1. A Visitor
Terry Benedict sat back and crossed his arms. "So, what you're meaning to say is, you want to come to an arrangement."
His opposite replied with a curt nod. Judging from his bronze skin and black hair, he might be Mexican, but his English was flawless.
"Without telling me who sent you?"
"Mr Benedict", the man said quietly, his thick black eyebrows meeting above the bridge of his nose, "you would be very ill advised not to accept."
It was hard to ignore the undisguised threat in this, but Terry did, for now. "What's in it for me?"
"Let's see…" The stranger steepled his fingertips. He hasn't even introduced himself, Terry thought grimly. "If you agree, sixteen million, at the very least. If you don't… Well, you might be sharing Tishkoff's fate soon. Or worse."
Terry exhaled slowly, doing his best to exude calmness, while thoughts rushed and chased each other in his mind. "Tishkoff means nothing to me. Why should I bother with him?"
The stranger remained patient, the gaze of his dark eyes never leaving Terry. "Why should you bother with sixteen million dollars?"
Terry was silent for a little while. "Well," he said at last, "What is it you would like me to do, then?"