Page 13 of Fractured Allegiance
Who knows better than me, how a person’s mind can double as a weapon? And this man is a recording device. You can feel it. Everything you say gets etched into him. For what purpose, I can’t tell yet.
He’s not sweating. Not nervous. And most importantly, he doesn’t seem afraid.
And he should. So, either he’s very stupid… Or very dangerous.
I change tactics.
“You’ve been working here for a long time?”
“Long enough.”
“Long enough to know what you’re laundering?”
“If you’re asking that question, you already think you know the answer.”
That makes me smile.
Not just because he’s a bit of a smartass, but because it’s true.
“So, why the fake front?” I ask. “Why the suit and the business cards and the boring desk?”
He doesn’t look insulted.
He just shrugs.
“Sometimes the best place to hide is somewhere no one wants to look.”
I tilt my head.
“And what are you hiding?”
He looks at me.
Too long.
And for a second, I forget to breathe.
“Nothing I want to explain,” he says.
The temperature in the room rises by ten degrees.
I uncross my legs. Stand.
He doesn’t move.
But his eyes follow.
“Drazen won’t like unknown variables,” I say.
“Then I guess he should get to know me.”
“Is that what you want?”
A muscle ticks in his cheek. His eyes say yes.
His mouth says nothing.
I step toward the door. I don’t turn my back on him.
