Jake listened to the transmission for the third time, his blood running cold. The clipped, threatening tone sent a shiver down his spine. “…assets… compromised… termination…” He slammed his laptop against the wall, the screen exploding in a shower of green sparks. The force of the impact echoed the rage boiling inside him. He’d risked everything for his father, jeopardized deals, bent rules, even… he pushed the memory away. This was Chris’s mess, and he was going to clean it up.
He jabbed the call button on his desk phone. “Bring my father to my office. Now.”
The old man had gotten him into this, and by God, he was going to get him out.
A moment later, the door creaked open, and Chris walked in. He was a shadow of his former self, his shoulders slumped, his eyes hollow. He moved with the hesitant steps of a man carrying a great weight. For a second, Jake barely recognized his weary-eyed father.
“Close the door and sit down.” Jake stood, walked around his desk, and leaned against the front of the sturdy wooden frame, watching as his father settled into the chair.
He sighed. “Are you alright?”
“Barely.”
“You’re lucky to be surviving at all.”
Chris’s gaze flickered away. “Since when did you start caring?”
“Really? Do you have any idea the risks I’ve taken for you?”
Chris took a shuddering breath. "I know. I didn't mean it." His voice was barely a whisper.
Jake gave a short, humorless laugh. "Doesn't matter now. How do we fix this?" He tapped his fingers impatiently on the desk.
“We don’t.”
Jake leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “Dad, if this doesn’t get resolved, they will kill you.”
“Everything I’ve done, I deserve to die.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Jake hissed.
“Listen, son, I’ve done terrible things. Things you can’t even imagine.”
“We all have secrets, Dad.”
“Worse.”
“What are you trying to tell me?”
Chris stood, his expression unreadable. He slipped a keycard into Jake’s left breast pocket, pulled his son into a brief, awkward embrace, and whispered, “Project Rebirth.” A flicker of something – recognition? Fear? – crossed Jake’s face before it was gone.
“What is that?”
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Chris patted Jake’s shoulder as his communicator chirped. He held up a finger towards his son. “Yes? Perfect. I’ll be right down.”
“Dad, I have to go, but we aren’t done talking.”
“I sure hope so.”
***
Ze gripped the tumbler of whiskey, swallowed it down in one shot, and slammed it back down on the bar top. He used to love the way fear spread across The Dog House with his appearance. Now, it was just… noise. He spat on the floor. He wouldn’t see anything anymore. A picture of the girl flashed through his mind – her defiant eyes, the way she spat at him – the memory burned like acid.
I should have killed you from the beginning.
“Bartender!” Ze slammed his drink on the bar top again and waved blindly at the moving shadows. “Get me another.”
He waited. Nothing.
“Bartender!”
Still no response.
“Are you kidding me?”
Ze was about to stand when he felt someone take the seat next to him. “Can I help you?”
“Perhaps.”
“Well, spit it out.”
The invisible man chuckled. “You know, I like you, Ze.”
“How about you stop blowing smoke up my ass.”
“Very well.” The man slid a bottle of bourbon towards Ze. “I’m interested in the girl.”
“What girl?”
“Oh, come on, Ze. You’re a smart guy. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”
The man tapped something on the smooth wooden surface and laid it down in front of the blind man. Ze ran his fingers across the large stack of paper. It was money. A lot of money. Ze pocketed the cash, twisted off the lid of the bottle, and took a long drag. “I don’t know where she is. If I did, she’d be dead. No questions asked.”
“I totally understand.”
“So, what do you want to know?”
“Where’d you find her?”
“She was hiding in a tree off the main road, outside of the city.”
“Did she talk about where she came from?”
Ze took another long drag. “Nope. Not a word.”
“Interesting. Walk me through everything.”
“Why should I?”
“Drink and money not enough?”
“I’m a very busy man.”
“Well, what if I can offer you new eyes?”
Ze perked up. “That’s impossible.”
“For a normal person. But my boss, Stanton, is not a normal person.”
“Stanton?” Ze’s brow furrowed.
The man chuckled and patted Ze’s shoulder.
“Okay.”
The shadow man listened as Ze told him every detail. From the moment he found and marked the girl, to when she beat up her very first John, to the escape from The Dog House, to the moment the booby-trapped rat blinded him. He sighed, the phantom pain of the explosion still echoing behind his eyes, and groped for his drink.
“That’s all I can tell you.”
“Thank you, Ze.” The man stood. “You’ve been very helpful.”
Ze cleared his throat. “What about my eyes?”
“Of course. Well, come on.”
Jake wrapped his arm across Ze’s shoulder and led him towards the door. He handed the blind man to the large man standing outside the bar, nodded at the man, and waited until the driver opened the black car door. He slipped inside and sighed as the door closed behind him.
Ze tried to pull away from the muscular man’s grip. “Where are we going?”
The two strangers walked around the corner of the building. “To the car, sir.”
“I’m okay.” Ze dragged his feet in the dirt. “I don’t need…”
Ze took a step, his hand outstretched, trying to get his bearings. He could smell the exhaust fumes, the damp earth. He opened his mouth to protest, to demand answers, but a sharp crack echoed through the alley. Pain blossomed in his chest, hot and blinding. He crumpled to the ground, the wad of cash spilling from his pocket, his last thought a bitter curse on the girl who had ruined him.
Jake cleared his throat as the passenger side car door opened and the large man slipped in. He turned to Jake and handed him the large wad of cash. Jake pulled out a few bills from the stack and split them between the two men with him, before putting the rest of the money into the breast pocket of his black sports coat.
