Read Online Deadly Intent: An Action Thriller (Adrian Hell Series Book 4) by James P. Sumner - Free Book Online
Authors: James P. Sumner
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failed, truth be told. Hell, even they must’ve doubted their success, because they sent in the death squads to take you out at pretty much the same time! That’s when we knew we had to step in.”
“Could’ve stepped in a bit earlier, asshole, I might still have a bar and my dog.”
“You had a dog ?” he asks with a smirk, somewhat sarcastically.
“Yeah, I did, and I loved that little guy, and he got shot. I can’t say I care for your tone, Ryan, and I’d advise you going forward to remember that while I’m retired, I’m no less capable of ripping your throat out. We clear?”
He smiles nervously. “Hell, I meant no offense, son. I’m here to help—our past be damned.”
I take a few deep breaths to pacify my anger. “And who’s we ?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You keep saying ‘as best we can tell’, and ‘ we knew we had to step in’… Who’s we ? ”
He clears his throat but remains sheepishly quiet.
“Ryan, how did you know what was happening here? Who do you work for?”
He hesitates, clearly thrown off whatever game plan he had when he came to meet me. “Adrian, what’s important is what’s happening, not who I represent. Let me just—”
He stops talking as we see another car appear behind us in the rearview. It’s a nice sedan, black with tinted windows. It pulls up behind us in the parking lot and sits there, its engine still idling.
“Friend of yours?” I ask him.
He sighs. “Yeah...”
“Let’s go and say ‘hi’ then. Maybe they’ll give me some straight fucking answers!”
I climb out of the truck and walk toward the car; Schultz is just behind me. As I near the vehicle, the driver’s door opens and a man gets out. He’s dressed like Schultz—nice jeans, boots, a fitted shirt tucked in with the sleeves rolled up, mirrored sunglasses and short blond hair, styled and spiked. He shuts the door and stands in front of me, smiling.
“Hey, Boss,” he says, in a ridiculously happy British accent.
I feel my eyes go wide. I’m genuinely shocked…
“Holy shit… Josh?”
9.
09:57 CDT
“How you doin’, Adrian?” he asks, smiling. I’m guessing he loves the look of confusion and surprise on my face right now.
I can’t think of anything meaningful to say. After everything that’s happened, seeing Josh in front of me is just too much of a curveball to deal with at the moment.
“Where’s your hair?” I ask him, finally.
He laughs. “Figured it was time for a change. Needed to smarten up a bit, y’know… you like?”
“You look less like someone who listens to rock music and still lives with his parents, if that’s what you mean?”
We look at each other for a moment in silence, and then both burst out laughing before embracing like long-lost brothers. We pat each other’s backs.
“Man, it’s good to see you, Josh. What you up to nowadays?” I ask.
“What else?” he replies. “Watching your back!”
I frown. “Something really weird’s going on here, and I’m guessing you know what…”
He smiles that knowing smile of his, the way he always did when he knew things and didn’t want to tell you how he found them out.
“Josh…?”
“Okay,” he begins. “You’re about to get a lot of information, and you’re gonna have questions… can you please just wait ’til I’ve finished? I know you want to know everything all the time, but this thing is big and it’ll take time to explain.”
I shrug and nod. “Whatever,” I say, gesturing with my hand for him to start.
“Okay… when we went our separate ways, I went and got myself a job at GlobaTech, working with our old friend, Robert Clark. What I did was really complicated, and I won’t bore you with the details, but it was to do with their research and development business. Anyway, when Ryan here got the boot from the new president, Robert offered him a job as a consulting director…” He leans forward slightly. “You ask me, it’s one of those jobs they
“Could’ve stepped in a bit earlier, asshole, I might still have a bar and my dog.”
“You had a dog ?” he asks with a smirk, somewhat sarcastically.
“Yeah, I did, and I loved that little guy, and he got shot. I can’t say I care for your tone, Ryan, and I’d advise you going forward to remember that while I’m retired, I’m no less capable of ripping your throat out. We clear?”
He smiles nervously. “Hell, I meant no offense, son. I’m here to help—our past be damned.”
I take a few deep breaths to pacify my anger. “And who’s we ?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You keep saying ‘as best we can tell’, and ‘ we knew we had to step in’… Who’s we ? ”
He clears his throat but remains sheepishly quiet.
“Ryan, how did you know what was happening here? Who do you work for?”
He hesitates, clearly thrown off whatever game plan he had when he came to meet me. “Adrian, what’s important is what’s happening, not who I represent. Let me just—”
He stops talking as we see another car appear behind us in the rearview. It’s a nice sedan, black with tinted windows. It pulls up behind us in the parking lot and sits there, its engine still idling.
“Friend of yours?” I ask him.
He sighs. “Yeah...”
“Let’s go and say ‘hi’ then. Maybe they’ll give me some straight fucking answers!”
I climb out of the truck and walk toward the car; Schultz is just behind me. As I near the vehicle, the driver’s door opens and a man gets out. He’s dressed like Schultz—nice jeans, boots, a fitted shirt tucked in with the sleeves rolled up, mirrored sunglasses and short blond hair, styled and spiked. He shuts the door and stands in front of me, smiling.
“Hey, Boss,” he says, in a ridiculously happy British accent.
I feel my eyes go wide. I’m genuinely shocked…
“Holy shit… Josh?”
9.
09:57 CDT
“How you doin’, Adrian?” he asks, smiling. I’m guessing he loves the look of confusion and surprise on my face right now.
I can’t think of anything meaningful to say. After everything that’s happened, seeing Josh in front of me is just too much of a curveball to deal with at the moment.
“Where’s your hair?” I ask him, finally.
He laughs. “Figured it was time for a change. Needed to smarten up a bit, y’know… you like?”
“You look less like someone who listens to rock music and still lives with his parents, if that’s what you mean?”
We look at each other for a moment in silence, and then both burst out laughing before embracing like long-lost brothers. We pat each other’s backs.
“Man, it’s good to see you, Josh. What you up to nowadays?” I ask.
“What else?” he replies. “Watching your back!”
I frown. “Something really weird’s going on here, and I’m guessing you know what…”
He smiles that knowing smile of his, the way he always did when he knew things and didn’t want to tell you how he found them out.
“Josh…?”
“Okay,” he begins. “You’re about to get a lot of information, and you’re gonna have questions… can you please just wait ’til I’ve finished? I know you want to know everything all the time, but this thing is big and it’ll take time to explain.”
I shrug and nod. “Whatever,” I say, gesturing with my hand for him to start.
“Okay… when we went our separate ways, I went and got myself a job at GlobaTech, working with our old friend, Robert Clark. What I did was really complicated, and I won’t bore you with the details, but it was to do with their research and development business. Anyway, when Ryan here got the boot from the new president, Robert offered him a job as a consulting director…” He leans forward slightly. “You ask me, it’s one of those jobs they
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