Page 42 of The Secret

“US Army.”

“For real?”

“For real. My ID’s in my pocket.” Reacher started to lower his right hand.

“No. Stay still. What’s the army doing here? You can’t operate on US soil.”

“We’re here to help you. If you’re Spencer Flemming.”

The guy didn’t reply.

Reacher said, “Come on. What’s the harm in telling us your name? You’re the one with the gun. Are you Flemming?”

The guy nodded. Just the tiniest of gestures. “Might be.”

“Then you’re in danger. Someone’s out to kill you. We’re looking to stop that from happening.”

“Kill me? Impossible. They’d have to find me first. No one knows I live here.”

“We know.”

“Yeah.” Flemming hitched the shotgun up a little higher. “You do. How come?”

“A friend of yours told us. Maksim Sarbotskiy.”

Flemming was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “Who?”

“Maksim Sarbotskiy. He said you were a journalist.”

“Oh. That guy. Short, skinny. Albanian. Remind me—which arm is his tattoo on?”

“He’s Russian. We didn’t see his arms. And he’s not short and skinny. He’s huge, like a wrestler.”

“He goes by a French name now. What is it?”

“It’s English. Or it’s supposed to be. Prince Sarb. But I doubt anyone takes it seriously.”

“OK.” Flemming paused. “Go on. Why does someone want to kill me? And why do you care?”

“Because of Project Typhon.”

“What do you know about that?”

“Not enough. Which is why we care. It’s why we’re here. We want you to tell us about it. That will help us stop the person who’s coming after you. But if you don’t want our help, fine. We’ll leave. We won’t bother you. We’ll just watch for your name in the obituary columns.”

Flemming didn’t respond.

Reacher lowered his hands and turned away. “Fine. See you. But you should know the person we’re talking about has already killed five people.”

Flemming said, “Random people?”

“Specific people. All scientists who worked on the project.”

“Then why should I worry? I’m not a scientist. I wasn’t on the project.”

“The killer wants information about Typhon. The only remaining scientist who has it is MIA. The only other person who knows about it is you. Go ahead. Do the math.”

Flemming took a step back. “I’m not leaving this place. I won’t run. I won’t hide.”

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