you. What if it was a Get Out of Jail Free Card.”
“Doubt it. What did you say your name was again?”
“Troy.”
“What agency did you say you work for?”
“I didn’t. It’s not important for our discussion.”
Mark’s eyebrows went up. “So NSA or CIA then. What could you possibly want from me?”
“I work for an agency that deals with multiple groups. It really doesn’t matter. You matter though, Mr. Farmer. The government invested a lot of money in you during your military career. It’s a shame for that to be wasting away in a place like this.”
Mark sat up a little, having his interest piqued now. “I agree. Let’s get these cuffs off and get the hell out of here.”
Troy laughed. “You look like you need to get out of here. The warden told me you killed two guys yesterday. What was that about?”
“I was defending myself. There’s a group of neo-Nazi skinheads in here that have decided I am their personal punching bag. I guess they got mad because I wouldn’t join their little hate group.”
Troy nodded. “How’s that working out for them so far?”
Mark smiled. “Not so good. Their guys keep getting hurt. Yesterday they got dead.”
“Did you know that one of the guys you killed yesterday was linked to a crime that is still unsolved? They think he killed a senator’s daughter in a failed kidnapping job. He did kill a cop in the chase. That’s what got him in here.”
“Let me guess, Tattoo guy, kinda big?”
“Yep. Allegedly, he and a few of his buddies kidnapped a senator’s daughter and had plans to ask for millions in ransom. The guy you killed was supposed to hide the girl until the money was received. He screwed up because she fought, and he broke her neck. They couldn’t give proof of life, so the deal went bad. They threw her body off a bridge. The cops pursued them, and he killed a cop in the chase. They never had any proof on the killing of the daughter. They never found her body.”
“Interesting, the head guard here wanted me to hurt that guy. He wouldn’t admit it, but when the guy threatened me, he saw it. He nodded at me after the threat. He wanted it taken care of.”
“And you did. No jury, no expensive trial. Justice served. How does that make you feel knowing that now?”
“Like I got used.”
“He was a scumbag. He would have killed you if he could. You did the right thing. Maybe you should get paid for that.”
Mark leaned away from the guy a bit and cocked his head. “What are doing here, Mr. Place? What is it you want from me? Got somebody else in here you want dead?”
Troy smiled. “No. But there is a real need out there for someone like you.”
Mark shook his head. “No, thanks. I’m not gonna be a dog on a leash to do some government spook’s dirty work. Don’t you guys have plenty of wet work guys for that?”
Troy laughed. “No, we don’t. I’m not saying we don’t have people we know that will do things like that if we need them to from time to time. No questions asked. That’s not why I’m here.”
“Why are you here then? Stop beating around the bush. What’s your deal?”
Troy sat back in the chair. “We need guys like you for special projects, if you will. Things that get beyond what we can do legally.”
“An assassin. That’s what you want.”
“Not an assassin. A fixer of broken things. Kind of like what you did concerning your fiancée. That guy needed to be stopped. Who knows how many people he killed before you stopped him. The laws and rules that police departments have to live by sometimes get in the way of just ending the problem. That goes for drug dealers, terrorists, dirty cops, and people that pose a threat to the US. Sometimes we just need a fixer.”
“No, thanks.”
“Come on, Mark, what are you doing here? You waiting for someone to kill you because you feel guilt over the guy you killed?”
“No, I don’t feel any guilt whatsoever over Leo Sparks. He was a piece of shit and got what he deserved. I shouldn’t have gone to jail for that.”
“We agree. Why don’t you come work for us and take care of people just like Leo Sparks for others in the world. Be the hero that you are.”
“There was nothing heroic about killing Leo Sparks. It was anger and revenge.”
“Bullshit. You think Katie’s parents don’t appreciate knowing that the guy that killed their daughter got what he deserved? How about the other girl in that shed? Leo Sparks got what he deserved. You found that guy, and you ended what he was doing. Law enforcement may have taken several more years to catch him. Even then he may have gotten off due to a technicality or a plea of mental illness. Justice was served.”
“Last time I checked, being a vigilante was against the law.”
“Yeah, it still is, doesn’t mean we don’t need just that from time to time.”
“What keeps me out of jail the next time I find some dirtbag in a backwoods town and put a bullet in his head?”
“Me.”
“You gonna walk me out of here right now? Because they transfer me to Florida next week. I stay here, more will die, including me. I’ll never get out of prison otherwise.”
Troy smiled. “I figured you had an escape plan already in the works.”
Mark grinned. “The bus ride to Florida is my best chance.”
“Okay, so don’t risk it. Come with me and be a fixer. You’ll be protected.”
“What’s the pay?”
“You tell me. Needs to be enough for you to set up residences in multiple places, multiple countries. The jobs we give you could be anything, anywhere.”
Mark stared up at the ceiling. “A million a year, and I get the first million now. We walk out of here today. If I go back into general population, they’ll kill me. I leave today with you.”
“I don’t know if I can make that happen. I have to make some calls and get some paperwork going to walk you out.”
“Make it happen. That’s the deal. I don’t want to spend one more night in this place. Somebody pays a guard off or sneaks past security and I end up with a cut throat in the middle of the night. Make whatever call you have to. You want me to be the fixer, I need you to fix this for me first.”
Troy got up and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. He punched in a few numbers and turned his back to Mark. “Sir, it’s me.”
Mark watched as he paced around the hospital area, keeping the conversation low, where no
