But a part of him wished he had the same outlook on the fragility of life that Daniel had. Would he be so blasé about Daniel’s death if roles had been reversed? No. No fucking way.
“Look, can you just call your partner out of hiding so we can talk? Civilized? This has all gotten fucked sideways, and I think we would prefer if this didn’t blow up into a bigger international incident than it already has been.”
Sergei gave a little eye roll. “Keeping my companion where he is means that he can’t overhear me, and that’s best for all sides. What about you?”
“You know I work alone,” Edward said at a near growl.
“Good.” Tucking one arm of his sunglasses into the front of his shirt, Sergei sighed. “Since we’re being a tiny bit honest, I will say that your Kevin Jones is a fucking idiot. He can’t be the best you’ve trained. Opening this little bidding war up to include the North Koreans and the Saudis? I’m surprised this hasn’t been splashed across the New York Times yet. Sloppy.”
Tension eased from Edward’s shoulders, and he couldn’t help but sigh as well. “The new generation has gotten sloppy. It’s not like the old days. People had patience. They worked a contact over months, if not years.” He caught a horrified look from Daniel and cleared his throat. Yeah, he had a feeling that they were going to have a long talk in the near future about spying and the game. Well, they were going to talk as much as they possibly could about his job. His reality was a twisted mess, and he didn’t advise it for sane people.
“The North Koreans and Saudis have been removed from the game,” Edward continued.
“I heard. I believe that makes me the final bidder.” He lightly chuckled. “I guess I win by default.”
“You know I’m not giving up the information. It’s not for sale any longer.”
Sergei snorted. “Does that really matter? My boss wants the info, and it’s already been pulled together in a nice little packet, I’m sure.”
“Come on, we’ve always been low key about our endeavors, steered clear of each other when necessary.”
The Russian lifted his hands, palms up, as if trying to get Edward to see the obvious. “Do you think your superiors would have passed on this information?”
No, Edward was confident they would not have walked away from it.
“The original packet has been destroyed,” Daniel said.
Sergei stared at Daniel as if trying to figure out if he was telling the truth. In the end he shrugged. “Your Kevin Jones was not the only one looking to sell this information. He had a partner, and I am quite confident that he is still alive.”
Edward had thought as much. Some of the information contained in the file had not been stuff that would be part of an agent’s usual purview. There had to be another person involved in this matter. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask Sergei, though he was skeptical of any information the Russian would provide, when shots rang out.
Launching himself sideways, Edward tackled Daniel to the ground, grunting as he hit the gravel with his shoulder. He forced them to roll until he was completely on top of Daniel, covering as much of his body as possible. He looked down to find a pale Daniel staring, wide eyes looking up at him.
“Were you hit?”
Daniel shook his head. “Who—”
Another couple of shots peppered the ground near them. Edward repositioned them so Daniel could get to his feet. He shoved the man toward the trees, telling him to keep low. The second set of shots had come from a different direction and weren’t aimed at them. Must have been Sergei’s companion.
Pulling his gun from its holster, Edward crouched low and hurried to Daniel’s side. Two more bullets whizzed by him, but he wasn’t sure which shooter they were coming from.
Once he reached a tree, he looked to where Sergei had been to find the man sitting on the ground with his back to a large clay pot overflowing with white and purple flowers. He pressed his hand into his thigh, but it was still easy to see the blood soaking into the pale linen slacks.
“What the hell?” Edward called to Sergei.
“Those first shots weren’t from my man,” Sergei snarled.
“We don’t have anyone else with us.”
“Obviously, since he was shooting at you as well.”
Was the shooter Jones’s partner in crime? Or had one of the other bidders surfaced, looking to take out the other competition?
From behind the tree, he tried to scan the immediate area for the location of the shooter, but the thick green foliage was offering excellent cover. The pathway back to the château was open, and he could see other tourists scattering in various directions, bent low to the ground as they ran at the sound of the shots.