“That’s fantastic! Having Marcus film you in action from the start will make dynamic footage.”
My thigh touched Hondo’s desk and I yawned and stretched my hands up, then bent forward like my back was stiff. My hand was two inches from the donut box when Hondo took out his knife and started sharpening it as he looked at me. Some people have no sense of humor.
I returned to my desk as he put the knife on the desk and tossed me another donut. I poured us more coffee as Emma continued to talk. “NBC has already sent inquiries to our local station. They’re interested in going national with Lock and Load. This could be the big one, boys. Yes!” She said she had to run, and hung up.
**
The next morning a broad shouldered man with a bullet scar on his neck, a shaved head, and wearing an Armani suit came in the door. He took a seat without being asked. I noticed a gold earring in one ear lobe and the fact that his biceps stretched the coat sleeves almost to splitting. I thought he looked like the bald guy on the bottle of kitchen cleaner. “Gentlemen,” he said.
“Can we help you?” Hondo asked.
He smiled, showing very white teeth. “I hope so. I would like to hire you. I assure you the pay will be exceptional.”
Hondo asked, “Do you have a business card?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“How about a name, do you have one of those?” I said.
He looked at me as if deciding, then said, “I am Ajax Berenko.”
“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” I said.
“Excuse me?”
“You look like Mr. Clean and your name is Ajax.”
He gave me a thin smile, “They said you were the funny one.”
“Tell us about the job,” Hondo said.
Ajax said, “It would involve travel, which would be at our expense. First Class, of course.”
“And you picked us because…?” I asked.
“Your antics on the news and on your new show, what is it…Lock and Load?”
“Wow, antics,” I said.
He continued as if I hadn’t spoken, “You made an impression. I felt you would be perfect for my needs. Did I mention it will be in Europe?”
We didn’t answer. He let a long moment of silence go by then said, “The exact location is Monaco, where you will be staying in the best accommodations available, again at my expense.”
I opened my mouth to speak but before I could say anything, he spoke again. “By the way, have you had any luck finding the girl?” He leaned forward, still smiling. I saw the tiniest tic at the corner of his right eye.
“We don’t really have the time to look, you know, because of all our antics,” I said.
“That’s a shame. She obviously needs help.” He tapped his lips with a forefinger for several seconds, “Maybe I could assist you on that end.”
“Is that right?” Hondo said.
“I am someone who likes to see justice done, and I can tell that finding her is important to you.” He paused for effect, “So I’m willing to hire you to find this girl and cover all your expenses until she’s found, and then we can focus on the Monaco-“
“Not interested,” Hondo said.
“Wait, you didn’t hear my-”
Hondo said, “You can leave now.”