Corruption by Eden Winters Read Free Book Online Page A

in pairs, or in one case, a trio. Lucky recognized Bo and a few others, but the rest were
    new to him. Some, like Bo, seemed intent on their tasks, other radiated boredom, I don’t care painted over their too-young faces. Out in
    the big bad world of crime fighting, I don’t care equaled dead .
    A wiry little guy in jeans and a faded button-down stood lecturing at the head of the room, maybe twenty years older than Lucky, but fit, and with an
    accent straight from a New York cop movie. Well, whadda ya know? The great man himself.
    Bo glanced behind him, gave a brief nod of acknowledgement and turned back toward the front of the room.
    Wow! A tight-fitting, sleeveless T-shirt and jeans? At work? That was a first, even if casual clothes looked good on the man. Then again, he pretty much
    looked good in anything…or nothing.
    “Ah, right on time, gentlemen,” said the man whose picture Lucky’d seen on the Internet. He shifted his gaze to the students
    gathered near the front. “Class, today we’re being joined by two undercover ops veterans, Mr. Walter Smith and Mr. Simon Harrison of
    Southeastern. Feel free to ask them questions, and I hope they’ll contribute to today’s lesson.”
    If looks could kill, Lucky wondered if they’d ever get the smirk off of Walter’s corpse. “Questions?” Lucky
    whispered, pouring a truckload of disapproval into the one word. Boss better explain, and fast.
    “Like it or not, you are an expert in your field, Lucky, and can teach these junior agents a thing or two,” Walter murmured, taking a
    seat at the back of the room. Lucky chose a chair nearby. His boss bore watching, the sneaky bugger. As if providing practical experience for rookies while
    on assignments wasn’t bad enough. Walter had promised no public speaking.
    “If you don’t trust the man,” Walter added, “and I’m sure you don’t, wouldn’t it be
    best to find out what he’s saying? Keep him from telling the kiddies something that’ll get them killed?”
    Yeah, there was that. If the overpriced little peacock let his mouth override his brain, Lucky would be first in line to slap him down. Sure the
    man’s profile claimed time on the streets, but how long ago? Undercover work changed a lot even in the nine years of Lucky’s
    experience. New technology, new fact-finding methods, new laws. Out-of-date information meant a blown case.
    “Let’s do a recap, shall we, to catch our visitors up?” O’Donoghue scanned the room, his attention falling on each
    student in turn. He folded his hands behind his back and puffed out his chest. Reminded Lucky of a barnyard rooster. Anybody who referred to Lucky as a
    cocky little bantam found out pretty soon that Lucky could back up his strut, and this guy was probably the roostah who used ta, or he wouldn’t
    be teaching. “What is rule number one of undercover operations?”
    Don’t get made.
    A young woman on the front row offered a different answer. “Be the part.”
    “Right you are, ma’am. Be the part.” The teacher gestured to Bo on the second row. “Care to elaborate, Mr.
    Schollenberger.”
    Bo sat up straighter, answering in textbook mode, “If you’re passing yourself off as a carpenter, you need callused hands, and
    you’d better know something about woodworking. Don’t say you’re a chef if you can’t even boil water.”
    “Very good. It’s not enough to have it up here,” the guy tapped a finger against his forehead, “but you have to
    feel it in here.” He placed a hand over his heart. “Today we’ll be studying real life scenarios often encountered on the job,
    which is why I asked you to dress casually. No bank tellers, just drug dealers and hookers, and together we’ll learn the art of the deal. Ms.
    Vickery? Would you mind joining Phillip at the table?”
    A fashionably dressed woman made her way to the table and stopped, glancing at the teacher for direction. With her idea of casualwear, Lucky would hate to
    see her