Whorl by James Tarr

Author:James Tarr [Tarr, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781539723783
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2016-10-30T22:00:00+00:00

John Phault opened the door, saw Bob looking over the front of the house. “This the new place? Not bad.”

Smiling wide, John grabbed the man’s hand, then swept him in in a tight hug. “How you doing? You look good. Tan. Come on in.”

Bob smiled. “Yeah, well, not much for me to do in places that see a lot of snow.” He followed John into the kitchen.

“If you’re wearing a jacket in this weather, I’m guessing you’re still spending a lot of time in hot places. You want something to drink? Beer, pop, water?”

“Water’d be good,” Bob said, taking off his jacket. “What is it outside, eighty-five? Baghdad’s about thirty degrees hotter than this right now, although the humidity’s a lot lower.”

John handed him a bottle of water and checked him out. He hadn’t seen Bob in almost two years, although he talked to him several times a year. Still solid as a rock, he’d felt that in the hug, although the years—or the hot weather—had thinned him down some. Still the same damn Popeye forearms. “You look good.” He eyed the Glock on Bob’s hip. “I thought you just flew in this morning. Where’d the Glock come from?”

“Brought it with me.”

“Oh.” John was ignorant about international travel with a firearm, especially coming from countries most people tried to avoid. He was also a little fuzzy on whether Bob currently officially worked for the U.S. government, a Defense Department contractor or sub-contractor, or a private company. It didn’t matter, not really, and by not asking, Bob didn’t need to not answer him.

He’d called Bob three days earlier, as he was the only person John knew who might be able to help him. He was actually surprised when Bob answered the phone. “Damn, I was expecting voicemail,” he’d said, looking at his phone. “Where are you?”

The connection wasn’t too bad. “Right now I’m in Turkey,” Bob told him. “But I’ll be home in two days, unless the Syrians invade. What’s up?”

“I’ve got some business-related questions to ask you, but shit, I’d love to see you. It’s been too long. You, uh…..”

“What?”

“You don’t have any problems getting into the country?”

“What? No, why would I? I never had any international problems.”

“You weren’t told to avoid the States for a while?”

“No, not technically, but shit, I didn’t have a choice, they stationed me in Afghanistan for two years, then Thailand. Plus, you know….I had shit to work out on my own. I didn’t want to come back, not for a while.”

“You ever have any problems with law enforcement at Customs? People recognizing you?”

“No. All that was too long ago. Most people can’t remember what they watched on TV last night.”

“Hmm. Okay. Well, will you have time to get together when you’re here?”

“Sure, not a problem. I should be getting in Tuesday morning, I’ll call you when I land.” And he had, right on schedule.

“You look good,” Bob told him, sipping at the water. “Still working out.”

John shrugged. “More muscle, more gray hair.” He pulled a bottle of Diet Coke out of his refrigerator, and twisted off the cap.

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