The Nasty Business of a Bodyguard by Elijah Douresseau (top books of all time TXT) 📕

to eat. You haven’t touched anything since early this morning.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“So what?”

Then a stare down. Surprisingly, bigger, tougher-looking Nelson relented. He yanked up his jacket and left – but not before, “He doesn’t leave here until we find out what happened to Casey.”

Nelson slammed the door after him, muttering under his breath audibly, for Matts’ and Alvin’s ears to hear.

The remaining agent took a breath.

“Sorry. They came up together. This is hitting all of us hard.”

“I swear, that’s everything.”

“I believe you think that. And that’s fine. Despite our loss, you’ve been invaluable to this whole scheme. I just want to make sure we’ve explored everything and that’s only sensible to do with you here.”

“Then what do you need?”

“Run me through those last few moments.”

“Each one of her bosses keeled over. One by one. Except Dean.”

“Why was he the last man standing?”

Alvin must have explained this interval four other times. But Matts seemed to have renewed interest in the sequence of events. At least in the bystander chef’s retelling.

“It was all so personal between them. Even until Dean was zapped – or beamed or something—”

“One of Coco’s men had a gun that didn’t shoot bullets, but emitted some lethal light?”

“That’s what my eyes saw. And it made Dean explode where he stood. Seemed like he knew where the weapon came from. Coco wasn’t supposed to have it. But I might have read too much into that.”

Matts started to jot down notes.

“No, that’s good. Keep going. What else?”

“Well, I just wanna repeat that I was set up. Coco was shrewd in manufacturing this whole gathering. All those ingredients I ordered wouldn’t be harmful to you or me, but she knew her superiors. Knew them outside and in.”

“Down to what would make them sneeze so much, they’d up and die,” Matts whistled.

“Right. Fatal, ingested in the ways I prepared their intolerances. I don’t know why she orchestrated that my food…would lead to their deaths, because she single-handedly killed Casey with her bionic arms.”

“That was the other weapon of mass destruction?”

“Is that their official classification? Thought that was reserved for nukes or something.”

“Sounded like those arms had the capability to do just as much harm to a lot of folks the way a big bomb would.”

“I guess so.”

More notes.

Alvin continued, “Whatever it was, that gun and those arms are things that aren’t supposed to be real. Or exist yet. That was clear. Might even be too good to be in a videogame.”

“Any other devices we need to know were present?”

“Coco grabbed something from Dean’s…pile. Some sort of key. Her men grabbed similar things from the other bosses.”

“No idea as to what these keys might be used for?”

“Haven’t a clue. Coco was at a much quicker pace after that. She basically told me I’m the fall guy, which told me she knew about this.”

“What makes you say that?”

“She took pleasure in telling me I was part of her club. Her bosses’ blood is on my hands. It amused her to liken me to herself.”

“Are you?”

“Am I under arrest? I was working as I should have, like you told me.”

“You’re fine, Al. As far as I’m concerned, you did the world a service. Those were very dangerous men. And Coco.”

“I don’t feel any better for it.”

“But is that all? Anything that could help us figure out what Coco is planning to do next or where she might be?”

“She kept me alive but she didn’t tell me any more.”

Matts stopped making notes, but he was writing something down in the pages of his mind. Strategizing. He had to know the chef was not enterprising on his own. Alvin just wanted people to eat his food. And he was happy to return to a quiet life of doing that, which brought up the other matter.

“So I just can’t go home and get a new gig, right?”

“Absolutely not. Your life is changed from here. And technically, you’re still a person of interest in all this.”

“What?”

“Not as scary as it sounds. But you know, we were able to pull the security footage from the bodyguards’ command post, and just about every communal space was accounted for. Except for the banquet hall. It was wiped.”

“What does that mean for me?”

“You’re going into Witness Protection. It’s a precaution. Though with Coco’s position, she can likely catch up with you. If she wants to. But she wants you alive. Her cook. For whatever you or I can’t discern.”

“So nothing’s changed.”

“Oh, it’s changed. You’re moving. You won’t be able to maintain any of your current contacts – family and friends. For their safety and yours.”

Alvin’s heart dropped. For the first time, he was certain he did not know what Coco was aiming at, with him or anything else.

A few things were for certain. No rap albums. No catering for release parties. Or Ellen DeGeneres getting delivery from his restaurant to serve at some televised award ceremony. It was all over.

“Can I still cook?”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“You always knew this was going to happen. You called me out all those months ago, only to ruin my life now? If I survived the stint?”

A rare, sympathetic look emerged from Matts.

“Not even in my wildest dreams did I think you would be at the center of this whole thing.”

“I’m not! Coco and her league of villains are!”

“But you’re the key. You’re too precious to let go now. Coco thought so. Sorry, my friend. Your phones will be tapped. You will have your own patrolling detail following, just out of sight.”

“Hooray.”

“You know too much, and that’s not lost on enemy number one. You’re some sort of insurance policy. We have to figure out what for.”

Alvin was furious. It was as if Coco was his younger sister and he was taking the rap as the big brother for something punishable she did.

Worst spy drama ever.

But he could not tell Nelson and Matts the very last thing. They were right. There was one more detail.

He felt mortifyingly silly admitting it. There was no way it was crucial