by Brad Thor
Not wanting to cause a scene, Schroeder simply submitted to the search. Before the security team could fully sweep him, though, his boss appeared.
“Where have you been?” the man demanded.
It was a stupid question. He knew where he had been, and Schroeder didn’t bother answering.
“You’d better not have bad news for me.”
Schroeder was opening his mouth to respond when his boss cut him off.
“Not here.” He gestured for him to follow and led him down a wide hallway to an opulent study. A myriad of exotic animal heads adorned the walls. A fire in the fireplace warded off the chill from outside.
Schroeder waited for his boss to offer him a seat, but the offer never came, so he just stood there.
“Well?” the boss asked, as he walked over to a wet bar and poured himself a drink.
Schroeder took a deep breath into his lungs and let it out. “I’m sorry. Nothing yet.”
“What do you mean, nothing yet?”
“We haven’t been able to locate anything.”
“Don’t give me that we bullshit,” the older man turned and said. “I made myself perfectly clear. I tasked you with this, and failure is not an option.”
Craig Middleton was in his early sixties, had a thin build and curly gray hair that resembled a scouring pad. Despite sporting a perpetual tan and laser-whitened teeth, the most distinct feature of his rather unremarkable appearance were his deep-set eyes, which were rimmed with dark circles. Contrary to Craig Middleton’s opinion, he was not an attractive man.
Schroeder eyed the matching purple silk tie and handkerchief that his peacock of a boss was sporting and, masking his distaste, focused carefully on his words. “It’s only a matter of time,” he replied. “Don’t worry.”
Middleton eyed his subordinate as he took a long draught of scotch. “Do you like your job, Kurt?”
“Excuse me?”
“I said do you like your job?”
“Of course I—”
The older man shook his head and motioned for him to be quiet. “I could have taken anyone under my wing, but I took you.”
“And I’m grateful for—”
“I don’t think you are, Kurt. I think, like the rest of your spoiled, entitled generation, you take everything for granted. I don’t think you know the meaning of hard work. What’s worse, I don’t think you know the meaning of loyalty. Do you have any idea what I put on the line to bring you in and raise you up through the ranks? Do you have any idea at all?”
Schroeder knew all too well. If it weren’t for Craig Middleton, he’d be sitting in a federal prison, or worse. “I think you know where my loyalty lies.”
The older man took another sip and then looked at his watch. “Do I? I’m the one who has to go sit down with the board in ten minutes and look like I have zero control over this organization, and it’s all because you aren’t doing your job.”
“We’re talking about a needle in a haystack.”
“We own the fucking haystack,” Middleton spat. “Every last fucking straw of it. We own every rock. We own every drainpipe. We own every hollowed-out fucking tree. You can’t even change your fucking mind without us knowing about it. So don’t tell me you’ve got nothing yet. You’ve got everything you could possibly need at your disposal. Which means you’d better get me something and get it to me soon. Do you understand me?”
Schroeder nodded.
“Don’t you fucking nod at me,” snapped Middleton. “Answer me.”
“Yes, sir,” he piped up. “I understand.”
His boss then raised his hand and pointed at the door. The pep talk was over.
As Schroeder left the house and climbed back into his car, Middleton crossed over to the desk and picked up the handset of his encrypted telephone, known as an STE, short for Secure Terminal Equipment. Inserting a dummy NSA Crypto Card into the slot, he dialed.
After two rings, the call was answered. “What’s the verdict?”
“I think he’s lying,” Middleton stated.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Follow him.”
“And if he is lying?” replied the voice.
“Add him to the list.”
To enjoy a free collection of excerpts from all of Brad Thor’s action-packed thrillers, please click here.
Brad Thor
The Brad Thor Reader’s Companion
Click here to enjoy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Full Black (one of Suspense Magazine’s best political thrillers of 2011), The Athena Project, Foreign Influence (one of Suspense Magazine’s best political thrillers of 2010), The Apostle, The Last Patriot (nominated best thriller of the year by the International Thriller Writers Association), The First Commandment, Takedown, Blowback (recognized as one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” by NPR), State of the Union, Path of the Assassin, and The Lions of Lucerne.
Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Author Page
authors.simonandschuster.com/Brad-Thor
Author’s Website
BradThor.com
Facebook
facebook.com/pages/Brad-Thor/83629783989
Twitter
twitter.com/bradthor
Sign up for Brad Thor’s newsletter
bradthor.com/newsletter
ABOUT EMILY BESTLER BOOKS
Remember the first time you fell in love with a book? We hope to recapture that feeling for you over and over. Emily Bestler Books was founded with one guiding principle in mind: to find the very best reads available and to put them into the hands of as many readers as possible. We are passionate about this mission and in pursuit of it have decided to give ourselves as much leeway as possible and open the imprint up to a number of different categories. After all, books are as varied as their readers. On our shelves you will find fiction and nonfiction, pulse-pounding thrillers, delectable cookbooks, distinctive memoirs, international crime fiction, and smart, deeply felt novels with a literary flair. In short, we have a book for everyone.
ABOUT ATRIA BOOKS
Atria Books was launched in April 2002 by publisher Judith Curr as a new hardcover and paperback imprint within Simon & Schuster, Inc. The name Atria (the plural of atrium—a central living space open to the air and sky) reflects our goals as publishers: to create an environment that is always open to new ideas and where our authors and their books can flourish. We look for innovative ways to connect writers and readers, integrating the best practices of traditional publishing with the latest innovations in the digital world.We are committed to publishing a wide range of fiction and nonfiction for readers of all tastes and interests.
The first book published under the Atria name, The Right Words at the Right Time by Marlo Thomas, became an instant #1 New York Times bestseller, and since then Atria has gone on to publish more than 200 New York Times bestsellers. Atria is the publishing home to many major bestselling authors including His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Jude Deveraux, Vince Flynn, T.D. Jakes, Shirley MacLaine, Kate Morton, Jodi Picoult, Sister Souljah, Brad Thor, Jennifer Weiner, Lauren Weisberger, Zane, and Rhonda Byrne, author of the international bestsellers The Secret and The Power.
In recent years, the imprint has placed a strategic emphasis on publishing for diverse audiences through the acquisition of the African American–oriented press Strebor Books, the launch of Atria Books Español, and co-publishing agreements with Beyond Words Publishers and Cash Money Records. Atria Booksalso publishes literary fiction and topical nonfiction in trade paperback under the Washington Square Press imprint, and popular fiction and nonfiction under the Emily Bestler Books imprint, launched in 2011.
Atria—books that entertain and enlighten.
Facebook.com/AtriaBooks
Twitter.com/AtriaBooks
ASK ATRIA
AskAtria is a place where you can ask all your questions about book publishing—ask an editor, a publicist, a publisher, or a ma
rketer!
Visit vyou.com/AskAtria
We hope you enjoyed reading this Atria Books eBook.
Sign up for our newsletter and receive special offers, access to bonus content, and info on the latest new releases and other great eBooks from Atria Books and Simon & Schuster.
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
