“Yes, of course. I’ll get started immediately.” She scurried off, giving another fearful backward glance before disappearing into the kitchen.
Dilaver noisily drank from his bottle. “Well?” He cocked his head at Hawk.
“It’s a lot of weapons,” Hawk said. “I’m still tabulating the cost and profit in my head.”
Dilaver laughed. “I like the way you think. No wonder your boss was unwilling to let me have you as a guide. He knew I’d try to get you away.”
Hawk shrugged. “I’m here on business for him, too. I haven’t agreed to work for you yet.”
“But you see how much money you can make if you take over here.”
Hawk had discovered the reason for the gang war. The mercenaries they had attacked were very close to finding one of Dilaver’s hidden caches of weapons. “The potential’s there,” Hawk said, “but too many people seem to be after your weapons.”
Dilaver frowned. “I don’t know how they found out the location. They were very close,” he said, bringing his thumb and forefinger within an inch of each other, “too damn close.”
“Could there be a leak in your organization?” Hawk asked casually.
Dilaver’s frown deepened. “I have been very careful. I don’t think so, but you never know. The weapons are very valuable on the black market.” He leaned forward. “That’s why I need you, Hawk. You can negotiate for me. Also, with your ties to Stefan, you have access to people like Maximillian Shoggi. If I could get Mad Max’s attention, I’d be swimming in dough.”
Maximillian Shoggi was one of the top international illegal weapons dealers. His influence in the shadowy world of politics and weapons-running was so great that he was constantly invited to elite parties given by powerful people.
“Mad Max? He has tons of the weapons you got, Dilaver.”
Hawk had been briefed on him by his agency and GEM. Mad Max had been responsible for killing a group of covert agents during an ill-fated mission. Since then GEM had been on a two-year operation, slowly applying a chokehold on the weapons dealer’s holdings, until he was now desperate to get his hands on any big item to replenish his coffers. GEM had plans for his future, and had informed the admiral and Hawk that under no circumstances would Dilaver be allowed to deal with Mad Max. That would give him an opportunity out of his hole.
“But I have something else besides the ones you just saw.” Dilaver leaned forward confidentially. “I don’t have enough information yet, but my aunt just informed me that it’s going to be something really big in the market. It’s in one of those hidden shipments that came down while I was gone.”
“Is that why you’re waiting so eagerly for her arrival?” Hawk asked, leaning back against his chair. “She can identify this weapon, right?”
Dilaver nodded. “Yes. So you just wait. It won’t be too long now.”
But Hawk already knew what the weapon was, and that he must get to it before Dilaver and his aunt got hold of it. “I never say no to new weapons,” he said. “I’ll stick around as long as I can. Meanwhile, though, it would help if you take me more on these side trips so I can see what the countryside looks like. As a guide, it’d help me to identify routes, and if I’m to work with you, that would be a big help in the future.”
“Absolutely,” Dilaver said. He finished his beer with gusto. “I’ll draw some maps for you so you can study them. The shipments were dropped in specific locations close to aid relief areas, so that’s why they are so scattered. Clever, huh? The U.S. government hasn’t even realized they have been used.”
Hawk drank down his beer. Once he had the maps, he would be able to find the targeted dropped shipments. Then he was going to need Amber Hutchens.
The thought of traveling and hiking through the countryside with the woman was both intriguing and worrying. When he had tested her the other night, she had kept up with him, but that was for three hours. What about a week? He had never done anything strenuous with a woman before, so he had no idea…he smiled despite himself…okay, notthatkind of strenuous activity.
“And what are you smiling about?”
“I was thinking about the owner of The Last Resort,” Hawk answered truthfully. “Since I might be staying longer, I thought I would get to know her better.”
“Ah, Amber. I knew you would like her. She is, how do you say it…” Dilaver paused, gesturing with his mug, then reverted to English. “Your cup of tea. Right up your trail.”
“Right up your alley,” Hawk corrected.
Dilaver frowned. “Trail, alley, path, same thing,” he said.
“Nuances,” Hawk explained, “are very important in idioms. You know how I mess up Serbian slang and you guys laugh.”
“True, but our idioms make sense. How can a woman being right up your trail mean anything sexy? Bah. Stupid. But back to Amber and her”—Dilaver waggled his eyebrows—“delicious assets. I bet you want to have a taste, huh? Are you going to ask her out?”
Hawk shrugged. He didn’t want to discuss Amber with Dilaver, although he did need to show an interest in her so it would look natural if he went out with her. “If I’m staying longer, yes, it’d be nice to get a bit closer. But you said she has a boyfriend.”
“Yes, she’s a pretty woman! Of course she has one. And a powerful man, too. That’s why you should get her between the sheets. It would please me no end to see that son of a bitch CIVPOL chief losing his girlfriend to one of my friends.” Dilaver laughed. “That would be funny. I’ll laugh my arse off. And don’t correct me about ‘ass’ and ‘arse.’ At least I’m not using the stupid phrase ‘you cracked me up.’”
It still felt strange to know that the Macedonian and he spent time teaching each other idioms in their respective languages. But then, as Jed had warned Hawk before he had taken on the mission, everything was going to be upside down when he became “friends” with the enemy. To get close, he had to establish an easy camaraderie. He hated that piece of crap sitting across the table from him but had to hide it.
