40...

Lester closed his phone with a slight grimace on his face. He was pissed that Vanessa had no information and yet had this… this attitude. He was also pissed that he had to be teamed up with her to begin with. They’d been having the same philosophical argument for nearly ten years now and the only thing that kept them from coming to an amiable solution was that they were both horribly stubborn in different ways.
He wanted to throw the ridiculously small phone to the ground and stomp it to pieces. He realized this was not a good idea. He realized it was not the phone that he was angry at. He realized that he was letting his anger get away from him. He closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly and through his nose.
Lester supposed that The Big Guy had an action plan, that that was why he had probably been put on assignment with Vanessa again. Then again, it could be that The Big Guy just liked to torture his employees and that he knew the more Lester and Vanessa were lumped together, the greater the chances of a ballet-like knife fight breaking out. The fucker probably has odds laid out with the rest of the company.
And then Tommy had been thrown into the mix this time.
He realized he was being a little egotistical in assuming The Big Guy’s decisions had anything to do with his feelings. He realized that he and Vanessa had been involved with this case for a number of years and they were simply the best for the job.
But why Tommy? Tommy was younger, cuter, and more athletic. He had longish, curly blond hair and these sad puppy eyes that drove most women crazy. Quite a few men as well, truth be told. Lester hadn’t really thought that Tommy was terribly bright, but there was a viciousness in his smile that was palpable.
Lester had, at the behest of the company, recruited Tommy. He hadn’t been in charge of Tommy’s training however. That was left to the really devious fuckers on the ninth floor. Lester’s own trainer had been ambushed by a former student and fed alive to a pit full of infant crocodiles. Lester wasn’t a big fan of Tommy from the get go, didn’t really understand why he would have been a valuable member of the team, but he was smart enough to know that there were reasons for actions beyond his shallow understanding.
He realized that most of the dislike directed at Tommy was jealousy. He realized that he was envious of Tommy’s youth and good looks. He realized that if he brought this up in one of his sessions with Dr. Cooper, the company appointed head shrinker, Dr. Cooper was likely to accuse him of being gay for Tommy.
Bullshit.
Whatever the reasons for putting Tommy on this leg of the case, it felt to Lester like a jab at his abilities. True or not, it felt like The Big Guy was telling him that he hadn’t gotten the job done yet and this one obviously needed someone younger, someone a little fresher.
Lester looked down towards Tommy who was about forty yards away and showboating for some passing joggers. Lester narrowed his eyes in an annoyed glare. The kid really hadn’t changed since the day he pulled him out of his former life at NYU.