The Apex Predator

In this exclusive short story from New York Times bestselling author Michael Koryta, a crime boss and his trusted enforcer encounter their most dangerous adversary yet: innocence.

Dainius Belov had enjoyed an unprecedented run at the top of the city’s crime empire since arriving from Russia in the spring of 1991. He was smart, he was ruthless, he was cautious, and he was protected by a man named Thor.

In their 22 years together, rivals had risen and fallen on a regular basis, and most often at Thor’s hand. There was a time, maybe, when this role as primary enforcer would have bothered Thor. That time was hard for him to recall, though, and after enough years he was no longer certain it had ever existed. The craft of killing came to him in stages. First had been the obvious — kill or be killed. It was important to be skilled in a violent world. In a place alive with predators, the apex predator lived the longest...

Cover design by Adil Dara Kim.

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Amazon.com Review

In this offshoot of his popular Lincoln Perry series, Michael Koryta explores a sad, sordid world in which tigers, trust, and organized crime all vie for center stage. Thor -- the story's protagonist and arguably the apex predator of its title -- is a seasoned hit man whose evolution as a killer developed from survival ("kill or be killed") to sustenance ("money promised things, or at least told lovely lies") to a kind of social value specific to mob life, until his code of honor is tested by the discovery of an exotic animal racket run by his boss. For all its violence, Koryta's story features a tone that hovers between sanguine and bloodless, but Thor, Perry, and the big cats nevertheless act out a tale of chilling moral ambivalence. (More straightforwardly, Koryta will donate a portion of the proceeds from The Apex Predator to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center and Tigers in America.) -- Jason Kirk

From the Author

INTERVIEW WITH MICHAEL KORYTA

Q:THE APEX PREDATOR overlaps with, or at least draws from, some of your novels.How did that come about?

A:The main character in this story is a Russian enforcer named Thor, who appearsrepeatedly as a secondary cast member of the Lincoln Perry series. I'd alwaysenjoyed writing him, with his unusual diction and his preference for whatseemed a genteel set of manners despite his bloody profession. Recently,  a TV project led  me to go back and look at TONIGHT I SAIDGOODBYE and A WELCOME GRAVE and once again I was intrigued by Thor, but thistime the draw was to tell a story from his perspective, to get inside his head.So things basically reverse - Lincoln Perry is the backup cast to Thor in thisone.

Q:And the big cats of THE RIDGE, right?

A:Oh, yes, I can't forget about them. I did some research for that one at anincredible place called the Exotic Feline Rescue Center. In fact, I became moreinvolved with the center after the book was out than during the research.There's a very true and tragic story about an investigation called OperationSnowplow in which tigers were being raised and then slaughtered. That one stuckwith me, and I always intended to write about it in some fashion. In mynewspaper days, I wrote some stories about "canned hunting" preserves where youcan pay $10,000 or whatever the rate is and be guaranteed the chance to, say,kill a boar with a spear. (Really). In some cases the animal is sedated, and inothers the animal is used to being fed at what eventually becomes the killsite, and in all cases they are contained by fences. It didn't strike me as the"sporting" approach, and I thought that would matter deeply to a man like Thor.

Q:The anti-hero is a popular subgenre. Is that what you are exploring with Thor?

A:Not particularly. I don't think of him as hero, anti-hero, or villain. I thinkof him as a character with multiple facets and flaws. More stark flaws thansome others, perhaps. But I always strive to see the lead characters in shadesof gray. I love, love, love a morally compromised character.

Q:Your private eye series has been dormant for a few years, but Lincoln Perryreturns (briefly) in these pages. Do you see that as an open door to a newnovel?

A:I really don't know. It was nice to see him again. But there is an element -and I think a lot of people don't understand this - to how young I was when Iwrote those books that holds me back. I was literally working with Lincoln whenI was 18 years old. It has been good to move on. That said, I always anticipatea tug to return. This story whetted the appetite, certainly...but maybe for moreThor stories.

Q:You mentioned the canned-hunting stories from your journalism days, and youwere also a private investigator. Now you write full time. Do you ever missthose jobs?

A:Daily. I've always viewed writing as a vocation, something I had to do whetherI made a dime or not, and I've been fortunate enough to make some dimes. Butit's still the ultimate joy. I did enjoy PI work and journalism, and I actuallydabble a bit with both on occasion. I still help out on some cases when my old PIboss (former boss, he wouldn't like the old in there) calls.

Q:It has been your first year without a book since you were still in college, Ibelieve. THE PROPHET was your most successful book to date, a New York Times bestseller. Any pressurefrom that? Any hint as to what is on the horizon?

A:I apply enough pressure and self-loathing to my work on a daily basis that Ithink it would be difficult to add more! I kid...to an extent. But I really dothink the most effective "pressure" will come internally. My job is to blockout the external. THE PROPHET wasn't a DA VINCI CODE or GONE GIRL - dealingwith follow-ups to those would be a greater challenge, I'm sure. My last novel wasmoderately successful. That's a comfortable space to occupy.

Asfor what's on the horizon, the new novel is called THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD, andit is set in the Montana wilderness, with a child witness to a homicide on therun through the mountains, and into a forest fire. I took a little extra timeoff for hands-on research - survival school, mountain trips, etc - and I alsohad to devote some time to screenwriting, so that was the reason for the delay.I haven't crumpled beneath my desk from the pressure. (Yet).

Q:Screenwriting? What's in the works?

A:Well, we have a number of projects afloat. THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD has alreadybeen optioned by 20th Century Fox. SO COLD THE RIVER is with NewRegency, THE CYPRESS HOUSE with Chris Columbus, THE PROPHET with Nick Wechslerand Channing Tatum is also attached to that. We've got Oscar-winners on abouteverything! We'll see what happens. I co-wrote a pilotbased on THE RIDGE that just secured some very, very exciting TV news. As Ialways say, my mantra is "cross your fingers but don't hold your breath" whenit comes to these things.

Q:Will we see more of Thor as a feature character?

A:I'd love to do more with him, yes. He's a fun guy to write.

Q:More tigers?

A:Ha. I doubt that. It's a stretch to work them into a novel as easily as, say, adog. But I do love the animals and worry about their plight in this country,the abuse and the lack of quality homes. A portion of the proceeds from thisstory will go to exoticfelinerescuecenter.org and tigersinamerica.org so I hope everyone knows thattheir $1.99 is also supporting a terrific charitable cause.