Page 55 of Ghost
“Mr. Berry, you gottabelieve me, I didn’t tell the cops nothin’. I swear it.”
“You know, Jake, how I grewto be the most powerful man in this county?”
“No, sir.”
“No, I suppose you don’t.It’s too much for your simple mind to understand. It’s bycalculating risk.”
“Calculating risk,sir?”
“Yes, risk,” Joe Berry saidas he stood. “Every move I make comes with a certain amount ofrisk.” He lifted his fat cigar to his lips and took another drag,allowing the smoke to float up and around his head like tendrilsdisappearing into the darkness.
“Yes, sir,” Jake said,looking even more nervous now that Berry had stood.
“I’m forced to judge therisk of buying land, and when that land isn’t for sale, then therisk of taking steps to ensure it comes up for sale.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Cross was a risk, and whenhe became too much of a risk, he had to be eliminated. So, you cansay I’m in the business of risk assessment.”
Berry nodded toward Jackson, and thethug immediately shoved Jake down to his knees.
“Mr. Berry, sir, I swear Ididn’t tell them anything about you shooting Cross.”
“What did you tell them?”Berry demanded.
“Nothin’.”
“I find it hard to believethey set you free for no reason.”
“They didn’t have enoughevidence to charge me.”
Ghost worked his way up to the side ofthe deck for a better look when he heard the first growl. Shit. Adog. He may have been invisible to sight but not to scent, and thedog had a lock on him.
He turned to see a big black Dobermaninching his way forward with his nose in the air, trying toidentify the new scent. Ghost had a moment of fear until he heardthe clank of metal, and he realized the dog was chained to the sideof the house. It lunged forward, barking, only to be pulled upshort of Ghost by the chain. He swore his life passed before hiseyes for a moment, but the Doberman couldn’t get within ten feet ofGhost.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jacksonyelled at the dog, who whined and retreated back into the shadowsof the house. “Stupid, good-for-nothing mutt. I’ll use you fortarget practice if you keep your shit up.”
Ghost felt sorry for the dog. He’dbeen mistreated for doing what guard dogs normally do: bark atintruders, invisible or not.
“Now, Jake. When I look atyou, I have to ask myself what percentage of risk you pose to meand what my plans are for Marshall.”
“Zero, sir. I’m zero threatto you and your takeover of Marshall.”
“If only that were true,Jake. Then I wouldn’t be forced to do what needs to bedone.”
Shit, they were going to eliminateJake.
Jackson raised his gun to the back ofJake’s head. A similar kill shot had been found on Cross’sbody.
“This isn’t personal, Jake.It’s business, and it all comes down to riskmanagement.”
“No, no,” Jakecried.
Berry nodded, and a shot rangout.
Ghost stood stunned for a fraction ofa second, then Jackson’s body fell to the ground. Jake lookedaround, confused, until another round of shots were fired. The teamwas moving in. Ghost wasn’t worried about being shot accidentallyby the team because they were too good at this, but that didn’tcount for Berry’s men, who were returning fire.
Ghost crouched down and inched his wayback, forgetting about the dog until he felt its cold nose pressedagainst his back. He froze as bullets flew, and the dog continuedto sniff his shoulder.
