Page 57 of In Too Deep

Knight turned her head to face him. “What is it, for God’s sake?” She kept her voice to a low hiss. On a surveillance course years ago she’d been told that if you whisper, and your subject can’t see you, it’s next to impossible for them to recognize your voice. She remembered being dubious at the time, but in the circumstances it seemed worth a try. She figured she might learn something. And failing that, the guy should finally shut up.

“I screwed up. I’m sorry.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Well.” The guy took a breath. It was ragged, like maybe a few of his front teeth were broken. “I made it to the diner, no problem. Went in. Gave the hostess the name they said I should use. She took me all the way in back. To a booth. I sat. Waited. The guy was late. When he showed up it was weird. He was wearing tennis clothes. I remember feeling pissed, like he kept me hanging around so he could play some dumb game.” Bowery’s voice faded and he stopped speaking.

Knight said, “So the guy arrived?”

Bowery coughed then said, “Right. He sat down. Unzipped the bag he was carrying. Took out his racket and a laptop. Then told me tolook inside. It was unbelievable. Gold. So much of it. I was kind of mesmerized. I gave him the memory stick and he fired up his laptop. Checked it out. It passed muster, like we knew it would. And he told me I was free to go.”

“OK. And?”

“The guy was in the way. I couldn’t get past him. So I had to go the other way around the booth. It was like a horseshoe. I shuffled on my ass all the way to the other side, dragging the bag behind me. Then a guy’s head appeared from the next booth. He knelt on the seat. He leaned over. I felt something on my neck, like a bug had bitten me. I tried to shoo it away but nothing was there. Then I saw the guy’s hand. He was holding a syringe. The plunger was all the way down. The vial was empty.”

“It knocked you out?”

“Right.” Bowery went silent again, aside from the rough wheezing sound as he breathed.

Knight said, “How long were you out?”

Bowery said, “Don’t know. When I woke up I was in a weird space. Best I can make out it was a transport container, but it wasn’t moving. The inside was split in two by a glass wall. My half was empty. I was lying on the floor when I woke up. It was hard. Cold. The light was harsh. There was no shade. Nothing to soften it. I was dizzy. My mouth was dry. I managed to raise my head and look through to the other half. Another man was there. He was strapped to a chair. Kind of like a dentist’s. Or a barber’s. There were thick leather straps. Metal buckles. The guy wasn’t moving. His head was tipped toward me. His eyes were gone. So were his teeth. His arms were hanging down. His nails had been pulled out. I couldn’t see his feet.” Bowery drifted away again.

Knight said, “Was he dead?”

Bowery said, “Not yet. Eventually one of the guys I’d seen at thediner came in. The one who roofied me. He was wearing goggles. Rubber boots. Leather apron. He was naked under it. He had a scalpel in his hand. He checked to make sure I was watching. Then he grabbed the guy by his hair. Straightened his neck. And sliced. Just once. That’s all it took.” Bowery spluttered but didn’t say anything else.

Knight said, “The guy killed him?”

Bowery said, “The blood hit the ceiling. It covered the glass wall. It was jetting out like a fire hose. Pulsing. Then it got weaker. The guy’s heart gave up, I guess. Finally the blood stopped. They left him like that for hours. Eventually one of them took the body away. I don’t know what they did with it. Then they came for me. Dragged me around to the other side of the glass. Made me clean. Scrub up all the blood. If I didn’t work fast enough, they hit me. Or kicked me. When I was done cleaning, they made me strip. Put me in the chair. Fastened up the straps. And offered me a choice. Give you two up or get the same treatment as the last guy.”

“So you gave us up. That was the right thing to do. Either of us would have done the same.”

“I guess. But that’s not all. I’m not stupid. I knew they were going to kill me, anyway. At first I just hoped it would be quick. But then I had an idea. I figured I had something I could trade.”

“What did you offer them?”

“The report. I’m sorry. I was desperate. I told them I could get it for them if they let me live.” Bowery’s breathing grew lighter and shallower.

Knight paused. “I need to know exactly what you told them. Every word. Think carefully.”

Bowery said, “I told them the expected value. Where it came from. Cone Dynamics. And that they would have to move fast because we have an offer on the table.”

“Did you tell them who the offer was from?”

“No. I don’t know who it’s from.”

“Vidic told you there’s an offer?”

“Not exactly told. But I did find out from him.”

“What kind of timescale is on the offer?”

Bowery groaned but didn’t reply.

“Hey, come on. Don’t give up on me now.”

Bowery still didn’t answer.

---