Recker had something in mind, but he had to play it cool. He didn’t want to give off the impression, in the event they were being watched, that something was amiss. And he assumed someone was watching them, whether they actually were or not. He wasn’t going to take the chance of assuming they weren’t and make a mistake.
“So say this again?” Jones asked.
“You and Chris are going to go back to the office. Figure out if that laptop has a listening device planted inside somewhere. Assume that it does and play it up accordingly.”
“And you and Mia will be doing what?”
“Going to dinner.”
Jones looked perplexed. “While I understand she’s inherently better company, I thought we were all going hard on this.”
“I’m not really just going to dinner. We’re gonna meet Tyrell there.”
“For what?”
“I told you,” Recker said. “Were you not listening?”
“Apparently not. I have a lot on my mind right now. Listening is not one of my better skills at the moment.”
“You’re like a three-year-old. In one ear and out the other. I want Tyrell to look for something for me. And I don’t want to discuss things over the phone.”
“Well how are you going to get him there to begin with?”
“A phone.”
Jones put his hands up. “Is it just me?”
“I’m gonna use one of the burner phones we have for occasions like this. Ty’s got one too. Not traceable, and whoever this is doesn’t know about it. So even if this guy’s got our phones tapped, or we’re being watched, he’ll just think we’re going to dinner by ourselves.”
“And what are you going to have Tyrell doing?”
“I’ll let you know if it actually happens,” Recker answered.
“Sounds rather cryptic.”
“Just worry about what you’ve gotta do. I’ll worry about the rest.”
“Fine.”
Jones and Haley went back to the office in one car, while Recker and Mia left the park in another vehicle. Once in the car, Recker reached into the glove compartment and pulled out another phone. It was one he didn’t often use. It was saved for moments like this. He’d never used it before to contact anyone that was associated with him. He then called Tyrell, who Recker had also given a phone to, which was separate from his normal one. Recker always wanted to be prepared in moments like this, in case they couldn’t communicate in the usual ways. He wasn’t sure Tyrell would answer at first. Recker wasn’t sure if his friend was at home, or whether he would be near the phone. Luckily, Tyrell picked it up, though it was after several rings.
“Hey. Wasn’t sure you’d answer.”
“This must be serious,” Tyrell said.
“Same problem as before.”
“Still ain’t got nothing on that, you know? Still working it, but it’s not looking good so far.”
“I had a feeling it wouldn’t. This is about something else, though. Connected, but different.”
“Lay it on me. Whatcha need?”
“I want you to meet me at a restaurant in a few minutes,” Recker replied.
“What for?”
“I’m buying.”
“Oh, say no more. I’ll be there.”
Recker snickered. “Figured you would. I need you to do something for me, but I don’t wanna say it over the phone, or stay on this too long. Just in case.”
“I hear you. Just name the place and I’m on my way.”
“Let’s make it Stefano’s. Thirty minutes?”
“On my way now.”
“Good. See you there.”
As soon as Recker hung up, he could feel the heat of his girlfriend’s stare. He looked over at her, and sure enough, she was staring.
“Do you wanna tell me what’s going on?” Mia asked.
“I wanna bring Nate in.”
“For what? David?”
Recker nodded. “Yeah.”
“Why didn’t you just tell him that?”
“First, I don’t know whether Nate’s even available at the moment. So I don’t want to get anyone’s hopes up, or start including him in the plan, in case he’s not. Second, I’m not sure if David would approve, and I’m not gonna argue with him about it. If Nate’s available and willing to come, David’s getting him. David would fuss about it, and give a bunch of excuses as to why it’s not necessary, but it would allow me and Chris to be out there without worrying about him. If Nate’s with him, we know he’ll be safe.”
Mia agreed with his thinking. “And David would probably complain about taking Nate away from someone else, saying they’re more important than him.”
“Exactly.”
“I get it. But what are you gonna do if Nate’s not available?”
Recker shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t wanna think about that yet. I just pray that he is.”
“What do you need Tyrell for, though?” Mia asked.
“In case we’re being watched or tracked, I don’t want whoever this guy is to know we’re bringing Nate in. I wanna do it as off-the-books as possible.”
“You think we’re being watched all the time?”
Recker shook his head. “I don’t know. My gut says no, but I can’t be sure. He’s got the advantage of knowing who we are, so I don’t think we can just assume that he’s only after David. For all we know, he’s hacked into all of our stuff. We just can’t take chances. Whether we’re being spied on, or our phones traced, we just have to assume that it’s all happening. Whether it actually is or not.”
“But what’s Tyrell gonna be able to do?”
“He’s got far more contacts than I do. And he’s got them in more places. I’m hoping he’ll be able to find where Nate is right now, and quietly get him a message.”
“And hope he’s available?”
“Yeah. And hope he’s available.”
Once Recker and Mia arrived at the restaurant, they went inside and were led to a table. It was a private spot, in the back corner, a curtain blocking off most of the restaurant except for a small group of tables. Kind of like a VIP section. They at least knew there wouldn’t be any prying eyes on them there.
A few of the tables were already taken, so Recker grabbed the manager of the place as he walked by. Recker had helped thwart a robbery attempt at the restaurant a year before that, and the owner and manager of the place made sure to let Recker know he was always welcome there as gratitude for his services. Though Recker usually didn’t like to take people up on those kinds of offers, he did so on a few occasions, as it was always nice to know there was a safe spot to meet someone if the need arose. A time such as now.
The manager leaned down, speaking softly. “Is anything wrong?”
Recker spoke with a whisper as well. “No, I don’t think so. These other people here. They been here a while?”
The manager briefly turned his head to glance at the other tables. “Two tables have been here about half an hour. The other two tables… about an hour. Why?”
“Just wanted to make sure they actually belong here and aren’t here just because I am.”
“Are you expecting any kind of trouble?”
“Not for you,” Recker replied. “I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t bringing any in. But if they’ve been here a while, everything should be good.”
The manager’s face appeared to lighten instantly, thankful that there was no trouble on the way.
“I am expecting one person to join us soon if you could show them back here when they arrive.”
“Of course,” the manager said. “Right away. As usual, anything you want is on the house.”
Recker put his hand up. “Now, now, you’ve tried this before. I don’t mind paying.”
“We just want to show our appreciation.”
“And you’ve done that. But to be honest, the biggest thing you can do for me is just to pretend that I’m never here. That’ll go farther than a comped dinner.”
The manager smiled and patted Recker on the shoulder. “As you wish. You’re already forgotten.”
“Thank you.”
“Business meeting here today?”
Recker nodded. “Yeah.”
“Start with sodas, I imagine?”
“I’m getting too predictable, aren’t I?”
“No drinking on duty. I remember.”
Recker smiled. “Sodas are fine.”
The manager left, and soon brought back their drinks, including one for their guest, who hadn’t yet arrived. He then went into the main dining area.
“Well, good to know there’s at least one spot in the city where we don’t have to worry about being spotted,” Mia said.
“We have a few,” Recker replied. “I don’t like to rely on these places too much, though.”
“Why not? They seem loyal enough.”
“They do. For now. The only thing with loyalty is that it can sometimes be bought. Especially if you’re in a bad place.”
“You don’t think these people would…?”
Recker shook his head. “Not now. But if you’ve got mortgage problems, health problems, any other kind of problems, and a lot of money can solve it… some people will sell you out.”
“But not everyone would.”
“No, not everyone. Problem is… you don’t always know who those some will be. Until it’s too late. That’s why I like to keep my visits to a minimum.”
A few minutes later, they looked up and saw Tyrell walking toward them. He hugged Mia, then shook hands with Recker before sitting down.
“That better not be a straight Coke,” Tyrell said, looking at his drink.
Recker grinned. “Clear heads.”
“Ugh. You’re the worst. We eating too? You said you’re buying.”
“It’s coming.”
“Better be a sirloin.”
“I know what you like.”
Tyrell smiled. “My man. So what’s all this about?”
“I need you to get in touch with Nate Thrower.”
“The bodyguard dude?”
“Yeah.”
“Why can’t you do it? Ain’t you got his number?”
“I do, but with everything going on with David, I don’t know what’s been compromised. Phone, email, I don’t know what I can trust.”
“And you wanna bring him in all quiet-like, I suppose?”
“That’s it,” Recker said. “Can you get a hold of him through backdoor channels?”
“It’s gonna be hard, man. Where do I even start?”
“Last I heard, he was down south somewhere.”
“Helpful,” Tyrell sarcastically replied.
“Look, we had another incident today. It was all too close. And whoever this guy is, knows all of our names, including yours.”
“Won’t he know Thrower’s too?”
“Maybe. But he won’t know he’s here if we do this right.”
“What do you want him to do up here?”
“What he’s good at,” Recker answered. “Protecting people.”
“You want him on David?”
“That’s it. This guy told David he’s got one week. Then he’s coming for him. Who knows if he tries something sooner, though? Even if he does, if he comes after David, thinking we’re all somewhere else, but Nate’s there unexpectedly, the story can have a drastically different ending than what he thinks.”
“Yeah, I feel ya. This needs to be done pretty quick, then, huh?”
“As quick as you can get it.”
Tyrell rubbed his face. “Man, this is gonna take some serious work. Especially with me not being in the game as much anymore.”
“That’s why you’re the man for the job.”
“I can’t contact him directly, either. That means I gotta set up an intricate system to do this.”
“Slip him a note or a burner?” Recker asked.
“Yeah, something like that. Assuming he can be found easy enough. What if he’s out in Taiwan or Egypt or something?”
Recker shrugged. “Then we’ll have to change plans and think of something else. If we have to do that, we will. I wanna give this a shot first.”
“Might be easier to have David look him up first, find out where he is.”
“Can’t trust anything in that office right now. David said he’s cleared everything, but… I don’t know. His mind seems elsewhere sometimes. Understandably so, but what if he’s missed something? What if this other guy is really better than him and he’s planted something that David can’t find?”
“Yeah, I hear you on that. All right, I’ll start doing my thing as soon as we leave here.”
“I appreciate it.”
“What about money? You know money talks with some of the people I deal with. Used to deal with, I should say.”
Recker pulled out his phone and immediately transferred a large amount of cash over to him. “That should do it. Disperse it however you see fit.”
Tyrell took out his phone and checked the amount. “That should be good enough. Let’s do this thing.”