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McDermott shook his head. "Roman knows nothing about him, including his name." |
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"Well, how the hell does he pay him?" |
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"Electronically and anonymously," McDermott explained. "The fee was deposited by computer into a different anonymous bank account every time. He hasn't a clue where the guy lives or what his name is." |
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"My God," Julius said. "At first I thought we were dealing with a mindless killer. Bad enough. But the guy's a Machiavellian genius. While we were wiring him tens of thousands of dollars to clear our tracks, he's quietly setting us up for blackmail." |
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"He's not exactly in the loyalty business." |
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McDermott looked at Julius. There was no challenge in his eyes this time. "Yes, we are." |
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"One of them must have talked," Frank DeVoe said. |
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"Or he got it out of him, then," McDermott said. "It makes no difference now." He got up and pulled the cassette out of the VCR. Along the spine was a piece of masking tape, across which in black pen were the words: Son Of Black Flag. The son of a bitch was taunting them. He looked at Julius. "Did-any of your people know about Morgan Reese's link to Black Flag?" |
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"You're absolutely sure?" |
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"Yes," Julius said. "And Claire, of course." |
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McDermott nodded. "Then there's no way he could have linked Black Flag to Morgan Reese." |
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McDermott nodded and glanced at DeVoe. |
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"So what do we do?" Julius asked. |
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"We pay him his two million," McDermott said. "He's too smart to telephone you here, he knows it can be traced. Unfortunately you'll have to make arrangements to transfer the money. But the stipulation is that we get the boy first." |
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"And what if he doesn't comply?" |
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"If he wants his money, he has no choice." |
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Julius got up and looked out the window. "He can bring us all down, and we don't even know his name." |
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