CHAPTER 10
Mordred
The flight to Moscow didn’t take a long time, but it was long enough to make Mordred concerned about the reception he might receive. The last time he’d gone to Russia, he’d been more interested in hurting Avalon than helping anyone. Hopefully the fact that Mordred was with people like Nabu and Diana would make people think twice about attacking, because he was sure that no one was going to believe that he’d turned over a new leaf. Hell, he wouldn’t believe that if someone had told him, and it had taken him several years to make those he sat with trust him. He pushed the thought aside and sighed—too late to worry about it now.
He picked up the USB stick from beside him and looked at it. There hadn’t been a computer on board the helicopter, so it would have to wait until they got to Moscow, and hopefully someone there could help them. Presumably after trying to kill them, as was seemingly the more likely of the two actions.
Mordred placed the flash drive back beside him, keeping a hand on top of it.
“It’s okay, you know,” Morgan said. “We’ll find out what’s on it.”
Mordred nodded and looked over at Fiona, who had the manner of someone filled with an exceptional level of anxiety. He looked around and found a small screw on the metal floor of the helicopter. Mordred’s first thought was Where the hell did this come from, and is it needed to fly the helicopter? but he quickly told himself that it was probably nothing, and picked it up, throwing it across the cabin toward Fiona, who looked up at him.
You okay? Mordred mouthed.
“I’m fine,” Fiona said through the headset, making everyone else in the group aware of their conversation.
“Just checking,” Mordred told her.
“Well, don’t. Not you, not ever.”
Mordred felt the gaze of several of the helicopter’s occupants on him. “Ah, I assume the man I used to be wronged you.”
“Wronged me?” Fiona snapped, turning toward Mordred with fury in her eyes. “You murdered, you tortured, you did unspeakable things to innocent people because they were your enemy, or they were in the way, or just because you damn well felt like it.”
“Your husband aided me on occasion. So, are you angry at me for what I did, or angry at him for his aid?”
Fiona reacted as if it took every ounce of self-control not to launch herself at Mordred. “You murdered a friend of mine in Berlin over a century ago. An LOA agent. You tortured him for days for what I can only assume was fun on your part. Do you even remember his name through the hundreds of bodies you left in your wake?”
Mordred took a deep breath.
“He doesn’t have to explain anything to you,” Morgan snapped. “He was out of his mind when he did those things. He was broken by Baldr and the people we now hunt. They took him, and for a century they tore him apart, let him heal, and then did it all over again.”
Mordred leaned over to Morgan and placed a hand on hers. “It’s okay.” He looked over to Fiona. “I’m sorry about your friend. I remember all of them. Every single person I killed because I thought it was necessary. Every one of them. Your friend would have been . . . Eugene Lord, yes?”
Fiona nodded curtly.
“He died because he was sent to try and kill me, and I thought he might know where Merlin or Nate were. I killed him because I thought he needed to die. I was wrong. I was wrong about a lot of things, and I’m trying to make up for all the horror I inflicted over the years. Just like your husband, Alan, did after he married you. I heard about that, by the way. Alan told me about two years ago. I assume he didn’t tell you that he’d been to see me.”
Fiona shook her head.
“Nate set it up at my request. I wanted to apologize for my past, and I knew that he would want to ensure I wasn’t playing games. I think he left satisfied with the answers he received. I wish I could take back every evil thing I did. But wishes don’t mean shit, so instead I’m trying to make things better. I’m trying to ensure that Baldr and those who helped him create me are never able to do it again.
“Morgan and those who helped her keep me prisoner did the best they could, but I always escaped, and then the race was on to try and stop me before I did something awful. I’m truly sorry for your friend, and for many friends and loved ones I hurt over the centuries. Maybe one day you can look at me and not see the murderer who inhabited my mind for so many years. But then again, maybe not. I know I still have trouble every time I look in the mirror.”
“I don’t want to hate you,” Fiona said. “Everyone says you’re different. Everyone says you should be judged based on the person you are, not the monster you were forced to become. It’s not that easy.”
“Nor should it be,” Nabu said. “I dealt with Mordred when he was crazed, and I’ve dealt with him now. They are not the same person. As hard as it is to reconcile the man who shares our quest with the one who would have done anything to destroy it, it’s important that you allow yourself to believe in Mordred. If you do not, if we do not trust one another, this cabal will tear us apart.”
“And it’s that easy, is it?” Fiona snapped.
Nabu shook his head. “No. Wisdom is never easy. That’s the point of obtaining it. If it were easy, we’d all be wise, and we’d all do the right thing all the time.”
Fiona looked out of the window for a few seconds before speaking. “I’m here to find my husband, Elaine, and everyone else who was taken. Doesn’t mean I have to trust Mordred.” She turned to face Mordred. “If you step out of line, I will end you. And there’s no one who will stop me.”
Mordred bit back his reply and sighed. “You do what you have to do. And I’ll do what I have to do, and hopefully it’s the same thing. Right now, for example, I’m going to sit here with you people and hum ‘Super Mario.’ You’re all welcome to join in.” He started humming but caught the smile on Morgan’s face as Fiona switched off her headset.
“You really need to get some new tunes,” Remy said.
“From video games? I know Zelda, and a few Final Fantasy ones. You pick it, I’ll hum it.”
Remy laughed. “Let me think on it.”
No one spoke for the rest of the journey, although they did switch off their headphones after several minutes of humming from Mordred.
Eventually the helicopter landed in a small private airfield just outside of Moscow. The moment the helicopter door was opened, and the freezing air rushed inside, Mordred wished he’d brought a much bigger coat.
The group moved outside, where they were greeted by a tall woman wearing a very thick and comfortable-looking orange jacket, the hood of which was pulled up, allowing very little of her face to be seen as fresh snow continued to fall.
She motioned for the group to follow her. There was little point in trying to have a conversation next to a helicopter, especially when the winds were beginning to pick up, so the group followed her off the runway and into a small building nearby.
The woman removed her coat and draped it over a counter while everyone else took a seat on the metal folding chairs provided.
“My name is Polina,” the Russian woman said, running a hand through her blond hair and shaking off bits of snow. “I work with the LOA in Moscow. I received a call from Olivia telling me to expect you. She did not, however, explain why you are here.”
“We’re looking for Elaine Garlot,” Diana said. “She vanished several weeks ago, and the team sent to find her was last seen in Moscow. We have a lead that suggests someone here might know what happened.”
“And that lead?” Polina asked. “Do they have a name?”
Diana glanced over at Mordred. “We’re not sure yet,” she continued. “We need time to look around and hopefully figure out where we need to be.”
Polina looked between Diana and Mordred before nodding. She was obviously unhappy with being kept in the dark. “If you need something, come to me first. Lots of people in Moscow who work for Avalon aren’t always working with Avalon’s best interests at heart.”
“That seems to be the norm everywhere these days,” Fiona said with a touch of anger in her voice.
“Yes, well, you should still be aware.”
“We’re looking for Viktor Egorov,” Mordred said. “There, now you know why we’re here, and now I know who to come looking for should anything happen to us or him before we find him.”
Polina’s expression remained neutral, but the anger in her eyes wasn’t so easily concealed. “I am loyal to Elaine. I have always been loyal to Elaine, and I will not allow anyone to suggest otherwise.”
“I’m not suggesting anything,” Mordred said as he got to his feet. “I’m just making sure we’re all on the same page. Do you know where Viktor is?”
“Probably in his home.”
“And where’s that?” Remy asked.
“I can take you.” Polina held Mordred’s gaze. “I promise not to put any bullets in your head before we get there.”
Diana chuckled, and Mordred smiled. “Sounds fair,” he said. “Is it a long ride?”
Polina shook her head. “Not really. We’re not far outside of Moscow, but is he going to be happy to see you?”
“Judging from what Mordred told us about him, not even slightly,” Morgan said.
Polina smiled. “Excellent. He’s an annoying shit. I’ll make sure to capture this moment on film.”
She put her coat back on and escorted the group from the small building to two waiting Mercedes SUVs. Fiona, Morgan, and Nabu got into the rear one while Polina, Remy, Diana, and Mordred got into the front car, where several coats, scarves, and hats waited for them.
“Olivia said you’d need warm clothes,” Polina said from the front passenger seat as the car started.
“You are a beautiful person,” Remy said, putting on one of the dark-gray coats and making a sighing noise.
“You’re furry,” Diana pointed out as she put on her own coat before buckling the seat belt.
“Furry doesn’t really make much difference when it’s minus twenty and parts of me have frozen. Besides, I can talk. I’m sure if all foxes could talk, they’d tell you they were bloody well cold, too.”
“Why don’t you like Viktor?” Mordred asked Polina, not really expecting an answer.
“He used to be a big shot with Avalon, but things changed and he didn’t take his fall from up high all that well.”
Mordred relaxed a little. Maybe this wouldn’t be the mess he was expecting. “Any chance he doesn’t mention me by name as he’s cursing people?”
“He stopped cursing you a long time ago, Mordred,” Polina said. “Mostly he just curses Avalon, and the Kremlin, and anyone else who he feels let him down.”
Mordred looked out of the car window. He was hoping that what he’d done to Viktor hadn’t set him on a path of self-destruction and anger, but maybe it was all his fault. The number of acts he knew he had to make up for seemed to multiply by the day.
“If it helps,” Polina said, “I have no reason to hate you, Mordred. Elaine told me you were a changed man. Her word carries a lot here.”
“Do you know where she is?” Diana asked. “She was taken from a house in Scotland and presumably brought here.”
“I haven’t spoken to her in a few months. Last I heard she was looking into a place in Siberia. She wanted me to find information on an old gulag there.”
“What did you pass her?” Diana asked.
“Just maps, details of who was kept prisoner. Nothing that I’d have thought was reason enough to get her grabbed.”
“Can you get us those details?”
Polina nodded. “It’ll take me a few hours, but yes. I did it for Elaine in an unofficial capacity, so I didn’t exactly keep copies.”
“That would be excellent, thank you,” Mordred said. He hadn’t been sure whether or not to trust Polina. He couldn’t say for certain that she wasn’t involved with My Liege, but seeing how Elaine trusted her, he would, too. He’d lived his life never trusting anyone, always expecting to be screwed over. It took a lot of effort to get rid of that mindset; he didn’t want to go back to it.
“What does Viktor do now?” Remy asked. “Apart from seethe.”
“He’s an antiques dealer. And one with more ties to certain underground criminal enterprises than would usually be considered healthy.”
“Criminal enterprises?” Remy asked. “You mean the mob?”
“Not the human one, no. Avalon doesn’t have a lot of issues with them, but the human and nonhuman criminal element often work together. We believe that Viktor is involved with a local werewolf pack who owns a nightclub.”
Mordred’s eyes lit up. “Oh, we’ve got to go there.”
“Why?” Diana asked.
“A fight in a nightclub? I’ve never done that, have you? I bet it’s awesome. All John Wick, or some other film with an awesome nightclub scene in it.”
“Why would there be a fight?” Diana asked. “Scratch that—if you and Remy go in there, it’s almost a certainty that a fight will break out.”
“We’re classy like that,” Remy said.
“You do not want to go starting a fight in their nightclub,” Polina said. “People who start trouble in there don’t ever come out. We’ve tried to infiltrate their group several times, and not once has anyone lasted more than a few days. They don’t trust anyone who isn’t known to them, and word has it the underground levels of the club are used to hunt the people who cross them.”
“Does Olivia know?” Diana asked.
Polina nodded. “She thinks they have ties to this shadowy group who are working against Avalon. She found out they were involved with a group called the Reavers, who we all pretty much managed to destroy, but those Reavers were working for several people, like Hera. And we think the werewolves and Hera are in bed together.”
“And Viktor works with these people?” Diana asked.
Polina nodded. “That’s our thought, yes. He appears to be a money guy. Helping the rich get richer, knowing the right people to do the right job, that sort of thing. It seems to be a lucrative business for him.”
“Viktor gets rich helping rich people stay rich by screwing over the poor?” Remy said.
“That’s about the size of things, yes.”
“Sounds like a dream.”
“He’s smart, and he’s useful to the right people, so he’s untouchable.”
“Useful how?” Mordred asked.
“He keeps us informed when some of the more violent criminals come his way. He’ll help some rich banker move his money around, but he’s not too keen on helping some assassin asshole hide a million dollars in blood money. He has his limits. Doesn’t mean I have to like him. And I certainly don’t trust him, but you squeeze him every now and again and he gives up something worth knowing.”
“Like who is the leader of this cabal, this My Liege character?” Diana asked.
Polina shook her head. “I doubt it. He’s not the kind of person I’d trust with that knowledge. If this werewolf pack is involved with any cabal, they’re not exactly on the inner circle, and Viktor isn’t the kind of man you’d want to bring into that circle.”
The two cars stopped a short time later outside of a large, white-bricked building with a long, curved driveway that led up to a set of steps, at the top of which was a wooden front door. On the side of the house sat a massive garage, which was easily big enough to keep four cars side by side. There were no trees on either side of the house, although Mordred spotted some at the rear of the property. Presumably Viktor wasn’t a fan of not being able to see who was walking up to his front door. The lights on the top floor were on, but other than that it was bathed in darkness.
“How many entrances and exits?” Mordred asked.
“Is he going to run?” Polina asked.
Mordred shrugged. “People tend to run when they see me. It’s something I’m used to.”
Polina stared at Mordred for a few seconds. “One back, one front. He could leap from the windows, but that’s not his style. He’ll wait to be grabbed. We’ve done this dance a few times. He never puts up any resistance.
“The building is two stories above, and two below. Vault in the bottom level. It’s all custom designed, and the first floor underground contains a safe room. This is his home, so there’s not a lot of collector stuff here—that’ll be in his workplace. Four bedrooms, although he lives alone, so don’t expect much in the way of other people. He has at least three different girlfriends that we can tell, all of whom like to stay over on occasion. Sometimes more than one at a time. The downstairs has a large kitchen, two reception rooms, and a lockable door to his office. I know that because I kicked it in the last time I was here and he refused to open it. It was empty. He likes to play games.”
“I’m just going to knock on the front door and see what happens,” Mordred said. “I’d rather not give him any excuse to not work with us. We need his help.”
“Why?” Polina asked. “What does he know that’s so important?”
“I have no idea,” Mordred said, opening the car door. “I’m hoping he can tell us that.” He stepped outside into the cold and walked over to the steps, bounding up them as quickly as possible before pushing the doorbell.
The rest of the group soon joined him as footsteps inside the house could be heard.
“Step to the side,” Nabu said to Mordred. “If he sees you first, he might run.”
“Then we chase him,” Mordred said, but he did as Nabu asked and moved aside so that when Viktor looked through the eyehole he saw only Diana and Nabu.
After unlocking it Viktor opened the door, beckoning everyone inside to the foyer of the house. Viktor was a tall, slim man, with a bald head. Several tattoos adorned his arms and hairy chest, and he wore purple silk pajama trousers with no shirt.
Viktor ran his hand over several days’ worth of stubble growth and sighed. “Mordred.”
There was an icy silence for a few seconds, and Mordred watched as several of his group tensed up, prepared for a fight.
Mordred stepped forward. “Viktor. It’s been a long time.”
“I always swore I would kill you when I saw you next.” Viktor looked down at where his arm had once been. It now ended just after the elbow. “I wear a state-of-the-art prosthesis now. It moves to the commands of my brain. An alchemist designed it. Very expensive, very unique. Much stronger than my old arm ever was. But even so, I wanted you dead.”
“If you want to try to kill me, I’m right here. Go ahead so we can get this over with.”
Viktor grinned and clasped a hand on Mordred’s shoulder. “I’m not going to try to kill you, Mordred. I’m going to go one better. I’m going to give you everything you ever needed, and then when you go off to find Elaine, the people who took her will kill you. They will torture you horribly for a long time, and when you finally die at their hand, I’ll know. And on that day I’m going to sleep like it’s the best day ever. I don’t need to kill you; I just need to point you in the direction of the people who will.”
“Point away, Viktor,” Mordred said, smiling the whole time. “I know I did awful things to you, and I’m sorry about that. I really am. But if you screw with us, and I survive—and I’m excellent when it comes to surviving, just so you know—I’m going to come back here, remove your other arm, and I’m going to beat you to death with it.”