Jack In A Box Read Online Free PDF

that.”
    “Why not?”
    Duffy’s expression was unreadable. “Reacher has friends in high and low places.”
    “Friends who made his crimes disappear, you mean?”
    Duffy’s tone hardened. “Friends like me. Friends who notice you making a pest of yourself in our files and repeatedly finding nothing. You don’t want that to happen again. Not everyone is as understanding as I am.”
    Gaspar asked, “How do you know every file has been scrubbed clean of every Jack Reacher reference?”
    Duffy slid the big hood back revealing short blonde hair, small ears close to her head, and huge emerald earrings. She put a bit of friendly into her voice. “Keep looking if you have nothing better to do. Your file on Jack Reacher will remain thin. Your mission will fail. You’ll never put Reacher in any kind of box. And you’ll piss people off. But hey, if you want to throw your careers in the toilet, you’ll get no problem from me.”
    Kim watched one of the last pair of partiers walking toward the curb while she allowed this information to soak in. Both the man and the woman were older, a bit unsteady on their feet. Tipsy maybe.
    She didn’t know how she felt about Duffy’s attitude. Challenged? Should she try to prove Duffy wrong? Or relieved? Because she could now focus elsewhere?
    She asked, “Do you know where Reacher is?”
    After a moment, Duffy shook her head, “You won’t find him if he doesn’t want to be found.”
    Gaspar’s impatience flared. “We’ll find him. We found Osama Bin Laden and he was a hell of a lot more powerful than Jack Reacher.”
    Duffy smiled again, “Yeah, we found Bin Laden. After ten years of looking. Yeah, we got him. After Seal Team Six made it happen.” She paused for the briefest of moments. “But we didn’t take him alive. If you’ve got ten years and a Seal team, maybe you can manage to kill Reacher, but you won’t take him alive unless he wants you to.” She shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”
    Kim took a deep breath. “So what do you suggest?”
    “You could give up.”
    Gaspar chuckled. “You don’t know Otto.”
    The energy in the air seemed to shift, as if Duffy had done what she’d come to do. She nodded slightly before lifting the hood to cover her shimmering blonde hair and returning her hands to her pockets. Her slight form almost merged with the darkness and became a single shadow.
    “Suit yourself,” her disembodied voice seemed to echo too loudly. She softened her tone. “But know this: you risk everything if you keep looking. Everything. And Reacher risks nothing while he waits. That doesn’t sound like a winning equation to me. Does it to you?”

9.
    BEFORE KIM COULD ANSWER she heard a loud thump behind her. She turned to see the three hoodies emerge from the pyramids moving swiftly. They approached the older couple leaving the gala.
    The hoodies’ moves seemed choreographed, as if they’d practiced or maybe done this many times before. One shoved into the distinguished tuxedoed man knocking him off balance; he shouted “Hey!” before he regained his unsteady footing.
    At the same time, the second hoodie stopped, raised his arm, and pointed a Glock squarely at the older woman’s chest. The woman looked green, as if she might vomit, and began to shake.
    The third hoodie shoved the tuxedoed man backward and shouted, “You got something to say?”
    The man tripped and fell on his left side. A loud crack followed by the man’s animal-like screaming confirmed broken bones, at least.
    Otto pulled her weapon and aimed it at the first hoodie’s center mass, and shouted, “FBI!”
    Simultaneously, Gaspar pivoted on his good left leg, rushed the gunman, and knocked him to the ground, sending his Glock skimming the sidewalk into the shadows toward Duffy. The gunman’s temple slammed onto the concrete and bounced twice, leaving him splayed and motionless, his neck bent at an unnatural angle.
    The older woman’s horrified face lasted three seconds before she