Sailors and Sirens

by Charles Dougherty

  "What happens if he buys it?"

  She squinted for a few seconds. "I'm not sure what you're asking — buys it, how?"

  "Let's say he kills Theroux and the moron in Savannah — better if we use the moron's name in the text. Then what?"

  "I haven't worked that out yet. You think he'll kill them?"

  "I don't know. He just might. He knows they're your targets, and now he knows you can connect them with him. If you made Davies talk, he'll worry that Theroux and the other one might spill something important if you get to them first."

  "That would be so cool, wouldn't it? Get him to do our work for us?"

  "Yes. But there's still the question of what happens afterward."

  "We've got a couple of days to think about that. Should we get hold of Aaron?"

  "Let's send him a text, give him a chance to line up Mike and Bob, maybe. I think they should be in on this."

  "Okay. That makes sense."

  "I'll ask him to set up a call around six, if he can," I said.

  "It's only four o'clock. What are we going to do for two hours?"

  "Work off some of that adrenalin you were complaining about, and then maybe take a nap."

  "Hurry up and send your text, sailor."

  "Yes, ma'am. I hear the siren's song."

  "Aaron?" I asked, as I answered the call on my special phone.

  "Yes. Mike's here, too. Bob's tied up; he sends his best."

  "Good evening, gentlemen," Mary said.

  "Hello, Mary," Mike said. "We heard a little about your adventure. You doing okay?"

  "Yes. I'm back to normal now, thanks."

  "Good. Aaron said you want to discuss where we go from here. Aaron, anything before we get started?"

  "Not really. Anastasia is still in Charleston. They're in the middle of a big fuel delivery — got hoses run from a tanker truck ashore. Maybe they're prepping to leave, or maybe it's just a convenient place to refuel."

  "Lavrov must have figured out that his boys weren't coming home by now," I said.

  "Lavrov?" Mike asked.

  "The Russian," I said. "That's one of the things we wanted to talk about. I got a little information from the guy who kidnapped Mary."

  "Tell us," Mike said.

  I gave them the details of what we learned since our last conference call.

  "Now we've got a name for him," Aaron said. "I can try to dig up background on him. What's his first name?"

  "Uri," I said.

  "How are you two feeling about Theroux?" Mike asked. "Think we need to let things settle down before you take him out?"

  "You should hear Mary's idea before we get into that," I said. "She's thinking we should twist Lavrov's tail. Mary?"

  Mary explained her idea for provoking Lavrov. "So he not only heard about me from O'Hanlon, but he's got a good idea that I wiped out O'Hanlon and his team in Martinique," she said, in conclusion.

  "If he takes the bait," Mike said, "how would you make a deal with him?"

  "I'm not sure. It depends on what we want. Are we setting him up for a hit, or are we trying to learn more about what he's doing?"

  "Right," Mike said. "I'll have to kick that around with the others here, but I suspect we'll want to infiltrate his operation before we eliminate him. He may have more going on than just picking up the pieces of O'Hanlon's business. Do you see yourself working undercover? I mean, as part of his operation?"

  "Maybe," Mary said. "If I convince Lavrov to take out Theroux and the man in Savannah, that sends a strong signal about how committed he is to making me part of his team."

  I started to speak, but Mary nudged me and shook her head. I coughed instead.

  "You're proposing to admit to him you've been killing his people," Aaron said.

  "He knows that already; I was staking out Theroux when his troops snatched me this morning, remember? But I can't see how he would know about Phorcys. Can you?"

  "Maybe not now," Mike said. "But if you were joining his team, it would be reasonable for him to ask who you were working for. How would you answer that?"

  "I'm open to suggestions," Mary said. "I thought about telling him I was part of the same organization as Finn, but that's risky. If I could get away with it, there's some upside, though."

  "It's beyond risky, Mary. He penetrated that whole chain of command," Mike said, with exaggerated patience.

  "Yes, but we don't know how much he knows about the working level. He probably didn't get that far down the food chain."

  "That's a wild assumption," Mike said. "And what's the upside you mentioned?"

  "Maybe I could bring Finn along to watch my back."

  "No. That's not a good idea," Mike said. "That increases the chance he'll see through your cover. If you go undercover, it will have to be solo. I'm not sure you're ready. How do you feel about that?"

  "It's the only way I've ever worked," Mary said, the color rising in her cheeks. "The Finn thing was just an idea."

  "A bad idea," Mike said. "Forget it. If you go, you go alone. But we're not even close to doing that. Let's consider what Lavrov might do if we send that text you outlined for us. Finn, you've been quiet. How do you think Lavrov would react to that?"

  "He knows Mary was poised to hit Theroux, and he knows her track record. He'll have to figure that Theroux is dead meat. Ditto for the man in Savannah. Mary makes a good case that one of those two could be made to talk. That makes them liabilities to Lavrov once we send the text, so he might take Mary's suggestion and kill them. What do we know about them, anyway?"

  "What are you looking for, Finn?" Aaron asked. "Something specific? Leverage over them?"

  "No. I was wondering if we could set one of them up — make Lavrov think one of them was trying to sell him out. Something independent of the text."

  "Now that's an interesting thought," Mike said. "You mean to encourage Lavrov to kill them to win Mary over?"

  "Something like that, yes. Or in case Lavrov doesn't bite, to decide whether we should interrogate them. Does the man in Savannah have a name, by the way?"

  "James Stringfellow," Mike said. "Aaron, see what you can turn up that we might use to frame them — either one. Okay, Finn. What else might Lavrov do if we send him that text?"

  "There's always the chance he'll decide to kill Mary, given what we did to his boy, Davies. But I think he wants something from her. I'm not so sure I buy Mary's theory that he wants her as an enforcer."

  Mary kicked my ankle, her eyes flashing. Her face was red. I put a finger over her lips and said, "As good as she is, he has at least one Spetsnaz killer with him. We've seen evidence of how effective that guy is — twice, recently. So my gut tells me there's more behind his wanting to meet Mary. Could he be looking for a copy of O'Hanlon's files? Or the money she stole?"

  "Now that's a thought," Mike said. "It could be either one, but since Lavrov was working with O'Hanlon before O'Hanlon died, wouldn't he already have the information from the files?"

  "Not necessarily," I said. "O'Hanlon wanted those files himself, remember?"

  "But only to make sure they didn't fall into the wrong hands," Aaron said. "Right, Mary? O'Hanlon hired you to retrieve them from Dailey, didn't he?"

  Mary took a deep breath and let it out before she answered.

  "Mary?" Mike asked. "You still with us?"

  "Yes, but Finn's right. Remember, the Daileys ran that whole part of O'Hanlon's operation. Francis X. Dailey was the bagman. O'Hanlon sent me in there to get the records because he thought the Daileys were skimming. He wanted them dead, but he wanted the files, first. Dailey had the only copy."

  "Lavrov's trying to take over what O'Hanlon left behind," I said. "But for all he knows, Mary's working for somebody else with the same idea. Lavrov knows O'Hanlon was trying to get the files from Mary, so he figures she still has them, or has access to them."

  "We've covered a lot of ground," Mike said. "I think we need to digest this. Let's give Aaron time to look into Lavrov, now that we have a name f
or him. I like the idea of sending him a provocative text, but that will keep for a little while. We're not ready to take him out yet, but it wouldn't be a bad thing to shake him up. If we get him rattled, he's likely to make mistakes. Let's talk again in the morning. Is nine o'clock okay?"

  "Good for me," Aaron said. "I can at least get a start on Lavrov between now and then."

  Mary caught my eye and nodded, but her jaws were clenched.

  "Good for us, too," I said. "Good evening."

  After I broke the connection, Mary and I went out to dinner.

  21

  "I didn't want to say anything over dinner," I said, "but now that we're in private again, we need to talk."

  Mary sat on the edge of the bed, looking up at me. "About?"

  "This undercover business."

  "You have some fresh ideas?"

  I shook my head, struggling with what I wanted to say. "Not really, but the more I think about it, the less I like it."

  "Why's that?"

  "It's too dangerous, Mary."

  She forced a laugh. "Come on, Finn. Of course it's dangerous. So what?"

  "I don't want you to do it."

  She frowned. "Wait a second. You don't want me to do it?"

  I swallowed hard. This isn't starting out well, Finn. Be careful. "I love you, Mary. I don't want you taking that kind of risk. You'd be completely on your own, and — "

  "Let's cut our losses. This was a bad idea," she snapped.

  "I agree. Lavrov could — "

  "I wasn't talking about that," she said.

  "What were you talking about, then? What's a bad idea?"

  "Us. It's not going to work, Finn."

  "Us?"

  "You and me. Us. I can't deal with this; I'm not yours to order around."

  "I wasn't trying to — "

  "Bullshit, Finn. You think I can't see you're trying to manipulate me? You have no right to say how I do my work. Or what risks I choose to take, either."

  "Mary, let me explain, okay?"

  She glared at me for several long seconds, her eyes flashing under her furrowed brow. At last, she nodded, but her expression didn't change.

  "I've been doing this for almost as long as you've been alive." I paused. Not a good start, Finn. "Working undercover's a whole different game from killing people. It's a long-term thing; not something you do and put behind you. You have to turn yourself into a different person, and you can't look back at who you used to be. You really have to become whoever you're trying to be. It's a tough, dangerous game. You understand what I'm trying to say?"

  "Better than you know. You don't have a clue about me, Finn. I've lived most of my life pretending to be somebody else. How much undercover work have you ever done? Be honest, now."

  "Not much, but I've been — "

  "Stop right there. I'm sorry, Finn. I never meant for you to fall in love with me — not like this. You were part of a job for me, remember? And you weren't supposed to get hurt. I was supposed to keep you safe so you could…" She shook her head. Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, shit."

  I sat down on the bed next to her and put my arm around her. She shrugged it off and stood up, moving to the little table in the corner. Pulling out a chair, she sat. I watched her, but she avoided looking me in the eye. Almost a minute passed before she spoke again.

  "We're both professionals, Finn. We can do this; we have to put our feelings aside. Our obligation is to Phorcys, now." She looked me in the eye, waiting.

  I held her gaze, saying nothing.

  "I'm sorry, Finn; I can't be responsible for how you feel about me, okay? I know you mean well, but this has to stop."

  "What has to stop?"

  "This emotional crap. It's going to get one of us killed. You know what I'm trying to say?"

  "I'm not sure I do. What do you want from me?"

  She shook her head. "Nothing. You have things you have to do. So do I. You haven't told me much about your history, but I've always worked alone. That's what makes me what I am. I can't have you tagging along, nipping at my heels and watching my back. It's too big a distraction. Don't you get that?"

  I cleared my throat. "Working as part of a team is — "

  "No, Finn. I don't need you to keep me safe, and I'm not a team player. I don't want to be worrying about what somebody else is doing. I'm not made that way."

  "Okay. If that's the way you want to — "

  "What I want doesn't enter into it," she said. "Neither does what you want. A loner — it's what I am. It's the way I work."

  "Okay," I said, extending both hands, palms facing her, making a pushing motion. "Enough. Sorry I even brought it up. Forget I said anything. We've got a job to do."

  "You did bring it up, though. It's out in the open; you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube, as they say."

  "I don't think that cliché fits this situation. I — "

  "And we don't have a job to do. I have a job to do. Maybe you have one, too. Maybe they're even related. But I'm the one who's in a position to infiltrate Lavrov's crowd, and there's no way I'm taking you along. Mike was right about that, even if he is a patronizing old bastard. I was dumb to even think about it; it's just as well he shot it down."

  "Speaking of Mike," I said, "we don't know that they will want you to go undercover. Maybe we should see what's — "

  "Uh-uh, Finn. This isn't just about whether I go undercover to penetrate Lavrov's operation, and you know it. It's about my independence. You don't call the shots for me; I thought you knew that. Neither does Phorcys — not unless I let them."

  "I read you loud and clear, Mary. You do what you need to do. Don't worry about me."

  "What? Now you're going to end our relationship because I won't let you boss me around?"

  "I thought that's what you meant when you said it wasn't going to work, this thing between you and me."

  "This thing?!" Her face turned red under her tan. "That's all our relationship is to you? A thing?!"

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, counting to ten. This was one of those times when anything I said would be used against me. I might not know a lot about women, but I knew that much, for sure.

  "Well?" she said, still flushed. "Don't you have anything to say for yourself?"

  "This isn't the conversation I expected us to have, Mary. I'm sorry I've said the wrong things. I never meant to upset you. I — "

  "I, I, I. It's all about you, isn't it? Well, I'm my own person, Finn. Not an extension of you. Got it?"

  "Yes. I understand."

  "Good. I need some space right now. I can't sit here with you; I'm too angry."

  I nodded. "Do you want me to leave? Get a room of my own?"

  "No." She stood up and began throwing her stuff in her duffle bag. "I'm outta here."

  "What about the conference call in the morning?"

  "I have my own secure phone, remember? I'll call Aaron and he can add me on. It's about time those bastards learned I'm not just a playmate for good old Finn." She stormed out and slammed the door behind her.

  Well, boy, I guess you screwed the pooch on this one. You and your big mouth. She's right about one thing, though. We've got a job to do, and she's the one who's exposed.

  At least as far as Lavrov knows, she's working alone, thanks to Johnny Davies's sloppy work. Since the people on Anastasia didn't have a lookout posted to see me hijack that cab, they don't know about my part in their failed kidnap attempt.

  As Mary said, her killing Davies and then escaping would be consistent with why Lavrov said he wanted to hire her. He would assume that's what happened. It's a lot like what she did to O'Hanlon and his crew in Martinique, and Lavrov knows about that.

  But I wasn't convinced that Lavrov's only interest was in Mary's skill as an assassin. The more we talked about it this afternoon, the more convinced I became that Lavrov was after those files she took from the Daileys. Given that, her likelihood of surviving an undercover assignment in his operation was slim, even as de
adly as she was. No matter what he told her, he wasn't interested in her skill as an enforcer. By his reckoning, anyway, he wouldn't need another killer; he was well fixed with his Spetsnaz thugs. He would do whatever it took to make her hand over the files.

  I could call Aaron and Mike now and share that worry with them, but I would feel obligated to let them know that Mary and I were on the outs. I wasn't comfortable doing that yet; I harbored a faint hope she and I could patch things up after a cool-down period.

  All indications were that the folks at Phorcys were comfortable with the relationship Mary and I shared, but that could change in a hurry. If a lover's quarrel jeopardized our mission, I wasn't sure how Mike and Bob would deal with it, but I knew it wouldn't end well for Mary or for me. I would keep our personal problems out of their sight, and I was sure Mary would do the same. Despite her hot temper, she was a consummate professional.

  The best I could do for her and Phorcys at this stage was to try to influence our plans to avoid her having a one-on-one meeting with Lavrov.

  Before she entered into her current arrangement with Phorcys, she booked her contract kills through an agent who provided a buffer between her and her clients. From what she told me, she never met the people who hired her. Not only that, but she didn't even know their identity, nor did they know hers. It was via the broker that she began her work with Phorcys. If I were careful, I might be able to steer Phorcys and Mary to keep the broker between her and Lavrov.

  Deciding to sleep on that, I turned down the bed and switched off the light.

  22

  "Good morning, Aaron," I said, answering his call. I was back in the room at the B&B, having just returned from breakfast.

  "Hi, Finn. Mary on the line?"

  "Uh, no. She left after dinner last night on personal business. She said she'd get in touch with you this morning so you could add her on the call."

  "You haven't seen her since dinner?" Mike asked.

  "Good morning, Mike," I said. "That's right."

  "Do you know where she went?"