Page 64 of Locked Down

He found a parking space and was at the Vietnam War Memorial with two minutes to spare. Archer walked up beside him.“You cut it close.”

“Freaking traffic. Why is Thursday the worst day of the week for traffic?”

Archer leveled an assessing gaze at him.“Are you good?”

He meant could Ryker do his job.“Yes, fine. Why?”

“You look…like you’re ready to kill someone.”

“I could say the same about you,”Ryker retorted. Although, come to think of it, this was Archer’s default expression.

“Yes,”Archer agreed,“and that’s why you’re here.”

Fair enough.Ryker glanced around and spotted Whiklow. He was ambling up the walkway.

“Good evening, gentlemen,”he called out as he got closer. His security detail, two men making no effort to blend in, fell back and off to the side.

Whiklow offered his hand to Archer and then nodded to Ryker.“Thank you for meeting me, Archer. I know this is out of the ordinary for us.”He inclined his head toward Archer in a small nod of thanks.

Bullard Whiklow was a man in his seventies, with a fringe of white hair and a large pot belly. He wore a navy blue trench coat over a dark gray suit. Proud owner of an overly bulbous nose and thin lips, but his eyes stood out. They were coal-black and dead. No matter what words came out of Whiklow’s mouth, he couldn’t hide the sheer lack of emotion in his eyes. Ryker often wondered if Whiklow was even human. Somehow, he suspected that if vampires did actually exist, Bullard Whiklow was one of them.

“Bullard, what can I do for you?”

Ryker stepped out of the circle so the two men could chat. He positioned himself a few feet away, close enough to still hear the conversation, and started scanning the surroundings. Whiklow didn’t have to know that he was there to stop Archer from killing him. Ryker could make it look like he was there to protect Archer. In fact, he was doing double duty.

Whiklow started.“Some information has come my way that I think you will find interesting.”

Archer cocked an eyebrow.“What makes you think I would be interested?”

“Because it involves one of your members. This member in particular is causing you some…distress.”

Ryker kept his eyes roaming over the area but turned ever so slightly to make sure he could clearly hear whatever was coming. If Whiklow was talking about Davis, Ryker didn’t want to miss a word.

“And what would you like in return for sharing this information?”Archer asked keeping his voice calm but there was an undertone and Whiklow didn’t miss it.

“Archer, I am here in a friendly capacity. To be frank, I find this news rather…unsettling. For various reasons that will become clear to you, I cannot interfere in the situation, but you have the power to do so.”

Archer studied Whiklow closely. Even if he wasn’t intrigued, Ryker was. If Archer walked away now, Ryker would stay and try to get Whiklow to tell him what was going on. Clearly whatever it was, was big. Big enough to make him reach out for this meeting in the first place. And to avoid a quid pro quo situation in exchange for his information.

Archer finally gave a small nod and Whiklow continued.“In my line of work, I meet a lot of interesting people. One such person called me a while back. I would have reached out sooner, but I have been traveling and this is not the kind of information you share in a phone conversation.”He cocked his head.“Shall we walk?”he asked, glancing around.

Archer nodded and the two started down the path away from the monument with one of Whiklow’s people in front and one behind, next to Ryker.

“This individual called to tell me that he’d been hired to fabricate a bomb for a new client. This would be his last job before his retirement.”

Did he say bomb?Ryker laser-focused on his boss’s conversation. They’d gone round and round about the word bomb he’d heard Davis say. This could be a clarification.

Archer nodded.“I’ve heard McGinnis was getting out.”

Whiklow gave a low chuckle.“I should’ve known you would connect the dots to him. You and I often travel in the same circles if for different reasons. Anyway, McGinnis is concerned. The device he created is not the safest.”

“I find that surprising,”Archer commented.“McGinnis has always been very good. His…products have always been top quality.”

“Agreed. However, this device was requested to be built in a certain way. McGinnis was not pleased, but the client came highly recommended, so he built the bomb. I think he had misgivings about it from the start but when the client came to pick it up, the misgivings kicked into high gear. The man had no idea how to use the device and seemed to be clueless about how to handle it as well. You know McGinnis, he’s not a man who scares easily but the whole exchange left him on edge. So much so that he contacted me.”

“I see, or rather, I don’t see. Where do I come in on this?”Archer asked. They were still walking and running out of park space. Soon they would be on the sidewalk. Both men seemed to realize this at once because they stopped moving and faced each other.

Whiklow gave Archer an assessing stare.“You and I come down on opposite sides of many things but in this circumstance, I believe we are on the same team.”He paused as if choosing his words carefully. Ryker had the feeling that was new for Whiklow. Archer was an equal and Whiklow did not have many of those. Men who were in full control of their worlds, or as much as humanly possible, who did not apologize for it, but nor did they flaunt it. They were indeed a rare breed.

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