Mob Lawyer 5: A Legal Thriller

by Dave Daren

  Apparently, I was already on the docket since my bodyguard had called in the order for what I needed. I listened to the list of security measures that would be installed and tried to think of anything that could be missing, but Hank had included everything from video cameras outside to sensors on every opening in the house.

  I started to look for my passport as soon as I was off the phone. I was pretty sure that I’d seen it when I had organized the office, and was thrilled when I found it in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet. I’d included a few hundred-dollar bills that were tucked between the pages of an old date book as well as Anthony’s number just in case I found myself stranded without my cell phone.

  My to-go bag had been tossed into the top of my closet, but it was easily accessible, and soon I had laid out two suits and a few polos that I would take with me. I wasn’t sure how long I would be there, but I figured I could always buy more clothes if I needed them.

  My phone rang as I stood staring at my slacks, wondering if I should take the black or the khaki, and I tugged it free from my pocket without looking at it.

  “Hello?” I asked as I pressed it to my ear.

  “Did you forget to call me?” Anthony asked in a teasing tone.

  “Shit,” I muttered. “I did. I was distracted with preparations.”

  “Preparations for what?” the young Febbo asked.

  I took a step out of my closet and walked back toward the kitchen for a glass of water. I’d worked up a sweat as I tried to unearth everything that I would need for an out of country trip, and now my mouth was dry. I downed the drink and then took in a breath as I sorted through what to tell my employer first.

  “I’m going to Andorra,” I responded.

  “Why?” the mafioso asked, and I could almost picture his thick eyebrows raised in confusion.

  “Because the FBI says they can’t serve the subpoena over there,” I said. “They can get it for me, but they don’t do anything out of the country, and the CIA won’t help us.”

  “So you’re going to do it?” my employer muttered.

  I knew him well enough to recognize his impressed voice, and I was glad that he didn’t sound like he was going to try to talk me out of it.

  “I am,” I said. “Jovanni’s nephew will be here any minute for his interview. He can take care of all of the paperwork while I’m gone, and he can postpone the cases I have this week and next week. I shouldn’t be gone longer than that. And Hank already has someone coming over to install a security system for me.”

  “It sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” Anthony laughed.

  “I want to do this the legal way,” I said with a shrug. “Besides, we already filed the case here, and we’ve got the FBI on board. I think I can use that to leverage the authorities over there if I need backup with the subpoena.”

  “That’s pretty impressive, Hunter,” my employer said. “I didn’t think you’d go so far.”

  “What can I say?” I laughed. “I’m like a dog with a bone.”

  “Yes, yes you are,” the mafioso said. “Alright, but I want updates daily.”

  “You got it,” I said as the doorbell rang. “I think Tom’s here. I’ll text you my flight information as soon as I’ve booked it.”

  I hung up as I strolled toward the front door.

  The young man on the other side of the door was nothing like what I expected. He had on a clean pair of dark wash blue jeans, a baby pink button-up, and his curly black hair was pulled back into a bun that showed his edged undercut.

  “Tommaso?” I asked.

  “Yes, sir,” the early twenty something said as he offered his hand. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mr. Morgan.”

  His smile was bright and happy, and his dark brown eyes shined with enthusiasm as I shook his hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, as well,” I said while I invited him inside. “I understand that you just graduated with your Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice?”

  “Yes, sir,” Tom answered. “I have my resume here if you need it.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I led him to the office.

  I motioned for him to take a seat and then took my own. I perused the piece of paper he handed me and was impressed to see how many extra-curricular activities he managed to be in while he kept an almost perfect GPA. I noted that he’d worked at a few criminal law firms over summer breaks, and wondered if it was his family connections that kept him from getting the job.

  “You seem like a busy man,” I said as I set the resume on the desk. “Why do you think that you didn’t receive any offers anywhere?”

  “It’s been a little difficult in the recent years,” the young Italian man hedged. “The family is very supportive, but sometimes the outside community isn’t.”

  “I understand,” I said. “What was your favorite subject for your degree?

  “Statutes of limitations,” the capo’s nephew responded.

  “Really?” I said with a lifted eyebrow.

  “It’s always good to know how long the government can wait to bring charges or have to toss the case,” Tommaso said with a shrug.

  I wondered how many crimes that he’d been involved with, but decided not to ask. I knew who his uncle was, and both Jovanni and Anthony had seen the kid fight, so I could guess that he’d been part of a few collections visits. I was impressed that he didn’t go into detail about what he’d done. I needed someone who could keep their mouth shut, and the kid obviously knew how to do that. Still, I wanted to test him to make sure that he wouldn’t brag if he helped me with a more notorious case.

  “I assume you’ve worked with your uncle before,” I started. “What was your favorite job for him?”

  The young man narrowed his eyes as his smile slipped from his face. He studied me for a second and then broke into a wide grin as he shook his head.

  “Sorry, Mr. Morgan, but I don’t talk about work with people that weren’t there,” Tom said.

  It was a good answer, I had to admit that. I tapped my fingers on the desk for a moment as I debated whether Tom was really what I needed. I liked the kid’s resume, and he was known to the Febbo family so it wouldn’t be an issue if he saw the cases that I worked on a regular basis. I decided I could give him a shot while I was out of the country, which would probably be a trial by fire type of thing, but I honestly didn’t think I would find anyone better.

  “The job is yours,” I said as I rose from my chair to shake his hand. “On a trial basis. I have to go out of the country for some business, and I’ll be leaving tonight or tomorrow. You’ll need to sort through my files, postpone any cases that I was supposed to present this week, and help me with any more that come in.”

  “Yes, sir,” the young man said as he shook my hand with both of his. “I won’t disappoint you. I brought my laptop, just in case. My uncle said you would probably need help right away.”

  “He wasn’t wrong,” I said.

  I couldn’t decide if I was irritated or grateful for Jovanni’s interference, but I leaned toward the latter as I realized how much I had to do. I helped Tom set up an email that would be specifically for work, showed him the cases that I was working on, and shared my calendar with him. I didn’t have to explain much since the kid was sharp, and in only a couple of hours I was able to leave him to his work while I went back to packing.

  The security guys came and went while I showed Tom the ropes, and my new paralegal was given a code of his own so that I would be able to see when he came in and out just by tapping an app on my phone.

  I had just packed my spare toiletries when the doorbell rang. I checked with Tom, but he hadn’t ordered anything to eat, and I wasn’t expecting any more guests. I pulled my gun from my hip holster as I inched toward the door. I doubted that Galic’s men would ring the doorbell, but I didn’t want to take any chances.

  Especially since I didn’t recognize the man on the other side.

  Chapter 9

  “Who’s there?” I called through
the front door as I inched closer.

  “Gabriele Rossi,” the guy called back. “I work for Anthony.”

  I glanced behind me at Tommaso. My new paralegal had come out of the office with his hands in his pockets. He seemed relaxed, but there was something in his eyes that reminded me of the way that Hank looked when he was on guard.

  “Do you know that name?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” Tom said. “He works for the family. I can’t tell if that’s him through the frosted glass, though.”

  The man on the other side of the door shifted his weight from side to side as he adjusted the large bag on his shoulder. He didn’t knock again, but he did face the slab of wood and glass that separated us like he expected to be let in.

  I decided to oblige him, but I kept my gun in my hand as I unlocked the door and pulled it open.

  Gabriele Rossi was in his mid-twenties and had a short purple French cut that swept his waves toward his slender face. He had a runner’s build that he’d covered in tattoos, and his hazel eyes were lined with charcoal. He had peeling black paint on his fingernails, and snake bite piercings on his lips. He wore torn black pants, a Guns-n-Roses t-shirt, and black converse.

  “You work for Anthony?” I asked as I looked the gothic young man up and down.

  “Yeah,” he said as he readjusted his bag again. “I’m the tech guy.”

  “Is this Gabriele?” I asked my paralegal.

  “Yeah,” the young man said as he looked past me. “You couldn’t be a little more professional?”

  “Hey!” the purple-haired man objected. “This is professional in my career. Do you know any hackers that wear three-piece suits?”

  I slid my gun back into its holster as I watched the two men. I was sure that they’d grown up together in the family business, though they had definitely become very different men. I strolled back toward the living room and motioned for Gabriele to follow.

  “I don’t hang out with hackers,” Tommaso said with a roll of his eyes.

  “Your loss,” the techie said. “We have unlimited Monster and pizza.”

  The purple-haired man walked in and set his bag down with a thud as he gave the area a once-over. He took a particular interest in the cameras that the security firm had set up, and he nodded in approval when he was finished.

  “So what brings you to my home?” I asked. “As you’ve noticed, I just had a system installed.”

  I couldn't imagine why Anthony would send his tech guy to me. I didn’t have any issues that I knew of, and the young man had come prepared with a bag big enough that it would hold an entire computer.

  “It’s nice,” he said. “Old man Tony must’ve done it.”

  “I think that’s what he said his name was,” I said. “Hank ordered it for me.”

  “Makes sense,” Gabriele said with a shrug.

  Tommaso returned to the office since he wasn’t needed in the living room, and I poured myself a glass of water.

  “You didn’t answer my question about why you’re here,” I said.

  “He’s here for the same reason that I am,” Hank said.

  He strolled in through the unlocked door, and I frowned as I looked at the app that had been installed on my phone that was supposed to alert me every time a door was opened.

  “It should’ve beeped or something,” I muttered.

  “Let me see it,” my very own tech support said as he held out his hand.

  I handed him my phone and then turned back to look at Hank.

  “So, why were you both sent here?” I asked.

  “Because we’re both going with you to Andorra,” the bodyguard said with a big grin.

  I stared at him for a few seconds as I processed. I had been fine on my own when I went to West Virginia. Had I done something to make Anthony think that I couldn’t handle it on my own in Andorra? I tried to think of a reason why he would need to send a hacker and a bodyguard with me, especially when I’d already proven that I could handle my own against corrupt cops and Serbian mobsters.

  “It’s fixed,” Gabriele said as he handed his phone over. “When you first set up this system you have to make sure that the app is set to give off a chirp when a door or window is opened. Otherwise, it’ll just tell you when the alarm goes off. I added an extra layer of protection to the app, too. That way it’s harder to hack.”

  “Thanks,” I said as I stuffed my cell phone in my pocket.

  The kid had held it for only a minute, and he’d already fixed it and made it stronger. Maybe it would be better to have him with me since we were looking for a server. But that still didn’t explain Hank’s presence.

  “No prob,” the purple-haired man said with a one-sided shrug.

  “Your skills might come in handy if I can’t convince the magistrate over there to honor the subpoena,” I said almost as a joke. “Though I’d like to save that as a last resort.”

  “Sure,” he said. “That’s why Anthony sent me, anyways. I’m the backup plan.”

  “As am I,” Hank said. “He told me to tell you that he didn’t think you would need the backup plan, but given your ability to get into trouble, he thought it was best for you to have both of us around.”

  I glanced between the hacker and the bodyguard as I wondered what the backup plan was. I wasn’t sure that I would like whatever Anthony had told them to do, but that just meant that I couldn’t fail. I let out a relieved sigh that I had people with me this time, just in case, and then looked at my living room.

  Hank didn’t have his bag with him, but it was probably in the car, and Gabriele had already dropped his in the middle of the living room. They would both need a place to sleep if they were going to stay the night with me. One of them could stay in the bedroom, but the other would have to sleep on the couch.

  I decided to cross that bridge when I came to it. I was almost done packing, but I still hadn’t booked the tickets. I wanted to leave early in the morning so that we wouldn’t arrive too late in the day, and I needed to find a hotel suite for three people instead of one.

  “Alright,” I said. “I still need to find a flight and book a hotel room. I was thinking that we could leave early in the morning.”

  “I have a couple of Monsters in my bag,” the hacker said. “That will help keep me awake until we’re on the plane.”

  “I don’t mind mornings,” Hank said with a disapproving look at the hacker.

  “Sorry to disappoint,” Tommaso said as he strolled down the hallway. “But your flight leaves at noon.”

  “Much better,” Gabriele said with a relieved sigh. “I can handle anything if it’s past eleven a.m..”

  “You’ll still have to get up no later than seven a.m. to get ready,” my paralegal laughed.

  But then the young man looked over at me as if he was worried that he’d done something wrong until I broke out into a wide grin of my own.

  “Your uncle was right, you’re fantastic,” I said. “Did you book us a hotel, too?”

  “Yes,” Tom said. “It’s at a place called Hotel de L’Isard. It’s supposed to be one of the best places in the capital.”

  “Perfect,” I said. “Can you email me the confirmations for the reservations and the flights?”

  “They’re already in your inbox,” the paralegal said.

  I stared at the young man in shock. I’d expected it to take him at least a few weeks before he had everything down, but he’d already taken over my travel itinerary and made himself familiar with my cases. I’d been a little skeptical that a capo’s nephew would be any good at that kind of thing, but Tommaso was impressive by every standard.

  “I guess you’re done for the night, then,” I said. “Thanks for all your hard work. You have the spare key, right?”

  “And my code to the alarm,” Tom said with a nod. “I’ll be back in the morning. Thank you again for the opportunity, Mr. Morgan.”

  “Thank you,” I said before I turned to the hacker and the bodyguard. “We’ll need to leave early for th
e airport. I think nine a.m. will be our best bet. That way we can fight through the security check points and traffic.”

  “We shouldn’t have too much security,” Gabriele said as he looked at his phone. “Tommaso booked us for first-class tickets. They come with pre-boarding options and faster lines.”

  “Are you in my email?” I asked.

  “Yeah,” the hacker shrugged. “I wanted to make sure that we were sitting together.”

  I rolled my eyes at the purple-haired young man and then decided I would have to have him make my email a little more secure as well as Tom’s.

  “That’s rude,” Hank grumbled. “You should’ve at least asked.”

  “I’m an open book,” I said. “But if you could make it so that no one else can get in, I’d be grateful.”

  “Consider it done,” the tattooed man said.

  He strolled over to the sectional, plopped down, and pulled his laptop out of his bag. It looked completely normal, and I wondered if there were any updates to the system that made it better for his work, or if he could use any old computer.

  I decided to ask about that later because my stomach let out a low growl that reminded me that I’d only had one slice of pizza the entire day.

  “I have some leftover pizza if you guys are hungry,” I said. “If you want anything else, then we’ll need to order out.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Gabriele said. “As long as there’s no pineapple. That’s a crime against pizza.”

  “No pineapple,” I promised. “Just tomato, basil, garlic, and bacon.”

  “A man after my own heart,” the hacker said as his fingers glided across his keyboard.

  Hank followed me into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as he watched me preheat the oven. He seemed relaxed, and I wondered how often the big man took time to destress from his job protecting me from other mobsters and corrupt politicians.

  “That looks delicious,” the bodyguard said.

  We fell into an easy conversation about the shooting range and the latest boxing match in his favorite underground arena that Gabriele joined in as soon as he was done. We spent the rest of the evening talking with Chronicles of Riddick in the background, and then we headed to our beds with our alarms set for seven-thirty. Gabriele had opted for the spare bedroom, Hank had insisted on sleeping on the pull out bed in the sectional so that he could keep an eye out, and I crawled into my bed with a contented sigh.