“Quite a fighter, that one,” Cluzet said, wiping her spit off his face.
“You must be one hell of a coward to beat up an unarmed woman. Or maybe you just have mommy issues?”
Jack’s head snapped sideways at the force of Cluzet’s backhand. He raised the pry bar high over his head to drop a killing blow onto Jack’s skull, but hesitated.
“Oh, Jack. I must say, nicely played. It’s been a long time since I lost my temper.” Cluzet grinned again. “You amuse me. Now, it seems to me you asked me a question—What the fuck do I want?”
Cluzet returned to pacing. “On the one hand, the thing I really want is to watch my friend Hult kick you to death. Now, that would be very entertaining. On the other hand, there are people who are very interested in you and don’t want to see you harmed. But the truth is, I don’t give a shit about them. If I let you live, it will be because I desire it. The question is, what would give me the most pleasure?”
“Is this the point where I’m supposed to beg for mercy? Cuz that ain’t happening.”
“Not even for Liliana?”
Jack darkened. “I’m worth more to you alive than dead.”
“But is she?”
“Whatever deal we strike, she’s part of the bargain, or else no deal, and that means no money for you.”
“Yes, without question she is part of the deal. And you’re right, you would be worth quite a bit of money to your rich senator friend, I’m sure. And in exchange for not killing you, he must agree to not come hunting after us. I believe your friend John Clark has already made such an arrangement on your behalf.”
It was Jack’s turn to smile. You’re Iron Syndicate. How else could Cluzet know about the deal Clark cut with the Czech last year? “I’m sure that won’t be a problem.”
“Excellent. Now come over here.” Cluzet nodded toward the rail.
Jack stepped over to the rail as instructed, Cluzet’s men close at hand. He looked over the side. The ship was making an easy nine knots or so, judging by its small, luminous wake in the coal-black water.
“Are you a strong swimmer, Jack?”
“Good enough.”
“But here’s the problem. That water is five degrees Celsius. Even a strong swimmer can’t last more than ten minutes at that temperature. Your muscles would seize up, you’d start to feel numb, and your waterlogged clothes would begin to weigh you down. It’s also quite likely a jump from this high up will knock the breath out of you, and you’ll wind up dying with a belly full of seawater before you make your first stroke.”
“Or I could die of boredom listening to you run your pie hole all night.”
The German lunged toward Jack with a cocked fist, but one look from Cluzet stopped him in his tracks.
“You are worth quite a bit of money to me, so perhaps we will make our deal. But I need a promise from you first—that you won’t try to escape before we reach port, so that I can turn you over to Senator Hendley at a place and time of my choosing. So don’t even think about jumping overboard. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I’m not an idiot. Why would I do that?”
Cluzet frowned. “Yes, that would be stupid, wouldn’t it?”
“What about Liliana?”
“Oh, yes. Poor Liliana. We mustn’t forget about her.”
Cluzet marched over to her barrel and laid the pry bar on the lid. He stopped and glanced up at Jack with a puzzled look on his face.
“Liliana can live, too. But first you must choose.”
Cluzet tossed the pry bar to Jack in a high arc like a baton.
As the pry bar reached its apogee, Cluzet turned and shoved Liliana’s barrel over the side, her fading screams echoing inside.
62
BALTIC SEA
LIL!”
Jack surged forward on wobbly legs. He snagged the falling pry bar out of the air with one hand and charged toward the empty space where the barrel had been.
And jumped.
“Good luck, Jack! I mean it!” Cluzet called after him, but Jack didn’t hear a word as he plummeted toward the water.
His long fall through the cold air felt like a HALO jump, feet first. He pulled his arms in tight, locked his knees, pointed his toes down, and prayed he’d be able to keep his grip on the pry bar when he hit.
His feet hit so hard he thought he’d fallen through a plate-glass window. The momentum