“Multispectral scanner,” he corrected.
“Right. And if he had one, the chances were pretty good that he’d already sniffed out our fake.”
“Exactly.”
“How the hell did you remember all that stuff about the power supply?”
“I have an eidetic memory for things I read,” Wallace replied.
“You have a photographic memory?”
“Eidetic memory comes in different flavors. I don’t have perfect recall of events, for instance, but if I read something, it’s more or less locked into my brain for good.” He tapped his temple as he said it.
“That would explain your multiple degrees, rapid rise inourbusiness, and the reason you think you’re always right.”
“Again, I think what you’re trying to say is ‘you’re welcome.’” He leaned in and ran his finger over my lips. “Try forming the words with your mouth.”
I leaned away from his touch. “I’ll thank you when I have a reason to. For all I know, you could’ve made things worse for us.”
“We’re breathing right now and all our limbs are intact. I’m not sure that would have been the case had I not stepped in,” he said.
“Okay, maybe, but what about this Mr. B and the man from Brussels?”
Wallace nodded. “One guy, not two. Krist Darwood, a.k.a. the Man from Brussels, a.k.a. Mr. B, a.k.a. Mr. Big, a.k.a. the largest international fence over the past twenty-eight years. His business makes Sasha’s look like a lemonade stand.”
“And why would you tell Sasha we work for him?”I asked.
“Because that’s what I want him to believe,” he replied.
I stopped our little stroll and turned to face Wallace. “Look, full transparency here. I’ve been fighting the urge to either punch your face or strangle you with my bare hands for much of the brief time we’ve spent together. These urges have now shifted to those of a morestabbynature, so if you could please give your puppet show a rest and tell me exactly how you’ve fucked us so I can figure out how tounscrew us.”
“Oh, who thinks they know everything now? I thought that was supposed to be my department.”
“What do you want from me?” I hissed.
“I want you to trust me. To speak to me with a little respect. And most of all, I’d like you to treat me a little more like your partner and a little less like a fuckin’ stone in your Manolo Blahniks.”
“You read a book on shoes too?” I sassed back, trying to hide the fact that I was impressed that he’d correctly ID’d my footwear.
“It’s not enough I know things, now I have to tell you how it is I do?”
I put my hands on his very firm biceps. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t think either of us was expecting a partner on this mission, but it looks like we are, nonetheless. Thank you for keeping us out of the woodchipper but can you please explain to me how bringing another notorious gangster into our already full stable is good news for our little duo?”
Wallace smiled. “Because Mr. B isourmobster.”
Cameron
“WHAT DOES ‘OUR’ mean?” Tess asked.
“As in, he’s a company asset,” I replied. “We got him three years ago. Caught red-handed brokering a precious gems deal between a Saudi prince and one of our undercover officers. We gave Krist the choice between spending the rest of his days sleeping on a bare concrete floor in a black site prison or he could be our little rat and enjoy a teeny-tiny piece of cheese now and again. He’s been cooperating ever since. As far as the criminal underworld is concerned, Mr. B is open for business, and business is good, but behind the scenes we’re working him like a puppet, using him to gain intel on dozens of heavy-duty players in the black-market trades.”
Tess raised an eyebrow. “And you think he canhelp us somehow?”
“Having Mr. B as a partner was the only carrot big enough that I could think of to dangle in front of Sasha’s face that might keep him from killing us. If we can pull this off, not only do we get to keep breathing, but we may gain further trust with Sasha. The only thing these guys truly care about is amassing wealth. Well, that and showing it off.”
Tess let out a quiet sigh. “So how do we contact this Mr. B?”
“That’s a fair question.”
