“Something’s brewing with our British friends,” Stone said.
“Oh, yeah?”
“The big cheese arrived from London and has called a meeting of his people.”
“Why do I care about this?” Dino asked.
“Because I think there’s about to be a rumble on your turf.”
“What kind of rumble?” Dino asked.
“Think about it.”
“What, I have to guess?”
“That’s what I’m doing. Anybody call you this afternoon? Any Brits, I mean?”
“Nope. Should I expect to hear from them?”
“I don’t think so,” Stone replied.
“Come on, Stone, what has Carpenter told you?”
“Only that there’s a meeting.”
“And what do you think is going to be the subject of that meeting?”
“Don’t be obtuse, Dino.”
“Okay, I know the subject. What are they going to do?”
“I think they’re going to hunt her down and kill her,” Stone said.
“Right here in New York City?”
“Yes. Of course, they may only want to kidnap and torture her, but I think the chances of taking the lady alive are nil.”
Dino chewed his salad and thought about it. “Okay,” he said finally.
“What do you mean, okay?”
“I mean, it’s okay with me if they hunt her down and kill her, or just kidnap and torture her.”
“Jesus, Dino, you’re a New York City police lieutenant. Are you going to let that happen?”
“Yep,” Dino said, sipping his wine.
“We’re talking about murder, Dino. You’re supposed to take a dim view of that.”
“You’re such a wuss, Stone,” Dino said.
“No, I’m not. I’m just opposed to murder in the streets of my hometown.”
“Well, I’m sure that when the murderers hear about that, there’ll be a dramatic drop in the homicide rate,” Dino replied.
“Dino, you’ve got to do something.”
“What am I going to do?” Dino asked. “These people are not visiting policemen. They’re fucking spies. They do things in secret. You think they’re going to let me in on their plans?”