Chapter 18 Section 17

"He claimed you pushed him into an alley and beat him up when you walked him out of the hospital," Decker's supervisor said. "He can say whatever he wants." It's Monday, and Decker is in the offices of the multinational real estate consultancy again.This time, however, he was talking to his boss face-to-face, not through a wiretap-proof phone. The boss had gray hair and flabby cheeks flushed with tension.He leaned over the table. "You deny his allegations?" "Brian was injured in the apartment complex incident. I don't know where the idea that I beat him up came from."

"He said you were jealous of him." "That's right." "He said you were mad because he found the terrorists." "certainly." "He said that in order to get revenge on him, you framed him for inadvertently hurting his father." "Thankfully he figured it out." "He also said that in fact he shot the terrorist and you are trying to steal the credit for yourself." "Listen," Decker said, "I know you have to keep your pension, I know you're under a lot of political pressure, you have to keep your job. But why are you repeating that idiot to me, To take his ridiculous accusations as fact?"

"Why do you think they are absurd?" "Ask Brian's father. He's very weak and it's a miracle he'll make it through. But he'll be able to—" "I've already asked him." Decker disliked his boss's serious tone. "How about it?" "Jason McKittrick testified that everything Brian said was true," the boss said. "The terrorist hit him, but before that he saw his son hit three terrorists. A ballistics test would have further confirmed what Jason McKittrick said, but you were smart enough to dispose of all the weapons that were used that night."

Decker's gaze was as steady as his boss's. "So that's what happened." "what do you mean?" "From the very beginning, Jason McKittrick warned me - don't hold his son accountable. I liked the old guy so much that I didn't take him seriously. I should have been more careful. Yes. The enemy is not outside, he is beside me." "Jason McKittrick's personality is beyond doubt." "Of course, no one wants to be an enemy of Jason McKittrick. His incompetent son blew up an important operation, and no one wants to be held accountable for a poor employment. But there must be a scapegoat, yes?"

The boss didn't answer. "How did you cover up what Brian did in this incident?" Decker asked. "Didn't the terrorists send his incriminating evidence to the police?" "After you called to warn me that this was going to happen, I notified our informant inside the police station. A package did arrive there and our informant seized it." "And what about the press? Didn't a package get sent to them?" "It was sent to a TV station to which terrorists had sent messages before. We also intercepted that package. The crisis is over." "Except for the 23 Americans who were killed," Decker said.

"You don't want to make any changes in your report?" "One thing to fix. I did beat the crap out of that idiot. I wish I could beat him harder." "Is there nothing else to modify?" "I wish I could add a word," Decker said. "Oh? What is it?" "Saturday is my 40th birthday." The boss shook his head. "I don't think this sentence has anything to do with this matter." "If you'll wait a minute, I'll print out my resignation report." "Your resignation report—but we didn't ask you to go that far. What exactly do you think resignation will get you?"

"Life"