Revenge (David Shelley #1) - James Patterson Page 0,73

tell your guys ‘fetch.’”

He seemed to consider. “I’m not sure how this benefits you.”

“I like those odds better.”

“Very well,” said Dmitry. “Just don’t forget, Captain, that I intend to abide by this arrangement. If, however, I think even for a second that you do not, then my retribution will be swift and ruthless. Do we understand each other?”

“All that’s important to me is making sure that Susie Drake is safe,” said Shelley.

“And all that is important to me,” said Dmitry, “is my twenty million.”

“Then yes,” said Shelley, “we do understand each other.”

“At last. Now, step out of your car, please, Captain Shelley.”

Shelley found himself reaching to the grip of his SIG for comfort. “You’ll need to do the same your end,” he said. “I want to see you, whoever is with you, and Susie.”

The Cherokee sat, keeping its secrets, the lights on low beam but still xenon-white and bright.

“Captain Shelley,” began Dmitry, “please stop trying to play the hand as though you hold all the cards. I find it a little annoying. I will show you Susie Drake. After all, she is the reason we are all here. Now, step out of the car, please. I enjoy our little chats, but maybe not as much as I will enjoy getting home at the end of the night.”

“Okay,” said Shelley. “I’m getting out of the car.”

Heart hammering, he picked up his hat and fitted it to his head. Then he reached for the door handle and stepped out.

CHAPTER 58

OUT OF THE car he was in the open. A sniper could take him out. But then again, no, what would be the point?

This was what he told himself. To take a shot at him before the cash transfer would be crackers, the behavior of a fool. And one thing he was pretty sure of when it came to Dmitry: he wasn’t a fool.

But on the other hand, maybe it all felt too easy. Thanks to Johnson the kidnappers had the whole process sewn up. After all, the snatch had happened that morning, and here he was ready to do the exchange. This was a procedure that Shelley had known take months to complete, being wrapped up in just a matter of hours. They’d used the word negotiation, but there hadn’t been one: just two sets of people who couldn’t wait to get it over and done with.

Was that it? Was it all going too well?

The Cherokee was about a hundred yards away. He turned his head. About the same distance in the opposite direction was the Transit. There were already men standing close by. Their breath billowed and he saw the outline of the handguns they held, but otherwise they were silhouettes, like targets at a shooting range.

Facing front again he watched as the Cherokee decanted its passengers. First came a woman, and for a disorienting second Shelley assumed it was Susie, but no, of course not, it must be Karen Regan. She wore a dark, belted coat and from this far away it was too difficult to make out features, no way of recognizing her as the same woman who had put a gun to the back of his head fourteen years ago.

Now came a second woman, this one with rounded shoulders, wearing gym gear. No doubt about it, this was Susie. Again, it was impossible to say from this distance but she looked unharmed. As he watched she seemed to straighten, as though remembering herself, wanting to present a proud face to the world. “Well done, Susie,” he said under his breath. “Give ’em hell.”

Next to Susie stood a man with dark hair and a pronounced widow’s peak, who Shelley recognized from the photos. This was Sergei Vinitsky.

Beside him came Dmitry Kraviz, slightly taller, wearing a T-shirt with some kind of logo, an unzipped top worn over it, and a pair of spectacles, the kind that hung on a chain around his neck like schoolteachers used to wear.

Now they faced each other, like gunslingers, which he supposed at least three of them were. Dmitry raised a hand, beckoning Shelley forward, calling at the same time, “Come, Captain Shelley. Let us finish this thing, yes?”

Shelley walked forward, seeing his own breath cloud in front of him, dragon’s breath that billowed then evaporated, billowed then evaporated. He felt in his chest the rhythmic but reassuring thump of his heart, calmed by the fact that he had long ago learned not only to control but to harness his fear, and feeling a little