Pros & Cons of Vengeance

by Wasp, A. E.

  “About three days after,” he confirmed. He swiped a hand across his eyes. “But I wasn’t thinking at all, Breck. The guy has a fucking videotape of me doing it. If he noticed the ring was gone and wanted to find it, all he had to do was check the tape. Now he knows I have something of his.”

  Something that might be persuasive proof if Danny went to the authorities about who had beaten him, sure. But I was pretty sure a guy like Harlan would fucking hate thinking that a whore had taken something that belonged to him. His ego couldn’t handle it. He’d come looking for it.

  “Do you have it with you?” I asked. “Maybe we can get it back to him somehow. Maybe he hasn’t even realized it’s missing.”

  “Oh, he realized it,” Danny said. “He texted me last night.”

  “Texted you? But Steele took our phones!”

  “I gave Steele my burner,” Danny admitted. “The one you used to reach me. The number Cisco has. But I have another one, an older one.”

  “What for?”

  “My sister has that number,” Danny said, his eyes filling with tears again. “She texts me sometimes, when something happens with the family. Just to keep me in the loop.”

  My stomach flipped, and I put both arms around Danny this time, pulling him into me and rubbing comforting circles into the chilled skin of his back.

  “Okay. Alright, we can take care of this,” I told him.

  “How?” he wailed. “Breck, if he found that number, that means he knows my real name. That means he knows who my sister is. And he texted me…” He broke off, crying quietly.

  “What did he say?” I prompted.

  “He said if I don’t give the ring back by Saturday, they’ll kill me.”

  And, I thought, they’d likely try to kill him even if he did give the ring back. Hell, they might kill both of us, just for being in the room at the time.

  It’s funny the things you notice when you realize how fucked you are. Night frogs and insects called to each other from the bushes and tall grass. The gulf rolled softly against the shoreline. A light breeze blew the thin clouds slowly across the face of the moon.

  My mind whirled. The right course of action was to bring this directly to Ridge and Steele, to let their little band of criminal masterminds find Danny a way out of this mess without risking his sister.

  But I knew exactly what would happen if I did; they’d take the information, pat me on the head, and send me out to work on my tan while the grownups handled the mess, exactly as they’d been doing from the minute they showed up at Chad’s place. And would they worry about what happened to Danny and his sister if it interfered with their plan for revenge? I honestly didn’t know.

  I wasn’t stupid – I knew Danny and I couldn’t handle the senator on our own. But I really, really wanted a seat at that planning table next to Ridge and Steele. More than that, I wanted a lead role in taking the senator down. I wanted John Harlan to see my face and know it was me who’d beaten him in the end.

  “Danny, do you trust me?” I asked, pulling away from him slightly.

  He nodded.

  “Okay, come to my room. I have an idea.”

  9 Steele

  “Okay, Birdman, I think we’re good. You can come down now.” Wesley’s voice sounded inside my head like some sort of freaky telepathy.

  I wasn’t sure I was ever going to get used to hearing voices in my head. Wesley had designed his own all-in-one earpiece and microphone that fit over our back teeth like a crown. He claimed the mouthpiece translated sound waves into vibrations through the bones of our heads and sent them to the inner ear, which then translated it back to sound.

  Sound, I repeat, that felt like it was coming from inside your head rather than outside. It was freaky as shit. The microphone could pick up the quietest whisper no matter what the outside conditions were. He’d had us talk to each other while we were in the showers to prove it.

  Separate showers, naturally.

  Wes said his version was an improvement over similar existing devices because it used the human body as an energy source and didn’t require any external antenna at all. I was going to take his word for it.

  “Caw, caw, motherfuckers,” Ridge replied from his perch in a tree outside of Harlan’s Florida mansion. It had been his idea to photograph the faces and license plates of everyone coming to the house so Wes could work his magic later.

  Considering the senator had almost killed Breck, and given that Ridge looked exactly like Breck, I thought it was too dangerous for him to be anywhere near the place. If the senator caught a glimpse of that face…well, I didn’t know what would happen, but it would be nothing good.

  Ridge had sworn he wouldn’t get caught and then proved it by hiding in a tree on Charlie’s property for three hours without any of us finding him.

  “One thing you learn in my profession is how not to be seen,” he’d said when he’d jumped down on the driveway, almost giving Josie a heart attack. “I can sit still for hours.”

  It had worked out anyway. We hadn’t been able to find any kind of guest list, so we’d had to go in blind. At least this way we could do some investigating after the party.

  “Oh, yes, just like that, beautiful boy,” Carson purred in my ear a split second before the sound came through the door I was guarding. Fuck my life.

  It wasn’t bad enough to know Carson was in there getting his rocks off with one of Harlan’s hired prostitutes, I had to have the soundtrack pumped directly into my ear too. It had been way too long since I’d been in his position, pun completely intended, and I hoped the way I had my hands crossed in front of my crotch said bad-ass bodyguard and not hard-up loser trying to hide a woody.

  To get Carson back for getting off, I started to recite some Bible verses I’d been forced to memorize as a kid under my breath, subvocalizing the way Wesley had taught us. Maybe a little bit of the good book would ruin Carson’s blow job. Personally, I’d always found hell and damnation a bit of a boner-killer.

  Senator Harlan, the man himself, sauntered up to me. “Sounds like your employer is having a good time.”

  I didn’t answer, but I did press my tongue against the mouthpiece the way Wes had said would enable it to pick up all conversation around me so that we could all hear it. I hoped my button-cam recorder was picking up the video. A button camera felt so old-school, and I knew for a fact he’d ordered them off Amazon, but I trusted Wes. If he said it would work, it would work.

  Senator Harlan wasn’t as ugly as he had looked in the photos. He was pushing sixty and overly-tanned, of course, and you would have thought all that tax-free money he’d gotten from fleecing the desperate true believers of his church could have bought him better hair transplants, but he was broad-shouldered and trim and wore a suit well. Too bad everything about him set my bad-guy senses tingling. Make no mistake, this man was a predator. We’d be stupid to underestimate him.

  “You know, there is, ah, entertainment provided for you, as well, if you’re interested,” the senator said with a grin. “There are some lovely ladies outside at the pool. I know you men work ‘round the clock, and you deserve some downtime, too. I promise you, your boy is in good hands.”

  “Oh, yeah, suck harder,” Carson moaned from behind the door.

  Harlan smirked. “Or should I say good mouths?”

  I kept silent.

  “Does it bother you that Mr. Waters is in there with another man?”

  Why was this douchebag talking to me? Men like him usually never deigned to notice the help.

  I shifted my weight, crossing my hands behind my back. My semi had disappeared the moment Harlan had stepped into my personal space. “No, sir," I told him. “That doesn’t bother me at all.”

  “Nice suit,” he said, stepping closer and rubbing the material between his fingers. “Handmade?”

  “Men’s Wearhouse,” I answered with a straight face. “Clearance sale.”

  “Hmmm,” Harlan purred, like he was appreciating the fine texture of the
cheap-ass polyester blend fabric. “I like you. You know, if you’re ever looking for another employer, I could use a good-looking man such as yourself. Makes the ladies happy when I have big, strapping men around, right?” And then he actually touched me. I grabbed my coin tightly to stop myself from punching him.

  “Oh my god, he’s hitting on you,” Ridge said.

  Fuck. He was. He was feeling me up. I added that to my list of reasons why I was going to kill him. But as much as I hated thinking about it, it could work to my advantage.

  I let my professional veneer crack a little. I glanced nervously at the door, then checked the hallway to see if we were alone. We were, except for Harlan’s bodyguard standing discreetly a few feet away. A big ugly guy, the man seemed distracted and uncomfortable with the sounds coming from the bedroom.

  Carson, ham it up, I subvocalized. It’s pissing off Harlan’s bodyguard.

  It’s making me horny, Wes said. Can’t you get us some video, too, Carson?

  Less chatter, more listening, Leo snapped from inside the car. I think he hated having to wait outside, but we needed to keep him out of sight until the next part of the plan.

  “I’m listening,” I said out loud to the senator.

  “What’s your name?”

  “Gonzales. Mickey Gonzales.”

  “Well, Mickey Gonzales.” He gave me a card. “This is my personal number. Call me, and we’ll talk. Are you sure you don’t want to take a break? Your boss is booked for another half an hour. Trust me, he won’t notice if you leave. Arthur can watch the door for you, right Arthur?” he asked without raising his voice, confirming my suspicions that the senator was also wired into his team.

  I tucked the card in my jacket. It felt thick, and I fully expected to find a bug between the layers of heavy cardstock. I found it best to assume I was being recorded any time, any place. Any schmoe with a smart phone could do it. Hell, I had an app on my phone that detected hidden cameras and recorders and one that automatically recorded all my calls. I got them both for free from Google Play.

  When we’d entered the house, they’d let us keep our weapons but confiscated all the phones. That showed which was more dangerous to these guys. A gun could only kill, while a video or audio recording could fuck you and your entire family over. Knowledge was power after all, and information had always been the most valuable currency, in war and peace. Wes had assured me that our new phones were uncrackable, but I’d left mine in the car anyway. Not like anyone was going to call me.

  Given that blackmail seemed to be the coin of the realm around these parts, I wondered how Harlan felt safe having hookers in his home. “Aren’t you worried about your, ah, entertainers letting information slip?” I asked him.

  “I have some people who specially procure the men and women for people such as myself. Of course, the cream of the crop is in Washington. Those D.C. boys know the meaning of discretion. I’m always on the market for discreet professionals.”

  I tilted my head towards the door. “I’m sure Mr. Waters can attest to my discretion.”

  He moved closer to me. I clenched my teeth against the urge to back up or strangle him. “Well, somebody is talking who shouldn’t be. I’ve heard some rumors about his preferences and the trouble he’s gotten into.”

  “That’s why he hired me. I’m good at making people not talk.”

  “And you’re willing to get your hands a little dirty?”

  “For the right price.” I leaned into his personal space. “And for the right person.”

  He motioned with his head for me to step away from the door. I nodded, clearing my throat to cover me, telling Carson I was stepping away. I figured he wasn’t paying too much attention to his comms right now.

  Harlan put his hand on my back, between my shoulder blades. It felt like a spider, I tensed, already feeling a phantom blade in my back.

  “So, I might have an opening on my security team. My real team, back in D.C. Not these locals.” I glanced over my shoulder in time to catch Arthur’s scowl. “I’ve been using one of the big guys, all former SEALs and SpecOps guys. Which one are you?”

  I sensed in him that urge to play soldier that so many male politicians seemed to have. He was one of those guys who just knew he would be the big hero if he’d ever had the chance. Fuck this guy. I wasn’t going to add anything more to his jerk-off material. I pulled my boyhood accent out and turned it to eleven. “I’m just a good ole boy from Georgia, sir. Got strong wrasslin’ gators.”

  “Sure, of course,” he said with a pat to my back that turned into a totally no-homo, just dudes being bros shoulder squeeze. “Well, anyway, like I was saying, I use these guys for my close protection, and I like them well enough. But I’d feel a lot better with someone like you for my close protection. Someone I could trust.”

  “I’m flattered, sir, but you’ve just met me. How do you know you can trust me?”

  “Let me ask you a question, son, were you raised in the church?”

  “Yessir, washed in the blood. South Georgia Church of God.”

  “You know I was blessed enough to be a pastor for the Assemblies of God? Sadly, I chose to step down when I got into politics. Do you still go?”

  His hand was still on my shoulder, fingers tightening and loosening. “Not in a long while. The church and I see differently on a few things.” I looked pointedly at the door to the room Carson was in and thanked the universe when it started to open. Harlan’s hand dropped like I had burst into flames, and he backed up quickly.

  “Gonzales,” Carson snapped from the doorway. I guess he had been listening. “When I say stay by the door, I mean by the door, not in the general vicinity of the door.”

  “I’m afraid that’s my fault, Ben. I needed your man’s expert advice on a few things.” He walked to Carson without a backward look at me. I watched him turn back into the party host, offering his guests all kinds of things that would get them in trouble.

  Harlan’s arrogance was going to be his downfall, the fate of many a once-powerful man. He’d grown careless, assuming he was untouchable. I was going to enjoy taking him down.

  * * *

  Leo wanted to pull our crew as soon as possible, and normally I would have agreed with him, but there was no way I was leaving without knowing the working boys and girls had gotten out of that house safely. I’d warn them to stay away from men like Harlan, but I knew they’d never listen. One girl, a woman a few years older than the majority, stopped to chat with me.

  “You watching them leave?” she asked, lighting a cigarette.

  “Yeah.”

  “Everyone accounted for?”

  I nodded, and she echoed the movement. “Thanks for looking out for the kids. Most people don’t care.” She took a long drag of her cigarette and looked back at the house. “I got a bad vibe from this place. Don’t think I’ll be back. Whadda you know about this guy?”

  “Let’s just say, I recommend going with your gut.” I usually advised people to do that. I read shit, I knew things. Our guts have what some people call a second brain, the enteric nervous system. More people should listen to their guts, it knows shit our brains don’t.

  “About time,” Leo grumped as I slid into the back seat on the passenger’s side. I ignored him.

  Ridge was on his phone the entire ride home, texting with someone.

  My whole body was tense. I hadn’t cared this much about a job since I’d gotten out of the army. “Tell me again why I can’t just shoot him? Wipe him off the Earth like the shit-stain he is?”

  Surprisingly, it was Carson who answered. “Because this is about more than just Harlan damaging individual lives. The anti-LGBT and anti-immigration policies Harlan sponsors have done a lot of damage, and he’s just getting started. If he gets killed, someone else will take up his mantle. If it comes out that he was murdered, they may even be able to spin his death into some kind of PR event. Use him as a rallying point.”

  “A martyr for the cause.”

  “Exa
ctly. So what we need to do is expose his hypocrisy and that of all his scumbag backers.”

  “Except for Ben Waters.”

  “Yes. Quite,” he said dryly. “But if we expose Harlan, discredit him, we destroy him and them. The true believers won’t care, but they’re nobodies. People in power will know they’ve lost him as a tool. His career will be ruined. His family will be ruined.”

  I knew that. Rationally, I understood the plan and agreed with it. I still wanted to go back on my no-kill policy. For him, I was willing to make an exception.

  “So all we have to do now,” Leo said from the front of the limo, “is get invited to the ‘party’ on Saturday, get into Harlan’s house, get copies of all the blackmail material he has and tapes of him beat—" He glanced over at Ridge in the passenger’s seat. Practically vibrating with rage, the kid had his fists clenched so tightly, I wouldn’t be surprised to see blood on his palms. “Get the video of the senator abusing Breck and Danny, so we can get him charged as well. Then get out without being caught.”

  “Piece of cake,” Wesley said over the comms. “I’ve got blueprints with wiring diagrams, and I’ve been talking to Breck and Danny about what they remember of the house. We can discuss the specifics later, but we need to move the show up to D.C. in time for the senator’s party Saturday. Do a thorough sneak and peek while Ben Waters plays nice. Maybe one of us can get in earlier somehow.”

  “Yes,” Carson agreed. “And I’ll reach out to some of my contacts, see if they can help with anything.”

  “I’ll try to find out who does his close protection up there. These guys were nobodies. Local tough guys. If he has the same level in D.C., I’d be thrilled. But for all we know, he’s got G4S guys surrounding him day and night.”

  “Seems like overkill,” Leo said. “You really think he’d go to that trouble?”

  I shrugged. Guys hired close protection—bodyguards—for different reasons. Some because of legitimate threat of danger to them or their families. Some guys did it for ego and appearances. Those guys tended to hire way more than they needed. G4S was the biggest of the big in the government world. I wouldn’t put it past Harlan to have them around his house in slickers with the company logo on it.