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“How much per head?” he asks, cutting straight to the money. He always does.
“Five-thousand dollars,” I reply.
“Too little,” he complains.
“They’re a dime a dozen. You’ll be picking them off like flies. Like I said, they’re not very skilled. They’ll run right into a trap if you set it, and then it’s like fish in a barrel.”
“You’ve been around that American girl too long. You’re starting to sound like a damn Yankee,” he says with a laugh.
“The American girl is my wife, so yes, maybe I am sounding more like her.”
“Don’t take it personally. I’m just stating the facts.”
“The fact is that I’m paying you five grand per member of The Red Council. The name alone should give you enough information to locate them. They’re loosely organized in Eastern Europe, so you might need to do some traveling,” I explain.
“Just them? There were more groups, weren’t there? James was in deep with those morons.”
“Yes, but nobody else has given us trouble. Take out The Red Council and maybe we’ll look into the others.”
“Suit yourself,” he replies. “But I’ll need something upfront.”
“You don’t.”
“Seriously? Don’t you trust me?”
“Don’t you trustme? I’m paying per head. Deliver them and then you’ll get your money. It’s not that difficult,” I reply, struggling not to raise my voice. I don’t want to wake Taylor. She’s had a hard enough day already.
“Okay, okay, don’t get angry at me for asking. That’s what I do, you know? I’m a curious guy.”
I laugh dryly. “Yeah, very curious.”
“It’s a talent.”
“When you’re directing it toward the right things, I’m sure it is,” I reply.
There’s a short pause, but Bobby is the talkative type, and quickly dives into conversation again. “So, anyway, how’s your wife? You still got her locked up in that house?”
“We’re not in Russia anymore, actually. We’ve moved to my island off the coast of Mozambique. Maybe you’d like to visit sometime.”
“Where?”
“Mozambique.”
“Man, I don’t even know where the hell that is.”
“East Africa,” I reply. “You can look it up.”
“I might have to. I haven’t been anywhere in Africa before. I tend to buzz around Europe most of the time, but I’m quite bored of the food here. Overhyped, in my opinion.”
“You’d probably find something more interesting here, I’m sure.”
He laughs. “Goddamn coconuts or something.”
I roll my eyes. “I don’t have a single coconut tree on my island. You should come and check it out. We’ll smoke cigars, and you can try some of the local whiskey.”
“I have to admit, I thought marriage would change you, but you’re still the same bastard I always knew.”
I chuckle. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
