14

Forty-Nine

New York, New York Wednesday, December 24 8:00 a.m.

Anthony Malik was torn between laughing and crying when he saw the videotape for the first time. Saraya was such a good girl. And Conrad Hawley was such a bad boy. How they had gotten so lucky was beyond him. Now he had his ticket, a piece of ingenious editing that would guarantee him safe passage forever.

The attorney general for the State of New York had paled when the news was shared of his frolics being recorded. He had begged. It was a satisfactory feeling. Malik had dangled the key to the safety deposit box in front of Hawley, guaranteed him it was the only copy, and laughed when the man got tears in his eyes.

He was just that powerful.

Malik never thought he’d actually have to use the tape. Just knowing it was out there should have been enough. And he had a backup stashed at the house in Nashville, just in case Hawley got crazy and went after him.

But now, with Win Jackson the turncoat looking for a way out of this mess, Mars dead and one of his trusted men gone, Malik needed a new plan. The time had come to start cashing in some of his insurance policies. He called Atlas, asked him to come by the apartment, and began to pack. New York was getting a bit too warm for his tastes. A trip down south would serve two purposes, getting him away until things shook out, and allowing him a personal cruise through the orphanages for some new blood.

When the doorbell to Malik’s apartment rang twenty minutes later, he didn’t think twice about answering. This was his safe house, one where he couldn’t be surprised. He had several, scattered across several countries. In Manhattan, only Atlas and the poor deceased Dusty knew the address.

It was a fatal mistake. Men in black balaclavas, armed with automatic weapons, poured through his door. They stormed the room, slapping handcuffs around his wrists and a rough sack that stank of blood and vomit over his head. He was silenced easily, forced out the door and shoved into the back of a car before he could catch his breath.

He had bigger problems now. His captors weren’t speaking English.

Baldwin answered the phone on the first ring.

“ Hola, Juan.”

“ Hola, amigo. We’ve got him.”

“Fantastic. Who will be extraditing him?”

“I’m not sure who is going to lay claim to him first. Several South American governments what to talk to him. But if it weren’t for your help, we would have never caught him. I want to thank you personally. I have a gift for your woman.”

“What’s that?”

“We will not press charges against her father.”