The Project 01 - White Jade

his pistol.
    For one or two seconds the Suburban kept going straight. Then it heeled right in a tilting, impossible turn and flipped over onto the driver ' s side . It slid along the pavement showering sparks and shedding pieces of metal, glass and chrome until it came to rest. With a loud thump, it burst into flame.
    The BMW was gone, out of sight.
    " Are you all right? " His words sounded flat and far a way. H is ears rang from the pistol shots.
    " What? Yes, I ' m okay, I think. " She sat up, brushed glass from her hair, and looked at him . " You ' re bleeding. "
    The Suburban burned with fierce, red beauty . A black column of smoke rose into a sky scattered with clouds turning pink and gold from the lowering sun. He felt blood dripping on the side of his neck .
    He wanted to look in the rearview mirror but it was gone.
    On the highway , p eople were getting out of their cars. Holding the .45 high , Carter ejected the empty magazine and inserted a fresh one . He racked the slide.
    His door was blocked s hut.
    " Can you open your door? "
    She pushed hard. It groaned open with a sound of bent metal. Selen a got out . H e slid across the seat and stood beside her.
    " Stay here. " Smoke from the flaming Suburban swirled around him . It smelled of burning rubber and roasting flesh . Nick felt his mind try to pull him back to Afghanistan. He pushed the memory away.
    He walked toward the motionless figures on the ground, toe to heel, bent low, holding the .45 straight out in front with both hands . He nudged the first body with his foot. A pistol lay on the ground , a Beretta by the looks of it. He kicked it away.
    The thick steel and leather of the Mercedes and bad shooting had kept the nine millimeter rounds from penetrating far into the body of the car. Something with more punch , he thought, he 'd be dead. Selena would be dead.
    Sightless Asian eyes stared up at him . Carter checked the others, one by one. His .45 hollow points had done a lot of damage. None of them were breathing. They all looked Asian . He figured the driver cooking in the SUV would turn out to be the same.
    He put the pistol in his shoulder holster and w ent back to where Selena stood by the car .
    " What did they want? " She was pale under her tan.
    " You. I don ' t think they expected trouble. "
    She clasped her arms around herself. He wondered if she was about to faint. Then her face got tight and angry.
    " Goddamn it, this is America , not fucking Afghanistan ! This isn ' t supposed to happen here. That was a new car. Look at it! "
    She surprised him, the language. He hadn't figured her for someone who would swear like that. He looked at the car .
    Her hundred and fifty thousand dollar Mercedes was totaled . The front end was buckled and listing to the right . T he tires were spider webs of shredded metal and rubber. There was a long dented scrape along the driver ' s side. All the windows were gone . T he ground around the car was littered with tiny fragments of broken glass. The beautiful paint job was pocked with bullet holes. Antifreeze and oil made a widening pool on the dirt.
    " Maybe the insurance will cover it," he said. " I'm going to make a call . "
    She looked at him like he was crazy. She shook her head.
    A news helicopter circled overhead, getting pictures to feed the greed for violence on the evening news. Sirens wailed in the distance. Carter took out his phone and called the Director. She ' d get them out of the clutches of the law a lot faster than explanations would.
    At least his headache was gone .

Chapter Six

    W ord came down . Two hours later the cops let them go. The Director sent a car . They rode in silence over to the Mayflower.
    " I need a drink, " she said. " Let ' s get one here at the hotel. "
    Carter's jacket and shirt were streaked with blood. His ear was bandaged where a round had taken off most of the lobe. He gestured at the ruined jacket.
    " You think they ' ll let me in ? Might scare the customers. "
    " They ' ll let you in. You ' re with me. " She was wired.
    They went inside. People turned to look and then quickly away again . T hey strode through the lobby and into the bar and took a table in back.
    The waiter came over. He seemed not to see Nick ' s bloody appearance.
    " Good evening, Art. "
    " Good evening, Doctor Connor. "
    " I ' ll have a Long Island iced tea, with the premium. "
    " And you, sir? "
    " A double Jameson ' s, straight up, soda back. "
    He wrote it down and left. They waited for the