“All right,” Sarge said when they had settled into the conference room. “Let’s talk money. I initially saw this as a half-million-dollar job, but now we’ve got a powerful New York police official to deal with, not to mention a sharpshooter with the eye of an eagle and the brains of a genius. We’re talking about two million dollars, in my Cayman Islands bank account tomorrow.”

“You bury your dead and get them in and out of the Rockland airport,” Asimov countered. “You eat all your expenses.”

“Two and a quarter million,” Sarge said.

“And you stay on until Rawls, Greco, and Barrington are dead.”

Sarge considered it for a moment, then nodded. “Agreed.”

“One last thing,” Asimov said.

“What?”

“If it is possible, I would like to look Barrington in the eyes before you kill him. He has been an embarrassment to the family for too long. I want to see his fear, and make sure he knows it was me who ordered his death.”

“That ups the risk to me and my people. Two and a half million and we have a deal.”

The two men shook, then Asimov said, “You want dinner? We’ve got room service.”

“I’ve got some calls to make,” Sarge said, “but yeah, I could eat. And tell them to bring up a legal pad. I need to make a list.”

Chapter 56

Ed Rawls rang Stone’s doorbell and waited, fidgeting, on the doorstep until it was answered.

Stone ushered him in. “Lunch is soon,” he said.

“I’ll stay, but I’d like a drink, now, please.”

Stone poured him a stiff Laphroaig. He had never seen Rawls so fidgety. “What’s going on, Ed?”

“We’ve got new opposition,” Ed said.

“What opposition?”

“I’m getting ahead of myself. I got a couple of calls this morning from people I take seriously, to say that questions are being asked about me.”

“Okay, what else?”

“You don’t understand, Stone. They know who I am.”

“Why does that matter?”

“Before, I was a ghost, an old man on a pension. Now they know who and what they’re dealing with.”

“I see,” Stone said. “And that will make them more cautious?”

“There’s more. They’ve hired a specialist called the Sergeant.”

“An assassin?”

“A whatever-it-takes guy, and he knows who and what I am.”

Stone nodded, but he really didn’t see what difference that made.

“It means they’ll come after me, first,” Ed said. “They know what I can do, and they won’t want me in the way. They checked out my front gate earlier today.”

“So, what does this mean to how we’re operating?”

“It means I need to stop operating and start working on staying alive. I’ve got to get out of here.”

Stone was speechless.

“I know that comes as a blow,” Ed said, “but I’m no good to you dead.”

Ed had a point. “Have you talked to Peter about this?”

“I sent him an email.”

“When and where are you going?”

“As soon as possible, and I thought about my place in Virginia, then I thought about my girlfriend’s house in England. Sarah’s there now, and that’s her preference.”

“I’ll call Mike Freeman, and see if he can offer you a ride over.”

Stone went into his little office and called Freeman and made his request.

“Wheels up at eight am tomorrow,” Mike said. “Tell Rawls no weapons.”

“Okay, Mike.”

“You going, too?”

“No, I’m going to deal with it at this end.”

“As you wish.” They hung up.

Stone went back to the living room. “You’re aboard a Strategic Services jet tomorrow morning, wheels up at eight. Mike says don’t bring weapons.”

“Got it,” Ed said.

“Are you going to stay at your house tonight?” Stone asked.

“I haven’t figured that out.”

“I think we’d all better fly back to the city after lunch. I’ll put you up for the night, and Fred can drive you to Teterboro in the morning.”

“Thank you, I’m grateful.”

“Go back and get your stuff after we eat.”

“It’s already in the car,” Ed said.

Joan welcomed them all back to the city, and said, “We’ve had some lurkers.”

“When and how many?” Stone asked.

“Two. They were around yesterday, then back this morning. They left about the time you landed.”

“Well, either they’ve anticipated my flight schedule, or maybe they just got tired of watching an empty house, preferably the latter.”

“What can I do?” Joan asked.

“Just keep the house looking uninhabited.”

“Okay, no lights on the street side.”

“And make sure we’re always locked down,” Stone said.

“You want me to shoot a couple of them?” Rawls asked.

“No, let’s just let them wonder. If you need to leave the house, go through the garage tunnel or the garden gate. If anyone sees anybody who looks out of place, I want to hear about it immediately.”

After Ed and Joan left the room, Carly said, “I’m not accustomed to being penned in.”

“We’ll try and keep you entertained,” Stone said.

“Can you do that in bed? Right now, if you like.”

“After dinner,” Stone said. “I’ve got some catching up to do before that.”

“I’ll try to contain myself. In the meantime, I’ll unpack and have a nap, so as to be fresh.” She pinched him on the ass and headed upstairs.

They had an early-evening drink in Stone’s study, then sat down to dine at seven.

Joan joined them. “The watchers have not returned,” she said.