Clay
CLAY
Letting out a deep breath, stepped into his motel room. The first thing he did was scan the room for anything out of place. He’d hung the sign on the doorknob outside, specifying he didn’t want housekeeping. It wouldn’t stop some people, but he knew even the slightest change could signify danger.
Once he’d done a complete room check and found nothing out of place, he returned to his bag. Opening it, he drew out his laptop and fired it up. As the computer booted, he dug out his phone from the bottom of the bag. Taking a deep breath, he dialed Fate and listened to it ring.
In three rings, her voice clicked onto the line. “. Good to hear from you. Are you reporting your success?”
took a deep breath. “No. I need the files for the target sent to me once more.”
“You didn’t keep them?”
“No, I never keep anything of the sort on a device I’ll have to leave unsupervised. I looked them over and deleted them.”
“Smart. But why do you need them again?”
Because he was hoping Elliot found enough proof to be willing to see what had to show him and believe him. Whether or not that would be enough to make Elliot step out of the way and let do his job was something else entirely. had to tell himself that it was just like any other job. He had to take it one step at a time.
“Because there may be something that will help me get through the complications I told you about,” told her.
“Hmm, this job is proving to be more complicated than either of us was led to believe,” Fate commented.
“Tell me about it.”
There was a pause before Fate spoke again. “I can send them to you. But I wonder if perhaps there isn’t something...else happening here.”
gripped the phone tighter. “Meaning?”
“Meaning you’ve been rather strange these past few months.”
sighed. “So you’ve mentioned before, but as I’ve said, I’m fine.”
“You wouldn’t be the first operative to start looking for a way out.”
“And if I ever want someone to come put a bullet in my skull, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Oh. Having yourself retired forcefully is certainly one way to go about it. Though not the only one.”
hesitated. “That so?”
“Do you really believe every agent that retired died?”
“That does seem to be the trend, doesn’t it?”
“Or appears to be.”
frowned, forcing his fingers to grip the phone a little less tightly. There’d been several agents he knew of by reputation who’d been killed, either in the line of work or someone sent by the Agency. He had never heard of any of them walking away, and he hadn’t heard about them being seen later. Then again, the Agency purged the files of their operatives after death. At their death, official or just reported, nothing would be left to identify an agent.
“I’ll take your silence as understanding.”
let out a soft laugh. “And no one in the Agency would think to confirm these apparently ‘just reported’ deaths?”
“Someone does.”
’s lips parted. “The handlers.”
“Correct. As your handler, my job is to supply you with the information and resources necessary to complete your contracts. It is also my duty to keep an eye on you and to follow up on any injuries or your death. Handlers are required to do a lot of the work regarding administration. Put too much information into the hands of too many people, and the risk of being caught or the whole operation falling apart is too great.”
“But put it into the hands of just a few skilled handlers, and only individual ‘cells’ are in danger, rather than the whole,” finished.
“Precisely.”
processed that, letting the insinuation settle into his mind. He had never truly considered the idea of getting out from beneath the Agency’s thumb before. The possibility had never seemed likely, not without him being thrown into a body bag first. But here it was, Fate offering him a way out, and faking his death wouldn’t exactly be difficult. The real problem was whether or not he could believe Fate was telling him the truth and if she really would play the part she was inferring she would.
cleared his throat. “What a fascinating insight into the inner workings of the Agency.”
“Oh, yes, I know how inquisitive you can be. I figured you would enjoy a little peek.”
“You could say that.”
“In other news, I’ve sent the files you requested. I would download them quickly if I were you. And figure out a way to get through this contract, one way or another, before the Agency starts to take notice.”
Yes, the last thing he needed was the eyes of the Agency on him. He’d been working for them long enough that they pretty much gave him free rein. The last thing he needed was their attention when he was being offered a possible exit route.
“The matter will be settled soon,” told her.
“I look forward to the results.”
The call ended with a beep, and stared at the phone, wondering if Fate was being honest with him. Then again, if she wasn’t, he’d end up dead with no chance to worry about where his life was going anyway. It wasn’t the most optimistic of thoughts, but it had a strange, fatalistic comfort.
He downloaded the files before disconnecting from the private, hidden server he and Fate shared. Whatever comfort he might get from his fate, he doubted Elliot would get the same from the files. Whatever Elliot might have seen in his lifetime, he seemed bound and determined to believe in the good of other people.
That couldn’t have been more obvious than his dealings with . The man might have kept him prisoner for a while, but now, suddenly, was free. In truth, should have taken advantage and immediately gone back to finish the job. Instead, he was trying to open Elliot’s eyes to his boss’s crimes.
Would it help anything? All it would do was hurt Elliot, as he was forced to deal with the fact he’d been helping a monster stay alive. Yet, even if he learned the truth, would he let slay the monster once and for all? And, for that matter, did want Elliot to step aside?
Tucking the laptop under his arm, he exited the motel room. Whatever he might wonder, there was really only one way to find out.
* * *
He returned to Elliot’s apartment shortly after the sun began to sink. With the laptop tucked under his arm, he mounted the stairs in the apartment building, wondering what he was going to walk into. It did amuse him a little to reach out and knock on Elliot’s door. Only a couple of nights before, he’d been slinking around outside the building to break in.
The door opened, and Elliot stood in the shaft of light. From the raised brow and thinning lips, could see Elliot hadn’t expected him.
“Well, good evening,” said. “May I come in?”
Elliot stepped back with a grunt. “Wasn’t expecting you to come back any time soon.”
“Or at all, I’m sure,” said as he stepped in.
The hallway light was on, but the computer on the coffee table told him where Elliot had been spending his time. Trying to remember that he was a guest, stepped into the room and waited until Elliot had taken his position back on the couch before sitting down.
“Yeah, or at all. I wasn’t surprised to see you gone when I got back from work. But thought you might call or something instead,” Elliot told him as he sat.
chose the chair nearest the couch. “Why’s that?”
“Well, I can’t imagine you have too many happy memories of this place,” Elliot said.
chuckled. “Fair point, but I’ve made worse memories. It’s not like I hadn’t broken into your apartment to try and poison you. I think I got off pretty lucky with a bit of kidnapping and drugging.”
Elliot wrinkled his nose. “That makes it sound so?—”
“Ugly?” offered.
“Yeah.”
“Eh, don’t feel too bad. You found yourself in quite an interesting predicament. If I’d found someone breaking into where I was staying, I would have asked far fewer questions.”
“I bet you wouldn’t have asked a single one.”
“Well, no, it doesn’t hurt to at least ask where someone came from and who they work for. Probably won’t get an answer, but it never hurts.”
“You’re, uh, very honest about all this.”
smiled. “You know what I am, Elliot, and you know what I do. There’s no point in hiding the details.”
Elliot shook his head. “I didn’t mean it as a bad thing. Don’t get me wrong, it was a little weird having you be so candid at first. But the more you do it, the more I like it.”
“I’m so glad you’re becoming comfortable with my job as an assassin for hire,” told him dryly.
Elliot looked up, frowning. “Was...that a joke?”
“One at your expense.”
Elliot shook his head. “I didn’t mean I’m okay with your job, but maybe I’m willing to get over it considering the people you go after.”
At that, looked down at the computer sitting on the table. “Does that mean you discovered something?”
Elliot looked down, expression darkening. “I did a little bit of, uh, looking around after I went to work today.”
spotted the flash drive sticking out of the laptop. “Find something?”
“I found...well, files. Buried in them was this collection,” Elliot said softly, eyes stuck on the screen.
sat his own laptop on the table. “Collection. Business dealings?”
“People.”
nodded. “Men and women, mostly women. All young and good-looking. Some of them with skills that would make them great housekeepers or even managers.”
Elliot looked up, rubbing his jaw nervously. “You knew.”
“I’ve known the whole time,” said, nudging the laptop toward him.
Elliot looked down, lips thinning. “Let me guess, you’ve got more than this.”
“You’ve found enough to confirm your worst fears. What I have on here will make all that even more true and add to it,” told him.
Elliot pulled it closer to him, pushing his computer to the side. “Why didn’t you show this to me before?”
“Honestly? Because you weren’t ready to believe me. You were willing to listen but didn’t want to believe the guy you’ve been working for could do something like this.”
“Wow, when you’re being honest, you really go full force, don’t you?”
“You wanted the truth, but you had to take the first step on your own. I reattained these files while you were at work. I didn’t know how long it would take you to get the information you needed, but I wanted them on hand for when it happened.”
“And now that I know?”
“You get to know everything.”
Elliot opened the laptop, staring at the screen as it lit up. “I’m going to want a drink for this, aren’t I?”
gave him a knowing smile. “You’ll want one when you’re done, I’m sure. But you should probably keep a sober head while you’re reading.”
“And me without a drink in the house.”
reached out, patting the man’s knee. “I’ll go get some. Beer or something stronger?”
“Bring me anything. Just make sure it’s strong.”
’s hand lingered on Elliot’s knee before finally squeezing it and pulling away. It didn’t seem fair, forcing Elliot to face the truth. On the other hand, it would have been worse to keep it from him. The moment started talking while tied up on Elliot’s floor, committed to aligning with Elliot. Anything less than honesty would have been an insult to the man had grown to respect.
“Alright, I’ll be back,” said, standing up.
“Thank you,” Elliot told him as he opened the files.
“Thank me after you’ve read everything,” muttered as he walked out.