Page 81 of Hidden Ascent

“What’s not to believe? I don’t see how this could be spun any other way but the truth.”

“I don’t think you’re lying. I just don’t believe you’re telling me the whole truth. What happened? Did she turn you down?”

Jay sniffed. The best way to get what he wanted from Sharpe was to give him what he wanted. “Okay, you win. Not that it’s relevant, but yes, she got me at a low moment. She came to me all damsel in distress, and yes, I wanted to help her, but it turned out it was all a ploy to get my cooperation. When I found out she wasn’t interested in anything beyond my assistance, I used the situation to my advantage.”

“I take it you’ve learned your lesson?”

“I never waste a mistake.”

“Good. I appreciate your honesty, but what makes you think I want to work with you beyond accepting your generous gift?”

“You’ve heard of me. You know what I can do. I don’t need to sell myself. My actions have spoken. But if you have no use for my skills, then you can take miss Taylor as a token of my appreciation for your impressive business acumen. I have no more use for her. If, however, you see in me some quality that would benefit either you personally or your business, I believe it would be best for us both if we came to some sort of arrangement.”

“I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you one chance with the understanding that I don’t give second chances. You want to prove your worth to me? I’ve got a job you can do to show me how valuable you really are.”

Jay rubbed his hands together. “Excellent.”

“Miss Taylor’s team was killed because they knew more than they should have. Her boss, Ian Fogarty, was my guy on the ground, so to speak. He didn’t know I was at the top of the food chain, but he still did my bidding.”

“I heard you had him killed.”

“Isla told you, I assume?”

“Yes.”

“Did she tell you she was there when it happened?”

“Yeah. Your guy Harris Baker isn’t much chop.”

“He has his value. Trust me.”

“But why kill Fogarty?”

“He wasn’t a solid investment. He showed remorse despite the very hefty remuneration he received. I no longer believed he could be trusted. Once the job was done, I had no more use for him.”

“You’re not worried about his replacement in the position?”

“Not really. I have various defense personnel and a few high-ranking officials within the FBI and their counterparts working for me.”

“Impressive.”

“There’s always room for improvement. You brought me Isla. I’d like to know who else you can get me.”

“You want me to kidnap someone for you?”

“No, but you never know when you need the port authority or a customs official to do you a favor. I’ll leave it up to you. You bring me something I can use on someone worth my while, and I’ll look for more work for you.”

Jay leaned back and locked his fingers together behind his head. “I can do better than that.”

“Can you?”

“What if I told you I could get the attorney general?”

Jay saw the muscles twitch in Sharpe’s face. He’d hooked him.

“You think you can get me Lloyd Whitlock?”

“I know I can.”

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