by Dave Daren
I couldn’t deny it after fighting a mobster in a yard to protect the mobsters I worked for.
The thoughts swirled around in my head until they settled back on the silver case that now sat tucked between Anthony and the middle console. I knew from my day at Gryffon that it was their symbol that was emblazoned on the outside of the case and that a specific laptop was housed inside.
“So, that’s what I think it is, right?” I asked after a while.
“This old thing?” Anthony patted the briefcase and laughed. “I’m sure it is.”
“Then everything worked,” I said with a sigh. “That’s a relief.”
“It better be worth it,” Jovanni grumbled.
“The way he held that thing, there’s no way it doesn’t have good intel on it,” I insisted. “He even took it to the bathroom. I’m surprised he didn’t take it when they left the house.”
“Well, he was sort of… in a rush,” Anthony said haltingly.
“He had to be to leave that behind,” I replied and furrowed my brow. “It would have to be something really important. Like someone he really cares about getting pulled over with gel in the car.”
Anthony’s shoulders tensed as I made the connection, and I almost hoped he would tell me who it was, but I didn’t want to ask. It was better if I didn’t know anything other than a drug dealer got pulled over with drugs. The world would be a safer place with that duffel bag off the streets. I only hoped it wasn’t someone who was innocent.
“Okay, listen, his kid has been dealing crack, coke, and God knows what else for the past two years,” Jovanni finally muttered. “Adding a little gel to his repertoire was only to make sure the feds were interested.”
“Oh,” was all I could muster as I looked out the window. “And I gave the tip.”
I’d helped get Vlado’s kid arrested. He was already a dealer, but there was no way Vlado would ever let this go. He’d be poring over the reports to figure out who called it in, and I just had to hope to God Hisashi didn’t put my name anywhere near it.
“We’re already going after that Serb bastard,” Anthony said. “And there’s no way the feds are dumb enough to formally name their source, so you won’t have to worry about them coming after you. We’re going to get Vlado and his family first.”
“We could just take the laptop to the feds now,” I suggested. “Then we clear up this whole obstruction thing, get Vlado on the hook, and knock the Serbs out of the game completely.”
“Hell, no,” Anthony argued. “We aren’t giving them shit until I see for myself what’s on this thing. I need to know what they’ve been up to and how to keep them from messing with my guys.”
“But Hisashi already said they have the investigation going,” I pointed out. “If we give them what they need, they can arrest Vlado and everyone else to get them out of your hair. It’s the legal win.”
Anthony’s knuckles turned white on the steering wheel, and I curled back into the seat when I realized how much I had just pissed him off. I shouldn’t have argued with him in front of his guys, but I knew I made a good point. He had been trying to do more legit things with the family business, and this was a complete one-eighty from the direction we’d been headed.
Then another thought struck me.
What if the rest of the mob didn’t know the Febbos plans to go legit?
Even when Sal had been making moves to get out of the Mafia game, he’d started working on Ben Kroger to take over the family. He never said the Febbo family business would die out. He’d only wanted a legit option to hand down to Anthony.
And now, I’d just suggested a legal out to avoid confrontation and possibly an all-out war between the Italian and Serbian families, but they were all used to those possibilities.
I was the odd man out, and all my adrenaline and pride from winning the fight with the Serbian guard drained away.
“I know how to win just fine,” Anthony finally said in a dark voice.
I didn’t say anything else, and the rest of the drive to Riverhead was silent except for the oldies station that droned in the background.
By the time we arrived at the Febbo estate, it was getting close to sunrise. Anthony drove the Chrysler down the driveway and parked behind my Mercedes before he got out without a word. The other two mobsters followed him, and I took a deep breath before I joined them outside the car.
Jovanni and the soldier said a few words in Italian, hugged Anthony, and then left in another vehicle. I hesitated to follow Anthony to the house, but he turned around and looked at me while my eyes drifted back and forth between the front door and my car.
“You’re coming, right?” he said in a voice that didn’t actually sound like a question.
I nodded and followed him into the Febbo house. He trudged up the stairs to the office, and I was surprised to see Sal in the chair behind the large green desk. I’d expected the old man to be asleep at this hour, but he seemed to be waiting for us to return. He looked down at the case in his son’s hand, and a wide grin stretched across his face.
“Ah, my boy!” Sal laughed as he slowly rose from behind the desk and took Anthony’s hand. “I knew you could do it, though I still think you could have sent some of the guys to handle it for you.”
“Nah, I had to do this one myself,” Anthony replied with a chuckle. “Besides, it seems I took the right team with me. We would’ve been caught if it wasn’t for Hunter.”
He clapped a hand on my shoulder and brought me forward to stand next to the desk in front of Sal while my face flushed with red heat. The elder Febbo eyed me warily and waited for an explanation.
“Ah, I kept one of their guards from finding Anthony,” I said.
“Oh, don’t be modest now!” Anthony grinned. “He kicked that guy’s ass in the yard, gun and everything. Knocked the bastard out cold.”
It seemed my client had forgiven my indiscretion on the car ride here, and I was relieved he was back to being impressed with my fight. Maybe he’d wanted to play up his anger for his capo, but I could never be too sure. For now, I’d soak in the excitement of his boasting about me.
“You did?” Sal looked at me with utter bewilderment. “You… fought off a guard? To protect my son?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied and nodded. “I thought it was the right thing to do.”
“Well, I’ll be damned!” Sal exclaimed and shook my hand. “I took you for a total culo. You proved me wrong.”
“Wow, a rare event is taking place,” Anthony teased. “My father is admitting he was wrong about someone. I better write this down.”
“Can it, bimbo,” Sal retorted. “Landis would never have even gotten in the car with me. Probably too afraid I’d fire him the old-fashioned way.”
“That thought did cross my mind,” I chimed in with a half-smile.
“Aw, come on, Hunter!” Anthony pressed his hand to his chest dramatically. “I’m so hurt! I’d never do that to you.”
“It was only a split-second thought,” I assured him, though it was complete bullshit.
I’d been terrified for the first hour of our trip, but he didn’t need to know that.
“Well, now, he better not ever get rid of you,” Sal said as he pulled glasses and a bottle out of his desk. “Between you and the laptop, I’d say we have good cause for celebration.”
“At five in the morning?” I stared at the glasses doubtfully.
“The song says, ‘five o’clock somewhere,’” Anthony pointed out. “Not five o’clock p.m. ”
“Good point,” I laughed.
“Saluti!” Sal cheered as we clinked our glasses together.
We drank the whiskey while Anthony relayed their search for the laptop. It seemed Vlado had been only somewhat careless to leave it behind, but the case had been locked down to a desk with a heavy padlock and thick chains. It had taken a while for them to break through and retrieve the case.
Once they’d busted through the padlock, they’d come out to find me standing over the
unconscious body of the Serbian.
“So, I think it’s time to see the fruits of our labor,” Anthony declared as he swallowed the last bit of whiskey and set his glass on the desk. “Time to open her up.”
He gently set the case flat and popped open the lid. Inside, a jet-black laptop sat nestled into gray foam. It was time.
I felt my heart thump in my chest as he pulled out the computer and set it on the desk. Then he flipped it open and waited for the screen to light up. When the main screen finally appeared, it was like all the air was sucked out of the room.
A large red lock appeared in the middle of the screen.
The laptop was encrypted.
End of Book 4
Author’s Notes
Thank you for reading my novel! If you enjoyed it, and you’d like to read another story about Hunter, please leave a quick review by clicking on this link.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2021 by Dave Daren
