Page 12 of Forged in Deception

“Can we stay on topic, please?”

“Right,” Asher said, laughing again. “Theprocedure.”

“Exactly.”

“The one where my clone living in some canyon sneaks off to Amarillo and meets you in a dark alley. Or behind a cactus.”

“That’s not what I meant,” she snapped again. So much for trying to control her temper. Her heart rate felt like it had doubled. The man was infuriating.

“Ah, so you’re talking about ouractualprocedure? You know, the one where you make an appointment during business hours and we handle things professionally, which may include one of us flying out to meet with you, at your expense, in two to three weeks when we can slot you in. That procedure?”

Karlin pressed her mouth into a firm line. Suddenly, the Kia felt uncomfortably hot, and it took all of her resolve to avoid hanging up the phone, jumping out the door, and running off into the cold desert night.

ASHER

Silence filled the line.

Asher cradled the phone between his neck and shoulder, gathering up the loose Fairman file papers and trying to corral them into some semblance of order. This conversation was fascinating, but that didn’t mean he wanted to stick around until midnight.

“Okay, fine, you’re right,” Karlin said at last, sighing heavily into his ear. “I know I’m asking a lot here already. But I’m desperate. I’m sorry.”

“Why?” he pressed.

“You’ve dealt with Senera before. You know how powerful they are. And I’ve managed to find myself in the middle of one of their schemes. I’m–I’m scared.”

Asher felt his playful smirk falling away in an instant. He could tell by the woman’s voice that she really was afraid, whatever it was she’d gotten herself into. And even though Senera’s rivals had never been able to prove it in court, Asher had little doubt that the pharmaceutical giant would resort even to violence if someone got in their way.

“I believe you, Karlin. But I need more than that if I’m going to help you. I can’t even begin making a plan if I don’t know what I’m dealing with.”

Karlin drew a deep breath as silence once again rested between them. For a moment, he thought she was going to hang up.

Instead, he had apparently opened the floodgates.

Asher listened for the next forty-five minutes as Karlin told him about her time at Senera, their experimental psychedelic drug, and her recent impromptu meeting with her crazy-sounding boss and his insistence on stretching the truth to get the results he wanted. Asher had said very little and managed to sign a few of the Fairman documents as she talked.

At last, she paused for air, but despite all the information she’d given him, a couple unanswered questions nagged at him.

“So if they’re as sketchy as you say they are–and from my own experience, I have no reason to doubt you–why have you stuck around this long?” he asked. “I don’t get it.”

“I have my own reasons,” Karlin said firmly. “Can we please just leave it at that?”

He paused. He was curious, but he was getting the distinct feeling that he’d pushed her hard enough. In any case, she’d given him plenty to chew on.

“So the Phase II trial is in two weeks, correct?” he said.

“Yes. I know it’s not a lot of notice, but–”

“Let me worry about that part. Just prepare for a new trial participant, and I’ll let you in on more details about the plan when we get there.”

“You’re joining the trial?” Karlin half-yelled into his ear. “How on earth is that supposed to work? Won’t someone recognize you? What if I get caught? This is–”

“If this is gonna work, you’re going to have to trust me,” he said, unable to keep the edge from his voice. Goodness, this woman was impossible. “I know what I’m doing. If you can’t accept that, you’re going to need to find someone else to pull off a last-minute miracle. Good luck to you. I’ll even give you some numbers of other private security agencies. Got a pen?”

That did it.

“No,” Karlin said quickly. “No, no, that’s fine. I called you guys for a reason. I guess I’ll see you in Amarillo.”

“Looking forward to it.”

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