The Lindbergh Job

Martin had done a lot of jobs in his time. None gave him pause after two decades.

Still, as he moved with measured steps to the white crib, he felt a prickle at the back of his neck.

Even worse, he had just bought this jacket. His apprehension was confirmed by the telltale ripping noise of a seam coming undone.

“Thanks a lot, mate,” Martin remarked to the offending thorn branch.

He let go of the rope and started weaving through the shadows of the back garden.

“’Ello, Martin,” a voice crawled from behind a hedge.

“Malcolm. Stealing my job?”

“No, this time we’re part of the same program.”

Martin handed over the cloth sack. “Blinking heavy for twenty months.”

“Americans are a decadent lot, after all.”

Martin started for the garden wall, then paused. “What’s going to happen to him?”

There was a shiver in Malcolm’s normally ice-cold voice. “Sometimes this line of work means doing things we don’t like.”

As he scaled the wall, Martin tried to keep his mind focused on his next job.

First Lindbergh. Now Earhart. Christ, these aviators need to stop drawing the ire of the Firm or there won’t be any pilots left.

~~~

The Complete* Martin Williams Collection

1. Sinking Prospects (1912)
2. For King and Country (1916) — print exclusive
3. Black Thursday (1929)
4. The Lindbergh Job (1932) — you are here
5. A View to Die For (1936)
6. The Rising Sun (1941)
7. Run for the Border (1943)
8. Down on Main Street (1946)
9. The Airlift (1948)
10. Into the Valley of Death (1951) — print exclusive
11. Epilogue: Retirement — print exclusive

*When paired with A Bloody Business, the official Martin Williams novel: