“The mission isover when the Lord declares it so, and I will be the one to tell you when thathappens.”
“You hired meand my men to get you onto the kill site undetected, which we did. And I’lltell you something, it wasn’t fucking easy.”
“You watch yourlanguage. You’re talking to a man of God,” Miller growled.
“This is only asetback, Mr. Kirkland,” I countered. “No problem is too big for the Lord.”
“You wanted usto shoot a dozen unarmed innocents including your own daughter and you want topreach to me about god?”
“First of all,if you’d ever bothered to crack open a Bible, you’d find it full of instanceswhere God called upon righteous men to wage wars, slaughter innocents, or evensacrifice children in order to serve him. In order to do what is right for thegreater good. And secondly, don’t ever call that whore child my daughteragain.”
“What do youthink happened to Lennox and the others?” Mundy asked.
“With any luckthe Gunnach’s security executed them all.”
“You’d betterpray that’s what happened,” Kirkland said. “Because if not, they’ll turn on youto save themselves.”
“I don’t expecta man like you to understand this, Mr. Kirkland, but my people are fiercelyloyal to the Hand of the Cross. Each has pledged an oath before God, to upholdour faith and our mission, even when faced with death.”
“Whatever yousay,Pastor. All I know, is you’re gonna uphold your financialobligation and pay me as soon as we’re state side.”
“I will pay youonce the job has been completed.”
“I hate to soundlike a broken record, but the mission is over. In fact, it was your horseshitplan that went up in flames and it was clearly one of your men who lit thematch. My men and I suited up, put you within two hundred yards of your littleturkey shoot, and were ready for action when you scrubbed the opp. Wewillbe fairly compensated.”
“Don’t worry,Mr. Kirkland, I swear to you, you will get your proper reward. Now, as I wassaying, once we reach New York, I have arranged private transportation to takeus to my property in Connecticut. From there, we will regroup and beginpreparations for plan B.”
“What’s thisplan B shit?” Kirkland moaned.
“Every greatleader has a plan B,” I replied.
“What aboutshitty leaders? Instead of plan B, do y’all call your back plans number twos?”
I scowled. “Mr.Kirkland, if you won’t respect me as a pastor then I’ll appeal to you as youremployer. Sit down and shut your fucking mouth, right now.”
“Or what?” hechallenged.
“Or you won’tget paid, nor will you get a completion bonus.”
“Completionbonus?”
“I’m a just andfair man, Mr. Kirkland. Keep your powder dry and do as I say, and I’ll see toit that you and your men are well taken care of.”
“An extra sixfigures for each of my men, and double for me.”
I nodded. “Done.”
We shook handsand Kirkland sat back down on the edge of his bunk, allowing me to continue.Regardless of my theories about Stuart Cavanaugh, I still wasn’t one hundredpercent he was our traitor. The rat could still be in our midst for all I knew,so I doled out information cautiously and sparingly. At the end of the meeting,I dismissed the men and made my way to the ship’s wheelhouse to visit my oldfriend.
“Permission toenter the captain’s wheelhouse,” I announced.
“Permission mostgranted,” Captain Mahmoud said with a smile. “Come in, come in. I’ll pour you adrink.”
Mahmoud was aself-proclaimed “Procurer of people and things,” which meant he was a smugglerand a pirate. And since he’d never spent a single night in jail, it meant hewas a good one.
“I thought you’dnever ask,” I said. “I was hoping you had some of that rum you served me lasttime I was on board.”
“Of course, Ido. In fact, I always keep a bottle on board, just for you.”
