Mercury Decending (Mercury Black Authority Book 3)

by Finian Blake

  “‘Hermes’, my friend how was your trip?”

  “It was a long trip. How are you?”

  “I am richer thanks to you. My sister will be moving to Los Angles with her family and your government is happy once again. It seems that we were holding those FBI agents after all. Of course we released them as soon as we found out that they were in one of our nastier prisons. They boarded a plane to Washington after being deloused. It seems that Mexican flees prefer Gringos ten thousand to one.” Both men laughed and toasted the Minister’s new wealth with excellent Tequila.

  “I only wanted to be sure that things were well with you. When I left you had a complicated problem. I hope that my actions did not endanger your position.”

  “Quite the contrary the president did not hide the fact that they were FBI agents. We made a big deal about them violating our sovereignty. They are quite embarrassed.”

  “In that case, I will finish my business.”

  “Have a safe journey, mi amigo.”

  Minister Rodriguez had his limousine take him to Juan’s home. Juan told his family that he was going to the States for more treatments. Laurita would go with him to see that he was given proper care. Rich booked them both first class seats, and sat back in coach. His first inclination was to stay away from the city, after some thought. He booked them into a suite at the Palmer House. Considering how things were breaking down, Rich decided to go for this Wednesday. It was going to be a panic drill, since everything had to be moved forward. He settled Juan and Laurita in the suite taking a room for himself. Rich called Wanda first.

  “Hi babe, do you really think that Snark is throwing the game?”

  “He’s done everything, but post an ad on a bill board. He called my old number three times a day for the last three days. Snark is shaking every tree in town. He always calls from the same number.”

  “Give me the number. I will make it worse.” Rich paused for the laughter to stop. “Wanda I called for a reason. I want to bump the whole thing up to this Wednesday. Is your end under control?”

  “I am rock solid. All of the documents are finished and ready to go.”

  “Can you drop them off at the Palmer House room 720?”

  “Will you buy me dinner?”

  “Dress fancy and we will go out first class around seven PM.”

  “I will see you then.” Rich took a walk to make his next call, since he had a policy that he would never make more than three calls from the same phone. He dialed the number that Wanda gave him for Snark.

  “Snark, this is ‘Hermes’. What do you need?”

  “How did you get this number?”

  “I have better intelligence than you do. How in the hell did you land this slot?” Rich added as much arrogance to his voice as he could.

  “I have to know what you have on for Mooney. He is a major asset for us.”

  “Didn’t Mooney tell you, the Saturday after next we can sit down, and chat about it?” ‘Hermes’ decided to go fishing. “You have Bob. What did he give you for a time table? Whatever he spills to you is all you’re going to get.” There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

  “How did you…?”

  “I knew because you have one screw up spilling to another screw up, and together you make a cluster fuck. I am going to take grave exception, if you bother any more of my contacts.” He made it a point to emphasize the word grave. ‘Hermes’ decided to fan Snark’s paranoia. “I know about every phone call you have made to them, and I know about the taps. Would you like some of the recordings?”

  “Fuck you!” Snark slammed the phone down.

  Rich needed to figure out how to still use Bob and freeze Snark out. Next he had to give Mooney the schedule. By the time he walked back to the hotel Rich had both answers figured out. He shaved, showered and dressed in his suit. Rich called an old friend.

  “I need an address for this name. Can you get it by tomorrow morning?”

  “Call me back in ten minutes.” Rich walked into the bar and had a drink. True to his word his friend gave him the requested address. Wanda knocked on the door of the room at six fifteen. She was dressed as promised in an emerald green cocktail dress. She was extremely attractive when she was decked out and prepared for the evening.

  “Come in, can we check out the papers before we eat.”

  Wanda delayed, “I try not to be in hotel rooms alone with strange men.”

  “I am not a stranger.” Rich protested.

  “Darling, nobody is stranger than you are.” They both chuckled at that comment. “Here are both sets of documents. Everything is ironclad and double checked. All of the details of each ID are with the proper papers. My friend made sure that all of the type is correct for Spanish documents. They are the real thing. When they expire all they have to do is renew them. We aged the paper and spread the dates out. Each picture is ward robed differently. The price is twenty thousand each, if you hadn’t wanted ironclad documents it would have been a lot cheaper.”

  “I have one more job for you to do. I need you to take several pictures of this address. If you can get people in the picture it would really help. Have someone else take the pictures. The husband is a direct pipeline to Snark.”

  “You are not going to do anything to his family are you?”

  “I am going to use them for a bluff. No harm will come to them, but there is no guarantee on him.”

  “You already know what he looks like. If he is selling you out, he is fair game. Will you be here tomorrow?”

  “No, use the beeper to tell me when you would like to be paid.”

  “Pay me when you pick up your last request.” Wanda laughed.

  “That has an ominous sound to it.” There was indeed a hint of foreboding to the statement. Rich and Wanda went down to dinner. He spared no expense. It was difficult to keep his mind on business. He wanted to bed Wanda. The one thing that stopped him was that he did not believe in mixing business and pleasure. At the end of the evening, they agreed on a meeting place, and Wanda left. Rich fell into bed going to sleep almost immediately since it had been a nonstop day.

  About two in the morning Juan knocked on his door. It took Rich a few seconds to remember where he was. Rich opened the door a crack and looked out. Juan was standing there in a hotel robe, so Rich opened the door admitting Juan.

  “This is going to be a difficult thing to do. The last week with my daughter has been very good. We had time to really talk.”

  “Are you having second thoughts?”

  “Yes, I am, but I know that I will die soon. It is just a matter of a month or so. I will not let you down. When the time comes I will do what is expected. I am ready to go.”

  “Would you like a priest? I can get you one before the time comes.” It was strange for Rich to have a conversation with the man he was responsible for killing.

  “Yes, I would like one.”

  “If it is not inconvenient, I will set up something for Tuesday morning around ten o’clock in your suite,” Rich offered.

  “That would be nice. I do have another request.” Rich remained silent, “I would like your promise, man to man that you will protect my daughter.”

  “I have already made that promise.”

  “Humor a man about to die,” Juan smiled. He believed that Rich did not take his promises lightly. He just wanted to be reassured.

  “The promise still stands. I will protect your daughter.”

  “Then we still have a deal. What do we need to accomplish to make this work?”

  “I was hoping that we could move up the time table. You will go to the house on Tuesday and Laurita will remain here. Wednesday morning Mooney and Laurita will begin their new life.” If Rich was going to renege, he would not spend this kind of money.” A look of relief crossed Juan’s face, as he examined the papers.

  So, they will present themselves as father and daughter?”

  “That is his plan. We will tell the other children that you died during tr
eatment and your body cremated so that they can have a grave to pray at. I have made arrangements with the Bishop to have prayers for your soul in every church in Mexico. The Bishop himself will say a mass for you every day for a month and we will make sure that your children all find the jobs that they are looking for. Minister Rodriguez gave me his personal guarantee on that issue. I believe that your oldest son started his job before you left. I have personally arranged all of the details.” The only promise that Rich made was to take care of Laurita. He threw in the other jobs to show Juan that he respected the old man’s sacrifice. Minister Rodriguez was more than happy to comply.

  “You are a man of honor. I will keep my bargain to the letter,” Juan said. “Tuesday night will be perfect. I will tell Laurita before the priest comes. I must leave now.” Juan was barely standing when there was a knock on the door. The mood in the room felt like a twenty degree drop in temperature. Laurita was standing in the door way.

  “I wish you would have your meetings during the day. My father needs his rest.”

  “Rich didn’t summon me. I woke him up. My one regret is that I was not able to teach you any manners.” The put down really smarted especially, since it was done in front of Rich. She spun on her heel and stormed down the hall way. Juan shrugged. “I must leave and soothe her ruffled feathers.”

  “Spend the next few days with her,” Rich said. “I will come to you after the priest leaves. I will stay away so that you may enjoy these days with your daughter.” Here are a few thousand dollars so that you can enjoy the sights. Juan tried to refuse the money. Finally, he put the money in the pocket of his robe, and walked slowly down the hall way. Rich knew that every time he showed up Laurita went over the edge. She thought that things were going down a week from Friday.

  Rich awoke at eight making his way down to Chloe’s house Pat was thrilled to see him.

  “We are set for the wedding. You need to do the class with the Pastor. I tentatively set it up for Monday night.”

  “Monday works perfectly.” Rich did not want to give up the night, but there was nothing else on the schedule. He made up his mind that this would be his last job. “I need to run a few errands.” He went down to his apartment and made a few calls. The first call was to Father Cash.

  “I need a huge favor. I need you to hear a confession at the Palmer House. While you are down there, I will buy you lunch.” The favor seemed unnecessary, but Father Cash did not question the request, since he was collecting a huge donation from Mooney for his efforts.

  “Will ten work?”

  “Ten will be perfect. I will see you then.” Rich hopped in the Nova, and drove over to John’s bar.

  “John, I need a big favor.”

  “No problem what do you need.”

  “I actually need your son to perform the favor,” Rich said cautiously.

  John sounded uncertain, “What do you need?”

  Rich sounded upbeat, “I need him to deliver some newspapers.”

  “What kind of papers?”

  “The Sun Times, it should only take a few hours tonight.”

  “Just newspapers that’s all?”

  “That is all I need. I will pick him up around three having him home around five and you can come with us.” John was relieved. If he could go along, it was not a big deal.

  Rich decided to take a ride in the Nova. He drove past the address for Bob that his friend gave him. Bob was out in front of his house, playing catch with his son. Rich could not pass up this opportunity. He drove around the corner parking the Nova out of sight. He hurried around the block on foot so that he would come at Bob’s house from a different direction. Rich slowed his walk when he had Bob in sight. Bob’s wife was sitting on the porch with a new born in her arms watching them play catch. Bob recognized Rich when he was in front of the neighbor’s house. Bob threw the ball over his son’s head.

  Rich picked up the ball deciding to have the first word, so he walked it over to Bob. “Bob, I didn’t know that you lived in this neighborhood. How the hell are you? I missed you at work Friday.”

  “I had to visit a hospital, so I did it at the end of the day. What did you need?”

  “I had some paper work to drop off to you. You are not on vacation next week are you?”

  Bob was doing his best to sound casual, “No, I am in every day this week. If you need something catch me at work.”

  “I’ll do that. It looks like you are busy. I’ll catch you later.” Rich could see Bob’s wife relax. She had recently become aware of his gambling habits when the mortgage company called. Bob swore that he would never place another bet.

  Betty waved to Bob, “Honey, are you going to introduce your friend?”

  “He is not really my friend. He works in another office in the County Hospital building. We just see each other from time to time.” Bob looked at rich.

  “Betty, this is my co-worker Rich.”

  Rich was at his cordial best, “Betty, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am sorry to disturb your weekend. I was not looking for your husband. I am going to move along. Perhaps we will meet again.”

  “I would like that. Please stop by any time,” Betty said warmly.

  “I’ll do that. Bob you have a beautiful family. I would like to know them better.” Rich looked at his watch. “I really need to get going. I promised the little woman that I would take her shopping this morning and it is almost eleven.” Rich started backing away. He could hear Betty talking as he walked away.

  “He seems very nice. Why don’t we have his family over for dinner?” Rich was three houses down when Bob came running up behind him.

  “What the hell was that?”

  “What are you doing talking to Snark about our business?” Rich clearly saw that he had surprised Bob. “Snark is a dunce. I trapped him into telling me about you. I am playing up front. Have you heard from that bookie lately?” Bob shook his head no. “Have I lied to you?” Bob shook his head no. “Have I threatened you?” Bob shook his head no. “I will not threaten you now. When the time comes you will take care of business. You will bring me the papers that you substitute without making any copies.”

  “What about Snark?”

  “Snark will not bother you. You will have to trust me on this.”

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to let you know that I am not as dumb as you think I am. Now, go home, and enjoy your family. Be in early every day this week.” Bob turned, and walked back to his house, realizing this man could easily have him and his family.

  5.

  GAME TIME

  Anna needed to clarify some points. “What did Snark have to do with all of this?”

  “Snark was the government contact for Mooney. He set up the arms deals and relayed all of the instructions for the government. If Mooney talked it could be very dangerous.”

  “It sounds like he was double dealing everyone.”

  “No, it was his job to make sure that Mooney did not turn states evidence. He was working for the NSA, CIA, FBI and the Syndicate at the same time. Oh yeah, he worked for the Cook County Assessor’s office too. The way it turned out he was the one person that wanted Mooney out of the way. The FBI wanted Mooney to rat out the syndicate, NSA still wanted their little deals worked, the Syndicate wanted his connections, and the CIA wanted his international connections. Nobody wanted to be betrayed.”

  “This is way too confusing.”

  “Mooney was both a valuable asset and a walking time bomb at the same time. Snark had the most to lose. If Mooney found out about him, he would be a dead man. Snark was playing both sides stealing as much as he could from everyone and he had a private retirement plan that did not include being killed. The funny thing was that he used Tony for most of his big contracts and nobody even looked at Tony. He wholesaled the cocaine from the first deal in Nicaragua and the heroine from the second deal in Afghanistan. Tony sent Mooney his twenty percent cut from both deals for seven million. Tony is the fixer that nobody
looks at even though he sits on everybody’s fence. He sits in his junkyard trailer with the mud on the floor pulling down a little taste of every deal that goes through Chicago. He is worth a few hundred million dollars.” Laurita could not disguise the venom in her voice. She pointed at Alex. “Tony sent ‘Hermes’ and he killed my father.”

  Anna poured another drink for everyone. Alex used the break for the toilet leaving Anna and Laurita alone. Anna decided to push for more information.

  “Are you still holding Alex responsible for Juan’s murder?” She could see the anger in Laurita’s eyes.

  “He came up with the whole plan. Without him ‘Mooney would never have killed my father.”

  “You blame Alex, but not Mooney?” A bitter look came across Laurita’s face.

  “I never said that I did not blame Mooney. It took me years for me to gain his trust. I started my own business piggybacking his operation when he got sick.”

  “Why did you have me kill him? You could have let him rot.”

  “He found out about my independent efforts. If I didn’t arrange this for him he would have had me killed.” She kissed Anna. “What about you? Alex had your husband killed and you know that. Did he get to you or are you conducting your own plan?” Anna decided to play with her guess.

  “I have my own game going, but I need to get his account numbers before anything happens to him. There are millions at stake. He made a killing from that last deal and took the lions share. A full revenge would be to take his money, and then kill him.”

  “I can do him for you. I have these knock out drops, they act like liquid truth all you have to do is put some in his next drink. We get his information, and Paul my chauffer will help us dispose of the body. He has done quite well for me in the past. We can get rid of my maid Constanza at the same time. She came here looking for her sister a few months ago. Her sister was my maid a few years back. She found out too much, so I had to kill the bitch. Now, I am going to kill Constanza and bury her next to her sister.” Laurita handed Anna a small vial.