Chapter 2 - Three Men and a Camera
Cole Maddox did not like the assignment.
He did not like the early mornings, the cold park or the way Elias Ward seemed to notice everything without moving his head.
Most of all, Cole did not like Ryan Vale.
Ryan was the blond man in the gray shirt. He had more muscles than patience and treated every conversation as an opportunity to prove he was the strongest person in it.
The third member of their group was Mason Pike, who wore expensive jackets he could not afford and spent most of his time searching for new ways to become famous online.
They met that evening in a booth at Kellan’s Bar, two miles from Bellweather Park.
The place was nearly empty.
Ryan placed his phone on the table.
“The old guy is perfect,” he said. “Army cap, serious face, always sitting alone. People are going to believe anything we say about him.”
Cole kept his voice low.
“We were hired to make him look aggressive. Nobody said anything about touching him.”
Mason laughed.
“Relax. We crowd him. He gets angry. Ryan pushes the camera close. Old soldier loses his mind. We post the video.”
“And if he walks away?”
“He won’t,” Ryan said.
“How do you know?”
“Because that bench has his brother’s name on it.”
Cole looked up.
Ryan smiled.
“Our client did the research.”
The client had never given them a name.
They had received instructions through encrypted messages and one phone call from a man whose voice sounded filtered. The first payment had arrived from a marketing consultancy in Delaware.
Five thousand dollars in advance.
Another ten thousand if Elias Ward appeared violent on camera.
An extra five if police became involved.
For Ryan and Mason, that was enough.
Cole had accepted because he owed money and believed the job would be nothing more than an embarrassing prank.
But two days of watching Elias had changed something.
He had seen the old man buy breakfast for a homeless veteran.
He had seen him repair the loose wheel on a child’s bicycle.
He had watched half a dozen people stop to speak with him, each leaving calmer than they had arrived.
“He hasn’t threatened anyone,” Cole said.
“That is why we are making the video,” Ryan replied. “If he were already threatening people, nobody would pay us.”
Mason held up his water bottle.
“I pour this over him. Ryan gets close. Cole films from the side.”
“No,” Cole said.
Ryan leaned back.
“No?”
“Water makes it assault.”
“It is water.”
“It is still assault.”
Ryan smiled without humor.
“You already took the advance.”
“I took my part of the advance.”
“And spent it.”
Cole said nothing.
Ryan picked up his phone and opened a video. It showed Cole entering a betting shop three nights earlier.
“You owe money to people who are less patient than I am.”
Cole stared at him.
“Were you following me?”
“The client wants reliability.”
“You sent that to him?”
“Not yet.”
Mason’s smile disappeared.
For a moment, even he appeared uncomfortable.
Ryan lowered his voice.
“We do the job on Friday. Nobody gets hurt. The old man shouts, maybe shoves my phone away. We leave. The video goes online before lunch.”
“And the money?”
“Same day.”
Cole looked toward the dark window beside the booth.
His reflection looked pale.
“Who is the client?”
Ryan’s eyes hardened.
“You do not need to know.”
“That means you do.”
“I know enough.”
Mason leaned forward.
“Tell us.”
Ryan glanced around the bar.
“A man connected to Hartley Urban Renewal.”
Cole had expected the answer, but hearing it made the situation more real.
“This is about the park.”
“It is about business.”
“They want to make veterans look dangerous.”
“They want one veteran to look dangerous.”
“Ward runs the veterans’ center.”
Ryan pointed at Cole.
“Exactly. He loses control, Hartley says the park needs private security. They take management. Ward loses credibility at the hearing.”
Mason whistled softly.
“That is worth more than twenty thousand.”
“It is worth what they are paying us.”
Cole looked at the phone on the table.
The device contained several recordings from their surveillance of Elias. It also contained a voice message from the client.
Ryan kept everything.
He believed information was protection.
Cole was beginning to understand that information could also be evidence.
“What happens after the city hearing?” he asked.
Ryan shrugged.
“Not our problem.”
Outside, headlights moved across the window.
A black SUV had parked on the opposite side of the street.
Ryan looked at it, then quickly looked away.
“The client is here?” Cole asked.
“No.”
But Ryan’s voice had changed.
The driver’s door opened.
A man in a dark coat stepped out. He remained beside the vehicle, staring through the bar window.
Mason whispered, “Who is that?”
Ryan stood.
“Stay here.”
He walked outside.
Through the glass, Cole watched the man give Ryan a small envelope.
They spoke for less than a minute.
Then the man in the coat returned to the SUV.
Ryan came back and placed the envelope inside his jacket.
“What did he want?” Cole asked.
“Friday has changed.”
“How?”
“They want us to do it tomorrow.”
Cole felt his stomach tighten.
“Why?”
Ryan removed a photograph from the envelope and placed it on the table.
It showed Elias sitting on the memorial bench.
A red circle had been drawn around his face.
On the back, someone had written four words.
Make him strike first.
Mason stared at the message.
“And if he doesn’t?”
Ryan looked at the water bottle.
“We give him a reason.”
Cole reached for the photograph, but Ryan pulled it away.
“You film everything,” Ryan said. “Do not stop, no matter what happens.”
At that moment, Cole made a decision.
May you like
He would film everything.
Just not for Ryan.
