Ring of Conspiracy (The Volya Series Book 2) by J. Robert Kinney

Author:J. Robert Kinney [Kinney, J. Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Justin Kinney
Published: 2020-12-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 23

T he dingy alleyway below their hotel room balcony was lined by a long row of garbage cans against one brick wall and obscene graffiti scrawled across the other. A bare fluorescent bulb cast a sickly, flickering bluish light over the cans. The shadows that danced with each flicker were dark and purple, like a day-old bruise.

As Franklin watched from his perch, a man in a heavily-stained kitchen apron pushed open a screen door on one side of the street, staggered out, and perched on one of the garbage can lids. He didn't notice Franklin watching as he rolled a joint, stuck it between his lips, and lit up. As he drew in the smoke, his eyes closed and he leaned his head back.

"Franklin, get in here!" Shannon snapped from inside the hotel room. Obeying, he left the porch and closed the door behind him. He was hit with the smell of carbolic soap and bleach; he tried not to think what foul odor that combination was being used to conceal.

"Relax," he sighed. "It's just an alley. No one saw me."

"Our cover was blown tonight because of our mistake. They're going to be looking for us." She marched over and poked him in the chest with an accusatory finger. "We—no you…you need to be more careful."

"I said no one saw me."

"This time." She shook her head and ambled over to the edge of one of the twin beds in the room. The room was dingy and tattered, with bare-bones furnishings. Two twin beds, a dresser with one missing drawer, and a small desk with a chair that threatened to fall apart at any moment. She slumped into the chair and rested her head in her hands for a moment before looking up at him. "This might be our chance. The one we've been waiting for. We have a chance to get Phoenix. And Hook."

"But you know it's gonna be a setup," Franklin cautioned. "There's no way they'll be there after tonight."

"But what if it's not a setup?"

"If it's not? Then she made a mistake."

"And that's a mistake we need—no, we will—take advantage of."

"And if it is a setup?"

"Then we get out of there," she nodded. "Quickly."

"I don't care about speed." Franklin sat on the adjacent bed and paused to look over at her before adding, "I just care about being alive."

"Then we get out of there alive."

"That's easy for you to say. You're a federal agent. You're trained for dangerous situations."

"And you weren't? Franklin, you were a part of this group."

"Not this group," he quickly corrected her.

"Well, no…but before the Brotherhood became a tool of the Volya. You were a getaway driver for the Russians in DC. That's a dangerous job."

"I guess," he acknowledged with a half-hearted shrug. "That mostly involved me staying in the car though."

"Don't worry, I'm going to protect you."

He stood and lumbered over to the dirty, cracked mirror that hung above a tilted sink. He tried, but couldn't dodge the gaze of his own solitary form staring back.

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