The hectic bustle in the air was tangible on Damien’s lips. People jammed through spinning doors while a rush of bodies propelled down the sidewalk.

He sucked in a breath through his nose, delivering oxygen to his hyperactive brain. He scanned through all the exits, all the openings, but there weren’t many in this seething morass of people.

He patted the lump in his brown leather coat for reassurance, grasping the cold metal of the .45 tucked inside.

~

Jakob examined the crowd below him, the city’s foul air disturbing his face with a grimace. He scanned, back and forth, sweeping the busy street with his eyes, searching for the one man that could do him the most harm…

His acute eyes latched onto a brown leather coat, following its trail up past the collar, where a man’s dusty-black hair lay short against his vulnerable skull.

It was time…all he needed to do was wait for Damien to cross into the specified rendezvous…

He hoisted a slim Mauser up to eye level, aiming it below…