Page 25 of In Too Deep

“Two other houses. Some Russians own those as well.”

“You’re not suggesting—”

“I am. We take all three.”

“It’s not justified. We don’t know if anything’s there. Whoever bought them might not be using them yet. So we’ll spend time, maybe for nothing. And we’ve done no surveillance. Which means it’s dangerous. There could be booby traps. Guards, even.”

Fletcher nodded again. “Fair points. We might waste time. We might face opposition. But there’s a way to mitigate those risks. When Bowery disappeared I called in reinforcements. I was worried someone was moving in on us. That’s moot now. So we use the extra manpower to help with the additional properties. And to help find the stranger.”

Vidic threw up his hands in an exaggerated shrug. “Wait a minute. Reinforcements? You should have told us. Who are they? How do we know if we can trust them? When will they get here?”

Fletcher said, “Sometimes decisions have to be made on the fly. It’s calledleadership.I brought in four guys. All vouched for by Kane. He’s worked with them before. And they’re already here. They arrived this evening.”

“Arrived where?”

“That weird motel by the highway. They can stay there till they’re needed.”

“This is a mistake. You should have—”

“Enough. It’s done. Accept it. OK?”

Vidic shrugged.

“Good. Next. We need a new schedule. How long to get this place packed up?”

Kane scratched his armpit. “Couple of hours, max.”

Fletcher nodded. “Then we’ll sleep now. Pack up in the morning when we have more light. Everything except for the industrial metals. They’re too dangerous to transport. Too hard to sell. We’ll hit the first Russian place at noon, followed by the other two. Then we’ll split.”

Paris said, “What time do you want us back?”

“Back? No. We’re not leaving. We’ll sleep here.”

“All of us?” She couldn’t help shooting a scowl at Kane.

“All of us.”

“OK. And we clear our house when? After we’re done here?”

“No. We don’t go back to our house. None of us. Assume it’s blown.”

“But I need to get something.”

“What?”

Paris was silent for a moment. “My books.”

“You can buy new books.”

“I want my old books. They have sentimental value.”

“The answer is no. It’s too dangerous. Any other questions?”

Vidic cleared his throat. “This is a delicate one. Speaking of the house. Gibson’s body is there. Aren’t we going to retrieve it? Give him a proper funeral, or something?”

“We’re not going to retrieve his body. Too much risk, too little reward. Assume the house is under surveillance, twenty-four/seven, from now on. But we are going to give him a funeral. A Viking funeral. The moment we’re finished with the Russians I’ll light the house up like a pyre. We’ll say goodbye to Gibson. Destroy everything that could come back and bite us. And create a diversion while we split. A perfect triple play.”

“How can you light the house on fire if you can’t go near it?”

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