Chapter 10: The Interruption
The frosted glass of the door cast a distorted silhouette of a man standing in the hallway. Jack didn't knock. Instead, the brass handle turned slowly, and the door clicked open just a few inches, letting a sliver of fluorescent hallway light cut across the dark linoleum floor.
Nal pushed himself off the wall instantly, moving with quiet speed to block the opening before Jack could push the door wide. Nal stepped out into the hallway, pulling the door almost shut behind him, leaving only a narrow gap so he could keep an eye on Martha, Clara, and Leo inside.
Jack stood in the corridor, his dark blue suit crisp and his tie perfectly knotted, despite the rain outside. He looked entirely out of place in the somber, quiet atmosphere of the hospice, like a corporate predator wandering through a sanctuary.
“Times up, Nal,” Jack said smoothly, keeping his voice low so it wouldn't carry into the room. “You’ve played the doting grandfather for an hour. That’s more than enough charity work for a man with your record. We need to talk about the files from the district office, and we need to do it now.”
Nal stared at Jack, his jaw tightening until the muscles in his rugged face stood out like iron cables. “Not here, Jack. And not now. Take your paperwork and wait in the lobby, or I’ll throw you through the drywall.”
Jack didn't blink. He smiled, a thin, patronizing expression that only fueled the simmering fire in Nal’s chest. “You don't get to make demands anymore, old man. You walked out on a federal subpoena three years ago, thinking you could hide out in small-town diners and play mechanic. But I found you. And if you don't cooperate with what I’m offering, I walk into that room right now, tell that dying woman the truth about the thugs she’s entertaining, and watch her final hours turn into a nightmare.”
The threat hung in the air, heavy and sharp as a razor. Jack had miscalculated one thing, however: he thought Nal was operating out of fear for himself. He didn't understand that Nal’s protection extended beyond his own skin.
Through the narrow crack in the door, Leo’s voice drifted out, calm and steady, answering a question from Martha. The sound of her soft, genuine laugh reached Nal’s ears. It reminded Nal of why he was standing here in the first place.
“You won't do that, Jack,” Nal whispered, stepping closer until he was towering directly over the suit man, his broad chest nearly touching Jack’s lapels. “Because if you take one step into that room while she’s at peace, I won't just ignore your subpoena. I’ll dismantle every operation you’ve built in this state, piece by piece, starting with your credibility.”
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Jack’s smile faltered for a fraction of a second as he looked into Nal’s eyes and saw the absolute, unyielding resolve of a man who had nothing left to lose.
***
