The Hitman: Dirty Rotters (15 page)

I looked down and away from her. I had
no idea what to say. I said nothing.

Palo crossed her legs. “If you want
out tell me now.”

Palo was drop dead gorgeous. She had
pouty lips and curves where they should be. I doubt she ever had a
man tell her no. I wasn’t going to be the first. “I can help you,
just tell me when.”

“
When they make the switch
for the girls and the money.”

Anna added, “You will only get once
chance. And this time, Palo will not be able to save
you.”

She gave me a hard look. I nodded. I
caught on.

“
Where?” I said.

“
Every year it changes,”
Anna said.

“
Stay close to Andrik. He
will arrange a meeting place.” Palo added.

“
Understood,” I could
almost hear the sigh of relief.

Palo slid me an envelope full of
money. “You collect the rest when job is finished.”

“
Rest?”

“
Money from Russian dog
Vladimir is yours as promised. Do not worry. You can trust me,
Hitman. You are my only hope.”

“
Tell me about this
Vladimir guy.”

Palo said, “He is partner to Andrik,
working for The Bear. Very dangerous man.”

Anna added, “Vladimir is an ex-KGB
soldier. He takes the women and cars from America and finds buyers
in Moscow.”

“
Very bad man,” Palo
finished.

“
Sounds like he needs to be
taught a lesson in how to treat women.” I looked at each of them.
Anna’s hands motioned.

“
At least with Vladimir you
do not have to worry about weapons. He hates them. No guns.
Nothing. He likes to kill with his hands. He’s very comfortable
fighting like prisoner.”

“
Good to know.”

“
And he will have men with
him. Maybe five to ten of his best soldiers.”

“
Anything else?” I said it
sarcastically, but it went over their heads.

“
That is all, Hitman.” Palo
sighed.

I gave them each a comforting nod.
They had the eyes of desperation.

“
You kill The Bear and
Vladimir, Mr. Hitman.” Anna said, teary-eyed. “And make sure Andrik
suffers.”

They also had eyes of misery. I saw it
in each of them. Anna held it so intensely that I looked away, over
to Palo.

“
Is simple for man like
you.” Palo stated confidently.

Simple.

Kill some bad guys, save some good
women.

Simple.

But by the sound of it, it was going
to be beyond simple.

Each of them stared at me as if I was
their only prayer. As if that I should fail, they knew how terrible
things would become. But I wouldn’t fail them.

I flexed my wings. They were
white.

Palo managed a faint smile. “Is fine,
Hitman?”

“
Fine, Palo.” I
lied.

“
Good.” Her smile died
away. “Kill my father, then we are fine too.”

Chapter 11

Anna and the silent one
left.

Palo said, “I am hungry, Hitman. Would
you eat with me?”

We were exiting the office, just the
two of us. It was almost noon. I was starving. Palo was hard to
resist. The thought of eating across from her in a five-star
restaurant in the heart of the Red Square was far too enticing for
me to turn down. Though every warning inside me was screaming
against it.

“
I could eat.”

Palo led the way outside to her
awaiting car. A white Rolls-Royce Phantom, 2012 model with tinted
windows. Driver included. We sat in the back. It was easily the
most luxuriously thing I had ever seen. Soft leather, white to
match everything else in the car. And car was not nearly the right
word, because it was more than a car, my El Camino SS is a car,
this thing was an experience. From the plush carpet, to the fancy
European leather, the white Phantom was a ride like no other. It
made Sally’s H3 feel like a tractor.

I was in awe.

Then I looked to my right and saw Palo
cross her legs. I found myself staring and quickly looked away, but
I knew I was caught. I assumed Palo was used to it.

Palo said, “I am leaving for Russia
next week. Meanwhile, I would like to see more of your culture.
Take me to where American’s like to eat.”

So much for a fancy lunch in the Red
Square.

We walked into Wendy’s ten minutes
later. I held the door open for her. She looked thrilled. The same
look I had sitting in the white Phantom.

“
This is so nice,” she
said. Her smile was broad. Her eyes twinkled. She looked
everywhere, like a little kid in a candy store. “This is American
experience.”

I ordered us some Pretzel Bacon
Cheeseburgers and fries, with a chocolate Frosty for each of us.
Her lithe figure suggested that this was not by any means a usual
meal. Not for her. I was another story. I dug right in like a man
on a mission. I watched Palo eat, grinning. It must have been the
first time her delicate fingers touched food. She was a knife and
fork kind-of-girl. I knew it before she began looking for the
utensils I didn’t get.

We sat in a booth, opposite
of where the white Phantom was parked. I didn’t like the idea of
her driver sitting there watching us. Though I assumed he was
somewhere looking on. Palo gave me the impression that there was
always
someone
.

I sat across from Palo. Our feet
touched once under the table. It was accidental. I felt weird.
Guilty. Palo was stunning. I liked her. Her voice. Her smile. Her
perfect posture. I was enjoying myself too much maybe. I thought of
Pamela and forced myself to act professional. This wasn’t a date.
She was my boss.

“
Your English is
impressive,” I said, breaking the ice.

“
I also speak German.
English and German are similar.”

I nodded like I agreed. I knew nothing
of the German language. I watched her eat a few fries. She was
doing it to be polite, I thought. There was salad on the menu, but
that wasn’t a genuine American experience. I gave her the real
deal.

“
How did you get mixed up
in this mess?” I said, after making sure my teeth were clean enough
to speak to her. “You seem to be of a higher caliber than your
father.”

Palo chewed on a tiny bite of a French
fry for a second longer then said, “I hear from Anna of what my
father is doing. She has taken risks to let me know. Everything is
big secret. Anna was going to have plan of his removal. But it all
changed because The Bear made plans for me. He tell me to leave
other business in Moscow and come to America. I come to run
business for him.”

“
What sort of business?” I
took two more bites of the burger. I loved it. If alone, I would
have eaten two.

“
I will handle all of his
businesses bookkeeping and such. Same as Anna.” She kept eating.
She had a pile of used napkins on the red tray.

“
Anna is intense.” I took
another bite. Two more would do it. “Ivana is too
quiet.”

Palo stopped eating. She leaned back
with a sour look. She took a moment then said, “Andrik did
something to Ivana. She no longer talks.” She looked remorseful.
Guilty almost. “I believe that I am being trained to replace
Anna.”

“
Is Anna going back to
Moscow?”

“
Anna made mistake last
month. Costly. The Bear and Andrik were angry. Then I get phone
call to come.” She leaned in closer. “Mistakes are not
acceptable.”

It all made sense to me then. The
worry. The anxiousness. The sword. The hiring of a
hitman.

“
You thought that Anna’s
name was on the list.”

Palo leaned back and looked outside to
the busy street twenty yards away. She was worried. Sad. She
whispered to herself, “Anna made mistake.”

Ponytail made a mistake. I replaced
him, for good. Anna made a mistake. Palo is to replace
her.

They had good reason to
worry.

So did I.

Wendy’s was packed with the noon lunch
crowd. The line through the drive-through wrapped around the
building almost to the road. The line inside was full of all sorts
of folks, from construction men to business women. Lots of chatter.
Lots of work related discussions. Probably some managers and
foremen thinking of what to do when they get back at the grind.
Problems to solve. Workers to discipline. Mistakes get made in
every line of work.

Anna’s was going to cost her her
life.

“
But you are good at what
you do, Hitman. So everything will be okay.” Palo said, forcing a
smile, dire, pleading eyes.

I said nothing.

Two guys in their early twenties sat
at the table beside us. Laughing and eating. A guy they worked with
had screwed up and accidentally pressed the green button instead of
the blue one and something had gone wrong. He was fired.

I press the green button I could get
set on fire.

I looked at Palo. “I will handle it.
You’ll be safe.”

She believed it because she had wanted
to.

“
You don’t have eyes like a
killer.” Palo said, smiling slightly. “How did you turn into a
hitman?”

“
It just sort of happened.
One day someone I loved was taken away and I vowed to never let
that happen to anyone else. It’s a promise I intend to
keep.”

Her blue eyes twinkled. “When I was
young girl, I read about angels. I think you are like guardian
angel.”

Angel
.

Little B’s dream.

I smiled. She smiled. The two guys
next to me laughed again, drenching ketchup over their
fries.

“
Call me whatever you like,
Palo.” Was I flirting? I stiffened. “Palo is a very interesting
name.”

Palo’s smile broke then. She looked
away.

“
What is it?”

Palo looked to another place and time.
“In Moscow a frightened mother was pregnant with two babies. A boy
and a girl. The Bear tell doctor that only son can live. He tell
doctor to kill the other before birth. Doctor make mistake. I am
the other.”

I was stunned. I had no response. I
sat there with my eyes wide and an ache growing in my heart. I
wanted to leap across the plastic table and hold her in my arms. I
said nothing.

“
Palo is name of a homeless
dog in Moscow. No one loves it. Men chase it with sticks.” Palo
looked at me for a second, then away again. “The doctor tried to
explain his mistake, but he died. My mother was killed as well.”
Palo paused for a moment. “Every day I wonder why he didn’t kill me
too.”

“
I’m sorry, Palo.” I lost
my appetite. It was the sort of conversation you don’t have on a
first date. “You’re not a mistake.”

“
No. The mistake was his
when he let me live.” She said with conviction, “I come here to
make certain that all of this ends.”

“
I won’t let you down. I
promise.”

Her hands slid across the table and
collected mine. “In Moscow, others tried, but all failed. Everyone
died, Hitman.” Her hands squeezed mine, then let go. She folded her
arms against her chest. She was thinking about something unpleasant
then.

“
They weren’t angels
though,” I said firmly. “I am.”

She was quiet for a moment. When she
spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. “Every person dies. But it is
how you die that will matter. My father and Andrik will take their
time, with much pleasure, torturing until death comes. I pray every
day for God to take them. Why let such monsters live?”

I asked myself that question a hundred
times over.

Dirty Rotters.

“
You, Anna, and Ivana will
be safe, Palo. Trust me.”

“
Anna said to me that she
had a dream of a savior. I think it was you.” Palo smiled.
“Guardian angels are real, Hitman. I have faith that you are
mine.”

No pressure. None at all.

Jesus walked on water.

I had ketchup between my
fingers.

“
Ready to get out of
here?”

Palo nodded. “Yes, and thank
you.”

The crowd slimmed, metaphorically
speaking of course. Lunch was finished. I walked Palo outside. The
sky was blue and cloudless. Plenty of sunshine. Warm with no wind.
Perfect spring day.

“
Enough of an American
experience for you?” I mused. “Taco Bell next time?”

A finely plucked eyebrow raised
questionably to me, as if to suggest the experience was not worth
repeating. I guessed that she would have some fancy dinner later on
to make up for lunch. Something she was more accustom to eating.
Knife and fork. Red wine, perhaps. Maybe white. Candles, perhaps.
Maybe a Hitman.

We walked around to the white Phantom.
Palo was slightly ahead of me, walking with perfect posture and her
head held high, chin up. Her driver was already standing beside the
backdoor, one hand on the door handle ready to open it. He was a
tall Russian with a thick build and clean shaven. Dressed like a
typical limo driver. Even wore white driving gloves and black
sunglasses.