After a few beats, Violetta said, ‘Everything okay?’
‘Now it is,’ King said. ‘But we’ve got a few things we need to discuss.’
18
She didn’t interrupt as he filled her in.
When he finally trailed off, she said, ‘Christ.’
‘Tell me you didn’t use the same trekking company as Parker.’
‘Of course not,’ she snapped. ‘How dumb do you think I am?’
‘Had to be sure.’
‘I’ll start investigating exactly what happened and who we hired and how they might have been … compromised.’
‘Did you even consider doing this without the help of civilians? You know how easy it is for them to be—’
‘Enough,’ she snapped. ‘We didn’t have a choice. In case you didn’t realise this operation is incredibly time-sensitive. And we didn’t have anyone we were connected to in Kathmandu who knew Nepal like the locals. Fact of the matter is, we wouldn’t have got you to Phaplu in time if we didn’t use one of the already-established companies.’
‘And look where that got us.’
‘You’re still alive. It’s in your job description to deal with any problems that might crop up. We just didn’t know it was going to come from civilians.’
‘They were amateurs,’ King said. ‘Fourteen amateurs. Whoever wants us shut down is acting fast. They’re working with what they can get their hands on — just like us.’
Violetta said, ‘I know.’
‘You still think it’s Oscar Perry?’
‘That’s … less likely.’
‘Unless he’s interrogated the porter for all his contacts in Kathmandu. Which would be simple, if you think about it.’
‘Also a possibility.’
‘There’s a lot of possibilities.’
‘Which isn’t your concern,’ Violetta said. ‘Your concern is getting Raya back alive. That’s priority number one. If you find out that Perry’s innocent and have the opportunity to get him back, great. But Raya Parker is who you came to Nepal for.’
‘Understood.’
‘How’s Will?’
‘He’s fine.’
Slater raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. ‘Did she ask about me?’
King shot daggers sideways.
Violetta said, ‘Nothing’s changed. You only needed the guide and the driver to get to Phaplu, but you’re over halfway there. I can feed you the rest of the route, and your destination when you get there. Is that enough?’
‘Seems to be,’ King said.
‘You okay with the drive?’
‘I just had ten men try to cut me to pieces. I think I can handle a few bumpy stretches of road.’
‘If you can’t, it’d look pretty bad in your file. “Jason King: killed by his own reckless driving after an impressive military career.”’
He fought back a smile. ‘That sounds an awful lot like banter.’
‘It is.’
‘Thought we were keeping things professional.’
She sighed. ‘You know … if I lose you, it’s not just a note in the case files. It’s more than that. I can’t pretend that doesn’t exist.’
‘Should we be talking about that right now?’
‘I guess not.’
‘Stay safe, Jason.’
‘Doing my best.’
‘Sure sounds like it.’
‘Your sarcasm isn’t exactly subtle.’
‘I care about you.’
‘I know.’
The silence drew out, with the understanding that he wouldn’t let the facade slip. He took compartmentalisation seriously. There would be no I love you or I care about you too until he was back on American soil.
Until then…
‘I’ll let you go,’ she said.
‘Okay.’
‘Take care.’
‘You too.’
He ended the call, wanting to say a thousand things, but opting not to.
Slater shifted uncomfortably in the passenger seat. He racked the seat back and rested one foot on the dashboard, then rolled his pants up and winced as he noticed a shallow lump swelling on his shin. A hematoma, most likely. King studied it briefly, but didn’t dare take his eyes off the road for any longer than he needed to.
‘How’d you get that?’ he said.
‘Think it happened when I kicked one of them in the head.’
‘Then the other guy probably feels a lot worse.’
Slater dropped the pant leg back down. ‘Are you two surviving?’
‘Who?’
‘You know who.’
‘Yeah,’ King said. ‘We’ll be fine. There’s worse problems in life.’
‘She cares about you.’
King didn’t respond. He wondered if this was the setup for some cruel insult. Ever since Slater had ramped up the drinking, his truly genuine moments had been few and far between.
But now King looked over and saw the clarity, the seriousness in the man’s eyes. He hadn’t had a drink yet today. He probably had a splitting headache, but he was keeping his mouth shut about it. Because Will Slater, although he was many things, was not one to complain.
King said, ‘I know she does.’
‘I’m just saying … maybe you shouldn’t be so cold.’
‘I have to be.’
‘Part of the agreement?’
He nodded. ‘She wanted to break it. She tried to. But if I die over here … it’d be so much harder for her to move on.’
‘It’s going to be hard regardless. You might as well let her know what she means to you. At least while you have the chance to.’
King was genuinely taken aback. He hadn’t heard anything like this from Slater since New York. Then he realised. It was more than likely the aftermath of the adrenaline rush — with Slater’s stress chemicals heightened, he’d probably be more prone to social acuity.
But that didn’t mean it wasn’t real.
King said, ‘Thanks, brother. I’ll talk to her when we get to Phaplu.’
‘I would have done the same,’ Slater said. ‘With Ruby.’
Silence.
Slater said, ‘No matter what the agreement would have been.’
‘She would have done the same for you. You meant something to her.’
‘I hope so.’
‘You did.’
‘I hope she was proud of what she was. In those final moments. I hope she found peace.’
‘Did Shien ever tell you what they spoke about?’
‘No. But I got the sense it was positive. For both of them.’
‘Then she was at peace.’
‘Is that what will happen in our final moments? Or will it just be a bullet to the brain, or a knife to the throat?’
‘We won’t know until it happens. Until then, there’s no use speculating.’
‘You think it’s Perry, or the porter?’
King reeled at the subject change. ‘I don’t know. But I do know one thing.’
‘And that is?’
‘We’re going to be having a
