didn’t make time to eat proper meals. Her gaunt features added a couple of years to her appearance. He could see the vitamin D deficiency from her skin tone and the lack of protein in her hair.
She rubbed her stomach and said, ‘I need your help.’
‘Credentials,’ Victor said.
She handed them over. The ID was genuine, but said she worked for the Justice Department. Common practice. Spies didn’t carry laminates identifying themselves as spies.
‘I need your help,’ Muir said again.
He handed back her ID. ‘You said Procter sent you.’
She grimaced. ‘That’s correct. He’s my boss at the agency.’
‘If he really sent you then you should have been told that I’m not of a particularly charitable nature.’
‘Okay, perhaps I should have phrased myself a little differently. When I said I need your help, what I really mean is: I want you to do a job for me. I want to hire you.’
Victor released the magazine from the Glock then pulled back the slide so the round in the chamber ejected. He caught it and handed the gun, the mag and bullet to Muir.
‘Thank you.’ Muir took the items and slipped them back inside her bag.
‘The answer is no.’
‘You don’t even know what I’m asking you to do yet.’
‘The specific details of the contract are immaterial. Procter should have explained to you that I don’t talk business with clients in person. Even those who don’t put a team of watchers on me.’
Muir shifted her weight. ‘Look, I’m sorry about that. I really am. But you have to appreciate the position I was in. I know how things work between you and Procter. I had to meet you in person. I couldn’t have just sent you an email and expected you to take me seriously, could I?’
‘I don’t have to appreciate anything. But what you need to understand is that Procter is my broker. I don’t deal with anyone else. Whatever your job is, if you wanted me to even consider agreeing to it, you should have allowed Procter to make contact. He’s the one I deal with. No one else. I’m going to leave now. I’ve given you the courtesy of not killing you or your men because of your relationship with Procter. And that’s a courtesy I’ll only grant once.’
‘Procter’s in the hospital,’ Muir said. ‘He was hit by a DUI. Some wasted guy in a Hummer. Procter’s got a shattered hip and a bruised spine, and even if he wasn’t high on opiates nine hours out of ten, he’s got a broken jaw the size of a balloon. He’s not in a position to contact anyone, least of all you. At an absolute minimum he’s going to be out of action for the next few weeks and won’t be back at the company for at least a couple of months. I can’t wait that long.’
Victor remained silent for a moment, then said, ‘Tell me what you know about me.’
Muir stopped rubbing her stomach. ‘I know you’re a professional assassin. Formerly freelance. Currently an unofficial asset for the Agency. Which I find amusing seeing as the CIA has a crisp termination order with your name on it. Well, codename. You’re also wanted by the Russian SVR and FSB, French Secret Service, Israeli Mossad and half of the police forces in Europe.’
‘Then when you claim to have so little information about me, how can you possibly know I can do what you need me to?’
‘Because no one else can.’ She winced and rubbed her stomach again.
‘The pain will come and go for about an hour. After that, you’ll be fine. But you might want to skip the situps for a few days.’
She sighed. ‘Thanks for the advice.’
‘What about the rest of your team?’ Victor asked. ‘What do they know about me?’
‘They know even less than I do. The older guy is Francis Beatty. He’s been at the agency for ever. He’s assisting me. The rest are a contract surveillance team purely here to establish if you were who I was looking for. They don’t know what I want with you. All they were told is that you were a contact, albeit a highly dangerous one, and that you would spot them if they were anything less than perfect.’
‘They weren’t close to perfect.’
‘And they’ll be reprimanded appropriately, but I didn’t have a lot of choice using them. You’re not exactly the kind of man that you can walk up to and ask if he’s really the assassin you’re looking for. But whatever, they’re of