The naked edge

24

Nine forty-five.

A cloud crossed the sun, casting a cool shadow. Then the sun returned, the heat again as palpable as the humidity. The press of bodies smelled of sweat as Carl and Raoul made their way through them. After crisscrossing the target area, they entered Girod Street, moving away from the conference center. Carl verified that the final man he needed to check was in place.

As Carl reached the intersection of Tchoupitoulas Street, where Raoul was scheduled to wait until 10 o'clock, he noticed that the going seemed easier, that he no longer needed to struggle against the crowd. Then he realized that the tide had turned, that the demonstrators were moving away from the conference center instead of toward it, that he was being carried by the flow.

He stopped an angry-looking man and woman. "What's going on? Why are you leaving?"

"Damned thing's been cancelled."

"No," Carl said, jostled by the passing crowd.

The woman held up an iPhone. "It's all over the Internet. Four hotels got smoked-bombed and tear-gassed last night. The trade ministers were evacuated."

"But that can't be!" Carl insisted.

"I'm telling you, the bastards left town."

"No motorcade? No opening ceremonies?"

"Nothing. Down at the convention center, they're getting their heads cracked for no reason."

As the disgusted man and woman moved onward away from the pointless battle, Carl stared down Girod Street. Except for a truck parked two blocks away, all he saw were demonstrators moving in his direction, a steady mass of them filling the pavement and the sidewalk.

Four hotels? Furious, Carl remembered following last night's sirens and arriving at hotels that were surrounded by the flashing lights of emergency vehicles while smoke streamed from the buildings.

Aaron? he thought. Was that your doing?

"Is it over?" Raoul asked.

For a moment, Carl didn't hear him. "Over?"

"If the conference isn't going to happen, what's the point of the smoke?"

"Quiet." Carl pulled him toward a wall. "Somebody might hear you."

"But we don't have much time. We need to split up and hurry so we can tell the men to forget about ten o'clock."

"Forget about ten o'clock? No way."

Carl's employers were more frightening than anyone could imagine. Good God, the last thing he needed was them hunting him because he took their money and didn't follow through on what he promised.

"But what's the point?" Raoul demanded. "You told us we were hired to make sure the conference didn't happen. Mierda, look around you. It isn't happening."

The point, Carl couldn't tell him, was the Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals, the Diplomatic Security Service, and the Homeland Security Response Team, not to mention operators from Global Protective Services and other major non-government firms. They'd been lured into coming to New Orleans to safeguard the World Trade Organization. In eleven minutes…

"We're going to do what we promised," Carl said.

"But-"

"This isn't some stupid-ass street gang. We don't act on impulse. We don't change our mind whenever we feel like it. We follow orders."

"But what if the orders stop making sense?"

"If a man pays me to do something, I do it. Maybe he didn't tell me all his reasons. My job isn't to think. It's to follow through on an assignment. Are you a coward?"

"Of course not," Raoul said, his face reddening. "You know I've done everything you asked."

"You're supposed to be an operator."

His face even redder, Raoul said, "I am an operator."

"Then show me!" Carl tugged Raoul along the wall. "Here. The middle of the block. This is where you're supposed to wait!"

More disappointed protestors went up the street.

Carl checked his watch. "In ten minutes, follow the plan!"

"Okay!" Raoul said angrily. "All right!"

Stop, Carl warned himself. What am I doing? Keep control.

He touched Raoul's shoulders with apparent affection. "Don't take it personally. I'm just stressed, keeping track of all the details. You're my most dependable operator. Never doubt that."

Raoul didn't reply, but the compliment clearly made him less angry.

"When you're in my place, you'll understand the burden of responsibility. I'm sorry." Carl gripped Raoul's shoulders harder. "I know you won't let me down."

Raoul didn't answer.

"Is everything straight between us?" Carl asked.

"Yes."

"Then make me proud." Carl stepped away.

"Where-"

"I need to hurry and get to my spot," Carl said over his shoulder. He struggled to conceal the irritation he felt for losing control.

What the hell's wrong with me? This is almost over. Keep cool. Don't screw things up.

The crowd carried him toward the edge of the killing zone. He reached the middle of the next block, where nine minutes from now he was supposed to pull the cord on his knapsack.

He shifted toward a wall. Freeing himself from the passing crowd, he took off the knapsack and shoved it into a garbage bin. Rejoining the protestors, he was eager to let them propel him to safety. He had plenty of time to get to the van and flee the area. A few seconds after ten, he would press a button on the transmitter in his jacket pocket. If the police frequencies hadn't already set off the detonators, the signal he sent would do the job.

Something made him glance back.

Raoul was at the refuse bin, gaping at the discarded knapsack.