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“Let’s compromise on the termconsultant,” Jasper said. “It was my experience and my skill set as well as my psychic vibe that convinced Gill to recruit me for the Night Island project.”
“You were recruited?”
“Gill found me because I’m on the same list you’re on. He tracked me down and made me the offer of a lifetime. There was no need to dose me with the amnesia drug before I got enhanced.”
“You jumped at the opportunity.”
“To get that upgrade?” Jasper snorted. “Oh, yeah. You, on the other hand, were a problem right from the start. Gill said he almost changed his mind about grabbing you.”
“Why?”
“He was worried that you didn’t have thetemperamentfor the work. But those old test results indicated that you had the potential to become a useful asset for his team.”
“What team?”
“We all have dreams, right?” Jasper chuckled. “Gill is trying to assemble an elite squad of assassins for hire, assets that can terminate their targets without leaving a trace. He calls the operation Cold Fire 2.0. But he’s running into problems.”
“What kind of problems?”
“He’s done enough experiments to know that the enhancement drug doesn’t work on everyone. Most people can’t handle it. The more he tweaks the parapsych profile to select the best candidates, the more he narrows his options. There are only so many people on that list, and most of them don’t have the vibe he thinks he needs.”
“Do you think Gill realizes that it’s only a matter of time before he enhances the wrong assassin, a killer who decides he doesn’t want to work for Gill’s outfit and decides to terminate him?”
A dark excitement flashed in Jasper’s hot eyes. “Between you and me, Gill has already made that mistake. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Got it. You’re the mistake. You’ve got plans.”
“Fucking right. Gill needs me but I don’t need him.”
“So why haven’t you gotten rid of him and gone solo?”
The excitement in Jasper’s eyes dimmed, replaced with frustration. “The maintenance booster is still being perfected. Gill is the only one with access to it. For now I have to play the part of the loyal employee. But it’s just a matter of time.”
“Pomona Finch said something about the boosters. You have to get one every six or seven weeks, don’t you? Doesn’t that worry you?”
Jasper raised one shoulder in a twitchy shrug. “Why should it?Like I said, Gill needs me. He’s going to take very, very good care of his asset. I’m the only success he’s got. He tells me I’m proof of concept.”
“You do realize that by now he will be having second thoughts about your usefulness.”
“Bullshit. He knows what I can do.”
“What you do is screw up a lot,” Luke said. “That’s not a useful trait in an asset.”
“I told you to shut up.”
Another blast of high intensity cold slammed across Luke’s senses, but this time he was ready with the counterpoint wavelengths. He infused them into his voice.
“By now I’m sure Gill has figured out that you’re unstable,” he said. “You may have some talent, but you’re not reliable. That makes you a failure, Draper.”
“Stop talking,” Jasper snarled. “You’re going to be a dead man in a minute, but I can make that death fast or slow. Your choice.”
“When you screw up this job Gill will decide you aren’t worth the trouble and the risk. He’ll cut his losses. He’s probably already trying to decide where to dump your body. He won’t be able to go back to Night Island.”
“He can’t kill me,” Jasper said, his voice rising. “I’m too powerful.”
“You’re dangerous at close range but you’re as vulnerable to a bullet as the next man. Or maybe Gill will engineer an accident. Of course, there’s always poison. There are so many ways to kill someone, aren’t there? Psychic energy isn’t necessarily the most efficient way to do it.”
Jasper shuddered and clutched at his chest. Confusion and disbelief sparked in his eyes. “What... what are you doing?”
