Chapter 18

Max Newton was glad to be free. Felix drove the car like a madman. Max slapped his friend on the shoulder and said, "Thanks Felix."

"Anytime, my friend."

"Where are we going?"

"My new employer wants to meet you. I told him all about you."

"Who is it?"

"It is a surprise. Number One and Three are his bodyguards."

"I gather there is another one called Two?"

Felix smiled, "You are mighty perceptive tonight. How come you didn't see your imprisonment coming?"

"That piece of shit Nick Hammer."

"Nick Hammer! You didn't say anything about tangling with him."

"Calm down. Hammer is nothing more than a peon."

"Max, you are a fool. That bastard almost buried me twice."

Felix stepped harder on the gas pedal.

"What do you mean he almost buried you twice?"

Felix just glared at Max. Max shrank into the seat away from Felix. Felix did not let up off the gas pedal until they reached their destination.

Felix jumped out of the car and yelled at Three, "Get that spic out of the trunk."

He stormed into a large mansion. Max followed him. As he was walking towards the door, One came up from behind him and pushed him out of his way. Max, feeling a might small, staggered up the stairs.

Before he reached the door, Three came up the stairs and grunted, "Door."

Max opened the door for him. One met him in the hallway and motioned him to follow. One went through the farthest door away, next to an extravagant staircase. One held the door open for Three. Max followed them into the room. The room was huge. It was at least fifty feet wide and probably eighty feet long. A set of four steps led up to the only pieces of furniture in the room. A large desk sat at the top of the steps in front of a large bay window. Max slowly walked toward the desk. Three threw the limp body of Montez on the top step right in front of the desk. One stood off to the right and his friend, Felix, was whispering to someone in a large executive chair behind the desk. As he got closer, he only caught a few words of the conversation.

The man in the chair said, "Is this going to be a problem with our plans?"

Felix answered, "I don't know."

The man in the chair said, "If it becomes one, take care of the liability."

Felix nodded and saw Max. He smiled at him.

"Max, I would like to introduce you to my friend and boss, Mr. Devlin Lanchea."

Max stepped back from the desk in awe. Devlin Lanchea turned his chair around and faced Max. Devlin stood up and walked around his desk. He stepped over Montez and extended his hand.

"Max Newton, it is so nice to finally meet you. Your friend Felix has been telling all about you and this evening's events. You brought me a present even. I want to thank you. I have wanted to talk to Mr. Montez for quite some time. I don't have anything to offer you, except maybe something to drink. What would you like?"

Max stammered, "Beer, please."

Max got his thoughts straight, "I am not offering Mr. Montez to you as a present."

Devlin got a devilish smile on his face, "Ah, but you are, Max. I helped get you out. I can put you right back in. Never forget that."

Max stepped back from Devlin Lanchea.

"Then how am I supposed to get my children back and kill that bitch of a wife of mine?"

"I think I can help you with your problem. But, from now on, you work for me. I have an idea of how I can put your skills to use. You will never have to marry a woman again to beat her. I will provide you with a different one every night if you wish. But, you have no right to refuse what I ask of you. Is it a deal?"

Max glanced at Felix. Felix nodded his head. Max thought about it.

Devlin said, "You have five seconds Max."

Max felt he was being backed into a corner.

"Three seconds Max."

Max relented, "Deal."

"Smart move, Max. Now come with me and we will discuss this trouble you are in."

Devlin lightly pushed Max toward the side door near number One. Devlin glanced back at Felix and nodded his head. Felix nodded back. One opened the door for Max and Devlin. They entered a smaller office. Devlin took his hands off of Max's shoulders and slapped him on the back.

"Have a seat Max." Three followed them into the office. He handed Max a beer. Devlin waited for Three to leave the office. "Now tell me, Max, everything you know about this organization Felix rescued you from."

Max told Devlin everything he knew. When he finished, Felix walked in the door and sat behind him on a leather couch.

Devlin laughed, "They honestly believe they can make a difference. Onto more immediate things; tell me about Nick Hammer."

"I only saw him on different occasions and at the gym. I sparred with him a couple of times. I thought he was a wuss. He wanted me to train a new team member in small arms use. That same day, I was in the gym. He offered to fight me for real. I agreed because I had seen him fight. He played me. He broke six of my ribs and gave me a concussion. I still think I can take him. Next time, I won't underestimate him."

Felix laughed at him. Devlin gave Felix a dirty look.

Max turned on Felix, "What the hell are you laughing at?"

Felix said, "Mr. Lanchea, may I fill him in on Mr. Hammer?"

Devlin sat back in his chair and motioned for Felix to go ahead.

"Max, Hammer has several nicknames. They are Death Merchant, Death Dealer, Grim Reaper's Brother, The Whisperer, Silent Knight, The Bear, and many more. He earned every one of them. The first time I met him, I was working for a drug lord in Thailand. I was sent to Korea to take out a mob boss by the name of Kim Hung Su. Mr. Kim refused to sell drugs for my former boss. Mr. Kim was the most legitimate mob boss I have ever met. He only dealt in gambling and prostitution. In Korea they are both legal. Anyway, we surrounded his home. We were going to attack when Mr. Hammer and his friend came down the alleyway. I gave the order to attack. I shot his friend through the head. He went totally insane. Kim's men were alerted. Hammer killed half of my crew before they got anywhere close to Kim. I had him in my sights. Like lightning, he was three feet in front of me. I started to pull the trigger. He was so fast, he broke my arm in three places. If it had not been for three of my crew, I would have been dead. They grabbed him from behind and I ran. It didn't end there. He is a vindictive son-of-a-bitch. He tracked down and killed my whole crew in Korea. Then he found out who ordered the hit that resulted in the death of his friend. He flew to Thailand. He hooked up with a couple of mercenaries. They provided him all of the information he needed. My former boss had a plantation in a small village near Bangkok. Mr. Hammer went around the perimeter first killing all of the guards. Some of them—he slit their throats. Others weren't so lucky. He would stick his knife between the fifth and seventh vertebrae and sever their spinal cords, or he would stick his knife in their kidneys. He would twist it around until they died. When he finished with the guards, he went to work on the workers. He spared no one but the children. My former boss was hung above the front door, gutted and given a Colombian necktie. The mercenaries told him about me. I arrived back in Thailand. I came out of the airport terminal and he shot me in the head."

Felix grabbed his hair and pulled it off. Max, shocked by the sight, stood up.

"I now have a metal plate in my head and a hairpiece because of Nick Hammer. You sit there talking all big and mighty about being able to take him. You will be lucky if he kills you quickly."

Devlin said, "That is enough Felix. I think Max gets the picture. Besides, Max, you have nothing to worry about now, you work for me."

Max sat back down.

"Do you know what they are working on now?"

"I don't know. I still have friends there. I can try to find out."

"Excellent. Felix would you be so kind and show Max to his room?"

Felix nodded and grabbed Max's arm, literally pulling him out of his seat. When Max stood up, Felix released his arm.

Max was almost out the door when Devlin said, "Max, welcome to my family."

Felix showed Max to his room.

Max said, "Felix, I didn't know."

"Do not worry yourself. Mr. Hammer is just a bad omen for me. I do not want to give him a third chance. I have to go see Mr. Lanchea, Good night."

Felix returned to Devlin's office.

Felix said, "Mr. Lanchea what would you like for me to do with Mr. Montez?"

"Treat him like a guest, but don't let him leave. Have number Three watch him."

"Yes, Boss. I am sorry to bring trouble into your house."

Devlin sat back in his chair.

"Trouble? I don't think so. This is exactly what I needed. I feel alive again."

"Boss, I do not understand."

"Quite simply, Mr. Felix, I now have a protagonist. Besides making money, I like to be challenged. This Nick Hammer fits the bill. The way you explain it, he is highly intelligent and highly lethal. Those are combinations I love in a human being."

"I did not study the man. I have only seen him once. Not knowing our enemy could be dangerous."

"Yes I know, Felix. I need you to gather every scrap of information you can on him. I have another way to get information. Max has given me some very useful information. It seems my old nemesis, Paul Smith, is pulling some of the strings at this organization. I think my son and I will pay his mother a visit tomorrow."