Unintended Consequences - By Stuart Woods

47





They dined well and sipped an after-dinner brandy while Dino complained about his new job.

“I have to go to three or four meetings every day,” he said.

“You’ve been to meetings before,” Stone said.

“Not three or four a day. I can’t stay awake, so I have to drink coffee before every meeting, and that means I have trouble getting to sleep at night.”

“Clearly, the job is ruining your health,” Stone said.

“All right, Dino,” Viv said, “we all know you hate your job, so you can shut up and listen—I have news.”

“Tell us,” Stone said. “Is Dino pregnant?”

“Better than that,” Viv said. “I bought an apartment.”

Dino sat bolt upright. “You did what?”

“I bought an apartment.”

“Without consulting me?”

“I’ve been consulting you for weeks about this, and you won’t listen, and you won’t look at apartments, so I bought one. I said ‘I,’ not ‘we.’”

“She likes to lord it over me that she’s rich,” Dino said. “Ever since she collected that reward.”

“Well, I’m not rich anymore,” Viv said. “Now most of it is tied up in real estate.”

“Where?” Stone asked.

“Park Avenue in the Sixties.”

“A snotty neighborhood,” Dino said.

“Prewar building, four bedrooms, living room, dining room, library, kitchen, butler’s pantry, and two maids’ rooms.”

“What are we going to do with four bedrooms?” Dino asked.

“We’re going to sleep in the master suite, which has two bathrooms and two dressing rooms, then we’ll have a room for Ben, when he and his girl visit, one for guests, and I’ll turn one into my study. You can have the library.”

“How much did you . . . Oh, never mind, I don’t want to know.”

“You’re going to love it.”

“When do we have to move in?” Dino asked.

“When I say so, and not before. It has to be painted, and one or two other things done, then it has to be furnished, and when it’s ready, I’ll tell you, and we’ll move in. And I put your apartment on the market today.”

“Oh, God, what if it doesn’t sell before we have to move?”

“So what? You don’t have a mortgage payment. Anyway, the broker thinks it will go fast.”

“I’m being uprooted,” Dino said.

“You’re being transplanted,” Viv replied, “and to a better home.”

Dino excused himself to go to the men’s room.

“What Dino doesn’t know,” Viv said, “is I bought the apartment the day after we got back from Connecticut. The co-op board approved me the following day, we closed quickly, and it’s already been painted. I’ve been furniture shopping all week, and things are already being delivered. I’ve kept the curtains from the previous owner, and I bought a few pieces of their furniture and their piano, too. They’re elderly and they’re downsizing. I’ll let you know when the housewarming is.”

“We’ll look forward to it,” Stone said. He looked up to see Dino returning and gave Stanley the nod to get the van brought out front. Stone paid the check, and they got up and started for the door.

Stanley came back through the front door, breathless. “The van has been shot up, and our driver is dead,” he said. “Go back to your table. I’ve already called it in, and reinforcements and a new vehicle are on the way.”

They went back to the table. Dino got out his cell phone and called the local precinct. He hung up. “NYPD is on the way,” he said.

After ten minutes of grim silence, Stanley returned. “Let’s go,” he said. “I’ve got a car waiting at the back door.”

They followed him outside and got into a stretch Lincoln.

“How did they shoot the driver?” Stone asked.

“He was smoking and had the window down, and that’s definitely not procedure. The van took everything they threw at it and looks good. They’ll need to touch up the paint here and there.”

They pulled out of the alley and were bracketed by two black SUVs that followed them, first to Dino’s building, then to Stone’s house. There were half a dozen heavily armed men around them when they got out of the car and went inside.

“I am unaccustomed to being guarded by men with machine guns,” Helga said as they walked into the master suite.

“So am I,” Stone replied.

“I think it is time for me to return to Sweden, where things are quieter.”

“I couldn’t blame you,” Stone said, “but I would miss you.”

“Why don’t you come with me?” Helga asked as she got into bed. “You will like my island.”

“I have an island of my own, in Maine,” Stone said, “called Islesboro. I think it’s time I got out of town. When the auto show is over, I’m going up there. Why don’t you wait another week and come with me? I’ll invite Marcel, also.”

“I’ll sleep on it,” Helga said.

But they didn’t get much sleep.

• • •

There was a message on Stone’s desk from Mike Freeman, and he returned the call.

“I hear you had a bit of a rumble last night,” Mike said.

“You could say that.”

“You’ll be happy to hear that our van performed brilliantly. It’s at our factory in New Jersey. It needs a few holes in the bodywork filled and painted, but the Kevlar panels stopped everything. A pity about the driver.”

“He had the window down,” Stone said.

“That’s what I heard. You’ll have the vehicle back late this afternoon without a scratch on it.”

“Lance will be so pleased,” Stone said. “He’s besotted with your van.”

“I wish he could do a commercial for us,” Mike said. “We’ll do very well on sales to the government, even without that. I’ve had a lot of pictures taken of the van before we started repairing it.”

“You may get an offer from Marcel for Strategic Services,” Stone said. “Even though I’ve told him you won’t sell.”

“Good. That will give me some idea of what we’re worth.”

Stone hung up and called Dino. “I’m getting out of town for the weekend,” he said. “You and Viv want to come up to Maine?”

“Viv’s working,” Dino said. “She’s gotta travel somewhere with a client, but I’m in.”

“My house at two on Friday?”

“I’ll see if I can give myself the afternoon off.”