18% Gray by Anne Tenino Read Free Book Online Page A

box?”
    “No,” the guy said. He looked at James and waited. James smiled. He could play this game better than this yahoo. He stared, unblinking, until the guy began to fidget.
    “You’re supposed to be in for the evening at 1730,” he finally blurted.
    “Right now, it’s,” James checked his timepiece, “1727.”
    “Cutting it close, weren’t you?”
    James stared some more. The guy fidgeted a little then made a visible effort to still himself. Or maybe it was a mental effort. Sometimes James couldn’t differentiate what sensory info he was picking up anymore. “I’m here to take your report.”
    “First day on the job?” Yes . He could practically hear it.
    The guy flushed. “Second,” he said, seeming to recognize the futility of bluffing. Much. “I’ll be your regular liaison for a while. You’ve been assigned a new caseworker. You need to report to her office by 0845 tomorrow morning, address in your hookup under ‘Caseworker’.”
    James blinked. “Is that normal?”
    “I’ve given you all the information I’m allowed. Just report to her in the morning,” the liaison snapped. He started for the door, wanting out.
    “What’s your name?” James asked. He didn’t care, but he’d bet the guy wasn’t supposed to share info like that with him. He tried something he’d been working on and gave the guy a little mental push.
    “Joel,” the guy responded. Then he froze mid-step. “Shit,” he said under his breath, and without looking at James, he slammed the door and left, more scared than angry.
    James snorted softly. Now to decide whether it was better to wait until 0845 tomorrow or leave tonight. He went to snap on the light in the spare bedroom, then to pack.
     
     
    I T WAS barely dusk when there was a knock on the door. James opened it to find Matt in a Basha’s Restaurant shirt.
    “Good evening, sir,” Matt’s voice was all calm professionalism. His face was all smirk and mischievous glint. James’s gut tightened in reaction to seeing him, just as it had this afternoon, when he had landed on Matt with that flying (literally) tackle. He didn’t get enough full-body contact with attractive men lately. “It appears you left your hat when you stopped by our establishment this afternoon.”
    James stopped cataloguing all the changes Matt had undergone—he wasn’t exactly baby-faced anymore, but he was still punch-in-the-gut attractive—and glanced down at Matt’s empty hands. He raised an eyebrow, looking back up. Matt gave him a minuscule “it’s your line” kind of gesture.
    “Uh, no. That doesn’t look like any hat I’ve ever seen.”
    Matt rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir, sorry for the misunderstanding. Almira thought it looked like one you had worn and asked me to stop by.” He smiled like he’d done something especially clever.
    James gave Matt the two-handed “now what?” shrug. Matt continued. “Lovely evening, isn’t it?”
    “Uh, yeah. Sure.” Belatedly, James realized he couldn’t get a feel for where Matt was going with this. He couldn’t get a mental read on him at all.
    “Exactly the kind of evening I like to be at home, sitting in my yard. With a beer.”
    Matt stressed “beer” just a bit. James rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well I hope you get the chance for that, later. Bye.” He said a touch gleefully, shutting the door in Matt’s face. He made his own smirky face while he gave Matt time to go down the walkway and onto the street before walking to his cool-cabinet and grabbing a couple pouches of beer.
    Out the back door, James had his own little yard and tiny patio. It was walled on both sides, with a shorter fence facing the brick-and-mortar across the road. Between the walls and the small pine tree, he had a yard that could only be surveilled from a few spots. He knew them all and checked them out visually. No sign of mobile surveillance, either. Flying micro-bugs were nearly unheard of in Idaho. He pulled a chair behind the pine, next to the