Shaking his head, he chuckled.From his pocket, he produced a chain filled with keys and used it to slice through the tape.
Eagerly, she slid into a seat, resting her elbows on the table and interlacing her fingers.He flipped open the top flap.Practically vibrating on the chair, she leaned over the table, trying to get a view of what was inside.
21
Fink
EverytimeFinktookon a contract, AJ sent him a package.Usually, it was an envelope of information he retrieved from a post office box.A package showing up outside his door was extremely unlike AJ.
Fink didn’t like this.Going off script was dangerous.Changing this on the fly was a recipe for disaster.
There wasn’t a shipping label affixed to the medium-sized brown carton.Which could only mean it had been hand-delivered.By whom?Fink had seen no one outside when he opened the door.
How long had it sat there?
AJ would never risk something as confidential as a contract to be left unattended.Had his handler been outside the apartment?Obviously, he was well aware of where Fink had stayed.Not that he didn’t normally.AJ always knew where Fink was and how to get in touch with him.That was his job.
This was different.It wasn’t Fink’s place.This was Sydney’s.The invasiveness made his skin itch.
What if she had retrieved the package and looked inside without Fink there?He didn’t want to think about what a mess that would be.Playing the what-if game only resulted in losers.
Doing his best to disregard the negative vibes emanating from the box, he withdrew the first item.A large sealed manila envelope.That was typical.This would be all the information they’d obtained about his latest target.
It was the stuff beneath that had him smirking.
AJ knew him too well.
Mehron and Paradise face paints in white, blue, and black.They were his preferred water-activated paints that stayed on his skin despite sweating.The pair of black contacts he wore were sealed in the packaging.Good thing too.Sydney didn’t have contact solution.Salvaging the ones he’d worn when he arrived was impossible.
“What is this stuff?”Sydney asked as he laid each item out on the table.
The sealing spray, which kept his paint in place, sat atop a brand-new charcoal suit, white button-down shirt, and a narrow black tie.His uniform.
“Things I need,” he answered.
“For what?”She sounded like an excited kid on Christmas morning.
Why that tugged at his heart, Fink would never know.
Holding the envelope, he turned toward the kitchen without a word.Sydney didn’t have to be told about it.She wouldn’t be a part of it.He intended to leave tonight.This was his perfect opportunity.He had to figure out where he’d go.Where had AJ sent him?
Sliding a knife along the tape sealing the document, he opened the package and withdrew the papers.
Sydney leaned in the doorway.Her eyes bored into him as he flipped through the photos, background checks, employment history, bank statements, and all sorts of information.Each document was a piece of a puzzle that, when combined, painted a picture of Joseph Burke, his current target.
“Is that your severance package?”she asked.
He peered at her in confusion.“No.”Why would she think that?People in his line of work didn’t get severance packages.They just disappeared into the ether if they got the opportunity to retire.
“Raise?”she guessed.
“No,” he repeated.
The idea that he’d earn a salary amused him.He was an independent contractor.Nuances she didn’t understand.
“Then what is it?”she pressed.“Who sent it?”
He shook his head and slid the papers into their envelope.“None of your concern.”
