John was reading when two men entered the room.
He did not look up at once.
The room was quiet, with tall shelves on one side and a wide desk near the window. A cup of tea sat untouched beside his hand. The men stopped a few steps away from the desk and waited because both of them knew better than to interrupt him too quickly.
After a few seconds, John turned a page.
"Speak."
The first man bowed his head. "Sir, we contacted the people your father told us about. Your father passed this matter to you, so I am reporting directly. They are asking for assistance inside this city. They want help establishing themselves, introductions, a few safe movement routes, and access to two local officials."
He placed a folded paper on the desk.
John finally looked at it.
He read the list once.
"What do we get?"
The man hesitated.
"Sir, this came from your father. His instruction was that we assist them without asking for payment first."
John's eyes moved from the paper to the man.
