Page 74 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

“On track,” Morin replied. “Something special you’re interested in that Audrey hasn’t told you?”

Brax chuckled on the other side of the world. “So you’ve seen Audrey, then.”

“Hard to avoid her. She showed up at my bar. Plopped her ass down right next to me. Nothing much I could do about it,” was Morin’s snide reply.

“What are you worried about?” Brax said with a smile in his tone. “Competition is good for a man. Keeps you sharp.”

Morin pressed his lips together to hold his comeback in check. Audrey was a nuisance. Nothing more, nothing less. She’d be gone soon enough, one way or another.

He kept his focus on Krause.

Krause knew more about the Stiletto 100 than anyone except Liam Stuart, his missing protégé. Krause was working feverishly to design a similar weapon. The two designs, should both come to fruition, would be direct competitors.

The man who won the race would reap both acclaim and lucrative rewards for himself and his employer.

The losing project would be spiked into the waste bin of history. As it should be. There could be no second place in a high-tech weapons war. Only the winners had a chance to survive.

“You found Liam Stuart yet?” Brax demanded. “Because if you haven’t, I’d say you’re losing this particular arms race, wouldn’t you?”

“Krause is a better option,” Morin said, not for the first time.

Krause had proven himself many times over the years.

Stuart’s fitness was unproven.

Liam Stuart and Krause had been close, personally and professionally. Which meant the upcoming FQT was a test of Stuart’s loyalty to Brax, now that he’d become the lead developer on the project, as well as his expertise.

Nothing less than Stuart’s one-hundred percent fidelity to Brax and his team was acceptable.

The question, quite simply, was Liam Stuart’s reliability.

During their association, Krause had taught Stuart everything he knew about design and development of high-tech military weapons.

Brax pushed a long stream of air across the miles. “We’ve discussed this. Krause is done. Stuart’s our man.”

Eventually.Morin added in his head.

The goal had always been to replace Krause with Stuart. Timing that change of horses was the issue.

The two men fought bitterly when Stuart’s star began to rise. Stuart wanted to shine but Krause wanted to keep him in his place. After the final showdown, Krause left the company and accepted a job in Canada.

Stuart, by all accounts, had been devastated when his friend and mentor announced his departure from the defense company they’d both helped to build.

The friendly competition that had always fueled their working relationship became toxic.

When Stuart completed his Stiletto 100 project far ahead of Krause’s competitive design, the decision seemed to make itself.

“The timing is unfortunate. The situation in Quan and elsewhere has changed,” Brax said breaking the continued silence from Morin. “We had no alternative but to decide between Stuart and Krause sooner than we intended. As you know, the choice was not obvious until recently.”

“That’s an understatement,” Morin replied. “Stuart is young, energetic, brilliant, enthusiastic. But Krause is experienced, competent, confident.”

“Exactly. Both men have their worthy qualities. Both also have issues. As you well know,” Brax said coldly. “There’s no need to rehash all of this, is there?”

A few weeks ago, Morin had named Krause as his final recommendation.

Brax had chosen Stuart as the final decision.

After barely half a moment’s hesitation.

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