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Synopsis
Business is war.
And Luke Tanner is about to be its latest casualty. He's overheard
men conspiring to gain control of a $1 billion piece of business
by using a unique strategy - the murder of the two CEO's who control
it.
The conspirators discover that Luke has overheard
them and try to kill him. But he gets away. To silence him, they
kidnap his girlfriend, pediatrician Dr. Jenna Johannson.
When the kidnappers try to kill them,
Luke and Jenna manage to escape, only to discover that the $1
billion business - a massive worldwide automotive advertising
account - is his. Luke also discovers that it's too late to save
the lives of his CEO and client - because at that very moment,
the two men are in the Yucatan Peninsula, unreachable by phone
and about to walk into the assassins' trap.
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Spanish
voice cleared his throat. "You never tol' us how come you
wan' these two men, these Twins, killed so bad."
"Business decision," the
American said.
"What kind of business?"
"When they die, their advertising
business will switch from their present agency to another one."
"This business--it's worth
a lot?"
"Yes."
"Many millions?"
"Many millions."
"Maybe we should get bigger
fee, eh?"
Another man grunted, "Sí
"Look--Goddammit!" the
American said. "It's four hundred thousand! For you two and
your colleague. That's it!"
"Easy, amigo, just kidding,"
Spanish accent said. "But when do we get our fee?"
"Half was deposited in the
Banque Bruxelles Lambert account in Brussels this morning. The
rest, as agreed, will be deposited when you handle the Twins."
Tanner broke out in a cold sweat.
Jesus--this is real. These men were finalizing plans for a hit,
talking about a fee sent to the Banque Bruxelles Lambert and cuatro
narices, things his agency pals wouldn't know about.
Luke
saw Herb, the ancient waiter, working tables nearby, start to
walk toward him, coming to warm up his coffee. Luke tried to wave
him off, but as usual the old man's eyes were drilled to the floor.
Herb's fog-horn voice would boom over the alcove wall and let
the men know Luke had overheard them.
Luke looked down, pretending to
concentrate on the script, praying Herb would go away. But Herb's
feet clomped closer and stopped.
"Care for something?"
Luke looked up, then realized Herb
was on the other side of the abutment.
"No," the American said.
"My friends and I are leaving."
Luke exhaled like a slow leak. He
heard chairs scraping, the men walking away. If they turned right,
they'd see him, know he knew. He pretended to write, white-knuckling
his pen. The footsteps faded left, the way they'd come, along
the balcony. Luke had to see them. He stood, peered around the
abutment and saw two short, dark-skinned men wearing blue-black
windbreakers and walking with a tall, blond, bearded man in a
grey suit. They vanished into an elevator heading up.
Luke sat back down and stared at
the floor. Incredible. He'd just overheard men plan the murder
of two businessmen connected to an advertising account, two men
called the Siamese Twins. He couldn't recall anyone in the business
referred to as Siamese Twins. Which meant he had to phone his
pal, Hank Redstone, a lieutenant with the Detroit Police. Hank's
people would somehow have to identify the two men in an industry
which employed hundreds of thousands--and warn them before Sunday.
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