that I was the one who gave you your real start. Think you’d have that cushy job ten minutes away at Brookhaven, if it wasn’t for me?”
“What do you want?”
“Have a swim and a drink, maybe that’s all.”
“Okay.”
Jack Tyrell paddled the chair closer to his old friend. “We got some old times to catch up on. Why don’t you change into some trunks and join me?”
“No, thanks.”
“Why put a pool in if you don’t use it?”
“It came with the house.”
“Cold day, but the water’s warm.”
“It’s heated.”
Tyrell shook his head admiringly. “I’m beyond impressed. Big house with a pool, thanks to the folks at Brookhaven paying you to blow things up. Only difference between them and me is I never had to pay you, because you didn’t do it for the money. I figure that’s worth something, like I was your agent or something.” He looked around him. “All this … I figure you owe me.”
“You need money?”
Jack Tyrell slurped up some more of his drink, vodka mixed with the punch, Othell Vance figured, or maybe gin. “I ask you a question, Othell?”
“Sure.”
“You go to restaurants a lot?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Big fancy places. Need a reservation to get you and your pretty wife, Jenny, a table, right?”
Othell nodded, a little uneasy that Jack Tyrell knew his wife’s name. Funny thing how he would have died for this man a generation before but couldn’t be more scared of anyone right now.
“How about movies? You like movies?”
“Once in a while.”
“In those new theaters with the sound that shakes the whole building.”
“Multiplexes,” Othall elaborated. “Where’s this going, Jack?” he asked, instantly regretting it.
Jack Tyrell flapped his arms through the water, coming right up to the side of the pool and hooking his legs over the edge to hold the inflatable chair in place. Water splashed onto Tyrell’s sodden pants.
“I don’t go to real restaurants much, haven’t since the last time you saw me, at the Mercantile Bank, Othell. I go to the movies, but I got to show up late, after the movie starts and it’s too dark for anyone to recognize me. I always miss the coming attractions. Used to be my favorite part.”
Jack’s gaze narrowed, his eyes seeming to darken. Othell knew the look well. So did the FBI: it was the expression they used on the poster when Jack Tyrell was America’s most wanted man, when he was Jackie Terror. Othell stood there looking down at him, his skin gone clammy. In the next instant Tyrell seemed to shake Jackie Terror off his face.
“You know what this is about, Othell? You want to know what I want? I want what I got coming to me. I want a little payback. I want your fucking help.”
Lots of comments ran through Othell’s mind, most of them the kinds
of things Harrison Conroy would say. Othell tried to keep who he was today front and center.
“I can’t do nothing for you.” My God , he thought, I’m talking like I used to … .
Jack smiled, ran his free hand through his tangled hair. “That’s better. At least I recognize your voice now. But seriously, Othell, even though you didn’t use me as a reference for Brookhaven, you’re only here now ’cause of me.”
“Those days are over, Jack.”
“Not anymore. I decided to make a comeback. There’s something that needs doing, Othell. I won’t ask you to help me do it. I will ask for the required ordnance.”
“Ordnance?”
“I need to blow something up. Something big. All the things you’re into at Brookhaven, I figure there’s got to be one that can help me.”
“You want me to steal something from the lab?”
“I’d say borrow, but there’s not really much chance of it being returned intact.”
“You have any idea the kind of security we’re talking about here?”
And then Othell shuddered, because Jack Tyrell melted into the sun and he found himself staring into the cold eyes of Jackie Terror again, and this time it didn’t look
“What do you want?”
“Have a swim and a drink, maybe that’s all.”
“Okay.”
Jack Tyrell paddled the chair closer to his old friend. “We got some old times to catch up on. Why don’t you change into some trunks and join me?”
“No, thanks.”
“Why put a pool in if you don’t use it?”
“It came with the house.”
“Cold day, but the water’s warm.”
“It’s heated.”
Tyrell shook his head admiringly. “I’m beyond impressed. Big house with a pool, thanks to the folks at Brookhaven paying you to blow things up. Only difference between them and me is I never had to pay you, because you didn’t do it for the money. I figure that’s worth something, like I was your agent or something.” He looked around him. “All this … I figure you owe me.”
“You need money?”
Jack Tyrell slurped up some more of his drink, vodka mixed with the punch, Othell Vance figured, or maybe gin. “I ask you a question, Othell?”
“Sure.”
“You go to restaurants a lot?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“Big fancy places. Need a reservation to get you and your pretty wife, Jenny, a table, right?”
Othell nodded, a little uneasy that Jack Tyrell knew his wife’s name. Funny thing how he would have died for this man a generation before but couldn’t be more scared of anyone right now.
“How about movies? You like movies?”
“Once in a while.”
“In those new theaters with the sound that shakes the whole building.”
“Multiplexes,” Othall elaborated. “Where’s this going, Jack?” he asked, instantly regretting it.
Jack Tyrell flapped his arms through the water, coming right up to the side of the pool and hooking his legs over the edge to hold the inflatable chair in place. Water splashed onto Tyrell’s sodden pants.
“I don’t go to real restaurants much, haven’t since the last time you saw me, at the Mercantile Bank, Othell. I go to the movies, but I got to show up late, after the movie starts and it’s too dark for anyone to recognize me. I always miss the coming attractions. Used to be my favorite part.”
Jack’s gaze narrowed, his eyes seeming to darken. Othell knew the look well. So did the FBI: it was the expression they used on the poster when Jack Tyrell was America’s most wanted man, when he was Jackie Terror. Othell stood there looking down at him, his skin gone clammy. In the next instant Tyrell seemed to shake Jackie Terror off his face.
“You know what this is about, Othell? You want to know what I want? I want what I got coming to me. I want a little payback. I want your fucking help.”
Lots of comments ran through Othell’s mind, most of them the kinds
of things Harrison Conroy would say. Othell tried to keep who he was today front and center.
“I can’t do nothing for you.” My God , he thought, I’m talking like I used to … .
Jack smiled, ran his free hand through his tangled hair. “That’s better. At least I recognize your voice now. But seriously, Othell, even though you didn’t use me as a reference for Brookhaven, you’re only here now ’cause of me.”
“Those days are over, Jack.”
“Not anymore. I decided to make a comeback. There’s something that needs doing, Othell. I won’t ask you to help me do it. I will ask for the required ordnance.”
“Ordnance?”
“I need to blow something up. Something big. All the things you’re into at Brookhaven, I figure there’s got to be one that can help me.”
“You want me to steal something from the lab?”
“I’d say borrow, but there’s not really much chance of it being returned intact.”
“You have any idea the kind of security we’re talking about here?”
And then Othell shuddered, because Jack Tyrell melted into the sun and he found himself staring into the cold eyes of Jackie Terror again, and this time it didn’t look
Similar Books
