Lin Page 27
 
I'm following Annie --

What? Allen's voice is interrupted by an ominous burst of static -- or maybe it is the sound of a deep breath, or a guttural curse.

Annie left the house first and I followed her to --

C.J., listen to me, man, it's all about Mrs. Chen right now. The primary focus. That's why I called her earlier, to set her off. Why didn't you report to me when Annie left the house?

It was a command decision
. Yes, he thinks, Allen likes words like that. Initiative. Guts. Now he has both feet on the ledge, squatting like a gorilla with one hand hanging



down at his ankles, the other with the phone at his head. Ready to take a dump into an imaginary toilet.

Don't interrupt me. You don't make the call, you understand buddy? He spits out the word buddy in two whip-like syllables. This is too important for you to screw with. We all are screwed. What are we gonna do now? No idea where Mrs. Chen is, who she might be going out to see. What can we do now?

I don't know.

No shit you don't know. Because you don't focus. To you this is just something to do. You don't recognize the import. You don't see the opportunities, and you miss them! Jesus, why did I ever give you --