Page 35 of Protect Your Queen

“Who fired the shot?” he asked, his voice getting deeper.

I didn’t need to be subtle. In fact, I suspected that discretion, and withholding information would go over about as well as a lead balloon. So, I told him everything. He listened, not interrupting. He paused only to ask me how to spell Mario Pesci’s name – probably so he could write it down.

“My wife will head over in the morning,” Callum said when I was done with the harrowing tale my derring-do. His tone was flat, not disapproving. Business like. “I’ll be sending over her brother too, so you’ll have the right hands for this endeavor.”

“What endeavor?”

“Lad, this isn’t a protection mission anymore,” Callum said, with a sinister chuckle. “It’s a hunting mission.”

“What do you mean?” Did phrases mean the same thing to them as it did to us? We were divided by a common language, and an inability to agree on whether the “h” in herbs was pronounced.

“You have seen this man twice, and each time, he has placed the client in some kind of danger, correct?” I wondered if he had a driver. He didn’t sound like he was driving in traffic.

“That’s correct.”

“Each time, he did not close the distance to kill her, yes?”

“Correct.”

“If he was a madman that was pissed at the client, he wouldn’t be withdrawing to safety.” The sound of the engine lessened some, and I heard the sound of two children crying. He had his twins with him. “He’d be closing the distance. But he’s pulling back, why?”

“I don’t know.”

“The man has a reason to live,” Callum said. Was that the sound of ice dropping into a glass in the background? “And maybe he’s out for revenge but it’s not a revenge of passion. He might need to withdraw because someone has promised him a reward and a getaway to a non-extradition country. In which case, he’s just a pawn.”

“Hmm.” This was starting to make sense, and I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

“In which case, our job is to find out where the source of the real danger is and eliminate them.”

“And by that, you mean cooperate with law enforcement so that we can bring down the culprits with impartial, due process?” I tried not to laugh.

Callum, on the other hand, guffawed like I had just made the funniest joke.

“You’re funny, man! I don’t meet too many yanks with a good sense of humor. That was a good one.”

“Your wife isn’t funny?” I was baiting him.

Iknewshe had no sense of humor whatsoever. The only thing that amused her was making grown men cry.

“She has a dark sense of humor, for sure. At least I hope they’re jokes.” Well, that was ominous.

The people I worked for could be frightening. I had called some of my old friends at the CIA, and been routed to a spook called Brett Bradley. That was obviously a fake name. All he was willing to tell me was that Caledonia Security was a good company that was willing, and capable, of working in the shadows.

The man gave me the creeps.

“Listen, Ambrose, if youcannaestomach the idea of hunting the people that are after your client, and speeding up justice just a wee bit, I will respect that.” This was not the reaction I expected from my boss who just admitted that extrajudicial killings were part of his business model. “I can have you on a flight home as soon as my wife and brother-in-law are there to take over. We have other assignments that might be more to your taste if that’s the case. But you have to make that choice. Youcannaelook to anyone else for guidance on where your moral lines are.”

I called in to report, and I was getting a lesson in philosophy and self-awareness. Great.

“I can’t get arrested,” I confessed. “I have a sister to support.”

“You won’t,” Callum assured me. “You have the backing of Caledonia Security, and every Chocolatier that’s existed since World War II. You’re grand.”

“Chocolatier?” That had to be code for something.

“St. Michael’s Boarding School in Switzerland,” Callum said. “George Campbell and I are alumni. So is Jareth Barkada. I’m sure you’ve seen our Rolex watches. A lot of people you’ve heard of came from that school. And we’re interwoven like threads of silk.”

“That’s how you guys rule the world, right? You all go to boarding school together, as the ultimate networking event?”

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