“Oh, believe me, I know angles,” Ajax said testily. “Whoever fired those shots could have hit any one of us. But he missed. Deliberately.”
Dmytro finally spoke up. “You can’t know for sure they weren’t aiming at us, Ajax. Perhaps they were simply a poor shot? Or shooting from a boat on the water, which moved unexpectedly?”
Cautiously, Ajax led them into the dining room where the three of them glanced up again. “They fired three rounds. For a poor shot on a rocky boat, that’s an awesome pattern, don’t you think?” Sure enough, three neat holes—one through each large plate-glass window—formed a straight line on the ceiling tiles, each about four feet inside the restaurant as if someone had shot out each window as they’d walked past. “That would make any shooter proud.”
Dmytro shared a look with Bartosz.
“I may not speak your language, but you have very expressive eyes, Dmytro. You think I have no clue what’s happening here, but I know anxiety when I see it.”
That took Dmytro by surprise. “I—”
“Yes, Dmytro of the expressive eyes.” Bartosz jumped right on that. “I was watching the pedestrian walkway. There was nothing. Ajax is right. A child would not have missed if they were aiming at us.”
“We didn’t follow the first plan.” Ajax pursued it. “We switched cars. We’ve done the unexpected everywhere we’ve been. Do the fucking math.”
“All right. Come on. You’re tired.” Dmytro took Ajax by the arm and led him back to one of the chairs. “You can nap as soon as Zhenya tells us to board the boat.”
Oh God, the boat. “I told you I won’t be able to sleep on a boat.”
“You must. Even if only briefly. You’re obviously exhausted, and we’re going to need your help later. Peter thinks if Ajax Freedom goes back online, the person who sends his regards with such”—Dmytro pursed his lips as if something tasted foul—“specificitywill be compelled to act.”
“Ajax Freedom is over. He’s done. That ship has sailed.”
“We have more than one ship,” Dmytro promised. “Iphicles has an armada.”
Dmytro seemed furious when Peter,the Iphicles point man, took charge of their operation. He and several other burly men in black Iphicles polo shirts and black jeans descended on the docks to discuss the attack at great length with the police, who seemed equally unhappy to have them there. A crime scene team checked the trajectory of the bullets. They searched unsuccessfully for shell casings.
Dmytro, Bartosz, and Ajax gave answers to their questions and asked their own.
Now they were in a holding pattern, trying to decide what to do about the things they’d learned.
“We should go back to LA and start over.” Bartosz was adamantly, vocally opposed to staying one minute longer. “Perhaps they’re not trying to kill you. Perhaps someone is trying to squeeze you into a kidnap and ransom scenario. The more they narrow our options, the more I think—”
“You really think that’s what’s going on here?” Ajax asked. “It’s all about cash?”
After the shooting, Dmytro had convinced him to wear a bullet-resistant vest. They kept him isolated, under theprotection of Iphicles men, one hundred percent of the time now.
Bartosz nodded slowly. “It’s a strong possibility.”
Dmytro had been listening without speaking for a while. Now he said, “If they want only to take you, then the coincidences make more sense. They’ll assume we’ll be rattled. Without resources.”
Ajax didn’t buy it. “But anyone can see we have resources everywhere.”
“Even so, our options are being taken away one by one.” Bartosz ran a hand through his thick hair. “Do you see?”
“He sees, Bartosz. Give it a rest.”
Peter shot Ajax a pained glance. “I’m so sorry you had to go through this.”
“It’s no one’s fault.”
“Except whoever’s doing this to you,” Dmytro muttered darkly. Ajax didn’t like that person’s chances if Dmytro ever caught up to them.
Since the restaurant had closed its kitchen, their waiter, Jason, took pity on him. He’d concocted a smoothie while they waited for the police to finish taking statements.
“You’ll like this,” he said. “Strawberry colada. Virgin so your boys there won’t blow a gasket.”
“I could use a real drink,” Ajax whispered.
