AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 13
This must be what it’s like for Anton to look in the mirror and see another man’s face. Dark lines cross my forehead and liver spots mar my cheeks. Bags bulge beneath my eyes. It’s still me, though — just old. Elderly. I haven’t transformed like Anton, but it’s a very good disguise.
The cane is really what sells it. I’m not even faking — my leg still kills me with every step. The inflammation from the infection has subsided, but it’ll still be another few weeks before I’m back to normal — and the bullet will hurt until I have it removed.
I could get used to walking around Manhattan on my own, though. Nobody pays any attention to me. At first I didn’t think a man with my physique could go unnoticed, though I’ve lost a little muscle mass since I’ve been out of commission. I’ve only just restarted my training routine. I’ll get back to form soon. In the meantime, I can amble along at a slow pace. New Yorkers weave around me, minding their own business, as they always do. One nice thing about New Yorkers: they’ve seen everything, and they don’t care about anything as long as it doesn’t block the sidewalk.
More importantly, almost everyone who knows who I am thinks I’m dead. No one’s looking for me. I don’t know the last time I walked the streets of a city without a security detail in tow or a concealed weapon. It’s liberating. Normal people must take it for granted. Then again, they haven’t antagonized crime syndicates or third-world dictators. How nice it must be to fear getting hit by a bicyclist rather than a sniper’s bullet.
It doesn’t even feel like I’m in the middle of a mission, considering I’m not here to interrogate or kill anyone. Walking into the lobby of Ellman Media, no one directs me to a metal detector. No one reaches for a gun or runs the other way. A cute receptionist in a BTS t-shirt hangs up the phone and smiles at me.
Whereas LPN owns an entire city block and their office building stands high enough to join the Manhattan skyline, Ellman occupies one floor of a loft in the Village. Instead of a staff of high-paid, career-focused reporters decked out in designer suits and perpetually drinking lattes, the staff here dresses casually and operates out of an open floor plan. I came expecting to find the office mostly emptied out for the evening; it’s half past six but everyone’s working like it’s ten in the morning.
“Hi!” says the receptionist. “Can I help you?”
“Yes, I was hoping to speak to Brendan Zimmerman. Is he available?”
She looks at me like she might be reaching for the switch to a silent alarm.
“I believe he’s left,” she says. “Can I ask what this is about?”
There’s a chance Anton has bugged the office. I’d rather not mention Kate by name, just in case. I may have a good disguise, but my voice hasn’t changed.
“It’s a personal matter involving a mutual friend. I promise I won’t take much of his time, if I could just see him?”
She holds up a cell phone and takes a photo of me.
“Take a seat.”
I nod, suppressing a grin as she sends the photo. That’s the nice thing about young employees — they’re creative with tech.
Brendan doesn’t show up right away, and I have to wonder if I’ve made a big mistake coming here. He’s not going to be happy to see me. He likely blames me for what’s happening to Kate. In fairness, he’s not exactly wrong.
After a few minutes, though, he comes to the desk.
“Is this about who I think it is?” he asks.
“Yes.”
“What’s with the cane?”
“I had a setback,” I reply. “It’s why I’ve been gone a while.”
He nods.
“Come on.”
Brendan leads me to a small conference room and shuts the blinds. I take a radio frequency scanner from my jacket, causing him to flinch a moment. Holding a finger to my lips, I scan the room for bugs.
“You don’t think we do that ourselves?” he asks.
“I wouldn’t have thought so. Do you?”
“You’re not the only one with enemies.”
My search turns up nothing. Brendan gestures for me to take a seat across from him.
“Should I pat you down for a gun?” he asks.
