I wondered if I’d ever know him well enough to find out.
10
LUCA
I’d dragged my feet on this for a few days. I wasn’t too busy to get it done. I just didn’t want to.
Carvel rode in the back seat with me. “What’s this about?”
“The Oath is trying to break the pact. I’m gonna stop it before it happens.”
“Who’s their target?” he asked.
“An innocent woman.”
“You sure she’s innocent?” he asked, smoking a cigar with the window rolled halfway down. “They aren’t your average Joe hit men. You hire them when you want someone to be killed not once—but a million times.”
I never asked her for the details because I didn’t need them. In my limited interactions with her, I could tell she was an innocent accomplice to someone else’s crime. One look in her eyes showed the hardness that had been built against adversity and trauma. I could tell she wasn’t a beggar, and the only reason she begged for sanctuary like a refugee was because she’d reachedher breaking point. She had no one to call. Nowhere to turn. No chance in hell she was in this position because she put herself there. “She’s innocent.”
He looked at me, and instead of blowing smoke out the window, he chose to let it drift across my face. “Is she innocent, or is her pussy innocent?—”
“Want me to break your nose again?”
He chuckled and looked out the window. “Never stick out your neck for a woman…rule number one.”
“It’s our job, Carvel.”
“Our job is to maintain the Republic. Not start shit with the Oath for a single woman. Don’t bullshit me and act like this is purely altruistic. If this were anyone else, you would look the other way—and you know you would.”
My arm rested on the door, and I looked out the window. “Get out if you want.”
He shook his head slightly and took a drag of his cigar.
I watched the buildings and the lampposts pass as we approached the rear of the Louvre, deserted on a cold night. The pyramid was lit up in its glory and surrounded by the buildings that had once housed Emperor Napoleon himself.
The SUV came to a stop, and we both hopped out.
Carvel stomped on his cigar in the road before he stepped onto the sidewalk. “How do you want to play this?”
“Just back me up if I need it.”
We crossed the open space and approached the pyramid protected from approach by a small fence. The people who were there were enjoying a smoke on one of the park benches. A few homeless people were searching the garbage cans. It was three in the morning, late even for Parisians.
Vein was there, standing with his hands in the pockets of his heavy coat, a cigar between his lips. He had large round glasses on the bridge of his nose, looking more like a guy who worked in finance than a professional killer. “You’ve never asked me to do your dirty work before, Luca.” The smoke came from his nostrils as the cigar continued to remain wedged between his lips. His eyes shifted to Carvel. “Another French Emperor…” His eyes came back to me. “Must be a big target. President Martin, perhaps?” He pulled the cigar from his lips, and the smoke continued to drift as he spoke. “He’s a cunt, so good fucking riddance.”
I didn’t do small talk, so I skipped it. “You’re going to drop the hit on Aliénor.”
He paused after I made my demand, like it took him a full second to accept what I said. He knew her by name alone, based on the way his expression sharpened in understanding. “You know that’s not how it works?—”
“Kill her, and you violate the Fifth Republic. And then I’ll fucking kill all of you.”
The cigar was held at his side, burning out in the cold. His eyes looked bigger in the glasses, like two microscope lenses. He must wear glasses when he was behind the scope. “I’ve been doing this a long time, Luca. We honor every hit, even if the person who ordered it is dead. It’s our reputation?—”
“You heard what I said, Vein.”
“The deal was made before the Fifth Republic was even instated?—”
“And if you fulfill the oath now, you’ll be in violation of it,” I said. “I understand your reputation is vital to your business, but you’re going to make an exception. If that’s a problem, I can take care of the man who ordered the hit for you.”
