held my open hands about two inches apart. “All I know is that Eddie wants it very badly.”
“I can’t even find it on the
Jill was incredulous. “All this . . . and you don’t even know what you’re stealing? You guys are nuts.”
“No, Eddie’s nuts. We’re just too good at what we do.”
“Man, close the fridge. That’s freaking me out,” Carl said.
After briefing Jill on the highlights of the utterly insane and possibly suicidal plan, we took a little drive in the van the next morning. I did not tell her where we were going and once again made her wear the blindfold so that she would not be able to lead anyone back to our hideout. She was quiet as we drove through the streets of Zubara, probably thinking about what I had told her. I didn’t speak either, mostly because my face still really hurt. Carl was a decent medic, but having a mercenary smash your nose back into place and pull a broken tooth with a pair of pliers didn’t exactly qualify as quality medical care.
The streets were relatively quiet. Supporters of the emir had seen which way the wind was blowing. The ones that had enough money to cause trouble were on their way to Europe or Saudi Arabia. General Al Sabah owned Zubara now, and he was an astute enough man to not rock the boat more than he needed to.
Once I was sure that we had taken enough turns, I told Jill she could take her blindfold off. She rubbed her eyes as she adjusted to the light. The ocean was a brilliant blue out her window.
“So, where are we going?”
I didn’t answer. “Now that you know about the job, and you know how dangerous it’s going to be, I’m giving you an option.” She waited, watching seagulls spiral over the passing beach. “This next part is going to get complicated and I don’t normally recruit interns from the Department of Agriculture. This is a job for professionals, and I’m going to need a professional, not an amateur.”
“I never claimed to be anything I’m not.”
“True.” I parked the van at the end of a long wooden pier. There was a fifty-foot boat moored at the end. “Look, I promised that if you helped us, I would get you out of the country safely. And you’ve held up your part of the bargain. It was like you were part of the crew over the last few weeks. So now it’s time for me to hold up mine.”
She looked at the boat and then back at me. “I see . . . I thought you were going to ask me to keep help you with Phase Three.”
“Yes, I am. But if you want out, now’s your chance. That boat is headed for Bahrain. I know the captain. He’s a decent man, and he’ll take you to another friend of mine. From there, you’ll board a plane and take a circuitous route back to the US. Tickets and instructions are in the bag.”
“I can’t go back to the States. Gordon’s people will kill me.”
I patted a leather bag on the seat beside me. “There are some new papers in here. Forged passports, driver’s licenses, social security numbers, birth certificates, everything you need, all clean, courtesy of Reaper, on the house. His work is as good as you’ll ever find.”
“He’s really sweet,” Jill said simply. “Squirrelly, but sweet.”
“I’ve left contact information for an old acquaintance of mine. I’ve already spoken to him. He’s agreed to help you get a new life set up. He’s done this kind of thing before, and he owes me a favor.” He hadn’t been the first person I’d thought of, but as I’d gone down my list of other contacts in the States, most of them were either dead, in prison, or way too untrustworthy to send Jill to. Even though our last parting hadn’t been friendly, at least the old guy was honorable, so Jill would be in good hands.
“You will never be able to go back to where you’re from. You can never let your picture show up in the newspaper. Don’t end up on TV. And never get in trouble with the law. You get fingerprinted, and Gordon’s people will find you and kill you. You will never be able to let anyone know that you’re alive. You can never contact any family or friends.”
Jill sighed. “I told you, Lorenzo. My family is all dead. . . . Maybe that’s for the best. Look at the mess it’s gotten you guys into.”
That was a bleak way to look at it, but probably true. “You’ll have to start over. I can tell you right now that it’ll be extremely hard.” Pushing the bag over, I continued. “If you choose to go home, you can’t be Jill Del Toro ever again.”
She opened the bag and pulled out some passports. “Peaches LaRue? Delilah B. Sweet?” she said incredulously.
“Reaper has a thing for strippers. Take it as a compliment.” I shrugged. “There’s a couple thousand dollars in cash in there and a bank card to a Chase Manhattan account with a hundred and fifty thousand in it. That’s from me. Use it to get your new life started, but spend it gradually so it doesn’t attract a lot of attention. Consider it a going-away present.” I nodded at the boat. “All you need to do is get on there, and never look back.”
She glanced at the boat, at the bag, and then back at me. “You said you were giving me an option. What’s behind door number two?”
“I won’t lie. Carl thinks I’m insane to offer you a job, but I’ve got a good feeling about you. I think you’re sharp and tough. Plus, a pretty girl does come in handy.”
“So, you think I’m pretty?” Now she was just being coy.
“Well . . . duh. I think you’d work out well. You help us complete Phase Three, and I’ll make you a full partner. The money is good. You get to live a crazy life, bouncing around the Third World, robbing and conning assorted warlords, terrorists, scumbags, and lunatics, until eventually one of them catches and tortures us to death, or we’re nabbed by some government, that’ll just throw us in jail forever.”
“Gee whiz, what’s the downside?”
“You don’t want to be around Carl on casual Friday.”
She studied the contents of the bag. I did not envy her choice. Both options required her to give up her entire life. Jill bit her lip as she studied one of the driver’s licenses. “How long do I have to decide?”
“The boat leaves in ten minutes.” I glanced at my watch. “Make that seven. I talk too much.”
“I’ve got a few questions. . . .” She paused, then gave me a dangerous look. “And don’t you dare bullshit me. I want the truth. Why do you do this, Lorenzo?”
“This job? It’s for my family, and I’m working on a way to make sure Big Eddie won’t ever threaten them again.”
“No, I know about them. Why do you do
I studied the wheeling birds and the sparkling water. Why did I do it? It had all started as some sort of game, a challenge, a competition against the world. I had been the juvenile delinquent, the black sheep, the rebel. The first to fight, the first to cheat, the one that had to win, even though it didn’t matter what I was winning, or what I was losing in the process. One day I had just walked away, fell off the grid, disappeared into the stinking underbelly of the world. I had become a predator of the predators, the ultimate rush, the perfect challenge.
Now I was just tired. And I didn’t want my family, who were just normal, decent people, to pay for my sins. But even once this job was done, and even with Big Eddie either satisfied or dispatched, I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else.
“Hell if I know. It’s what I do.” She nodded as if that made perfect sense. “Boat’s about to leave,” I pointed out.
“Do you do a lot of bad things?” she asked.
“Depends on your perspective.”
“I know I can do it if I have to, but I don’t like to hurt people,” she stated.
“I don’t, either. But most of the things I deal with don’t rank as people.”
Jill turned her head, like she didn’t want to look at me. “Is that the only reason you want me to stay? Because I might come in handy?” She was fishing for something.
“And . . . I know you’re wrong. I can see it. I just wish you could too.” Jill turned back. Her eyes were full of moisture. She kissed me gently on my battered lips. She slung the bag over her shoulder, opened the door, and stepped onto the sand. She had a beautiful smile full of perfect white teeth. “Thank you for saving my life, Lorenzo.”
