Robert Ferrigno - The wake-up

"Wow," said Vlad.

The Town Car careered through the grove, flattened a couple of small trees, and stopped in a little clearing, facing away from them. Dust slowly settled around the Town Car. The windows stayed rolled up, gray exhaust curling out the tailpipe. Hathaway had called Thorpe just before he picked up Vlad, given him the location of the grove. Guillermo had picked a good site for a private meeting-no surprises, not from the outside anyway.

"I hope you and Arturo can be friends," said Vlad. "He didn't want Missy to cut you in. He says we don't need the help, and that you're not worth the money."

"What do you think?"

"I don't care about money, but Arturo has a family to think about. He worries about money all the time. Don't ever ask him about the stock market." Vlad adjusted his assault rifle, made himself more comfortable. "We disappeared Arturo's broker last year. All those Internet stocks… I never understood that."

Thorpe watched him, not sure whether to believe him.

Vlad ran a finger over the leather trim of the Land Rover. "Soft. The broker had shoes that were soft like this. They fit me good, but Arturo wouldn't let me keep them. He bought me a pair of really expensive loafers afterward. Arturo says nice clothes are an investment, but I like swap meets." He looked at Thorpe. "You have really nice clothes. I think Arturo is a little jealous of you."

"Where's the accent from, Vlad? The Balkans, that would be my guess."

"You're a good guesser." Vlad hesitated. "I was born in Romania." He shifted in his seat again. "I have a photograph of me as a baby; Ceausescu is holding me up for the camera. He's not smiling, but you can tell he's proud. I'll show it to you sometime."

"You must have been young when he was overthrown."

"I was nine. They had already finished the primary operations on me." Vlad's cheeks colored slightly when he saw Thorpe's surprise, the effect more stark because of the whiteness of his skin. "Romania was a very poor country under Ceausescu, but the leader had a great vision. His scientists did some of the first experiments with recombinant DNA. Glandular extracts, too, and a full range of drugs and hormone injections. Special drugs for special children. There were a lot of tests you had to pass. It was a very great honor."

"So it was like what the East Germans did? To make superathletes for the Olympics?"

"Not exactly. More like… Ceausescu, he wanted to play God."

"Yes, there's a lot of that going on."

"We were called the 'New Ones.' It was a great honor, Frank." Vlad looked away, his voice trailing off. "Our scientists had high hopes, and they were very successful, all things considered, but it would have taken decades to achieve their goal. They didn't have enough time." He smelled like dry leaves. "When the regime was overthrown, the scientists had really only taken the first few steps into the project. First steps… they are always wobbly." A tiny bubble of blood formed at the base of one nostril. "The New Ones who reached adulthood, the few who did… we were wobbly, too." He looked at Thorpe. A drop of blood rolled from his nose, and he absently wiped it away. "You don't mind… you don't mind knowing about me, do you?"

"No, of course not," said Thorpe, stunned.

Vlad smiled at him. "I told Arturo you had good eyes." He nodded toward a car driving from the west. "Here comes Arturo now." You would have thought it was Santa Claus, from the sound of his voice.

Arturo parked his Lexus next to them, got out and looked around. He had a large Band-Aid across the side of his chin. As he walked over, Thorpe saw a machine pistol in a spring-loaded shoulder rig under his open suit jacket. He must have thought a claw hammer wouldn't be much use against Guillermo.

Thorpe and Vlad stepped outside, joined Arturo in watching the Town Car. Thorpe noticed a distinctive sheen to Arturo's dark green suit. Woven Kevlar. The cautious man survives-that was one of Billy's mottoes, and it must have been Arturo's, too. There were only two factories in the country that made such high-quality protective garments- their suits cost nine thousand dollars, but Thorpe imagined Arturo had a closetful. Arturo might worry about money, but some clothes really were an investment. "You cut yourself shaving?" Thorpe asked gently.

Arturo touched his chin. "What business is it of yours?"

"You should be careful, that's all," said Thorpe.

"Guillermo just got here," said Vlad.

Thorpe glanced over at Arturo's car. "Where's Clark?"

"He decided to sit this one out. Are you surprised?" Arturo looked through a pair of small binoculars, methodically scanning the grove, taking his time. "There's nobody hiding in the trees." His pocket buzzed, and he pulled out a PDA, checked the message, and shook his head in disgust. "Missy," he said to Vlad. "She wants to know if we're done yet."

"Missy doesn't like doing business on cell phones," Vlad said to Thorpe. "She says all kinds of people are listening in."

"She just likes telling us what to do," said Arturo. "She thinks she's smarter than anyone else."

"Something's happening," said Thorpe as the driver of the Town Car got out, walked around to the other side, and opened the passenger door. No one there.

"What's he doing?" asked Arturo.

The driver opened the trunk. It was empty, except for the spare tire. The two rear doors remained shut. "He's showing us that there's only him and Guillermo," said Thorpe.

"I can't see from this angle," said Vlad. "The windows are blacked out."

"Guillermo isn't going to show himself until we get down there for our parley," said Thorpe. "He's probably got a couple of pistoleros stuffed alongside him on the backseat for insurance."

Arturo checked his machine pistol. "That won't be a problem." He looked at Thorpe. "Time for you to earn your pay, gringo."

Thorpe nodded. "I'll go down, check things out. When I give you the sign, you start down to the clearing. Take it slow. I don't want Guillermo getting jumpy."

"I know what to do; you just hold up your end," said Arturo.

"As soon as Guillermo realizes that Clark's not with you, it's over, so as you drive down, keep turning around as if you're talking to somebody in the backseat. Then, when you make your final approach, drive past the Town Car so you can jump out and rake the inside through the open doors."

"I told you we don't need any advice," growled Arturo. "Your job is to convince Guillermo that we're here to settle our problems about the cookers. You think you can handle that?"

"We're going over the plan whether you want to or not," said Thorpe. "If you get killed down there, I get killed, too. Guillermo's only going to hold off on me until you arrive, so the timing is crucial. Don't come on too fast, not too slow, and make sure you kill them all. You think you can handle that?"

Arturo slightly tilted the machine pistol. He didn't aim it at Thorpe, not exactly, but his intentions were clear. He smiled. "Maybe I keep you waiting, huh? Maybe I go bird-watching or decide to stop and shoot some rabbits?"

"That's a good plan, Frank," said Vlad. His nose was dripping blood again. "We're all… you know, excited."

Thorpe locked eyes with Arturo. "You should watch out for head shots down there. Although, looking on the bright side, there wouldn't be a mark on that suit-they could bury you in it."

"That's not so funny, Frank," said Vlad.

"Sure it is." Arturo's eyes were black and shiny as beetle wings. "Frank is a joker. That's why Missy likes him so much. She likes a good laugh, and there's Frank, ready, willing, and able to tickle her funny bone."

"Don't fight, you guys," said Vlad. "Please?"

Thorpe got into the Land Rover. "Wait a minute or two after I wave; then come on down. Don't wait too long; otherwise, Guillermo's going to think something's gone wrong."