The Contractor - Part 3c - by nova

He shifted gears and asked, "Do you know Jesus?"

I told him, "Not really. I like Buddha. He seems a lot more relaxed."  He looked at me intently, I could see the different clouds of replies blowing through the back of his eyes, he went with, "Okay." There was a bit of a pause which I spent looking at his coffee and really wishing I had a cup, a large one. My brain felt like it was encased in mud and I knew I wasn't sounding real sharp.  I really wanted a beer but I wanted to present well since this was our first meeting plus the deli didn't carry any.

"Let's talk opsec and what I want from you now.  In public you will address me as Dan and I will call you Dakota. In an hour a man named Pat Weaver is going to contact you." He held his cell phone up, I heard a camera click, and he continued talking as he scrolled and typed.  "You two are going to be working together.  He will be your primary contact but don't hesitate to reach out to me if you feel the need.  I believe in clear lines of communication as long as you follow the chain of command."  He stared at me, "Tell me what I just said Dakota."

I didn't hesitate, I was starting to catch on to who he was, a pain in the ass, and a little too demanding, just like all my supervisors had been, "You want me to hang out here, meet Pat who you just sent my photo, and go from there.  Oh yeah, don't call you. Ever."

He laughed. It was a three guffaw burst."I like you Dakota. You're a sharp kid."Then he abruptly got up and walked away.  I didn't bother to watch him, "Kid? That asshole was, maybe, three years older than me.  Now I had an hour to kill.  Coffee, go back, drink a beer, and get ready for the second big meet of the day.  I went into the deli thinking how this was just like the government. Lot's of meetings and nothing done.  I hope they paid by EFT, I didn't want to dick around with a paper check on payday.