Sounded like a wise move to me. Hopefully I don’t regret entering their employment. “So I’m not just ensuring his safety, but I’m the eyes and ears for the Hendersons as well?” He nodded, and I snorted. “And how do you expect me to pull that off?”
“You are being brought in as his new economic advisor.”
I couldn’t contain my laughter. “I don’t even balance my checkbook. No way in hell am I going to be able to pull this off. How about housekeeper or driver or… hell, I can even cook better than I can manage money.” When I was a teenager, I worked as a cashier at a fast-food restaurant for about a week before they fired me. Somehow my cash register never added up correctly.
Burke didn’t seem surprised by my announcement. “You’ll be coached on what you need to say on the flight to Tabiq.”
“A crash course in economics? Florraz can’t be very bright if you think he won’t see right through that,” I said.
“He’s smart enough to play his cards so close to the vest that we can’t get a read on him. But to ease your concerns, you won’t be presenting to him directly, but rather, to his staff. Whatever they don’t understand, you can chalk up to a language barrier.”
“And if they ask me questions?” Which they should once I start talking.
“Someone on our end will be listening, and they’ll feed you all the information and reports you will need,” he said.
“And you want me to do this instead of them, why exactly?”
“We need someone on the inside, not a financial wizard.”
“To protect him in case something goes wrong?” I asked.
“And to let us know if Jasper Florraz isn’t as loyal to Tabiq as he seems to be,” he clarified.
Great. A spy for the Henderson family. And yet I’m actually contemplating doing this. God, I really am desperate for a job change.
“What exactly are you looking for? Because it would help if I knew what you might suspect him of,” I said. Usually, I worked with a team and I covered them from a distance. This was entirely out of my realm of experience. If I was being honest, I wasn’t the right person for this assignment. But Burke seemed out of his depth, and I felt the need to prove to myself that I could do this.
“LaHouse, like in our training, for some things you’ll need to follow your gut. If it feels off, it probably is.”
What is your gut telling you, Burke?If he was going to these lengths, I already knew he didn’t trust Florraz. Obviously, my role is to try to obtain information to back up his suspicions.
“When do I leave?” I asked.
“How fast can you pack? The Henderson jet is fueled and waiting for us,” he said.
I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair. “You were confident I’d say yes?”
“Once a Marine, always a Marine,” he replied as he rose from his seat. “And LaHouse, pack like you would on any mission.”
That statement was at least clear. And by flying international on the Henderson private jet, he was letting me know weapons would be allowed.
I got up and responded, “Oorah!”
There was no handshake or contract needed beyond this. We might not be going into battle - at least not like we had in the past - but Burke had stressed preparing for any possible situation. I’d never gone undercover before. This is what I get for praying for a challenge.
I left the restaurant and headed off to my apartment. The only things left to do was pack and let my boss at the mall know I wasn’t coming back. I would have liked to give them some advance notice, but Burke was right, and I knew where I needed to be. Just never thought I’d be meeting Burke at the airport so quickly.
As I entered the taxi, an uneasy feeling ran through me. I had no reason to be nervous. I’d been deployed overseas on much more dangerous missions than this. It was too late to change my mind now. A Marine’s word was everything.
Tabiq, here I come.