Free The Last Assassin by Barry Eisler Page A

he said.
    I glanced around again. The street was deserted. A building opposite us was being renovated, and there was a dumpster in front of it.
    'Give me a hand,' I said. 'Get him into that dumpster.'
    'The dumpster? Why…'
    'Goddamnit, just do it!'
    Without another word, Dox grabbed one of Wong's wrists and hauled him up off his back. He stooped and swept the body up into a fireman's carry, then strode with it over to the dumpster. I went with him.
    In front of the dumpster, I reached into Wong's right jacket pocket. I felt something cold and smooth inside and pulled it out. Sure enough, it was a Balisong, with what looked like titanium handles.
    'That what he was carrying?' Dox asked.
    'Yeah,' I said, dropping the knife into my pocket. 'Let's get him in there.'
    The top of the dumpster was about six feet up and mostly in shadow, thank God. The two of us managed to get Wong's shoulders up to the lip, then shoved him until his torso tipped inside. We lowered him by his ankles until he was hanging upside down with only the backs of his knees against the top, and then let go. He slid down and hit whatever debris was at the bottom with a low thud.
    I looked around again. Still all quiet.
    'Let's go,' I said. 'At this hour, I doubt anyone saw or heard anything. But I want to be sure. I'll come back in a little while.'
    We started walking. 'Come back for what?' he asked.
    'I can't leave the body here. It's too close to Midori's apartment, they'll know what happened.'
    'Well, how are you going to move it?'
    'I need to borrow your car.'
    'I was afraid you were going to say that.'
    'He's not bleeding much,' I said. 'I didn't stab him. I'll put something down under him, it'll be okay.'
    'Yeah, but where are you going to…'
    'I'll punch holes in him and sink him in the Hudson. But I need a way to get him there.'
    We turned onto Sixth Avenue and were suddenly amid lights and people. The street felt normal. It was calming.
    'What were you doing there, anyway?' I asked as we walked.
    'The way you got off the phone, partner, I had a bad feeling. You just didn't seem like you were being your old careful self.'
    'I didn't expect him there,' I said lamely. 'I thought he'd go back to the noodle shop, like he did last night.'
    'He did. I watched him talk to his boss again. Looked like they had another fight. I guess the boss man told him to get his ass back out there in the cold and do what they were paying him to do, because out he went.'
    'They were talking to each other the whole time, not looking at a video monitor, anything like that?'
    'No, they were just talking to each other. Why, you think you got your picture taken?'
    I shook my head. 'I wondered if maybe there was a hidden camera in the lobby. But even if there was, even if they had access to the feed, it doesn't sound like that's what brought Wong. Anyway, when he came upon me, I could tell he wasn't prepared.'
    'There's an understatement. You know, when I saw where he was heading, I tried to call you, but I couldn't get through.'
    'I turned the phone off.'
    'Well, if anybody ever compiles a list of the high-water marks of human cleverness, I'm afraid that's unlikely to merit consideration.'
    I didn't respond. I deserved the sarcasm, and worse. What the hell had I been thinking? I knew better. I'd always known better.
    Maybe I'd been trying to behave the way Midori would want me to behave. More like a civilian. Maybe I was trying to show her, show us both, that I could do it.
    The attempt had lasted for all of thirty seconds. And look what happened within that brief span.
    'I'm sorry,' I said.
    'That's okay. A situation like yours, it'd throw anyone off. Speaking of which, all I was going to say before was, Why go to all the trouble and risk of getting him in and out of the dumpster? I would have just left him on the ground next to it, covered him with his jacket, and pissed on him so he'd look and smell like a passed-out drunk.'
    I stopped and looked at him. Why the hell hadn't I