The Sixth Man (Sean King & Michelle Maxwell 5)

Foster was clearly now in full retreat mode. “I didn’t… I mean—We can get Bunting—”

Paul didn’t let her finish. “Good God, haven’t you been listening to me? Your people lost track of Bunting. They have no idea where he is. The man is gone!”

Foster said nothing to this. Her mouth was moving but no words came out.

“You backed Bunting into a corner, but the man always has an out. And Quantrell was stupid enough to deliver it to him. But Quantrell was also smart enough to obviously recognize something you apparently didn’t.”

“What are you—”

“Edgar Roy? A true E-Six? Only one on the planet? Do you know what he would be worth to this country’s enemies? Do you know how much Quantrell could sell him for?”

“He would never work for another country.”

“Who, my brother or Quantrell?”

“Either.”

“Did you know that when Quantrell was first starting out he was almost banned from government contracting work because he sold restricted weapons parts to China? He only got out of it through his fancy lawyers and blaming it on a subordinate. He’d sell his own mother to Kim Jong-Il if he thought he could make money. And while it’s true my brother would never knowingly work against his country, don’t you think the Russians or the North Koreans or the Syrians couldn’t find a way to persuade him? Their torture techniques are old-school but they’re still highly effective. Trust me, I know.”

“So you’re saying Quantrell—”

“Of course he double-crossed you. That’s how he’s wired. And now that Bunting kicked his ass and saved himself, Quantrell’s going to throw you under the bus to save his ass. It’s called dominos for adults. Which leaves my brother in total limbo right now. Which is not good. He’s a loose end, and they don’t have long life expectancies.”

Foster was now tottering a bit in her three-inch heels.

Paul took the woman’s hand off the doorknob and unlocked it. “But since it’s now quite apparent that you were too stupid to see any of this coming and you possess absolutely nothing that can help me, I’ll just have to look elsewhere for what I need. Besides, what can you do from a jail cell, anyway?”

She pointed at a corner of Foster’s mouth. “You went outside the lines a bit there. Might want to fix that for your mug shot.”

Paul closed the door behind her.

CHAPTER

76

MICHELLE WAS DRIVING.

Sean was shotgun.

Edgar Roy was in the backseat of the van.

The drive had been long and they had stopped only twice, for bathroom breaks. When they pulled down the country lane, Michelle slowed the van.

“I know Bunting told us we were off grid when we came here before to meet Kelly Paul, but this case has given me a large case of paranoia.”

Sean nodded as his gaze swept the area. It was the perfect place for an ambush.

“But other things being equal it’s better than checking into a motel.”

“Only if we don’t end up getting killed,” Roy said.

Sean looked at him in surprise. Roy had spent most of the trip in silence.

“A brilliant observation,” said Michelle sarcastically. She put the van in park and glanced sideways at Sean. “Plan?”

“I can always sneak up there, and if someone is waiting for us, they can kill me and you can get away.”

“Sounds good to me.”