by JC Kane
“That’s not how I operate.”
“And the first shipment I need on credit. I’ll pay you after we sell it. Right now I need to spend a lot of money preparing for this war of yours I have to fight.”
Severo shook his head. “Let’s see how things go. We could be dead by the end of the week. If that’s the case, this whole plan means nothing. I’ll give you a one-time discount if we’re both alive at the end of the month. Does that work for you?”
Green smiled and nodded and Severo left the clubhouse with his security guards.
Chapter 33
Jesus walked into the stash house towards a back bedroom. He opened a closet, pushed the hangers all the way to the left, rotated the metal bracket and pushed the screw in. A hidden trap door in the back of the closet opened up and revealed a metal storage area.
Jesus looked on the different shelves and ran his hand across them but didn’t find anything. It should’ve been filled with cash. It was one of a dozen stash houses Lee and Jesus used to hide their money. Drug trafficking was a cash business. They laundered as much as they could but they could only launder so much without drawing unwanted attention. They had to hide the rest until they could use it.
Jesus needed lots of money. He had to get eighteen million dollars to Francisco tomorrow and, personally, he didn’t have that kind of money. He could put together a couple million but that was far short of $18 million.
Jesus was furious. This house should have been filled with cash, four million dollars exactly. They always followed a strict process and once the money was consolidated, counted, and wrapped into bundles, it was distributed to different people and different locations for future use. This particular location was used to hold four million dollars. Something wasn’t right.
This was the second stash house that Jesus went to that was empty. Jesus was starting to panic. If he couldn’t get the money by tomorrow, it could be a major problem. Francisco and El Cazador were expecting full payment for the first full delivery. The relationship with Sinaloa was moving fast but things were falling apart within the organization. Lee was in jail. The stash houses were empty. An eighteen million dollar payment was due and Lee barely had two million dollars.
Jesus took out his phone and called Bruce. It went straight to voicemail. “Bruce, It’s Jesus. I need to talk to you as soon as possible. Call me. It’s urgent.”
Chapter 34
Green pulled up to the Oceanic Bakery on Clay Street on a very loud motorcycle. He parked next to a black SUV and stepped off his motorcycle.
Francisco Carbajal stepped out of the SUV and shook hands with Green. “You wanted to see me?” Francisco said.
“Yes,” Green said. “I guess you had a little problem with Severo Moreno, huh?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Come on,” Green said. “Give me some credit. This is my town, Francisco. I know when things happen, usually before they even happen. Not in this case, of course, but usually.”
“Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?”
“It’s part of it,” Green said. “Is there any specific reason why you want him dead? I think maybe there’s more to the story that I don’t know.”
“Why I do what I do is not really your business now, is it?”
“Do you know that Lee Giordano is locked up in jail? He was arrested with one hundred kilos of cocaine. You know anything about that?”
Francisco didn’t know. He tried to hide his surprise, but he didn’t do a very good job of it. His eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped just a little bit. “Lee Giordano is in jail?”
“So, you didn’t know?”
“What happened? How did he end up in jail?”
“Not really your business now, is it?” Green smiled.
Francisco nodded.
“Do you want to talk now?” Green asked. “Why did you try to kill Severo? He’s not dead, by the way, if you didn’t know that.”
Francisco turned around, away from Green. He didn’t want to tell Green what was going on, but he didn’t have much choice. It was time to talk. “Lee and I have made a business arrangement. Severo is not part of that arrangement. In fact, he’s an obstacle that must be removed if our arrangement is to succeed. Understand what I’m saying? It’s that simple. Now, how did Lee end up in jail?”
“I get it,” Green said. “You’re the new guy in town and you want everyone to know it.”
“I wouldn’t put it like that.”
“Does Severo have to be eliminated? You don’t think there’s enough business for the both of you?”
“I do business different than you. We have different styles. This is how I do business. No offense, but It’s much better than the way you do business. I won’t try to explain it to you because you probably wouldn’t understand it.” Francisco smirked at Green. “Now, what about Lee?”
“Lee got busted at the airport with 100 kilos of cocaine. I don’t know where he got the drugs. I don’t know how the police knew. I don’t know how he’s going to get out of jail. But, I know that whatever deal he had with you, you can forget about it.”
“I just talked to Jesus and he didn’t say anything about this. Everything is on track and moving forward, according to him.”
“Did he give you any money?” Green asked.
“Why do you ask that?”
“Because Jesus doesn’t have any money. Well, he doesn’t have the kind of money you guys are dealing with. Jesus can’t run anything without Lee. If you haven’t noticed, he’s not really cut out for management. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“So, why did you want to talk to me? There must be something you want.”
“There is,” Green said. “I’m going to do you a favor. I’ll step in and take over for Lee. Bruce is retired. Lee’s in jail. Jesus is broke, but I have lots of money. Let’s make a deal, as the saying goes.”
“I don’t know you well enough for that. It seems a little strange that Lee is in jail and now you’re here trying to make a deal with me.”
Green laughed. “How can I trust you? That’s what I’m wondering. You just tried to kill my old business partner and here I am asking to do business with you.”
“Why don’t you continue doing business with Severo? Why do you need me?”
“You can supply things that Severo can’t. But, Severo is going to work for me. You can’t kill him. That’s part of the deal.”
“He’ll work for you doing what?”
“A little bit of this. A little bit of that. What Severo does for me will have no impact on our relationship. Whatever Lee was willing to buy from you, that’s what I’ll take. I’m ready to expand and grow and I know I can do a better job than Lee ever did.”
“You think you and the people in your motorcycle gang can handle something this big?” Francisco asked.
“First of all, don’t call it a gang, it’s a motorcycle club. Second, we’ve been running the day to day operations for a long time and I’ve lived in San Jose my entire life. Everyone in this town knows me, and they either respect me or fear me. So, I have no doubt that we can handle this. In fact, things will be a lot better with me in charge.”
“What inspired this change all of a sudden? I thought you were retired with Bruce.” Francisco asked.
“You were right,” Green said. “Retirement is overrated. The only constant in life is change and there have been a lot of changes recently. Me and my crew have a good thing going on. Our process is rock solid. And, honestly, my guys want the money to keep coming in, so if you’re good with it, let’s keep it going.”
Francisco nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.” He put out his hand and shook hands with Green. “I have to tell you, I’m glad we’re not going to war. It’s bad for business.”
“I actually like the violence. The business stuff really bores me. Sometimes, I actually want someone to piss me off just so I can release all the pent-up energy. I like war, even if it is bad for business.”
“What about Jesus? He’s not going to like this. In fact, he’s supposed to bring me a lot of money tomorrow.”
Green scratched his chin. “I expect Jesus will be calling me very soon. I don’t know how much money Jesus is supposed to bring you, but I wouldn’t spend that money just yet.”
“Okay, put your number in my phone so I can reach you.” Francisco offered his phone to Green.
“No, we’re not there yet. Meet me here on Wednesday, same time, and we’ll talk details and I’ll give you a whole lot of money.”
Chapter 35
The correctional officer closed the door to Interview Room Four at the Santa Clara County Jail and Bruce sat down across from Lee.
“So, what’d you find out?” Lee asked.
“I talked to Dan Dover,” Bruce said, “and he said he couldn’t represent you.”
“That’s exactly why I wanted you to represent me. I can rely on you. I can’t rely on another attorney. You’re my lawyer. I don’t give a shit about Dan Dover. You can handle this better than anyone. I trust you.”
Bruce took a deep breath and tapped on the table. “Green made a deal with Severo and he’s taking over the business.”
“He’s taking over who’s business? He’s not taking over my business. I know he’s not selling to my people. Who’s business is he taking over?”
“He’s buying the supply from Severo going forward. He’s stepping in, picking up the pieces and keeping the business going.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Lee asked. “I made a deal with the fucking Sinaloa cartel. They will crush Green and Severo and anyone else that gets in the way. You’re letting that idiot take over the business? You understand that he’s going to be working with my people? Cutting into my business?”
“What business do you think you have? You’re in jail. You’re looking at hard time in prison. You told Severo to retire. If you get out of jail, by some legal miracle, the police will be all over you. You need to let this go.”
“I thought we were friends,” Lee said. “I’ve known you for fifteen years. I did everything for you. Not to mention, I went to prison for you. Now I need your help and you sell me out.”
“How did I sell you out?” Bruce asked.
“You’re putting Green in a position to take over my business while I’m locked up in here like a damn fool. A real friend would take care of my business for me while I’m out of commission. A real friend would manage the problems and make sure the money keeps flowing while I’m stuck in here.”
“I told you I was out of the business for good and I meant it. I’m not getting involved. I warned you about this exact situation. I told you if you needed help, you’d have to get it somewhere else. I don’t want to spend my life in prison. You can’t keep pulling me back into this shit.”
“I don’t want to spend my life in prison either. That’s why I’m asking for your help. What are you doing to get me out of here? Did you find out who talked to the cops? Did you file anything to get me out of here?”
“I don’t know who talked to the cops. I have some people looking for Old Goat. I’m also talking to another attorney about filing a motion to suppress based on an illegal search and seizure. Hopefully, we can get a court date for that soon.”
“You know, you seem to be taking your sweet time trying to get me out of here. Just to let you know, the cops said they might be interested in making a deal if I give them information on you?”
“They asked about me, specifically?” Bruce asked.
“They did. They seemed to be very interested in my relationship with you. I guess they saw you at one of the Two Zero Five events, too.”
“And what did you tell them?” Bruce asked.
“I told them you were my lawyer. That’s the truth. Not the whole truth, but it is a truthful statement. What do you think I would tell them?”
“They offered you a deal to talk about me?”
“In a roundabout way. They wanted me to give them somebody higher than me. They want the boss, the mastermind.”
“Well, luckily I’m not the boss. I’m just your lawyer, as you pointed out.”
“I could tell them what they want to hear and get a much lighter sentence. So, you might want to move a little faster on getting me out of this shit-hole.”
Bruce leaned in towards Lee. “Or what?”
Lee smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “Anything can happen in the criminal justice system. You never know what all those law enforcement agencies are up to.”
Bruce shook his head. “You want me to get you out of jail after you ignored my advice to shut down the business, you got caught with 100 kilos of cocaine, then you threaten to talk to the police about my involvement in the business? You really need to learn a thing or two about the power of persuasion.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Lee said. “I didn’t know I had to persuade you to work on my behalf. I thought that’s what friends did. They helped each other when they needed it. I didn’t think I’d have to beg you to help me with a legal problem.”
“There are limits to loyalty. A friend can stop being a friend without even realizing it. They ask you to do things you don’t want to do. They don’t consider what’s in your best interest. They don’t care about their friend’s dreams and desires. And they don’t care about negative consequences.”
Lee nodded. “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean.”
Bruce walked around the table and stood over Lee. “Well, I guess I better get to work on my friend’s case.”
Chapter 36
Detective Hatchett and District Attorney Mark Umbers walked into Interview Room Four at Santa Clara County Jail. Lee Giordano was sitting at the table, waiting.
“You wanted to talk to us?” Detective Hatchett asked.
“I did. I think it’s time to make a deal. What can you offer me?”
“What can you offer us?” Detective Hatchett asked.
“I can give you exactly what you want.”
“What’s that?”
“My supplier. The guy at the top of the food chain.” Lee raised his arms for dramatic effect.
“Are you saying you’re not the guy at the top of the food chain?” Detective Hatchett asked.
Lee laughed. “Not even close.”
“Okay,” Detective Hatchett said. “Who is it?”
“I guess that brings us back to my original question, what can you offer me?”
“At this point, it really doesn’t make sense to make a deal with you. It’s too little, too late. Anything you could offer us would be of very little value.”
Lee looked at Mark Umbers. “What if I told you that a fellow member of the California State Bar is responsible for bringing eighty percent of the drugs into the entire San Francisco Bay Area. He is the guy in Northern California.”
“Are you talking about Bruce Kennedy?” Hatchett asked. “You said he was just your attorney when we asked you about him before.”
“If I give him up, he’ll kill me. I’m a dead man. There will be so many people out to get me that it would be a matter of days before I end up dead, especially in jail. This is the easiest place for him to get to me.”
“If that’s true, why do you want to talk now?” Mark asked.
“Well, I don’t want to go to prison for the rest of my life and there’s a good chance he’ll kill me even if I keep my mouth shut. If you can get me out of here, if you can drop these charges against me, I might have a small chance of surviving.”
“What exactly do you know about Bruce Kennedy?” Hatchett asked.
“Bruce Kennedy is the person who runs the whole operation,” Lee said. “He runs everything and he uses the Two Zero Five motorcycle club to handle the day to day operations - buy, sell, move drugs, move money, everything.”
“And what’s your role in the operation?”
“I worked for Bruce. I was basically responsible for picking up his shipments and bringing them to the right places and the right people.
He talked to the suppliers in Mexico, he made the deals, and then he told me where to go and what to do. I would take care of the transactions for him. But, it’s his operation. He manages everything. He sets up the business operations and hires the people to help launder the money. He is the mastermind behind the entire operation.”
“Why haven’t we heard anything about him before?” Detective asked.
“Because he’s good at what he does. He hides behind his status as an attorney. He can talk to anyone as an attorney and no one suspects anything. Attorney-client privilege, right? Every conversation is confidential. If a major drug smuggler shows up at his office, no big deal, he’s an attorney - that’s what attorneys do - they give advice to criminals. It doesn’t raise any red flags because it makes sense for a criminal to visit a lawyer’s office.”
“Do you have any evidence that supports your claim that he’s the boss?” Mark asked.
“I do,” Lee said. “Bruce is good at covering his tracks but I do have something that will support what I’m telling you.”
“What is it?” Hatchett asked.
“Does that mean we have a deal? I give you the evidence, you get me out of here and drop the charges.”
“You would still have to testify, but we can make a deal if the evidence supports what you’re telling us.”
Lee nodded. Was he going too far? Would it work? Was he digging his own grave? He didn’t have much choice. He felt abandoned. “Okay. You guys have my phone in evidence right now. I need you to bring it to me, but do not turn it on. Bring me the phone and I’ll show you the messages directly from Bruce Kennedy.”
Chapter 37
Bruce was in his garage working on one of his motorcycles. It was the thing that made him forget about everything else. When he worked on his motorcycles, he felt relaxed. He focused on the engine and nothing else.
As he twisted the wrench, three motorcycles pulled into the parking lot of The Firehouse. Bruce’s security guys stepped out to see who it was. It was pretty obvious from the jackets they were members of the Mad Miles Motorcycle Club. Mad Miles was a motorcycle club with chapters in most of the Western United States.
