Friendly Fire by Dustin Stevens

Author:Dustin Stevens [Stevens, Dustin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B09KMZBCL4
Goodreads: 123843087
Published: 2023-03-01T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Forty-Three

“Thank you, Stanis,” Elijah Matas said. A simple phrase that wasn’t so important for the information it relayed but for the tone underlying it. The clear din of dismissal, informing his young assistant that his presence was no longer required.

He would be summoned when and if it was needed again in the near future.

Pressing matters of a private matter now demanded Elijah’s attention, and he was not to be bothered.

A variation of the very same thing that had occurred no less than a hundred times between them, arriving a minimum of once a week, the young man gathered the stack of notebooks from his lap. Clutching them against his chest, he bowed just far enough for his bow tie to disappear from sight, replaced by a thick mane of blue-black hair held in place with a generous dollop of hair gel.

Enough product to turn his head into a reflective surface, the overhead lights flashing from it as he stood back to full height and retreated from the room.

Seated behind his desk deep within the recesses of the official consulate office on the fifth floor overlooking Wilshire Boulevard, Elijah waited for the door to swing shut in the wake of his young liege before taking up his cellphone. Tapping at the screen, he went into his recent call log, hitting the last entry in order.

A command that was responded to by the screen shifting to solid black, the name and number of the contact appearing a moment later.

Another after that, the line was answered, Jurgis Andris’s low growl responding with, “Hello.”

A greeting that was decidedly out of place given the man’s deep and resonant tone.

Even more so when trying to imagine the enormous being uttering it.

“Can you talk?” Elijah asked. Three quick words, knowing that Jurgis would never willingly dismiss a call from him, even if prudence might suggest so.

A level of deference that he only wished his own progeny possessed.

“For a minute,” Jurgis responded. “He is in the bathroom.”

Just as he had the last time the two spoke, Elijah rose from his seat. Circling around the back of his desk, he padded across the plush carpeting of the office floor, his footfalls silent in the cavernous space.

Carving a path through the assorted artifacts and display cases filling most of the room, he crossed to the bank of windows forming the front wall, the glass heavily tinted against the glare of southern California sun.

A dark hue making the world look as if it was in the midst of a solar eclipse, everything cloaked in shadow.

“How’d it go?” Elijah asked, not knowing how long he had, wanting to get straight to it.

“They repeated exactly what they said on the phone,” Jurgis answered. “One man, alone, gave them a fake story. When that didn’t work, he tried to force his way in.”

Eyes narrowing slightly, Elijah asked, “How close did he get?”

“As far as the alley. Could have gone farther, but stopped after taking out security,” Jurgis said. “Two of the three guys he fought were there, both looked pretty busted up.

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.