The Mark Of The Dead by Morgan Greene

Author:Morgan Greene [Greene, Morgan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

TWENTY-EIGHT

They met Hassan at a Starbucks.

He was already there when Jamie and Church arrived, sitting in one of the booths, looking at his phone. As they approached the table, Jamie thought he looked tired, older somehow than when she’d seen him just six weeks ago.

He noticed them as they approached and got up, coming towards Jamie with a big grin. His arms widened and enveloped her and he squeezed hard.

‘Jamie,’ he said. ‘It’s good to see you.’ He held her at arm’s length then and checked either side of her. ‘Where’s the little one?’

Jamie smiled back, but the sadness in her eyes seemed to be a giveaway.

‘Shit, what happened?’

‘The Armenians,’ Jamie said. ‘They caught up with us. They took her.’

‘Fuck.’ Hassan shook his head. ‘That’s rough. Anything I can do?’

‘Funny you should ask.’

He stiffened, realising this wasn’t a social call after all.

Hassan’s eyes turned to Church then, and although Jamie had always regarded Hassan as a sizeable man, Church dwarfed him. As he did with everyone.

‘Nasir Hassan,’ he said, holding out his hand. ‘NCA Investigator, former Armed Response with the London Met.’

Church took it and shook firmly. ‘Solomon Church. Former SAS Operator, and current babysitter,’ he added, looking at Jamie, the corner of his lip curling a little.

Hassan grinned, squeezing Church’s hand. It was like watching two bull elephants meet in the wild.

‘Alright then,’ Jamie said tiredly, ‘you two want to feel each other’s biceps, or should we sit down and talk?’

They released each other’s hands and Hassan clapped Church on the shoulder. He gave him a nod of mutual respect.

And then they sat.

‘You manage to get what you needed out of Caroline Lewis?’ Hassan asked.

Lewis was their contact at the museum during the fundraiser, the one that put them on to The Surgeon.

‘We did,’ Jamie said. ‘Thank you for that. Was the USB she handed over as useful as you hoped?’

He sagged forward a little, putting his elbows on the table. ‘Turned out to be useless. I passed it up the chain, but it came to nothing. Six weeks of work down the fucking toilet.’ He shrugged then. ‘But what can you do?’

‘Considering what Lewis told us, I struggle to believe there was nothing of use on that drive.’

‘What can you do, huh?’

‘Question it, for one.’

Hassan laughed a little. ‘Yeah, that’d go down well. Mallory’s been working me like a dog since you decided to swing back into town, Hurricane Jamie.’ He made a zooming motion with his hand.

Jamie shifted a little in her chair. ‘That’s what I actually wanted to talk about.’

Hassan was still. ‘About Mallory?’ he asked, his keen eyes searching Jamie’s face.

Jamie just nodded. Church was silent, letting Jamie do the talking. Which she appreciated. He seemed to have that way about him – he didn’t say anything unless he meant it. And he didn’t mince his words. He was direct, and though it wasn’t always what Jamie wanted to hear, it was often what she needed. And, honestly, it was just a breath of fresh air.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.