Chapter 42 Summary
At the Core Business Magazine office, Jennifer Bennett returned directly from the airport, preferring to catch up on work before heading home. She found her name assigned to complete an article based on Neil’s interview with the CEO of IBU. Listening to the recording, she couldn’t help but smile at Neil’s rusty interview style after fifteen years away from the field. After transcribing and shaping the story into a near-final draft, her thoughts drifted to the people she’d recently met in St. Louis, Javon Morris, Tony Russell, and Sandra Brown, and the sense of purpose and excitement they embodied. Despite the professional routine surrounding her, she longed for that same intensity in her own life.
Before leaving, Jennifer called Tony to check on Steven’s recovery. Tony, his usual steady self, told her Steven was irritable, a good sign that his spirit was returning. He described plans to arrange nursing care and temporary housing for Steven during his recuperation. Their light-hearted conversation, filled with teasing about Tony’s wit and Jennifer’s neglect of her houseplants, offered a brief moment of warmth amid ongoing uncertainty.
Later that evening, the narrative shifted to the banks of the Mississippi River, where Roger Cortez waited on a bench along the Gateway Trail for his brother, the man Bravo knew as Remington. Their meeting revealed both tension and kinship, two men bound by blood but divided by morality. Remington reported on his encounter with Bravo, describing him as a dangerous but potentially valuable asset, while Cortez pressed for swift elimination should Bravo become uncontrollable. Their conversation exposed a deep contrast: Remington was still capable of emotion and remorse, and Roger was detached and unfeeling due to an unspecified condition. As Remington walked away, he was haunted by childhood memories of his brother’s cruelty and their parents’ futile attempts to discipline compassion into him. He regretted the vow he’d made to protect Roger, knowing it would one day cost him everything.
