Page 7 of Nash Falls
“I believe you to be an honest, hardworking person, Mr. Nash.”
“Well, you’re right, because I am.”
“But that does not mean that everyone at your firm is, does it?”
“Hardworking or honest?” asked Nash.
“Either or both.”
Nash felt a flutter in his chest. “But you’re here about thehonestpart?”
“Laziness is not a crime, at least not to the FBI.”
“But dishonesty is,” noted Nash.
“It probably won’t surprise you to learn that I’ve built my entire professional career on that one precept.”
“And who at Sybaritic is dishonest?” asked Nash.
Nash was now wracking his brains to find an answer to this before Morris could provide one. Had he missed something, or done something that could come back to—
“Everett Temple likes to be called Rhett, correct?” asked Morris.
“Yes,” said Nash, who was caught off guard by this odd query.
“Do you know why?”
“I’ve… I’ve never really thought about it.”
Morris gave a hollow chuckle. “Oh come now, Mr. Nash, a smart, observant man like you? Yes, we have done some digging on you, sir. The Bureau would not just pick you out cold turkey.”
“Okay, I assumed he was a fan ofGone with the Wind. You know, Rhett Butler, the virile, swashbuckling sort who builds an empire and gets the beautiful girl at the end?”
Morris shook his head. “But the thing is, Scarlet and Rhett part ways in the end.”
“If you say so. I never finished the book or saw the movie, actually. And why the hell are we even talking about this?”
“Let me cut to the chase. The FBI strongly believes Rhett Temple to be a criminal consorting with some very dangerous people over some highly illegal business.” Morris leaned in. “That’s why I’m here, to recruit you as our inside person to build a case against Temple and his partners and tear down the whole nefarious enterprise, brick by brick.”
As Morris was speaking, Nash’s mind began to shut down. When Morris was done, it started working again.
When the FBI agent had appeared in front of him, Nash had truly thought it had something to do with his father. When told it had nothing to do with his dad, Nash had had several thoughts about what it could concern. None of them came close to this.
“W-wait, you’re saying that Rhett Temple is a criminal?”
“Yes.”
“Rhett Temple the CEO of Sybaritic Investments?” said an incredulous Nash.
“That is the only reason I’m here.”
“And he’s consorting with dangerous people?”
“Yes, Mr. Nash he is. Very dangerous.”
Now, Nash had the thought that Shock and his band of idiotshad hired this man to impersonate an FBI agent to scare the shit out of him one last time, in honor of his father’s passing.
“Mr. Nash? Sir?”
