[Thomas Caine #1] Tokyo Black (37 page)

As the woman pushed herself closer, Caine caught a glimpse of copper red hair glowing in the sun. He leapt down from the boat and jogged over to her.

“Rebecca!”

The men tensed, but Rebecca turned and gave them a look. They took a few steps back, and kept their eyes on Caine as she pushed the wheelchair over to him.

“Tom. You look good. Different somehow.”

She was wearing a white linen blouse and khaki shorts. Caine looked at her legs. They were covered with stitches, scars, and burn marks. The wounds were healing, but they looked like they had been severe.

“I didn’t know about the chair. I knew you were hurt, but I thought….”

She shook her head. “According to my doctors, I’m lucky to even be alive. The damage may not be permanent. They don’t know yet. So, we’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Rebecca, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, if nothing else, I’m getting a hell of an upper body workout.”

Caine paused for a moment. The wind picked up and blew at her fiery hair.

“Listen, the last time I saw you, at the prison … I said things. Things I didn’t—”

Rebecca cut him off. “Let’s leave our mistakes in the past, Tom. We’ve both made our share, and I didn’t come here to talk about that.”

Caine nodded. “All right. So, what brings you to Thailand?

Rebecca pulled a manila folder from her Hermes bag. “Believe it or not, work. You’re looking at the new Director of HUMINT.”

Caine smiled. “They gave you Bernatto’s old job.”

“It was the least they could do, don’t you think? They’re cleaning house, and Japan was just the tip of the iceberg. God knows how many off-book ops and unsanctioned hit teams Bernatto was running. Someone’s got to clean up the mess and get the department back on track.”

“I can’t think of a better person for the job,” Caine said.

“Tom, I want you to come back. I don’t know everything that happened, but I do know you were right about Bernatto. I can clear your record. You can come home. You can make a difference.”

Caine thought for a moment “I can work with you, Rebecca, but not for the agency. I can’t place my trust in a bunch of suits sitting behind desks. I can’t make decisions about life or death based on someone else’s morality. Not anymore. I’m strictly freelance now. I choose the missions. I choose the targets. And I choose when to say no. That’s my offer. Take it or leave it.”

Rebecca held the folder out to him. “Freelance it is. Can you give me a quote for this target? Assuming you’ll take the job.”

Caine flipped open the folder. Stapled to the top of a thick dossier was a black-and-white photograph. It was blurry, grainy. Probably a video still pulled from a security camera. It showed a man in a black overcoat, walking out of what looked like a bank. There were burn marks on his face. He wore thick, wireframe glasses.

It was Allan Bernatto.

Caine’s green eyes squinted in the harsh sun as he stared at the picture. His mouth twisted into a snarl.

“I’ll take it. And this one’s on the house.”

Thank you for reading Tokyo Black. If you enjoyed this novel, would you please consider leaving an honest review for it at Amazon? Reviews are critical for helping independent authors bring their books to the attention of readers who might enjoy them. I would truly appreciate it, and it can be as short as you like.

If you would like to learn more about me and my books, please visit my website here, or my Facebook page here.

Please join my Reader’s Group!

You’ll get a chance to read the next Thomas Caine thriller free!  You’ll also get access to special sales, contests, and new release info…

Just click HERE.

Or visit

Andrewwarrenbooks.com

Andrew Warren was born in New Jersey, and studied film, English, and psychology at the University of Miami. He has over a decade of experience in the television and motion picture industry, where he has worked as a post production supervisor, story producer, and writer. He currently lives in Southern California.

Andrew loves to hear from his readers! Please contact him here:

• Title
  
• Copyright
  
• CHAPTER ONE
  
• CHAPTER TWO
  
• CHAPTER THREE
  
• CHAPTER FOUR
  
• CHAPTER FIVE
  
• CHAPTER SIX
  
• CHAPTER SEVEN
  
• CHAPTER EIGHT
  
• CHAPTER NINE
  
• CHAPTER TEN
  
• CHAPTER ELEVEN
  
• CHAPTER TWELVE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  
• CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  
• CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  
• CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  
• CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  
• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  
• CHAPTER NINETEEN
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  
• CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  
• CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  
• CHAPTER FORTY
  
• CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  
• CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  
• CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  
• CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
  
• CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
  
• Thank you!
  
• THOMAS CAINE will RETURN!
  
• About the Author