Targets of Deception by Jeffrey S. Stephens

Author:Jeffrey S. Stephens [Stephens, Jeffrey S.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Thriller
ISBN: 9781451688719
Google: lX8wO80LH8EC
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 7519509
Publisher: Pocket Star
Published: 2009-09-01T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-FIVE

“You ever wonder what they’re thinking,” Andrioli asked, “in that last second? You know what I mean.”

Sandor knew precisely what he meant. “I have,” he admitted.

“You seen a lotta guys die, have you?”

“More than my share,” Jordan admitted.

“Yeah. Me too.”

They were heading up the interstate from Florida toward Georgia, Andrioli at the wheel. Switching cars had gotten them safely out of Fort Lauderdale. Even if Covington’s men tracked them to the shootings at Andrioli’s boat, it would be a while before anyone could identify and locate the old Toyota. And where would they look after that?

“I have no wife, no kids,” Andrioli said into the darkness. “All that stuff about your life passing before your eyes. I always figured you would think about your wife and kids. I don’t know.” He pulled out a cigarette, lowered his window a bit and lit up. “You married?’

“No,” Jordan said. “Never.”

“No kids then.”

“No.”

Andrioli took a long drag of the Marlboro and blew it towards the open window. “What the hell would you see, then, when the lights are going out?”

Jordan had a look at the man’s profile, the uneven nose, the prominent, bearded chin. “I have no idea,” he said. “Will it matter?”

“It might,” Andrioli said. “If there’s no God or anything, I figure those last seconds, that becomes your heaven or your hell, right then and there. It may be all you get.”

Jordan peered over his shoulder. Christine had curled up in the back seat and was sleeping under his sport jacket.

“You have a passport?” Andrioli asked him.

Jordan told him he did.

“Your own name?”

“No, I’m covered. Don’t worry.”

“What about Christine?”

Sandor had another look in the back seat. “We should leave her in Atlanta.”

Andrioli nodded. “I guess so.” He let another few miles go by before saying, “You came to see me without a weapon.”

“I did.”

“Kind of risky, wasn’t it?”

“Not any more than trying to get them through at LaGuardia.”

“No shit,” Andrioli said, thinking of their narrow escape.

“I sent a package to myself. Won’t come until tomorrow morning, back in Lauderdale.”

“Great. A day late and a gun short.”

“I guess so.”

“Well forget it. I can work it out when we get to France.”

Jordan watched him drive the car, neither man saying anything as they covered a long stretch of highway.

Andrioli took a long drag on his cigarette, blew out a cloud of smoke, then broke the silence. “Hey, about that thing that went down in Bahrain.”

“What about it?”

“I had nothing to do with it. I mean, we heard about it afterwards, but McHugh and I weren’t involved. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“It’s not like I even knew who you were. You were just the name of some guy from Traiman’s past. Anyway, I wanted you to know I had nothing to do with it, in case you had any ideas about that.”

“Okay,” Jordan said again, taking a moment to have another look at Andrioli. “So why are you really going to Paris? Why not just make a stand here?”

“It’ll never be safe for me here. You just saw that.

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