Page 81 of Gamma
I shake my head. “Just get us a different car, Apollo.”
Apollo sighs, and withdraws more cash, this time American dollars. “Goodcar.”
The man, older, tall and thin, sort of hunched, his lined features weather-beaten, simply arches an eyebrow. Gestures at the Toyota, makes a thumbs-down gesture.
Apollo adds more cash to the stack in his hand. Shrugs.
When we approached, the man was in the process of opening the door—the keys still hang in the lock. He finishes unlocking and heads inside; we follow him. He sets down his briefcase, grabs a set of keys from a locked cabinet, and returns outside, crossing the lot to a specific car—an Isuzu SUV. It’s not particularly ancient, but neither is it within twenty years of new, and it shows signs of hard wear…so far as I know about such things, which is very little. I stay quiet and let Apollo do the negotiating. Apollo slides into the cabin behind the wheel, accepting the keys. It starts right up, but the odometer shows a very high number.
I glance at Apollo, the unspoken question in my eyes.
He shrugs. “Engine sounds solid, no rattles or squeaks or knocks. A lot of kilometers on it, but I’m not trying to get a lot out of it.” He turns on the AC, which squeals noisily before quieting; within a minute or so, it’s blowing cool enough. He nods, gives the man a thumbs-up.
The man nods. “Good auto. Like me.” He thumps his chest. “Old, still okay.”
Apollo backs the Isuzu out of the spot and parks it by the building; I grab our bag, shoving the ammunition into it and zipping the bag. I leave the keys in the ignition. The salesman eyes the Toyota, doing a once-around, stopping to finger the bullet holes in the rear bumper, and the smashed taillight. His eyes ask the question of Apollo, who merely shrugs, as if he has no more idea than the salesman does.
Apollo makes a show of adding yet more cash to the stack. “No paperwork.”
The man frowns. “Bad time, for you?”
Apollo points at himself and me, then at the salesman, covering his eyes and shaking his head. “You never saw us.”
The salesman’s face shows understanding, and he nods, says something in Arabic. “Big dollar. No paper.”
Apollo chuckles. “The old crook is cleaning me out.” He adds yet more again, and the man finally nods, reaching for the now-sizable stack of money. “Does it have fuel?” The man just shrugs at the question, and Apollo taps the fuel tank door, flattening his palm and lifting it upward in a rising gesture. “Fuel?”
“Ahh. Yeah, okay. Fuel all up. Is good.”
“The fact that all these people who live thousands of miles from the nearest English-speaking country all know so many words in English is astounding to me,” I say. “I mean, you know intellectually how widespread English is, but until you experience it, you don’t really know.”
“And here are we, knowing one word in Arabic between us. Kind of sad.” Apollo shakes the man’s hand, thanking him in Arabic. “Remember, you’ve never seen us.” He covers his eyes again.
The man nods, climbing behind the wheel of the Toyota. “No see. No people. Only me.”
“Good.Shukran.”
The man nods yet again, muttering something under his breath, and simply drives away, to check over his acquisition, I suppose. The Isuzu is automatic, which is helpful—makes it easier for us to take turns driving.
Apollo drives at random again, watching for tails.
A phone in my pocket rings—theotherone. The phone I sent the video from. I hold it up for Apollo to see. “It’s Spaulding, I’d bet.”
“Don’t answer,” he says.
I grin. “I’m answering it.”
Apollo rolls his eyes. “Of course you are.”
I accept the call. “Hi, Dick.”
“You’re a real comedienne,” comes the voice on the other side.
“Not really, just calling it like I see it. So, what’s up, Dick?”
“You think you’ve won, don’t you?”
“Well, Apollo is alive and safe. Yelena is alive and safe. All the girls are alive and safe. Your Tunisian operation, at least, is shut down. Let’s see, what else? Oh, well, I’m aware that you forced Apollo into some sort of money-laundering shenanigans, and you can bet we’re going to shut that down soon, too. But, to be totally honest, no, I haven’t won. Not yet.”