“Vernon was never a believer in the cause; he was simply an opportunist. When it becomes known that he was behind Owen Bishop’s death, Bishop’s organization will also be hunting for him.”
They finished their meal and Tanner hailed a taxi to take him to the airport. As the vehicle slowed to pick him up, Sandoval asked Tanner a question.
“We are no longer enemies, yes?”
“I won’t kill you for giving me up to Vernon. If you ever try anything again, that will be a different story.”
Sandoval offered his hand. “I owe you my life. You saved me so I could aid you, yes, but I still owe you my life.”
Tanner took the offered hand.
“I’ll do what I can to get your money back, and I’ll let Vernon know that you sent me.”
Sandoval smiled. “Who knows, I may have more work for you in the future in Mexico.”
Tanner opened the door on the taxi, said, “Have gun, will travel,” and headed for the airport to meet up with Benedetti.
Tanner joined Benedetti on a private jet she had chartered. She’d greeted him with a wary look, then she informed him that the golden data drive was a phony and devoid of any information or photos.
“Bishop was smart to use something like that,” Tanner said. “It distracted everyone’s attention from the real device.”
“Do you have an idea what it is?”
“A suspicion, but whatever form it’s in, Vernon will give it up once I find him.”
“What happened to Sandoval?”
“He has people joining him later. He was able to confirm that Vernon hired Magyar. They’re in Brussels and have men waiting to kill me if I show myself.”
“You don’t sound worried. Why is that?”
“Magyar’s men will think they’re hunting me, but it will be the other way around. What sort of resources does the CIA have in Brussels?”
“We have people there in both support and intelligence.”
“I’ll need some things done before I show myself.”
“You want agents to back you up?”
“Not in the way you mean, even so, I’ll take advantage of some of that support you mentioned. They can do a little stage dressing for me.”
Benedetti studied his face.
“You enjoy this. You actually find pleasure in facing off against superior odds.”
“I find satisfaction in overcoming those odds, and I’ve trained for most of my life to be able to do so.”
“Hanover wanted you for this mission after I told him about what you did in Texas. After processing the scene, our forensic team credited you with nearly two dozen kills. You’ve also built up quite a reputation over the last several years.”
“And yet, you still consider me an incompetent.”
“I may have misspoken, but I believe you triumph more through luck than skill. You’re just a criminal, Tanner. A common street thug who has managed to stay alive despite your habit of getting into difficult situations.”
“And what are you, Benedetti?”
“I’m a dedicated member of the United States intelligence community, and someday I’ll run the CIA.”
“That’s all you want out of life?”
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
“Why?”
Benedetti looked taken aback by the question, then made a slight shrugging motion.
“I’d be good in that position.”
“And it will give you power, which is something you crave.”
“Yes, I want power, and I’d put fear into allies and enemies alike.”
“Obtaining Bishop’s data will aid in that, since it contains information on international espionage agents.”
Benedetti smiled. “You figured that out, have you?”
“I suspected as much early on, then had it confirmed by Cal Vernon.”
“Now you know why we want that data so badly. Not only is it a hazard to our own people, but it will threaten our allies as well.”
“You and Hanover don’t give a damn about the nation’s allies. You two want to use that info for your own purposes.”
“Of course we do. It will give the United States a massive advantage if we know we have a foreign spy working for us, whether they belong to an ally nation or not. We can feed them false information when we need to. In warfare, that alone could mean the difference between winning or losing.”
“So far, that data has cost a lot of people their lives, including Bishop himself.”
“It doesn’t matter how many die. That data is priceless, and you have to get it for us.”
“I’ll deliver it as promised, and by the way, don’t draw attention to yourself while we’re in Brussels. Your profile must be in Bishop’s database.”
“I have to say, I’m surprised you’re concerned for my safety.”
“If anything happened to you Hanover might blame me and void our deal.”
Benedetti crossed her arms over her chest. “I should have known your motive was selfish.”
Tanner smiled. His motive for wanting her to stay safe did spring from self-interest. He had plans for Benedetti and didn’t want them ruined.
Benedetti opened her laptop.
“What was this ‘stage dressing’ you mentioned? I’ll send an email and get things rolling before we’re on the ground.”
Tanner recited a list that made Benedetti wrinkle her brow in confusion.
“That last item, why do you want it modified that way?”
“Because I’ll need it, and the steel should be an inch thick.”
“I saw a photo of the gun you requested. It’s impressive, but if Magyar sends all of his men after you you’ll be facing an army.”
“More like a squad, and they might be similarly armed. Sandoval said that Magyar’s men have been known to use some exotic weapons on occasion.”
She shook her head. “The Belgians will not be happy over the violence.”
“I don’t blame them. I also know they can’t be ignorant of who and what Boldizsár Magyar is. Someone is being bribed to let him operate out of Brussels and ship his killers off to other areas. This time the violence is coming to them.”
“Don’t get caught and they’ll never know we were involved.”
“One more thing, have your people make contact with Magyar. He’s a businessman and may back off if I explain to him what helping Vernon would cost him. If the man is smart, he may withdraw his support. If that happened, Vernon would be an easy target.”
Benedetti’s mouth gaped open. “You want to avoid bloodshed?”
“I don’t go around slaughtering people for the hell of it. If a conversation can get me what I want, so much the better.”
“I’ll have him contacted. And wear the earpiece I gave you at all times. I don’t want you being out of reach for days at a time again.”
“I’m wearing it right now.”
“Activate it and say something, but whisper, it’s very sensitive.”
Tanner whispered two words that Benedetti wouldn’t have heard without the aid of her earpiece. She heard them all right, and she narrowed her eyes at Tanner as she deactivated her own earpiece. She then gathered her things and moved across the aisle. When she was settled in, she kept her head down and typed on her laptop.
The typing became more furious as she struck the keys with increasing force. When she looked up, she saw that Tanner was watching her. She gazed back at him.
“And fuck you too.”
32
Two For One
Magyar was at his estate outside Brussels, in his home office. Through a large window on his right he could see the recruits for his legitimate security business go about their training in a grassy field. One of them, a chubby boy of eighteen named Luuc, was exceedingly uncoordinated. Luuc was also dim-witted, but he was the younger cousin of a man who had been one of Magyar’s finest assassins. Luuc wanted nothing more than to follow in his cousin’s footsteps, but the boy wasn’t even good enough to qual
ify as a security guard.
Magyar allowed him into the training program for free, but it was obvious Luuc had no chance of passing the course. Magyar figured he’d give it another few days to see if the kid would quit on his own, and if not, he would have to have a talk with him.
When his lead assassin knocked on his open door, Magyar could tell by the look on his face that there was something wrong. The man’s name was Hugo. He had been with Magyar for over ten years and the men were friends.
“Tanner is in the city?”
“No, Boldizsár… this is something else,” Hugo said. After entering the office, he shut the door behind him and passed a large envelope across the desk.
Magyar opened the envelope and found several photos inside. They were pictures of his daughter, Mirella. They showed the girl leaving Cal Vernon’s suite while wearing the blonde wig and sunglasses. She was also engaged in a very hot kiss with Vernon, whose hands were all over her. Other photos were of Mirella getting in her car and removing the wig.
Hugo cleared his throat.
“I recognized Mirella’s car in the hotel’s underground garage. That red sports car you bought her is hard to miss. Since I don’t believe in coincidences I assumed she was there to see one of our young guys. I was in the corridor outside the suite’s door when she came out wearing that wig. I was aware Mr. Vernon had a female guest in his suite, however, he described her as a whore he had ordered for the night.”
Magyar shook with rage as he shoved the photos back in the envelope. He realized that Vernon must have been sleeping with his daughter after meeting her on their recent trip to Florence.
It was bad enough that Vernon had seduced the teen into his bed, and Magyar knew his daughter had a wild streak and was no virgin. However, now that Vernon had a man like Tanner gunning for him, inviting Mirella to be around him was tantamount to risking her life. Vernon would pay.
“Who else knows about this?”
“No one, Boldizsár.”
“Fix us some drinks and take a seat.”
Hugo made the drinks, then he settled across the desk from Magyar.
“Would you like me to kill Vernon?”
Magyar stood with his drink in his hand, walked over, and stared out the window.
“If Cal Vernon was my sole concern I would kill him myself, but there’s Tanner to consider. The American assassin is likely to arrive here any day and Vernon is the bait drawing him in. Once we kill Tanner, then I’ll deal with Vernon.”
“You’ll have to make it look like an accident when you kill Vernon.”
“Why?”
“Think about it, Boldizsár. If it gets out that you murdered your own client, who would ever trust you again?”
“Szar!” Magyar said, as he swore in Hungarian. “You’re right. I can’t go at him directly. I will think of something else.”
“And what about Mirella?”
Magyar made a sound of disgust.
“My daughter will hate me for interfering in her life, but she cannot be around that man. If Tanner were to attack Vernon while Mirella was with him she might get injured… or worse.”
“I can keep her away from Mr. Vernon’s suite.”
Magyar turned his head and looked at Hugo.
“You can’t do that alone, and I don’t want anyone else knowing about this.”
When he gazed out the window again, Magyar saw Luuc doing push-ups with the other recruits. The boy managed to do only two before collapsing in the grass. Magyar was disgusted by the sight. He was over sixty and, thanks to an exercise regimen that included running, was in far better shape than Luuc.
“I’ll send Mirella on a trip to Liverpool,” Magyar said. “She can visit her mother.”
“I thought you hated her mother and wanted to keep Mirella away from her?”
“This is an emergency. When Tanner and Vernon are dead I’ll bring her home.”
Hugo drained his drink and stood.
“I should get back to the hotel and supervise the shift change.”
“Do that, and thank you, Hugo.”
Hugo left, and Magyar continued to stare out the window. Some of the new recruits might one day make fine assassins, depending on their temperament.
Magyar wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but he was worried about Tanner. The man had killed Lars Gruber and Maurice Scallato. Despite having the American outnumbered, Magyar figured at least a few of his men would die facing off against Tanner.
It would be worth it if they were to kill him. Only a man trained by Boldizsár Magyar should be considered the best assassin in the world.
Magyar stared out the window without seeing the view in front of him. He had become lost in thoughts of his daughter, of Cal Vernon, and of Tanner. When an idea came to him of a way to eliminate Vernon and Tanner at the same time it caused him to laugh aloud. However, a moment later he dismissed it.
If he were to employ his idea, a few of his men could be killed as a consequence. Then again, wasn’t that a fate they always risked?
Magyar made a sound of disgust at that last thought. He was justifying things to himself and he knew it. Besides, even if he went through with it, he would still need a sacrificial lamb to carry it out, and none of his men were that fanatical, or stupid.
Magyar’s attention was drawn outside the window, where the training instructor was dressing down Luuc for his inability to complete a single pull-up. The doughy boy began to cry when the man poked a finger against his fleshy belly.
Magyar considered his plan again as he gazed out at Luuc. It could work, but no one else could know about it. Even Hugo wouldn’t forgive him if he knew he had been so callous to use his own men. Magyar left the window and collapsed into his chair. The plan was not just good, it was brilliant. Still, sacrificing the useless Luuc was one thing, while betraying his men was another thing altogether.
He got up and poured another drink. When he was halfway through it he came up with a way to alter his plan, so his men would be spared.
There was just one problem, for it to work he’d have to arrange a meeting with Tanner, if such a thing were possible.
His phone rang. His desk phone, which he never answered but only used to call out on occasion. When the ringing stopped, and the answering machine picked up, he heard a woman’s voice speaking French with an American accent.
“Monsieur Magyar. If you wish to speak to a man named Tanner call the following number, leave a message, and you’ll be called back. It could be to your benefit.”
Magyar looked at the caller ID as a phone number was recited and saw that it was blank.
He scribbled the number down and marveled at the timing of the call. Tanner was reaching out to him with help from the CIA. If any other man who was a potential target had acted in a similar manner, Magyar would have thought it a display of fear and desperation. That wasn’t Tanner’s motive for wanting to talk. He simply wanted to get to Cal Vernon the quickest way possible.
Magyar stared at the phone number he’d been given, thought through his plan once more, then looked out the window for Luuc. The field was empty, and he guessed that they had gone to the showers.
It could work. Magyar thought. That is, if the boy is as simple as I think he is.
Magyar took out his cell phone and dialed the instructor who handled the new recruits.
“Yes, sir?”
“The boy, Luuc, have him come see me.”
“I was going to talk to you about him.”
“No need. I’ll deal with him.”
“All right, and I’ll send him in.”
Magyar leaned back in his chair until he was looking at the ceiling. If everything went right, Tanner and Cal Vernon would soon be a memory.
33
Abandonment Issues
The following morning, Tanner powered up his phone and saw that he had a message from Magyar. The Hungarian-accented voice was a well-modulated baritone.
“I agree we need to talk. Call me back.”
&n
bsp; Tanner was outside a storage warehouse in a suburb of Brussels that was set off the beaten path. The building was currently unused but still had dozens of empty crates inside. The owners had gone bankrupt and the building was in foreclosure.
The CIA had found the location by following Tanner’s guidelines. He had to admit that they had done in hours a task that might have taken him days of searching for the right property and conditions.
They had also supplied him with the items he’d asked for to assemble his “stage dressing” and Tanner was prepared to face off against Magyar’s assassins if needed. After hearing Magyar’s reasonable tone, he was beginning to hope that confrontation could be avoided. If Magyar cooperated, Tanner might be back home in as little as two days. He dialed the number his phone had registered and heard Magyar answer on the third ring.
“Tanner?”
“Yes.”
“I assume this is about Cal Vernon.”
“That’s right. I’m coming for him and I’ll go through your men to get to him.”
“You would discover that task to be most difficult, however, it won’t be necessary to find out. I will tell you where and when to find Vernon. I have no love for that man.”
“You two have had a falling out?”
“I have a daughter who is half Vernon’s age. The man seduced her. That would be reason enough to hate him, but she’s also in danger by being around him at this time. If you were to snipe at the man through a window my daughter might get caught in the line of fire.”
Tanner was thinking of pointing out to Magyar that he wouldn’t just randomly fire rounds into a hotel room, then decided against it. If the man’s concern for his daughter’s safety was pushing him to betray a client, that worked in Tanner’s favor.
“Where can I find Cal Vernon?”
Magyar recited the name of the hotel Vernon was in, along with the suite number.
“My men are still guarding him. I’ve kept them in place until I have my daughter away from the man. I’ll be withdrawing them this evening, and then Vernon can be all yours.”
The Spy Game Page 17
