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“And I told you having that name, you’d have a lot to worry about. Be careful what you ask for.”
Mark Samuelson watched her carefully. His focus was alarming, but she breathed in deeply and returned his stare. “We’ll take our chances,” he said.
“How much is the name worth to you?” she asked.
“One thousand dollars, cash, untraceable, clean money,” Samuelson said.
“Make it fifteen hundred,” she said.
“You’re fucking incredible,” West exploded. “Take the grand and be happy we’re not coming after your family.”
“Fifteen hundred and a favor,” Samuelson said, ignoring West.
“What’s the favor?”
“There’s a certain captain in South Carolina who doesn’t have what it takes to go the distance. She needs to be permanently retired,” Samuelson said.
“How do you want it done?” Laura Lee asked.
“OD her on pills,” West said.
“You have no imagination,” Samuelson said.
“Suicide has always worked well for me,” West proclaimed.
Laura Lee’s thoughts instantly went to Jessica Lansing as well as the coeds she’d suspected killed themselves after West’s assault. Had he killed them and made it look like they’d committed suicide?
“It didn’t this last time,” Samuelson said.
“She’s braindead. Will never wake up, so I’d say it worked.”
“Car accident, but make sure there is no doubt it was an accident,” Samuelson said.
“That’s easily doable,” Laura Lee said with confidence.
Certainly, they had enough recorded to convict these two men. She wondered when the others would bust in for the takedown of these two. She stood there silently, waiting.
“So, the name?” West said.
“So, the money?”
Samuelson reached into his jacket pocket. She tightened her grip on the knife and watched his movements closely. He pulled a bound stack of cash from his pocket. “Eight hundred dollars. The remainder is on the way.”
He handed her the money, which she took and immediately fingered through. “Remember I warned you. Codename of our CO is Lucifer.”
Though he didn’t speak, she saw that name register in Samuelson’s facial expression for the briefest of moments. Then he covered it up and his emotionless expression was restored. She wondered how that was possible if the identity had just been created for this mission.
“Real name,” West said.
“I doubt it’s his real name, but I’ve heard the name Donovan Lewis associated with Lucifer,” she said.
“Liu is parking in the professor’s lot of the Criminal Justice Building on campus,” Mike Roger’s voice came into her ear.
That’s what they’d been waiting for, Laura Lee realized. They wanted to get him in the room, too. She wondered about Jin Ma. There’d been no report, so he must still be in the gym.
“What’s your codename on the team?” Samuelson asked.
Without missing a beat and with total conviction, she answered. “Snake eyes.”