Dark Zone

27

A touch of gray, a fresh razor — Mussa Duoar prided himself on never looking the same two days in a row. It was a small thing, a knack, and yet a very necessary skill. He could vary his voice, offering any number of accents in French, English, and Arabic; he was especially fond of tossing a few Greek words into his patter. Many people thought he was really Greek, and he took that as a great compliment.

Of course, these tricks were nothing without the real tools of his trade — the false IDs, the credit cards, and the endless succession of phones. Mussa had worked hard to build up the network that supported him. It stretched throughout France to Germany and down to Africa. Morocco was especially important; without his people in Morocco to send information for him, where would he be? And Algeria, his birthplace, was invaluable in many ways. But then, every node was important. He might take the cell phone he had just received from Wales and use it to call Germany, sending a message to someone in the café a block away in Paris. From there the message might travel back to Germany, around the web, to a young man in the Czech Republic, who would then call a friend in Morocco, who would receive only a one-word message. The chain would then flow in reverse — impossible to track, even for him. Money, identities, weapons, suggestions from sponsors in the Middle East flowed through Mussa’s network. It morphed constantly, changing shape, gaining branches, losing itself in detours. He thought it like a garden that needed constant tending — this plant to be pruned, this to be fertilized.

And always there was weeding.

The Irishman whom he had used to kill the chemist’s friend was useful in that regard. But he had other qualities that made him difficult to work with. Mussa did not mind the brutality — surely this was a trait of the profession, not to be lamented but rather praised. It was Donohue’s unmasked contempt that made him hard to stomach. Mussa had worked with Irishmen before; the peace in Northern Ireland had flooded the market with highly trained talent. As a rule, they were good at their particular specialty and close-mouthed. As long as they were paid promptly and as promised, there were rarely problems with their work. Their religion and their propensity toward drink — genetic, Mussa believed — were regrettable but not fatal. Donohue himself seemed not to drink, but he compensated by being more obvious in his contempt than most of his countrymen.

If he had not been so much better than them at what he did, Mussa would have cut off their relationship long ago.

“There you are,” said Donohue, appearing around the corner in the restaurant and sitting down.

“Bonjour,” said Mussa. “Hello.”

“Yeah. What is it you wanted?”

“Relax. Sit. Have some lunch.”

“I’ve told you, I don’t like meetings. They make no sense. They invite the police and busybodies.”

Mussa had just the opposite view — phones, e-mail, letters, all could be intercepted and recorded without one’s knowledge. Meeting someone in person was much safer. And it had the value of being more effective.

With most people.

“The police are never a problem for me,” said Mussa. “There are ways to persuade them.”

“You’ve never been in jail.”

Best to change the subject, he decided. “Your other job went well?”

“Your stooge gave me next to no information.”

“Now, now, it must have been sufficient. I’ve heard you did an excellent job. And you were paid.”

“Yes.”

The mention of money usually mollified him, but it seemed to have no effect today.

“I have another small task, similar to the last,” said Mussa. “This time in Paris.”

“I don’t do Paris. I stay out of France.”

Mussa was aware of Donohue’s rule. It was not so peculiar as it seemed — a professional assassin needed to have a place where he might feel less on-guard, and men such as Donohue often declared one country, or a part of it, “off-limits.” It was useless to argue with them about it: even though geographic safety was illusionary, the idea was nonetheless an important emotional factor, and emotion could not be broken by logic.

Money was another story.

“Would the payment of a million euros persuade you?” asked Mussa.

The look on Donohue’s face showed that it would. But the Irishman was no fool; his brow immediately knit and his face pitched forward in a frown. “For that, you’ll want the President or Prime Minister.”

“Hardly.” Mussa pushed the newspaper forward casually, his finger pointed to a name at the top of a column. The name was that of Monsieur Jacques Ponclare — the head of the Paris section of the Directorate of Territorial Security.

“You’re joking,” replied Donohue.

Mussa ignored the objection. “I have access to his schedule. It will be an easy affair to arrange, but the timing is critical.”

“This is considerably more difficult than anything I’ve done for you. Or your friends.”

“That is why the price is so much higher.”

“Twice your figure, or no deal.”

“Too much. I could use someone else.”

“Go ahead.”

The waiter approached. Mussa ordered an octopus salad for two. Donohue made a face at the word pieuvre— octopus — and Mussa relented and ordered a veal chop for him instead.

Neither man spoke as the waiter left, then returned with a bottle of mineral water.

“Twice what you said,” insisted Donohue when they were alone again. Mussa did not speak.

Lunch arrived; the Irishman remained. That, Mussa decided, was a good sign.

“So, have you considered my proposal?” he asked when he was finished.

“Twice what you said.”

Mussa sighed. The assassination was very important to him, as it would avenge his father’s death and there would be no opportunity for a second try if things went wrong. Perhaps the funds could be found — but agreeing to the outrageous price would make him feel as if he were going against his nature, as if he were surrendering to the assassin, a mere employee.

“What if we split the difference?” asked Mussa.

“Twice.”

“Let me contemplate it,” said Mussa, giving in, though he was not willing to admit it. “I will contact you in the usual way. In the meantime, a retainer for your time will be provided, as long as you stay on call for the next week.”

The idea of a retainer had obviously not occurred to Donohue, and he surrendered a rare smile. “Good food,” said the Irishman, pushing away from the table. “I’ll see you around.”

“Au revoir,” said Mussa, savoring the last morsel of octopus. If revenge tasted this sweet, surely it would be worth the price.