After waiting for a few hours, Mark finally entered the hotel room with a rifle bag and a few bullets. Smiling, he noticed that Jackson had already laid out the guns and ammunition on his bed in order of size and calibre while he stitched a metal plate onto his greatcoat. Next to the weapons were tools and raw materials laid out for the purpose of creating specialised weapons, such as nail bombs, flashbangs, and anything that would give them an advantage the next day.

  ‘Damn, looks like someone spent their time wisely during their shopping spree.’ Mark joked before putting his rifle on his bed. Pulling out a Tikka T3x and an X16 scope for the rifle. ‘I’ll take any pistol you won’t take with you, which…’

  Mark looked at Jackson’s bed and counted six pistols. All of them required different ammo types, which Jackson didn’t even get the right type for the specific weapon. Of the six pistols he had stolen, Jackson only had ammo for half of them.

  ‘Actually,’ Mark continued. ‘I think you’ll need everything on that bed.’

  ‘Why?’ Jackson bluntly asked after he finished stitching his greatcoat.

  ‘Well, to put it kindly. You don’t have the bullets for the right gun. I can tell you stole the right shells for the shotgun thing. At a glance, I think you might have two magazines for the three guns you have ammo for. Some of those boxes are for different guns entirely. So really, and I will say this in the kindest way possible. But you are going under-armed.’

  ‘I’ll live. But that’s not a problem.’ Jackson grabbed his KelTec KSG and handed it to Mark. ‘How do I use it?’

  Mark raised a brow as he examined the shotgun, trying to understand how someone who had dozens of people hunting him down for weeks did not understand how to use the weapon.

  ‘Use it?’ Mark questioned. ‘What don’t you understand about this thing? It’s a shotgun.’

  ‘A lot has changed.’ Jackson replied. His reasoning was so bland and to the point that Mark struggled to tell if Jackson was an idiot, making a joke, or was generally unsure of the operation of the weapon. He couldn’t tell, and he was afraid to ask.

  So, spending a few minutes, he demonstrated how to load and use the shotgun while also showing Jackson the ropes in using the pistols safely and effectively. Which the reptile listened without interruption or question. Once Mark was done giving a highly proficient killer a new set of skills and knowledge to make him even more dangerous. There could be an argument that what Mark did was idiotic beyond reason. However, on the same token, it would be better to ensure that the monster on his side was effective before tomorrow.

  ‘And that is it,’ Mark said before handing the shotgun back to Jackson. ‘That is how you load, prepare, and kill. Having dual tubes is a pretty cool idea.’

  ‘Good,’ Jackson bluntly responded as he loaded one tube with slugs while the other was being loaded with buckshot. ‘We have gear. The plan; run through it.’

  Loading a few rounds into his rifle’s magazine, Mark recounted the plan from memory. ‘Panorama Tower gives me a really good view of Brickell Key and the power plant. I will find my way to the top, provide covering fire, and give you a heads-up if I notice something. As I assume the guy who was, if it was true to begin with, was willing to spend almost a billion on your head. That guy will, without a shred of doubt, have some soldiers on call in case of emergencies.’

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  ‘And how will we communicate?’

  Mark reached for his bag and pulled out two hand radios. ‘It will not give us the best coverage. Not when you go inside the power plant and do your own thing there. But it should allow me to talk to you once you get into the actual tower. And yes, before you say it. I will make sure that Brian does not leave his room. I will keep him pinned down until you get in there. Hopefully, you can keep your word.’

  ‘I will.’ Jackson responded in a monotone voice. ‘If not kill, I will incapacitate. You’ll have the final shot.’

  ‘And the gun.’

  ‘Yes, the gun. If she has it, I will take it and return it to you.’

  ‘That is good,’ Mark replied before pulling out some plastic explosives and a detonator. ‘This stuff is hard to find, and for cheap, mind you. I hope you know how to use them.

  ‘I do,’ Jackson replied. ‘They’ll hit critical infrastructure, the bridge, and the Ra Engine. Nothing else.’

  ‘Yes, of course. But tell me, why do you want to destroy the Ra Engine? Isn’t that like the most important piece of tech? Not that I give a shit, some nerd will make it again. But why? It seems like a waste of time when the problem is that Brian's a cunt.’

  Jackson frowned. ‘Cut the swearing. We are not barbarians.’

  Hearing that response, Mark chuckled. ‘Really? You want me to stop swearing when we are talking about killing a few people?’

  Besides answering, Jackson just blankly stared at Mark. Feeling uncomfortable, the assassin nodded along and looked away. There was no point in debating someone over something silly, not when they were once going at each other and were so close to taking each other’s lives. Sparking an argument would only provide his ally a reason to wait for Mark to go to sleep and slit his throat.

  ‘Then, why?’ Mark asked again.

  Jackson paused, thinking of what to respond with. To think of what kind of answer would be acceptable to his comrade. ‘It is Brian’s legacy.’ He said as he grabbed a piece of leather to make a bandoleer. ‘I want to destroy it.’

  It was direct and to the point. Mark could tell there was more to his reasoning than just destroying the Ra Engine and destroying Brian’s legacy. He could see that Jackson wanted to make it so that the technology made by Brian would never be used again. Not just destroying a legacy, but turning his legacy into something that would be avoided and despised by future generations.