by Mike Ryan
“So, how’d you meet this guy?” Recker asked.
“Uhh, he was actually here for something, I think his sister had a baby, and we bumped into each other.”
“And he just happened to ask you out?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Hmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mia said.
“Nothing. So, when do I get to meet this guy?”
“What?”
“Well, we’re friends, right. I’d like to meet him. I just wanna make sure I think he’s right for you and
all.”
Mia seemed a bit taken aback by his request. She hadn’t accounted for Recker wanting to meet her new beau, and hadn’t even thought of it for a second. She figured Recker would never want to meet someone she was dating. Unless it was to punch his lights out.
“What? What’s the matter?” Recker asked.
“I, uhh, just hadn’t expected such a calm response out of you.”
“Why? You and David thought I might go out and shoot somebody or something?”
“Umm, well, actually, we did wonder.”
“I know. I sometimes have...issues. But I think it’ll probably be good for you to date someone.”
“You do?” Mia asked, surprised he was taking the news so well.
“Look, I think we both know the way we feel about each other, we’ve talked about it enough. But you also know why it’s best we go in other directions. If I can’t give you what you need, then you need to get it somewhere else. I understand. I get it. It’s what you deserve.”
“Well, I’m glad you approve.”
“I do. Just as long as I meet the guy and give him my seal of approval.”
“Uhh, I don’t know. I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Mia said.
“Why? What are you afraid of?”
Mia let out a laugh. “Are you serious? What am I afraid of? Do you not know who you are?”
“OK. I know. I’m not gonna shoot him. I’m not gonna throw him off a roof or in front of a moving car. I just wanna meet him and make sure he’s good enough for you.”
“See, that’s what I’m afraid of right there.” She grinned. “You wanna make sure he’s good enough for me. You’re either gonna grill him, or intimidate him, or do something to scare him off.”
“Mia,” Recker said, putting his hands on his chest, feigning being offended. “You really think I’m gonna do something to scare this guy off?”
“Mmm, yes. Yes, I do.”
“I promise you I’ll be on my best behavior and I’ll do nothing to embarrass you.”
“I dunno. I’ll think about it.”
“So how long have you known this guy?” Recker said.
“You keep calling him this guy. He has a name.”
“Oh. Sorry. So how long have you known this guy, Gary.”
“Josh,” Mia said.
“Whatever.”
“I dunno. Few weeks I guess.”
“And you’re getting serious about him already?”
“See, I knew you’d do this. You’re already grilling me about him. It’s why I was afraid to say anything to you.”
“OK. OK. I’m sorry. I just wanna make sure...I guess it’s just my protective nature in general, and also of you. I’m always gonna try to protect you. At least, as long as I’m in your life. I just wanna make sure you’re getting into a good situation.”
“I know. And that’s one of the things I’ve always loved about you. How you look after me. But Josh is a really good guy.”
“So, when do I meet him?”
Mia sighed. “I don’t know. I’ll see.”
They continued talking for a few more minutes before they were interrupted, a voice yelling Mia’s name in the distance. Recker turned his head around to see who it was, figuring it was a doctor or nurse, or maybe someone from the hospital staff. It was a younger man, though, dressed in a nice suit, in his early to mid-thirties.
“Oh my,” Mia said, her mouth dropping open. “What is he doing here?”
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Before getting up the nerve to ask Recker to lunch and spring on him the news about her new boyfriend, she had originally asked Josh to meet her. He had something come up at the last minute though and canceled on her. So, Mia figured it was as good a time as any to tell Recker about him. She never dreamed Josh would wind up coming anyway, while she was still having lunch with Recker. It was a nightmare of epic proportions. She had to have the worst luck in the world, she thought. Recker turned his head back toward Mia and gave her a little devilish smile. With the garish look on her face and how stunned she looked, he figured he had a pretty good idea who it was calling her name.
“Is, uhh, this the new boy toy?” Recker asked sarcastically.
“Oh, please stop,” Mia said, worrying already that she was about to have the worst moment of her life.
Recker turned his head back toward the visitor, watching his every move as he walked toward their table. Mia stood to welcome her new boyfriend, though Recker stayed seated as Josh gave her a kiss on the cheek. Josh took the seat next to Mia, who was still shocked they were all together.
“Surprised to see me?” Josh asked.
“You have no idea,” Mia said shakily. “What are you doing here? I thought you said you had a last-minute appointment.”
“I did. I thought it was gonna take a lot longer though. I wrapped it up fairly quickly. I figured I’d come down and surprise you.”
Mia forced a smile, still incredibly uncomfortable with the two men sitting at the same table. “You definitely did.”
Josh looked at the man sitting across from them and reached his hand out to introduce himself. “Hi. I’m Josh.”
“Mike,” Recker said, shaking hands.
“Oh. Mike. Are you the security guy she’s friends with that she told me about?”
“I dunno. Am I the security guy, Mia?”
Mia put her elbow on the table and started rubbing the side of her head. “Uhh, yeah, yeah. This is my friend Mike. Works in security.”
“So, I hear you’re a lawyer,” Recker said.
“Yeah.” Josh laughed. “You don’t have to say it like that though. We all gotta make a living somehow, right?”
“Sure do,” Recker said, disliking the man almost instantly.
“So, what kind of security work do you do? Mia said it’s really dangerous stuff.”
“Yeah, it can be. We do security work, investigations, you know. We take on all sorts of clients, usually those in urgent need of protection.”
“Hey, if you’re ever looking for a job, my firm’s always looking for good investigators.”
“I think I’m good where I’m at right now.”
“You sure? Probably a little safer work than what you’re doing now, you know?”
“Most likely. But I doubt I’d get as much satisfaction out of it,” Recker said.
“Ah, you’re one of those guys, huh? Live for the rush?”
Recker faked a laugh, though he wasn’t amused. “No, not really.”
“So, how’d you guys meet?” Josh asked. “Mia said you two are close and you’ve known each other a couple years. But she just won’t tell me how you two met.”
“I told you that his cases are classified and I can’t talk about them,” Mia said.
“I think I can divulge this one,” Recker said, smiling at her. “Mia had an abusive ex-boyfriend that was stalking her.”
“Oh wow. You never told me that,” Josh said to her.
“Yeah, I was trying not to.”
“So anyway, Mia’s father hired me to tail her and watch over her. So that’s basically how we met.”
“That’s great. So, you protected her against this guy and you became friends,” Josh said.
“Basically.”
“So, what happened to the guy? Did he go to jail?”
Recker smiled at Mia again, almost proud to recall and tell the story. “No, not quite. He h
ad a little bit of a more...extreme end.”
“Really? What happened?”
“I threw him off a roof,” Recker said bluntly.
Josh laughed, thinking Recker was joking with him. By the look on his face, though, as well as the nauseated look attached to Mia’s face, he quickly came to the conclusion it was no joke.
“Wait. You’re joking, right?” Josh asked. “I mean, you didn’t really throw him off a roof, did you?”
“Well, there’s a difference of opinion amongst some of us,” Recker said. “Some say he slipped. Some say he was thrown. I like to go with the latter.”
“Oh. Well umm...so do you usually end your cases like that?”
“Sometimes. Sometimes I just like to shoot them and be done with it.”
“Oh my god,” Mia whispered, low enough that nobody could actually hear her.
She closed her eyes, thinking this meeting could not have been going any worse. She put her hand over her mouth and shook her head, wondering why she deserved a fate like this.
“So uhh, have you had any legal trouble in your work?” Josh said.
“No, why?”
“Oh, nothing, no reason. Just wondering.”
“Interested in representing me if the need arises?” Recker asked.
“Oh, no, I’m not that type of lawyer. I do personal injury, workers compensation, things like that.”
“Oh. Mia told me you were a real lawyer.”
With Recker’s last line, Mia buried her head in her hands even deeper, just wanting to crawl down into a hole and hide for a while. She just wanted to be out of there and go anywhere else.
“Well I am a real lawyer,” Josh said.
Recker laughed, slapping the table. “Just kidding with you, man. Of course you are.”
“Oh.” Josh smiled.
Mia couldn’t take anymore. If she stayed there any longer with those two bantering like they were, she might’ve been driven crazy. Not to mention completely embarrassed. This was exactly the reason why she didn’t want to the two of them meeting yet. This was what she feared happening. Mia looked at her watch to end the engagement.
“Oh, look at the time. I’m late to get back,” she said hurriedly, standing from her chair.
“Already?” Recker asked.
“Yes. I was only on a short lunch.”
“Don’t you two have to get back to work anyway?”
“No,” Recker said, shaking his head. “Remember, my calendar was clear for the day.”
“Oh.”
“Well if you have to go maybe me and Josh can just keep sitting here, talking, getting to know each other.”
“Uhh, no, no, no, no,” Mia said, flustered at another nightmarish scenario. “Uhh, you have to get back to work. I know you do,” she said, talking to her boyfriend.
“Yeah, unfortunately I have a few more appointments booked for the day,” Josh said.
“Ahh, that’s a shame,” Recker said, he was enjoying himself.
“Isn’t it?” Mia asked sarcastically.
“Maybe we can all get together again soon,” Josh said, shaking Recker’s hand as he stood.
“I’d like nothing better.”
6
New York---Lawson entered the Centurion building, a six-story building located in the heart of New York City. There was a receptionist sitting at a desk in the center of the lobby. There were all glass walls dividing the lobby, coming out from the middle of both sides of the desk to the far side of each wall. There was also a glass door on the one side requiring a card to be swiped to go through it.
“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked.
“I’m here to see Mr. Davenport, please.”
“And you are?”
“Michelle Lawson. I’m expected.”
“Oh, yes. Just go through the door over there and up to the sixth floor, that’s Mr. Davenport’s office. He’s expecting you. Were you given a key card?” The receptionist pointed Lawson to the correct door.
“Yes, I have it,” Lawson said, rummaging through her purse to extract the card from it.
“Good. Just swipe it through the card reader attached to the door.”
“Great. Thank you.”
Lawson swiped her card, which was given to her at the last meeting she had at Director Roberts’ office. She was a little surprised at the lack of a security guard in the building so far, but she guessed it helped with whatever their cover was. Nobody would go in there who wasn’t supposed to be there, and the glass was bullet proof, so she supposed there was no need for a security presence anyway. She got in the elevator and went up to the sixth floor, wondering what type of reception she was going to get. She assumed it’d be a little chilly as she knew Davenport wasn’t exactly excited about her being there. But she wasn’t there to make friends, so it didn’t concern her too much. As long as she got what she needed, she wouldn’t have to stay there too long. She wandered down the halls for a minute after she got off the elevator, unsure where she should’ve been going. She passed by a few offices, also encased in glass. She also passed by a door marked “Situation Room”, which seemed to be the only door and room which couldn’t be seen from the outside. Glass rooms and doors seemed to be the norm in the building, except for the Situation Room, which she could only guess was for high priority meetings or important events. A few people briskly walked past her, most not paying much attention to her. One man slowly walked past her, an open file folder in both hands as he read its contents. He briefly poked his head up and came to a sudden stop as he noticed the strange woman standing there.
“Help you?” the man asked.
“Yeah. I’m looking for Sam Davenport’s office.”
“Oh,” he said, turning around, and pointing down the hall. “Make the first left there, his office is on the right.”
“Thank you so much.”
“You bet.”
Lawson walked down the hall and turned left at the corner and quickly saw Davenport’s office on the right. She looked at the door and saw his name written on it, though there was a woman sitting at a desk inside. It was a small room not much bigger than a walk-in closet and there was another closed door towards the middle of the room. Lawson guessed this was his secretary’s office or something, or just a way to keep people from getting to Davenport he didn’t want to see. Lawson went in and was immediately greeted by the woman.
“Can I help you?”
“Sam Davenport,” Lawson said.
“And you are?”
“Michelle Lawson.”
“One moment.”
The woman held the phone and called into the office to let Davenport know he had a visitor. Once he approved it, the woman hit a buzzer located underneath the desk to unlock the door. Once it started going off, the woman directed Lawson to open the door. She barely got both feet inside the door and hadn’t even gotten a chance to close it yet when Davenport hurriedly walked around his desk to greet her.
“I’d offer you something but you won’t be here long enough,” Davenport said, walking past her. “Follow me.”
“Uhh, OK,” Lawson said, unsure what was going on.
Lawson followed Davenport out of the office and made a right down the hall, then walked down the end of another hallway before making a left, then down another hallway before Davenport turned into another office. He turned on a light as the two entered and removed a few books from a dust covered desk.
“This is where you’ll work out of while you’re here, which I hope won’t be too long,” Davenport said, clearly not pleased to be seeing her.
“Looks like it’s seen better days.”
“Yeah, it hasn’t been used for a while but it’s the only office we have available right now.”
“It’ll do,” Lawson said.
“Yeah, it’s got a desk and a computer, what else do you need, right?” Davenport asked, making light of it.
“Plus, I brought my own laptop so I’ll be fine,” Lawson said, putting her computer bag o
n the desk.
“Great. Anything else you need?”
“Uhh, no I don’t think so. Well, I could use all the files you have on both Smith and 17, personal, work, whatever.”
“Sure. I’ll have my secretary bring them over and she’ll give you the passwords for our software system as well,” Davenport said.
“Thanks. Look, I know you’re not real happy about me being here, but it wasn’t my idea either.”
“It’s fine. All that matters is getting the job done, right?”
“Right.”
With Lawson squared away, Davenport walked back out of the office, and despite his best efforts to say otherwise, she knew he wasn’t happy she was there. But he was giving her what she needed so it was the only thing that really mattered. Lawson set up her laptop and started going through some of the papers she had, Davenport’s secretary coming in only a few minutes later to deliver the rest of what she needed. Lawson devoured everything available to her, studying every single piece of paper they had on both men, reading the same information several times over to get a better understanding of the agents involved. She worked right through lunch and dinner, not even paying much attention to the time, and considering she seemed to be at the very end of the building, there was no foot traffic going by to distract her. She read every report the two agents ever made, every evaluation that was done on them, looked at their physical records, read their comprehensive reports on the Centurion software program and came to one conclusion. If John Smith was 17’s killer, finding him was not going to be an easy task. But she still needed more information, something she couldn’t find in the reports. She walked out of her makeshift office and went down the hallway, making a few turns until she found herself back in front of Davenport’s office. She wasn’t even sure he’d still be in there, but once Lawson saw his secretary, figured the boss was still working. After getting clearance, Lawson was once again buzzed in. This time, Davenport was seated at his desk and didn’t make a move to get up.
“Something else you need?” Davenport asked.
“I would like to talk to whoever it is you guys use to evaluate these agents.”