Page 41 of Stuart Woods' Golden Hour

“No, Mr. Wenz. The next time you hear from me, I promise it will be good news.”

“We look forward to it,” Dieter said, then tapped the disconnect button.

“I swear to God,” Braun said. “If he fucks this up, too…” He shook his head and began pacing behind his desk. “Does he not understand how important this is to me?”

Dieter remained silent as his boss walked back and forth.

Finally, Braun stopped. “Schmidt has become too much of a liability. Where’s our closest team?”

“In Rome.”

“Put them on standby and keep tabs on Schmidt. If it’s not done within the hour, send the team to deal with Rogers.”

“Understood.”

Braun’s desk phone buzzed. He hit the intercom button. “Yes?”

“Jillian Courtois would like a moment,” his assistant said.

“Send her in.” He clicked off the phone and said to Dieter, “You should stay for this.”

Like before, Jillian entered as if she wasn’t sure she should be there.

“Come, come,” Braun said, waving her to his desk.

“S-s-sorry, Mr. Braun,” she said and hurried over.

“Well?” Braun said.

She swallowed nervously, then said, “Something came up concerning one of the names on your list.”

“Which name?”

“Teddy Fay.”

“Teddy Fay is dead,” he said, eyes narrowing in annoyance at being reminded that his father’s killer had escaped justice.

“That may not be true, Mr. Braun.”

He stared at her, not sure he’d heard correctly. “Say that again.”

“It-it-it’s possible that Teddy Fay is still alive.”

“Explain.”

“It’s only a rumor, but the source is credible. M-M-Mr.Lawrence wanted me to tell you and ask if you’d like me to look into it further.”

Braun stared at nothing, not wanting to believe it could be true for fear of his hopes being dashed, but unable to stop himself. If Teddy Fay was alive, then Braun would have his long-desired chance to squeeze the life out of the son of a bitch.

“M-M-Mr. Braun?” Jillian said.

He blinked and focused back on her.

“What would you like me to—”

“Do it,” he said, cutting her off. “Find out if it is true, and if it is, findhim.”

15

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