An Autumn Hunting

Chapter 52

‘So how did you get the girl?’

‘Simple,’ Aliyev said. ‘We feed a little bird back in Tashkent a few dollars every month. It wasn’t very difficult to hack your girlfriend’s mobile. So when you sent a text asking her to meet you by the statue?’

He shrugged at my folly.

‘Lots of statues in Bishkek. Leaving it vague like that was smart, except for one flaw. Knowing what a romantic idealist you are, we were pretty sure you’d meet here. You obviously have a thing for strong women.’

It was my turn to shrug.

‘We saw her walking down Chui Prospekt, obviously arriving early to scout the territory, check it wasn’t a trap. A smart woman, your girlfriend. We grabbed her, not without some collateral damage, and here we are.’

‘So she’s in the car?’

‘Bound and gagged, but otherwise unharmed. For the moment.’

I thought about our situation, knew what I had to do.

‘You know what one of the benefits of being left-handed is, Kanybek?’ I asked, in as sweet a voice as I could manage. ‘Everyone takes it for granted you’re right-handed. So they look at your jacket to see if you’ve got a knife or a gun, they watch the movement of your right hand. And that’s all very sensible. And very convenient for me.’

‘Explain.’

‘Well, while I’ve been telling you that, I’ve been aiming a gun about ten centimetres above your belt buckle. With my left hand. I don’t even need to draw my gun. This is an old jacket; a couple of bullet holes won’t make a difference. Right now I can blow your spine into toothpicks before you can get your gun out of your pocket.’

I watched him assess the situation.

‘I want you to take your hands out of your pockets, Kanybek, but slowly, as if your fingers were poisonous spiders you don’t want to frighten.’

I watched as he did what I’d ordered. His hands were steady, calm.

‘I think you’re bluffing,’ he said.

I shrugged. He could see the bulge of the gun barrel pointing towards him.

‘Very possibly. But then again… I’ll even contribute towards the cost of the wheelchair. A comfortable one so that you can spend the next thirty years being wheeled around.’

Aliyev’s expression didn’t change. I had no doubt he’d be a brilliant poker player. But I was holding the best cards. And his stake was his life.

‘How long do you think that crew of gopniki and myrki will stand to take orders from a cripple? A month? Two months? They don’t even need to shoot you. They’ll just wheel you outdoors one winter evening, jam the brakes on your wheelchair, go back indoors to smoke and drink. A pakhan freezing to death? Well, that would be a first.’

‘You want the girl?’ His voice was empty of all emotion. He might have been reciting the weather forecast.

‘I think of her as a woman,’ I said. ‘I don’t need to belittle her, the way you seem to have to. You’re not in her league, Kanybek. She’d have you dead while you were still wondering whether to scratch your head or your balls.’

‘We can get beyond this temporary unpleasantness,’ Aliyev said. ‘All I need to know is what really happened in Bangkok, and then we can get back to being partners again.’

‘Kanybek,’ I said, ‘I think this is the end of a beautiful friendship.’

‘You don’t trust me?’ he said, looking downcast.

I laughed harder than I’d done in months, maybe even years. But I made sure the gun was still pointed at his belly. And my hand wasn’t shaking either.

‘I won’t kill you now if you release her,’ I said. ‘And if she’s been harmed, well, I’ll do some harming myself. Of the permanent kind.’

‘You sound as if you’ve been watching too many Hollywood films,’ he said. ‘No need for all the threats and melodrama.’

Aliyev turned and made a circling motion towards the SUV. After a couple of moments I saw Saltanat emerge from the car, rubbing her wrists and with a look like hell unleashed. She walked towards us in a circle, making sure she didn’t get between the gun and my target.

‘You know I’ll find you, don’t you, Akyl?’ Aliyev said, his voice so measured you could almost miss the not-so-hidden threat. ‘And it will be me holding the gun that time.’

‘Neither of us needs or wants this shit,’ I said, weariness filling my throat. ‘We’ll leave now, and you don’t follow us. I’ll be in touch later and we can meet somewhere on neutral ground and I’ll tell you exactly what it is that Quang wants. You start supplying him, I stay away from the whole thing and disappear, and we’re even.’

‘How do I know you’ll keep your word?’

‘I want to live. And I don’t want to be looking at every car that drives by, every stranger strolling towards me, wondering if the shot is going to come from there. I’ve got enough information on Quang for you to put the pressure on. It’s a good deal for you, a good one for me.’

‘We’re both reasonable men, Akyl, one hand washes the other. If we can do that, and you decide silence is your best defence, I’ve got no reason to come looking for you. Bigger fish to catch, and believe me, you’re a minnow so small I’d throw you back in the water.’

‘Well, that seems a reasonable compromise,’ I said. ‘But just to seal the bargain, let’s the three of us stroll down to Frunze. Once we’re there, we take a taxi, you walk back to your gas guzzler, and I’ll call you later to arrange a meet.’

‘Why bother with the walk?’ Aliyev asked, but I could tell he already knew the answer.

‘Because you might just have an excellent shot with a sniper rifle in the back seat of your car. As long as you’re beside us, and no one can see if there’s a gun trained on you, we’re pretty safe.’

I nodded at Aliyev’s jacket.

‘Saltanat, would you oblige?’

She reached into Aliyev’s pocket, pulled out a gun. She unloaded it, checked his other pockets for spare bullets, gave him back the gun.

‘I don’t believe in putting temptation people’s way; I’m sure you’ll agree.’

‘Let’s walk,’ Aliyev said. ‘I’m getting cold, and I’m a little bored with the company, to be honest.’

I waved to the watching men in the car, and Aliyev gave them the signal to stay where they were. I wondered if they expected me to kill him once we were out of sight in the trees, realised Aliyev knew me too well. My white knight syndrome: don’t lie, don’t do anything underhand. As Saltanat always said, one day it was going to get me killed.