Chapter 21 - Shadow of a Doubt

Katya was already working when Gage went downstairs. He wondered if rising early ran in the family or if she had picked it up from Karol.

"Nicky called." Katya looked up. "Asked you to call her back as soon as you can."

"Thank you for taking the message." He poured himself a cup of coffee.

"No problem." She closed her computer. "After you talk to her, can you take me to the train station?"

"You are leaving?"

"Thus the train station." She smiled at him. "I talked to Jenny this morning. The bug guys were done in one day. We're allowed back in today. She'll be there early to air the place out."

"You don't have to go."

"Yeah, I do. I forgot to bring a couple of books, and I really want to get this paper done this weekend. And I think it would be best." She left it at that.

He knew she was right, but it still felt like he had failed her. Again.

"After breakfast, then." He took his coffee and went into his office.

Nicky did not answer her phone. He left no message. She would know he had called. There was no such thing as a secure call to her. He checked with his service. She had left him an address with no explanation. He didn't need one.

He did not want to make the next call. Just thinking about it made his skin crawl, but it had to be done. He had the service place the call double-blind, just in case. There were some people who should not know where he was, and Viktor Stepanovic was at the top of that list.

The receptionist droned a normal, bland greeting.

"Give me Viktor." He wasn't in the mood to be polite.

"I'm sorry sir, but..."

He cut her off with a few choice words in Croatian.

"I'll see if he's available," she replied curtly. A few seconds later, she connected him.

"I don't know who you are, but if you ever speak to my receptionist that way again, it will go very bad for you." Viktor always opened with threats. Gage ignored them.

"How's business, Viktor?"

"Who is this?"

"How are Ana and the girls? Lejla must be almost ready to graduate, no?"

"Drop dead." He was angry. The old tricks always worked.

"I did." There was silence on the other end of the line. Gage waited.

"Shit. It's you, isn't it? I knew I wasn't so lucky as to be rid of you. What the fuck do you want?" Anger was replaced by genial hatred.

"I want to give you something."

"A bullet to the head? I don't think I'm interested."

"I have no reason to kill you." Not today.

"Of course you do. It's in the blood. But if you aren't trying to kill me right now, tell me what you want or stop wasting my time. I'm a busy man."

"I just thought you should know that Jack Cavuto's boys are poaching on your territory." He hoped Viktor took the bait.

"I'm listening."

"It seems they have branched out to prostitution, and they are doing it in your backyard."

"And you know where?" He couldn't hide the eagerness in his voice.

"Yes." He gave Viktor the address Nicky had found.

"What did Cavuto do to piss you off that you would tell me this?"

"Rape and murder."

"So which one bothers you, that some girl got raped, or that you didn't get paid to kill her?"

"I don't kill women unless they try to kill me first. You know that."

"You always were a pussy that way. So what's in this for you?"

"Consider it a peace offering." He smiled, knowing each would happily kill the other, given the chance.

"As if such a thing could exist between us. I'll look into it, providing you tell me why you care." He would look into it either way.

"An associate of mine is concerned. She does not approve of their business."

"She? Are you talking about Cavuto's stalker girl?" Viktor laughed.

"Someone is stalking Cavuto? What kind of person would do that?"

"A stupid, blonde party girl who used to hang out at one of his clubs until she went nuts. Attacked one of his guys a couple years ago. No one knows why. Then she tried to set the police on him. You know how well that works out in this town." Viktor's tone was light, friendly. "He looked for her for a little while, but she dropped out of sight. Everyone thought she was dead. Now word is that he's looking for her to make sure she is. Tell me you did not pick up that trash."

"Interesting story, but not my concern." Gage kept his voice even.

"No? Here I had hoped you were fucking her. It would be what she deserved, to have scum like you on top of her. And it would be what you deserved to have a junkie whore convince you to do her dirty work." Viktor was less subtle about the bait he threw out.

"I do not do charity cases, and I don't care what happens to Jack Cavuto or his whores. I did expect that you would, as it affects your bottom line."

"So your interest in this is not personal."

"Of course it is. I have a potential real estate deal in the area and his whorehouse is driving down property values."

"Legitimate business? I don't know that I should encourage you. Your kind tend to cause trouble wherever you live."

"Only when your kind decide to start killing us."

"This is a new world. We should leave the old fights alone," Viktor cautioned.

"You mean that we should leave each other alone. I agree that would be best. I have given you information. Do with it as you will."

"And if I do nothing?"

"I have said I have no reason to come for you. Do yourself a favor and keep it that way."

"It's almost worth pissing you off to see who would win. But I'm getting old, and such things are better left to young men."

"Stupid young men with nothing to lose," Gage agreed. The threat was implicit.

"We have no other business. God send that it will ever be so." Viktor hung up.

Gage sat in his office until he was calm. There was nothing he would like more than to target Viktor Stepanovic, but it would not be wise. Once, that would not have mattered, but Viktor was right. They were getting old. Besides, if Viktor was a target, he would just go to ground, and Gage much preferred to know where the clever bastard was. With luck and planning, their paths would never cross again.

Deira was still asleep when he got upstairs. Viktor's words stayed with him. Party girl. Junkie whore. She had been an addict. Is an addict. He knew there was no past tense when it came to addiction. He stood by the bed watching her, as if he could learn more from her sleeping form. She did not look so innocent now.

"Wake up," he said, pulling the covers back.

"What time is it?" She barely opened one eye to regard him.

"Time to get up. We have things to do today."

"Okay." She sounded confused.

He dressed in silence and went downstairs.

Katya was packed, her bags by the door. She was making breakfast and humming a tune he remembered from his childhood. He listened for a moment, then went to the basement, emerging to set a locked case beside her bags.

Deira came down a few minutes later. Katya waved him to the stove and led her to the bathroom to check on her injuries. It didn't take long, which told him that Deira would be recovered in time to do the job. He knew she would insist on being there. He just wasn't sure he wanted her to be.

They ate breakfast quickly so Katya could make her train. On the way, she and Deira talked like old friends. He did not hear what they said. When Katya got out at the train station, Deira gave her a hug and thanked her for her help. Then she got in the front passenger seat and waited.

"Take care of yourself up there." Gage tried to shake off the feeling that he sounded like his father.

"I always do, Uncle Charlie." She regarded him seriously. "You take care, too. It's hard to be your cricket from so far away, and I think you need one right now."

"Don't worry about me, kitten. I will be fine. We will all be fine. And you will call me when you get home so I don't worry, yes?"

She rolled her eyes at him but agreed. He kissed her forehead and whispered a blessing in her ear. It was what Karol would have done. She smiled and turned away, disappearing into the station.

"So," Deira said as he got into the truck, "what are we doing today?"

He didn't answer, instead concentrating on getting through traffic that was thicker than usual for a Saturday. They were on the highway before he spoke.

"The night we met, you were on pump," he started. She was instantly wary.

"Kind of hard to hide that," she said.

"It was not the first time."

"No. I'm not so stupid as to try a drug for the first time when I've got a job to do. What's this about?"

"How often?" He stared straight ahead.

"Once in awhile when I was younger. Then not for a couple of years. Not until that night. I don't really like the way it makes me feel. Never did. Why are you asking me this?"

"I need to make sure you are not going to be tempted to take drugs when we do the job."

"Hell no! I just told you I don't like it. I'm sure as hell not going to go out looking for it when every dealer in town is probably looking for me. Jesus!" She threw her hands up.

"That is good. Because if I think you are on drugs that night, I will kill you myself." He glanced at her.

"Well thanks for the warning." Her eyes narrowed. "What brought this on?"

"Planning. I need to have complete control of what is going on that night. You need to understand that. If you do not follow my lead, it would be safer to kill you."

"Safer for you maybe."

"Safer for all of us."

"That was twice," she said, looking out the window. "Just like the night we met."

He frowned but said nothing.

"I don't see how killing me protects anyone." She looked over at him.

"If you are caught, you will tell them everything. I might be able to escape, but Nicky might not. I do not want to think about what could happen to Katya."

"I wouldn't tell them shit. I'm not as weak as you think I am."

"It is not weakness to break under torture. It is what happens."

"Had a lot of experience with that?" She forced herself to ask.

"Yes." He kept his eyes on the road.

"And would you rather someone had killed you?"

"At the time, yes."

"So you would prefer take me down yourself instead of seeing if I could survive."

"It would be kinder. You have no idea what men are capable of doing to get what they want."

"You'd be surprised at the things I know about men."

"These men will not worry about being careful. They will not worry about getting caught. They will hurt you in ways you did not know you could be hurt. And when they have tired of that, they will kill you. Some of them will enjoy the torture more, some the killing. The end result is the same. I would spare you such an end." He looked at her. "Do not force me to that."

"I will do whatever you say. As usual." The last was muttered.

"Good choice."

He kept his eyes on the road, his face still. He would not tell her that he had not been the one being tortured. Some things should remain secret.