Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
On the surface, everything about her was impressive. And while that did not necessarily reflect her actual ability, it was still not the conclusion Dempsey had hoped to reach.
These guys might be the real deal after all.
He hid the thought and closed the remaining gap between them, holding out his hand in greeting.
‘Joe Dempsey, International Security Bureau. And you are?’
The agent reached out, gripped Dempsey’s hand and stepped close. When she spoke, her voice was low. So only Dempsey could hear.
‘I’m Special Agent Eden Grace and I’ve been sent here to kill you.’
FORTY-SIX
Dempsey released his grip on Eden Grace’s hand as his own right hand moved instinctively towards his holster. He took a step back in the same moment, and with just a brief glance he assessed the building’s main entrance.
He saw nothing he had not seen a hundred times.
At the centre of The Stratford’s double-height frontage was a metal and glass revolving door. It was flanked on either side by hinged glass doors, each seven feet tall. Next to them and running to either end of the lobby were two single sheets of slightly tinted glass.
Put together, it made for a single transparent wall. Stylish, but far from practical if someone decided to take a shot from the street outside.
Dempsey’s eyes narrowed with that thought, taking in the details. Just beyond the glass was the building’s drop-off point. A wide one-way lane that ran from the corner of 74th Street to the start of 73rd. Next to it was a low, decorative hedge, then a lawn, then the pavement of York Avenue.
Both the lane and the street looked empty. No threat that Dempsey could see. But that did not mean it was not there.
He turned back to face Eden Grace.
‘They sent you alone, did they?’
‘No. There are five of us.’
He took another step back. Towards the elevator bank. A small movement, but it removed any line of sight between Dempsey and the second floor windows on the buildings across the street.
The question had been a test. Dempsey knew he was facing a five-person team. At least that. Eden Grace had no need to confirm it. No need to tell the truth. But she had. And that suggested she could be trusted.
Still, Dempsey was taking no chances.
He took one more step backwards. It killed the line of sight from the first floor windows across the street too. The same movement brought Freddie Garcia back into his peripheral vision.
It reminded him that the doorman was there. The only other person in the lobby.
‘Freddie, get in the back.’ Dempsey’s voice left no room for questions. ‘Lock the door and keep anyone else in there with you. Understand?’
Garcia nodded his head furiously, but failed to move.
‘NOW!’
It was a tone perfected in combat, when obedience is the difference between life and death. Dempsey had used it countless times, and he resorted to it now. It cut through Garcia’s moment of paralysis. He moved away, a near run. It left only Dempsey and Grace in the lobby.