Good and Valuable Consideration

In this high-octane short story from the acclaimed anthology FaceOff, bestselling thriller authors Lee Child and Joseph Finder bring together their iconic heroes—Jack Reacher and Nick Heller—for the first time ever in "Good and Valuable Consideration". When Reacher, the lone drifter and ex-military investigator, grabs a drink in a Boston sports bar, he expects nothing more than to catch a baseball game—despite being a Yankees fan deep in Red Sox territory. But trouble quickly finds him, as it always does. Reacher is soon joined by Nick Heller, a Sox fan and private intelligence operative, and the two unlikely allies are drawn into a dangerous and unexpected confrontation when the stranger sitting between them is revealed to be a marked man with a target on his back. What follows is a tightly wound, adrenaline-fueled encounter in which loyalties shift, instincts take over, and lives hang in the balance. "Good and Valuable Consideration" is a must-read short story for fans of mystery, suspense, and action thrillers, showcasing the chemistry between two of the genre's most beloved protagonists. For more electrifying pairings of iconic characters, explore the full collection of short stories in FaceOff!

Lee Child, previously a television director, union organizer, theater technician, and law student, was fired and on the dole when he hatched a harebrained scheme to write a bestselling novel, thus saving his family from ruin. Killing Floor went on to win worldwide acclaim. The Midnight Line, is his twenty-second Reacher novel. The hero of his series, Jack Reacher, besides being fictional, is a kindhearted soul who allows Lee lots of spare time for reading, listening to music, and watching Yankees and Aston Villa games. Lee was born in England but now lives in New York City and leaves the island of Manhattan only when required to by forces beyond his control. Visit Lee online at LeeChild.com for more information about the novels, short stories, and the movies Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, starring Tom Cruise. Lee can also be found on Facebook: LeeChildOfficial, Twitter: @LeeChildReacher, and YouTube: LeeChildJackReacher. Joseph Finder is the New York Times bestselling author of eleven novels, including Suspicion and Vanished. Finder's international bestseller Killer Instinct won ITW's Thriller Award for Best Novel of 2006. Other bestselling titles include Paranoia and High Crimes, which both became major motion pictures. He lives in Boston.