“You can shoot me,” I said to Bojing. Then I nodded toward Jimmy. “And you can shoot him. And when the owner comes out from the kitchen, you can shoot him, too. Then the cook. Then anybody who’s coming in for a late lunch or early dinner. In five minutes you’re gonna be neck deep in bodies, and thirty Detroit cops will shred you with a thousand rounds. Everybody dies. Nobody wins.”

Just then, a professionally dressed man and woman opened the door of the deli. They saw Jimmy and me bent over the unconscious killer.

“Health inspectors,” I said. “Bad salmon.”

The couple left.

I turned my attention back to Bojing.

“So what’s it going to be, slick?” I said.

I didn’t wait for an answer. I gave Xiang a thorough pat down and found a fifteen-round Heckler & Koch USP SP, an extra clip and a suppressor, another knife, a plastic baggie of blue and yellow pills and a small tin of what appeared to be cocaine. Then for good measure I broke his thumbs and index fingers. The pain brought him around, but briefly—a right cross to the jaw resolved that.

“How do you know I won’t shoot you right now, Mr. Snow?” Bojing said.

“I don’t,” I said, standing. “I just know what I’ve got to do. And I’m fairly smart.” I sat back down at the table across from Bo. “Was torturing Vic Bronson by Taser your idea?”

“I’m not a fan of torture, Mr. Snow,” he said. “It rarely yields dependable, actionable results. Still, I am responsible for the missing thirty million dollars—”

“And if not me, you think a billionaire twenty times over nicked your thirty mil?”

“It’s been my experience that most millionaires and billionaires are excessively overleveraged,” Bojing said. “If you held a gun to any one of their inflated heads and demanded one hundred million dollars cash within thirty-six hours, most would soil themselves, having absolutely no idea where they could lay their hands on such cash. And we only deal in monetary liquidity—”

“And ‘we deal in lead, friend,’” I said.

Bojing burst into laughter.

“The Magnificent Seven!” he said through his laughter. “Steve McQueen as Vin Tanner! Great film! An American classic! I really do enjoy your company, Mr. Snow.”