Sergei held out his arms to either side and smiled at the security guard. “You don’t have to be gentle. It’s not my first time.” The bouncer, doughy but hardly formidable, bit down hard on his lip as he bent to his task. Sergei remained
Rachel fought against the cramping in her ankles by alternately removing the pressure from them and letting it pull at her elevated wrists instead. She was furious with herself for not trying harder to keep Sergei’s attention on her, furious with him for leaving her
More“Your little brother believed in honour too, until I gutted him like Christmas dinner.”
She didn’t look like much from across the room. The Priory was not one of Renoir Karzai’s better establishments, but it was extremely secure, and the patrons who paid heavily to drink in peace were always easy to clear out. It had once been a
The call had gone out midday, broadcast directly from the Alpine Guard radio desk. Anyone who helps the invaders will pay with their lives, the lives of their family. Himalaya will hear the screams of traitors for the rest of human time. Informers and patriots
Aleksandr Tsarnaev glared at Nasrin from the passenger’s seat, gagged with gauze bandages, and bound to the seat. He still appeared woozy from the blow to the head she’d given him. He growled something through the gag, chewing uselessly to try and separate the gauze
More“If you truly believe Allah redeems, what difference will one more make?”
(Prologue) Tomorrow we shall meet, Death and I -. And he shall thrust his sword Into one who is wide awake. -Dag Hammarskjold — “Give me one.” “Leave me alone.” “Come on, Lucretia, just one.” “Are you fucking deaf?” The kid made a grab for
More“I was just wondering if you’d like to be my girlfriend.”
“Fuck!” Rachel pulled her thumb into her mouth, then grimaced at the taste of blood and machine lubricant. She lay back and glared up at the Albatross drone, suspended between two chairs to facilitate easier access to its electronic circuitry. Like everything inside it, the
Vikram was running out of space. The bridge was one of the airier, open spaces on the Walsh, but his reading list was infinite, and he had programmed a preset to allow even the visual material manifested at the edge of the room to refocus
Vikram took his time with the meal they brought him, puzzling over the source of the fresh arugula salad and the grated carrot that adorned it. The raw pecans were even more baffling, and he could tell by their texture they hadn’t been frozen or
Of the establishments in which he had stakes, Renoir Karzai most preferred the Cafe Perdu. It was a misnomer, since it had never served coffee, but the atmosphere was almost pleasant by end-of-the-world standards. It occupied a waterfront corner in the Market District, commanding a
More“You’re right. I don’t really give a fuck. I’m here about the girl.”