Worth Dying For

tomorrow. Which means we have preparations to make.’
    Cassano and Mancini got back from the diner and went straight to Cassano’s room. Cassano called the desk and asked if any pairs of guests had just checked in. He was told yes, two pairs had just arrived, separately, one after the other. Cassano asked to be connected with their rooms. He spoke first to Mahmeini’s men, and then to Safir’s, and he set up an immediate rendezvous in his own room. He figured he could establish some dominance by keeping the others off balance, by denying them any kind of thinking time, and by bringing them to his own turf, not that he would want anyone to think that a shitty flophouse room inNebraska was his kind of place. But he knew psychology, and he knew no one gets the upper hand without working on the details.
    The Iranians arrived first. Mahmeini’s men. Only one of them spoke, which Cassano thought was OK, given that he spoke for Rossi, and Mancini didn’t. No names were exchanged. Again, OK. It was that kind of business. The Iranians were not physically impressive. They were small and ragged and rumpled, and they seemed quiet and furtive and secretive. And strange. Cassano opened the minibar door and told them to help themselves. Whatever they wanted. But neither man took a thing.
    The Lebanese arrived five minutes later. Safir’s men. Arabs, for sure, but they were big, and they looked plenty tough. Again, only one of them spoke, and he gave no names. Cassano indicated that they should sit on the bed, but they didn’t. They leaned on the wall instead. They were trying for menace, Cassano figured. And nearly succeeding. A little psychology of their own. Cassano let the room go quiet and he looked at them all for a minute, one after the other, four men he had only just met, and who would soon be trying to kill him.
    He said, ‘It’s a fairly simple job. Sixty miles north of here there’s a corner of the county with forty farms. There’s a guy running around causing trouble. Truth is, it’s not really very important, but our supplier is taking it personally. Business is on hold until the guy goes down.’
    Mahmeini’s man said, ‘We know all that. Next?’
    ‘OK,’ Cassano said. ‘Next is we all move up there and work together and take care of the problem.’
    ‘Starting when?’
    ‘Let’s say tomorrow morning, first light.’
    ‘Have you seen the guy?’
    ‘Not yet.’
    ‘Got a name?’
    ‘Reacher.’
    ‘What kind of name is that?’
    ‘It’s an American name. What’s yours?’
    ‘My name doesn’t matter. Got a description?’
    ‘Big guy, blue eyes, white, six-five, two-fifty, brown coat.’
    Mahmeini’s man said, ‘That’s worthless. This is America. This is farm country. It’s full of settlers and peasants. They all look like that. I mean, we just saw a guy exactly like that.’
    Safir’s guy said, ‘He’s right. We saw one too. We’re going to need a much better description.’
    Cassano said, ‘We don’t have one. But it will be easier when we get up there. He stands out, apparently. And the local population is prepared to help us. They’ve been told to phone in with sightings. And there’s no cover up there.’
    Mahmeini’s man said, ‘So where is he hiding out?’
    ‘We don’t know. There’s a motel, but he’s not in it. Maybe he’s sleeping rough.’
    ‘In this weather? Is that likely?’
    ‘There are sheds and barns. I’m sure we’ll find him.’
    ‘And then what?’
    ‘We put him down.’
    ‘Risky.’
    ‘I know. He’s tough. So far he’s taken out four of the local people.’
    Mahmeini’s man said, ‘I don’t care how tough he thinks he is. And I don’t care how many local people he’s taken out either. Because I’m sure they’re all idiots up there. I mean it’s risky because this isn’t the Wild West any more. Do we have a safe exit strategy?’
    Cassano said, ‘They tell me he’s a kind of hobo. So nobody is going to miss him. There’s not going to be an investigation. There aren’t even any cops up there.’
    ‘That helps.’
    ‘And it’s farm country. Like you said. There must be backhoes all over the place. We’ll bury him. Alive, preferably, the way our supplier is talking.’

THIRTY-ONE
    T HE PHYSICAL SEARCH OF THE AREA WAS DESCRIBED FOUR separate ways, in four separate files, the first from the county PD, the second from the State Police, the third from the National Guard’s helicopter unit, and the fourth from the FBI. The