Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Alexei grunted, still not happy. “You said partially.”
“The other issue is the target.”
“Politician?” Those were common targets and very difficult because there were always bodyguards and public appearances. It didn’t help that the death usually needed to be made to look like something other than a hit. Drug overdose was popular. So was car accident. Those all took time to plan and orchestrate. If this was an urgent job, options were coming off the table.
“Cat burglar,” Marilyn replied.
Alexei had been headed for the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee, but he was definitely awake now. “I beg your pardon?”
“Cat. Burglar,” she repeated carefully.
No, he had not heard her wrong. That was not a target he’d gone after in the past. But it made for an interesting target. A criminal, which at least put him in the approved category. And a skilled one. To attain the moniker of cat burglar, the person had to be incredibly athletic, cunning, intelligent, with great planning and foresight. Probably also an adrenaline junkie. Cat burglars often struck while a person was at home. The point was to get in and out of the building with the valuable item in hand and no evidence that the item was removed.
Interesting.
And a challenge.
Maybe this would finally draw him out of the slump he’d been feeling recently. Soren had been a nice, temporary distraction, but hunting down a cat burglar might be even more fun. Add in that the contract was wide, and now he was pitted against a cat burglar as well as other assassins.
“Would you like to hear more?” There was something in Marilyn’s voice that made him think she already knew he was very intrigued.
“Is the payday worth my time?”
“The payday has the potential to be interesting as well.”
“All right, give me the full story.” Alexei walked into the kitchen. He placed the phone on speaker and put it on the counter. With his hands free, he could now start making his coffee. His brain needed to be on for this part.
“The target has acquired an item—a small, portable hard drive—that the client would like retrieved. The contract offers a total payment of fifteen million for the cat burglar and the hard drive safely handed over to the client. However, he’s willing to be a bit flexible. He will pay seven million for just the hard drive. He will also pay five million for the dead cat and no hard drive.”
“But the only way to get the full fifteen is to accomplish both tasks,” Alexei muttered as he pulled down a plain navy-blue mug.
“Correct.”
He wasn’t a fan of being a delivery boy, but there were worse jobs. And getting his hands on the hard drive after killing the cat wouldn’t be so bad. Definitely worth the other extra millions he’d receive for doing both.
“And if I were to kill the cat and deliver the hard drive within the next two days, the payday includes the bonus, putting the total at sixteen-point-five million.”
“Yes.”
“Is the bonus included if only one is accomplished in two days?”
“No.”
“Figures,” he grumbled. He filled the mug with water and turned toward the coffeemaker. He wasn’t going to complain too loudly, because he honestly wasn’t surprised, but it didn’t hurt to check.
“Shall I tell him no?”
Alexei groaned. “You’re getting as bad as Justin. No, I’m not turning down the job. I’m simply getting all the details. What do we know about the target? He has some information, right?”
“Far more than I would have expected, actually, but I haven’t completed my check into all of it yet. On the surface, the information seems accurate. There isn’t much on the target, but there are whispers around that he is quite a good cat burglar.”
“I’d hate to think you would have me going after an amateur.” After pouring the water into the machine he grabbed a pod and popped it in as well. This type of coffee was mediocre at best, but it would get him through until he could get to the café.
The thought stopped him.
The same café where he’d last run into Soren. Would Soren stop by? Would he even consider coming to look for him? No, he wouldn’t do that. He’d looked appropriately terrified by their last encounter.
But maybe he should avoid it for a day…
Clenching his teeth, Alexei shook his head at the thought. No. He was not going to let that man affect his life. He was going to continue as he normally did. He would go to his favorite café for coffee, assuming he didn’t need to immediately hunt down this burglar. There had to be time for coffee. He was still operating in a civilized world, right?
“From what I understand, you weren’t the only one working the Kalman party,” Marilyn was saying.
Alexei had been in the middle of pulling the creamer out of the fridge when Marilyn made that announcement. The plastic bottle slipped from his suddenly dead fingers and bounced off the tile floor right in front of his toes. Alexei jumped and cursed, snatching up the bottle again before the lid could pop off. She couldn’t mean…