Prologue

He sat in the darkest corner of the bar, half of his face hidden by a worn hat. The glass of beer before him remained untouched.

“…we’re gonna get killed if the boss finds out.”

“No, we’re not. Calm down. We’re out here. What do you think he can do?”

He had been following the conversation coming from that table with some interest, careful not to let anything show. The group at the table seemed to be about the rumors of the new technology.

“But now we can’t just — You remember what he said about — ”

The whisper was cut short by a fusillade of gunshots. The acrid smell of gunpowder and metallic tang of blood hit his nostrils. The entire group crashed to the floor, blood gushing profusely.

A split second of ringing silence.

Then the place exploded into a frenzy of screams and footsteps. In a few seconds the place was deserted.

He got up as well, hand on his gun, which was concealed in his jacket. Just as he passed the table from which he caught the conversation, something snagged his foot. He yanked his foot hard, but the thing held fast. He drew his gun out and turned back, his finger on the trigger, the gun pointed right at his foot. To his surprise, he found a pallid, bloody hand around his boot.

“Don’t…shoot…me,” a feeble, strangled voice croaked.

“Why shouldn’t I?” he asked, his voice flat and cold. His gun followed the hand to a single pale, teary eye staring out at him from the background of crimson.

“We…We have codes…”

One of his eyebrows lifted slightly. “Oh, I see. Well, we’ll talk about it later.” The hand loosened and he tugged his foot free. His free hand went for the cell he always kept in his pocket, the gun still trained on the eye.

“Oliver? New case. The Little Rock. All right.” He took the phone away from his ear, not looking up as his finger swiped at the screen. “My friend will be here in a few minutes. Hang in there.”

When five seconds had passed and he still hadn’t perceived any sign of an answer, he looked up.

To his astonishment, the eye was blank.