CHAPTER 173 A Promise is a Promise

*Sam*
*Chicago*

It was a windy Friday morning. The first of the golden rays of the sun could be seen peeking through the horizon.

I stretched and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. Even the moans and groans from Link and Lisa's lovemaking earlier were not enough to keep me awake.

I glanced at my watch, calculated the time it would take Link to go through Lisa's things and estimated an eight o'clock flight back to Bismarck.

The timing was perfect. Lisa asked for a wake-up call for eight-thirty to give her enough time to pack for her return flight home. By the time she woke up, we would be long gone...

Allowing Link and Lisa to continue their*drama* in New Salem.

I just needed to stay awake for a couple more hours, then I could sleep through the entire flight back to North Dakota. That was enough for me to remain mentally alert for all the events planned for today... and today is a big day.

*Just a couple more hours*...

I pressed my earpiece against my ear and heard a creaking sound from a door swinging open. The closet! Finally... Link was rummaging through Lisa's things. Oh thank God! I just needed to hold on just a little bit more, then I could get some well-deserved sleep.

However, the sound of drawers opening, zippers zipping, clothes rustling and the unmistakable rhythmic sound of a keyboard clicking made me restless and impatient. *Hurry the fuck up*, *Link*!

*Unlike some people*, *I need to sleep*!

"Coffee, Sam?" Lou asked, handing me his thermos. I shook my head. I've had enough coffee. What I really needed was sleep.

Lou and I were seated inside a white van parked across the street from the Waldorf hotel while Jake was in the hotel lobby, keeping watch. We had to make sure there weren't going to be any more *surprises*. There was just too much at stake here. Fortunately, we didn't notice anyone suspicious nor did anything out of the ordinary happen. Whoever was keeping tabs on Lisa, was either one cheap sonabitch or thought of her as stupid and trivial.

Well, I'm hoping after being fucked by Link, Lisa would believe her husband dead, stop her search and move on.

Unlike her, Liam Cohen seemed to believe Bismarck Police Depertment's findings, but I suspect he's pretending. Besides Pete, he is the only one I could think of who would want to know Cris' exact location. Why? Because Cris Murdock has enough dirt on him to put him away for a very long time. If I were in Liam's shoes, I'd be afraid... very afraid.

Lou, Jake and I arrived in Chicago, right after Lisa Murdock landed in the Windy City, to do some recon work. While we were watching her from afar, I noticed the blonde man who kept a short distance behind her. She didn't seem to be aware she was being followed by the man. He did a good job blending in with the locals, but it wasn't enough to hide himself from me.

I called Beaufort to tell him about the young man following Lisa and he advised us to take care him.

So last night, when Lisa was safely inside the Waldorf after being kicked out of De Vega's club for asking too many questions, Lou pulled up in front of the blonde man's Chevrolet, intentionally swiping the side mirror of his car. Just as we expected, the man angrily jumped out of the car to confront Lou. I quickly came from behind and injected him with a sedative before pushing him inside our van.

En route to the safe house, I emptied the man's pockets and found a smartphone, a wallet with cash, a fake Driver's License and a pack of gum. Then I patted him down, and to my surprise, I found a gun in an ankle holster and a bulletproof vest underneath his sweatshirt.

*This just keeps getting better and better*.

Since we were pressed for time, we dropped him off at our safe house without taking the time to interrogate him. The young man was lucky we needed to escort Link from the airport to the hotel, because if I did have the time, I would have tortured him for answers.

I suddenly felt my phone vibrate, interrupting my thoughts. I took out my phone from my pocket and saw Beaufort's name on the screen. I swear, that man has a sixth sense.

"Sam, I need all of you to haul ass out of there and get here ASAP," he said. "We believe the Blue Rogues are still active. As of now, we are considering the possibility they've been hired by the AOD. We're waiting for information from De Luca's contact to confirm our suspicions."

*Angels of Darkness and the Blue Rogues together*?

*With Miss JT in the middle*? This was something even I didn't expect. I needed reinforcements. I'll make the call at the airport and begin making plans.

*So long, sleep*.

"You don't say," I replied absentmindedly, lifting the collar of my shirt where the mic of my communication device was attached. "Jake, we have some business to take care of. Meet us out front. Link, we'll meet you back here in thirty minutes. Be ready to fly out." I glanced at Lou. "Lou, I need you to drive us to the safe house after we pick up Jake." He nodded his head, turned on the ignition and maneuvered the van to the front of the hotel. "I'm sorry, Beaufort, what were you saying again?"

"Have you interrogated Johnny Bravo, Sam?" Beaufort asked, pertaining to the blonde man who we were holding captive at our safe house. "Did you find anything useful from his phone... any information that could help us?" Surprisingly, his tone sounded optimistic.

I didn't want to disappoint him, so I gave him the good news first.

"There were only a handful of numbers on his cell, so I'm guessing it's a burner phone. If that bastard is indeed a Blue Rogue, then that means one of those phone numbers is the Colonel's. Anyway, I tossed the phone in the Chicago River after I transferred all its data to an SD card. I'll give it to Primo once we're back in New Salem," I elaborated, answering Beaufort's second question first. "To answer your first question, nope, I haven't interrogated Prince Charming yet, but I will, once we get to the safe house. I'll check if he has a brand on him, then I'll beat the information out of him."

Lou eased up in front of the hotel to where Jake was waiting, the hood of his jacket covering his head. The side door opened and he jumped in, making himself comfortable behind me.

"Well, make it quick, Sam. I already called Angelo to prepare the plane. If Lou has time, have him delete all the CCTV footage that places you in the area. Oh, by the way, get rid of Barbie's Ken when you're done interrogating him. We need to keep the Colonel guessing."

*Anonymity was our strength*.

"Copy that," I replied. "I'll send you a message once we're on the plane." I hung up, placed my phone back in my pocket and cracked my knuckles. I needed to get some answers from Prince Charming and fast.

"Lou, we need to bug out. Beaufort has the plane on standby, ready to fly us to Bismarck," I announced as he sped towards our safe house; it was an abandoned office building several blocks from the Waldorf. "And... he wants you to delete all the city's CCTV footage that places us here."

"Why the urgency, Sam?" Jake asked from behind. "Has something happened in New Salem while we were away?"

"No, nothing has happened in New Salem," I answered, reaching up to hold on to the grab handle. Lou quickly turned into an alleyway, then into the garage of our safe house. "But there may be Blue Rogues in the city. If they find us, it's game over for all of us."

"Oh, shit," Jake murmured. I heard a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"Don't worry, Jake," I said, in an effort to reassure him. "I have your back."

"What about Link?" Lou asked, parking the van in a corner. "I don't think he'll find anything in thirty minutes."

"He knows the drill, Lou," I assured him. "What he can't find here, he'll find in New Salem. Right now, Jake and I need to rid us of dead weight and you need to get on a computer and work your magic. Will thirty minutes be good enough for you?" We jumped out of the van and entered an elevator to go to the top floor.

"That's plenty of time," Lou answered, a confident smile on his lips.

"Good. I hope for our sake that's enough time to clean up. I don't want to leave anything behind." The elevator pinged then came to a full stop before its doors automatically opened, revealing a floor of empty and abandoned offices.

"I'll meet you guys here in twenty," Lou said loudly, heading to an office in the opposite direction. "Have fun."

Jake and I proceeded to the very end of the hallway. As we walked side by side, Jake quietly inserted his fingers into a set of brass knuckles while I armed myself with a knife.

We both stopped in front of a narrow white door of a utility closet. I cautiously placed my free hand on its doorknob and swung the door open, allowing Jake to enter first.

As expected, *Sleeping Beauty* was wide awake, still chained to the wall, his mouth covered in duct taped. Jake threw a punch at the blonde man, his brass knuckles connecting to Blondie's face. Blondie fell back against the wall, stunned.

I took my knife and ripped his shirt apart. There, on the top of his left nipple, was a scar in the form of a skull with two letters, a B and an R, where its eyes should have been.

I peeled the duct tape off his mouth, hoping for a confession.

"What's your name, Blue Rogue?" I demanded. His eyes widened at the mention of the name of the group of assassins he was affiliated with.

"Ryan Travis," he screeched, his voice high-pitched, like a squeak of a scared little mouse about to be eaten by a snake.

"Who are the Blue Rogues working for?" I asked nonchalantly, placing my knife against the smooth skin of his face. He looked too pretty to be a part of the Blue Rogues, but my guess was, they needed an attractive SOB to distract the ladies. "I'm gonna ask you again and this time, you better answer, or I'm gonna press this knife against that baby face of yours and cause some permanent scarring. So, who are the Blue Rogues working for?"

I saw him hesitate, but when the tip of the blade almost grazed his eye, he turned pale and quickly opened his mouth.

"I-I actually don't know and that's the truth. I was sent to Chicago before the team and the client's scheduled meet. All I know is what the Colonel has said about him... that he was a former student of his who he couldn't say no to." He stared up at me and I noticed the desperation in his eyes. "Please, I beg you. I have a wife and kid. I swear, on my mother's life, I'll disappear. I promise. Not even the Colonel will ever find me. Please, just let me go," Ryan pleaded. His lower lip was trembling like he was about to cry.

*What a baby*!

I nodded my head and pulled my knife away from his face... to his relief.

Well, I needed to give him hope. When you give a person hope, he will say or do anything to survive.

"So you don't know who your new client is? Not even by name?" I asked. He shook his head. "Okay. What are you guys hired to do for this new client anyway?" I asked.

"We were hired to provide support. There's an ongoing turf war in New Salem. Our client wants us to help him gain complete control of the town from a former client of ours," Ryan explained.

"Former client of yours... You mean the mayor of New Salem, right?" I asked to confirm.

"Yes," Ryan replied, nodding his head. "We don't work for him anymore." That confirms it. Liam wasn't the one controlling the Blue Rogues.

"Very good, Ryan," I praised him, giving him more hope. I could tell he was beginning to feel at ease. "One last question, then I promise I'll let you go. Why have you been following Lisa Murdock?"

"She's supposed to lead me to a man our client is looking for... her husband, Cris Murdock," he stated. "Our client doesn't believe he committed suicide."

I glanced at my watch. We were out of time.

"Your client is right. Cris Murdock didn't commit suicide," I said, squatting in front of him. "But I'll let you in on a little secret." I gestured to him with my finger, so he would move his face closer to mine. "Your client is wrong in thinking Lisa would ever lead you to him. You know why I say he's wrong?" Our faces were so close, I could smell his stale breath. "Because we buried the sonofabitch." I raised my knife and quickly slit his throat.

He stared at me, his face looking completely and utterly horrified.

"A promise is a promise. I'm letting you go." I unchained his hands and removed the duct tape that bound his ankles.

Ryan raised his hands to his neck to stop the bleeding, but there was nothing he could do.

I stood up and watched the blood drip from his neck, over his bare chest, covering his Blue Rogue insignia... with satisfaction.

"Let's just stuff him in the freezer. I'd rather throw him in the river, but we don't have time. I'll carry his upper body while you carry him by the legs," I instructed Jake. "Shit. We still need to pick up Link on our way to the airport before Lisa discovers he's gone."