Five
Bullseye
“Can I come in?”
Stepping back, I let Reaper into my room. He looked at me funny and was acting weird. He said nothing as he walked in and sat on the end of my bed. I was right something had happened. Closing the door behind him, I walked over to the small table and picked up my pack of smokes, quickly lighting a cigarette.
Reaper shook his head. “What is it with those things?” he asked, getting to his feet. He walked over to me, removed the cigarette from my mouth, and quickly put it out. “Those things will kill you. Besides, you have a daughter.”
“And she’s not here,” I replied, reaching for another one, then lit it taking a nice long drag. If he were here to kill me, then I wanted to savor my last cigarette beforehand. “Why don’t you just tell me what’s going on instead of busting my balls.”
Reaper smiled, which creeped me out.
He really was acting odd.
I’d only seen the man smile once since I’d known him, and it was only because Remi did something funny.
The man never smiled.
Like ever.
He had a permanent scowl on his face twenty-four seven.
Reaching into his cut, he pulled out a small plastic bag and handed it to me. “Matrix pulled that from Ari the other day. Have you seen anything like it before?”
I took the small bag and looked at it, and whistled.
It was a small nanotech tracker. I had heard about these things but never actually seen one. When I was in the Marines, there were rumors that the U.S. Military was using them on some of their Special Forces groups to ensure their return. The no man left behind shit they spouted, but I never had one. Handing it back to him, I shook my head. “Sorry, I haven’t, but that’s really fancy tech, Reaper. The military uses that shit.”
“I know.”
“Then why ask me?”
“Curious.”
“About?”
“Can you think of any reason why this particular tracker would have been implanted in a female from a cult?”
“No,” I said, then added, taking another drag and exhaling slowly. “Unless Ari is some sort of secret ops chick?”
Reaper laughed at that. “Yeah, I don’t see that at all. So, how goes the hunt for Mr. Wagner?”
“I’ve got a location on him. I don’t foresee any problems delivering him as requested.”
“Good,” Reaper muttered. “I need another favor.”
“What?” I chuckled before taking another drag. “You got another person you need me to snatch?”
“Not at the moment, but there is always time for someone to piss me off, so who knows. Anyway, I have a meet tomorrow night. How familiar are you with the Tennessee State Forest?”
Everything in me stilled.
Why the fuck would he be asking about that place. It was nowhere near where I needed to acquire Wagner. What the fuck was he playing at? I knew something was off with him. He was digging. Why? “Good hunting in those parts. Deer season isn’t for another two months, though.”
“Got a meet tomorrow night. May need your services.”
“Gonna have to put a hold on Malcolm then. The Tennessee State Forest is on the opposite part of the state where Malcolm is. Could be a few more days until I can deliver him.”