Page 7 of The Fourth Option
“And how did you make contact?”
“Believe it or not, Staub bought a rug from him. Mansour hinted at having information that might be of interest to us, so I went in and bought a rug too. The hints became more than that.”
Fisk stopped typing and studied Walker through his glasses. “Really? It was that random?”
“Life’s like that sometimes.”
Fisk resumed typing. After a few more strokes on the keys, he shut the laptop and threw his glasses in a case. “Ready,” he said, standing. “Oh—and from now on, we’re to refer to this asset as Mongoose.”
“Mongoose,” Walker repeated. “Who came up with that?”
“The Agency’s cryptonym generator.”
“It was a good choice. They eat snakes.”
CHAPTER TWO
Quinault Rain Forest, Washington State, Pacific Coast
Present Day
THE RINGING INWalker’s ears was so loud and shrill that it was almost physically painful.
That was fucking stupid, he thought, looking at the books on his shelves as if they would speak to him.
He laid the pistol to his side on the sofa bench seat and leaned forward, setting his elbows on his knees and pressing his palms to the side of his head.
Just some ringing.
The noise shifted in tone and Walker lifted his head, running his fingers through his hair.
His eyes went to the bullet hole in the headliner, thinking that the rain would soon seep into the mattress above and would eventually start to drip into the interior.
Is there anything you don’t fucking ruin?
That bullet is going to come down somewhere, you selfish son of a bitch.
The buzzing in his brain gave way to the sounds of Paladin scratching at the door.
Paladin, from the knights of Charlemagne’s court; a champion for a cause.
Was Walker that cause?
He leaned to the side and opened the sliding door. The dog leaped in, tail wagging, and bound into Walker’s lap, licking his face while whining as if the two had been separated for months instead of minutes.
“Okay, Pal, it’s okay. I’m all right.”
Paladin, not convinced, slid to Walker’s side and curled into a ball, setting his chin on his guardian’s lap, looking up with soulful brown eyes.
Walker stroked Paladin’s head. “Thanks, boy. I’m okay for now.” Then he looked to the phone.
Leigh Ann.
He took a deep breath and dialed her number.
“Chris?”Leigh Ann Staub said after two rings.
“Yeah, it’s me.”
