felt like I was slipping entirely into a new skin; I finished my beer, gestured at Henrik for another round. “The point is, we’re businessmen, and guys like Edward are bigger trouble than they’re worth.”
“I can’t fire this guy. It would bring so much heat on me.”
“I wasn’t suggesting you should,” I lied. “You just have to be prepared for every eventuality.”
“When I tell him what happened—”
“The fact you’ve waited is going to piss him off,” I said. Right now I needed to be the voice of reason, someone Piet could trust. “He might run.”
“No. The job is too important to him.”
“And the job is what?”
His gaze slid back to me.
“How many friends do you have left, Piet?”
“Lots.”
“And I’m sure, now that this Edward might be gunning for you, they’ll be lining up to help.”
He let the sarcasm hang in the air for a long moment. “Why would you help me?”
“Money. I’m very predictable. And hell, man, I’m sort of deep in this now.”
“If I don’t do this job, I have not so much money. I need it. Badly.”
I wasn’t particularly interested in his financial woes. These guys were all the same: big risks, big payoffs, and they blew it on bling and expensive girlfriends. “Here’s the deal. You’re crippled right now. I still have my resources to help you move what the mystery meat is that you’re shuttling for this Edward guy. You’ve lost your team, you’ve lost some of your capital. You take me on as a partner, just for this job. I get half.”
“Half!” Red crawled into his cheeks and he didn’t bother to keep his voice down. The Scots and the old man glanced at us.
“Half,” I whispered. “I’m pulling your fat from the fire.”
“You underestimate me, Sam, very badly.” The words were stone cold.
“I think I’m estimating your sorry-ass position just fine. Good luck with Edward. And good luck with the police, or Dutch intel, or whoever’s gunning for you. Between those two, I predict a week full of puppies and rainbows for you, asshole.” I tossed euros on the counter, got up to leave. If he stayed, I would grab him when he walked out and haul his ass upstairs and let him see what a grieving husband and father could do to mortal flesh.
He let me take five steps before he spoke. “I’ll give you thirty percent.”
“Forty-five.”
“Forty,” he hissed. “I set up the job, I’ve done most of the work. You’re just helping me reach completion. Forty.”
I needed to let him win the battle. “All right, forty percent.”
He risked a smile at me; it was the same smile he’d given the captive women and it took a certain amount of self-control not to slam my beer glass into the shine of his crooked teeth.
“Then you deserve to know who we’re fighting.” He made his voice low.
“Yes.”
“It’s not the police. It’s a man. Bahjat Zaid.”
“I know that name.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“Military equipment manufacturer; I read the Economist, you know.” I risked a frown. “Did you counterfeit his goods? Rip him off?”
“Not me. He has a grudge against Edward.”
“Legit business types don’t hire gunmen.”
“Zaid does.”
So true. “And this respectable businessman’s trying to derail your big job?” I wanted to know if he would confide in me about Yasmin. “Why doesn’t he just call the cops?”
“He has his reasons.”
I took a sip of my beer. “What are you smuggling to the United States?”
“Can’t tell you.”
“Piet, I have to know. I can’t get it packaged and shipped without knowing. Be reasonable.”
His need to trust me won out. “Military equipment.”
“What kind?”
“Electronics.”
I didn’t like this vagueness but I wasn’t sure he’d tell me more, not in a public place. “What kind?”
“Experimental. Zaid has his reasons for keeping the police out.”
“What reasons?”
Piet finished his beer, watched the remaining suds inch down the empty glass.
What mattered was getting Piet and Edward and their group all together. I had to work that angle relentlessly.
So. Put the edge of the knife against Piet’s fears. “So you’re in a mess. You’re moving counterfeit cigs to the U.S., and you’re hiding Edward’s secret military experimental equipment inside the shipments. Now you’ve lost your cigarettes and your means of smuggling Edward’s gear.”
Piet clenched his eyes. “I’m screwed, and I don’t like being screwed.”
“So. We need goods to ship, to serve as camouflage for whatever Edward wants to get into America.”
“Yes.” For a moment he looked like a stressed owner of a small business, worrying over his accounts payable and an anemic cash flow.
“I have a solution.”