they came from. This time, though, he had offered something quite different. He wasn’t operating as his business manager, but rather he wanted to be partners.
The eccentric and notoriously security-conscious Vietnamese would only discuss the deal face-to-face. He had family inParis and would use the opportunity to see them as cover for their meeting. It was only a train ride for Aubertin and so he had agreed.
Because of its colonial past, Paris was home to the oldest Vietnamese community in the Western world. There were said to be, at any given time, more than 100,000 people of Vietnamese descent within the city limits. Unlike the Chinese or North Africans, they weren’tcongregated in one particular neighborhood. Instead, they were spread out, many of them having even married into traditional French families.
Trang had access to a Buddhist temple in the 17th arrondissement and had suggested they meet there. It was safe and no one would bother them. Aubertin, though, didn’t like it—for the same reason he would never take a meeting in a French mosque.
The securityservices in France were granted a lot of latitude when it came to bugging and surveilling houses of worship. Perhaps they weren’t interested in anyone at Trang’s temple, but he wasn’t willing to roll the dice. He told him to find another location.
Trang came back to him with a restaurant owned by one of his cousins. It was a much better idea. Unlike Buddhist temples, fair-skinned, blue-eyed Westernerswalked into Asian restaurants all the time in Paris.
They had met in a private room in the back. Trang had been in high spirits. In fact, Aubertin didn’t know that he had ever seen him like that. After ordering food and drinks, Trang had gotten down to business.
He had just been assigned the largest contract killing in history—one hundred million dollars. The target was an American intelligenceoperative. He had no idea who the client was. It had been arranged by a middleman, someone Trang had worked with before.
Allegedly, the client was so eager for the contract to be filled, the middleman had instructed Trang to put it out to a select pool of assassins, simultaneously. Whoever killed the intel operative first would receive the money. Trang, though, had his own idea.
He would makeit look like he had followed all of the instructions, but in reality he and Aubertin would take the money for themselves and split it fifty-fifty.
“You should never steal from the people you work for.”
“It’s not stealing if the job gets done,” Trang had said. And then, he had laid out his plan.
It was a bold collection of double crosses. Not only would the client’swishes be ignored, but theassassin who bagged Scot Harvath would end up getting a bullet in the head.
Aubertin would be a fool not to wonder whether Trang had a final double cross prepared for him. If he chose to follow this path, he would have to tread very carefully. With a potential fifty-million-dollar payday, how could he not?
In order to insulate himself, Trang wanted Aubertin to run everything—the selecting andtasking of the assassins, all of it.
Then, when the successful assassin came to collect his pay, Aubertin would debrief him, kill him, and use the information to collect the bounty for himself—splitting it later with Trang.
“It’s all upside,” the Vietnamese had said. “You’re not labor on this one, you’re management.”
The offer was incredible—one he knew he would never see the likes of again.
“I get to do it my way, with the people I want?” said Aubertin. “No strings attached?”
“No strings attached,” Trang had replied.
For the next twenty minutes they talked. Finally, with all of their issues resolved, they clinked glasses, and sealed their deal.
CHAPTER 12
O SLO , N ORWAY
T he Thief Hotel was one of the coolest, most opulent hotels in the world. It took its name from its location—Tjuvholmen, or Thief Islet. Once known as a haven for
The eccentric and notoriously security-conscious Vietnamese would only discuss the deal face-to-face. He had family inParis and would use the opportunity to see them as cover for their meeting. It was only a train ride for Aubertin and so he had agreed.
Because of its colonial past, Paris was home to the oldest Vietnamese community in the Western world. There were said to be, at any given time, more than 100,000 people of Vietnamese descent within the city limits. Unlike the Chinese or North Africans, they weren’tcongregated in one particular neighborhood. Instead, they were spread out, many of them having even married into traditional French families.
Trang had access to a Buddhist temple in the 17th arrondissement and had suggested they meet there. It was safe and no one would bother them. Aubertin, though, didn’t like it—for the same reason he would never take a meeting in a French mosque.
The securityservices in France were granted a lot of latitude when it came to bugging and surveilling houses of worship. Perhaps they weren’t interested in anyone at Trang’s temple, but he wasn’t willing to roll the dice. He told him to find another location.
Trang came back to him with a restaurant owned by one of his cousins. It was a much better idea. Unlike Buddhist temples, fair-skinned, blue-eyed Westernerswalked into Asian restaurants all the time in Paris.
They had met in a private room in the back. Trang had been in high spirits. In fact, Aubertin didn’t know that he had ever seen him like that. After ordering food and drinks, Trang had gotten down to business.
He had just been assigned the largest contract killing in history—one hundred million dollars. The target was an American intelligenceoperative. He had no idea who the client was. It had been arranged by a middleman, someone Trang had worked with before.
Allegedly, the client was so eager for the contract to be filled, the middleman had instructed Trang to put it out to a select pool of assassins, simultaneously. Whoever killed the intel operative first would receive the money. Trang, though, had his own idea.
He would makeit look like he had followed all of the instructions, but in reality he and Aubertin would take the money for themselves and split it fifty-fifty.
“You should never steal from the people you work for.”
“It’s not stealing if the job gets done,” Trang had said. And then, he had laid out his plan.
It was a bold collection of double crosses. Not only would the client’swishes be ignored, but theassassin who bagged Scot Harvath would end up getting a bullet in the head.
Aubertin would be a fool not to wonder whether Trang had a final double cross prepared for him. If he chose to follow this path, he would have to tread very carefully. With a potential fifty-million-dollar payday, how could he not?
In order to insulate himself, Trang wanted Aubertin to run everything—the selecting andtasking of the assassins, all of it.
Then, when the successful assassin came to collect his pay, Aubertin would debrief him, kill him, and use the information to collect the bounty for himself—splitting it later with Trang.
“It’s all upside,” the Vietnamese had said. “You’re not labor on this one, you’re management.”
The offer was incredible—one he knew he would never see the likes of again.
“I get to do it my way, with the people I want?” said Aubertin. “No strings attached?”
“No strings attached,” Trang had replied.
For the next twenty minutes they talked. Finally, with all of their issues resolved, they clinked glasses, and sealed their deal.
CHAPTER 12
O SLO , N ORWAY
T he Thief Hotel was one of the coolest, most opulent hotels in the world. It took its name from its location—Tjuvholmen, or Thief Islet. Once known as a haven for
Similar Books
