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.Then, that dueling other corner of his brain started in, the corner every man hates, bringing up all sorts of incarceration unpleasantness—things like shankings, gang rape, riots and, his worst fear, the chance that something could go critically wrong and Gage could wind up in Berga prison for good.He allowed the two barristers in his brain to make their final arguments as Paris awoke.Once his decision had been finalized, Gage headed back to the north, to the anachronistic phone booth he’d come to know.As a few clouds arrived from the southwest, Gage stepped into the phone booth and flirted with the notion of calling Colonel Hunter.It was after midnight at Bragg, but he’d woken the colonel up before.And the colonel was so damned good at stripping away the excess of a mission and getting right down to its core.But Gage was fearful that Hunter would talk him out of it.He’d remind Gage of what a scumbag Cesar was, and would rail on Gage about Cortez Redon’s reputation.He would insist that Gage bring Justina back to the States, and together they could make enough scraps to send back to Poland to help her mother and brother.Scraps…“Screw it,” Gage breathed.He dialed the operator, then gave her the new number Navarro had given him, making a collect call in the name of Gregory Harris.There were a few murmurs before the operator clicked off, followed by a clipped greeting from whomever was speaking into the voice modulator.Gage shifted the phone to his other ear and asked for the boss.There was a delay before Navarro came on the phone, also using the modulator.“I will accept the job if you’re willing to change several key parameters involving my fee,” Gage said.“And those changes are?”“The money you offered is not sufficient,” Gage said.“And, in exchange for you upping my fee, I will go ahead and commit to the full-term, up to two years.”Navarro took it in stride.“How much?”“I want twice the monthly amounts you offered me: two-hundred grand for the first month, and a hundred grand for each additional month.”“That’s a great deal of money.”“Yes, it is.And if you decline, you will need to find another man.”“You’ve already asked for this extra week to make your decision, leaving me in a weakened position.One day could be the difference in the life we speak of, and now I don’t have time to find another person.”“That was never my intention,” Gage said.“If I double these amounts, and my son departs there in good condition, then I must insist the bonus at the end remains the same,” Navarro said.“Agreed.But there’s one other condition.”“And that is?”“I want more advance money.I want the fee for the first year up front.” Gage let that sink in a moment.“And when I go in, I go in.I will not request to be pulled out while your son is alive.I will stay until the job is done and I will do my very best, but that is the only guarantee I can offer.”“You’re speaking of a great deal of upfront money.”“Yes, I am.It’s one-point-three million bucks, meaning one million euro at today’s exchange rate, and it’s not negotiable.”“You’re quite brazen, Mister Harris,” Navarro remarked.“You want me to go into a prison of murderers, señor, and you say I’m brazen?”“If I agree to your conditions, when can you leave?”“I’m away at the moment but can be back in Catalonia tomorrow.Have your man bring the money to the main train station in Barcelona.Euros, in small bills, please.Tell him to be at Barcelona Sants metro track L-three tomorrow at eight in the morning.”“When can you leave?”“I can leave three days from today.”“I have your word?”“You do,” Gage said.“Must I speak of what would transpire if you disappear with my money?”“I have no illusions about that, señor.And my reputation should give you comfort that I’m a man of my word.”“Very well.I will speak to my associate,” Navarro said.“I’m pleased.”“There’s one other thing.”“Yes?”“Your associate, the lawyer…I do not trust him.”“While he’s obviously willing to bend the occasional rule, he and I have worked together for many years.”“Tell him, from me, if he double-crosses me in any way, I will come for him.”Navarro was silent for a moment.“Is there something about him I should know?”“Nothing concrete, no.Call it a hunch.”“I will tell him.”“Tomorrow, señor, Barcelona Sants, L-three, eight in the morning.”“My associate that drove you will be there.”“Does he know about this?”“Not fully, no.But he’s my closest ally and can be trusted.”“Fine, señor.Good day to you.”Gage’s next call was to Colonel Hunter’s regular mobile phone.As Gage predicted, since it was the middle of the night there, Hunter didn’t answer and Gage left a two-minute message detailing the high-points of the job.“I’m going to send you a copy of the affidavits in their original form.” Gage forced a chuckle and said, “And I don’t want to hear any don’t-bend-over-for-the-soap jokes either, sir.Hartline, out.”Checking his watch again, Gage exited the phone booth, walking back to the Tuileries Garden.Despite his casual clothes, he promptly did eighty-two military push-ups, breaking the horizontal plane on each one with his upper arms.He jogged through the park, wedging his feet under the legs of a mounted bench as he did more than one hundred sit-ups in the damp grass, touching his elbow to the alternate knee on each one.Then he ran, pushing himself, doing more than the standard quick-time jog.When he was far to the south, he spotted a ticket window awning on a stadium called Charléty.The awning was stout and, after testing his weight, Gage did ten wide-arm pull-ups, touching the back of his neck to the bar and pausing during each repetition.He did four sets of ten.His muscles sufficiently warmed up, Gage ran for forty more minutes, slowing his pace to a fast jog, timing his run to end near their hotel around ten in the morning.When he went to the hotel room, he didn’t tell Justina the news, only that they needed to head back to Spain.Two hours later they departed Gare d’Austerlitz with matching train tickets to Barcelona.And Gage had no idea how, or when, he would break the news to Justina.But it had to be done.Soon [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]