By the time Jake arrived, Laney was already there, looking tired and concerned. There was no sign of Tony, whoever he was.
“Give us a summary,” Carlson ordered. “There are probably some things we don’t want to discuss once Tony arrives.”
Jake explained the sequence of events for the next several days in greater detail, including what he had learned from the men Rizzo had sent after him.
“There’s no longer any doubt who Graper is really working for. We know it, but none of what we have learned can be explained to others. We also can’t try and arrest him. That would give him an opportunity to get word to those Jake is trying to prevent from learning about him.”
“What are you saying?” Laney asked.
“Jake is probably going to have to take Graper out.”
“You’re kidding?” Laney asked.
“Think about it,” Carlson said. “You’re part of our special group now. What are the consequences if Graper can talk. Jake and his family are at risk. How many lives were just saved because Jake can operate freely.”
“There must be another way?”
“Sometimes there is, but sometimes things work against us. Once, nearly eight months ago, Jake came to us with advance warning of a man’s intended actions. We stopped him, but the courts threw everything out. Said we had no basis for our raids, and there was no proof of what we claimed the man intended. We had to let him go. Within a month he re-armed and caused another massacre. Jake had to deal with it his way.”
“You’re talking about the Roscoe case, aren’t you?” Laney said. “I thought that sort of quietly went away. We scared the guy out of doing anything. I’ve never heard of the man again.”
“Nor has anyone else,” Carlson said. “Nor will they. He’s put down and buried where he won’t ever be found. We couldn’t find another way around that situation either.”
They didn’t have a chance to discuss the matter further. There was a knock at the door, and given the hour it had to be the last member of their little party. Carlson went and answered the door. A few moments later she returned with a younger man than Jake had envisioned in tow. Somehow he had thought Carlson’s contact in the covert world was going to be someone closer to her own age. The man with her was Jake’s age, if not a year or two younger.
Tony was an inch shorter than Jake, with light brown hair worn somewhat long. He had an athletic build with powerful arms and chest, and very large hands. He exuded a sense of danger, and his eyes were intense and focused, seeming to observe everything around him effortlessly.
Carlson made the introductions, introducing Jake as Bob, which made Jake wonder if Tony was the agent’s true name. No last names were offered.
“We have a situation,” she explained to Tony. “It’s the kind of thing you are used to dealing with. One of our agents is known to be dirty. We know this with absolute certainty. He has information that could threaten a very important effort within the agency, something I unfortunately am not at liberty to reveal to you. You know how that is.”
“We know this man, Don Graper, will be meeting with a mobster named Lucio Rizzo in the morning. At that time, the information Graper carries will be passed to Rizzo, who in turn will spread it throughout his organization resulting in grave harm to a number of key people.” Carlson also explained how Graper and the Mobster Rizzo fit into the attempt on the Senator the previous year.
“You want him killed?” Tony asked bluntly. He said it matter-of-factly. Tony had been assigned to deal with problems like this at the agency before. He understood the need. He was a little surprised that Carlson would abandon her normally strict code of ethics in such matters, but he trusted her judgement. If she felt this needed to be done, then there were very sound reasons why she believed that. Besides, Tony owed her a favor of the kind one could seldom repay. He would do what he could to help her.
Carlson didn’t shy away from the question, although Laney looked distinctly uncomfortable having the idea raised so openly. Now that he knew what Jake had done in the past, he and Carlson had effectively condoned the killings Jake had performed to save other lives. This was, however, the first time they had been part