Page 27 of Natural-Born Cullers

Simon eased his phone down.

“You want in officially?” Gray didn’t look up from the run of chalk on his finger. “Prove it. Get a name, get his history, and if I call it, take the kill. This doesn’t belong on my streets.”

Simon stumbled for only a moment, then found a reply. “Sir.” Giving a nod to Cal, hands shaking just slightly, he left.

Cal drew up to Gray and offered over a handkerchief as Gray eased to his feet. “Clean your hands, boy.”

Echoes. Cal’s words over the handkerchief was an echo of youth. Gray’s. How he stood on a Welsh hillside, watching… feeling the life drain from the sheep that had taken out a car, the thickness of wet blood staining his hands, all drip…

Fucking drop.

Whose car had that been back there? Raif’s?

Tick… fucking tock. Christ. Cal being here started to really dig into him.

“Usually it takes years to train a dog soldier.” Cal put his handkerchief away when Gray didn’t take it. He hadn’t as a kid. “Andrews has had, what? Eight months?”

Cal kept the discussion quiet and in Welsh, so Gray did too. “His skill is with the net, with a killer who’s using it. He’s also schooled to not make a move without my say so.”

A smile chased Cal’s lips. “So he’s Konami…. And you’ll be there for this particular artist in case he hasn’t got the stomach to in the end, huh?” Cal looked him up and down. “Fucking Welshmen. Too much Red Dragon and not enough St George ruling your head, heart, and damn stupid sense and heat.”

“Thank you.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.”

Drip…

Fucking drop.

“Yes it was.” Gray didn’t look at him. “You want Blood Eagle off the streets outside of any law court. It’s why you called me here despite earlier words over learning delegation. You may not trust me fully, but you don’t want any other culler put on his tracks. You want that echo of raw Welsh hate holding the culler’s leash.”

“Idon’t want any other culler on his tracks…?” Cal snorted. “Tell me, son, since you took on lead culler role, have you opened any of those files on your other two active cullers yet? Given them culling duty? Have you looked at the trainee cullers in waiting? Or are they all being denied existence like you did with me? Suspended in all that quiet of yours?”

Drip… fucking drop.

Cal tilted his head. “Yeah.” He nodded. “There’s the Welshman.”

“He’s always been here.”

“No he hasn’t. Not as your mother’s son. Not as mine.” Cal looked him up and down, finally resting on the red chalk coating his fingertips. “But I think he’s coming.”

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Cal snorted a smile. “Go home, burn it out, boy.” It came so distantly. “Stay away from Jan. Hold on to Jack.” A snort. “You really need someone to hold on to and pull you back until this side of you is really needed.”

Chapter 10

Holding on to Jack

Jack pulled a Corsa part from one of the boxes and laid it out on his office desk for Ash to get a look at. “Right. This here is the timing chain for the Vauxhall Corsa D Hatchback (S07) 1.0.” He took out the next chain and laid it by its brother. “This one is for the Vauxhall Corsa D Hatchback (S07) 1.2. Can you see the difference?”

Wearing suit, no tie, Ash studied them for a moment, even prodded at one, then the other, but then shrugged. “They look exactly the same.”

Jack would have been surprised if he could tell the difference visually considering Ash wasn’t a mechanic, but he gave him a moment to see if he’d catch on with where his skill did lie.

“Ah.” It seemed to click so quickly. “Article number on the first is TL5680 from our supplier, the second BF5568. Both usually cost £25.96, but with the twenty-seven percent discount we get, that’s… £18.96 for each one.”

“But?” said Jack.

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