‘You might want to try acting more like you belong here,’ Procter said. ‘You’ll draw less attention that way.’
‘Well, I don’t belong, do I? Anyone can see that. Including you, I’m assuming. Which makes me ask, why here?’
Procter’s gaze strayed off Clarke. ‘Because this place makes the best steak sandwiches you’ve ever tasted. You should try one. It’s worth coming to work just to have one at lunchtime.’
Clarke glanced over to a table where a couple of guys in overalls were eating hamburgers with fries and a few token lettuce leaves on the side. The buns looked flat and soggy and the fries were anorexic sticks of potato in thick oil coatings. Behind the counter a wide, sweating Latino was flipping burgers. Grill fat sizzled.
Clarke grimaced. ‘I think I’d rather skip the stroke at seventy.’
‘Cut the bourgeois prejudice for once, Peter.’
‘So I’m prejudiced against plaque in my arteries. Sue me.’
A waitress appeared. She was tall, and young and pretty enough for Procter to quickly look her over, but too skinny around the bust and hips for him to look twice. Clarke paid her no attention.
Her smile was big and bright. ‘Get you coffee?’
Clarke nodded.
‘Another for me, please,’ Procter said.
She filled Clarke’s cup and poured Procter a fresh one. He added lots of cream and sugar. The diner did coffee thick, strong and exactly how Procter liked it. Just because it didn’t have an Italian name, come in a waxed paper cup and cost three times as much, didn’t make it inferior. Clarke took his black, as always.
‘How’s the coffee?’ Procter asked.
‘Like piss.’
‘Well, I’m buying, so you’d better enjoy it.’
‘We’re not here to discuss the quality of caffeine-delivery systems.’ Clarke put his cup back down. ‘What’s the situation?’
Procter said, ‘Thanks to information we sucked out of Xavier Callo, we’ve been able to make a lot of headway in a very short time frame,’ Procter began. ‘It seems that Ariff’s people have been negotiating with a Belarusian gangster named Danil Petrenko for some time now. Petrenko has access to big stockpiles of guns that Ariff wants to add to his collection. There’s a face-to-face going down in Minsk tomorrow night. Ariff is sending his top man to liaise with Petrenko. That top man is a Lebanese guy called Gabir Yamout. And yes, that’s the same Yamout who we know has been at Ariff’s side for years. Yamout is now Ariff’s business partner, according to Callo. They’re both Christians and are so close they’re practically family. Which is why I’m sure you’ll agree with me that Yamout makes the perfect target to take this thing of ours to the next level.
‘We don’t know how Yamout is travelling to Belarus, or where he’s staying, but what we do know is that Petrenko has booked the top suite at the Hotel Europe in central Minsk for a single night. Tomorrow night. So Tesseract will strike at the hotel while Yamout is there.’
Clarke’s long face was unimpressed. ‘I really don’t like the idea of a hit taking place at a hotel. Especially with such a short lead time. Could get messy.’
‘Tesseract said the same thing. Look, is it ideal? No, it’s not. But Yamout setting foot outside the Middle East is too good an opportunity to miss.’
‘A hotel hit will get airtime.’
‘I’m counting on it,’ Procter said. ‘It will be all over the news in Europe and therefore Ariff is going to hear about it very soon afterwards. And we want him to know with as little delay as possible.’
‘Okay,’ Clarke said, seemingly satisfied with the logic. ‘Yamout isn’t going to be travelling alone. Petrenko won’t meet him by himself. Could be a lot of guys there for Tesseract to deal with. Might be too much, even for your MVP.’
Procter shrugged. ‘I’ve got no reasons to doubt him. It’s not like he has to go through every single one to get to Yamout. Besides, if he can’t pull this kind of job off then it’s about time we found that out.’
‘So we’re gambling with his life now.’
‘If you want to put it like that.’
‘Tesseract is going to think we’re playing him.’
‘We are playing him.’
Clarke sat forward. ‘He won’t like it.’
‘If he stamps his feet, we’ll remind him who his daddy really is.’
‘And he’ll like that even less.’
Procter frowned, leaned forward. ‘Do you seriously think I’m not already aware of everything you’ve just said?’
Clarke leaned forward too. ‘Oh, I’m sure you’ve thought it through, Roland, but we’re coming to polar opposite conclusions.’
‘That’s where you’re wrong, my friend. We’re coming to the same conclusions. But while they concern you, I’m happy with them.’
‘You’re happy with an angry assassin running around out there who may or may not do as he’s told?’
Procter selected his words carefully. ‘I’m content with it.’
‘So tell me, what do we do if he’s angrier than we thought?’
‘Then we activate the contingency I’ve prepared.’
Clarke sighed. ‘I think it’s about time you revealed what that actually is.’
‘I can’t do that.’
Clarke’s face flushed red. ‘Why the hell not?’
‘We may be in this together, but some things are best not shared, for mutual safety. As you are well aware.’
‘I’m not sure this counts, Roland.’
‘Okay, if we’re going to put all our cards on the table, I want to know who is bankrolling this operation of ours.’
Clarke was silent for a moment. ‘You know I can’t say. We agreed on anonymity to protect all parties if something went wrong. I’ve told you all I’m at liberty to.’
‘Spare me the speeches. Who are they?’
‘I won’t answer that,’ Clarke said. ‘So quit asking. And may I remind you that our sponsor doesn’t know who you are.’
‘Okay, don’t tell me,’ Procter said. ‘But it works both ways.’
‘It’s not the same,’ Clarke protested. ‘Knowing what you plan to do with Tesseract, should he become a problem, is not going to compromise me.’
‘Maybe not,’ Procter admitted. ‘But I don’t want to ruin the surprise.’
Clarke was quiet for a moment. ‘Why do I get the impression you’re playing me as much as you are Tesseract?’
‘Because you’ve been in this business too long, Peter. Like me. But we’re on the same side here. We both want to take down these gun-running scumbags, and this is the way — the only way — to make that happen.’
Clarke seemed placated, at least for the time being.
Procter said, ‘You haven’t updated me on Kasakov yet. Is he still in the dark about Farkas?’
‘So I’m led to believe,’ Clarke began as he leaned back in his chair, ‘but I expect he’ll be emerging into the light any time now.’
CHAPTER 19
Moscow, Russia
The punch was a straight right that followed a stiff jab and caught Vladimir Kasakov a half-inch above his left temple. It wasn’t a flush blow, but Kasakov didn’t see it coming, and the ones that weren’t seen always hurt the most. The Russian boxer who threw the punch was a solid two hundred and fifty pounds, a professional heavyweight, and known for his one-punch knockout power. The sixteen-ounce glove did little to cushion the blow that jolted the Ukrainian arms dealer’s senses. He kept his guard high and tight as his opponent unleashed a flurry of hard left hooks and overhand rights.
Kasakov backed off and used his jab to keep the Russian at range. Kasakov’s opponent was three inches taller — six-six — but they had the same armpit-to-fist reach, which meant Kasakov could employ his jab frequently and effectively. The Ukrainian’s jab was his favourite punch; it was hard and accurate, and, though not a knockout shot, it set up other punches, and ten in the face each round took its toll on anyone and stopped them throwing back at the same time.
The Russian followed Kasakov as he backed off, flicking some jabs of his own but without the same conviction. He was just looking to throw the big punches, but Kasakov was using his better footwork and jab to stop the Russian setting his feet for power shots. The big man was good at cutting off the ring though, using lateral movement to slowly force Kasakov towards the ropes. That was where he definitely didn’t want to end up. He stopped backing off and threw some straight right hands and hooks after jabbing, but had difficulty getting them through the Russian’s textbook guard.