Ambush

Chapter 35

Alex was polite and waited until her target completed her phone call. When the woman slipped the iPhone back into her purse, Alex calmly walked toward her and sat down on the same bench.

Alex said, “Hello, Ms. Toussant.”

That got the woman’s full attention. She turned her pretty face, framed by light brown hair, and focused on Alex.

She said, “Do I know you, dear?” She had a slight French accent.

Alex said, “No. I’m not someone you would normally do business with.”

“But you do work for someone. That means you’re not here for a friendly conversation.” The woman looked over Alex’s shoulder toward the wall where her bodyguard had been waiting.

Alex calmly pulled the man’s 9mm pistol from her purse and said, “If you’re waiting for the man who owns this to come to your rescue, you’ll be in for a surprise.”

The Canadian remained calm and said, “Are you just going to shoot me? No warnings or attempts to find out information?”

“I’m afraid not.” Before Alex could say anything else, the Canadian financier swung her left hand, knocking the pistol away, and came back with a right elbow that caught Alex low on the chin.

The blow knocked her off balance and almost completely off the bench. She twisted into a crouch as she slid off the bench to face the Canadian woman.

The Canadian threw a knee just as Alex looked up from her crouch. She was able to move, and the knee just grazed the side of her head. She had underestimated her target.

The Canadian didn’t waste any time throwing another kick, then pulling a straight razor from God knows where. She whipped it at Alex’s face.

Alex felt the blade just miss her nose as she jumped back. That thin blade would’ve sliced her nose in half. She desperately tried to regain her balance before the Canadian disfigured her. Or worse.

A police siren blasting in the distance distracted them both for a moment.

As soon as Alex realized it was a block away, she hopped back and raised the pistol. Just as her target advanced with the razor poised for another strike, she pulled the trigger. Without a silencer, the shot sounded like a cannon. But the echo would make it hard to tell exactly where the shot came from.

The bullet struck the woman just above the bridge of her nose. She crumpled straight to the ground right in front of Alex.

Instead of checking the body, which was perfectly still on the hard concrete next to the fountain, Alex looked up to make sure no one was rushing toward her.

Alex backed away from the body, then turned and walked quickly away. The few people on the edges of the park paid no attention to her.

Alex kept moving onto Broadway. She looked straight ahead as she passed the Flatiron Building and continued. She turned right on 21st. Looking around quickly, she pulled out the Browning pistol she had used to kill the Canadian financier and tossed it into the back of an idling garbage truck just before it rumbled away from the curb.

Thank God for lucky opportunities.

Alex worked to control her breathing and made sure her jaw wasn’t broken. It was sore but intact.

If nothing else, it would confuse the cops for a while that there were two bodies at the same scene killed by different methods. She started to smile thinking about the detectives who would have to figure that puzzle out.