ROBERT’S POV

Frank was silent for some time, almost as if he wasn’t on call anymore. What I said must have disoriented him completely. But I didn’t expect him to be that way.

“Hey buddy…Are you still there?...” I brought my phone down from my ear just to make sure the call hadn’t disconnected. And it hasn’t.

“Hey boss…” His voice sounded. It was low almost as if he was afraid to speak.

“What happened?” I asked, bringing the phone to my ear. “Why did you suddenly black out on me?”

“I’m sorry, boss,” he said, taking a deep breath. “But why are we doing this? Is it really the...