Read Deadly Straits (A Tom Dugan Novel) for Free Online Page B

eyes,” he said, pointing to the sofa. “But come sit. I don’t have all day.”
    Alex stood, stiff with rage. “I’m cooperating, Braun, so don’t abuse my staff. Clear?”
    “That’s Captain Braun, and you’re not cooperating, or that old hag wouldn’t interfere. She’ll have an accident if she isn’t careful. Is that clear? Now sit,” Braun said, pointing again.
    Defeated, Alex complied.
    “Now,” Braun said, “who is this American?”
    “Thomas Dugan, a consultant and friend. I’ll get rid of him.”
    “Won’t that arouse curiosity, given his rather logical offer?”
    “Perhaps,” conceded Alex, “but I can hold him off. Long enough for you to finish whatever this business is and be gone.”
    Braun shook his head. “I think not. I don’t want some curious Yank starting to ask questions. Better to keep him close and watch him. Besides, he may prove useful.”
    “I’ll just get rid of him,” Alex repeated.
    “On the contrary,” Braun said, his voice hardening, “offer him the job, effective immediately.”
    “No. Best keep him away.”
    Braun sighed. “How tiresome.”
    He rose from the chair to snatch Cassie’s photo from the desk and toss it into Alex’s lap. Alex set the picture on the end table and glared.
    “Time for a reminder, Kairouz? Must we review the videos?” Braun paused. “Then again, she does look like your dead wife. Perhaps you’ve already begun her education. Bedding the retard are you, Kairouz? Perhaps I can help. Have her broken in by a dozen big fellows while you watch. Sound appealing?” Braun laughed and awaited the expected response.
    Alex charged, but Braun was younger, fit, and well trained. In seconds, Alex was face down, his right arm twisted behind him, as Braun ground his face into the carpet.
    “I grow tired of these lessons, Kairouz. The next time you cross me, Farley will rape the retard in front of you as a down payment. Understand?”
    Alex nodded and Braun released him. “Good. Now phone Dugan.” He sneered. “After you pull yourself together, of course. You’re pathetic.”
    Alex heard Braun leave as he lay unmoving, and tears of impotent rage stained the carpet.
    US Embassy
Singapore
    “That’s great, Alex,” Dugan said into the cell phone. “I’ll e-mail Mrs. Coutts my flight information. I assume I can stay at your place as usual until I find a place of my own?”
    “Of course, Thomas,” Alex said. “Cassie will be excited when I tell her.”
    “I look forward to seeing you all. Bye now,” Dugan said and hung up.
    He sat silent for a moment until Ward spoke.
    “So what do you make of that, Tom?”
    “I honestly don’t know,” Dugan said. “He … he has been acting a bit strange lately, and he definitely seems a bit less enthusiastic than I anticipated.”
    “Yeah, something’s up, all right,” Ward said.
    Dugan didn’t respond.
    “Having second thoughts?” Ward asked.
    “I don’t know if I can do this, Jesse. I may have taken a few photos and snooped around for you a bit, but I’m not a spy, and I sure as hell can’t learn to be one in twenty-four hours.”
    “Don’t worry. The Brits will backstop you. MI5 is putting together a team now.”
    “I sure hope you know what you’re talking about, pal,” Dugan said.
    Offices of Phoenix Shipping
London
    Karl Enrique Braun, freelance “problem solver,” formerly of the East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi), returned to his spacious new office, the former home of three disgruntled ship superintendents now displaced to the cubicle farm. He was sated from an excellent lunch, courtesy of his new Phoenix Shipping credit card, and he smiled at the sign on the door: Captain Braun—Director of Operations. The “captain” was a nice touch and as real as his name, after all. He’d been many people in service to the state. When the end had come, he’d forecast it a bit more clearly than his former colleagues and arrived in Havana hours after the wall fell. The