Last Chance to Die by Noah Boyd (large screen ebook reader .txt) 📗

do what you want. If you call a lawyer, he’s going to instruct me to leave.” Vail stood up. “And when I do, so does this offer. Then we’ll lump you in with the Lithuanians and you can defend yourself on the murder charges.”

“Okay, okay. What do you want to know?”

Vail sat back down. “First, tell me how you were recruited.”

“I was approached at my apartment one night. They offered me a hundred thousand dollars if I accepted. It was paid the next day, and I was told there would be plenty more. Two days later I gave them a dozen documents, mostly technical data and schematics. As soon as I did, they demanded to know when I could get more. I knew then that I had made the mistake of my life. They told me that they had video recordings of our exchanges, and if that wasn’t convincing enough, they asked me if I wanted to end up like Maury Gaston. I had never associated his disappearance with what I was doing. I knew right then he was dead. It scared the hell out of me. After that their demands were relentless. Believe it or not, I’m relieved. When you introduced yourself, I knew that one way or the other the nightmare was over.”

“It may not be as bad as you think. You have one very large bargaining chip at your disposal—we’re going to need your testimony.”

“Testify? Against them? I told you, they’re crazy.”

“The only other option is prison.”

Radkay stood up. “I need to think. And a drink.” The engineer went over to a hutch and opened the upper cabinet. “There is a third option you know,” he said, his voice suddenly cold, mechanical. “I could just run.” When Vail saw that there were no liquor bottles in the compartment that Radkay was reaching into, he jumped to his feet. As soon as the revolver came out, Vail dove behind the couch and drew his automatic.

Radkay turned and fired, hitting the cushion that Vail had been sitting against. He started to run toward the back door. Vail poked his head above the couch, and Radkay fired again. This time the bullet penetrated the padding and barely missed Vail. “I’ve got people in back,” he lied. “And I parked my car so you couldn’t get out.”

Radkay glanced through the window he was standing next to and saw it was true about the car. “Then I guess I’ll have to take yours.” He started toward Vail and fired another round.

Vail realized he had no other choice now. He stood straight up and fired once, hitting Radkay in the chest. The engineer went down, and Vail hurried over to him. Radkay gurgled briefly, and then his head fell to the side, his eyes still open and blank in death.

The front door flew open, and Kate and Bursaw rushed in with their guns drawn. “You okay?” Bursaw asked.

“Yes, but it looks like I just did the Lithuanians a favor.”

Kate looked at the body and let her weapon drop to her side. “He was our last chance.”

“He may be dead, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still help us.” Vail went into the kitchen and picked up Radkay’s phone on the desk, dialing Kate’s cell phone. When it began to ring, he said, “What does the caller ID say?”

“R. Radkay,” she said. “With the phone number.”

“I’ll be right back.” Vail went out to his car and brought back his briefcase. Shuffling through its contents, he found the business card Alex Zogas had given him for the Lithuanian Chess Society. He also took out the two GPS tracker phones the technical agent had given him and handed them to Kate and Bursaw.

After holding a finger to his lips, he dialed the LCS number into Radkay’s phone. “Is Alex there? This is his guy from Matrix-Linx.” Then, in a whiny voice, Vail said, “Well, tell him that the FBI was at my bank today. Tell him I’m freaking out and need him to call me right away.” Vail hung up.

“What are you doing?” Kate asked.

Vail grabbed Radkay’s body under the arms and dragged him inside the room that was farthest from the front door. “Making lemonade.”

36

An hour and a half later, the two men that Alex Zogas had dispatched from the Lithuanian Chess Society turned onto Raymond Radkay’s street. Slowing down, they allowed their car to run at idle speed while they checked the other partially built homes in the development for vehicles. There were none. They switched off the car’s headlights and dialed Radkay’s number. “Hello.”

They hung up, increasing their speed toward the house. There was a light on in a first-floor window. They pulled into the driveway, got out, and walked to the front door. It was locked. The bigger of the two men took a short crowbar from under his coat and placed it in the jamb. Following a short, quick pull, a loud metallic crack echoed through the empty neighborhood and the door was pushed open.

Inside, it was completely dark. Both men drew their guns and stepped into the foyer. As they approached the stairs, a shot rang out. The muzzle flash had been to their left. Instinctively, they moved away from each other, firing in the direction of the blast. They leapfrogged toward the shooter, continuing to fire. Then, during one of the pauses, they heard a body hit the hardwood floor. One of them snapped on a flashlight and saw that Radkay had been hit once in the chest. “Okay, let’s get him out of here.”

After carrying the body out to their car and putting it in the trunk, they tossed their handguns in, too.

Five minutes later Kate and Bursaw pulled up to Radkay’s house in the two Bureau cars, and Vail came out. He jumped in with Kate, who had one of the GPS cell phones open in her hand. “Looks like they’re heading for 95 South. Where did you put the tracker?”

“I taped it to the small