Not Your Average Man

Chapter 2-2

Reynolds’ room was larger, and better furnished, than mine. But then he’d chosen an upscale motel while I was in one I could afford. All right. That’s no quite the truth. Mick left a lot of money behind when he was killed—in cash and well hidden from anyone but me. I wasn’t about to flash it around, however. I was an out of work ex bartender and had to live like one. At least on the surface.

“Would you like another beer?” Reynolds asked, going over to the wet bar.

“No thanks. Coffee would be good though, if you don’t mind.”

“Not in the least.” He started the coffeemaker then took the other chair. “Mick didn’t want you involved, you know.”

“Yeah. He made that pretty clear after he told me what he did. But I’m a planner as well as a decent researcher—and pretty good at both—so I offered my…services, as it were.”

“So he said. Of course he didn’t clear it with me until after the fact. Both about telling you and then enlisting your help the first time he needed it.”

The coffeemaker let him know it was done at that point. He got up again, poured two cups, and asked if I wanted cream or sugar, which I didn’t. He handed me my cup then sat again.

“There’s a reason I wanted to talk with you,” he said. “Even though Mick didn’t let you participate in the actual kills, you knew everything about them. He said, and let me know if he was wrong, that they didn’t seem to bother you.”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t exactly happy at first, but as he explained it, if it wasn’t him it would have been someone else. At least he made the deaths as quick and as painless as possible.”

“He prided himself on that,” Reynolds replied with a slight smile. “You do, too.”

I lifted an eyebrow at that. Not that I hadn’t already suspected that he knew about Carl. He probably wouldn’t have been here otherwise. But I needed to find out how he knew, so I asked.

“I did a bit of sleuthing on my own after your friend Jason murdered Mick. I was certain the story he told the police, and at his trial, was bogus. From the moment I learned about you and your relationship with Mick, I made it my business to find out all about you and the people you knew. I didn’t want to discover that you were a plant, sent in to stop Mick.”

“Makes sense. And?”

“Since you were very good friends with Jason, I scrutinized him upside down and backwards as well. It was highly unlikely he would have fallen in love with you and not revealed it. From what I found out he was nothing if not open and honest both in his business and in his personal life.”

“He was.” I grimaced. “To a fault in this case. He did everything in his power to convince me to leave Mick, even if I wasn’t willing to turn him in for what Jason thought was drug dealing.”

“Precisely. Mick called me the day he was killed. Something I don’t think you’re aware of.” I shook my head, so he continued. “He said that had Jason called him, wanting to talk to him. Since Mick knew Jason, he told him to come on over.”

“That explains how Jason was able to get the drop on Mick,” I replied. “I did wonder.”

“It was. Back to what I was saying. I knew Jason’s stated reason for killing Mick was a lie, so I did a bit backtracking. It wasn’t all that hard, actually. Carl William’s made an appointment with Jason to talk about buying a home, according to Jason’s secretary. The secretary told me that, when Williams left after their meeting, Jason was visibly upset, but wouldn’t tell her why. So I did some checking on Williams and found out he worked at the same club you did. When he disappeared the night before you left town, I put two and two together.”

“A leap of logic, but…”

Reynolds nodded. “But the truth. Yes? You killed him.”

“I did. And I have no regrets.”

“Your first kill?”

“Good Lord, yes! Okay. Sorry. I shouldn’t be shocked at you question. It was called for, I guess, considering what Mick did for a living.”

“Did you get any pleasure out of killing Williams?”

I thought about that, even though I knew the answer. “Not pleasure the way you probably mean it. I had a reason to do it, so to that end, yes I was glad he was dead and that I’d been the one to make it happen. There was a moment there when I thought about torturing him first, but as much as I hated him, that’s not me. So I put the gun to his head and shot him. Twice.”

“How did you feel immediately afterward?”

“Relief and that’s it. He deserved what I did. Then, when I got to my car, I couldn’t stop shaking.” I smiled wryly. “I didn’t puke or go numb, which Mick told me could happen the first time or two that someone takes another human being’s life.”

“Yes. That’s often the case.” Reynolds tented his fingers, studying me. I had the distinct feeling I knew what was coming next. I wasn’t wrong. He said, finally, “I could use a man like you.”

“As backup and to do the initial research on a target?” I asked.

“That, too, when necessary. Also to take out a target in situations where I think you could handle it.”

I leaned back, looking at him as I thought about his proposition. “Just because I killed Carl doesn’t mean I could do it to someone else, in cold blood. I had a reason for what I did.”

“Look at it this way. Suppose the same situation happened with someone you didn’t know. That a son of a b***h lied, the way Carl did, and it led to the death of a third person at the hands of the man he lied to. Then, we were hired to deal with said liar. Could you?”

I blew out a long breath. “Right now, I can’t answer that question. I understand where you’re going with it. I know that some of the people Mick took out were like Carl. They brought about the death, or destruction, of someone—but behind the scenes, not face-to-face. Thus, they were untouchable as far as the law was concerned.” I nodded slowly. “If Jason had told the truth about Carl’s…machinations, as a defense for what he’d done, I suspect it wouldn’t have mattered. It would have been argued that he didn’t have to listen. Or that he should have checked it out first, to be certain that what Carl had told him was the truth—or a lie.”

“It’s eighty to ninety percent likely that’s exactly what would have happened,” Reynolds agreed. “That’s why I, and the people who work for me, do what we do. Some would call us vigilantes, and I suppose by definition, we are. I call it righting a wrong.”

“That’s how Mick thought of it. Of course, if he’d been caught he’d still have ended up in prison, or gotten the death penalty. The law takes a very dim view of vigilantism.”

“Believe me, I’m well aware of that. One of my people was caught, approximately three years ago. Luckily, if you want to call it that, the killing happened in Virginia and he had a good lawyer. He ended up being sentenced to life, with a chance for parole after fifteen years.”

“Not how I want to spend my remaining time on this earth,” I muttered.

“Then you have to be good at what you do and plan it down to the last detail. That’s why you and Mick made such a good team.”

“Yeah, but he was the one doing the deed. I’m not sure that I have it in me to ever kill again. My reasons for dealing with Carl were very personal on several levels.”

“I know that, Zane. It’s why I would team you with someone for the first couple of times. She’s one of the best I have.”

“She?” I said, surprised.

Reynolds chuckled. “You don’t think a woman can be as lethal as a man?”

“I guess it’s possible.”

“Think of Helen Grayle in Farewell My Lovely. Or Haley Stark in the movie Hard Candy.”

“Who?”

“Get the movie. It’s not bad. She kidnaps a child predator to get a confession out of him. Then there’s the heroine in Wanted, who’s an assassin, or Mallory Knox in NBK.”

“Okay. Okay. I give,” I said. “I’m sure you can name a dozen more.”

“At least,” he agreed. “Including Angel.”

“You have to be kidding. A hired killer named Angel?”

He smiled. “Actually, it’s Angelica. Angelica Fairchild.”

“From the name, I’m picturing some snooty, high-society brat with too much time on her hands.”

“Far from it. She was raised by a single mother who held down two jobs in order to support her family. When he was fifteen, Angel’s brother was killed by a hit-and-run driver. The person was never apprehended. When she was sixteen, she was assaulted by the father of a child she was babysitting. Not raped but fondled and touched inappropriately. He denied it. Since it was a ‘he says, she says,’ and he was a reputable businessman who could hire a good lawyer, he was able beat the charge of s****l battery.”

“No wonder she works for you.”

“She works for me for the same reason everyone else does. They want to see justice done. Most of them don’t have her kind of back story. They’re men and women we’ve recruited because they have the skills we need.”

“Which,” I pointed out, “I don’t.”

“I beg to differ. You’re an excellent tactician. Once we train you on weapon’s use, I think you’ll do just fine.”

“I haven’t said I’m willing to join you.”

Reynolds spread his hands. “I believe that will happen once you think about it. You’re halfway there, since you worked with Mick.”

I had to admit he was right. Even though Mick had been a hired killer, after the first week or so of getting used to the idea, I stopped thinking that what he was doing was wrong. It wasn’t like the movies where someone’s hired to take out a rival businessman or gangster or a politician. As Mick told me, and Reynolds had confirmed, Mick was righting wrongs. The average citizen might, probably would, think there were better, more legal ways to do it. A nice daydream, but only that.

“Give me time to think about this. And to get settled in and find a place to live and a job.”

All he said in reply was, “How long?”

I shrugged. “I was aiming for a week before deciding if I had to move on.”

“Very good. I’ll get in touch with you this time next week.”

I smiled slightly. “So class is dismissed for now?”

“It is. Unless you want to talk sports or what have you.” He grinned, so I knew he was kidding.

“I’ll expect a call in a week,” I said, getting up.

“Zane. I hope you make the right decision.”

“For you? Or for me?”

“For both of us.”