Merely regurgitating what I’m told.”
“If you say so.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“It’s the only way I stay alive.”
* * *
Barely a half mile away Shaw was sitting on his bed lifting a nice set of prints off the special coating on the photo of the
fake kids he’d handed “Janie.” Using a handheld computing device he scanned them in, emailed them to Frank, and then called
him.
“Sounds like a hottie,” said Frank after Shaw finished filling him in.
“I don’t like ‘hotties’ showing up when I have a job to do, especially if they’re staying at the villa next door to my target.
And she made inquiries about Waller’s place earlier too.”
“But from what you said, she’s a bit of a ditz.”
“We don’t know that for sure. Could be an act.”
“I told you our prelim gave off no warning bells. You going paranoid on me?”
“No, Frank, I’ve been paranoid for a long time.”
CHAPTER
21
“ D O YOU believe in God?” Waller asked Alan Rice.
They had just gotten off Waller’s plane after a long flight. Now the two men were riding in the back of a rental Escalade
on the way to a meeting. Rice had his gaze on the laptop screen where numbers flew across. If he was surprised by his employer’s
question he didn’t show it. “I haven’t thought about it since I was a child, really.”
Waller looked interested. “And if you thought about it now?”
“I would come down on the side that says one should hedge his bets, though I must admit I haven’t exactly been doing that
very well.”
Waller looked disappointed. “Really?”
“But with the caveat that one should still count on individual efforts in getting what one wants in life rather than praying
to something one can’t see.”
Waller looked pleased by this answer.
“I take it you are not a practitioner of a faith, Evan?”
“On the contrary, I pray every morning and night and go to church every week. I believe in God with all my heart, as did my
mother and her mother before her. The French love the good life, but are very pious about their faith, you know.”
“But I don’t understand—”
Waller waved him off. “I don’t condemn others for not believing or, as you say, ‘hedging your bets.’ They must deal with God
at some point.” He stared at Alan. “ You must deal with God at some point.”
Rice was quick to glance back at the computer screen before an unfortunate choice of words or telling facial expression escaped
from him. Then you must deal with God too. And I don’t believe praying twice a day and going to church will save you from hell. Those words would have cost him his life. “So tonight?” he prompted.
Waller nodded slowly and rolled down the window a bit to let in some air. “Another religious vexation, actually. The men we
are meeting believe that whoever they kill in life will serve them in death. They also believe that virgins await them in
paradise. I’m surprised more men have not converted to Islam based on that concept alone.”
“They might have except for the fact of wives’ putting their feet down on their husbands’ necks.”
“Alan, you are in rare form tonight.”
Rice said in a serious tone, “This is quite a different sideline for you. Dealing with Islamic terrorists?”
“Are you not tired of the Asian whores? How many units does it take to fill the crotches of Western male civilization?”
“Apparently more than we can obtain. But the money is colossal and steady. It’s the cash flow engine for all our other endeavors.”
“A man needs fresh challenges.”
“But highly enriched uranium? To make a nuclear device? It could as easily go off in Montreal as New York. I would not put
great faith in their aim.”
“The world needs to be shaken up a bit, don’t you think? Too staid. Too predictable. Those on top have been there a long time.
Perhaps too long.”
“I didn’t know you had an interest in
“If you say so.”
“Don’t push yourself too hard.”
“It’s the only way I stay alive.”
* * *
Barely a half mile away Shaw was sitting on his bed lifting a nice set of prints off the special coating on the photo of the
fake kids he’d handed “Janie.” Using a handheld computing device he scanned them in, emailed them to Frank, and then called
him.
“Sounds like a hottie,” said Frank after Shaw finished filling him in.
“I don’t like ‘hotties’ showing up when I have a job to do, especially if they’re staying at the villa next door to my target.
And she made inquiries about Waller’s place earlier too.”
“But from what you said, she’s a bit of a ditz.”
“We don’t know that for sure. Could be an act.”
“I told you our prelim gave off no warning bells. You going paranoid on me?”
“No, Frank, I’ve been paranoid for a long time.”
CHAPTER
21
“ D O YOU believe in God?” Waller asked Alan Rice.
They had just gotten off Waller’s plane after a long flight. Now the two men were riding in the back of a rental Escalade
on the way to a meeting. Rice had his gaze on the laptop screen where numbers flew across. If he was surprised by his employer’s
question he didn’t show it. “I haven’t thought about it since I was a child, really.”
Waller looked interested. “And if you thought about it now?”
“I would come down on the side that says one should hedge his bets, though I must admit I haven’t exactly been doing that
very well.”
Waller looked disappointed. “Really?”
“But with the caveat that one should still count on individual efforts in getting what one wants in life rather than praying
to something one can’t see.”
Waller looked pleased by this answer.
“I take it you are not a practitioner of a faith, Evan?”
“On the contrary, I pray every morning and night and go to church every week. I believe in God with all my heart, as did my
mother and her mother before her. The French love the good life, but are very pious about their faith, you know.”
“But I don’t understand—”
Waller waved him off. “I don’t condemn others for not believing or, as you say, ‘hedging your bets.’ They must deal with God
at some point.” He stared at Alan. “ You must deal with God at some point.”
Rice was quick to glance back at the computer screen before an unfortunate choice of words or telling facial expression escaped
from him. Then you must deal with God too. And I don’t believe praying twice a day and going to church will save you from hell. Those words would have cost him his life. “So tonight?” he prompted.
Waller nodded slowly and rolled down the window a bit to let in some air. “Another religious vexation, actually. The men we
are meeting believe that whoever they kill in life will serve them in death. They also believe that virgins await them in
paradise. I’m surprised more men have not converted to Islam based on that concept alone.”
“They might have except for the fact of wives’ putting their feet down on their husbands’ necks.”
“Alan, you are in rare form tonight.”
Rice said in a serious tone, “This is quite a different sideline for you. Dealing with Islamic terrorists?”
“Are you not tired of the Asian whores? How many units does it take to fill the crotches of Western male civilization?”
“Apparently more than we can obtain. But the money is colossal and steady. It’s the cash flow engine for all our other endeavors.”
“A man needs fresh challenges.”
“But highly enriched uranium? To make a nuclear device? It could as easily go off in Montreal as New York. I would not put
great faith in their aim.”
“The world needs to be shaken up a bit, don’t you think? Too staid. Too predictable. Those on top have been there a long time.
Perhaps too long.”
“I didn’t know you had an interest in
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