Cyril knew what Vale was ready to do when it came to keeping them safe.He wouldn’t be surprised to see Vale kill someone.Hell, he already had.Vale had killed some of the professional assassins who’d come after him recently.Cyril also knew about the guards Vale had killed to rescue him.Still, Vale kept waiting for Cyril to decide that it was too much and that he couldn’t be with him anymore.
But Cyril was right.They couldn’t allow the Master to continue doing this.Normally, Vale wouldn’t care because no one was paying him to intervene, but Cyril’s friend had been killed.Besides, he was pretty sure that Russell would do it without getting paid just so he could stop the man who sounded like a serial killer.He’d probably find it fun.
He sighed.They might as well do it.“Send me Albert’s address,” he told Rachel.
“Already done.Punch him for me, will you?”
“I will.”
They moved as soon as she hung up.Vale already knew that trying to convince Cyril to stay home wouldn’t work, so he didn’t try a second time.He was worried, but he was pretty sure that, between him and Russell, they had things in hand.As Cyril had said earlier, Russell could focus on Albert while Vale kept an eye on him.It would be useless to force Cyril to stay back because he’d find his way to them, anyway.
Cyril stayed in the living room while Russell and Vale got ready.The silence was tense, but it made something settle in Vale.This had been his job for many years, and the familiar gestures felt like coming home.Vale didn’t regret retiring, but he really needed to find something else to do.
“You’ll let Russell and I take the lead,” he told Cyril as they left the apartment to get into Russell’s car.
“I’m not coming with you to kick Albert’s ass or whatever you’re thinking.I just want to be there when you do.”
Russell chuckled, and Vale whipped his head around to glare at him.Russell didn’t seem to care.He’d never found Vale intimidating.
“It won’t be pretty,” Vale continued.“You might see things you wish you hadn’t seen.”
“Stop trying to get me to change my mind.I’m used to death.I’ve never killed anyone, but I’ve seen enough to know what I’m getting into.”
“I really hope you do.”
“Sam was my friend.I need the people who killed him to pay for what they did.I need the Master to pay for hurting people.”
“You don’t have to see it happen.”
“And maybe I won’t.I just need to be there.”
Vale wasn’t going to win this.“You’ll stop when I tell you to stop and walk when I tell you to walk.You’ll stay away from anyone who isn’t me or Russell.If I tell you to run, you run, and you don’t look back.Russell and I can defend ourselves.”
“Yeah, I know.”
It was a small miracle that Cyril wasn’t grumbling about Vale treating him like a child.Vale wouldn’t have had the patience for it today.He needed Cyril to know how serious he was about this.
Russell drove them through the city.Vale didn’t know where they were going, but Russell clearly did.When they stopped, it was in a residential neighborhood.
It wasn’t a surprise.Monsters often lived where people wouldn’t think to look for them.
“Rachel says that the man is married with two kids, but his wife and children are away to visit his mother-in-law,” Russell explained.“He’s alone in the house and will be alone for a few more days.”
Russell hadn’t parked at the house where they needed to be.They had to walk, but Cyril kept up with them easily.It was dark, yet he didn’t get lost or stumble once.
The house their target lived in looked like any other house on the street.They were at the back of it, and Vale could see children’s toys and a bicycle in the yard.The lights were on downstairs, and a man was moving around the kitchen.
Albert looked like any other guy.His brown hair was cut short, and he had glasses.His white shirt was tight on his stomach and his belt was undone, but that was the least of his problems at the moment.
He just didn’t know it yet.
Getting inside the house was easy.The alarm wasn’t even armed.Vale and Russell had worked together often enough that they had a familiar routine.They separated, each of them choosing a different entrance to the kitchen.Vale chose a window and helped Cyril through it after making sure that the room it opened into was empty.
Albert squeaked when he first noticed Russell.He dropped his can of beer to the floor and took a step back.“Who are you?What are you doing here?”
He lunged for his phone on the counter, but Vale was there.He snatched the phone before Albert could reach it, sliding it into his pocket because he knew that Rachel would be able to use it.He smiled pleasantly, enjoying the fear in Albert’s expression.“Hello, Albert.”
Albert snatched a knife from the block.He held it in front of him, but his hand was shaking.Vale was surprised he hadn’t dropped the knife yet.He was ready to bet it would happen within the next five minutes.
