Deliver Us From Evil (A. Shaw 2)

“Okay, that qualifies him for a well-deserved visit from me.”

Frank stood and poured himself a Bloody Mary from the small bar set up against one wall of the aircraft and dropped a celery stalk in the glass. He sat back down, jiggling the ice with a long spoon. “Waller hid the details well. It took us time to get the goods on him, and even then it may not hold up in a court of law. The guy’s bad, no doubt about it, but proving it is another thing.”

“So why are we even bothering to go after him if we can’t put him away? That’ll just warn him off.”

Frank shook his head. “This is not a snatch-and-prosecute. It’s a snatch-and-rat. We take him and convince him it’s in his best interests to enlighten us about a new line of business for him that we just found out about.”

“Which is?”

“Nuclear materials trafficking with Islamic fundamentalists on the worldwide watch list. He rats them out, he gets a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“Basically he walks.”

“To keep enslaving young girls?”

“We’re talking avoiding nuclear holocaust here, Shaw. It’s a trade-off the higher-ups are willing to make. At least we’ll put his operation out of business for a while. But he gets his freedom and all the money he’s no doubt hidden around the world.”

“So he’ll just open for business again. You know, sometimes I get confused about which devil we’re actually dealing with.”

“We deal with them all, just in different ways.”

“Okay, so what’s the plan?”

“We found out that he’s heading to the south of France for a little holiday in between planning nuclear holocausts. He’s rented a villa in Gordes. You ever been there?” Shaw shook his head. “It’s really beautiful, so I hear.”

“So is Vienna, at least so I hear. All I usually get to see are the sewer pits, emergency rooms, and the morgue.”

“He travels with heavy security.”

“They always do. How do you see the extraction?”

“Quick and clean, of course. But the French are totally outside the loop on this. We can expect no help from them. If you go down, your ass is cooked.”

“Why would I expect anything less?”

“The timing will be tight.”

“The timing is always tight.”

“That’s true,” Frank conceded.

“So we kidnap him, work on him, and hope he breaks?”

“Our job is just to get him. Others will break him.”

“Right, and then let him walk?” Shaw said in disgust.

“The suits make the rules.”

“You’re wearing a suit.”

“Correction. The guys wearing the expensive suits make the rules.”

“Okay, but if you recall, the last time I was in France things didn’t go very well.”

Frank shrugged. “So let’s get down to the details.”