But since his death, the broker, not knowing Kooi’s dead, has made contact.’
She nodded. ‘Just once.’
‘A new contract?’
‘It’s instructions for a meeting: a date and a time and a location. I think it must be a follow-up: part of an ongoing dialogue. There’s nothing about a job. Nothing about a target. The title of the email is “First Date”.’
‘How romantic.’
‘I think the title is significant. I think it’s their first face to face.’
‘I made the same association.’
‘The client who hired Kooi said he never met the broker. Never saw him. Never spoke to him. We know absolutely nothing about him except for the fact Kooi is supposed to meet him.’
‘And you would like me to go instead.’
She nodded and said, ‘Yes,’ even though he hadn’t been asking a question. ‘This isn’t a contract. You just have to go to the meeting in Kooi’s place. You don’t have to kill anyone.’
‘Then have a team stake out the location and see who turns up thinking they’re going to meet Kooi. I’d recommend using different people than the ones you put on me yesterday.’
‘That isn’t going to work. I don’t believe the broker will be at the location to meet up with Kooi personally. At least, not initially.’
‘What is the location listed in the email?’
‘Budapest International Airport.’
‘Ah,’ Victor said.
‘Exactly. The airport isn’t random, is it? There’s going to be someone waiting in arrivals with a card to collect Kooi. That person isn’t going to be the broker. I pick them up and when they don’t turn up where they’re supposed to when they’re supposed to or make the scheduled call or email or whatever, the broker is going to vanish. And the guy I pick up? Maybe they’re only there to ferry Kooi and they know nothing about the broker. What if they’re just a taxi driver? It’s just not going to work. I need someone to go in Kooi’s place. I can’t just send one of my guys because I don’t know what has or hasn’t been discussed between Kooi and the broker. I can’t brief the person I send in. They’ll have to improvise.’
‘Which is why you need someone who knows the industry well enough to bluff their way through the encounter.’
‘I’m authorised to pay you your agreed fee,’ Muir said. ‘Whether the meeting lasts all day or three minutes, whatever the outcome, you’ll get the money.’
‘What are you hoping to achieve?’
‘It’s about taking down a bad guy and preventing an assassination. Plain and simple. I don’t want the broker hiring some other killer when no one turns up to meet him. These guys aren’t exactly knocking off bad guys.’
‘That’s not all you want.’
‘Kooi may have killed Charters, and the guy rotting in a black site jail wanted him dead, but this broker made it possible. He shouldn’t be the only one who gets away with it. We look after our own at the Agency, and we make sure they get justice.’
‘You need an answer now, don’t you?’
‘I do.’
‘Desperation is stamped all over your face. So this meeting is going down soon. Don’t tell me, tomorrow?’
She shook her head. ‘Tonight.’
FIFTEEN
The waters of the Danube were grey and choppy. Ferries and pleasure cruisers passed in both directions. A seagull floated on the waves. Muir leaned against the low stone wall and watched it. The breeze pulled loose strands of hair from her hair band. Victor saw a kid waving at them from one of the passing boats and returned the gesture.
‘How old are you?’ he asked.
Muir didn’t hesitate because she found the question embarrassing, but she also didn’t answer automatically. She watched the gull take off from the water and flap away. She looked over her shoulder at him, answering his question with one of her own: ‘How is my age relevant to what we’re discussing?’
‘Any question I ask is relevant.’
She considered for a moment. ‘Okay, if you believe it’s important to know my age, I turned thirty last week.’
‘Happy birthday for last week.’
‘Thank you,’ Muir said after another pause, this time to decide on his sincerity. She turned around to face him properly and leaned against the stone fence.
‘Law or history at college?’
‘I majored in law.’
‘Never wanted to be a lawyer?’
‘Sure I did.’
‘So why aren’t you one?’
‘I don’t have the right qualifications on my resume: I have a conscience.’
‘CIA straight out of college?’
‘Yes.’
‘No gap year? No seeing the world?’
She shook her head. ‘On whose dime? I worked three jobs to help pay my tuition.’