Jeff Abbott - The Last Minute

‘What is it? Is it Ming?’

‘No. Someone else has shown up here.’

‘Who the hell is that?’

‘The CIA.’

She sucked in breath. ‘Has he tracked him here?’

‘Either that or he’s meeting him, which means Anna’s source is dead-on right.’ Anna had someone inside Special Projects. Was it this Ray Brewster? I wasn’t sure if that theory made sense.

I had thought I could grab and deal with Ming before the meeting, before August or anyone else showed up. Now I was literally out of time. Where was Ming? He had to be close, probably watching August to ensure that he showed, and perhaps that he showed alone. Conditions for the meeting would have been set.

‘Stay here. Don’t let him see you. Let me handle this,’ I said. ‘If this goes wrong and we get separated or I’m captured, go to a bar called The Last Minute. It’s right by Bryant Park in Manhattan. Ask for Bertrand, tell him you’re a friend of mine. He’ll protect you.’

She nodded. ‘You know this man,’ she said, pointing down toward August.

‘Yes.’

Leonie clutched my arm. ‘You are not negotiating with this man, Sam. You have to kill Jack Ming. End of story. You must.’

‘I-’

‘Will your friend there walk away without a fight?’

‘His name is August. No. I know him too well. No.’

‘Then are you going to kill August? Who matters more, your friend or your kid?’

No, never, I thought. How far would you go to save your son? Leonie’s words ricocheted around my brain.

‘Quit being so bloodthirsty. It’s not your friend and your finger on the trigger. It’s not your conscience.’

She flinched. ‘I’m not bloodthirsty. I just want my child back. Don’t you?’ Then, before I could answer, she made her voice a knife. ‘Maybe not. It’s not like you’ve seen him. It’s not like you could really love him.’

I yanked my arm from her hand.

The shock on my face must have been reflected on her own. ‘Oh, my God, Sam, I am so sorry – I don’t know why I said that… Please… ’

‘Listen to me,’ I said. ‘Right now, call my cell phone. I’ll listen on the earbud. I’m going to keep August downstairs and talk to him. But I want to know if Ming comes into sight. I want to know immediately if you see him.’

She nodded.

‘Don’t hang up and don’t panic.’

Ming building, Brooklyn

I hurried down the stairs to the second floor. Were the doors unlocked? I waited at the top of the stairs that led down to the ground floor.

August opened the door. He came through with gun drawn, arm extended, classic stance to sweep the room. He froze when he saw me. I kept my hands raised, empty of a weapon.

‘Hi.’ I didn’t know what else to say.

My best friend stared up at me in shock. For one moment he wavered. Five long seconds ticked by. But he kept his gun leveled at me. ‘You look like you’ve been beaten to hell, man.’

‘Yes,’ I nodded.

‘What are you doing here, Sam?’

‘I have a favor to ask you. Biggest one ever.’

‘Come down here.’

I stayed put. ‘This is what I need you to do. Turn around and leave. You hear from Jack Ming again, you ignore it. Let him go.’

‘Jack Ming. Is that my new friend’s name? Why would you want me to give him the cold shoulder?’

‘Shut the hell up and just go.’

‘No. Why are you here, Sam?’ Now August’s voice rose.

I started to walk down the steps. My gun was holstered in the small of my back. My hands were in the air.

I knew there was a spy inside Special Projects. Another traitor who’d likely been bought. Maybe this Ray Brewster. And if I told August the truth the traitor could learn it, no matter how careful August was. It could be his team-mate, his boss. And they would never give me back Daniel if I exposed their man.

So I lied: ‘This is a trap. Novem Soles wants to capture you. Pick your brain.’

‘What are you doing here?’ And I heard what I didn’t want to hear in his voice. Suspicion. ‘How did you even know I’m here?’

He thinks I’m one of them now.

‘Oh, my God, Jack Ming is here,’ I heard Leonie’s voice in my earbud. ‘He just ran to the door from the building across the alleyway, he’s coming in now… ’

No time. No time to react.

The door slammed open and caught August with its edge. He staggered back. I saw Jack Ming power up a gun, aimed at August’s head.

‘Drop your gun,’ the young man screamed.

And August did and the young man looked up at me. I’d pulled my weapon and he still had his gun leveled at August.

‘Drop it!’ he screamed. ‘Drop it now!’

Shoot him, I thought. Just shoot him and this is over. But the gun, his gun, so close to August’s head. I couldn’t. I dropped the gun.

‘ You,’ he said and I wasn’t sure if he was speaking to me or to August. But he aimed his glare at me.

I was the surprise. Not August.

‘The Chinese hacker from Amsterdam.’ August paled. ‘You were shot.’

‘You were dead,’ I said. ‘We thought.’ He didn’t need to know I was hunting him. I wanted him to think I was just as surprised as August at his identity. Notice my clever use of we.

If he was surrendering to the CIA then let him think I was part of the CIA. Even if it bought me ten seconds of confusion.

I would have to kill him in front of August. That was that. Then run, like a coward, in the slim hope that Novem Soles would give me my child back.

August said, ‘The past is the past and I’m guessing since you’re coming to me that all is forgiven.’ I remembered the CIA team roughed up Jack a bit.

Jack gave a little shrug.

‘We had a deal. I’m ready to carry forward that deal. Lower your weapon. Let’s talk about Novem Soles,’ August said.

The young man’s gaze slid to me. I remained very still. If I moved for my gun he could blow August’s brains onto the wall.

But then he swung the gun toward me. ‘Not yet. Why is he here? He’s one of them.’

‘No. I’m not.’ This had all gone south. I couldn’t draw on him and risk August’s life. But for Daniel to live he had to die.

‘I saw you in Amsterdam,’ he said to me. ‘You were working with Nic.’

‘No. I was working with him.’ I nodded toward August. August, thank God, kept his mouth shut at this lie.

‘No. The CIA was hunting you. You’d run from them. They talked about you in front of me when they thought I didn’t understand.’ Jack Ming’s mouth narrowed. ‘What the hell is this? Why is he here, August?’

After a long, long moment, August said: ‘Answer the man, Sam.’

I said nothing.

August said, ‘Listen to me. Sam used to be CIA, he has fought against Novem Soles, and he’s okay. I can assure you of that.’ He stared up at me.

Jack’s hand with the gun was shaking, ever so slightly. The hacker had claws and didn’t know what to do. A weird back corner of me wanted to say your mother is dead, I’m sorry. I’m sorry it’s come to this kind of awful. I’m sorry I have to kill you.

I couldn’t use August to help me.

‘I said only you to come,’ Jack said to August.

‘I didn’t invite him,’ August said.

Oh, no.

I played my hand. ‘Listen to me. There are two dead women upstairs. They were here waiting for you, Jack. Novem Soles is hunting you. I became… aware of this fact.’

‘And aware that this was where we were meeting? How could you know?’

‘Because I figured out who you were. Really were. Not a Chinese student from Hong Kong. Jack Ming, New Yorker and runaway hacker.’ I needed three seconds to shoot him. I needed him not to be aiming at August’s head. ‘I know because I was smart enough to find you.’