Gatac

  Anne entered the front door of Reid Financial Services1‘Reid Books’ do you get it with drops of water rolling off the tail of her coat and dripping onto her leather shoes. The building had once been a textile factory, stacking tall floor upon floor on a narrow footprint, and despite walling off a separate front office area on the ground level to make things suitable for a bookkeeping business, the ccking of the computer keyboards from the open-pn workspace beyond still came through. Anne folded up her umbrel and deposited it in a convenient stand next to the door.

  “Hello, Sir,” she said to the receptionist — Roger Yuen2Jamaican-Chinese, if the name didn’t give it away., to go by the sign on the desk. Anne clocked the muscles pushing against his ice blue shirt as all gym, no street, and the soft symmetry of his face told of no hardships. So this was the new guy? Anne considered asking about Cindy, but decided against it before further hesitation would seem like leave for Roger to talk back. “The name is Simmons. I am Mr. Reid’s three o’clock.”“Certainly,” Roger said, tapping on his own computer keyboard and holding his hand to the side of his headset. “She’s here,” he told the person on the other end of the line. “Go on through, Miss Simmons,” he said.

  Then again, she wasn’t here wearing her Dolzhikov suit to engage in small talk. This was a business meeting. So she just gave Roger a nod and proceeded inside, past a few cubicles with busy accountants before she made a left toward the old cargo elevator, where Badrick was waiting for her. He too was a killer caught in a fine suit and perhaps that was kinship enough between him and her. He freely greeted her with a handshake and drew her close, cpping her on the back.

  “Anne!” he said. “Weh yuh ah seh?”3I went back and forth on how to render Jamaican patois and even whether to have it in the book at all. On one hand, I’m not a big fan of altering the spelling of English words to approximate someone’s idiolect. I think that’s just annoying to read and can look like making fun of or othering the speaker. On the other hand, patois isn’t ‘bad’ English or having an accent. It is a creole, a nguage with its own words and rules synthesized from a variety of influences. Although it has historically been a mostly spoken nguage with English remaining the written nguage of record on Jamaica, the University of the West Indies has engaged in an effort to standardize the spelling of patois so signs and documents can be provided. I’ve tried to follow their spelling rules where I could figure out how it would render a word.I hope that by portraying Anne as carrying on the conversation and not remarking on the use of nguage within the narrative itself, it scans as ‘normal’ as possible. I think English speakers will get the gist of the conversation, but this did require that I keep it fairly brief and simple. The other reason for that is, obviously, my own very limited skill at rendering patois. That’s why I used it here and otherwise stuck with characters of Jamaican heritage using English. Is this the best solution? Probably not. But it’s the one I’m least uncomfortable with putting out there.“Mi irie,” she replied. “Wat a guh dung? Sebastian caal, seh ii hav wuk.”“Sebastian waan yuh queng a informer,” Badrick whispered to her. Another thing to appreciate about him: he never gave Anne the run-around. He cpped her on the back again and let go of her. “Hol it dung, Anne. Nuh everyting yuh yearry gud fe tolk.”“Ovastan,” she said, pulling away and releasing his hand. He got into the elevator and she followed, taking her pce next to him. The doors closed behind her. Badrick pushed one of the brass buttons of the control panel to send the cab up to the fourth floor. “Yuh gud, Badrick?” Anne asked him.“Mi tiad, enuh,” Badrick said, running a hand over his shaved head. The elevator cab barely shuddered as it climbed. Sometimes she wondered when Badrick slept between Sebastian’s demanding schedule and his own family to come home to. So far, Anne had managed to avoid bringing that up. “Mi fadda, iim sick an sicker,” Badrick continued. “Mor taim ii seh ii irie, den ii seh di Felodipine4A calcium channel blocker for chronic hypertension, i.e. elevated blood pressure. Patois was not attempted. run iim belly.”“Nuh gud,” she said noncommittally.“Mi eba seh, tek di mediziin, tozan taim,” Badrick said. “De docta did seh weh mi seh, nah jesta. Mi luv mi faada, but iim a groun man an still a bubu.”Anne kept quiet for a moment. Much as she might have felt for Badrick, this burden wasn’t for her to carry. “There is a way which seems right to a man,” she said, “but its end is the way to death.”5Proverbs 14:12. As of this writing, there’s a patois version of the New Testament — Di Jamiekan Nyuu Testiment — but a full bible has yet to be published.“…ya, yuh a chat di truut,” Badrick said. His green eyes searched hers for further expnation and found none. Then the elevator stopped. Anne waited for the doors to open.“Bless up, Badrick,” she said. “Tell yuh fadda, wi ran tings, tings nuh ran wi.”“Mi a go tell iim,” he said. “Walk gud, Anne.”

  She nodded to him as she left the cab, but he had already turned away from her, perhaps spotted another issue demanding the attention of Mr. Reid’s chief of security. End of conversation, in any event.

  The fourth floor was set up much like the first, with a rge open workspace and a smaller office section to the front, but instead of paperwork, these workbenches were being used for preparing shipments of product. Workers in translucent overalls6This is another one of these ‘realism’ aspects where I’m just trying to signal a bit more dignified treatment of the workers instead of going for that thing where everybody’s in their underwear to prevent them from hiding and smuggling out product. shuffled about powders, pills and ampules. They were wearing pstic aprons, safety goggles and respirators, too, just a step shy of moon suits. The armed guards contented themselves with just the respirators. Their principal safety precaution was staying well clear of the workspace, only watching from the sidelines and occasionally walking through to make sure nobody was trying to cheat the count. Anne had been impressed by this the first time she had seen it, considering the scale, but the Thieves were operating at simir levels of turnover, if less efficiently and in pces that Anne was not often invited to. Under the watchful eyes of the guards, she followed the well-worn path to the office section, passed by two men strapped for war with compact submachine guns and entered the offices of Mr. Reid. The room was the size of an entire deluxe apartment, its furniture encompassing (in total) a tall steel desk close to the panoramic window front, a padded bench by said window front and the insistent echo of a mechanical clock ticking the seconds away. There were no chairs.

  He was waiting for her, naturally, though he had his side turned toward her, instead looking out over the streets below from the rgest window in the office. Anne had found that first impolite, then irritating and finally irrelevant. It seemed obvious to her this was Sebastian Reid’s way of trying to intimidate his guests, and while he must have known it was no longer working on her, confronting him about it would have been a breach of decorum. One did not wear a Dolzhikov suit for a business meeting only to then breach decorum. Sebastian wore a suit himself, a burgundy red three-piece getup that fttered his nky proportions. Boris Dolzhikov would have found the shirt colr too wide and the tie too narrow but it looked fine to her. His thick dreads were tied back into a bun almost as big again as his head, combined with a short balbo beard that shone with the luster of a weekly 50 dolr ‘trim’ appointment.

  “Miss Simmons,” he said, not turning around. “We have business.”

  Years ago, they had started their conversations with such niceties as chatting about television shows neither watched or inquiries re: Anne’s levels of thirst, which had never risen to the point of actual gratitude for being handed a gss of the fancy seltzer Sebastian favored. That mode of talking hadn’t sted long.

  “Your invitation said as much,” Anne said, not sitting down on the bench. “I should like to hear the details now.”“There is a man,” Sebastian said. “He worked for us. We paid him. What we paid for, we did not get. The shipment was lost. You may have heard. I need that man questioned. Questioned and silenced.”“Only Mr. Dolzhikov can order this,” Anne said.“I would ask him to his face,” Sebastian said. Hhe turned around, looking her over. “But he won’t come around. He won’t see me. How often do I see you, Miss Simmons?”“I believe this is the fifth time this year,” Anne replied.“How often do I see any of the Thieves?” Sebastian asked. “I ask them often. They make excuses. Or don’t answer me at all. I feel spurned.”“Is our arrangement no longer satisfactory to you?” Anne said. “I consider ours a productive retionship despite the…limitations, Mr. Reid. There is considerable investment in the status quo from both sides and I don’t believe Mr. Dolzhikov would want to see it jeopardized in any way.” She paused to consider how forward her next words should be. “I am open to hearing your thoughts on how our affairs might be arranged more to your liking.”Sebastian chuckled. “Curious,” he said, “how much they trust you. They think you are sufficient. Maybe you are. I do not mind our meetings. I do not mind our…limited retionship. We have profited. But we have not become closer. That is disappointing.”“I suppose we have not,” Anne cut in. She considered herself to have a long fuse, in general, but kept the list of people she allowed to even make implications about her attractiveness short. Sebastian Reid was definitely not on it. Better to shoot all that down right quick. “I understand you want us to provide you with a death,” she said.“Not for free,” Sebastian said. “I will pay for death. The favor is hearing your price.”Anne nodded. “A favor,” she said. “Or quid pro quo for the various minor concessions you have made to us over the years?”“It is what it has to be,” Sebastian said. “If this makes us square, then I will accept it still.”“I see,” Anne said.“Do you profit,” Sebastian continued, “if I ask for your finger on the trigger?”“If I did,” Anne asked, “would you ask?”

  Sebastian’s smile grew into a grin. He ughed, even, and didn’t take Anne’s ck of reaction for a slight.

  “I like this little game we py,” he said. “Move, counter, a veneer of civility. An art. Or a dance.” He chuckled. “A game, an art, a dance. I can’t decide. I like ‘game’ best.”“I don’t like games,” Anne said.“You contradict me so swiftly,” he said.“I mean no disrespect,” she said. “But you would be clever still if you were less circuitous.”“Fingah nevah seh luuk ’ere, iim seh luuk deh,” Sebastian remarked, briefly slipping into his mother tongue. “Anyway,” he said, “return when you have the blessing. There will be more to discuss.”Anne considered that. “Are there any complicating factors I should be aware of?” she asked.“He has a family,” Sebastian said. “A wife. A little daughter.”Anne’s eyes narrowed. “Do not test me,” she said.“I don’t test,” Sebastian said. “But I want to be clear. What are you asking?”“Whether you think a man’s family should deter me,” Anne said. “It won’t, if that satisfies your curiosity. I occupy myself with practical questions.” She fixed Sebastian in her gaze for a moment, making sure she had his full attention. “Are there parties that would want to take revenge on his executioner?” she said, reeling off her list. “Does he take any particur security measures? Does he own a dog? What is his travel schedule? What model of car does he drive? What manner of neighborhood does he live in? What hours does he work? Does he have any hobbies that take him outdoors and if so, does he go there alone or is he part of a club?” She paused. “I will need to learn more, of course, but that is what I should call the minimum. All those questions will be answered, in detail, before we make any approach. Are we agreed on that?”

  Sebastian nodded quickly. Anne didn’t like that. He must have thought she was trying for intimidation. She just wanted this done right, if it was to be done at all.

  “He is a nobody man,” Sebastian said. “He stands alone. Easy pickings for you. Ask whatever permission you need. You get details when I get a yes.”“I will convey your request, then,” Anne said, “and you will hear from me regarding our decision.”

  Kaiser Park was a fancy name for a set of artificial dunes toward Coney Isnd Creek and Gravesend Bay, squarely the wrong direction from what one might look for under the heading Beach Comma Coney Isnd. It was a poor choice of meeting location. The dunes offered little cover from chilling wind or prying eyes, the park benches were not fit for sitting and the sight of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge7It has since been changed to ‘Verrazzano’ with two Zs, the Italian spelling of the name. But this was the name at the time. no longer excited Anne in the least. Most of the men in her life would quickly tire of a book more challenging than softback novels bought from a rotary wire rack, but could wax poetically for days about industrial heritage and great feats of engineering even if they had no inkling of the very practical and tedious science behind the monumental. They would point to an edifice and speak appreciatively of its elegant lines, its parts working in harmony toward some grand purpose, even the great effort spent on building it. Anne’s counter that much the same architectural virtues might be observed in a well-written novel had never gained much traction with her milieu. Finding those qualities in a book took time and imagination and, yes, that always dreaded cultural context from reading yet more things. Finding them in a car or a bridge, though, seemed as easy as looking at the darned thing.

  To his credit, Boris Dolzhikov wasn’t actually looking at the bridge. He had spied a few seabirds sailing the artificial thermals of the city to the north and watching those made a slightly better excuse for him to stand around portentously while his bearded bodyguard Kasimir did the usual charade of searching Anne. He well knew what she carried and what would happen if she ever developed designs on Boris Dolzhikov, but it was done for the sake of things, a not so subtle reminder of the old man’s power. Yet, Anne mused to herself, did a man with actual power need to go around reminding everyone he had it? Too bad she was rather short on people who would provide a suitable partner for discussing that thought. Dolr, perhaps? With the bounty for this job, she might find her pockets flush with the cash needed to rent his ear for a few hours.

  “Good morning, Mr. Dolzhikov,” Anne said. She allowed a few seconds for Boris’s silence, an unnecessary reminder that she did not rate his immediate attention.“Arkady has informed me of the bck man’s proposal,” Boris said, eyes still on the birds. “He sees sense in it.”“It is business like any other,” Anne said. “And good business at that.”“That does not seem to be the case,” Boris said. He turned around to look at her over his shoulder, but then stepped to the side and walked along the cresting little dune, forcing Anne to walk after him or be left behind. “Your personal interest in the deal is proof enough of its…particurity.”“I misspoke, Mr. Dolzhikov,” Anne said, falling in behind him after a moment’s thought. “We should treat it as a business deal like any other. We can simply set the price and see if he will pay it. If he does, we profit, if he does not, we lose nothing.”“You would have us act as capitalists,” Boris said.“Yes,” Anne agreed.Boris smiled. “Perhaps it is good business,” he said. “Yet I wonder if the bck man is tempting you. Take care you don’t view him too favorably despite your common ground. You would so readily murder for him, yet he has not sheltered you, he has not trained you, he has not fed you or clothed you. We have developed your talents. That they are at our disposal is an advantage I am unwilling to surrender so easily.”Anne sucked in a quiet breath. Sorting through all the points Boris had raised off-handedly would take her a while — longer than she had to convince Boris, she estimated. A different approach, then. “You have tasked me with managing our retionship with the Four Paths Boys,” she said. “This deal would manage it.”“Just a moment before, you advised me to judge this business on its own merits,” Boris countered.“I stand by that,” Anne said. “I am not here to tell you denying this request will immediately cost us anything. But it is said: prepare the sled in summer and the cart in winter. In aggregate, we have irritated Sebastian Reid more than we have pleased him. The next deal he offers might not be so favorable.”“I am not a big believer in the future, Simmons,” Boris began, and Anne stiffened up in response. “You Americans are always going on about future this, vision that. Your” — he thought for a moment — “Manifest Destiny.” He chuckled to himself. “In dreaming of the future, the present slips through your fingers. In particur, you cannot rely on the future when so much of it is out of your hands. That is what I call gambling. A wise Thief does not gamble. He arranges things so he succeeds or fails on the strength of his own bors.”Anne took another, deeper breath. Was this the time to speak out? It seemed to be. “With respect, Mr. Dolzhikov, I do not see how this can be arranged. There are always factors outside of our control. We can no more stop new ws from passing than Sebastian Reid can change the year’s coca harvest. Even the best pn remains at the mercy of circumstance.”

  Boris was silent and Anne could tell that this was not a slight against her. For once, he was thinking about a point she made. He stood in pce, his eyes fixed on the distance, as if trying to spot the future and adjust his actions accordingly. As he kept staring, however, Anne felt unease rise in her. What was he thinking now? The only measure of security she had was Boris’s tenuous favor and if she had just introduced uncertainty into that —

  “Your objection is simplistic,” Boris said. “But you are correct that external complications can derail the surest scheme. We live in a big world. The actions of others are as unpredictable as their effects.” He paused again. “In every moment of its duration nature is a connected whole; in every moment every single part thereof must be how it is because all others are how they are. And you could not move a single grain of sand from its pce without thereby, possibly unseen by your eyes, throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole changing something.” He turned to look at her. “I killed my share of Germans, but I quite like their books.”“Which book would that be?” Anne asked.Boris smiled. “The Vocation of Man8A theological study from 1799, written by a man who ranks pretty far up there with having the most German name possible: Johann Gottlieb Fichte., naturally,” he said. “You should take it on loan. I think you might also enjoy Kant. As he would say, sapere aude!”9“Dare to know/be wise.” Immanuel Kant tried to make that a thing for the Enlightenment as a whole. You may judge how successful he was at that by whether you’ve seen that phrase before you read it here.“I appreciate a man who knows his Horace,”10Oh, come on now, you know Horace. Roman poet? Wrote stuff like “It is sweet and honorable to die for one’s country”? Was used to torment generations of liberal arts students? That dude.Anyway, Kant was quoting Horace’s Epistles when he tried to come up with a neat motto for the Enlightenment, so this is one where Anne would be familiar with the original formution without necessarily having come across subsequent uses. Anne said. “As he would say, vis consili expers mole ruit sua.”11“Force without wisdom falls of its own weight.” Given how universally applicable that is, one would think more people understood the principle. Then again, if Dunning-Kruger purported to prove anything, it’s that ck of skill is comorbid with the ck of meta-cognitive ability to recognize said ck of skill.I guess I’ll also use this opportunity to get my 1 (one) legally mandated The Second Coming quote out of the way. (Ahem!)“The best ck all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity.”Now, if you haven’t read this piece by William Butler Yeats, go do that and then marvel at how many of the phrases you will recognize. Dude’s not as omnipresent as Shakespeare but damn have people quote-mined that one poem to death.

  Boris’s eyes narrowed to a stare. Before Anne could decide whether she should complete her hasty humiliation by providing a transtion, he ughed. Anne had rarely heard him ugh and even rarer still were the occasions when she cared for it.

  “Very well, Simmons,” he said. “Tell the council what you have told me and we will consider it.”

  Almost exactly one week after the first time Anne had met Sebastian on the matter, she returned to his offices to close the deal. Mr. Dolzhikov had dragged his feet for two more days even after a council vote in favor, but had deigned to tell Arkady a number, which Arkady had told her in turn over some vodka in his study. 500,000 dolrs, he had said, would be the price for her to furnish Sebastian with murder. Anne wondered if maybe she hadn’t been a little too clear in her advice to set the price with respect to how much the Thieves were actually willing to execute on it, but she couldn’t let doubts like that get in the way. The price was set. Her job was not to negotiate, but to communicate. Tell it to Sebastian and hear his answer. Simple. At least the weather was slightly better that day, so she didn’t need to carry an umbrel.

  “Miss Simmons,” Roger Yuen greeted her from behind his desk with a smile. She wasn’t sure if he had a good memory to go with his pretty face — surely an asset for a receptionist — or if, after st time, he had been told to remember her. “Mr. Reid will be with you in a moment.”

  Anne nodded her assent and stepped to the side, away from the door and into the little reception area. There were chairs and a water dispenser with a stack of pstic cups, but neither table nor magazines. One didn’t come here to wait. Accordingly, Anne didn’t test the chairs, just stood around and looked at nothing in particur. Just when she wondered whether it was too strong a signal of her impatience, the door to the main floor opened and Sebastian stepped out, followed by Badrick carrying a brushed aluminum briefcase. Anne wasn’t here as a friend and he let her know it; she was here as a potential threat and he angled himself accordingly, letting her see one gun under his armpit but most assuredly carrying a backup under that wide belt of his scks.

  “Hello, Miss Simmons,” Sebastian greeted her. His smile didn’t come all the way up. “Walk with us. We’re taking a ride.”

  What was she to do but follow him? They went on a short walk outside to a reserved parking space, where Sebastian’s car waited for them. It was a Lincoln Town Car, its panels painted a glossy bck, while the metal trim was polished brightly. Anne despaired at the thought of how much upkeep it took to maintain the pristine appearance. And besides, she never much liked the back seat of a car, no matter how plush its interior was. Sebastian hadn’t done much with it, in any event. The center console had been extended to carry some gsses and a spritzer bottle for his personal vice, but the nods to an office on wheels were half-hearted, at best. It didn’t even have a car phone installed.

  “The usual route,” Sebastian ordered.

  Badrick nodded and off they went, settling into a slow cruise through the neighborhood.

  “Let’s be direct,” Sebastian said. “Do you have a price?”“500,” Anne said, being direct as desired. It was the number, obscene as it was. “We will require 100 up front, the rest after the deed is done.”“Done,” Sebastian repeated quickly. He didn’t look at her as he said it. Half a million dolrs for a ‘nobody man’, nodded off in a second. “Yes, that is what I thought.”“I will tell Mr. Dolzhikov,” Anne said. “On delivery of the down payment into Mr. Dolzhikov’s custody, we will meet again to discuss the target and answer my questions.”“Good,” Sebastian said. “I expected this much. You can deliver this money today and we can discuss it tomorrow. Badrick has a briefcase for you. You will find in it the hundred thousand dolrs for your boss.” He smiled. “The rest is for you.”“I do not accept bribes,” Anne said.“It is no bribe,” Sebastian said. “It is a gift.” He looked to her. “And it is rude to refuse gifts.”“I am in no position to accept it,” Anne said. “Indeed, I must impose on you and Badrick to act as witnesses to count the money with me. My report to Mr. Dolzhikov will reflect the full sum. Such are the constraints of our professional retionship. You understand.”“…of course,” Sebastian said.“Do you have any further questions?” Anne asked.“No,” Sebastian said.

  A moment of silence passed. It was followed by a few of its siblings before Anne spoke up again.

  “Is something the matter?” she asked.“Feast or famine,” Sebastian said. Finally he turned to look at her. “I would have liked to feast earlier. Should have hired you earlier.”“I am not altogether certain what you mean,” Anne said.“The guns?” Sebastian probed. “The offer from your people?”“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Anne said.

  More silence. He kept looking at her.

  “So that’s how it is,” Sebastian said. “I thought it might be.”“Maybe I misunderstood you, Mr. Reid,” Anne said.“You understood me,” Sebastian said. “Listen to this.”

  Anne had in fact missed one more addition to the car. Sebastian reached for a fp at the back of the center console, raising it to reveal the front pte of a small minicassette pyer. He then reached into his jacket to retrieve a small pstic case, containing just such a minicassette tape. Anne recognized the format from a dabble with a dictation device for recording target observations. She had long since erased and burned the tapes she had made back then, however, and Sebastian’s possession of potentially incriminating recordings made her skin crawl. Then again, if he was working against the Thieves in general, he wouldn’t have tipped his hand to her, but on the other side of that, Anne had no illusion that the current state of peace was anything but two tired dogs waiting for the other to show their soft belly first.

  The cassette slid into the pyer, pushing out the big pstic eject button to the side of the slot with a springy CHAK! sound. The click-ccking of the tape transport mechanism engaging with the cassette and the whirr of a full tape spool starting to unwind.

  “Mr. Romanovic,”12As mentioned earlier, this is confusing a Russian patronym with their family name. Rusn, desperate to get on Sebastian’s good side, ignores the mistake. (Also, I haven’t mentioned Rusn’s family name anywhere and I didn’t want to confuse the issue.) Sebastian’s voice said via the car’s speakers.“Ah, Mr. Reid!” Rusn said. “How do you do?” He sounded so much louder on the tape than Sebastian did. Anne’s thoughts turned to working out where in the sparse office the microphone had been hidden. Somewhere within Sebastian’s desk, no doubt, to simplify wiring to the recording setup, which couldn’t be much smaller than her old dictation device on account of the use of the tape. Could barely hear the clock ticking in the back. Cardioid directionality13Many microphones are not equally sensitive to sounds coming in from all directions. How sensitive a microphone is to sound from a given direction is called its directionality. (We’ll gloss over differences in sensitivity to different frequencies of sound here.) Different applications call for different directionalities. For example, you want a stage microphone to only pick up a singer’s voice coming straight from the top, not the big speakers to the side or other instruments on stage or even the monitor speakers behind the microphone, but you don’t want the forward sensitivity to be so narrow that the singer can’t move their head around the microphone while performing. That’s a cssic use case for a cardioid microphone. Based on the retive levels of Rusn’s and Sebastian’s voices on the recording, Anne thinks she’s identified just such a microphone aimed away from the desk. Somewhat presumptuous to critique that, but she can be a bit judgmental. was a poor choice for a conversation, but might salvage as much of the visitor’s speech as possible from a suboptimal pickup location.“I didn’t expect to receive you,” Sebastian’s taped voice said, and Anne pushed the questions about the how to the back of her mind.“Oh, sorry about that,” Rusn said. “I would’ve called ahead but this deal —”“Deal?” Sebastian asked. “I don’t know anything about a deal. I am not party to any deals with you, Mr. Romanovic.”“Offer!” Rusn corrected himself. “A very special offer. I wanted to deliver it in person before anybody else tries to cut in.”“Mr. Romanovic,” Sebastian said, “save your breath. I told your people already. I talk with Mr. Dolzhikov. I talk with Miss Simmons. You are not one of them. Leave now.”"I promise, you’ll want to hear this,” Rusn said. “One-time opportunity.” Anne thought she could hear Rusn sweat.“Go on,” Sebastian finally said.

  A brief moment of absolute silence.

  “We have guns,” Rusn said. Anne could hear his smile in his next words. “What are you guys slinging these days, some cpped-out Ingrams14The gun Omar didn’t think Terrell and his buddies had.Well, now that I’ve confused anyone who doesn’t remember The Wire, Gordon Ingram was a prolific firearms designer who set himself the task of creating a new submachine gun for the US military to repce the (ahem) austere M3 ‘Grease Gun’. Ingram went on to co-found the Military Armaments Corporation (MAC) to manufacture and sell the gun, calling it the Model 10. Confting company and model number is where the popur name ‘MAC-10’ comes from, though it wasn’t marketed like that. Anyway, outside of the Navy SEALs, a big US military contract never materialized. The Model 10’s main selling point was the bulky but very effective suppressor developed to go with it, but that same suppressor couldn’t be legally exported, which meant foreign militaries didn’t care much about the gun attached to it, either. As such, it went on to bor in the shadow of Uziel Gal’s iconic Uzi.The MAC-10 did gain a second life when criminals bought up what stock they could find, being rather less picky and less interested in the suppressor — they just saw a compact, conceable full-auto gun. Hence the association of the ‘MAC-10’ with drug cartels.? Three-Eighties15.380 ACP, also known as 9mm Kurz. Once very popur for self-defense and police use (particurly in Europe), the cartridge was pushed downmarket with the introduction of compact pistols chambered for the more powerful 9 mm Parabellum and .45 ACP cartridges. Having the dubious distinction of being perhaps the most powerful pistol cartridge you can fire from a straight-blowback design, .380 ACP has gained an unfortunate association with cheap guns. That, in turn, has led to more than a few mentions in gangster rap lyrics. and sawed-offs16I know what you’re thinking: sawed-off shotgun, hand on the pump…Or maybe you’re not into Cypress Hill. Anyway! Shortened pump-action shotguns do exist, but due to said pump and the magazine tube running under the barrel, the modification usually only accounts for a few inches of barrel. With more effort, you get down to weapons like the Serbu Super-Shorty, which modifies a Mossberg Maverick’s barrel, magazine tube and pump mechanism for the shorter length of pull.Rusn’s talking about the more popur idea, though: ‘coach guns’, as in side-by-side break-open shotguns. You can buy them this way, ws about minimum barrel length permitting, or you could indeed take a hacksaw to a full-size one, as many criminals have done through the decades. It’s still a bad idea and dangerous, but at least it’s slightly less dangerous than trying to make a semi-auto weapon run full-auto, an act that has put many criminals into consideration for the Darwin Awards.? Everybody’s got those. What you need is something that’s got oomph…something built for war. Yeah, I’m talking Kashnikovs.”

  Sebastian turned off the tape.

  “You know him?” he asked.“We have met,” Anne said.“I know him and I know his trouble,” Sebastian said. “He made it our trouble. Hear me about Glenmore. Glenmore was my cousin. He was not honest with me. He and his friends sold product without me. Mr. Romanovic wanted the product. He did not want to pay. He murdered Glenmore and his friends.”“I am sorry to hear it,” Anne said. “I didn’t know.”“Nobody knew,” Sebastian said. “Because I did not say a thing.” Anne said nothing. Particurly nothing that would give away whether she believed Sebastian’s word. “I knew before and did nothing,” Sebastian continued. “I grieved after and did nothing. I could have profited before. I could not profit after.”“I didn’t know,” Anne repeated. “And to the best of my knowledge, Mr. Dolzhikov didn’t know, either.”“What would it matter?” Sebastian said. “What should I say? Mr. Dolzhikov, you know, you are a cheat. Mr. Dolzhikov, you do not know, you are a fool. There is an accusation in both. I could not accuse Mr. Dolzhikov without danger. So I chose neither.”“If he had found out,” Anne said, “he would have looked into it. He would have made this right. I am certain of it.”“You always speak up for him,” Sebastian said. “He must be a great man. But no man is great enough to bring back Glenmore.”Anne sucked in a breath. “Mr. Reid,” she said, “please be assured that —”“Save your breath,” Sebastian said. “I don’t need your apology. I don’t need a confession. And I don’t need Glenmore back. I don’t deserve him back. Glenmore got what he deserved. I got what I deserved, too. I got anger. I waited too long. I got rid of the anger, too. Then I had nothing. Everything was better this way.”“I am certain Mr. Dolzhikov would have understood your anger, nevertheless,” Anne said. “Glenmore was your kin.”“Glenmore was family,” Sebastian insisted. “Then he became a cheat. You cannot be both. I was not angry at Mr. Romanovic anymore. I was not. Now I am, since he came around. Three days ago, he came around to my office. He offered me his guns. His Kashnikovs.” Sebastian paused. “I am angry but I am not blind. The offer sounded too good. I told him I was interested. He smiled. He told me his time and pce. He said there will be others, so I must be early. I do not know of any others that will take them.”“If any,” Anne said.“Exactly,” Sebastian said. “Mr. Romanovic is a cheat. I know this already. Now hear me. I don’t need revenge, either. I will buy good weapons, even from the Thieves. Even from Mr. Romanovic. And I will pay gdly. But I will not believe a cheat. I will come to a deal. I will not walk into a trap.”“I should like to hear more about the deal he offered,” Anne said. “I have not known him to enjoy much luck at setting up his own business deals. Did he mention where those weapons came from?”“He did not,” Sebastian said. “But Russian guns come from Russia. All things that come from Russia pass through Mr. Dolzhikov’s hands, yes?”

  More silence.

  “Why exactly are we discussing all this in your car?” Anne asked.“Do you hear your gut, Miss Simmons?” Sebastian countered.Anne swallowed a murmur of displeasure. “There are things we know without knowing how,” she said. “What is your point?”“I hear my gut and it tells me to be quiet and I listen,” Sebastian said. “The shipment was lost. I bmed one man. Then Mr. Romanovic came around. Then you do not know a thing. That concerns me. I thought Glenmore and his friends were dead. But maybe not all his friends. Maybe there is more than one man to bme. That is my problem. You have your own problem.”“I can’t comment,” Anne said.“You did not know Mr. Romanovic came around,” Sebastian countered.“That does not necessarily mean anything,” Anne said.“I have a proposal,” Sebastian said. “You want to ask Mr. Romanovic questions. Question him, not Mr. Sidorov, not Mr. Dolzhikov. I just want to be secure. So, I tell you when and where the deal is. You go and look and ask your questions. Then call me if it is alright.”“I can’t accept any unsanctioned work for you, Mr. Reid,” Anne said.“If I do not pay you, it is not work,” Sebastian said. “You do a favor. I do a favor. We both get what we want.”“I am not certain Mr. Dolzhikov will see it this way,” Anne said.“Maybe,” Sebastian said. “Maybe you ask him after all. Maybe he will be angry we talked about this. If you admit you know what you were not told.”Anne fixed her eyes forward.Sebastian smiled at her. It was a winner’s smile, matching the face of a man about to decre checkmate. “Do you hear your gut now, Miss Simmons?” he asked. “What does it tell you?”“…it tells me to say yes,” Anne said.