about it. It wasnât as if he didnât take his job seriously. That was the main problem. He took it all a bit too seriously. That was why he was in the mess he was. He looked again round the devastation of the apartment. One hell of a mess.
So heâd tried to get smart. But smartness wasnât his thing. Granted, he could call on some low cunning when he needed to, and heâd thought that would be enough to get him through. But he should never have tried to get smart. Not where Muunokhoi was concerned. That had been a big mistake.
The thought of Muunokhoi made him uneasy. He wasnât clear, even now, quite how much Muunokhoi knew. The word was that Muunokhoi knew everything, and on the whole Tunjin was inclined to believe that. Heâd certainly managed to unravel Tunjinâs idiotic plan quickly enough, though Tunjin had no idea quite how. It was obvious that Muunokhoi had sources on the inside, though Tunjin had thought heâd had all that covered. But theyâd clearly worked out what was going on, and it surely wouldnât take them long to finger Tunjin as the perpetrator.
His suspension hadnât exactly been publicizedâhe was supposedly on sick leaveâbut he couldnât believethat it wasnât already common knowledge. And if Muunokhoi was getting the right information, it wouldnât take long for him to put two and two together.
And in the middle of all that Tunjin had taken the opportunity to render himself comatose forâwell, who knew exactly how long? No, smart definitely wasnât his thing.
For a moment, panic almost overwhelmed him. If Muunokhoi was after him, he was finished. There was no question about that. He knew more than enough about what Muunokhoi could do to people who crossed him. Heâd seen plenty of evidence of that, which is why heâd taken the steps he had. But all heâd done was make things worse, and put himself in the firing line.
He breathed deeply and forced himself to relax. That was the one thing you could say about blind panic. It could take the edge even off a hangover like this. Suddenly a pounding headache and churning guts seemed a relatively small price to pay for staying alive.
Okay, so he wasnât smart. But he was cunning and streetwise. He knew this city, and he knew more than enough about the lowlifes who frequented it. He ought to be capable of staying one step ahead of Muunokhoi, at least for a while.
But for how long? That was the question. He couldnât keep hiding forever. And he knew enough about Muunokhoi to recognize that he was a patient man. Ruthless. Unforgiving. Implacable. Vengeful. All of those. But nonetheless patient. Unlike Tunjin, he wasnât the kind of man who would rush into some half-formed scheme without a clue how it was going to end up. He would take as much time as it needed.Tunjin might make himself safe today, tomorrow, maybe a year or more from now. But at some point, probably when he was finally beginning to relax again, Muunokhoi would be there.
And that, of course, was assuming that Tunjin managed to keep himself at least moderately sober. He shivered at the thought of just how vulnerable heâd been over the last few days, no doubt stumbling from bar to bar and then back here to knock back more dregs of vodka from all these scattered bottles. All things considered, it was surprising that heâd woken up at all.
Tunjin staggered up from the sofa, trying to force himself to think clearly. It was possible, of course, that he was simply below Muunokhoiâs radar. Why would a big wheel like Muunokhoi concern himself with an insignificant mite like Tunjin? But then he knew the answer to that well enough. Muunokhoi would bother with Tunjin because he was the only person who had ever come close to putting him behind bars.
Tunjin looked around the apartment. Maybe Muunokhoiâs people had already been here. Frankly, they might have ransacked the whole place and
So heâd tried to get smart. But smartness wasnât his thing. Granted, he could call on some low cunning when he needed to, and heâd thought that would be enough to get him through. But he should never have tried to get smart. Not where Muunokhoi was concerned. That had been a big mistake.
The thought of Muunokhoi made him uneasy. He wasnât clear, even now, quite how much Muunokhoi knew. The word was that Muunokhoi knew everything, and on the whole Tunjin was inclined to believe that. Heâd certainly managed to unravel Tunjinâs idiotic plan quickly enough, though Tunjin had no idea quite how. It was obvious that Muunokhoi had sources on the inside, though Tunjin had thought heâd had all that covered. But theyâd clearly worked out what was going on, and it surely wouldnât take them long to finger Tunjin as the perpetrator.
His suspension hadnât exactly been publicizedâhe was supposedly on sick leaveâbut he couldnât believethat it wasnât already common knowledge. And if Muunokhoi was getting the right information, it wouldnât take long for him to put two and two together.
And in the middle of all that Tunjin had taken the opportunity to render himself comatose forâwell, who knew exactly how long? No, smart definitely wasnât his thing.
For a moment, panic almost overwhelmed him. If Muunokhoi was after him, he was finished. There was no question about that. He knew more than enough about what Muunokhoi could do to people who crossed him. Heâd seen plenty of evidence of that, which is why heâd taken the steps he had. But all heâd done was make things worse, and put himself in the firing line.
He breathed deeply and forced himself to relax. That was the one thing you could say about blind panic. It could take the edge even off a hangover like this. Suddenly a pounding headache and churning guts seemed a relatively small price to pay for staying alive.
Okay, so he wasnât smart. But he was cunning and streetwise. He knew this city, and he knew more than enough about the lowlifes who frequented it. He ought to be capable of staying one step ahead of Muunokhoi, at least for a while.
But for how long? That was the question. He couldnât keep hiding forever. And he knew enough about Muunokhoi to recognize that he was a patient man. Ruthless. Unforgiving. Implacable. Vengeful. All of those. But nonetheless patient. Unlike Tunjin, he wasnât the kind of man who would rush into some half-formed scheme without a clue how it was going to end up. He would take as much time as it needed.Tunjin might make himself safe today, tomorrow, maybe a year or more from now. But at some point, probably when he was finally beginning to relax again, Muunokhoi would be there.
And that, of course, was assuming that Tunjin managed to keep himself at least moderately sober. He shivered at the thought of just how vulnerable heâd been over the last few days, no doubt stumbling from bar to bar and then back here to knock back more dregs of vodka from all these scattered bottles. All things considered, it was surprising that heâd woken up at all.
Tunjin staggered up from the sofa, trying to force himself to think clearly. It was possible, of course, that he was simply below Muunokhoiâs radar. Why would a big wheel like Muunokhoi concern himself with an insignificant mite like Tunjin? But then he knew the answer to that well enough. Muunokhoi would bother with Tunjin because he was the only person who had ever come close to putting him behind bars.
Tunjin looked around the apartment. Maybe Muunokhoiâs people had already been here. Frankly, they might have ransacked the whole place and
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