Killer Instinct - James Patterson Page 0,63

the Mudir’s. I needed that grin on his face to go away. I needed to see a flash of fear, the sudden realization that maybe he hadn’t thought this all the way through.

Instead, he simply smiled wider. Nice try, he was telling me.

It didn’t matter whether I gave a shit about Viktor Alexandrov or not. As long as the Mudir had his gun jammed against the Russian’s head, he was walking out of that apartment. Alive.

With a couple of choice thoughts for me, as well.

“You’re out of your depth, Dr. Reinhart,” said the Mudir. “What brought you here tonight will only get you killed.”

“I’ll consider myself warned,” I said.

The most unsettling thing about the Mudir in that moment wasn’t the fact that he was threatening to kill Viktor. Or that he didn’t seem to care that there were two Glocks aimed right at him.

No, the most unsettling thing was that he seemed to be enjoying himself. He was relishing the moment. It was as if he lived to be this close to death. His and everyone else’s.

I had too much history with this. Too many encounters. Standing in that room, there was no shaking the feeling. One of us was about to die.

CHAPTER 78

JULIAN HAD been listening the entire time. I knew he didn’t want to say anything, not even a whisper, lest he distract me for even a millisecond. But there was one question he had to ask. “Do you want backup? Clear your throat if you do.”

I didn’t clear my throat.

I was sure Julian understood why. That’s why he asked. Otherwise he would’ve already made the call.

He knew the circumstances of how Elizabeth and I were in Viktor’s apartment. As operations went, this was beyond unsanctioned. Even worse, I had involved the mayor. He was an unwitting accomplice.

So, no. Elizabeth and I would take our chances. Roll the dice on our own.

“We just need to grab one thing,” said the Mudir, dragging Viktor a few steps back toward his desk. He winked at me. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“We already know where the payments are coming from,” I lied.

The Mudir didn’t ask What payments? It was maybe the first mistake he’d made. Or maybe there was simply no point in his playing dumb. We all knew who everyone was in the room.

“Perhaps you do know. All the same, I think we’ll take it with us anyway.” The Mudir jerked Viktor toward his laptop. “Pick it up,” he said.

Viktor’s hands were trembling. He nearly dropped the laptop twice before securing it against his stomach. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he couldn’t. It was as if he were drowning. A man suddenly realizing that he truly was out of his depth.

Elizabeth caught my eye, mouthing the word No. That’s how well she knew me.

I had the shot. I could put a bullet through the middle of the Mudir’s forehead, ten times out of ten. Eight of those times he’d die without even a twitch, never pulling his trigger. Those were pretty good odds.

But not good enough. Especially because I was nothing more than a civilian. The real reason Elizabeth was saying no was to protect me, not Viktor.

Still, something had to be done. A deal.

“You can’t take him with you,” I said. “We stay and you can go—but only if you go alone.”

The Mudir jammed the barrel of his gun even harder into the side of Viktor’s head. “I’ll do whatever I want.”

“No. You won’t,” I said. “If you take him, you’re taking all of us.”

That seemed to get him thinking. “Maybe if you lower your guns first,” he told us.

It was a lousy counteroffer and he knew it. He was stalling. He began moving for the hallway with his arm still wrapped around Viktor’s neck.

“He stays,” I repeated.

“After he shows me to the door,” said the Mudir. “I am a guest, after all.”

I joined Elizabeth in the hallway, but we stayed back as the Mudir headed for the front door of Viktor’s apartment. He walked backward, his eyes never leaving us, and the sights of our guns never leaving him. When he reached the door, Viktor knew enough to open it for him, shifting his laptop from one hand to the other.

“Now let him go,” I said.

Standing with one foot out in the foyer, the Mudir nodded. “As you wish,” he said. But it was the way he said it.

Only by then it was too late.

CHAPTER 79

LIKE A magician, the Mudir made a show of