From Manhattan With Revenge Boxed Set Read Free

it was strapped to one
of his calves.
    They
walked down the right sidewalk.   A
few other nighttime joggers zipped past them and as they did, Carmen could hear
from their ear pods a range of music styles in their wake.   Jazz.   Hip-hop.   Even opera.  
    When it
appeared that no one was around them, she took Alex by the hand, stepped over
one of the low iron fences and hopped over onto a grassy knoll.   Below them, in a protective enclave of
bushes, they could get this over with.
    “Where
to?” he said.
    “Just
over there.   In the curve of those
bushes.”
    “You
know this place?”
    “I’ve
used it before.”   The irony that she
herself might die here was not lost on her.   As they approached the bushes, she could
feel her heart ramp up and start to pound in her ears.   Adrenaline shot through her.   She wondered if she was making a
mistake.   He might kill her.   It was possible.   Or maybe he did have feelings for her
and would stick to her plan.   She
didn’t know.   She gave his hand a
final squeeze and then let go of it.
    “I’m not
going to kill you, Carmen.”
    “I’m not
going to let you,” she said.   “But
if I fail, at least make it quick.   I’ll return the favor.”   She
looked up at him, but with the moon shining behind him, she had difficulty
seeing his face.   “I’m going to reach
into my handbag and remove the bottle.”
    “I don’t
think you understand,” he said.   “I
meant it when I said I trust you.”
    She
wanted to believe it, but her instinct told her to follow protocol.   She knew he was watching her and judging
her moves.   She knew he was every
bit as nervous and as dangerous as she was.   They were the same person, only
different gender.
    She
pulled out the bottle and handed it to him.  
    “I’m
going to lie down there,” she said, pointing to the ground.   “Just spatter my forehead with the
sauce, put some in my hair and then dump the rest of it around me on the
grass.   Don’t spread it too
thinly.   We want to lay it on thick
so there will be enough of it to shine in the flash when you take your
photo.   Where’s your camera?”
    He
reached into his pocket and instinctively, her arm fell at her side.   She was wearing a short jacket.   If he pulled a gun on her, she could
bust out his knee, pull out her own gun as he fell and finish him off quickly,
just as she promised.
    But he
pulled out his camera.
    “You
look worried,” he said.
    “The
next few minutes are going to tell me everything I need to know about you and
where we go from here if you make the right choice.”
    “Lay on
the ground.”
    She
eased back so her eyes never left him and scooted into position, doing so in
such a way that her hand was behind her and within inches of her gun.  
    Now,
with the moon fully at his back, it was even more difficult to see him.   All she could make out was a hulking
shape of a man wearing a thick top coat.   She could see the bottle in his right hand, the camera in his left.   She also could hear the unevenness of
his own breath.
    “Take
the sauce, pour a bit on your fingertips and spatter my face with it.”
    She
watched him put the camera back in his pocket and then prepare his hands with
the liquid.   He knelt down close to
her and asked her if she was ready.   She said she was, but she wasn’t.   She couldn’t let the sauce get in her eyes.   It would blind her if it did.   She had no choice but to close her eyes
for an instant, which unnerved her.  
    “Go,”
she said.
    She
closed her eyes and felt the sauce pepper her face.   She opened her eyes and told him to pour
a bit on the left side of her forehead, which he did.
    “Mash it
around,” she said.   “Get it in my
hair.”
    He
followed through, gently massaging it in such a way that it looked as if she’d
taken a bullet just above her hairline.
    “Now
pour the rest just to the left of my head.”
    He got
down closer to her and as he did, he dipped down to