Primary Valor by Jack Mars (booksvooks TXT) 📗

a blue tray and was inline at the free breakfast buffet in the lobby of Ed and Luke’s hotel. He hadalready put eggs, sausage, toast, and a glass of orange juice on his tray. Hewas about to pour himself some coffee.

“What are you doing here, Bowles?”

Bowles shrugged. “I came to talk,that’s all.”

“So talk.”

He gestured at a round, emptytable. “I came to talk over breakfast.”

Hordes of tourists dressed inbright colors milled around the buffet. Three television sets were mounted ondifferent walls, showing a morning talk show. A line of people were at thereception desk. Piles of luggage were near the front door. Every now and then,a small mass of people went out that door to catch the shuttle bus to theairport, which was roughly half a mile from here.

There was a steady buzz ofconversation, TV chatter, phones ringing, and a low, pleasant tone soundingevery time the front door slid open. It was a busy place, and not at all quiet.It was a good place to talk. They had a 9 a.m. call with SRT headquarterscoming up. Maybe this little chat could inform that one in some way.

They sat at the table. Luke duginto his eggs.

“Let me ask you a question,” Edsaid to Bowles.

Bowles smiled. “Ask away.”

“When you shave each morning, howfar away do you stand from the razor? I mean, is the razor in the bathroom, andyou’re in the kitchen? Is the razor out on the front stoop, and you’re in thebackyard? I’m just trying to work this out in my head.”

Luke laughed. He was in a goodmood today, better than yesterday. He had slept like the dead last night. Thebed was king-sized, and he had just spread out and sunk into it. He didn’t evenremember falling asleep. Now he felt refreshed, and a little lighter. He wasseeing things with new eyes. Maybe having Bowles turn up again wasn’t the worstthing in the world.

Bowles nodded. “Very funny. Veryoriginal. I hadn’t heard that one before.”

“Because it works better thecloser you stand to it,” Ed said.

They ate in silence for a longmoment. Luke reflected that Bowles was the only person he’d ever seen pile hisplate as high as Ed.

“How can we help you, Bowles?”Luke said.

Bowles didn’t look up from hisfood. “I want in.”

“In?” Ed said. “In to what?”

Bowles shrugged. “Whatever youguys are doing, or are about to do.”

“What makes you think we’re doinganything? We don’t even know what we’re doing. For all we know, we’re about toget a call telling us to come home.”

Bowles looked up now, and eyedthem both.

“I don’t believe that for oneminute.”

“What do you think we’re doing?”

Bowles shoveled food into hismouth. He glanced around, as if he was checking when the next shuttle was leaving,or maybe whether his wife had come downstairs yet.

“Here’s what I know. You guys havea reputation that precedes you. They didn’t assign me to you because you colorinside the lines. There is no doubt in my mind that you’ve figured out who thesubject is in this case.”

He looked from Ed, to Luke, andback to Ed. Then back to Luke again.

Luke shrugged. “Okay. If you like.”

“And that means you know he’s nothere anymore.”

Luke said nothing to this.

Bowles’s eyes suddenly becamefierce. He spoke quietly, but with an intensity he hadn’t shown before. “Listen,do you think I like it? Do you think I like dirtbags like this guy, who thinkthey’re above the law, who think they can act with impunity? Do you think Ilike it that they’re right most of the time?”

He shook his head and answered hisown question. “I don’t like it. Of course I don’t. But what can I do? I’m oneman, and I wasn’t fortunate enough to join a mysterious rogue agency within anagency. We play it by the book around here, partner. And that means bad guyswith clout walk away free.”

He raised a finger. “But this onetime, it doesn’t have to be that way. I’m actually assigned to you guys. I havewide latitude to interpret what that means. And I know where the guy is. I knowwhere he is right this minute.”

“So do we,” Ed said.

Bowles raised his hands. “So youguys went cowboy. I was along for the ride. What did I know? I got caught up init, had to go with the flow. But then it worked out, a very bad guy went down,and all is forgiven. The people protecting him? There’s nothing they can do. Bythe time they realize what’s happening, it’s too late. And they scurry awaylike mice. A few eggs were cracked, but a very nice omelet was made.”

He dug into his food again.

“The guy is radioactive. If we getout ahead and take him down, no one will lift a finger. They can’t. No one willeven admit to knowing him. I’m very confident of that.”

“This is how you really feel?”Luke said.

Bowles stared right at him.

“Yes. This is how I really feel. Ifyou’re planning something, I want in.”

Ed shook his head. “Then what wasthat whole act last night at the headquarters?”

Bowles shrugged. “It was exactlywhat you say it was. An act. I had to do that. The walls have ears. We had allthe information we needed from that kid. I figured at that point, you guys weregoing to move forward, regardless of anything more he might say. Things aresensitive. This case has been killed from on high again and again. Everyonewitnessing that interview—and believe me, people were witnessing it—needed tothink I shut it down. I did my job. The investigation hit a wall. It’s over. Gohome.”

“Were you assigned to us to killthe investigation?” Luke said.

Bowles smiled and shook his head.“Why do you think? To help move the case along? I’ve been down here a longtime. Things work a certain way. I wouldn’t call it corrupt, but I wouldn’tcall it anything else, either.”

“Do you have any experience withthis kind of thing?” Ed said.

“I don’t know what you know aboutme,” Bowles said.

“Why don’t you tell us?”

“I was 1st Special Forces, youprobably know that. This was back in the nineties, before the Middle East warsstarted. I did covert missions, on loan to the DEA, breaking