forewarned.”
“But we don’t broadcast why we’re killing them. It’s never made public.”
“But that’s not the only way to warn someone.”
“I’m not getting what you mean.”
Mallory said, “Your first lead target was the old Austrian married five times. You tied him up and did your job, but you ransacked
the house and busted a door lock, so it looked like a robbery. And you didn’t do a bunk and scamper away but rather stayed
on during the investigation so no one suspected you of anything. Now, let’s take Whit. This was before your time, but in one
lead assignment he killed a former Gestapo chieftain by shooting him in the genitalia. He was supposed to inject the fellow
with a poison that dissolves in the body in two minutes and is untraceable. He claims that the bottle the poison was in broke.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that putting a bullet in a man’s private region and letting him bleed out is a revenge-style
killing. In fact, it could well have jeopardized future targets.”
“Maybe the bottle did break. Everything doesn’t go smoothly in the field.”
The genial look faded from Mallory’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry, I left out one piece of critical information, didn’t I? Whit painted
a bloody swastika on the man’s bloody forehead and had the effrontery to ask me if I thought that was too subtle .”
Reggie suppressed a smile. “Oh.”
“Quite right, oh . The international press had a positive field day and made our future work that much more difficult. Mr. Beckham and I had
a row about that one.”
“I’m sure.”
“In Huber’s case we already know that they believe he died after attempting to have sex with the beautiful Barbara, and that
she fled in fear of retribution. No one is pursuing it, because the man was ninety-six years old and apparently died extremely
happy.” The professor could not resist a smile at this remark.
“But we do have an advantage in this case. The world has no idea Evan Waller is Fedir Kuchin. Even if he is killed under mysterious
circumstances, other men in hiding like Kuchin will probably take no note.”
The professor shook his head. “No, no. We can’t count on that. There will be press. There will be inquiries. Someone somewhere
may recognize the man. He has kept a very low profile for decades. Even with his so-called philanthropic work, no one gets
to see him. It’s all done through intermediaries. But still we can’t draw unnecessary attention to the matter.”
“Well, I can’t fake having sex with the man and then have him conveniently die like I did with Huber. There are limits to
what I can do. Perhaps a businessman like him has other enemies and we can foist the blame there. What do we know about other
dealings he might have had?”
Mallory shrugged. “Not that much. Our people had other priorities. They were looking for Kuchin, not a possibly dishonest
entrepreneur. I agree he might have other interests that would satisfy his evil nature, but I don’t know what they are and
we have no time to look for them now.”
Reggie sat back. “I still think Whit should be in on this one. Kuchin looks well capable of taking care of himself. I won’t
be able to single-handedly overpower him. It needs to be a total team effort at the end.”
“It’s true, our prey are getting younger and stronger, aren’t they?” He tugged absently at his beard. “I largely agree with
you. You will need muscle on this. And whilst he has some shortcomings, Whit certainly has that. You can tell him I said so.”
Reggie looked irritated. “Why don’t you tell him yourself?”
Mallory looked bemused. “We don’t get on that well. Now, let’s get down to some details before the meeting officially starts.”
“Why do you do this, Professor?” she said suddenly.
“Do what? You mean smoke this foul-smelling pipe?”
“You’re not Jewish. You’ve never mentioned that anyone you loved ever
“But we don’t broadcast why we’re killing them. It’s never made public.”
“But that’s not the only way to warn someone.”
“I’m not getting what you mean.”
Mallory said, “Your first lead target was the old Austrian married five times. You tied him up and did your job, but you ransacked
the house and busted a door lock, so it looked like a robbery. And you didn’t do a bunk and scamper away but rather stayed
on during the investigation so no one suspected you of anything. Now, let’s take Whit. This was before your time, but in one
lead assignment he killed a former Gestapo chieftain by shooting him in the genitalia. He was supposed to inject the fellow
with a poison that dissolves in the body in two minutes and is untraceable. He claims that the bottle the poison was in broke.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that putting a bullet in a man’s private region and letting him bleed out is a revenge-style
killing. In fact, it could well have jeopardized future targets.”
“Maybe the bottle did break. Everything doesn’t go smoothly in the field.”
The genial look faded from Mallory’s face. “Oh, I’m sorry, I left out one piece of critical information, didn’t I? Whit painted
a bloody swastika on the man’s bloody forehead and had the effrontery to ask me if I thought that was too subtle .”
Reggie suppressed a smile. “Oh.”
“Quite right, oh . The international press had a positive field day and made our future work that much more difficult. Mr. Beckham and I had
a row about that one.”
“I’m sure.”
“In Huber’s case we already know that they believe he died after attempting to have sex with the beautiful Barbara, and that
she fled in fear of retribution. No one is pursuing it, because the man was ninety-six years old and apparently died extremely
happy.” The professor could not resist a smile at this remark.
“But we do have an advantage in this case. The world has no idea Evan Waller is Fedir Kuchin. Even if he is killed under mysterious
circumstances, other men in hiding like Kuchin will probably take no note.”
The professor shook his head. “No, no. We can’t count on that. There will be press. There will be inquiries. Someone somewhere
may recognize the man. He has kept a very low profile for decades. Even with his so-called philanthropic work, no one gets
to see him. It’s all done through intermediaries. But still we can’t draw unnecessary attention to the matter.”
“Well, I can’t fake having sex with the man and then have him conveniently die like I did with Huber. There are limits to
what I can do. Perhaps a businessman like him has other enemies and we can foist the blame there. What do we know about other
dealings he might have had?”
Mallory shrugged. “Not that much. Our people had other priorities. They were looking for Kuchin, not a possibly dishonest
entrepreneur. I agree he might have other interests that would satisfy his evil nature, but I don’t know what they are and
we have no time to look for them now.”
Reggie sat back. “I still think Whit should be in on this one. Kuchin looks well capable of taking care of himself. I won’t
be able to single-handedly overpower him. It needs to be a total team effort at the end.”
“It’s true, our prey are getting younger and stronger, aren’t they?” He tugged absently at his beard. “I largely agree with
you. You will need muscle on this. And whilst he has some shortcomings, Whit certainly has that. You can tell him I said so.”
Reggie looked irritated. “Why don’t you tell him yourself?”
Mallory looked bemused. “We don’t get on that well. Now, let’s get down to some details before the meeting officially starts.”
“Why do you do this, Professor?” she said suddenly.
“Do what? You mean smoke this foul-smelling pipe?”
“You’re not Jewish. You’ve never mentioned that anyone you loved ever
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