Rogue(89)

“Yes, sir,” she said, a bit too formal. It was still getting to her.

I climbed out and walked across the lot, and my opposite number did likewise. I felt safe enough, though it wasn’t impossible a sniper would drop me. There was also nothing I could do about it. It was a nice day, though, and some plants in bloom. It wasn’t a day to die.

“Good day,” I said.

“We need to discuss the future,” he replied, and indicated a curb. I checked the bush nearby then sat, as did he.

“Go on,” I said.

“A certain associate of yours works for us. He’s becoming unstable and less reliable. Stress.”

“I can’t imagine why,” I said.

The sarcasm was lost on him.

“Exactly why we’d like to discuss employment with you.”

“Can you afford both of us?” I asked, though I suspected what he meant.

“We can, but we only need one. You’d take his position.”

I wasn’t going to play stupid. My brains would be one of my assets for said task.

“Go on,” I prompted.

“You replace him, we continue the financial arrangement, including the prior assets. If you can find the account he used for previous activities, we’d be agreeable to sanitizing that, too.”

That was quite an opening bid.

So, for some time he’d had an agent, rather than being truly freelance. It did make sense. It also meant he could call them for resources, such as official ID, flights and passage, raw materials.

I wonder how tempted I’d have been, without my daughter and a military obligation. A decade ago, I might well have considered it. I had the personality for it, the skillset, and the lack of attachments.

The problem with being so dispassionate was that I could see how it would end for me, too. One has to sleep sometime. Sooner or later the odds catch up with you, or someone hits you from behind, or you have to go into permanent hiding, which doesn’t fit most personality types in this field. Randall had set himself up for the midterm, without a long-term plan. That fit his youth and personality. He’d gotten into it a little late, but he’d always been a little immature. I snagged him for the team for several reasons, but I kept him where I could watch him because under his brilliance, he was abrasive, too clever for his own good, and liked to show off, as he continued to do in every hit. If I’d needed fewer bodies, he would have been one I’d done without.

Basically, I’d killed him on duty. He just didn’t know it yet.

Timurhin was looking at me, wanting an answer, and probably wondering what that expression on my face was.

“Definitely worth considering,” I said.

“Worth considering? It’s a fortune, and not a small one.”

I needed to stall, so I said, “You’re asking a lot, though. I don’t really need the work, and there is an element of risk or you wouldn’t want someone like me.”

“Yet you contacted us,” he said. “Ten percent incentive is doable.”

I didn’t even know how much they were paying Randall, though they seemed to think I did. Well, well.

“It’s not quite that simple,” I said. “I have an associate who works with me. That’s one of my force multipliers, and part of the package.”

“Not a problem,” he said. “We trust your judgment on how you do your job.”

“How much?” I asked. I leaned back and looked relaxed.

He shook his head. “Paying subordinates is part of your operation, too. That’s why you get the perks, eh?”

He actually thought I was sexually involved with Silver, as some kind of dominance ritual. Well, that still happened in their organizations. They were clannish, misogynistic and very outdated. They were just too large and widespread to eliminate easily, and they did accomplish a lot of business. It did reassure me as to levels I’d deal with, though. Trained thugs, not trained troops.

“Obviously, I’ll have to ensure my associate is on board. The offer seems fair, though.”

“Take your time,” he said. “Shall we meet for dinner tomorrow?”

“I have your phone code,” I said.

He laughed deeply.

“Suspicious man,” he said. “Smart man. Your predecessor wasn’t quite that tricky.”

Very interesting. Randall had likely figured he was a match for them, and wanted to scope out the odds. He’d met them at their convenience.

They referred to him in the past tense.

“You did say you wanted to upgrade, yes? And obviously, my calls will be discreet.”

“Indeed. Also, we would want to review any competing work for the duration. With a running contract we’d want first refusal of course.” Interesting. Randall had gotten cocky and was taking all offers now, possibly including some set up by the competition. They probably weren’t billed that way, but he was being played. His primary employers wouldn’t like that.