Dont Be a Hero

Evil Bossman

  Jackson glanced over when the cell phone connected to the temporary number they'd given Tyrone began to ring. Macy was at her desk across from him filling out some paperwork while he did some internet research. She reached for it and hesitated for a moment before giving Jackson a wink and answering it. "Howdy." Her voice was back to its lower, husky tone. "Well, hi there, Tyrone, how are you, darlin?" Jackson watched her, brows furrowed. What was Tyrone calling about? They'd already solidified plans to meet that afternoon. Unless he was canceling. His brow furrowed even further.

"U huh... yeah, that shouldn't be any problem, honey. What's the address?" She took out a pen and a sticky note, writing down what he told her. "Okay... I got it, darlin'. We'll see ya there. Mhmm. Bye bye."

She hung up the phone and looked at Jackson, her eyes wide. "Jackson, honey. He wants us to meet him at his boss' office. His boss wants to meet us today."

Jackson just stared at her. His boss' office? Meet his boss? That would be the leader of their organization! After a moment he nodded. "I wonder if that wench finally blew our cover," he said quietly.

"Are we going anyways?" she asked, looking excited and conspiratorial. She even glanced over at the Chief's office as though he would at any moment come bursting through the door and forbid them.

"Don't you think we have to?" Jackson asked leaning forward and placing his elbows on his desk. "I don't think we've got much of a choice. We can't just pull out now." He wiggled his eyebrows up and down at her, winked, and then stood up.

She bounced out of her seat, too. "Where ya going?"

"Are we meeting at the same time as we had already planned?"

"Yes, and here's the address."

He took the post-it from her and read the address. It wasn't far from Manhattan Beach where they'd met the day before. "Well, I think we'd better go get you ready and then make some preparations. This is going to require my calling in a couple favors. We aren't just walking into the hornet's nest without back up."

........

They made it with 10 minutes to spare as they got out of the Cadillac at the small, unobtrusive building where they were to meet Tyrone. There were a couple of inconspicuously parked cars with officers in plain clothing prepared to assist them on Jackson's signal, just in case anything went wrong.

They walked through double doors and studied a plaque on the wall to find out where the correct suite was. Once they had they found the stairs and climbed to the second floor, stopping at the last office in the corner. Jackson took a deep breath and knocked sharply.

A moment later the door swung open and Tyrone greeted each of them. Jackson with a hand shake and Macy with a kiss on the cheek.

"Come in. Come in. Tank you for accepting my sudden change of plan. My boss... he want to meet you, you know," Tyrone smiled warmly. He hadn't heard anything from Natasha. She had kept her mouth shut. Jackson could tell immediately and was relieved.

They walked into the plush office and approached a large desk. A man who looked to be in his 40s stood up behind the desk and smiled a toothy smile. He'd been handsome in his younger days, but was now struggling with going bald and a few extra pounds around the middle. He had the face of a predator. His eyes sought only to find weakness in those he gave his attention to and he seemed to be searching for any possible way to take advantage of such weakness.

"How ya doing'? I'm Harley Chase." He shook both of their hands as Tyrone introduced them. "Tyrone speaks highly of both of ya. I thought I'd be hospitable and welcome you both to L.A. personally. I don't get many people over from Texas seeking out to do business."