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a move
from the side where he was stood to stand next to Jimmy. In the proper light, I
could get a better look at him. Aside from being built like three sides of a
house, he was a good four inches taller than me, which would put him around the
six foot six mark. He had muscles in places most people don’t have places, and
his arms were crossed across his chest. He also had a tattoo of a fire axe on
his left temple. He was burning a hole through me with his gaze. While I wasn’t
fazed in the slightest, he was an impressive sight. Much better than Stan and ‘Oli’
from the other night.
    ‘Adrian,’ Manhattan began, taking a step
in front of his hired muscle, as if the gesture of doing so would defuse any
potential confrontation. ‘I can assure you we gave you all the information we
had on Ted Jackson. We used one of our best men to tail him.’
    ‘Well, in just a couple of  hours of
digging around, I’ve managed to find out that our friend Ted works for a
military contractor, who specializes in weapons R&D and private security. Your
“best man” failed to mention the target was so well connected.’
    I paused for a moment, so he could
process the information I’d just given him. He hid any shock or emotion behind
his cold, dark eyes very well.
    ‘If that’s true...’ he started, but I
interrupted.
    ‘If that’s true, you’re asking me to
take out a guy who’s more protected than the President. Which will cost you a
hell of a lot more than a hundred grand. You also need to be thinking about why
he decided not to sell you that land. These people conduct business deals that
dwarf your entire operation ten times over. If I carry out the hit on Jackson
and take the deeds for you, it won’t be the last either of us hear of it.’
    He could see I had a point. He told me
that Pellaggio was a businessman first and foremost, which means he’s going to
do what’s best for business. Having military contractors and private security
firms pissed at you probably doesn’t make the list of good corporate
strategies.
    Manhattan thought for a moment longer in
silence before responding, choosing his words with years of care and diplomacy.
    ‘For now, I would like you to proceed as
you normally would and carry out the contract on Ted Jackson. If you require
additional funding to do so, simply name your price. I would like to thank you
for bringing these developments to our attention, and I will speak to Mr.
Pellaggio about how he wishes to proceed. I appreciate your input, but you
simply need to do the job you were hired to and leave the rest to us.’
    At that moment, my phone rang. I quickly
checked, and it was Josh ringing me.
    ‘I’m sorry, but I need to take this,’ I
said. I answered the phone. ‘What have you got for me?’
    ‘I’ve had a hit on the searches for our
mystery woman,’ Josh began. ‘I still don’t have a name, but there’s another file
photo – this one more recent.’
    ‘How recent?’ I asked.
    ‘Six months ago. It was taken during a
routine surveillance operation right there in Heaven’s Valley.’
    ‘So what’s the story?’
    ‘The photo shows her stood with another
man who you can’t see clearly. The photo itself isn’t the important part. It’s
where I found the photo that we should worry about.’
    ‘So what should we worry about?’
    ‘ Where I found the photo. It was
on a secure military database on one of the servers housed in the Pentagon. I
was very lucky to come across it. It was stored in a folder that relates to an
ongoing investigation into something called Dark Rain. That name mean anything
to you?’
    ‘Not to me, no. Keep digging though,
Josh. That’s great work.’
    ‘Will keep you updated,’ he said before
hanging up.
    ‘Is everything alright?’ asked
Manhattan, as I put my phone back in my pocket.
    I was debating how much information to
give him. I always try and keep my cards close to my chest, but under the
circumstances, I don’t have much more