"MR.GRIMM" Chapter 1 The labored breath of an old man escaped my lips as I sauntered over to an even older desk. It was perched atop three sturdy legs, the fourth was braced with an old Webster's dictionary. The damned thing still didn't sit level, but I honestly didn't give two shits about that. It was the ringing phone that drew me over to this side of the room, the side that I often neglected because of the window that was open to a street view. One never could be too careful these days. I picked up the receiver. "Yeah," I answered in my general gruff demeanor. "Mr. Grimm, I see you have returned from your last...contract," the French accented voice said with an air of superiority over someone of my class. "It's done," I answered in an attempt to end the conversation more abruptly. "That's good to hear, though it seems that you were not as successful as we had hoped." This was news to me. "What do you mean?" I asked, knowing that failure was unforgivable in this line of work and I had worked too hard, had too much on the line for failure to be an option.
