Interdiction (A James Winchester Thriller Book 3) (James Winchester Series), James Samuel [book recommendations TXT] 📗

"Well then…"

"I wonder if he knew something."

James kicked the foot of the sofa. "Well it doesn't matter now because his brains are all over the pavement. I can't imagine things getting any worse, as it stands."

"It could be your brains all over the pavement, I suppose?"

"Fuck off, Sinclair."

Sinclair shrugged. "You tried, and that's what counts. He was the last man who could have helped you reach your target."

James wanted to bite back, but he couldn't deny the truth staring him in the face. Darko was the only man he knew from the Bosnian-Serb side who could help him take down Plemenac. Part of him wished he could walk straight into the embassy and stab Plemenac in the throat.

Sinclair cleared his throat before he spoke. "I don't want to seem like I don't care, but I'm going to have to return to London soon. My flight is early tomorrow morning." He paused for a moment and bit his bottom lip. "It's not too late for you to join me. No damage has been done. Gallagher has yet to terminate you, based on what I heard from your call."

"You were listening?"

"Most of the street was listening at the volume you were speaking."

"If you must know, he ordered me to stand down. If I touch Plemenac, he will terminate me."

"And you said?"

"I put the phone down."

Sinclair raised his eyebrows. "The polite way of telling Gallagher to go fuck himself, then? I admire your restraint."

"It's not funny, Sinclair. That selfish prick only thinks about his money. Nothing about the people or anyone else. He doesn't understand why I want to stay here and why I feel like I have to try to do something good with my life. Just this once."

Sinclair remained silent.

"You know, I helped Plemenac without knowing it. I got rid of Kadrić, a man who really was only there to lay the groundwork. Now Plemenac has taken over, he's the real brains behind it. Darko and those men died because they were loyal to Kadrić. Oppose him? With his position and connections, he could start a war."

"Do you think he will raise an army?"

James shook his head. "He'll do it politically under the threat of violence. How he'll do it I don't know, but what I'm sure of is if he isn't stopped war will break out. How could I live with myself when I'm sitting in England watching a war play out on TV knowing I helped make it happen?"

"Then what will you do now that Darko is dead?"

"I don't know. Really, I don't, but there's always a way. If I can pin Plemenac down, I could get to him and nobody would ever suspect it was a targeted assassination. Accidents happen all the time but pinning him down is the difficult part."

"So, there's nothing I can do to convince you to come home with me? I really don't want to leave you here on your own. Trust me, I don't."

"Then stay here with me. Gallagher hasn't ordered you to stand down. I'll take the blame for everything. You won't suffer if you stay here. Even if you never leave this hotel again before we go to the airport, I can live with that."

Sinclair's lips morphed into a thin line. His nostrils flared and his eyebrows kept rising and falling with the furrows on his forehead.

"Come on, Sinclair. It won't be for long, I promise you."

"Fine." Sinclair grabbed James' hand and shook it. "Just don't make me regret it. And if Gallagher orders me to stand down directly, I will have to leave. That is the deal. In the meantime, I will try my best not to speak to him."

"Yes, yes, of course." James couldn't keep the smile from his face. "I need all the help I can get now. Intelligence was never my strong suit."

Sinclair dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "In the meantime, speak to Kemal. See what he can do for you. It's been a while."

Chapter Fifty-Three

It felt like an age since he'd met Kemal. Not since the day after Ratko's beating and they still hadn’t fully mended their rift. James met Kemal amid the crowds outside the Sacred Heart Cathedral; the rotund Bosnian was licking an ice cream cone.

"Isn't it too early in the year for that?"

"Never too early, eh? Mint is good."

James shook his head. "So, what do you think I should do? I've found myself at a dead end. You're about the only person who can help me now. We need to pin down Plemenac and then... make it look like an accident."

"I don't understand you, James. We can shoot him. War is good, eh? If Srpska wants a war, we crush them."

James frowned. "Well, if we can avoid a war, it would be better for everyone. The point is, I need a way to get to Plemenac and I don't know anyone close enough to him. He's moving and moving quickly. Those murders in Banja Luka must have been him. Getting rid of anyone who speaks out against him."

Kemal gnashed down at the side of the ice cream cone. "Yes, Plemenac. Three more dead Serbians. Good, good. Oh, Ratko is fine now. Ismet's men are good. They watch him all the time. I don't think my son even knows they are there."

James tried to hide his irritation at Kemal's dismissiveness. "I'm glad Ratko is recovering well, and that he's safe. But do you know anyone who can help me? I need to get to Plemenac. Someone who knows him. You must have someone. You have a lot of friends here."

Kemal laughed. "Yes, yes, everyone knows me. I am very popular man, eh?" He stopped to continue licking his ice