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The federal agent standing next to him was a little broader and greyer than he had been several years ago, but he still had the same disarming smile. Jack Gill had always been one of the good guys, the man who played it nice while his partner stood by and ripped a person to shreds. Staring out across the lake, Sebastian prayed the same still held true. A cooling breeze swept over the water and he watched the small ripples gain momentum as they undulated across the surface. The sun was setting now, bathing the lake’s glassy surface with vivid strokes of red and gold. It would have been a picture perfect evening if not for the multitude of troubles weighing on his mind.
“Thank you for meeting me on such short notice,” he said, keeping his focus trained on the other side of the water.
“It’s not a problem, though I admit I was a bit surprised.”
“By my message or the delivery?” Sebastian asked.
Jack chortled quietly beneath his breath. “Both. I wasn’t expecting to hear from you and I certainly didn’t expect a note to be hand delivered to my office by a barmaid, nonetheless.”
“I remembered you were fond of her…and the bar.”
The other man laughed again, his head bobbing in an affable nod. Turning some, his countenance grew more serious. “I know your time is valuable, Sebastian. As is mine, so let’s cut to the chase. What do you have?”
“Dire problems and not enough time. You are right about my organization and where it is headed. I need you to understand something though, Jack,” he said, turning to face the man. “These aren’t my intentions, nor are they those of most of my men. I’m hard pressed to call any of us innocent, but you need to understand they have no choice. When it comes to Marx and his demands, you either follow through or you are dead.”
“Sounds like a rough road to travel, my friend.”
“It hasn’t been without rewards.”
The older agent’s features settled into one of grim determination as he pondered both statement and situation at hand. “What is it you are asking?”
“I need him out of the picture,” Sebastian confessed. “I can’t do this on my own. He knows he’s crossed the line. The only time he leaves headquarters is if we have a mission and he keeps himself heavily guarded at all times. Even if I could take him out, there’s no guarantee my men wouldn’t turn and retaliate against me or my family in return. Simply put, I need your help.”
Jack sighed and sloughed a hand across his face, his expression weary. “That’s a tall request, Agent Baas. I would be putting a helluva lot on the line, including resources and innocent lives.”
“This isn’t an option, Jack. It’s a necessity,” he stated crisply.
“I’ll agree with you on that.”
The man turned forward, facing the water. Reaching into the inside pocket of his blazer, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, tapped one out, and lit it. After expelling a thick plume of smoke past his lips, he extended the pack Sebastian’s way.
“No thank you.”
The older agent brushed off the dismissal with a shrug, as if to say it was his loss. He pulled a long drag of tobacco into his lungs and rolled the glowing rim of ashes against the rail as he released his breath. The smoke rolled upward where it briefly shrouded him in a dense grey cloud before dissipating with the wind.
“What are you proposing?”
Sebastian sliced the air, redirecting the thick line of smoke that drifted his way. He cast a scowl in the other man’s direction, not bothering to keep his annoyance veiled. Smirking to himself, Jack shifted his arm.
“We’re scouting the grounds for a new operation this week. He will want to be there.”
The older gentleman nodded and a long pause stretched between them. “If I do this for you, Sebastian, you are going to have to give me something in return.”
“Name it.”
“We need Blue. We need to know this isn’t going to fall into the wrong hands again.”
He snorted, the reaction settling over him too quick for him to mask his disbelief. “Right. What makes you believe it would be safe with your agency?”
“Nothing,” Jack replied, swinging his warm brown gaze up to meet Sebastian’s. “Absolutely nothing. That program is too potent, too dangerous. It has to be destroyed.”
Some of the tightness gripping his body fled. He couldn’t agree more. There was only one problem. “We’ve been looking for Patrick James for months,” he admitted. “Marx has found loopholes. He’s been able to key into certain parts of the program, but he hasn’t been able to fully unlock it.”
“Patrick James is the only man who has the codes to disable Blue. Either find him or bring those codes to me, Sebastian. Those are the terms of my agreement.”
“Fine.”
“There is one more thing you need to do.”
“What’s that?” he asked, his voice dropping to a muted growl of annoyance. “I’m working with you here, Jack. I’m already putting my ass and my family on the line. Now’s not the time to get greedy.”
“I understand, but I need to know how many of your men are on board. If we attempt to take Marx out and fail, it’s going to ignite a full-blown war. Where will you and your team stand then?”
He leveled the man with a scathing look and straightened. “Where do you think? Do you want my advice here, Jack? Don’t fail. If you do, if Marx keeps going, it won’t matter how many of my men are on board because you, me, and the other ninety percent of the population will be dead. That is what we are facing. I will hold up my end. You will get what you are asking, but you had damn well better hold up yours.”
~*~*~*~
Taylor ignored Sebastian’s probing stare. Keep
ing her head lowered, she pushed the food around her plate, her stomach twisting in knots. She’d struggled with her thoughts for most of the evening, and she still hadn’t conjured up a way to approach her mother’s visit. Especially when he felt so tense and closed off. He didn’t seem angry, there was an electrical undercurrent, a latent sense of danger warning now was not a good time to test limits or push. She turned her attention from her lamb and glanced up as Sebastian set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. His steady gaze still drilled into her.
“Is dinner not to your liking?” he asked.
“No, it’s fine. It’s not that.”
Folding his arms across his chest, he waited. When no answer was forthcoming, his eyebrows crept lower in impatience. “Are you going to elaborate or do I have to keep prodding and waiting for you to explain?”
“I’m not trying to be difficult, Sebastian. I’m just trying to sort through stuff and figure out how I feel before I talk to you about it.”
His piercing green eyes narrowed even more. “Figure out how you are feeling about what? What aren’t you telling me, Taylor?”
She reached for his hand. He tensed, but didn’t pull away. Some of the anger hardening his features ebbed as she stroked her thumb over the powerful ridges of his knuckles.
“It’s not about you or us,” she assured him. “I’ve never questioned how I feel about you, Sebby.”
He seemed to doubt that. Tiny furrows gathered, creasing the space above the ridge of his nose. Frowning, he kept his attention fixed on her hand and nodded.
“My mother stopped by today.”
His head snapped up with enough speed and force to give most people whiplash. “What?”
