Jeff Abbott: Panic

The room had once been a conference space, where people sat with open binders, fought off meeting fatigue, watched droning presentations about sales projections or revenue figures, and probably all wished they were out fishing or hunting in the Everglades instead of deciphering a pie chart. They would have drunk coffee or ice water or sodas cold from a bowl filled with ice. Muffin tray in the middle.

Now the table and the drinks were gone, and Jargo stood, holding a red-stained knife and a pair of pliers. He stared at Evan with a cold, fierce hatred, then stepped aside so Evan could see.

Carrie. She lay on the floor, her top torn off her shoulders. The bandage on her shoulder was ripped free, the shoulder and her leg both bloodied. Pain fogged her eyes. Her right arm was thrown over her head, handcuffed to a steel hoop in the floor, installed where carpet had been pulled away.

Then Evan saw his father. Mitchell sprawled on the floor, his face bruised and bleeding, the fingers on his right hand broken into twisted shapes, handcuffed to a metal bar that ran the length of the room.

Mitchell’s face crumpled when he saw his son.

Jargo rushed forward and slammed his fist into Evan’s face. ‘Goddamn you!’ he yelled.

Evan hit the floor. He heard Dezz giggle, heard him step aside, make room for his father.

Jargo kicked Evan hard, in the spine. ‘I kicked a man to death once.’ Jargo kicked Evan in the neck. ‘I kicked Gabriel until he was nothing but paste and shreds.’

‘Don’t smash in his face yet,’ Dezz said. ‘I want him to see me do Carrie. Especially when I stick it in her, and she loves it so much that she’s screaming. That’ll be cool.’

Evan said, past the blood in his mouth, past the agony in his neck, ‘I came here to make a deal with you.’

Jargo kicked him again, in the stomach. ‘A deal. I don’t give a rat’s ass about any deal. Give me the files, Evan. Now.’

‘Okay,’ Evan whimpered. ‘Please stop kicking me so I can… tell you.’

‘Get him up,’ Jargo said, tucking the knife back into his pocket. Dezz yanked Evan to his feet.

‘Steve, don’t, he’s my son, for God’s sake, don’t,’ Mitchell said. ‘I’ll do whatever you want, just let him go, please.’

Jargo glared back at his brother. ‘You goddamned traitor. You shitheel. Don’t you beg to me.’

‘What I’m offering,’ Evan said with a calm assurance that surprised him, ‘is a deal that lets you stay alive.’ He looked past Jargo’s shoulder at Carrie; her eyes opened.

‘Well, this I can’t wait to hear,’ Jargo said, a trace of cold amusement in his voice.

‘We could have brought the police. We didn’t,’ Evan said. ‘We want to settle this. Just between the four of us.’

‘Give me the files. Right. Now.’ Jargo raised his gun. ‘Or I take you outside and I shoot out both knees and I start kicking the flesh off your bones.’

‘Don’t you want to even hear my offer?’ Evan asked. ‘I think you do.’

F or a moment Jargo’s face wavered behind the gun-sight.

‘Because if you kill me, there is no deal. No files for you,’ Evan said. ‘No more Deeps. I didn’t come to kill you. I came to deal.’

‘Then why’d your father come in alone?’

‘His idea. Not mine. He’s overprotective. I’m sure you’re the same way with Dezz, Uncle Steve.’

Jargo smiled.

‘Or should I just call you Uncle Nikolai?’

The smile faded.

‘You’re running out of time,’ Evan said. ‘You want the files on Khan’s laptop, I can give them to you.’ Evan stepped around the gun. He knelt by his father. ‘I told you this wouldn’t work, Dad. We’re doing it my way.’

Mitchell nodded. Stunned.

‘You broke his fingers,’ Evan said to Jargo.

‘Dezz did. He gets carried away. Mitchell didn’t tell us you were outside, though, if that’s what you’re wondering.’

‘I don’t doubt him,’ Evan said. ‘I’m sure I can trust him completely, the same way you can trust Dezz.’

‘What the fuck is that supposed to mean?’ Dezz said.

Evan’s gaze met Carrie’s. His back was to Dezz and Jargo and he mouthed, It’s okay.

She closed her eyes.

‘I can give you the files now,’ Evan said.

Jargo put the gun back to his head.

Evan leaned down to the decoy laptop’s keyboard. The laptop was powered on, a prompt screen awaiting the password.

Evan leaned down, typed the password, and stepped back.

‘There you go,’ Evan said.

The laptop digested the password, the prompt screen disappeared, a video application started automatically, a film file loaded into the application and ran.

‘What the hell is this?’ Jargo said.

‘Watch,’ Evan said.

The film opened with the Audubon Zoo on last Monday morning, the sky gray with the promise of rain. The camera zooming in close on Evan’s face, then Jargo’s. Jargo in full profile, talking rapidly, his cool starting to break.

Then Evan’s voice began to speak on the film. ‘That angry man in the picture is Steven Jargo. You’ve been doing business with him for a long time. You’ve hired him to kill people you don’t like, steal secrets you don’t have, commit operations that your government or your bosses don’t approve of. You may not have seen his face before – he hides behind other people – but here he is. Take a good look.’

On the screen, Jargo’s face turned toward Shadey’s hidden camera. Angry, almost frightened. Vulnerable.

‘Mr. Jargo’s operations have been compromised. He lost a list that had the name of every client who used his freelance spy network. Officials in every major intelligence agency. Government ministers. High-ranking executives. If you have received this e-mailed message, your name is on this list.’

Jargo made a noise in his throat.

Then the scene fell apart into gunfire, Evan punching Jargo, Evan and Carrie fleeing into the depths of the zoo, Jargo pulling himself up from the ground, he and Dezz giving chase.

‘Why am I alerting you to this problem?’ Evan’s voice resumed. ‘Because we value your business. Your loyalty to Mr. Jargo’s network. But every organization needs to grow to meet new challenges. Our time for change is now. I understand this may make you uneasy about conducting additional business with us.’

Dezz said, ‘You fuck.’

‘Please, have no fear,’ Evan’s voice said. ‘There is no need for you to order your intelligence services to kill Mr. Jargo. We are his associates, we have taken command of his network, and the situation is now under control. You will be contacted in the near future by a new representative of our company regarding your future business with us. Thank you for your attention.’

The screen faded as the crowd in the zoo continued to run past Shadey’s station. Then the film started again. Evan let it play. Let it work under their skin.

Jargo stood frozen. A man whose world had vanished. Dezz grabbed Evan’s throat.

‘Back down,’ Evan said. ‘I’m not done laying out the deal for you.’

‘Let him go. Let him talk,’ Jargo said in a cracked voice.

‘Your clients,’ Evan said in an even tone, ‘are powerful people who don’t want their dirty laundry aired. Maybe they’ll work with me and Dad, maybe not. They have reason to stick with the Deeps. We can hurt them, they can hurt us, but if we all hold our noses, they get what they want and we’ll make a lot of money.’

‘ We’ll? ’ Jargo said.

‘Yes,’ Evan said. ‘Dad and I are taking over the Deeps.’

T he only sound in the room was the looping video and the whisper of Evan’s recorded voice. Mitchell and Carrie stared at Evan, Dezz looked ready to murder, Jargo’s mouth worked as though struggling to form words.