“You do know what your mission is, don’t you, Phillip?” asked Reynard over Skype.
“Yes, sir. Find Thornblood and the artifacts.”
“Your leads in Vibora have told you..?”
“Nothing yet, but I’m not established here yet, sir. Once the gangs trust me or fear me, I think I’ll have a better chance.”
“Make sure it’s the latter, Phillip. You don’t have time to come up with trust. What about Angrier?”
“What about him?”
“Did you have sex with him yet?”
“Yes, I did. He gave me a lot of information.”
“More than we have on file?”
“Much more.”
Reynard nodded. “I expect to see that in a report.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I want you to be sure that you leave him alone sometimes. Make sure there’s a possibility that he can get hurt.”
“So you don’t want me to babysit him anymore?”
“He’s a big boy. If he gets in over his head, that’s his problem, not yours.”
“Am I to make sure he gets in over his head?”
He shrugged. “I look forward to seeing that report, Phillip. Goodbye.”
“Bye,” said Phil, and turned off the camera. He sat back in the chair. His orders were one thing, but his feelings, they were something else. He knew Reynard wanted Scott hurt, but, especially after last night, Phil couldn’t bring himself to think of hurting him. Scott had been so honest and straightforward. And what happened afterwards…Phillip smiled. Almost better than Nikki, his first wife.
Phil thought the morning after was going to be an “Oh, gods, what have I done?” moment, but it wasn’t. After Scott left, he did his normal morning ritual and was surprised that he wasn’t feeling the least bit guilty or out-of-sorts. It was fun. It could happen again. If it did, so be it; if not, that was fine, too. He shrugged, put out the candles and the incense, and headed downstairs to the gym.