The First Battle: Nathan K, #5

The First Battle

A Nathan K Thriller

Stuart Jaffe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Copyright Information

For Tony, Darren, and Tim

Also by Stuart Jaffe

Max Porter Paranormal Mysteries

Southern Bound

Southern Charm

Southern Belle

Southern Gothic

Southern Haunts

Southern Curses

Southern Rites

Southern Craft

Southern Spirit

Southern Flames

Southern Fury

Nathan K Thrillers

Immortal Killers

Killing Machine

The Cardinal

Yukon Massacre

The First Battle

Immortal Darkness

A Spy for Eternity

Prisoner

Parallel Society

The Infinity Caverns

Book on the Isle

Rift Angel

The Malja Chronicles

The Way of the Black Beast

The Way of the Sword and Gun

The Way of the Brother Gods

The Way of the Blade

The Way of the Power

The Way of the Soul

Gillian Boone novels

A Glimpse of Her Soul

Pathway to Spirit

Stand Alone Novels

After The Crash

Real Magic

Founders

Short Story Collection

10 Bits of My Brain

10 More Bits of My Brain

The Bluesman

Marshall Drummond Case Files: Cabinet 1

Non-Fiction

How to Write Magical Words: A Writer’s Companion

For more information, please visit www.stuartjaffe.com

Chapter One

Nathan K sat in the woods with his back against a large oak tree. The chill air and the barrage of chirps and hoots from the nocturnal creatures kept him awake. Not that he should be sleeping, but his target showed little signs of making his life easier and part of his mind thought a few minutes with his eyes closed would keep him sharp.

With a start, he sat up and inhaled. Stay awake.

Leaning forward, he rested his eyes against the tripod-mounted binoculars. The woods took a deep drop onto a local road, and across the street next to a post office, Nathan had a clear view of Darrell’s Auto Repairs — a gray cinderblock building featuring two bays with lifts for cars and a small office to the side. Five cars in various states of health had been lined off to the right behind barbed-wire fencing. A 1971 Mustang sat high in the lift, and underneath it, Nathan watched as a tall, burly man worked away — Robert Hanson.

It had been seven months since Nathan K obliterated a human trafficking operation in the Yukon. Seven months since he learned that operation had been under the control of a man named Russo — a man who, like Nathan, was an Immortal. Seven months since he had killed Isabella, the woman in charge of the operation — also an Immortal. Seven months since he had declared war with that act. If all went right in the coming few minutes, Robert Hanson would be the next casualty of that war.

A soft beep in his ear signaled Nathan of a call. Only one person had the number — the same bouncy-haired, super-genius, tech guru that outfitted him with the ear-comm in the first place. Hi, Robin.

Hi, Little John.

Nathan’s mouth twitched. You haven’t called me that one in a while.

I like to keep you guessing. Only about the little things, though. No need to worry about me withholding important info. As she started winding up, Nathan caught snippets of ABBA’s One of Us playing in the background. Now that we’ve got this joker’s name, you’re welcome for that by the way, and his location, you’re welcome for that too, I’ve been digging into his bank account. Turns out his little auto shop is doing a steady and overly-healthy amount of business every month. As in way more than should be happening. I mean, there aren’t that many cars in the town of Avenal that could need fixing, and unless Ohio is having a sudden rash of multi-car pile-ups, I’m thinking something ain’t quite kosher.

Money laundering.

Of course, money laundering. What else it would it be? I haven’t been able to trace it much further back yet, but my guess is that we’ll tie Mr. Hanson more directly to your enemy real soon. It’s not so easy. Heck, if not for that incident back in Montana, I don’t think we would have ever found this guy in the first place.

Nathan leaned back. Finding other Immortals, specifically those that worked for Russo, had proved difficult. Partly because Immortals were rare. They were people who could hold two souls in their body. If they died, the second soul left the body, and the master soul remained. The body healed and, provided that the owner of the body could find another soul, all would be restored. But while stuck with one soul, the body bore all the vulnerabilities of a normal mortal. Because of that, it was possible for an Immortal to die. Since nobody had yet figured out how to reproduce Immortals nor where the Immortal bodies came from, every full death of an Immortal was a great tragedy.

But the rarity of Immortals only encompassed half of the difficulty. The other problem Nathan faced, the bigger problem, was that his main source of information could not be told about any of this — Robin. He had no doubt that if explained to her exactly what to look for, she would be able to locate an Immortal within minutes. However, that would mean exposing the truth about the existence of Immortals — not a good idea.

Eventually, should they work together long enough, she would figure it out. After all, she would continue to grow old, but as long as Nathan had two souls, he did not age. Still, the less she knew of this, the safer she would be. Especially since he had broken the Number One rule of being an Immortal — he had killed one of them.

Don’t worry about Hanson’s ties. He’s going to confess it all to me in a few minutes. But I’ll need your help getting in.

I know that. What do you think I’m doing here? Just reporting to you? He had thought that, but as he listened closer, he could hear the clacking of her keyboard.

Sorry. I can’t see what you’re doing. For all I know, you’re on a dating app.

She paused, and he heard three sharp clicks. Her name is Tamori, and I didn’t meet her on a dating app, I met her on the BLFL website.

BLFL?

Black Lesbians For Love. Do you really want to discuss my love life? Because you know I can do more than one thing at a time. I’ve always got you covered.

Is that your way of saying I should get moving?

Get ready, at least. I’ve got a password to crack but it shouldn’t take long. Though I’ve got to admit that Mr. Hanson’s cyber-security is surprisingly robust for an auto shop in the middle of nowhere.

People who launder money can be finicky about prying eyes.

Just about there. You’ll know when to go. Good luck.

Thanks. Say hi to Tamori for me. Before she could answer, he cut the call.

Checking the binoculars once more, he watched as Hanson tipped back a tall-neck beer before closing the garage doors and shutting out the lights. A sign in the office window flashed CLOSED, and floodlights burst on to discourage thieves from bothering with the nice automobiles behind the fencing. Two surveillance cameras — one mounted on the corner of the fence and one over the office entranceway — guarded the area with their blinking red lights. Less than a minute later all the power to the building shut off.

Thank you, Robin.

Nathan scurried down through the woods toward the street. From a newly-bought holster, he pulled out Maggie — his trusty 10mm Wilson Combat Classic with Cocobolo double-diamond grips and a newly filled magazine. He crouched behind a tree and peered around the trunk.

Hanson stepped out front and stared at the dark lot. Shaking his head and mumbling some curses, he trudged to the side of the building and opened a metal panel. After flicking a few switches and failing to get results, he pulled out his cell phone. He pressed the screen a few times and then raised the phone into the air. Walking back and forth like a broken robot, he finally gave up on the phone, spit on the ground, and stormed inside.

Power and cell phones. Robin, you’re amazing.

Keeping low, Nathan crossed the street and pressed up against the building. With his head under the window frame, he saw the bright, narrow beam of a flashlight swish around inside. He inched closer to the front door, and once clear of the window, he stood. Raising Maggie into a secure firing position with a two-handed grip, he dared to peek in the office door window.

From what he could tell, Hanson faced the back of the office with a flashlight in one hand and a telephone in the other. If Robin had done the full job, and Nathan expected she had, then Hanson would find out soon enough that along with the power and the cell phones, landlines had also been disabled. Nathan had a few seconds to act.

With his pulse placid and face cold, he reached out and turned the knob. Slamming his way through, hoping to startle Hanson with the noise, Nathan burst into the office, taking two shots where Hanson should have been. But instead of seeing Hanson fall, Nathan watched a basketball explode. It had been stuck atop three boxes piled into the rough height of a person.

Hanson launched from a crouch at Nathan’s left. Considering his bulk, he moved far faster than expected. He pushed Maggie out of the way while punching Nathan in the jaw with his free hand.

As Nathan dropped to the floor — partly from the sheer power behind the punch, partly on purpose to buy an extra second or two — Hanson nailed Nathan’s gun hand, sending Maggie skittering across the floor. With his hands on the grimy tiles, Nathan kicked out with one leg, aiming for Hanson’s kneecaps. The big man shifted to the side, avoiding the attack, and returned with a sharp kick of his own.

One thing about Immortals — they have eternity to become proficient at anything. Especially fighting. Nathan had only a few years of immortality under his belt. He had learned a lot, but a guy like Hanson had him beat in the knowledge department.

Which left creativity as his best weapon.

The predictable move would have been to roll out of the way and attempt to jump back into a standing position. So, Nathan did the opposite. He grabbed Hanson’s leg and shoved upward.

This might have worked if Hanson weighed about seventy pounds less. Instead, Nathan groaned but made no progress. Hanson’s thick arms reached around Nathan’s waist. He lifted Nathan and tossed him deeper into the room.

As Nathan’s head smacked into the side of a metal desk, he smiled. No matter how many centuries of knowledge this guy had, it didn’t mean anything if the guy insisted on being stupid. He had thrown Nathan in the same direction he had sent Maggie.

Flattening onto the floor, Nathan reached under the desk and snatched his beloved weapon. He didn’t bother sitting up — Hanson made a huge target. From his back, Nathan fired.

The first shot hit in the middle of the chest. Enough to stun Hanson and give Nathan time to aim right into the forehead. He squeezed the trigger and sent Hanson to the floor.

Keeping Maggie aimed on the dead man, Nathan clambered to his feet. His side sent out sharp pains — another day, another broken rib. Breathing too hard sent more jolts along his bones, but otherwise, he felt intact.

A dark mist seeped out from Hanson’s eyes and rose into the ceiling — his second soul. Nathan watched the mist swirl upward and wondered how Hanson had gotten the drop on him. Hanson knew something had happened — after all, his power and phone went out — but he could not have expected another Immortal. Yet he had fought with the precision and strength as if he knew his opponent should not be trifled with. Nathan had expected the man to hold back at first as if he assumed his enemy would be mortal.

It’s possible he didn’t care. But Russo did not want police looking into his money laundering operation, and if Hanson had attacked a mortal with the same ferocity, he would be covering up a murder at that very moment. Instead of being the one killed.

Nathan shuffled over to the side door that led into the garage. A security keypad had been mounted on the jamb. He cupped his hands against the glass and peered in. Perhaps his answers rested in there.