Thin Line by L.T. Ryan Page B

across the wrong person in the Old Man's organization.
    I could picture him issuing the command.
Just bring me a white male in his thirties.
    "You'd like to know, wouldn't you?" he said.
    I nodded, said nothing.
    "Then I'm going to need an assurance from you, Mr. Jack."
    I held his gaze for several seconds before speaking. "Go on."
    "If you use this information…" He paused, laughed, shook his head. "Scratch that. What I am prepared to tell you will solve your problem. Mostly, at
    least. So, before I give it to you, I need your word that you will perform a minimum of one job for me."
    The bomb had been dropped. Not that I didn't see it coming.
    "What good is my word to you?" I asked. "You feel there is honor among thieves and assassins?"
    "I know there is."
    I'd justified everything I had done in my adult life by telling myself it was for the good of the country, and for the safety of its citizens and friends
    around the world. Now, a potential threat was loose. Brett Taylor had screwed up by getting involved in something he shouldn't have. And now he knew
    someone was there to take his life. It wouldn't take the man long to figure out that the government had sanctioned the job. It was likely that he had put
    the nation at risk, and would now be in a position to want to do more damage. And to strike as quickly as he could.
    Could I live with doing something on the other side of the law in order to protect my country?
    "Mr. Jack?"
    "I can't give you an answer right now."
    He glanced down at the envelopes on the table. "Are you sure about that?"
    "I am."
    The Old Man pulled open the drawer and slid the envelopes toward him, letting them fall into the awaiting compartment. "I'm a tough man, Mr. Jack, but I am
    also fair. I'll give you seventy-two hours to decide. Know that if you decline, or fail to give me an answer within the allotted timeframe, I will be
    forwarding the video evidence. I know you have the connections to avoid charges, but the news networks will not be forgiving. Your identity, and likely
    that of the people you work for, will be revealed. You know as well as I do that there are individuals in certain organizations that will not take kindly
    to this."
    I nodded, said nothing.
    "I take it you understand the underlying meaning."
    "Yes." There was nothing else to say. His offer was take it or leave it, and the "it" was life. I had three days to figure this out on my own. If I did,
    then I'd likely have enough dirt on the Old Man that he'd keep my secrets to himself. And if I didn't break it in time, I'd have to join forces with him.
    My stomach knotted for the first time since entering the compound. I knew I'd get out alive, but I felt less free than at any other time in my life.
    The Old Man reached for his phone and pressed a single digit.
    "Sir," a voice said through the speaker.
    "Send in Mr. Charles," the Old Man replied.
    We sat in silence, waiting for Charles. If something was going to happen, it would be now, although I doubted it would. A rap at the door signaled Charles
    had arrived. The Old Man rose and gestured for me to do the same. Then he called out for Charles to enter.
    "We good, Boss?" the big man asked.
    The Old Man turned toward me. His smile was as fake as the luxury watch on Charles's wrist. "Mr. Jack and I have come close to an agreement. I'd like you
    to fill him in on some of the benefits of working with me as you escort him back to Manhattan."
    Charles nodded. "Nothing would make me happier." The tone of his voice told me there were several things that would indeed make him happier. I hoped that
pounding Jack Noble's face while my goons hold him down
wasn't one of them.
    I extended my hand toward the Old Man. "Good meeting you."
    He wrapped his frail hands around mine. "Seventy-two hours starting now. Not a second more."
    I felt a card against my palm and wrapped my fingers around it as he withdrew his hands. Without looking at it, I stuffed the card in my pocket.
    Undoubtedly, it