Anna and the silent one left.
Palo said, “I am hungry, Hitman. Would you eat with me?”
We were exiting the office, just the two of us. It was almost noon. I was starving. Palo was hard to resist. The thought of eating across from her in a five-star restaurant in the heart of the Red Square was far too enticing for me to turn down. Though every warning inside me was screaming against it.
“I could eat.”
Palo led the way outside to her awaiting car. A white Rolls-Royce Phantom, 2012 model with tinted windows. Driver included. We sat in the back. It was easily the most luxuriously thing I had ever seen. Soft leather, white to match everything else in the car. And car was not nearly the right word, because it was more than a car, my El Camino SS is a car, this thing was an experience. From the plush carpet, to the fancy European leather, the white Phantom was a ride like no other. It made Sally’s H3 feel like a tractor.
I was in awe.
Then I looked to my right and saw Palo cross her legs. I found myself staring and quickly looked away, but I knew I was caught. I assumed Palo was used to it.
Palo said, “I am leaving for Russia next week. Meanwhile, I would like to see more of your culture. Take me to where American’s like to eat.”
So much for a fancy lunch in the Red Square.
We walked into Wendy’s ten minutes later. I held the door open for her. She looked thrilled. The same look I had sitting in the white Phantom.
“This is so nice,” she said. Her smile was broad. Her eyes twinkled. She looked everywhere, like a little kid in a candy store. “This is American experience.”
I ordered us some Pretzel Bacon Cheeseburgers and fries, with a chocolate Frosty for each of us. Her lithe figure suggested that this was not by any means a usual meal. Not for her. I was another story. I dug right in like a man on a mission. I watched Palo eat, grinning. It must have been the first time her delicate fingers touched food. She was a knife and fork kind-of-girl. I knew it before she began looking for the utensils I didn’t get.
We sat in a booth, opposite of where the white Phantom was parked. I didn’t like the idea of her driver sitting there watching us. Though I assumed he was somewhere looking on. Palo gave me the impression that there was always someone.
I sat across from Palo. Our feet touched once under the table. It was accidental. I felt weird. Guilty. Palo was stunning. I liked her. Her voice. Her smile. Her perfect posture. I was enjoying myself too much maybe. I thought of Pamela and forced myself to act professional. This wasn’t a date. She was my boss.
“Your English is impressive,” I said, breaking the ice.
“I also speak German. English and German are similar.”
I nodded like I agreed. I knew nothing of the German language. I watched her eat a few fries. She was doing it to be polite, I thought. There was salad on the menu, but that wasn’t a genuine American experience. I gave her the real deal.
“How did you get mixed up in this mess?” I said, after making sure my teeth were clean enough to speak to her. “You seem to be of a higher caliber than your father.”
Palo chewed on a tiny bite of a French fry for a second longer then said, “I hear from Anna of what my father is doing. She has taken risks to let me know. Everything is big secret. Anna was going to have plan of his removal. But it all changed because The Bear made plans for me. He tell me to leave other business in Moscow and come to America. I come to run business for him.”
“What sort of business?” I took two more bites of the burger. I loved it. If alone, I would have eaten two.
“I will handle all of his businesses bookkeeping and such. Same as Anna.” She kept eating. She had a pile of used napkins on the red tray.
“Anna is intense.” I took another bite. Two more would do it. “Ivana is too quiet.”
Palo stopped eating. She leaned back with a sour look. She took a moment then said, “Andrik did something to Ivana. She no longer talks.” She looked remorseful. Guilty almost. “I believe that I am being trained to replace Anna.”
“Is Anna going back to Moscow?”
“Anna made mistake last month. Costly. The Bear and Andrik were angry. Then I get phone call to come.” She leaned in closer. “Mistakes are not acceptable.”
It all made sense to me then. The worry. The anxiousness. The sword. The hiring of a hitman.
“You thought that Anna’s name was on the list.”
Palo leaned back and looked outside to the busy street twenty yards away. She was worried. Sad. She whispered to herself, “Anna made mistake.”
Ponytail made a mistake. I replaced him, for good. Anna made a mistake. Palo is to replace her.
They had good reason to worry.
So did I.
Wendy’s was packed with the noon lunch crowd. The line through the drive-through wrapped around the building almost to the road. The line inside was full of all sorts of folks, from construction men to business women. Lots of chatter. Lots of work related discussions. Probably some managers and foremen thinking of what to do when they get back at the grind. Problems to solve. Workers to discipline. Mistakes get made in every line of work.
Anna’s was going to cost her her life.
“But you are good at what you do, Hitman. So everything will be okay.” Palo said, forcing a smile, dire, pleading eyes.
I said nothing.
Two guys in their early twenties sat at the table beside us. Laughing and eating. A guy they worked with had screwed up and accidentally pressed the green button instead of the blue one and something had gone wrong. He was fired.
I press the green button I could get set on fire.
I looked at Palo. “I will handle it. You’ll be safe.”
She believed it because she had wanted to.
“You don’t have eyes like a killer.” Palo said, smiling slightly. “How did you turn into a hitman?”
“It just sort of happened. One day someone I loved was taken away and I vowed to never let that happen to anyone else. It’s a promise I intend to keep.”
Her blue eyes twinkled. “When I was young girl, I read about angels. I think you are like guardian angel.”
Angel.
Little B’s dream.
I smiled. She smiled. The two guys next to me laughed again, drenching ketchup over their fries.
“Call me whatever you like, Palo.” Was I flirting? I stiffened. “Palo is a very interesting name.”
Palo’s smile broke then. She looked away.
“What is it?”
Palo looked to another place and time. “In Moscow a frightened mother was pregnant with two babies. A boy and a girl. The Bear tell doctor that only son can live. He tell doctor to kill the other before birth. Doctor make mistake. I am the other.”
I was stunned. I had no response. I sat there with my eyes wide and an ache growing in my heart. I wanted to leap across the plastic table and hold her in my arms. I said nothing.
“Palo is name of a homeless dog in Moscow. No one loves it. Men chase it with sticks.” Palo looked at me for a second, then away again. “The doctor tried to explain his mistake, but he died. My mother was killed as well.” Palo paused for a moment. “Every day I wonder why he didn’t kill me too.”
“I’m sorry, Palo.” I lost my appetite. It was the sort of conversation you don’t have on a first date. “You’re not a mistake.”
“No. The mistake was his when he let me live.” She said with conviction, “I come here to make certain that all of this ends.”
“I won’t let you down. I promise.”
Her hands slid across the table and collected mine. “In Moscow, others tried, but all failed. Everyone died, Hitman.” Her hands squeezed mine, then let go. She folded her arms against her chest. She was thinking about something unpleasant then.
“They weren’t angels though,” I said firmly. “I am.”
She was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. “Every person dies. But it is how
you die that will matter. My father and Andrik will take their time, with much pleasure, torturing until death comes. I pray every day for God to take them. Why let such monsters live?”
I asked myself that question a hundred times over.
Dirty Rotters.
“You, Anna, and Ivana will be safe, Palo. Trust me.”
“Anna said to me that she had a dream of a savior. I think it was you.” Palo smiled. “Guardian angels are real, Hitman. I have faith that you are mine.”
No pressure. None at all.
Jesus walked on water.
I had ketchup between my fingers.
“Ready to get out of here?”
Palo nodded. “Yes, and thank you.”
The crowd slimmed, metaphorically speaking of course. Lunch was finished. I walked Palo outside. The sky was blue and cloudless. Plenty of sunshine. Warm with no wind. Perfect spring day.
“Enough of an American experience for you?” I mused. “Taco Bell next time?”
A finely plucked eyebrow raised questionably to me, as if to suggest the experience was not worth repeating. I guessed that she would have some fancy dinner later on to make up for lunch. Something she was more accustom to eating. Knife and fork. Red wine, perhaps. Maybe white. Candles, perhaps. Maybe a Hitman.
We walked around to the white Phantom. Palo was slightly ahead of me, walking with perfect posture and her head held high, chin up. Her driver was already standing beside the backdoor, one hand on the door handle ready to open it. He was a tall Russian with a thick build and clean shaven. Dressed like a typical limo driver. Even wore white driving gloves and black sunglasses.
He opened the door as we approached. Palo got in, I followed. The driver shut the door behind us. I noticed that Palo did not slide all the way over. We were inches from touching. For a split second it was awkward. Then she looked at me, just a casual look that lasted a breath, then she turned forward. I felt my heartbeat quicken.
“You look different than what I had expected. On the telephone you sound more like a madman.” Palo said. “I admit that I was afraid to meet you. But I am glad that I have.”
I reacted to the problem I knew I was going to have. “Can I give you another number where you can reach me at? My phone was recently stolen.”
Palo seemed to understand. She retrieved a narrow pink purse up from the floor at her feet and produced an ink pen and short piece of paper. I gave her my cell number. I told her to not use the previous number again. I told her that type of crime happens daily in America. She said she understood. But she didn’t. Because the real hitman would have the other number and if he were to call her now…
“Thank you,” Palo said.
“Call anytime.”
We didn’t speak again. The ride back was quiet.
I had a lot going on upstairs and used the fifteen minutes of silence to sort through the mess. Palo had hired a man to kill her father and shut down his kidnaping operation. Anna was as good as dead if the plan failed. We all were, really. It all depended on me and what I could do. I had to be smart. I had to make the right decisions. Which had always been a problem.
The Phantom came to a stop outside the recycling building and my door opened. The driver held it opened. Palo made no move. She wasn’t getting out. I looked at her for a second, nodded, she said nothing, and I got out. I didn’t look at the driver. I turned towards the back of the car and began walking. The El Camino was parked less than ten feet away. I heard the driver shut the Phantom’s door, then his own. When I reached the door to my own car, I turned and the white Phantom was gone. Driven away in silence.
I reached for the door handle with Palo on my mind, when I heard a car slow and stop behind me. I turned to see a black Rolls-Royce in my comfort zone. The tinted back window slowly dropped. Andrik’s giant head was there. His eyes were hard and cold. I forced myself to keep his gaze. It was like staring into the eyes of a dog that wanted to bite you.
“What have you been doing?” he grunted. A giant hand tossed some square crackers into his mouth. “Get in.”
My stomach sank. I caught my breath and watched his window slide back up. I stuck my right hand inside my coat pocket and felt my gun. I kept my hand on it and walked around the car to the back door. I took a deep breath, tried to calm myself, and fought off the urge to shoot him right then and be done with him.
I opened the door and got in.
Chapter 12