Read Random Victim for Free Online Page B

and closed the door, taking the cigarette from behind his ear and quickly holding the flame of his lighter to
     the end. He inhaled sharply, then let out a smoky breath along with a collective “Ahhhhh.” He looked over at Leal and smiled,
     the cigarette still dangling from his mouth. “Look, I just want to get this up front so there’s no problem between me and
     you. I didn’t ask to be in charge of this thing, and I know you got seniority.” He drew deeply on the cigarette again.
    “Forget it. I’m just glad to be aboard.”
    Ryan exhaled a heavy cloud of smoke and grinned.
    “Great. How about we go for a drink? Just you and me. Today’s about cashed anyway.”
    “Sounds good.”
    Hart came in with the file and four copies. She gave one to Ryan and another to Leal. Ryan flipped through the pages as though
     he was browsing a magazine.
    “Jesus Christ, this is a lot of shit to sift through,” he said.
    Hart stood about three feet away, conspicuously silent. Leal took time to assess her again. She had her jacket on now and
     looked very angular. Beneath it, he knew, were the powerful muscles he’d seen earlier. He noticed she seemed sort of tentative,
     especially around Ryan and him. Her saw her blink several times and realized Ryan’s cigarette was bothering her.
    Let’s see if she asserts herself, he thought.
    A dark shadow banged against the opaque glass of the door.
    “That’s got to be Smith,” Ryan said. “Open it, will you?”
    She moved to the door and opened it just as Smith stumbled forward, carrying a load of regular and cell phones as well as
     four portable radios. Hart grabbed two of the portables in midair as they popped from Smith’s grasp.
    “Thanks,” Smith said, moving to the desk and setting everything down clumsily. He pointed to his belt where four beepers were
     clipped. “This be enough, Sarge?”
    “As long as they work,” Ryan said. “I’ll take one of the radios you didn’t drop.”
    In a few minutes they had the phones hooked up, the beepers and portables distributed, and the seating arrangement determined.
     Ryan leaned back and lit another cigarette.
    “Have to get an ashtray, too,” he said, looking around. “We could use a LEADS terminal, but, Hart, with your background you’ll
     be in charge of running anything we need, okay?”
    Hart nodded. Leal noticed her lips compress into a thin line.
    She’s edgy, he thought. The cigarette? Or is it something more?
    “Okay,” Ryan said, glancing at his watch. “It’s almost three. Let’s all knock off for today. You two,” he pointed at Smith
     and Hart, “finish getting yourselves squared away. Get your radios, shoulder holsters, whatever you have to get. Then we’ll
     all go over the file tonight, and meet here tomorrow at zero nine hundred for a strategy session. Got it?”
    Smith said he did, then immediately went to one of the phones and began dialing. “My wife’s about ready to drop,” he said.
     “Just want to check, see if there’s anything she needs.”
    Ryan turned to Leal and smiled. “See you at Heaven’s Gate?”
    “Okay,” Leal said, “fifteen minutes or so? I want to talk to my partner for a few.”
    “Sure. It’ll save me from buying the first round.” Ryan slipped on his sports jacket. It was a brown weave that looked almost
     a size too big for him. He took one final drag on his cigarette and then dropped it on the floor, crushing it under his shoe.
     “Have to get some filing cabinets in here, too. We’ll have to lock up our reports so nothing walks. Joe, see to it before
     you leave, okay?”
    Smith waved an assent.
    Hart stood, holding her file copy in both hands.
    Leal tried to smile in a disarming fashion as he took out one of his business cards and scribbled some numbers on the back.
    “These are my numbers,” he said, handing her the card. “Top one’s my beeper, second’s my cell phone, and the last one’s my
     house.”
    Hart glanced at it, then grabbed her