Page 64 of Bishop's Flight
“Because I tried to warn him.”
“Tried to warn who?”
“The kid!”
Carwyn tensed and the ground tensed with him, causing Clarence to gasp.
Shit.
He released his grip on the man. “Tell me everything from the beginning.”
“The Dutchman messaged me on the server. I just thought he was some punk. It was months ago. I’d lost a match to him, but he said he didn’t want the money. Just said that he wanted me to start talking with this other player, Rookosaurus.” Clarence shook his head. “I thought it was a scam. I thought he was a creep, so I blew him off. I didn’t want to get mixed up with some asshole who wanted to know about a kid.”
A hint of sympathy peeked through Carwyn’s rage, but then he remembered the dozen holes in Miguel’s chest. “Keep going.”
“I go to work the next day” —he started to cry— “and my boss pulls me in. I worked at the boat dealership, you know? He said he got the email and I was already on thin ice and that was the last straw.”
Carwyn had to sort through the mixed metaphors. “Why were you in trouble at work?”
“Because of the drinking!” The man sobbed. “But I swear I didn’t send that email!”
“What email?”
“It was pictures. Naked pictures. The girls looked like they were in high school or something. It went out to everyone, even my old secretary. My boss said he’d call the police if I didn’t leave.” Clarence shook his head. “I was pissed, and I was so confused.”
“The Dutchman had hacked your email?”
“I got another message.” Clarence gulped. “He knew everything about me. My ex-wife. My daughter in school. He knew my daughter’s car and where she’s working and everything.” He attempted a shrug. “What could I do? I’d already lost my job. I’m a shit dad; I couldn’t let this creep hurt my daughter.”
Carwyn knew that the manipulation and blackmail that Clarence Johnson had faced was only a hint of what the Ankers likely had in store. If they got control of the city with Sokholov, they’d have access to everything and everyone. Executives. Entrepreneurs. Digital barons. Government employees.
Clarence Johnson was only the beginning of what they could expect.
“So you started a conversation with Lucas?”
“Who?”
“The kid. Rookasaurus.”
“Ihadto. Don’t you see? I had to!”
“What did they want?”
“Just… dumb stuff. Where he liked to hang out. What his plans were. They wanted me to lose to him at chess, ask him for advice, make like we were friends.” Clarence blinked, and tears rolled down his dusty face. “I did it. The kid… he seemed like a good kid. He just liked chess and girls and cars. Talked about going to college and how boring most high school kids were because they were immature.”
“Keep going.”
“He talked about this girl he met.” Clarence shook his head. “And something in me… I just knew. I was going to warn him that she wasn’t safe. That something about her was off, but just when I started to say something, I got locked out of my account.”
“How?” Carwyn wished Lee was with him, though he knew the man would be put off by his methods. “What happened?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I figured they had to be listening in somehow. Like they bugged my computer or something. That was about two weeks ago, and I haven’t slept since.” The tears were flowing now. “I thought you were them. They came to my house once in the middle of the night and they threatened my daughter. They threatened her mom. I didn’t mean to hurt your friend, I promise.”
Carwyn stood, leaving the man weeping in the dirt as he walked away. He motioned to one of Rose and Agnes’s men who had been standing at a distance. “I’m finished with him.”
“What should we do with him?”
Carwyn turned to watch the human. His face was covered in dust and the tear tracks had turned his face to a muddy mess. Snot was dripping from his nose. He looked… pathetic.
