When Fates Align

by Isabelle Richards

  The wind picks up, and I shove my hands into my pockets. “I heard it was a confirmation party or something?”

  “Yeah, as much as the families would prefer there not be any crossover, over the years, there’re been a few cross-crew marriages. It’s actually been better for business and relations than most people would have thought. Several of the kids making their confirmation had grandparents in two families, so when that building went up in flames, a lot of important people went with it. The families have been going nuts trying to figure out who was behind it. Since Lorenzo didn’t tell anyone, I don’t think anyone would have ever pieced it together.”

  “Al knew. I’m surprised it never crossed his mind.”

  “Big Al died in the fire.”

  Rubbing my forehead, I sigh. “I’m so sorry. I really liked Al.”

  He puts his hand on my shoulder. “Not your fault.”

  “Isn’t it though?” Not wanting to be comforted, I step away, knocking his hand away. “So when you go back and tell them, what will they do?”

  He pushes out a frustrated sigh. “I know my family will want to go after them, but I’ll stop them. We lost too much in that fire to go to war. Lorenzo’s goal was to get us out of the life altogether. If we try to make a move, we’ll all end up dead or in jail, and that disrespects his whole life’s work. When I go to the other families, I can assure you they’ll go for blood.”

  “Can I ask your advice on something?” I need another perspective, and Gio may be the only person on the face of the earth I can talk to about this. I tell him everything we’ve done so far and my discomfort about moving forward.

  He’s quiet for a moment. The look on his face reminds me of his uncle before he would tell me I’m crazy. “I understand where you’re coming from. That’s why Lorenzo wanted us out. There used to be a code, an ethic to this life, but it’s a different world today. The respect for human life has diminished, and as a result, the death toll is just too great.”

  I snort. “The mob used to have respect for human life? I’m having trouble buying that. You must be drunker than I thought.”

  “I’m serious. Mafias were established out of a need for order, when the government was too corrupt or too weak to keep people safe. Yes, they made an enterprise of it and had no problem snuffing out anyone who got in the way, but they were always there to protect the community.” He waves as though he’s clearing the air. “We can have a history lesson another time. You need a solution now. Let me think.” He taps the dimple on his chin. “They’ve got the Feds in their pocket right?”

  “Yeah,” I say, rolling my eyes. “My FBI friend said the only way I’ll be able to get the Feds to act is if they’re caught with a shitload of smack and the press is there.”

  Gio looks as though a light bulb just went off. “So get them caught with a shitload of smack in front of the press.”

  “Even if I could pull that off—which I can’t, but let’s pretend I could—I still wouldn’t have a way to get the kid back. If they go to jail, they have no reason to tell me where that little boy is, and I’ve got no leverage. The FBI won’t do anything—the boy’s been all but erased from the records. And what about the other hostages? If I get one or two of them put in jail, they’ll still have others to carry on the work.”

  “Hmmm.” He clucks his tongue as he thinks, which I find completely distracting. He claps and jumps a little. “I’ve got it! I’ve got the solution to your Fed problem and your leverage problem.” He looks at his watch. “Give me a day to make some calls, but I think I have a way to bring them down, get that kid back, and rescue those hostages”

  I peer at him through narrowed eyes. “Care to elaborate?”

  He walks back toward the house. “Not yet. I don’t want to get your hopes up. This idea is completely off the wall, and there’s a good chance it won’t pan out. Too many moving pieces that really distrust each other. But if it does, it’s genius. Like people will be talking about it for years genius. No one will ever see it coming.”

  “Just like your uncle with all the secrets and theatrics,” I say as he opens the door for me then follows me inside. “Can’t you give me a hint?”

  He shakes his head and moves toward the front door. “Nope. Just be patient. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  I cross my arms and pout. “Fine.”

  When we get to the door, he kisses my cheek then pulls me in for a hug. “Thank you for being so kind to my uncle.”

  “Thank you. I miss him.”

  He pulls away. “I know. But now you have me.” He looks at his watch again. “And I’m late. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  I close the door behind him. “You can come out now.” I don’t hear a sound, so I say, “I know you’re here, so let’s stop pretending, shall we?”

  Max and Peter come out from their “hiding spots.”

  I turn in a circle for them. “See, I’m in one piece and perfectly safe. You can report back that I’m fine.” I turn away. “Now who’s hungry? I know where Hazel keeps the secret stash of chocolate chip cookies from Ben’s, and I’ll share if you promise to never spy on me again.”

  I hear two sets of footsteps chasing me.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Gavin

  “Why are you catering to this woman?” Isla shouts as she paces. “Our focus needs to be on what steps to take to get those people out and bring down the cartel. That’s going to be messy—there’s no way around it. Yes, it’s sad children have died and that that little boy she wants will die, but hundreds of thousands have already died. Hundreds of thousands more will die. How many boys are sucked into the cartel because it’s the only work they can find after the cartels kill off all the businesses?”

  “No one’s pandering to anyone,” Nigel snaps. “We’re just as committed to the mission as we’ve always been. But I’m not going on a suicide mission either. We need to be smart. You of all people should know if we storm in there, everyone dies.” He points at the door. “You complain that Lily’s too emotional to be a part of this? Well, I’m starting to wonder about you as well. I know how desperately you want to free the hostages, but we need a solid plan first.”

  Nigel, Isla, and I have spent the last two days trying to devise a new strategy, but we’ve gotten nowhere, and the longer we go without a plan, the more cantankerous Isla becomes. Midway through an argument about funding the Oaxaca cartel to do the work for us, Lily knocks on the door.

  “The guard just called,” she says. “Gio’s at the gate. I’d really like for you to meet him.”

  “Right. I’ll be there.” I look at Nigel. “Maybe you’ll have better luck without me.”

  He grimaces. “Why don’t I come with you? If you’re talking plans and all…”

  Nice try, mate. You hired her; you’re stuck with her. “Best if you didn’t, mate. He’s a private person. And if his plan is rubbish, I’d rather not waste your time.”

  Lily takes my hand as we walk to the door. When she sees Gio at the front door with Mason, she skips ahead and gives him a hug. “I’ll never get used to the doppelganger thing.”

  I have no idea what she’s talking about, but I don’t ask.

  When she pulls away, she says, “And this is Gavin.”

  I hold out my hand. “Welcome. It’s good of you to come back.” I motion toward the library. “Shall we meet in there?”

  Lily wrinkles her nose. “Is there a fire going already?”

  “Started it over an hour ago,” Mason chimes in. “I’ll bring in some tea as well.”

  I gesture down the hall. “Right this way.”

  “What’s the difference between the library and the study?” Lily asks. “They both have tons of books.”

  “Easy. The study is to the right and the library is to the left,” I chide.

  She rolls her eyes. “Rich people.”

  As Gio walks into the library, he says, “I think I have a very interesting proposal for you and Lily to consider.”

  “
I’m anxious to hear it,” Lily replies as she walks to the sofa. “You’ve kept me on pins and needles all night.”

  Before sitting in one of the high-backed chairs, Gio pulls a manila envelope from his pocket and hands it to Lily. “I completely forgot to give this to you yesterday. Lorenzo left this for you.”

  She looks at the envelope as though she’s not sure what to do with it. “Do you know what’s in here?”

  He shakes his head. “Sorry. As I said, he never went into detail about the nature of your relationship, just that you were someone he cared deeply for.”

  She runs her finger along the flap, as though she can’t decide if she wants to open it or not, then puts it beside her on the sofa. “I’ll open it later.”

  Mason walks in with a tray of tea, nosh, and bottled water. “For you, sir?” he asks Gio.

  “Just water, thanks,” Gio says, picking a bottle from the tray and placing it on the table in front of him When Mason leaves, he continues. “So as I mentioned, I think I have a potential solution for you, but it’s a little unorthodox.”

  “Well, it can’t be worse than what we’re already doing,” Lily says in a somber tone.

  I give her hand a slight squeeze of reassurance.

  “I made a few phone calls back home, relaying that Morelia was most likely responsible for the fire that killed Lorenzo and others. As expected, there was great interest in this information. Many people in several different families are interested in supporting your cause.”

  “And what would that support look like?” I ask.

  “Yesterday, Lily said something along the lines of the only way the FBI would do anything is if Morelia was caught red-handed with some heavy weight, but she couldn’t figure out how to do that and still get the child back. So I had an idea. We could have a third party place an order, probably heroin over coke, or possibly both to increase the weight. You then hijack the shipment and hold it hostage in exchange for the kid. As soon as they drive away, the FBI swoops in and takes them down. You have the kid. The FBI makes their arrest. Everyone wins.”

  I take a sip of water while I let his plan resonate. It’s a bit gimmicky, but presuming all the moving pieces fell into place, it could work. “Would you mind if I brought a few people into this meeting? I have a few partners in this—”

  “I told him all about Nigel and the crew yesterday,” Lily says.

  Gio smiles. “By all means. If there’s any hope of this working, we all need to be on the same page.”

  I pull my mobile out of my pocket and text Nigel and Max.

  Lily laughs. “Are you sure you’re a Grimaldi? Your uncle was all about secrecy and separation of powers. Never let the left hand know what the right hand is doing.”

  “That was the old way,” Gio replies. “And necessary in many situations. However, I’m not concerned about any of you flipping and turning state’s evidence, so the better communication, the better.”

  Nigel and Max trickle in.

  After introductions and a recap, Max asks, “Why would your partners be interested in this approach? I would have thought they’d prefer to execute their own justice rather than use the authorities.”

  Gio nods as he takes a quick sip of water. “While that’s typically true, a cartel is a difficult enemy to fight. An attack on them takes time and resources. The risk just hasn’t been worth the reward. Once they’re in the prison system however, well, there’s nowhere to hide. Justice will be served.”

  I look at Lily and worry she’ll hear that and shut down this plan, but her attention is focused on the envelope.

  “Why would Rafa’s guys take your call?” Lily asks.

  Perhaps she’s paying closer attention than I thought.

  “Rafa killed Lorenzo,” she adds. “If he suddenly gets a call from New York, don’t you think he’d be a bit suspicious? Are you already customers of his?”

  Max puts up his hand. “High-five, Lil. I didn’t even think of that.”

  Gio clucks his tongue. “I did consider that. None of my collaborators have a direct relationship with Morelia, nor with the buyer, which is why this plan is perfect. They’ll never see it coming.”

  I furrow my brow. “Who’s the buyer?”

  Gio takes a deep breath and holds up his hand. “Now hear me out.”

  Max groans. “Nothing good ever starts that way.”

  Nigel punches Max in the gut. “Let the man speak. It’s clear he put time, effort, and energy into this. Don’t be such a tosser.”

  “D’ante Williams,” Gio says.

  Max laughs. “No, really. Who’s the buyer?”

  Lily looks at Max then back at Gio. “Who’s D’ante Williams?”

  “The fucking leader of the Trip Twos,” Max says between laughs. He points at Gio. “You, a Wop, are going to get D’ante-fucking-Williams to buy a shitload of smack for you? Are you high? The Trip Twos are the most anti-anything-but-black group out there. He’d sooner shoot you than take your call.” He throws up his hand. “This plan is fucked.”

  Lily looks positively lost. “What are the Trip Twos? Someone clue me in here!”

  I lean toward her so she can hear me over Max’s laughter. “They’re one of the largest African American gangs in the US. I’m not certain, but I think the name came from a postal code or something.”

  She squeezes my leg. “Zip code, Oxford. We call it a zip code. But I have to agree with Max. There’s no way in hell I’m working with a gang. This is asinine.”

  “Do you have a connection with Williams?” Nigel asks. He looks calm and focused, but I can tell he’s losing interest. Gio has less than a minute to turn this meeting around.

  “D’ante was my cellmate for five years.”

  Max stops laughing.

  Gio smiles. “Got your attention now?”

  Max motions for him to continue.

  “D’ante and I had each other’s backs when we were inside. It wasn’t public, you know. The joint is not the place for cultural unification if you catch my drift. So we kept with our own but always had an ear to the ground to protect each other. Saved each other’s lives more times than I can count. Over the years, we’ve stayed tight.”

  “Why would he want to involve himself in this?” Nigel asks. “That’s a big favor for a friend.”

  Gio shifts in his seat. “D’ante doesn’t talk over the phone, so we haven’t discussed it specifically, but when I told him it was for my uncle, he said he’d take a meeting. He and my uncle got close over the years too.”

  “A meeting?” Max asks.

  “Yes. He’d like to meet you two,” he says, pointing at Lily and me.

  “No fucking way!” Max says.

  I hold up my hand to stop Max. “Let’s talk about the rest of the plan before we get too caught up in who’s meeting whom.” I face Nigel. “Can we pull this off?”

  He nods. “Easily. We’ve been watching Morelia so closely, we know exactly how their delivery process goes. In fact, we’ve already been planning a heist.” He glances at Lily. “If we plan a big enough buy, they’d probably take some of their stronger guys off of the hostage site, which would give us a window to send in a team and free the hostages. This plan has potential.”

  Max rubs the back of his neck. “I’m still not sure. Morelia has a voodoo curse on the FBI. Their name is mentioned, and everything shuts down.” He snaps his fingers.

  “I think I can help there as well,” Gio adds. “My partners have an extended network of people on their payroll in the government. They firmly believe whoever Morelia has under their thumb, they have better and higher up. They’re willing to put the full weight of anyone at their disposal on this case. It’s not often my partners ask these people to do their jobs rather than look the other way. They suspect it will be well received.”

  “A big bust looks good for everyone,” Max says. “If you can throw some more support at it, maybe it’ll stick. It’s worth a try. But I still don’t like this D’ante Williams thing. Not one bit.”r />
  “Hold up,” Lily says. “One more question. Say this all pans out. Rafa falls for it and brings me the kid to exchange for the drugs, then the FBI busts in. Only Rafa goes down. The cartel will just replace him the second he’s arrested.”

  Gio starts to talk, but Nigel interrupts him. “That’s why this is a clever plan. The drugs would come across in a number of trucks with two men in each truck. When we take the trucks, we hold the drivers. The bigger the buy, the more trucks they’ll send, and the more men we can capture. For Rafa to come get the drugs, he’ll bring a whole crew of bodyguards, I’d say five at least. And he’ll bring his better guys. So when it all goes down, we’ll probably get close to twenty guys. Their ranks are already incredibly thinned. If they lose twenty of their top guys, they won’t have to wherewithal to survive. Especially with Oaxaca breathing down their throats. Oaxaca will swoop in and take over the territory. The end.”

  “Systematic destruction,” Lily says.

  “Low casualty risk,” Max says.

  Nigel clears his throat. “If Gio can get the buyer, this plan could work. Even if the FBI isn’t interested in the arrest, we’d at least get the boy back and have a good shot at the hostages. If something backfires, the plan just falls apart. There’re very few ways this could blow back on anyone. Extremely low risk.” He looks at Lily. “What do you think?”

  I take her hand. “I think we need some time to think about this. Gio, can we get back to you tomorrow regarding the meeting with D’ante?”

  “Yes, but don’t wait too long. D’ante isn’t a patient man.” He looks at his watch. “I should be going anyway.”

  I stand and walk him to the door. “Thank you. This isn’t your fight. You didn’t have to go to such lengths to help us.”

  “They killed my uncle. This is very much my fight,” he says before leaving.

  By the time I get back to the library, Em has captured Lily, promising to keep her busy for the rest of the day by binge-watching something on Netflix. I spend the day with Nigel and Max, putting together schematics and probability scenarios for this plan and consulting with Greene and Sully. For once, Isla is on board with this program and can get Interpol support.