Wyatt - 04 - Cross Kill (14 page)

He pocketed both guns and the
Bentley rode silently into the traffic. The interior smelt of leather,
aftershave, aggression. Wyatt leaned back against the door. Towns was an
amiable, scholarly, alert-looking man whose trade included murder. He said
mildly, Have you considered taking a train? At the bottom of the steps there.

Wyatt looked at him flatly. His eyes
didnt stray.

I assume youre the bastard
knocking over our operations, Towns said finally. What are you trying to
prove?

Let me give you two names from the
recent past. Bauer and Letterman.

Towns seemed tired suddenly. Wyatt.

Wyatt said, You sent Bauer after
me, I killed him. You sent Letterman after me, I killed him too.

For the first time in months there
was a twist of emotion in Wyatts voice. He heard it in himself and he welcomed
it. He didnt care that the old calmness was gone, the certainty he felt when
he hijacked an armoured car or cleaned out a bank. This time he was after revenge,
not profit. It was personal this time, and there was something cleansing about
that. He was setting his will against a man who meant him harm. Emotion came
into it. He couldnt be neutral.

He nudged Towns viciously, the .38
bruising the thin mans ribs. I need to see Kepler.

To kill him? We wont let that
happen. Well stop you, here or at his place. Take my word for it.

Im not interested in killing him.
I want to talk. I want to make a deal.

The Bentley stopped to let an
ambulance through. Wyatt stiffened instinctively at the siren. So did Towns.
When the car moved on again Wyatt said, Take me to Kepler, or Ill simply keep
hitting you. One day Ill hit Kepler himself. Take my word for that.

What sort of deal?

Take me to Kepler.

By now the Bentley had gone around
the block. It was creeping in traffic a few metres from the flower-choked
footpath again. People glanced in exhaustion at the glossy flank of the big car
before plunging down the station steps. Towns shifted in his seat. Anything
you want to say to Kepler you can say to me.

Wyatt shook his head, close to
frustration. What was it with Towns? Why were they negotiating on this? The
shutters lifted from his face and he began to fire the .38. Shots smacked into
the seat close to Townss left thigh, waist and shoulder.

The Bentley swerved violently,
bumped over the kerb and stopped at a skewed angle across the footpath. The
driver turned around, eyes wild. Wyatt waved him on with the gun. Just drive,
he said. He fired into the seat again. The puncture marks were dark in the
cream leather.

Towns had frozen at the first shot.
He seemed to wish himself smaller. Finally he breathed in, expanded his chest. Okay,
okay. He leaned toward the driver. Take us to Kepler.

The penthouse?

The penthouse.

Wyatt looked out, his heart
thudding. The driver was sweeping them past Hyde Park. The trees were torn and
leafless. There had been two days of freak spring storms and Sydney was sodden
and steaming, a city of edgy, cooped-up people and wind-stripped gardens. The
late afternoon sunlight angled through the bare trees. A couple of black
sailors from a US warship were kidding with schoolgirls on a park bench. People
strapped with cameras, packs and money-belts ambled along the paths, joggers
and cyclists slipping in and out among them. Wyatt saw a kid snatch a purse and
run with it on roller blades. Everyone watched the kid dart past them but no
one stopped him. That sums up this city, Wyatt thought. He didnt speak again,
and willed calmness on himself.

The penthouse was on the marina at
Darling Harbour. Stay with the car, Wyatt told the driver.

The driver looked at Towns, Towns
nodded.

Towns used a swipe card to get them
into the building. They crossed the foyer, a place of dark marble and thick
glass. Towns pressed the lift button and they rode to the top.

The doors opened onto a small
hallway. Towns used the swipe card again to let them into the penthouse. Wyatt
looked around. The carpet was thick, the sofa was leather, and Kepler had
tacked Ken Done paintings over the walls. There was no sign of anyone. Where
is he?

Just then they heard a manufactured
squeal coming from one of the other rooms. Towns regarded him neutrally. Take
a wild guess.

Lets check on his performance,
Wyatt said, prodding Towns with the gun. Towns led him to a corridor to the
left of the main room. The sounds of passion were more pronounced now, with
plenty of unimaginative dirty film dialogue. Towns stopped outside the room
where all the heaving was going on and said, Hes not going to like this.

Wyatt prodded him with the gun. We
might learn something.

It was the woman who had twice tried
to kill him in Melbourne. She had very long legs and they were waving in the
air. She was making all the noise but her eyes, still scarred and bruised, were
open and aimed abstractedly at the ceiling. Any noise Kepler made was muffled
because he had his mouth stuck to her neck. He had a massive wattled trunk,
skinny agitated buttocks and thin legs.

Hope you havent got a dicky heart,
Kepler.

The noises shut down at once. Kepler
went still, then the woman pushed at him and he splayed onto his back, looking
gluey, red and limp. The woman sat up, drew her knees to her chin and slowly
grinned, taking in Wyatts exhausted, prohibitive face. He read it as a
challenge and ignored her. I want you both under the covers.

The womans grin widened. Dont
tell me I make you feel uncomfortable?

Shut up, Kepler said wearily. He
swung his legs to the edge of the bed. Let me get dressed, and well have a
talk.

Wyatt shot out the tiffany lamp next
to the bed. Under the covers. He waved the .38 at Towns. Join them. Then we
can talk.

* * * *

Twenty-four

Wyatt
started with the woman. Shes been trying to kill me.

Kepler lifted his pudgy hands and
let them drop again. Its what she does.

Wyatt stared at her. Have you got a
name?

Rose.

Rose what?

Rose will do.

She was low in the bed between the
two men, only her head showing. She was watching him, gauging him, her face
small and white and her bruised eyes dark like two discs in a mask. Now and
then he caught a flicker, as though she were telling him they shared a history
and had to play out its consequences.

Are you payroll or freelance?

What does it matter?

It mattered to Wyatt. If she were
freelance she would always be a problem, wanting to settle her grudge. If she
were in Keplers pay, Kepler would have to persuade her that this job was off
now, the contract cancelled. Wyatt turned to Kepler inquiringly.

She works for me, Kepler said.

Exclusively?

Yes.

What about the three heavies she
had working with her?

Hired help, Kepler said. We wont
be using them again.

Wyatt turned to the woman. Rose, Im
no longer a target. Mr Kepler is about to explain that to you.

Really? Kepler said. He had folded
his arms over the grey mat of hair on his soft chest. Why would I do that?

Wyatt pulled a matchbox from his
inside pocket. He opened it with one hand. Glassy chips the size of fingertips
thudded onto the quilt of the bed like fat drops of rain. Your diamonds, he
said, worth a hundred thousand grand.

Id like to know how you knew about
that.

Shut up. Diamonds, a hundred grand.
Cocaine, another hundred grand. Loss of goodwill and business from your
gambling mates Wyatt shrugged incalculable damage.

Kepler stared at the diamonds, then
heaved up out of the sheets to pick them up. Youre off your rocker. Whats
this all about?

As I just said to Rose, you put a
price on my head and now I want you to remove it.

Kepler laughed. Why should I do
that?

To save yourself more grief.

Kepler shrugged. Ive got a large
and loyal workforce. Well hunt you down.

Wyatt ground the barrel of his .38
into a bulge in the quilt that was Keplers foot. Kepler, Im doing the
hunting now. Cant you see that?

The foot jerked, then stopped. Im
genuinely puzzled. Why dont you just take the diamonds and piss off overseas?

Wyatt shook his head. I like it here.

Or go underground, Kepler said.

I dont want to run. I dont want
to be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

Kepler gestured irritably. Youve
got the drop on me here, Im defenceless, so why not kill me?

It might still come to that.

No, seriously, Kepler said. I
want to know.

Having a price on my head
interferes with the work I do. I want to continue doing what I did before all
this. I want to operate freely. I cant while the contracts still active,
wondering if every punk I meet intends to prove himself by going up against me.

And if I dont cancel it?

Then Ill kill you. Maybe not
nowmaybe Ill let you stew a little. And Ill keep hitting your operations
until no one trusts you, until youre ruined.

Towns spoke for the first time. That
wouldnt remove your central problem, Wyatt. The contract would still be
active. The organisation has plenty of resources. Even if you kill all three of
us, whoever takes over will find you sooner or later.

Wyatt didnt look at Towns. He
watched Kepler, saying nothing. Hed known how the conversation would go.

Are you listening? Kepler said. In
terms of a bargaining position youre offering fuck-all. Why should we listen?
You cant just promise to stop hitting us. Youll have to come up with
something substantial.

Wyatt seemed to think about it.
Kepler looked at him thoughtfully. What I
could
do is offer you a job.
A man with your talents, you could be very useful.

You must be joking, Wyatt said.

He knew what working for the Outfit
would be like. The Outfit had snared a lot of good professionals who were now
in the slammer. What they offered sounded good on the surface. Theyd set up
every job for you, complete with floor plans, equipment, back-upeven videotapes
showing the layout if thats what you needed. Then theyd fence the jewels,
paintings, bullion, travellers cheques for you, launder the cash, taking those
sorts of risks onto their own shoulders so that you werent worrying about
being ripped off or trapped by undercover cops.

The catch was, once you were one of
theirs, the Outfit worked you day and night and paid you peanuts for all that
hard work and talent. If lucky, youd earn maybe ten cents on die dollar for
everything you stole and the Outfit pocketed the rest. If unluckyif you were
arrested, or cracked under the pressureyou were on your own.

No thanks. Whenever Wyatt needed to
fence anything, there were good men he could go to, independent operators who
valued the work he did and paid top dollar.

Youre making a mistake, Kepler
said.

Wyatt shook his head.

Okay then, Kepler said, pushing
the covers down to his waist, finish me off here and now.

Shut up, Kepler. You asked for
something substantial. I can give it to you. Youre expanding into Victoria,
correct?

Slowly the scorn and irony
disappeared from Keplers heavy face. He laughed harshly. We wouldve had a
toehold there by now if you hadnt stuffed us around.

Forget that, Wyatt said. Have you
heard of the Mesics?

Kepler eyed him, looking for the
trap. Stolen cars.

Karl Mesic died recently. The
oldest son intends to move them into more ambitious rackets, but meanwhile theyre
vulnerable. Already a lot of small operators are sniffing around ready to snap
up the bits and pieces.

Wyatt paused. Then he smiled. There
was no warmth in it, only a hard certainty. I can give them to you.

You can give me the Mesics?

Lock, stock and barrel, so long as
we hit them now while everythings still in place, still operational.

Kepler regarded him sceptically. Whats
in it for you?

The Mesics have got some money thats
rightly mine. Last year one of their agents ripped me off. I dont expect to
get everything back, but every Thursday night theres a lot of cash in the
safe. Ill take whatevers there. Thats all I want.

Kepler was suspicious suddenly. Who
else have you approached with this idea?

No one. Why?

Keplers face cleared. I want to be
sure theres no competition. You say you only want cash? Not an operating
percentage?

I want whatever I can carry with me
out of the door, Wyatt said. Everything else is yours.

Such as?

One, you get to talk to the Mesics
face to face. Two, you get their recordseverything you need to know about
their current operations and what they have in mind for the future. Armed with
that kind of information you could take over without a hitch.