“Ah,” I drawl with a grin.“The guys who kick the door before we show up.”
Kowalski snorts.“Someone has to make the introduction.”
I bark out a laugh and nod.“We always made a good team.”
“That we did,” he agrees.
There it is—the tie that binds.It doesn’t matter that we’ve never met because the shared service is older than either of us and it bypasses the professional distance the way almost nothing else can.I let myself feel it, but I don’t allow myself to trust it.
Not yet.
The bartender appears, sets down his drink and then melts away quietly.
“So,” Kowalski says, turning his glass slowly on the coaster.“Kynan said you wanted to talk about SAPG.Thinking of applying for a job?”
“Actually, no.We’ve got a client situation,” I say, keeping it vague by design.“There’s some indication that SAPG assets may have been involved in some shady stuff.”
“Such as?”he inquires, and he doesn’t seem offended by the accusation.
“The kind that ended badly for someone,” I reply, unwilling to give more than that.“Honestly, doesn’t seem like the kind of stuff SAPG would get tangled up in, and Kynan thought you’d be a good resource to feel out if we’re barking up the wrong tree.”
His expression doesn’t change, but his eyes do.It’s small—a fractional adjustment, a tinge of wariness.If I weren’t looking for it, I would have missed it entirely.
“That’s a broad description,” he drawls.“Shady stuff that ends badly for someone.”
“It’s meant to be,” I reply evenly.“I was hoping you might be able to help me narrow it.”
Kowalski leans back slightly, arms relaxed, his posture implying transparency.“SAPG employs over four hundred agents worldwide so I obviously don’t know all of them.But I can tell you in my experience that SAPG—just like Jameson—runs clean operations.We’re vetted by three federal agencies, we’ve got a track record that spans fifteen years, and Pelham doesn’t take on clients who create liability.”He pauses.“If there were shady activities, it was a one-off by someone rogue.”
I expected an answer just like that.If he’s loyal to his employer, that’s the standard bullshit he would naturally throw out.But he dropped Pelham’s name without being asked and that has my interest.
I hadn’t mentioned the owner of SAPG at all.Hadn’t mentioned anything beyond the wordsshady stuffand he’s already defending the CEO.
I pick up my beer and take a slow sip.“Sure… that makes sense.Kynan said you’d give me the real lowdown.”
And just like that, I know everything I need to know.
The rest of the conversation lasts another twenty minutes, and Kowalski is good—genuinely good.He gives me what sounds like a useful rundown of their organizational structure and generic information about SAPG’s client intake process.A careful, plausible explanation of how someone might go rogue because he’s on the take, but it’s unlikely given the system of checks and balances they have in place.He expresses appropriate concern and suggests appropriate channels.He does everything a cooperative former colleague would do and I listen and ask reasonable follow-up questions, but give him nothing in return except the impression I came here looking for reassurance and found it.We spend another ten minutes swapping army stories and laughing like newfound friends.
When we shake hands out on the sidewalk, prepared to go our separate ways, his grip is the same as before—firm, brief, professional.
“Good meeting you, Cole,” he says.“Any more questions, you’ve got my number.”
“Appreciate it,” I tell him.“Seriously.”
“Let’s grab another drink sometime,” he suggests.
“Sounds like a plan,” I reply, although I have no intention of taking him up on that.
Once I’m in my truck with the engine running, I call Malik.
He picks up on the first ring.“How’d it go?”
“It was a performance,” I say.“Start to finish.”
A beat of silence.“You sure?”
“He dropped Pelham’s name unprompted,” I say.“I gave him nothing—no names, no specifics, nothing that should have told him who we were talking about, but he knew before he walked in that door exactly why I was there.”
