Andrew Gross: Reckless

“The arm’s doing well?”

“Well enough,” Naomi said. “Yours?”

He raised his elbow. “Good as new.”

They headed out to the elevator bank. He pressed the button. “So you want to get some lunch?” he asked. “We have an hour.”

“Do you think that’s entirely professional? I mean, this is supposed to only be about what happened on the case.”

Hauck couldn’t take his eyes off her. “To me this is one hundred percent about what happened on the case.”

The elevator came. She stepped inside. “Good. I know a fish place we can walk to from here.”

He followed her in and pressed the button for the lobby. Leaned with his back against the railing. It was a small office building, and they were alone.

She said, “You know, much of this may never come to light. The government wants a thorough job. But they also want to move forward, I’m told…Some things might never come out.”

Hauck shrugged. “That’s okay. My résumé’s already long enough.”

Naomi smiled. “Mine too.”

Suddenly the elevator jerked and came to an abrupt stop. Between floors. The lights flickered out.

Naomi said, “Oh, shit.”

“Generator must be down,” Hauck said. He pushed the buttons for several floors, but nothing happened. “Hope you’re not the type who gets all nervous in the dark.”

She shot back, “I’m the one who had to hide in Thibault’s closet, remember? You’re the one who couldn’t even follow the guy in a car. Anyway, have you ever known me to get flustered?”

He was about to chuckle, Yeah, I can think of just a couple of times, but Naomi pushed past him and started pressing buttons at random. “Hello! Hello…” One was the red alarm. Seconds later, someone from the building came on. “The generator’s down,” the scratchy voice replied. “There’s a camera on the console. You guys okay in there?”

Hauck felt Naomi next to him. “Yeah, we’re okay.”

“This might take a few minutes. Fifteen, maybe more…We’ll try to get the auxiliary power back up. Make yourself at home.”

“Fifteen minutes?” Naomi groaned.

“Or more,” Hauck said.

She sighed. “That’s half our break.”

“Damn.” Hauck called back to the voice, “Don’t hurry.”

She looked at him.

“You have a great tattoo on your back,” he said. “I’d like to see it again some time.”

“Some time…?” Even in the dark Naomi saw where he was heading. She shook her head. “No chance.”

“Fifteen minutes, it’s an eternity…”

“Zero,” she said again, the tiniest crack in her defiance. “You’re wasting your time.”

He could feel the flutter of her heart going crazy against him. The scent of her perfume was driving him wild. He lifted her sunglasses.

“I have a better one on my butt,” she said. “The opening of Glass’s ‘Music in the Shape of a Square’…Very seminal piece.”

A crackle came out of the speaker, something sharp and barely decipherable. Hauck took off his jacket and draped it over a button, covering the lens.

“Now, this is totally unprofessional,” Naomi said. Actually it was more of a sigh. “I’m head of the department now.”

He pulled her close to him. Even in the dark he saw the smile light up her eyes.

“So write me up, Agent Blum,” Hauck replied.

A warm thanks to so many people who played a hand in the writing of this book.

To Roy and Robin Grossman for the discussion of things financial and myriad other aspects of the story and book as well. To Janusz Kryszynski, head of the U.N.-Kosovo Peace Mission, Tasha Alexander, Nicholas Gross, and Andrew Peterson for assistance on some of the many diverse settings and other details that bring a book to life.

To Mark Schwarzman, Liz Scoponich, and Brooke Martinez, and other early readers of the draft. I appreciate you all!

Several books and articles also figured into the formation of the story and the background of the financial meltdown. House of Cards by William D. Cohan, “The Quiet Coup” by Simon Johnson in the Atlantic Monthly, “The Big Takeover” by Matt Taibi in Rolling Stone, “The Omen” by James B. Stewart in The New Yorker, The End by Michael Lewis, “The Worst Is Not Behind Us” by Nouriel Roubni in Forbes, as well as various postings by Frank Rich and Naomi Klein. And Big Boy Rules by Steve Farineau on the wild life of security personnel stationed in Iraq.

My usual thanks to David Highfill, Liate Stehlik, Lynn Grady, Pam Jaffee, Gabe Robinson, and my whole team at William Morrow, and that goes all the way to the top! Very few writers ever get to feel the belief and partnership you’ve given me.

And to Simon Lipskar of Writers House, a partner in the book in every way.

And of course, to my wife, Lynn, whose healing touch always keeps me whole, and my three kids, all making their way successfully in life and of whom I am very proud.

And, oh yeah, my mom, Leslie Pomerantz, my biggest fan, who never thinks I mention that enough. See!

ANDREW GROSS is the author of New York Times and international bestsellers The Blue Zone, Don’t Look Twice, and The Dark Tide, which was nominated for the Best Thriller of the Year award by the International Thriller Writers. He is also coauthor of five number one bestsellers with James Patterson, including Judge & Jury and Lifeguard. He lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife, Lynn. You can follow Andrew Gross on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and at AndrewGrossBooks.com.