had been running hard.
“You look like hell,” Cole said.
“I feel like hell.” Kane sat across from him. Didn't order anything. “Thanks for coming.”
“You said someone is rebuilding the Consortium.”
“Not someone. A woman. Her name is Diana Cross.”
Cole's blood went cold. “Cross? Related to Victor?”
“His daughter. The one no one knew about. Victor kept her hidden. Off the books. No birth certificate. No social security number. She doesn't exist.”
“Until now.”
“Until now.” Kane pulled out a photograph. A woman. Late twenties. Dark hair. Cold eyes. She looked like Juliet. But harder. “She was raised in Europe. Educated in Switzerland. Victor trained her to take over when he retired.”
“But he didn't retire. He was killed.”
“Exactly. And now she wants revenge. Against you. Against everyone who destroyed her father's empire.”
Cole looked at the photograph. The eyes stared back at him.
“Where is she?”
“That's the problem. No one knows. She's a ghost. But she's been recruiting. Former Aegis operatives. Disgruntled employees. People who lost everything when the Consortium fell.”
“How many?”
“Dozens. Maybe more. She has money. Victor stashed billions offshore. She has access to all of it.”
Cole put down the photograph. “Then we find her before she finds us.”
“I've been trying. But she's good. Better than her father. Every lead goes cold. Every contact ends up dead.”
“Dead how?”
“Accidents. Car crashes. House fires. Suicide.” Kane's voice was grim. “She's eliminating anyone who might know where she is.”
“Including your contacts.”
“Including my contacts. I'm down to three. And they're scared.”
Cole drank his coffee. The bitterness matched his mood.
“What do you need from me?”
“I need you to draw her out. She wants revenge on you more than anyone. You're the one who killed her father. You're the one who exposed the Consortium.”
“Her father was killed by Zane.”
“She doesn't believe that. She thinks you pulled the trigger. Or paid someone to.”
Cole set down the cup. “So I'm bait.”
“You're the bait. And the trap. And the hunter. All at once.”
“And if she kills me?”
“Then she wins. And everyone you love dies.”
Cole looked out the window. The street was busy. People living their lives. Unaware of the war happening in the shadows.
“How do we start?”
Kane slid a folder across the table. “There's a man. His name is Derek Moss. He was Victor Cross's personal attorney. He knows everything. Where the money is. Where the safe houses are. Where Diana might be hiding.”
“Where is he?”
“Federal prison. Protective custody. He was arrested after the Consortium fell. He's been cooperating with the FBI.”
“Then why hasn't he told them where Diana is?”
“Because he's scared. He knows if he talks, she'll kill him. Even in prison.”
“Then we convince him.”
Kane nodded. “I have a contact in the Bureau. He can get us a meeting. But it has to be today. Moss is being transferred tomorrow. To a different facility.”
Cole stood. “Then let's go.”
---
The prison was in Pennsylvania. Maximum security. Gray concrete. Razor wire. Guard towers.
Kane flashed his credentials at the gate. A badge Cole had never seen before. The guard waved them through.
They parked in the visitors' lot. Walked through three checkpoints. Metal detectors. X-ray machines. A guard with a German shepherd.
The visiting room was small. Cinderblock walls. Plastic chairs. A table bolted to the floor.
They waited.
Derek Moss was brought in. He was in his sixties. Gray hair. Expensive prison glasses. He walked with a limp.
He sat across from them. His hands were cuffed to a chain on the table.
“Mr. Kane. I was told you wanted to see me.”
“We need information about Diana Cross.”
Moss's face went pale. “No. Absolutely not.”
“She's trying to rebuild the Consortium. She's recruiting killers. She's going to hurt a lot of people.”
“That's not my problem.”
Cole leaned forward. “She killed your partner. Your secretary. Your paralegal. Everyone who worked for your firm is dead. Except you.”
Moss swallowed. “I know.”
“She's going to kill you too. Eventually. The only way to stop her is to help us.”
“If I help you, she'll kill me faster.”
“We'll protect you.”
Moss laughed. It was bitter. “Protect me? Like you protected Juliet Cross?”
Cole's jaw tightened. “Juliet made her own choices.”
“And I'm making mine. I'm not talking. Now get out.”
Cole stood. Walked around the table. Leaned close to Moss's ear.
“Your daughter. Sarah. She lives in Portland. She has two kids. A boy and a girl. Diana knows where she is.”
Moss's face went white. “You wouldn't.”
“I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you. Diana will find her. She'll use her to get to you. The only way to protect your family is to help us end this.”
Moss was silent. His hands were shaking.
“Give me a phone. I need to call my daughter.”
“After you talk.”
Moss closed his eyes. When he opened them, they were wet.
“Diana Cross is in Venezuela. She has a ranch outside Caracas. It's where Victor planned to retire. She's been there for months.”
“What's she doing there?”
“Training. Building an army. She's not just rebuilding the Consortium. She's building something bigger. Something more dangerous.”
“What?”
“I don't know. She didn't tell me everything. But she's been buying weapons. Lots of them. And she's been recruiting mercenaries. Former special forces. From all over the world.”
Cole looked at Kane. Kane's face was grim.
“How many?” Kane asked.
“At least a hundred. Maybe more.”
“And her goal?”
“To destroy everyone who crossed her father. Starting with Cole Mathers.”
Moss looked at Cole. “She blames you for everything. Your father's death. Her father's death. The fall of the Consortium. She won't stop until you're dead.”
“Then we stop her first.”
Cole walked back to his seat. Sat down.
“Where exactly is the ranch?”
Moss gave them coordinates. Directions. Security details.
Kane wrote it all down.
When Moss finished, Cole stood.
“Thank you.”
“Don't thank me. Just keep my daughter safe.”
Cole nodded. They walked out.
The drive back to Virginia was quiet. Cole stared out the window. The trees were green. The sky was blue.
“Venezuela,” Kane said. “We'll need a team.”
“I know some people. Former military. They'll come.”
“When do we leave?”
Cole looked at his phone. A text from his mother.
“Dinner is at 7. Don't be late.”
He smiled. Then typed a reply.
“I'll be there.”
He turned to Kane. “Tomorrow. We leave tomorrow.”
---
The farmhouse was warm. The smell of pot roast filled the air.
Evelyn was in the kitchen. Clark was setting the table. Ava was doing homework.
Cole walked in. They looked up.
“You're back,” Evelyn said.
“I'm back.”
She hugged him. Held on tight.
“Did you find what you were looking for?”
“I found the enemy. Now I have to stop her.”
Clark put down the plates. “Where?”
“Venezuela. She has a ranch. An army.”
“Then I'm coming with you.”
“No. You stay here. Protect Mom. Protect Ava.”
“They can protect themselves.”
“Clark. Please.”
Clark was quiet. Then he nodded.
“Come back.”
“I will.”
They ate dinner. The conversation was light. No one mentioned Venezuela. No one mentioned Diana Cross.
After dinner, Cole sat on the porch. The stars were bright.
His phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.
“I know you're coming. I'll be waiting. —D.C.”
Cole read the text. Then he deleted it.
He walked inside. Locked the door.
Tomorrow, he would go to war.
Tonight, he would rest.
---
The plane landed in Caracas at 3 PM. The heat was thick. The air was heavy.
Kane had arranged a car. A local guide. A man named Diego. He was former military. Knew the area.
They drove for two hours. The city gave way to jungle. The road turned to dirt.
Diego stopped at a ridge. Pointed through the trees.
“The ranch is two miles south. Airstrip. Barracks. Main house. She has guards everywhere.”
Cole looked through binoculars. The ranch was large. White buildings. Green lawns. A swimming pool.
And men with guns. Walking the perimeter.
“How many?” Kane asked.
“At least fifty. Maybe more.”
“We need to get closer.”
Diego shook his head. “Too dangerous. Her people have night vision. Motion sensors. Dogs.”
“Then we wait for dark.”
They drove back to a small village. Rented rooms in a boarding house.
Cole sat on the bed. Cleaned his rifle. Checked his pistol.
Kane knocked on the door. “We have a problem.”
“What?”
“Diego just got a call. Diana knows we're here. She's expecting us.”
“Then we don't do what she expects.”
“What do you mean?”
Cole stood. “We don't hit the ranch. We hit her supply lines. Her communications. Her money. Cut off her head by cutting off her body.”
Kane nodded slowly. “That could work. But it'll take time.”
“Time is all we have.”
---
The next three weeks were a blur. Cole and Kane moved through Venezuela. Attacking convoys. Destroying equipment. Freezing bank accounts.
Diana's army shrank. Her supplies dwindled. Her confidence cracked.
On the twenty-second day, Cole received a text.
“You're persistent. I'll give you that. But persistence won't save you. I'm coming for you. In person. —D.C.”
Cole showed Kane the text.
“She's desperate,” Kane said.
“She's dangerous.”
“Same thing.”
They moved to a new location. A farmhouse in the mountains. Hidden. Remote.
Cole stood watch that night. The stars were bright. The air was cold.
A figure emerged from the trees.
Diana Cross.
She walked toward the farmhouse. Her hands were empty.
Cole raised his rifle. “Stop.”
She stopped. Fifty feet away.
“I came alone. I want to talk.”
“Talk.”
“I know I can't win. Not anymore. You've destroyed everything I built.”
“Then surrender.”
She laughed. It was cold. Empty.
“Surrender? To you? The man who killed my father?”
“Your father killed himself. He chose his path.”
“You pushed him onto it.”
Cole lowered the rifle. Just an inch.
“What do you want?”
“A truce. You leave me alone. I leave you alone. We never see each other again.”
“And the people you've recruited? The weapons you've bought?”
“Gone. I'll disband the army. Destroy the weapons. Disappear.”
“Why should I believe you?”
Diana walked closer. Close enough to see her face. The scars. The pain.
“Because I'm tired. Tired of running. Tired of fighting. Tired of being my father's daughter.”
Cole was quiet. The wind blew.
“If you betray me—”
“I won't.”
He lowered the rifle. “Then go. Before I change my mind.”
Diana turned. Walked back into the trees.
Kane came out of the farmhouse. “You let her go.”
“She's not the enemy anymore.”
“She'll always be the enemy.”
“Then we'll be ready.”
Cole walked inside. Closed the door.
The war was over.
For now.
- Writer
