Dead Six

I just nodded. I hadn’t paid taxes in, well, ever.

“Then it started getting crazy.”

“I was here for that part.” I didn’t add that I had probably contributed to that state of affairs.

“Some men had been killed while trying to murder some of the locals. They appeared to be Americans. The Zubaran security forces freaked out at us, but the ambassador assured them that it wasn’t us. Then more and more bad things started happening, and we got the word to pack. It was the assistant to the ambassador, a guy named Jim Fiore, real nice guy, who took care of all the day-to-day stuff. He kept calling people in Washington, trying to figure out what was going on.”

“Like who?” I asked. If I could narrow down what kind of operation Dead Six was, it might help me track them down.

She shrugged. “It wasn’t like I got to hear the calls. That’s way over my piddly clearance. I just know that he was in his office on the phone non-stop for two days. He used to talk to this old army buddy of his all the time, I think he’s an FBI agent now, but other than that, I don’t know. There were three of us left to help Jim at that point. We were mostly just shredding papers, and it wasn’t like there was anything important in there, it was just standard procedure. There was a mob outside the gates, protesting, burning flags, and it was pretty scary, but they hadn’t turned violent yet other than throwing some rocks at the gate.”

“When did this Gordon show up?”

“It was the last day of the evacuation. Everybody else had left except for us and some of the Marines, but they were all manning the gate. I had been assigned to be Mr. Fiore’s secretary. His regular one had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last month and had to fly home . . . uh, never mind, doesn’t matter. So I was working for Jim, and he was still making phone calls. I was in back shredding papers when Gordon came barging in.” Jill’s voice grew quieter. “He started yelling, telling Jim that he needed to shut up, and quit asking questions, that none of this was his business. Jim got all angry and said that Dead Six was destroying the country. That was the first time I had heard the name.”

“So they shot him?”

“Oh, no, not then. The Marines would have torn them apart, I don’t care who they were. No, when Jim said Dead Six, Gordon got all quiet, like he was surprised at the name, and said that they were done here. Then he left. It wasn’t until later . . .” Jill paused to wipe under her eyes. It almost made me feel bad for using her. “About twenty minutes later we left for the airport with an escort, two Marines, both really cool guys that I knew. We were almost there when the Marines got a call that that there was another riot on the route that we were on, and we were supposed to take a different way. We pulled off onto this quiet street and there was another government car there waiting to meet us.”

I nodded. That’s probably how I would have done it.

“Two guys, the Marines acted like they recognized them, they walked right up to the windows like they were friendly as could be and just started . . . started shooting . . .” Jill paused for a really long time. “I’m sorry . . .”

Brutal. “How’d you get out?”

“They shot the guards in the front seat first, probably because they were more scared of them. They just shot forever. Mr. Fiore was hit, blood was going everywhere, but he opened the door and managed to get out while they were reloading.”

“Typical mistake. Bullets act weird when you’re shooting through window glass. You get a lot of deflection with handguns,” I explained. She looked at me with bloodshot eyes. She had been crying. It made me uncomfortable. “Sorry.”

“Mr. Fiore, Jim, was a tough dude. He grabbed the big blond one and I just ran. I ran while they shot him over and over and over. I didn’t look back, but I could hear him screaming. I felt the bullets go by me. I just ran between the houses until I couldn’t anymore.”

Jill had started weeping. This wasn’t exactly my cup of tea. What was I supposed to say? Sorry your life is ruined and your government wants you dead, but shit happens. I awkwardly reached over and patted her on the knee. It seemed like the human thing to do.

She continued. “I hid in an alley for hours. I didn’t speak the language. I was scared to death. When I finally saw a police officer, I ran over to him. He talked to me long enough to find out I was an American. He called someone on his radio. Then he had me sit in the back of his car while we drove across town. I thought he was taking me to the police station, but instead he took me to those assholes who drugged me.” She wiped her nose and sniffed, regaining her composure. “And after seeing that video, thanks for taking care of them.”

I smiled. She was actually kind of cute. A little while ago she had been trying to kill me, and now she needed a moment. “It was no problem.” I wasn’t the best at comforting people, but I was pretty good at killing people.

“Look, I’m about to pass out. I’ve had a hell of a day. Do you have a place I can sleep?”

I nodded. “Yeah, we’ve got a spare bedroom. Just . . . you know.”

“Don’t try to escape or you’ll shoot me,” she replied. “Where would I go? Who would I call? I’ve got no family. I can’t call my employers. I’m assuming that everybody I know has their phone tapped already. Don’t worry. I won’t do anything stupid.”

I showed her to the spare room. There was no window, no phone, and the way I slept, she would have to be a ghost to sneak out, but I would rig the door with a motion detector after she fell asleep. The apartment had an alarm, and I’d arm the perimeter, too, just in case. “You’ve got a bed, pillow, and a minimal number of roaches. Sorry I don’t have any spare girl clothes, but I can come up with something tomorrow. The bathroom’s that door there, complete with actual toilet or squatty hole and spray hose. Personal preference, I guess.”

Jill paused in the doorway. “I just realized. You saved my life, and I don’t even know your name.”

I gave her a weak smile. “I’m Lorenzo. The skinny one you beat up is Reaper. The hairy one is Carl. And if you’re wondering, yes, those are all made up and won’t do you a bit of good.”

“Good night, Lorenzo. And thanks.” She closed the door.

Carl was waiting for me around the corner. “You’re an idiot,” he whispered.

I nodded. “So what’s new?”

The short Portagee folded his burly arms and glared at me. “You’re jeopardizing the whole job to take in some broad. You forget the part where Big Eddie kills everybody if we screw up? How does this help us?”

“I take it you heard her story?”

“I listened in. She doesn’t know squat about these Dead Six fodas. She’s useless.”

“Helping her was the right thing to do,” I said.

Carl snorted. “And since when did you start caring about what’s right? I’ve known you a long time, Lorenzo. You don’t care about right and wrong. When you meet people, they go in one of two groups: Are they a threat, or can you use them somehow? I was surprised you cared so much about this family of yours, that I’ve never heard you talk about, to risk your neck.”

That was because the people in that folder were the only people who had ever been decent to me, but that went unsaid. “I like a few people.”

“I shouldn’t count,” Carl replied.

“Of course not. You’re unlikable,” I said. Carl nodded as if this was the wisest thing he’d heard. “Look, I’ve got other things in mind for the girl. Dead Six will be looking for her. She’s an in against them. And if they want her bad enough, they’ll trade us that damned box.”

Carl rubbed his stubbly face as he thought about that. “That’s cold, even for you. I don’t know. I’m gonna have to sleep on that. Whatever you do, don’t tell Reaper. The kid will never go for it.” He turned and walked away, shaking his head.

Sometimes it’s hard being the bad guy.

The Fat Man picked up on the first ring. “Hello, Mr. Lorenzo.”

Did he ever sleep? “We’ve completed Phase Two, but there’s been a complication.”

“Our employer does not like complications.”

“Adar is dead, but his box is missing.”

“My goodness. That certainly is bad news. I do hope that this will not unduly hinder you.”