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THEY FACED EACH OTHER across a two-foot span of grass that in some ways seemed as wide as the Atlantic Ocean.
James Harkes stared at Kelly Paul and she stared right back at him.
Megan Riley, engulfed by her captors, stared dumbly at the ground. Next to Paul and Bunting were Sean and Michelle, with Roy in the wheelchair.
Roy sat up and let his hood fall away.
When Megan glanced up and saw Sean and Michelle her sense of relief was profound.
“Let’s make this easy and simple,” said Harkes quietly. “Send Bunting and Roy over here. And you get Riley.”
“Doesn’t seem fair, does it?” asked Paul. “You get two and we only get one.”
“That was the deal,” said Harkes.
&n
bsp; “No, that was the proposal.”
Harkes eyed her with interest. “Do you really want to renegotiate now? My men have ten prearranged targets to hit if I give them the signal. If you want to be responsible for innocent people going down it’s up to you, I guess. But I would advise against it.”
“I can see the logic, Harkes, I really can.”
“But you still disagree?”
“Not necessarily.”
“We don’t have unlimited time here. I need an answer.”
“Suppose we give you Bunting.” She grabbed Bunting’s arm and pushed him forward. He jerked free and scowled at her.
“So I’m the sacrificial lamb,” he snapped. “Blood thicker than water?”
Harkes shook his head. “We need the package.”
“He’s my brother.”
“Half brother.”
“Still,” she said calmly.
“Do you want a demonstration of my intent?” Harkes pointed to a little boy holding a cup of hot chocolate. “I raise my hand he gets a third eye.”
“You’d do that? A kid?”
Harkes looked at her with a blank expression. “I can take out a granny if you’d prefer. The point would be the same.”
“You’re a real bastard, you know that?” she said.
“A remark which gets us nowhere. Shall I raise my hand?”
“You’ll just kill my brother.”
Harkes looked over at Roy, who sat there in the wheelchair. “What if I tell you that won’t happen?”
“Why should I believe anything you say?”
“His brains are a gold mine. Who throws away gold?”
