The Pursuit: A Max Austin Thriller, Book #2 (The Russian Assassin) by Jack Arbor

Author:Jack Arbor [Arbor, Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: High Caliber Books
Published: 2016-11-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 34

Undisclosed location outside Budapest

The woman cocked her head and looked at him skeptically. The gun was still in her hand, pointed casually at the floor, but Max knew at any moment she might start shooting again. This time, she didn’t reject him outright, so he pressed on.

“Hear me out. If you don’t like the idea, you’ve lost nothing by listening.”

A long moment passed while they stared at each other. Finally, she waved the pistol at him and said, “Let’s hear it.”

“You and I partner up and take out the man in the wheelchair.” As soon as he said it, he knew it sounded crazy. It was a long shot that she might think was a desperate plea.

She laughed. “Forget it. There is no way I could trust you. Is that the best you’ve got?”

“Why would I kill you? The only reason you want me dead is because your client is holding something over your head.”

“That’s not the only reason. You killed Nathan. Besides, I never fail a client.”

Max paused. This was the crux of her hesitation. It had to be. But if she hated him enough for killing Nathan, she’d have already shot him. “Is that your policy, or was that Abrams’?”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s important to my business. I can’t be seen as turning on my clients.”

Max knew he had to tread carefully here. “I respect that,” he said. “But answer this. In a few weeks, would you rather have killed me and still be hunting for my sister and nephew, with your client breathing down your neck? Or would you rather be out from under him, free to gain a fresh start with your business? Besides, no future client is going to fault you for sticking up for yourself. In fact, seems to me that’s the reputation you want.”

She started pacing. The fact that she hadn’t shot at him again was a good sign.

“I can help you find this guy,” Max said. “Between my resources and your knowledge, we can root this guy out. Then we can kill him. Together.”

“What resources?” she snorted. “The CIA?”

Max laughed. “Not the CIA. You’ve done a good job of infiltrating them and rendering them ineffective.”

“Who then?”

“I’ve got someone who’s pretty good at computers. Research, digital forensics, hacking.”

“Pretty good?” she scoffed. “The last couple of pretty good hackers I hired ended up dead. Are you willing to risk that?”

“This person is more than pretty good. She routinely hacks into governments, including the FBI and—”

“That’s nothing,” she interrupted. “Even I can do that.” She paused.

“This resource is different. That’s all I can tell you.”

She kept pacing, silent.

“How do you know she will help us?”

Max smiled to himself. She was already starting to use the word us. It meant he was getting through. “Let’s just say she has my best interest at heart. This is where we start to talk about trust. You’re going to have to trust me on this one.”

“How do I know I can trust you? How do I know that if

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