BooksBarbecue
Back The Asset
Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

“She was a Russian agent who was selling secrets. She knew what she was signing up for. Rules of the game.”

“Rules of the game?” Lance said. “I guess I could say the same thing about you right now.”

The man shook his head. There was a pack of Pall Malls on the table and he took one out and lit it.

“What did the Russian pay for a hit?”

“Thirty. Forty. It varied.”

Lance looked around the room. The house didn’t look like it had seen forty grand in a while.

“I got my own place in the city,” the man said. “There’s a few strip clubs I go to. I spend it all on the girls.”

“Look at you. A regular philanthropist.”

The man said nothing.

“All right, I’ll tell you what I’m proposing.”

“Fine.”

“I’m not going to kill you right now.”

The man said, “I could tell you were a gentleman by the way you came up to the door.”

Lance smiled.

The man offered him the pack of cigarettes and Lance took one and lit it.

“You shot my girl, though. If she dies, or if something bad happens to her, I’m coming back for you.”

The man nodded. “I put her in the car,” he said. “I drugged her. Then I brought her to Teterboro.”

Teterboro was a small airport in the New Jersey Meadowlands. It had a weight limit that made it unusable for major airlines. It was mostly private jets and charters.

“What happened at Teterboro?”

“There was a jet waiting.”

“You ever put someone on a jet before?”

“I delivered some people to some places before. Not to a jet on the tarmac, though. No.”

“Where was the jet going?”

“I didn’t ask, but I figure Russia. Everyone there seemed Russian.”

There was an ashtray on the arm of the sofa and Lance put his cigarette out in it. At the same time, the door to the kitchen opened. It was the old lady and she was holding a Glock 41.

Lance leapt forward, just in time to dodge three bullets. The old lady had good aim. The bullets landed within inches of each other, right where he’d been sitting.

Lance grabbed the man by the head and swung himself behind him.

The old lady followed him across the room, firing off bullets, but she stopped short of hitting her son.

Lance didn’t hesitate. With one hand on the man’s chin and the other on his opposite temple, he yanked his head to the side with all his strength. There was a loud crack and then the man went limp. Lance held him up as a shield.

“You killed him,” the old woman cried, unloading the weapon into her son’s chest.

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