The Manifest

Chapter 16

     The moment Edgar closed the door, Devon came at him with a vicious right hook that would have tore his head off had it connected. Edgar knew Devon too well, and was already ready to block the incoming shot, grabbed his attacker's arm and used it to fling him over his shoulder and into the wall with a horrendous thud. It took Devon a few moments to shake it off but he got back to his feet and tried again, and the two men blocked punches and kicks for a few seconds. Devon broke things up by grabbing Edgar's leg and tossing him across his desk, knocking him and scattering all the stuff on top his desk onto the floor. Devon walked over to the other side of the desk, picked Edgar up off the floor and pinned him to the wall. The big man didn't seem happy at that point for some reason.

     "Why didn't you care to fill us in on this information?" Devon asked, his annoyance coming through rather well. "Don't you think we deserved to know what kind of trouble you bastards were getting us into before we agreed to work for you and that crazy kid at the white board?"

     Edgar responded with a swift kick to Devon's left knee that caused him to buckle and loosen his grip a little. Edgar than used the moment of freedom to deliver a swift uppercut that connected squarely on Devon's jaw, sending the biker falling to the floor, landing on his back with another ugly thud. After taking a large huff, Devon attempted to get back up. It was something Edgar didn't approve of as he kicked he bounty hunter back to the floor.

     "Stay down there for a few moments," Edgar said, "Or I'll put you down again and this time you won't be able to get up. Understood?"

     "When were you going to tell me about all this crap?" Devon sharply asked, wiping the blood of his chin, "My team and I had a right to know about this. It's one thing to deal with personal body guards, but dealing with covert government agencies is another matter all together!"

     "You haven't even accepted the job yet, you ignorant son-of-a-bitch!" Edgar yelled back, "Why am I going to give away vital details of the case to someone who isn't even officially onboard yet?"

     "You knew that there was a chance my team might back out if we knew that the doors we might be knocking down happened to be on government property." Devon said without an ounce of regret, "You deserved that shot for being an arrogant, untrusting prick."

     "Well, I'd rather be hated than boring." Edgar said as he didn't give a shit what Devon thought of him, "We had every intention of telling you because your job isn't just to help us with the search but to watch our backs in case some of these wild stories ring true."

     "Do you really believe that brat's theories?" Devon said as he sat up but remained seated on the floor, "Because they sounded really out there."

     "That's what we've been hired to do." Edgar crouched down and looked Devon in the eyes, "Find out whether the story is true or if it's just another harebrained assumption." We may not like each other very much, but I trust you. We have a history that goes a long way, and when doing a job this dangerous I need someone who I completely trust to have my back. In order to look forward and search for the difficult answers, I can't afford to keep looking behind me to make sure everything on my side is all right. I'm going to cover my ass when things get out of control, just in case that nut ball is right. Your team's uncanny ability to sneak up on someone and hunt them down would be an asset for this kind of case."

     "I don't get it. Why are you tossing so much money my way? She doesn't look that loaded to..." Devon paused as his brain seemed to pick up the pace and answer the question for him, "Shit."

     "Keep going," Edgar said.

     "Someone else is picking up the tab," he spat a little blood out from the side of his mouth, "Give me a name. Who wants us to look for a person that some else just as powerful doesn't want us to find?"