Chapter Thirty-Eight - James
The sun is just starting to drop on the horizon, already washing the sky in a haze of red and orange. In about fifteen more minutes, it’s gonna be perfect. I don’t want to miss it, so I kiss Harper on the head and push back my chair. “Be right back, gotta take a piss.”
I make my way through the tables to the short hallway where the restrooms are located and push the door open. The attendant nods to me and then goes back to his feigned towel-folding. I whip my dick out at the urinal and do my business. I don’t talk to the attendants. I’m not a snob, I just want to finish my piss and get the fuck out of the bathroom.
The door whooshes open, so I look over and see the attendant make a quick escape. He must read minds. I give myself a shake, zip up, and then turn to wash my hands.
“Hello, James.”
It’s been a long time, but there’s no mistaking who the man is entering the facilities. Tall, dark, and yes—he fits the bill in all the cliché ways. The once-brown hair is graying a little at the temples, but not much. And maybe it’s a trick of time, since I was so young when we first met, but he looks the same to me now as he did that day on the beach when he offered me his daughter in exchange for my freedom.
The funny thing is, I never wanted my freedom back then. I wanted to be Six in the worst way. He should’ve asked Tony. Tony would’ve jumped on the chance to kill his way out of the Company.
But he didn’t ask Tony. He asked me.
I never wanted to kill my way out of the Company.
I wanted to kill my way in.
Careful what you wish for. You just might get it, Tet says in my head. “Your boys are getting sloppy, Admiral. She spotted one as soon as we got here.”
“How is she?” the Admiral says back, ignoring my statement. We may not have had a lot of face-to-face meetings over the years, but we’ve talked hundreds of times by phone. I know him better than most and ignoring my dig on his security is typical. He likes to control the conversation at all times and he hates to hear about less than perfect performance. But he does hear it. And I know for a fact he will speak to that guard later. There is zero tolerance for fuckups in our line of work. “She’s well, I hope? I realize you’ve only been in contact for a very short period of time, but I expect her to be well.”
I’m suddenly imagining Harper bent over a couch with my finger in her ass. He will kill me if he finds that shit out. No doubt, promise or not. I turn the water on and begin washing my hands. “She’s doing real good, actually. She’s happy. She wanted seafood tonight, so this place worked out perfect.”
“And you’re on track? With the mission?”
What mission? Jesus fucking Christ, how many mission do I have going right now? “Yes, sir,” I say calmly. “One hundred percent on track.”
“And the files? Has she… mentioned them? A hiding spot? Something?”
“No, sir,” I reply as I turn the water off and reach for a towel. “But I haven’t brought it up yet. I had to leave for a little bit, so we just reconnected.”
“Yes,” he smiles. “Are you enjoying my gift?”
I smile back. What fucking gift? But of course I don’t say that. Because I have missing hours… Or days, Tet adds inside my head. It might be days. “Yes, sir. Much appreciated.”
“She’s wild, isn’t she?”
“Wild…” Who? Harper?
“Her father was an important man at one time, but his loyalty was questioned. Never proved, obviously, or he’d have been dead a long time ago. So I expected the girl to have a similar nature.”
Sasha. He sent me Sasha as a gift. To do what? “Yes, sir, she’s a little shit. But fairly easy to manipulate. Do you have something specific you’d like me to use her for?”
“Her father was wild as well,” the Admiral says, ignoring my words once again. “So the apple and the tree, right?”
We share a small chuckle. Ha ha, yes, the apple and the tree. I have no fucking idea what he’s talking about.
“And my son?”
I shake my head. This I can answer and it’s even the truth. “No, sir, nothing on his location.”
“Well, I have to say I’m a bit surprised by that. You haven’t done much, Tet.”
The Company name stings a little, I have to admit. I’ve always been James to him. Or Six, but only once that first day. It’s always been James. “My time’s not up, so I’m not worried.”
“If the child has not given up his location yet, then she’s of no use to you. Have you questioned her about it?”
I feel like I’m coming in on the middle of a meeting, that’s how confusing this shit is. Did I miss a message somewhere? What the fuck was I supposed to do with Sasha? “We were just talking about it at the table, actually. So she’s close.”
“Good. Get that location tonight and I want her eliminated before dropoff.”
“Yes, sir,” I say automatically. “Drop off is still on schedule.”
“Don’t cut it too close, understand?” His dark eyes bore into me. “I have a deadline too.”
“Sir, I understand. We’ll be on our way tomorrow.”
“Excellent.” He smiles at me and I force one back. “I’ll see you soon. Please bring me good news.”
“Yes, sir,” I say, but he’s already turned his back, walking out the door.
I wait a few seconds, then follow and make my way to the bar. “Pack of Reds, please. And a lighter.” The bartender walks off and returns a few minutes later with my smokes. I am not a big smoker these days. In fact, I officially quit three years ago. But ever since Tony, I’ve been using them to think things through.
And right now, I need to do a hell of a lot of thinking to understand what just happened.
You know what happened, Tet says in my head. “Elimination order,” I whisper to myself. The bartender is only a few feet away and he catches my words, shoots me a terrified look, and quickly walks off.
There’s no smoking indoors in California, so the only thing on my mind right now is getting the fuck out of this place so I can get a nicotine fix. I slip my pack into my pocket and walk calmly back to our table.
Harper and Sasha are laughing about something. They clue me in and I laugh too, but I have no idea what was said. The Admiral’s words are echoing through my mind. I want her eliminated before dropoff.
The girls stand and I throw some cash down on the table for a tip. My meals here are complimentary, there is no check. But the girls won’t know that, so when Harper starts questioning me about what took so long, I tell her I paid already.
She buys it, laces her hand in mine, and she continues her conversation with Sasha as we start walking out. The windows are on the left and I look out over the valley, towards the looming mountains.
A feeling of doom washes over me. A leftover reaction to the Admiral’s order, maybe.
Or maybe it’s from the approaching darkness.
Because that sunset I wanted to see so badly is long gone.