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I rolled my eyes as I got in the Escalade. “Great pep talk.”
Why did all the guys in the DEA have to be assholes?
And then Fordham did something unexpected.
“Hey Christenson… you asked why I’m betting on you, but you asked the wrong question.”
“What’s the right one?” I asked, about as enthusiastic to hear the answer as a teenage goth girl at a knitting party.
“The right question is, why am I trusting you?”
Fordham pointed at me.
“Risked her life to go undercover to find out who killed her cousin.”
Then he pointed at Jack.
“Lifelong criminal who tried to go straight, almost succeeded… then risked it all for a woman he’d just met.”
Fordham looked me square in the eyes. “If I gotta bet hard on somebody… I’ll take you two.”
With that, he walked back inside headquarters and shut the door.
I have to admit, I was a little choked up as I drove out of the motor pool and onto the road back to reality.
148
We wanted to be sure to keep the hell out of Lou’s way until it was time for the final act, so we lit out for the territories. The ‘territories,’ in this case, being Morro Bay.
It’s a beautiful little beach community a couple hours west of Richards. We figured it was far enough away to be safe, but close enough to quickly dive back into the fray. It was also a random enough choice that Lou wouldn’t anticipate our going there.
At my request, Sid used AirBnB to rent a deserted little bungalow on a hill overlooking the ocean.
“Enjoy the bonin’,” he said as he took off for his hotel down the road.
Jack and I got a bottle of wine (for me), a bottle of high-end whiskey (for him), and a couple of deli sandwiches, then sat out on the back porch eating and watching the sun go down.
“What are you thinking?” he asked as I finished my second glass.
“Honestly?”
“Yeah, unless it’s ‘God I hate Jack Pollari so much.’”
I laughed, then shook my head. “Honestly, I was thinking this might be the last sunset I ever see – either outside of prison, or alive – so I better enjoy it.”
He got serious. “Don’t think like that.”
“Fordham doesn’t seem too hot on our chances.”
“Fordham’s a dick.”
I was surprised by that. “He’s been pretty good to us so far.”
“You mean, like every time he jokes about putting you in prison?”
“Okay,” I relented. “He’s been pretty good to us so far… for a dick.”
Jack shrugged as he took another drink. “I’ll give him that. But he’s still a Fed. He’s helping us to help himself, not out of the goodness of his heart.”
