Free Agent with a History by Guy Stanton III Page A

anything, but just continued
to stare at Iya idly, caressing the stem of the glass with a
finger.
    “You think I’m a monster don’t you?”
    “You said it, not me.” Flint said as he stood
up.
    Iya was mildly surprised that he was leaving.
They really hadn’t discussed much of anything of importance,
yet.
    Suddenly the figure of a man materialized out
of the darkness from the direction of the house to come up
alongside Flint. “Get what we came here for Tyre?”
    “Yes.” Was all the slimmer man responded
with.
    “What have you stolen from me?” Iya demanded
loudly.
    Flint glanced over at him, “I asked nicely
and you said no, so what did you expect me to do, go home without
it? Thanks for the drink by the way.”
    Flint and the other man headed back towards
the beach as Iya fumed. He had been played! Flint had been nothing
more than a diversion. He’d gotten the best of him, yet again! His
hand reached for the pistol that was strapped to the underside of
the table.
    Flint looked back, “I wouldn’t do that if I
were you Iya, you wouldn’t want to be cancelled out of the game
this early on would you?”
    Iya glanced down at his chest, where the
little red laser dot danced and he relaxed his grip on the pistol
handle. “It would appear that you have won the night.” Iya had to
admit grimly, as he watched the two men walk down the slope and
disappear into the surf.
    The red light went away and a few minutes
later he heard an outboard motor start up. He sat there filled with
rage at the way he had been duped. Oh well, they may be closer, but
they still didn’t have what they needed to find the treasure.
     
    Galloway let the rifle down and helped pull
first Flint and then Tyre into the boat. “How did the big he-bull
take it?” Galloway asked curiously.
    “Not well!” Responded Flint with a broad
grin, but his companion was more reserved.
    Tyre was, in fact, the very essence of the
word reserved, with somber running in a close second. “Flint, I
found a couple more clues, but I didn’t see anything as to where
the actual treasure is.”
    Flint, patted him on the shoulder, “That’s
okay because I found the key that unlocks the door.”
    Galloway looked him up and down, “Well, where
is it?”
    “I don’t have it with me, but I know what it
looks like.”
    “What does it look like?” Galloway asked
cautiously.
    “5’11’’ of perfectly proportioned symmetry,
coated in a honey chocolate glaze, capped off with a pair of
expressive black eyes, long black curly hair and a smile to die
for.” Responded Flint with a grin.
    “The detective!” Exclaimed Galloway.
    “One and the same.”
    “You think she’s just going to tell you where
the treasure is?”Galloway asked in open skepticism.
    “I’m hoping so.” Responded Flint.
    “What if she doesn’t? I’m not into roughing
up chicks!”Galloway responded heatedly.
    Flint gave him a reproachful look. “And when
have you known me to be?”
    “There was that Asian chick in
Singapore.”
    “She was trying to cut my fingers off and
feed them to me!”
    “There was that social debutant in France
last year.”
    “She was a black widow and had a machete,
which she was trying to take my head off with!”
    “Then there was that woman in Istanbul.”
    “Now that was an accident! How was I supposed
to know that monster was a woman?”
    Tyre half choked on a burst of laughter.
    “Yes!” Exclaimed Galloway as he and Flint
smacked hands together victoriously as Tyre just shook his head and
started up the outboard motor.
    It had been a game of the other two for years
to try and crack up Tyre’s somber façade and when they succeeded it
was cause for celebration over a hard won victory.
    “Seriously Flint, what are we going to do if
she doesn’t’ tell us what she knows?”
    Galloway asked loudly in order to be heard
over the noise of the motor prop.
    “We’ll keep her safe. As long as she is safe
the treasure remains buried.”
    “And I