The Mercenary by Paul Vidich

Author:Paul Vidich [Vidich, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Published: 2021-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

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GARIN’S LUCK HAD been on a good run, but everyone’s luck runs out—the car that careens around the corner as you step off the curb, the aircraft engine that fails on your flight home. How many times had death been his companion in a dream, his corpse in a body bag at a remote border crossing? Long ago he had tried and failed to banish those images. He reminded himself that his work in Moscow wasn’t his most dangerous. His work in Hungary during Prague Spring had been more daunting; his work in Beirut had been more terrifying. But every job had its moment of truth, when the unexpected met the unforgiving, forcing him to improvise.

It happened to him as he passed through the air lock and waited for the elevator, having impatiently pushed the button twice. At the sound of the arriving elevator, he patted his chest, a tic, to confirm that the things he’d taken were safely hidden. The elevator doors opened to reveal Helen Walsh, standing in the back. It would be hard to say who was more startled and equally hard to say who did a better job of hiding that surprise.

“I thought I was the last one on the floor,” she said.

Garin knew that he had only to muddy her judgment, not change it. “I had to call Langley.”

“How did you get up here? I’ll have to report this, Alek. Give me a reason why I shouldn’t. A legitimate reason.”

He gazed at her. “I’m authorized.”

“Oh, come on. You’ve been an odd duck since you arrived.”

Garin saw her eyes, alert, her mind working. A fragrant scent came to him in bright purples and pale lavender. He experienced the colors like a hallucination and under the elevator’s fluorescent light, he saw a phosphorescent glow on his hands. Purple tint like a faint inkblot. Dizziness, the smell. His mild case of synesthesia was accompanied by a pulsating headache.

He stared at his glowing palms. METKA. What did I touch? The doorknob? The light in the elevator became intense, and he fumbled for a stick of chewing gum, popping the peppermint stick in his mouth.

“It’s nothing,” he said, watching her stare. “Elevators make me nauseous.”

Blue latex gloves poked from her handbag, and seeing him spot them, she tucked them out of sight. “Do you need a doctor?”

“No. Gum equalizes pressure in my ears.”

The elevator made a slow, rattling descent, and they stood side by side against the elevator’s back wall, watching the floor-indicator light mark their descent. Garin was taller by three inches, and he had the advantage of strength, but weight and height weren’t of use to him in a situation that called for him to think clearly. He rubbed his temple to focus his blurring eyes.

He heard her question and saw her hand reach for his jacket, and he reacted badly, brusquely pushing her away. Then an apology. “Let’s talk tomorrow. I’ll explain when I’m feeling better.”

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