Page 4 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

He raised his hand and pressed the doorbell and dropped both hands to his sides.

Lucas heard the bell ringing inside her apartment.

Then he heard a squeaky hinge somewhere behind him on the opposite side of the hallway. Probably a nosy nelly checking on Otto’s late-night visitor. An older woman with nothing better to do than watch out for her neighbors, perhaps.

Lucas turned to his left, facing the doorway behind him, intending to reassure the old woman.

He never made it.

The first bullet hit him above his left cheekbone.

His body slumped against Otto’s door with a solid thump before he slid down to the carpet, landing on his right side.

The second bullet entered his left temple and exited onto the thick carpet.

Lucas never felt anything again.

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Chapter 2

Thursday, June 2

Detroit, MI

FBI Special Agent Kim Otto had finished her shower and flipped on the television in her bedroom to catch the news, increasing the volume while she dried her hair.

The story was mostly a rehash of what they’d been reporting for days. Deputy Secretary of State Derrick Braxton’s controversial trip abroad to the island country of Quan.

North Korea considered Quan a rogue nation belonging rightfully to The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The United States and the rest of the western world disagreed.

When they first reported Braxton’s trip, reporters were mistakenly focusing on Quan Lan, a vacation island paradise owned by Vietnam located in the South China Sea. Fairly quickly, they corrected the error.

Quan, the country, was located in the Sea of Japan. Which made more geographic sense, at least. North Korea had claimed ownership of Quan more than seven decades ago.

But Quan wanted nothing to do with the North Korean regime and steadfastly maintained its independence.

Tensions between Quan and North Korea were high and always had been.

Braxton’s current trip to Quan seemed to be pouring fuel on the fire, drawing sharp criticism as well as shining a dangerous spotlight on the tiny country.

Like everyone else, Kim had wondered why Braxton made the trip and what he hoped to accomplish because the cover story simply made zero sense. Kim had operated in Washington, DC long enough to know that there was more going on here than the world was being told.

Not that she’d figure it out tonight.

Kim pressed the off button on the remote and dressed for bed. At home, she wore the same brand of red silk pajamas as when she was on the road. She belted the matching red silk robe and slid her feet into flat red silk mules.

She glanced in the mirror as she passed. “Sometimes you do look like Suzy Wong,” she murmured, amused.

After dinner at the club and socializing all evening, she was too wired to sleep.

Kim padded into the kitchen to pour a glass of wine, planning to read for a while before sleep. As she recorked the bottle of Brunello, she heard a solid thump against her front door.

“What the hell?” she murmured, cocking her head to listen for any further disturbance.

Her apartment building was quiet as a tomb. She’d been living here for years and had never met a single one of her neighbors.

Exactly the way she liked it.

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