Page 106 of Near Miss

Ed did so. “Everybody check the nearest window, but carefully,” he ordered.

Somewhat reluctantly, the others stood.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, then walked out the rear door.

“I’m not moving until he doesn’t get shot,” Carly said.

“I’m right behind you,” Dino said.

Ed Rawls burst through the back door, causing everybody to duck again.

“All clear,” he said, “and good news, they took the bodies with them, so there’s no cleaning up, except the glass. Plus, I remembered to pull the hood down on the steaks, so they should be glass-free.”

Chapter 54

Eight men gathered around the dining table in a Rockland hotel suite, a few miles from Islesboro—Dmitri Asimov’s inner circle.

Asimov rose from his place at the head of the table and rapped on the mahogany for attention. “I have news,” he said, “of a sort.”

“What does that mean?” someone asked.

“The second team returned two men short, and mission incomplete.”

“They were our best men.”

“No,” said Asimov, “the two in our first team were our best men.”

“How did this happen?”

“We sent the first two to take out Peter,” he said, “but the marksman, Rawls, stopped them.”

“So, we take out Rawls and go again with Greco.”

“The second team was sent to take out Rawls,” Asimov said. “It turns out that Rawls had more firepower at his disposal than we were prepared for. Our problem is that this is more of a military problem than a simple assassination. We need someone with a military background.”

“The Sarge,” someone said.

“Yes!”

“I’ll get in touch and get him up here.”

The phone rang, and the Sarge, who had actually been a captain before he was kicked out of the Marine Corps for trying and failing to murder his commanding officer, picked up the phone. “This is the sergeant.”

“You know who this is?” a velvety voice said.

“I believe I do.”

“I need you, and some more men, too.”

“How many men and where?”

“There’s a jet waiting for you at Teterboro Airport.”

“How many does it seat?”

“Eight, but I don’t think you’ll need that many.”

“How many targets?”

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