The Renegade Agent (A Blake Barrett Thriller Book 2) by R.J. Patterson

Author:R.J. Patterson [Patterson, R.J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Green E-Books
Published: 2024-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Simpson flicked the lighter repeatedly in an attempt to ignite it. He ran his thumb quickly across the metal-ridged wheel and down onto the plastic lever. Nothing. Five, six, seven times. Still no flame.

A man with a dirt-smudged face and a tattered coat meandered nearby. A smoldering cigarette lolled on his lips as he veered toward Simpson.

“Light?” the man grunted.

Simpson nodded and the man flicked his lighter once, producing a full flame. Leaning close to it with a cigarette tucked between his fingers, Simpson sucked on the filter end as the tobacco crackled to life.

“Thanks,” Simpson said.

The man did move, holding his hand out while looking off in the distance.

Simpson dug into his pocket and fished out a five-dollar bill. It was all he had but didn’t mind parting with it. It was an expensive light, but the man appeared to need it far more than he did. With a long drag, Simpson inhaled the smoke into his lungs before releasing it in a thin stream out the corner of his mouth.

The lights along the New Orleans riverwalk winked on, casting a pale light on the bricked pathway while the sun vanished behind a wooded area to the west. Simpson leaned on the railing separating the walkway from the Mississippi River slithering through the sunken city. He looked at the levees and wondered at the feat of engineering to keep New Orleans inhabitable as well as lunacy to build a city in the middle of a giant swamp so close to the Gulf of Mexico.

He checked his watch. The woman told him to go to the riverwalk near the Port of New Orleans and she would call him. She wasn’t all that late yet, but it was ten minutes past when she said she would call him. He watched as a paddleboat steamed away from the port, the deck lined with partygoers ready to enjoy the famed river from a slice of American lore. The vessel labored to gain speed, the red paddle churning through the dingy water. But the people on board didn’t seem to mind, letting out whoops and shouts of delight. They weren’t there for the speed nor were they in a hurry to get anywhere. The point was to be on a boat with a drink in hand—and maybe at a craps or poker table.

For a moment, Simpson envied them. He wished he could live as carefree as the people aboard the ship, unconcerned with cold case murders and dangerous espionage episodes and instead focused on life’s pleasures. But then he stopped, realizing that most of the people on board only read stories about what he did every day. Yes, floating on a river in a life full of such weighty decisions as which 401K plan to invest in or where to go for vacation or which show to binge watch on television or what book to read would all be nice—for a while. But the carefree lifestyle wouldn’t satisfy Simpson forever. Eventually he would get bored.

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