continued. "That's not like him."
Nick nodded. "It's
the Yünnan Project audit."
"What
about it?"
"Dennis is
calling the shots now."Dennis had been right all along. Since his
promotion, Nick, always desperate to meet some deadline or called away to some
meeting, had found no time to devote to his old cases, including the Yünnan
Project audit. Dennis, as agreed, had stepped into his shoes.
"Evidently,"
Nick went on, "Dennis has been telling Scott how to conduct the audit … what
to look at, what not to. You know Scott, he doesn't think much of authority and
thinks even less of Dennis. Pissed him off. He thinks Dennis is glossing over
the whole case, missing the boat. He started telling me about the things he'd
found but … "
"But you
didn't have time for him, right?"
Nick sighed. Couldn't
people understand that with his promotion had come greater obligations? Sacrifices
came with the territory, and that meant he hadn't seen as much of Scott or, for
that matter, Meg, as he would have hoped. "Judy, I don't even have time
for myself, right now. Things will change, I promise."
Her face didn't
soften. "Can't you do anything?"
"About
Dennis and the Yünnan Project? If I can clone myself, yes, otherwise no. Right
now my primary responsibilities are to the Government Division. I can't turn my
back on those responsibilities. I just can't."
Judy frowned. "You're
supposed to be best friends." She started to leave, and Nick finally set
down his pen.
"C'mon,
Judy," he pleaded, "we are, but … I've got less than six months
to prove myself to Carolyn. She expects a lot, and I'm going to give it to her.
Scott understands that; I know he does." He tried another smile. "I
just think you miss his obnoxious voice."
Judy looked out
the office door, then answered wistfully, "Honestly, I do. Everyone in
this division is so … So stuffy."
"Like me,
huh?"
"No,
you're not actually stuffy, you just act that way most of the time."
Was that
supposed to be a compliment? Nick threw up his arms. "Okay, okay, the
hell with it. The work goes to the side for awhile. Get Scott on the line. I'll
invite him down and we'll … I don't know … play hooky. Go to lunch,
all three of us. How's that?"
"Now?"
Nick nodded. "Let's
do it. To tell you the truth, I sort of miss his obnoxious voice too."
Judy ran
eagerly to her desk. Nick heard her voice, muffled from the other room. He
reached for his phone on her return a few minutes later. "Is he on the
line?" Nick asked.
Judy shook her
head, crestfallen. "No. … He's on vacation — two weeks."
"Two
weeks?" Nick repeated. Scott's usual m.o. was a long weekend in the
Caribbean, time enough to check out the local watering holes and catch a nice
burn. "Where'd he go?"
"His
secretary doesn't know. He didn't leave a number and he hasn't called in."
Nick scratched
the side of his face with his knuckles. It surprised him, even bothered him a
bit, that Scott hadn't filled him in on his plans. Then again, he hadn't made
time for Scott lately. Why would he expect Scott to make time for him? "Maybe
something came up, some emergency."
"And he
didn't tell us?"
Nick hit on the
answer. "He probably met some girl. Flew her off somewhere on the spur of
the moment."
"You might
be right."
"Sure,"
Nick said, his thoughts already veering back to work. "He didn't tell us
because he didn't want to get ribbed. When he gets back I'm sure we'll be
treated to all the juicy details. In the meantime, I have a pile of work to
finish. I've got to get back to it."
Judy watched
him for a few minutes, until she saw that his mind had returned to the world of
figures, then slipped from his office.
9
The silver BMW
slowed, then angled to the right into a parking space. Scott Johnson did the
same, four spaces back. Three days of surveillance had emboldened him: he
didn't bother circling the block .
The BMW's door
opened, and Andrew McKenzie — early forties, average height, athletic and
well dressed — got out. Scott
Nick nodded. "It's
the Yünnan Project audit."
"What
about it?"
"Dennis is
calling the shots now."Dennis had been right all along. Since his
promotion, Nick, always desperate to meet some deadline or called away to some
meeting, had found no time to devote to his old cases, including the Yünnan
Project audit. Dennis, as agreed, had stepped into his shoes.
"Evidently,"
Nick went on, "Dennis has been telling Scott how to conduct the audit … what
to look at, what not to. You know Scott, he doesn't think much of authority and
thinks even less of Dennis. Pissed him off. He thinks Dennis is glossing over
the whole case, missing the boat. He started telling me about the things he'd
found but … "
"But you
didn't have time for him, right?"
Nick sighed. Couldn't
people understand that with his promotion had come greater obligations? Sacrifices
came with the territory, and that meant he hadn't seen as much of Scott or, for
that matter, Meg, as he would have hoped. "Judy, I don't even have time
for myself, right now. Things will change, I promise."
Her face didn't
soften. "Can't you do anything?"
"About
Dennis and the Yünnan Project? If I can clone myself, yes, otherwise no. Right
now my primary responsibilities are to the Government Division. I can't turn my
back on those responsibilities. I just can't."
Judy frowned. "You're
supposed to be best friends." She started to leave, and Nick finally set
down his pen.
"C'mon,
Judy," he pleaded, "we are, but … I've got less than six months
to prove myself to Carolyn. She expects a lot, and I'm going to give it to her.
Scott understands that; I know he does." He tried another smile. "I
just think you miss his obnoxious voice."
Judy looked out
the office door, then answered wistfully, "Honestly, I do. Everyone in
this division is so … So stuffy."
"Like me,
huh?"
"No,
you're not actually stuffy, you just act that way most of the time."
Was that
supposed to be a compliment? Nick threw up his arms. "Okay, okay, the
hell with it. The work goes to the side for awhile. Get Scott on the line. I'll
invite him down and we'll … I don't know … play hooky. Go to lunch,
all three of us. How's that?"
"Now?"
Nick nodded. "Let's
do it. To tell you the truth, I sort of miss his obnoxious voice too."
Judy ran
eagerly to her desk. Nick heard her voice, muffled from the other room. He
reached for his phone on her return a few minutes later. "Is he on the
line?" Nick asked.
Judy shook her
head, crestfallen. "No. … He's on vacation — two weeks."
"Two
weeks?" Nick repeated. Scott's usual m.o. was a long weekend in the
Caribbean, time enough to check out the local watering holes and catch a nice
burn. "Where'd he go?"
"His
secretary doesn't know. He didn't leave a number and he hasn't called in."
Nick scratched
the side of his face with his knuckles. It surprised him, even bothered him a
bit, that Scott hadn't filled him in on his plans. Then again, he hadn't made
time for Scott lately. Why would he expect Scott to make time for him? "Maybe
something came up, some emergency."
"And he
didn't tell us?"
Nick hit on the
answer. "He probably met some girl. Flew her off somewhere on the spur of
the moment."
"You might
be right."
"Sure,"
Nick said, his thoughts already veering back to work. "He didn't tell us
because he didn't want to get ribbed. When he gets back I'm sure we'll be
treated to all the juicy details. In the meantime, I have a pile of work to
finish. I've got to get back to it."
Judy watched
him for a few minutes, until she saw that his mind had returned to the world of
figures, then slipped from his office.
9
The silver BMW
slowed, then angled to the right into a parking space. Scott Johnson did the
same, four spaces back. Three days of surveillance had emboldened him: he
didn't bother circling the block .
The BMW's door
opened, and Andrew McKenzie — early forties, average height, athletic and
well dressed — got out. Scott
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