Chapter 41

‘Wicker, I’ve a job for you,’ Huffman said.

The woman had been sipping green tea from a china cup in his kitchen. Her cell phone was lying on the table as though she’d just put it down and Huffman guessed that she’d been reporting back to her employers. She looked at him quizzically. This close, Huffman noticed how dark her eyes were, as though all light had been taken from them, and her pupils had dilated to the maximum. They looked solid black. He wondered if there was something other she’d taken from her DEA days than her skills: she looked high. But then she blinked and the illusion passed.

‘I’ve already got a job, boss. I’m going to kill Joe Hunter for you.’

‘There’s something else I want from you first.’

Wicker sat back in her chair, splaying her legs in a fashion that wasn’t very feminine. She dug her thumbs into her pants pockets and sat looking up at Huffman. ‘What could be more important than that?’

‘I want Imogen Ballard dead. She could still be a threat to me if she’s alive.’

‘She’s with Hunter. I’ll kill her when I get him.’

‘I don’t think that’s the case,’ Huffman said. ‘In fact, I know it’s not.’

Wicker slowly picked up her cell phone and placed it in her breast pocket. Her other tools were either on her person or in the small bag she’d brought with her. She could be on her way with only a moment’s notice. ‘Tell me what you do know.’

There was much more than he’d relate to her right now. He’d been busy since his conversation with Larry Bolan, thinking it prudent to learn as much about Joe Hunter as he could. He recalled that Kate Piers had arrived in Little Fork by way of a trip to Tampa, Florida. A couple of contacts he had down there had asked around and told him about an Englishman who’d been making waves, and plenty of enemies, in the criminal underworld. It seemed that this man — a cipher by all accounts — was getting quite a reputation as a vigilante. Some people whispered that he was ex-Special Forces. They also said that he moonlighted for a private investigations business run by an ex-soldier named Jared Rington. Jared Rington was out of town, and it didn’t take too much imagination to conclude that Rington was one of the snipers who’d helped Hunter earlier. Huffman was of the opinion that neither of the men would be leaving Texas any time soon.

The women were another matter. Hunter would want them out of the way. He was coming back for a showdown, no doubt about it. It was the only route left open to him. The women, Huffman concluded, would be sent back to Tampa where they’d be safe.

‘The women boarded a plane out of DFW a couple of hours ago. They used false names, but I don’t doubt that it was them. Two men are travelling with them.’

‘But not Hunter and his mysterious friend,’ Wicker said. ‘Someone else is helping them?’

‘We were able to check the passenger manifest. Two men arrived on one flight from Tampa, Florida, and then boarded the next flight out. Their names have been put through the IRS database and they came back as being residents of Tampa. Both men are employed as private security consultants. They occasionally subcontract to a company called Rington Investigations.’ Huffman placed a slip of paper on the table and Wicker drew it towards her. ‘That’s their names and the location of their office. Think you can handle this, Wicker?’

‘Two rent-a-cops and a couple of women? I’m sure I’m up to the task.’ Wicker placed the note alongside her phone in her pocket. ‘But why me, boss? Why aren’t you sending Grade or that hulking idiot, Bolan?’

‘Because I think that you’re the best person for the job.’

She smiled. ‘For a second there I thought you wanted to protect me from the big bad men that you’re going to fight.’

‘There is that,’ Huffman said. Then he grunted. ‘You’re as tough as any of the others, Wicker. This isn’t a sexist thing: I just thought you’d appreciate another chance at Kate Piers. I stopped you killing her the last time you met.’

‘Yeah, you did, boss. And that bitch tried to shoot me, too.’

‘So are you up for it?’

She stood up, rocking on her heels and knuckling the small of her back. ‘Both sisters, right?’

‘Kill Imogen and Kate and I’ll pay you a bonus,’ Huffman promised. He handed her a second slip of paper. ‘That’s your flight reservation number. Pick your tickets up at the desk I’ve written on there.’

‘How do I get to the airport?’

‘Take my car.’ He tossed her his keys. ‘I’ll have it picked up after I’m finished here.’

‘I might be back before then,’ Wicker said. ‘I’ll bring it myself.’

Huffman shrugged. He didn’t believe that she would be back in time. Hunter would be coming in the next few hours.

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