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“I can’t!” The look on Speyer’s face was one of shocked indignation.
“Yes, you can, and you will, or I’ll have that little talk with President Alexander about your role in the death of his wife and then the bank, the mountain house, the flat in Paris…they all go away. And then he’ll send me back over here to kill you.” Rapp shook his head. “Trust me. Take option A. The other way will be no fun at all.”
Speyer tilted his head back and took in a nervous breath. “I can do this.”
“You’re damn right you can,” Rapp said, happy that Speyer was finally seeing things his way. “All you have to do is stay calm and let me take care of the rest.”
The Hummer came rolling down the narrow street, towering over the smaller European-made cars. It stopped in front of Green’s building, and one sumo-sized bodyguard got out. Rapp smiled to himself. The big ones were great for show and good for deterrence, but they moved too slowly to be effective against a well-trained attacker. Green and Gordievsky got out next and then another of the giants stepped down from the truck. All four men continued into the building and the truck drove away to find a parking space, Rapp presumed. Coleman would follow the man and take him out when the time was right. Rapp looked down at his watch just as it struck midnight.
Looking at Speyer he said, “Let’s go.”
Both men got out of the car. Rapp slid his knife into the right outside pocket of his leather jacket and transferred his silenced Glock to the left pocket. He walked around the front of the car and joined Speyer as they crossed the street. They continued down the sidewalk to the front door of the building. Speyer adjusted his glasses and reached out for the buzzer.
“Remember…smile,” Rapp whispered. “We’re supposed to be having fun.”
Speyer grinned awkwardly and pressed the buzzer. A few seconds later Green’s voice came out of the tiny box. “Joseph, you came, and you brought a friend. How good of you. Come straight up.”
A clicking noise sounded the release of the lock. Rapp leaned into the door with his shoulder, not wanting to touch the glass with his hand. He pushed it open and gestured for Speyer to go in first. They walked across the relatively small lobby to the elevator. The white lights above it told them the lift was descending from the fourth floor. Rapp flexed his knees several times and cracked his neck from side to side.
Speyer looked at him sideways. “What are you doing?”
“Loosening up. Bend your knees…relax.”
The banker tried it.
“Now take a few deep breaths, and just think about how happy you’re going to be when this is over.”
The elevator doors opened and they entered. Speyer turned around and leaned against the back wall. Rapp did the same and slid close to him so their shoulders were touching. He wanted it to actually look like they liked each other. The doors closed and the elevator began to move.
Rapp smiled and asked, “So how long have you been in the banking business?”
“Please don’t shoot me.”
Rapp got the feeling positive reinforcement didn’t work well with Speyer. He put his mouth up to Speyer’s ear and said, “If you fucking bring it up one more time…I might.” He then moved away and smiled. “All you have to do is stand still and stick your arms out. I’ll take care of the rest.”
A tense moment later the elevator doors opened slowly. As they did Rapp turned to face Speyer and gripped his pistol. There was just enough play in his jacket that he could fire from the hip if he needed to. The bodyguard was standing in the middle of the foyer with a handheld metal detector. The second bodyguard had already taken up a not-so-alert position in a chair against the wall to his left. No butler. Rapp casually checked out the entire room from right to left as Speyer stepped off the elevator. He did a quick inventory of both bodyguards; hands, feet, and eyes. The feet were flat and the hands so puffy Rapp bet he could count to five before they were able to wrestle their guns from their holsters. Their eyes were bloodshot and dull. There was a good chance they’d been drinking.
Speyer stuck his hands out like a scarecrow so the big guy could give him the once-over with the metal detector. Rapp stayed behind him, turning a touch to his left as he drew his pistol, concealing it against the black leather jacket. The guy did a sloppy job checking Speyer. Rapp began circling around to his left and acting like he was interested in the artwork. As soon as Speyer put his hands down, Rapp pulled his knife out of his pocket with his right hand and held it up above his head.
“I suppose you guys will want to take this from me.” Rapp’s eyes darted back and forth between the two men. Both of them were frozen by the sight of the knife. Neither saw the pistol. Rapp fired from the hip. Two shots in under one second. The man in the chair was hit in the exact middle of his forehead. The man standing was hit just under his right eyebrow. He took one step forward and started to fall. Rapp moved quickly to try to break his fall. With the knife still in his right hand he reached out and tried to slow the man just enough to keep him from hitting the floor too hard. The guy thudded to his knees and then fell onto his left side. Rapp put on
e more in each guy’s head and stuffed the knife back in his pocket.
“Let’s go.” Rapp grabbed the back of Speyer’s coat and propelled him down the hall.
They made it to the big living room and turned left. Everything was exactly as Speyer said it would be. The double doors to the library and billiard room were straight ahead. Rapp could see shadows and hear voices. He drove Speyer forward, keeping him where he could see him. They reached the doorway. The room ran to the right. Rapp turned Speyer that way and then continued straight so he could gain a full field of fire. He was more exposed than he would have liked, but he didn’t want Speyer making some unpredictable move that might screw up a shot.
Gordievsky was at the far end of the table getting ready to break, his bald head shining from the overhead light. His mouth started to form a word, but the sound never made it out. The bullet hit him in the top of his forehead, forming a red dot the size of a dime. Gordievsky’s knees gave way, and his chin slid down and bounced off the end of the table. Just like that he was gone. Green stood on the far side of the table, both hands gripping his cue, the tip in front of his chin. All his weight was back and his posture slouched. Here was a man who paid others to do his dirty work.
Green looked at Rapp and without blinking said, “Whatever they’re paying you, I’ll double it.”
Rapp laughed and said, “I’m not for sale. This is courtesy of the U.S. government, you piece of shit.” Rapp squeezed off a round. It struck Green right between his eyes and the billionaire fell over with pool cue in hand. Rapp walked over to him and put three more rounds into the right center of his chest.
Rapp pressed the transmit button and said, “Everything is secure up here. I’ll send the elevator down. Remember, we want all the garbage packed up and out of here within an hour.”
The banker’s face was white and he was shaking uncontrollably. Rapp walked over to him and said, “Let this be a lesson, Joseph. As long as you’re honest with me, and you don’t do anything to harm me or my country, this will never happen to you. But so help me god, if you fuck me over just once, you’ll end up just like these greedy assholes.”
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