you can’t ever get.”
I froze. Mila raised an eyebrow at me.
“The desire for revenge drove you to the Company, and now revenge can drive you to find the man who tore apart your family. Oh, what a shrink could make of you.”
“I just want Lucy and the baby back,” I said. “I don’t want revenge.”
“Don’t believe revenge isn’t fantastic,” Mila said, “until you’ve actually exacted it.” She shrugged. “I find revenge absolutely thrilling and satisfying.”
I reached for the Glenfiddich, refilled our glasses.
Mila sipped the whisky. It was a nice big, comradely gulp. “If you come to work for me, you will have a free hand to look for her. I am best boss ever.”
I didn’t say anything for a long minute.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“This could be a Company trap. A test to see if I’m willing to sell my services. I don’t know who you are and I don’t care. I cannot help you. I am practical.”
She made a face at the word. “Practical is what Soviet architecture was. Practical is not always the answer. The offer expires in one minute.”
“And if I say no?”
“I’ll get you to Holland. But then we part ways and you never saw or met me, and be certain you will be back in prison within days. With no hope of ever finding your family.”
“And if I say yes?”
Mila tasted the Scotch. “Find Yasmin. Bring her back to me, and you may exact whatever revenge you like on the scarred man. If he knows where your wife and child are, it’s your concern. But Yasmin is saved first.”
“She’s killed people.”
“No. You can see it in her face—she has been drugged or broken. Break this group of kidnappers for me, and I will give you every resource to find your wife.”
“And then what? The Company will be after me.”
“Not if you produce evidence of your innocence. The scarred man might have information that clears the name.”
“Who are you?” I said, so quietly I wasn’t sure that she heard me.
Mila set down the glass. “I work for a group that prefers to remain anonymous. You have no reason to trust me, but via this group I am bringing you the best hope you have of finding your wife. I am giving you freedom and resources. Do you care so much for little questions that have little answers?”
She had a bizarre way of talking but I saw her point. It didn’t matter who these people were; all that mattered was Lucy and my son. Daniel. I wondered if she’d been able to give him that name, if they were still alive.
I decided. “And if I get caught?”
“You’re on your own. We can’t acknowledge you, we can’t help you.”
I waited in silence for her thin smile to fade. She wanted a response. “Why are you doing this?” I asked.
“I dislike seeing your talent wasted. You should be put to good use.” Mila lit a cigarette; she was not the kind of person to ask if I minded in the close quarters of the cabin. “Not just good use. Extraordinary use.”
I picked up the photo from the train station. Stared hard at the man’s scar.
“How many seconds left in that minute?” I asked.
“Ten.”
“Yes,” I said.
23
WHATEVER BRIBES MILA TOSSED AMONG the ship worked: the crew left us alone. I was surprised, as I had nearly shot one of them.
I had decided Mila was part of some group within the government, unleashed to do dirty work without the boundaries of law, and, since I was damaged goods, I was a perfect recruit. They had limited access to Company information like my file, but the Company didn’t know about them.
I didn’t care who they were as long as they helped me get Lucy back.
So. I exercised in my room, lifting myself on a bar, running in place, thinking, clearing my head. I endured a self-imposed captivity for three days, then I couldn’t do it anymore; not after the long weeks in the Polish prison. So I went up to the deck and I ran among the containers in the bright open sunshine. The crew watched me. I waved. They didn’t wave back.
I thought about the best ways to try and find the scarred man. I had to assume he knew my face. This was going to be the most dangerous job I’d ever undertaken, and I was doing it with an unproven ally in Mila.
When I turned past one stack of containers Captain Switchblade was there, helping to clean the deck.
“Hello,”