Barry Eisler Quote

She looked at me. You’re an assassin, aren’t you? When there are rumors the government has someone on the payroll, they’re talking about you, right? I let out a long exhalation. Something like that. There was a pause. Then she asked, How many people have you killed? My eyes moved to my glass. I don’t know. I’m not talking about Vietnam. Since then. I don’t know, I said again. Don’t you think that’s too many? The mildness of her voice made the question worse. I don’t… I have rules. No women. No children. No acts against nonprincipals. The words echoed flatly in my ears like a moron’s mantra, talismanic sounds suddenly stripped of their animating magic. She laughed without mirth.  ‘I have rules.’ You sound like a whore who wants credit for virtue because she won’t kiss the clients she fucks. It stung. But I took it.