Raven shook his head. “No. Sorry, mate. Beggars can’t be choosers. Did get you a nice Glock, though. That’ll have to do.”
Sean peeked into the bag for a few seconds and then zipped it shut. “Extra mags, rounds—”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s all there. I gotta say, I don’t know what’s with you guys and the little wars you’re trying to start.”
Sean drew in a long breath and sighed. “No wars here. Just making sure if we run into trouble we’re prepared.”
“We?” Raven drew a sip from his cup.
“My friends and I.”
“You tend to find a bit of trouble whenever you’re around, don’t you?”
Sean grinned. “Maybe trouble finds me.”
Raven slapped a hand on his thigh. “Well, either way, I just want to stay clear of any sort of trouble. Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go find a bed somewhere and crash. Haven’t slept in over twenty-four hours, no thanks to you.”
“No sleep in twenty-four hours? Sounds like you’ve been busy.”
Raven offered a short laugh. “Yeah, well, let’s just say you’re not the only one who needed to start a small war this week.”
Sean’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh really? Other customers?” He took another drink from his cup.
“You could say that. Although they aren’t as nice as you.” Raven slid back into his seat like a snake. “At least with you, I know you’re not going to point a gun at me or try to short me on money.” He lowered his voice so no one else could hear.
“Not my style,” Sean said.
“Yeah, well, tell that to the four Asian guys I just sold a sack full of pistols to. I tell you, some people think fear and intimidation will get them whatever they want.”
“Wait. What did you just say?”
Raven’s face scrunched into a puzzled look. “Um, I said that some people think fear and intimidation—”
“No, not that. The other thing. You said you sold pistols to four Asian guys?”
“Oh, yeah. Right. Look, man, I try to keep everything confidential. If you’re worried about me telling anyone about our little arrangement, I haven’t. Honest.”
Sean shook his head and waved a hand, dismissing Raven’s concern. “No. I know you wouldn’t. These four Asian guys, they didn’t happen to be Korean, did they?”
Raven thought hard for a minute. “I think so. I mean, I’ve done deals with Yakuza, Triads, even some of the Korean gangs. If I had to guess, I’d say they were Korean. I heard one of them say something that definitely wasn’t Japanese or Chinese. I speak a little of those two languages, so I’d know.”
“Did they say anything about why they wanted the guns?”
“No one ever tells me what they’re going to do with weapons I sell them. And to be perfectly honest, I’d rather not know. I have a hard enough time sleeping at night.”
Right. Stupid question, Sean thought. He should have known better.
Raven eyed a brown paper bag on the table. “My money in there?”
“Yep,” Sean said and leaned back in his chair. “For a second I thought you might walk off and forget it.”
“Thanks. Like I said, I’m exhausted. Not exactly 100 percent in my mind right now.” He snatched the bag off the table. “Pleasure doing business with you, as always. Do me a favor. Don’t call for at least two days. I’m gonna take a nap.”
Raven spun around to leave, but Sean stopped him.
“Of course, if you’d like to make a little extra cash, you could stay for one more minute.”
Raven paused, looked up at the ceiling, and then let his head droop. He turned back around and put his hands out. “How much for one minute?”
“Five grand.”
The gun dealer’s face shrank back, causing the skin on his neck and jaw to merge like a pug. He spun the chair around backward and slumped into it. “Five grand? For one minute of my time?”
“If you talk faster, it might be less than a minute. Ever made five grand for a minute of work before?”
Raven thought about it for a moment. “I guess that depends.”
“You haven’t,” Sean said. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t be sitting here talking to me right now. So, you want it or not?”
“Where’s the money?” Raven asked, suspicious.
Sean’s face remained like stone. “It’s already in the bag.”
“It’s in the bag?”
“Mmmhmm.”
“So you were gonna just let me leave with an extra five thousand?”
“Raven, or whatever your real name is — not important — I believe in taking care of the people who take care of me. You have helped me out in the past. And you’ve helped me out today, with very short notice.”
“Very short.”
“So, if you get up and walk away, you can keep that extra money. I won’t try to stop you. I believe, though, you’ll give me my one extra minute.”
Raven considered what Sean said. “I like your style, Agent Zero, or whatever your real name is. Okay, I’ll give you your minute. What else you want to know?”
Sean raised his cup and held it in front of his mouth. “Where were the four Koreans when you met them?”
Raven eyed Sean with suspicion. He took another drink from his latte and then licked his lips. “Okay, I’ll tell you, even though I don’t normally do this. And it’s not just for the money.”
“How noble.”
“No, you don’t understand. These guys are different. They’re worse than the normal scum I deal with. I don’t know what it was about them.”
“Korean gang?” Sean asked, putting the feeler out there.
“Nah,” Raven shook his head. “Not these guys. They didn’t have all the tats most of those gangbangers are sporting. In fact, I didn’t notice any tattoos.”
“So who are they?”
“No idea. I got a call from a guy asking me if I wanted to make a quick ten grand. I said sure. Last time I do a deal like that with people I don’t know. They pointed one of the guns at me as I walked out of their hotel room. The one in charge… he pulled the trigger. I nearly pissed myself.”
“Their hotel, Raven. Where was it?”
The gun dealer looked around the room, nervous that someone might be watching or listening. He glanced out the window to make sure there was no one across the street who looked suspicious keeping an eye on him.
“Brussels,” he said after a long hesitation. “I met them in Brussels.”
“I suppose you sold them the usuaclass="underline" passports, weapons, etc.”
“Careful, mate,” Raven wagged a finger. “Infringing on the confidential thing again.”
“Five grand in that bag says you tell me.”
The scruffy younger man looked up at the ceiling as if the tiles and lights above would give him an answer. Then he put his gaze on Sean. “Yeah, that’s what they wanted. Probably in trouble with the law or something. None of my business. Well, actually, it kind of is my business.”
“Literally.”
Raven stood up to leave. “Thanks for the extra money, mate. Remember—”
“Don’t worry. I’m not telling anyone what you told me. I thought you knew me better than that.”
“Do yourself a favor, mate,” Raven said as he turned halfway around. “Steer clear of those guys if you’re thinking about starting a fight with them. There was something evil about them. I don’t know what they’re up to, but it can’t be good.”
He took a look around and then walked to the door, gave another cautionary peek out the windows, and stepped outside.
“So the North Koreans ran to Belgium,” Sean said to himself. “I wonder where…” His voice trailed off. The epiphany hit him like a sack of rocks. “Oh no.”
Chapter 19
Han-Jae stepped behind the counter in the hotel lobby and smiled politely at the innkeeper.