The Darkest Day

THIRTY-THREE

Victor turned and took a step back to create distance, but did not raise his hands to strike or defend for the same reason he had decided against attacking the woman in the grey dress he had thought to be Raven. The rooftop was too exposed. If it was not, Raven could have killed him. He hadn’t seen her. His focus had been on the woman in the heels. Raven had a cigarette in between her right fore and index fingers.

Raven said, ‘Why don’t you quit staring at her and ask for her number? You look like a creep.’

She had red hair and wore tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a well-tailored business suit, black with a pinstripe. A smart black bag hung from one shoulder. Her manicured hands were free of weapons, but unencumbered save for the cigarette, which was no encumbrance at all.

‘So, about that light?’ she asked.

Victor said, ‘You can’t smoke here.’

She sighed, as if a genuine sadness had come over her. ‘Next you’ll be telling me that I shouldn’t be smoking at all.’

‘It’s bad for your health.’

She held his gaze. His eyes were so dark they were almost black. Hers were even darker.

She said, ‘It’ll kill me?’

He stared back, right into his own reflection. ‘No, smoking isn’t going to kill you. That’s one thing you can be certain of.’

She put the cigarette away into a silver case. It snapped shut and she dropped it into her bag.

‘I take it you want to make sure my demise is sooner, rather than later.’

Victor nodded. ‘How did you guess?’

She looked away and out over Central Park. ‘Do you even know why?’

‘I’m not irrational, if that’s what you’re asking.’

She looked back at him. ‘Because I took a few shots at you?’

‘You did more than that.’

‘So you’re after revenge?’

He said, ‘Revenge is never part of my actions,’ thinking about the single time it had been.

She regarded him as if she could see both the truth and the lie at the same time. ‘Then why?’

‘Self-preservation,’ he answered. ‘That’s the only reason I kill anyone I’m not paid to.’

Her eyebrows moved closer together. ‘So no one paid you to come after me?’

‘I’m paying myself. Pro bono.’

She smirked at that. ‘I like you.’

‘The feeling isn’t mutual.’

‘Give it time. You’ll end up quite besotted.’

‘Nothing is going to stop me from killing you.’

‘Then why don’t you kill me now? I’m standing right here next to you. I’m unarmed. Vulnerable. Just a weak little woman against a big strong man.’

‘You’re not weak,’ he said. ‘And you’re not vulnerable.’

‘So you’re chicken?’

He smiled to acknowledge the joke. ‘Two reasons: one…’ He glanced around at the numerous witnesses. ‘And two: I want information first.’

She seemed surprised. Which in turned surprised him. ‘About what?’

‘About who sent you after me. I want everything you know about them.’

The surprise mellowed into curiosity. ‘Why would you think anyone sent me?’

‘You’re a hired gun, like me. Who hired you?’

A corner of her mouth turned up a fraction. ‘Is it completely outside the realm of comprehension that I might be working for no one, that I might be my own client? The same as you’re telling yourself that you are now.’

‘It is outside the realm of comprehension,’ Victor said. ‘We’ve never crossed paths before now. People try to kill me all the time, and it’s never by accident. There’s always a client or a broker behind it. There’s always a good reason. I always deserve it. But not this time. I didn’t even know you existed before you tried to kill me.’

‘And that means you can’t be my enemy?’

He studied her. ‘Did I kill your husband or brother or father?’

‘No, no, and no,’ she said. ‘At least as far as I know.’

‘Exactly. Who paid you? Who are you meeting here? If it’s your client or broker, maybe you can survive this after all.’

‘You’re so close to the truth and you don’t even realise, do you?’

‘One way or the other, I’ll find out.’

‘I have no doubts you will. You’ve got this far, after all.’

He detected sarcasm in her voice but didn’t respond. He said nothing more for the moment. Neither did Raven. Around them people young and old, male and female talked and laughed and admired the views and the art. They took photographs of the installations and themselves and of themselves with the installations. They sipped coffee and cocktails and ate expensive snacks in the roof garden’s café and martini bar.

‘I love this place,’ Raven said. ‘It was created through arrogance. The founders wanted to build somewhere to rival the great museums of Europe.’

‘I’d say they succeeded.’

‘First time here?’

He looked at her. ‘And last.’

She understood what he meant. ‘That’s a shame. For both of us, I mean. But it doesn’t have to be like that.’

‘Yes, it does. You know that.’

A look of sadness passed over her face. ‘I suppose we should get this over with. But as you said, it’s too public up here. Why don’t we go somewhere with some privacy? No need to upset these nice people, is there?’

It was a trap, he knew. But he also wanted to leave the roof and all the witnesses.

He nodded as she stared into his eyes. ‘Some privacy would be good.’