The Nameless Ones by John Connolly
Chapter X
Special Agent Edgar Ross did not smoke, drank rarely, and socialized on a level familiar only to the dead. His life, or the productive part of it, revolved to a worrying extent around the private detective Charlie Parker and, to a slightly lesser degree, Angel and Louis. Ross’s affection for all three was minimal, although in the context of his largely solitary existence, this served to elevate them almost to the status of boon companions. But his respect for them exceeded his affection by a considerable magnitude, and it was partly this – or so Ross told himself – that led him to make the call to Louis.
Yet Ross, in addition to speaking with Conrad Holt, had also put out discreet feelers beyond Federal Plaza. In every situation, however grave, the question to be asked was: How may this be turned to my advantage? A distinctive duplicity was bred in the bone of those who monitored and investigated others for a living, and Ross was far from immune to it. He was aware that, sooner or later, Conrad Holt would attempt to feed him to the wolves. When this happened, Ross intended to make them fight for their meal.
In the meantime, he would continue to secure his position while sticking to his primary task, which was to identify and destroy a group of men and women known as the Backers. This cabal was powerful, corrupt, and mired in the occult, most particularly the search for an entity called the Buried God, which they believed to be a fallen angel, imprisoned deep below ground. Ross, for his part, didn’t much care what they did or did not believe: he knew only that they were a malign influence on the affairs of men, a contaminant, and needed to be rooted out. Ross was prepared to use any and all means toward that end, among them Charlie Parker and, by extension, Angel and Louis. If that meant protecting those men when required, so be it.
Ross was not entirely surprised when the phone was answered on the first ring. Only a select few were privy to the number, which was changed on a regular basis before the new details were carefully circulated. Until that moment, Louis had not even been aware that SAC Edgar Ross of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was one of those with knowledge of its latest iteration.
‘What the fuck do you want,’ said Louis, once Ross had identified himself, ‘and how did you get this number?’
‘To answer the second question first,’ said Ross, ‘I work for the FBI. It’s my business to know these things.’
‘Then I need to get rid of you or the number. The number might be easier, but it would give me less satisfaction.’
‘You are aware that threatening a government official of the United States is a felony under law?’
‘Then I’ll go to jail laughing,’ said Louis. ‘You still haven’t told me what you want.’
And Ross said, ‘I want to deliver a warning.’