PROLOGUE
Cowering in the stale darkness of an unfinished maintenance closet, he struggled to stifle the wheezing of his own ragged breath. Sounds of pursuit and the smell of fear blotted out his plans for relaxation on the banks of a well stocked trout stream.
Max's thoughts flashed back to the morgue. Less than a week earlier, he and Manny were gazing into a small glass vial by the light of an X-ray viewer. The vial was so cold that his breath instantly frosted and crystallized on the glass. The pinkish, semi-liquid content was worth its weight in diamonds--a thousand times over.
Two of his friends, and several of his enemies had paid more--much more.