Page 95 of The Collector
“If you can clear the table without a miss, I will pay you one million dollars.”
“And if I can’t?”
“Magnus will pay me the same amount.”
“That hardly seems fair. Or interesting,” added Ingrid. “How about three racks for ten million?”
“Done,” said Gennady, and sat down next to Magnus.
Ingrid selected a cue stick and pocketed three balls on her break. Six more fell in rapid succession.
“Where did you find her?” asked Gennady.
“She found me,” replied Magnus.
“Is she going to miss?”
“I can’t imagine.”
She cleaned the rest of the first rack, calling each shot quietly before executing it, and then moved on to the second rack, which she dispatched with equal speed and assurance. Gennady didn’t bother with a third. He had seen quite enough.
He unlocked a cabinet and removed a gun. “You’re quite good with a cue stick, Ms. Sørensen. But what about something like this?” He laid the weapon on the red baize surface of the table. “It’s a Russian-made SR-1 Vektor, the standard-issue firearm of the FSB, the GRU, and the Presidential Security Service. It has an effective range of one hundred meters and is capable of piercing multiple layers of body armor. The magazine holds eighteen rounds. Despite its enormous power, the suppressor is quite effective.”
Ingrid took up the Vektor and confidently made the weapon ready for firing.
Gennady was suitably impressed. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever killed someone before?”
“I’m afraid not.” Ingrid engaged the safety and laid the Vektor on the billiards table. “And I certainly don’t intend to kill anyone tomorrow night.”
“You might not have a choice. Not if you still want to be alive the following morning.” Gennady returned the weapon to the cabinet and withdrew a glossy real estate brochure from the Moscow office of Sotheby’s International. “Not long after Nikolai’s wife died, he put his home on the market, anonymously, of course. The asking price was ninety million, and there was little interest. The Sotheby’s brochure includes floor plans and photos ofevery room in the house, with the exception of Nikolai’s office. It’s located—”
“On the second floor of the mansion, overlooking the rear garden.”
Gennady opened the brochure and pointed to a spot on the floor plan. “The door is located here, at the top of the main staircase, a few steps to the right.”
“What about the lock?”
Gennady pointed toward the door of the game room. “Nikolai and I used the same builder. Our locks and hardware are all the same. It’s a German model. Quite difficult to pick, or so I was led to believe.”
Ingrid reached for her handbag. “May I give it a try?”
“Be my guest.”
She went out and closed the door. Gennady locked it internally.
“Ready when you are, Ms. Sørensen.”
There were two faintly audible thumps, and in she walked.
“So much for the locks being difficult to pick,” said Gennady.
“Some are,” said Ingrid. “Most aren’t.”
“What about safes?”
“The safes in most hotel rooms are a joke, but the one in Nikolai Petrov’s office is the real thing.”
“How are you going to get into it?”
