Eli touched a finger to his bottom lip in thought. Alexis pressed her advantage. “This is why you kept it all these years—to bring them down and walk away. I’m giving you the chance, take it.”
Eli poured himself another drink. “I can see it in your eyes, you know. Your hatred of me is obvious. So, why should I trust you?”
“You have my word.”
Eli took a drink. “Your word.” He laughed to himself. “Let me tell you something about a person’s word. They’re always good—until they’re not. And in this town, everyone breaks their word. Just a matter of time. Why, even your old man broke his word. Promised to pay me and then…well, I’m sure you remember how that went.”
Alexis crossed her arms over the chest. “You son of a bitch.”
Eli’s smile broadened. “Guilty as charged. If you don’t mind though, I’ll be keeping this book of yours. Tell whoever you want, whatever you want, I doubt you’ll find anyone who’ll believe your rantings.”
“If I have to, I’ll end you without the ledger.”
Eli took another drink. “If you could’ve, you would’ve. Face it, girlie, you’ve got nothing to bargain with. You lost—accept it.”
Alexis shook her head. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Desperate people don’t scare me,” Eli said, “And you trying this tells me how desperate you are. I suggest you leave now while I’m still inclined to allow it.”
Alexis turned in a huff. She clenched her fists at her side and said, “You made the wrong choice today. I’ll make sure you regret it.”
Eli leaned his head back and chuckled. “Promises, promises.”
32
Nathan pulled the glass door open and heard the bells chime above him. Hungry and tired looking patrons packed the diner at the end of their long days.
“Take a seat anywhere, darling,” a waitress called out to him as she hurried past.
He could smell the grill—a melange of ground beef, onions, and fried butter. Walking past it, he could feel his stomach grumble. He licked his lips and tried to remember the last time he ate.
Nathan found Hugo seated at a booth in the back of the diner and slid in across from him. Hugo didn’t look up but continued to twist and tear a napkin between his fingers.
“You didn’t want to meet in your office?” Nathan asked.
Hugo glanced up and said, “You know I don’t like you coming around there.” He resumed tearing up his napkin.
Nathan reached over and lifted the laminated menu out of its holder. He made a show of browsing through the offerings while his stomach growled. Returning it, he asked, “You have something for me?”
Hugo set the mutilated napkin aside and passed a micro-drive across to Nathan. “I got into Identchip—that has King’s information on it.”
Nathan grinned. “See, now I knew you could do it.”
“Your confidence is inspiring,” Hugo said sarcastically. “It wasn’t easy you know.” He looked around to see if anyone was eavesdropping before he lowered his head, leaned in, and said, “You can’t access the Identchip network remotely. I had to hide in the fucking toilet of the lobby using a brute force algorithm on my HoloSphere to break through the firewall that’s protected by an encryption that changes every goddamn hour.”
“Did I ask? You got the job done is what counts. Anything stand out?” Nathan said.
A waitress appeared with a plate of fries and a greasy burger and set it down in front of Hugo. The smell of the food made Nathan lick his lips.
“You want something?” Hugo asked.
Nathan waved him off. “No time. Have to be somewhere tonight. What’s on the drive?”
Hugo shoved two fries in his mouth and chewed noisily. He spoke around his food. “The usual movement you’d expect, but she kept returning to the war memorial a number of times. Including right before she broke her story on your bribery ring.”
Nathan nodded. “Where she met her source.”
Biting into his burger, Hugo let the juice run down his chin and hang there in his goatee. “It appears,” he said.
Nathan reached across and stole a fry. He popped it in his mouth and said, “I need you to hack back in and check something for me. I need you to track Leo Spagnuolo’s movements.”
Hugo set the burger down on his plate and shook his head. “No way, Miller. I am not doing that again. You want to throw me in jail, you go ahead. Anything you have on me is far less than getting caught breaking into that network. By now they know someone hacked in, and they’ll be looking hard for the fool dumb enough to try it again. Count me out.”
Nathan squinted at him before he grabbed another fry and stood up. Bending over the table, he whispered close to his ear, “I’ll let it slide this time, but say no to me again—and you’ll regret it.” Rising back to his full height, Nathan peeled off two bills and dropped them on the table. “My treat for all your hard work,” he said with a faux grin. “Keep it up. I’ll expect to hear about the other thing soon.”
Nathan walked away feeling Hugo staring at his back. If he turned, he knew he would see the hatred burning in his eyes. The thought brought a smile to his lips as he left the diner to the sound of bells chiming.
Moonlight shot through the clouds and covered the land in a silver hue.
Nathan gripped the chain-link fence surrounding the perimeter and gave it a playful shake. The rattle carried on the night air. He turned and offered Quinn a grin and a wink. “Relax, Baker,” he said, “you look tense.”
Quinn followed him through a gate and asked, “What is this place?”
The ground turned to gravel as they walked further onto the lot. Their footsteps crunched in the quiet. They became surrounded by stacks of wooden pallets and open garages that housed heavy equipment. Nathan noticed the gleam of a bulldozer blade to his right and the shadow of an excavator boom over the path in front of them.
Nathan glanced back over his shoulder. “One of the Mayor’s connections.” Nathan rubbed his index and middle finger against his thumb. “Owner’s being compensated quite well for allowing us this space.”
They rounded a corner and walked in silence to the middle of the construction yard. There, Nathan greeted Logue and Austin Cain. “We on schedule?” Nathan asked Logue.
Logue lit up a cigar. The match flashed bright in the gloom of the yard before he touched it to the end and extinguished it amongst several puffs of smoke. He moved the cigar to the corner of his mouth and said, “Shipment is running on time. Like clockwork.”
Nathan turned to Quinn. “Take Austin for a stroll. We need a minute alone.”
Quinn’s eyes darted between Nathan and Logue. With a nod, he hooked a finger toward Austin and led him away.
Nathan said, “I need a warrant for Spagnuolo’s Identchip tracking.”
Logue stared at him as he would at a child. Removing the cigar, he breathed out a stream of smoke from the side of his mouth. “Why in the hell would you need that?”
Nathan leaned in. “A source came through with the likely meeting spot where King got her information. With Leo’s tracking data, I can confirm he was there—close the loop.”
Logue puffed on his cigar. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the notion. “The loop is closed. You got your turncoat—Leo confessed.”
“Not quite,” Nathan pointed out, “You finished him off before he gave up any details.”
“Not important,” Logue said around his cigar, “He was the snitch, and the matter is closed.”
“We can confirm with a simple warrant.”
“Simple?” Logue scoffed. “There’s nothing simple about an Identchip warrant. Each one needs approval of the AG, and I’m not risking involving him in this.” The roar of a truck engine reached them as headlights swept across the yard. “I’m certain it was Leo,” Logue said, “You’d better get certain. Now go grab those two clowns, we’re up.”
Nathan grumbled under his breath before
he followed the order. As he approached them, he noticed Austin had his head tilted back, looking up at the sky, and Quinn wore a confused expression. He came within earshot and overheard Austin ask, “You know anything about constellations? Can we see Orion around here?”
Nathan interrupted, “Hey, it’s show time. What the fuck is going on here?”
Quinn shrugged. He patted Nathan’s shoulder on his way past. “You keep strange company.”
Nathan grabbed Austin’s arm. “You high or something?”
Austin smirked. “What, I’m not allowed outside interests?”
Nathan shoved him forward. “Time to do your thing and take delivery of the goods. Don’t fuck it up, Galileo.”
Austin straightened the fedora on his head and said, “Have I ever?”
Nathan wrinkled his nose at the garish feather stuck in the band of his hat. He reached out and clasped Austin on the shoulder. “One other thing,” he said, “I need someone to watch the war memorial, see if King shows up there.” Austin looked at him funny. Nathan said, “If she meets someone there, I want to know about it.”
“I thought we settled this. I doubt Leo will show up there.”
Nathan said, “I’m playing a hunch. No questions—just do it.”
“All right, take it easy,” Austin relented, “I’ll post a guy to watch the memorial.”
“See that you do.” Nathan shoved him forward again. A luxury sedan pulled onto the lot and drove toward the parked truck. Air brakes hissed as the trailer lowered. Two men stepped down from the truck cab and strolled over to the sedan. Nathan caught Logue’s eye, and they followed Austin to the meet.
A tattooed, hulking man stepped out of the back of the sedan. Rings on his fingers caught the moonlight as he tightened his leather coat across his wide chest. Austin extended a hand to shake. “Welcome back to Union City, Westly.”
Westly accepted the hand in an iron grip. His eyes swept the yard and settled on the unfamiliar face among them. He thrust a finger in Quinn’s direction. “Who the fuck is this?”
“He’s clean,” Nathan answered, “He’s with me.”
Westly lifted the shades off his nose and scowled at Nathan. “I don’t know him. Why should I trust him?”
“Because I vouch for him.” Nathan crossed his arms over his chest. “You want to move your product in this city, I suggest you get on with it.”
Westly lowered his shades back into place. He squinted at Nathan. “That right? Okay, but I find out he’s not who you think he is—I’ll be coming for you.”
Nathan nodded in his direction—a silent acceptance of the terms. He knew the threat wasn’t an idle one. Westly Semple ruled a criminal empire. Not a man to be trifled with.
The group moved closer to the parked trailer. “You got my money?” Westly asked.
Austin snapped his fingers and one of his men brought forth a sleek black briefcase. Austin took it from him and passed it over to Westly. He didn’t open it to check inside. Nathan knew, as Westly did, no one would try to cheat him.
Westly gave the signal and the truck drivers broke the seal and opened the trailer doors. Plastic wrapped pallets filled the interior of the dimly lit trailer. Westly said, “Your merch is wrapped in the middle four pallets—pure Columbian powder.”
Austin smiled. “Nothing but the best from you, as always.”
Logue stepped forward and chewed on his cigar. “Now that we’re all cordial, time to pay the toll.”
Westly indicated to one driver and a blue metal briefcase appeared. Logue accepted it with a grin. “Always a pleasure,” he said, “We’ll leave you to your business.”
Logue gestured to Nathan. Together with Quinn, they strolled away from the truck and headed for the gate. Once around a corner, and out of sight, Logue flipped open the clasps on the briefcase. His eyes twinkled as he looked inside. “Payday,” he whispered.
Nathan smiled along with him. Logue set the briefcase down on a crate and removed a plastic wrapped package. It looked like two bricks stacked on top of each other, only it was made of hundred dollar bills. He retrieved another package and tapped them together. Sniffing the money, he tossed one to each of them. “Don’t spend it all in one place, boys.” He slammed the briefcase shut and carried it to his car.
Nathan snatched the duffel bag Logue left behind and stuffed his cash inside. “Welcome to the club, Baker.” He held the bag open to Quinn. “Put your loot in here.”
“How much—how much money is here?”
Nathan laughed at the stunned look on his face. He reached out and took the brick from him, placing it in the duffel bag. Clapping him on the shoulder he said, “More money than you’ve ever seen and just the tip of the iceberg.” He leaned in and whispered in his ear, “Deliveries happen every three months.”
Nathan hefted the bag onto his shoulder and strolled out of the yard. “You’re living the sweet life now.”
33
The setting sun cast long shadows around the War Memorial. Alexis sat on a bench and waited for Quinn to show. She wrung her hands together in nervous anticipation.
Over by the tree line, she noticed him step into view and walk towards her. With a deep, steadying breath, she rose from the bench. They met on the slope of the hill, twenty yards from the memorial.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” Alexis said, “I mean, after what you said at our last meeting.”
Quinn lowered his head. He cupped his hands over his mouth and blew warm air into them. Behind him and to his right, the encroaching night swallowed the last rays of sunlight. “Your message sounded urgent.”
She paced in front of him as she organized her thoughts. “I went to see Wurth,” she admitted.
Quinn’s eyes widened. “I warned you against that.”
“I was angry,” Alexis said, “You were right about someone betraying me. My assistant gave Leo’s name to Cain to erase her gambling debts. Everything I worked for crashed down on me. I lost my head. I tried to leverage Wurth into turning on them.”
A sad look came into Quinn’s eyes. “He didn’t roll, right?” Alexis shook her head. Quinn sighed. “What did you offer him?”
“Immunity,” Alexis said, “I offered to keep him out of it if he gave up Mickey’s second ledger. He laughed me out of there.”
Quinn turned away and scanned the darkening horizon. He turned back and said, “Does he know about me?”
Shocked by the question, Alexis answered, “Of course not. I made no mention of you.”
Quinn declared. “Then he still believes the traitor is dead.” He popped the collar up on his coat and said, “Why the urgency in your message?”
Alexis kicked her feet against the ground and looked away. In a hushed whisper, she said, “You should leave Union City. Run now, while you can.”
Quinn blinked. She could see his mind churning in the expressions on his face. He’s putting it together.
“If you said nothing about me to Wurth, then there’s only one reason you’d want me to run.” Quinn stepped closer to her. “Your assistant. Does she have my name?”
“No. I mean, I don’t think so.”
“Well, which is it?” Quinn asked, “No, or you don’t think so?”
Alexis heard the accusation in his tone. She squared her shoulders and defended her actions. “I never told her your name. I never wrote it down anywhere. I went to great lengths to keep you anonymous.”
“Then why the urgency?”
Alexis answered, “She’s a hacker. I can’t say for one hundred percent sure she didn’t discover your identity another way. After Leo…” She trailed off a moment, her words caught in her throat. She continued, “After what happened to Leo, I don’t want you in harm’s way any longer. Leave now, before it’s too late.”
Quinn’s features softened. “It’s already too late,” he said, “A shipment of drugs arrived last night. I was there. I took part.” He grew silent a moment. “I have the illicit
cash at home to prove it. I came here because I want you to use it against them.”
Alexis shook her head. “No. They’ll know you talked.”
“I don’t care,” Quinn said, “You mentioned what happened to Leo. What happened was I let him die for my sins.”
“You didn’t kill him.”
Quinn walked a few steps away from her. “I didn’t save him either. And I did kill Jax Odom. Right after I helped Miller bust him out of custody. He wanted him dead so he couldn’t talk. I’ll testify to it. No more trying to find another way. Miller wanted to corrupt me from day one. He wanted nothing more than to drag me down into his filth.”
Quinn stared at her. “Well, he succeeded. I’ve been complicit in a jailbreak, committed murder, watched a man tortured to death, and saw them allow free passage of drugs onto our streets for money. No more. It’s time to bring them down. It’s time for me to bring them down.”
“Quinn, if you do this you’ll lose everything.” Alexis stepped toward him. “They’ll try to hang the whole criminal enterprise around your neck. The money alone will only prove your guilt. Doing this means testifying before the Attorney General—it means spending the rest of your life in witness security. You need to be sure before you go down this road. You can still walk away.”
Quinn set his jaw. “No,” he said, “No more running. I know what it means. I have to do this. Contact the AG, set up a meet. Let me know the when and where.”
Alexis thought about trying again to change his mind, but he turned and left before another word could be spoken.
Quinn noticed the van parked three spaces from his car. His eyes darted around the parking lot for anything out of place. He saw nothing, but still slowed his pace.
Something in the quiet set his nerves on edge. Who drove the van here? Where are they? His hand moved closer to his holster, and he stared harder into the darkness. Pine branches clacked together in a gust of wind. A dog barked in the distance. Quinn looked at the van again. Someone walking a dog maybe?
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