And Korgan was doing it. “Really? But you know how obsessed I’ve been about bringing you down. Wouldn’t you do anything you had to do? As you said, we’re both businessmen, and we’ve learned that minor considerations have to be eliminated when we go after the big score.” His glance shifted to Alisa’s face, and he held her eyes. “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid that I can’t go along with his offer. It might be time for you to fade out of the picture.” Then his gaze focused again on Reardon. “Look at me. Unless you can offer me a better deal than that, you can shoot her and then I’ll—”

Alisa tensed. Reardon had involuntarily looked at Korgan at those first words, and his attention was distracted. Move!

She whirled away from him and erupted into a barrage of strategic punches and kicks aiming at the six weak points: eyes, throat, nose, groin, knees, solar plexus. She struck Reardon’s right forearm repeatedly, but the bastard somehow managed to keep a firm grip on his gun. She ducked to avoid his gun barrel as he squeezed off two shots.

Blam! Blam!

She hit him with a roll kick behind his right knee and he faltered. Now close in and take him down. Get that gun.

Blam!

But this time the shot didn’t come from Reardon. He screamed as Korgan’s bullet smashed into his hand, sending the gun flying.

And now Korgan was walking toward him as he tried to struggle to his knees. “No deal, Reardon. We’re not at all alike, and in spite of what you might have heard, I have my moments when there’s absolutely nothing soft about me. You can’t imagine how much hardening took place while I was sitting at Karim’s funeral in Noura.”

Reardon took one glance at his face and then he was scrambling. “No! Let’s talk. I’ll give you anything you want!” He was trying desperately to get to his gun on the floor across the room.

Korgan shot him in the skull. Then he took two more steps and shot him twice more.

He stood there, looking down at the bloody corpse. “That was extremely satisfying.” He glanced at Alisa. “I regret having to interrupt you when you were doing so well, but I thought you’d want to get to Sasha.” He glanced back down at Reardon. “You said we had to cut off the heads of the snakes, and we’ve only done this one. Shouldn’t we go looking for Masenak?”

Another darker, more savage side of Korgan that she’d never seen before. How many more would she see before this was over?