"GODDAMMIT!" MATT'S employer thumped his folded newspaper on the table. "What the hell happened?" Lenny hung his head, as if he was a kid on his way to the woodshed. "The fucker missed."
His boss spun around. They were in his Lake Bluff study, a paneled room with a painting of a bearded rebbe and a student poring over the Torah on the wall. "I thought you were supposed to be a crack shot, Singer. The Mossad told me you could split a Goddammed hair."
Matt frowned, but inside he felt relief. His cover was holding. He and the Bureau had created it, step by painstaking step, making sure the right people would vouch for him, back him up. "I don't have an excuse, Mr. Perl. The window glass I was shooting through must have been too thick." He shrugged. "Shit happens. I take full responsibility."
Harry Perl glared at him. "You take responsibility. You...." He shook his head. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't fire you."
He stared back. "I can't."
"Well, boss..." Lenny shuffled his feet. "You could—"
"Was I talking to you?" Perl snapped.
Lenny closed his mouth.
Matt waited. This could be the end of his job. And his undercover work. Maybe even his life.
Perl's cell phone jangled. "Perl..." A pause. "I can't talk now, Ricki." Matt went on full alert. "What are you talking about? You can't!" Another pause. "I know what happened to your father. He was my partner. But what you're proposing is unacceptable." Silence. "Your reputation? This isn't about you, Feldman. I'll call you back."
Perl broke the connection and tossed the phone down on the desk. He gazed at Lenny. "As long as the checks keep rolling in, everyone's happy. Then the first time something is off, they all want to jump ship." He picked up the phone and tapped it against the desk. "I told her father I'd look out for her, but she's turning out to be a problem."
Lenny nodded.
"Stop bobbing your head like a fucking chimpanzee. If I want your input, I'll ask for it."
Lenny looked chastened.
"If I weren't so Goddamned busy, I'd—" He cut himself off, then sighed. "One step at a time." He gazed at the painting of the rebbe. "I'll give you one more chance, Singer. Here's what I want you to do."
As Perl explained, Matt felt a buzz along every nerve in his body.