Stacked Deck

by Tracy Watkins

“How’s it work?”

  “Don’t ask me. I’m a card player with good math skills, but the people who created this program are software geniuses right at the top of the programming universe. There’s nothing we can do but let it run.”

  “You haven’t told me what the endgame is,” JD said. “Maybe now’s a good time.”

  “Depends on what I find. I know you’ve been patient, but you’re going to have to hold on for a little bit more.”

  “Once you find it, and it’s bad, then what?”

  “It’s what kind of ‘bad’ it turns out to be.”

  They were both staring at the computer screen on the living room coffee table when the door burst open and Vincenzio charged in, followed by two of his men.

  JD jumped up. “You don’t barge into my place—”

  Vincinzio went right for JD. “You have some questions to answer, boy.” He reached for JD and received a forearm to the jaw.

  It happened so fast, Beth barely had time to catch the computer when the table was bumped.

  JD and Vincenzio fought toe-to-toe; the other men attempted to help their boss but JD moved with great agility and speed as he traded punches with Vincenzio.

  The fight ended when guns were drawn.

  Vincenzio said, “You’ll pay for that,” as he wiped blood from his mouth and nose.

  Moments later Giambi charged through the open door, gun in hand. He looked like a man in shock, his eyes narrow with rage.

  He came at JD and it was all JD could do to ward off the blow from the pistol.

  “Stop it!” Beth yelled. “What is going on here?”

  “You go to hell,” Giambi snapped back. “You’re going to tell me what is going on, lady.”

  His face was mottled with rage. “I don’t know which one of you betraying bastards I should shoot first.”

  “Either would be a pitifully stupid mistake on your part if you do it before you have any idea what is really going on,” Beth said calmly. “I don’t take you for a man who acts on emotion and not reason. Your entire world is at stake here, so if I were you, I’d get ahold of myself and find out what’s going on before you lash out in all directions.”

  Giambi reacted to her demanding, aggressive rebuke by calming down. He said, “All right, then you better start talking and it better be good.”

  “Clear the room of your goons and I will.”

  Vincenzio started to object, but Giambi waved him off. “Take JD to my office and ask him some questions. I’ll to talk to this little lady.”

  “JD stays,” Beth said.

  “You’re giving the orders? I don’t think so.”

  “What happened?”

  “What happened! I’ll tell you what happened. I didn’t get on the chopper. My pilot’s dead, but I’m not.”

  “How did your pilot die?”

  “Don’t give me that innocent crap. I’ve had enough. You aren’t sick. You weren’t sick last night. My pilot is feeding the sharks just like I was supposed to.”

  “Your chopper crashed?”

  “Blew up into a million pieces. And now what’s going to happen is I’m going to find out who you are. What you and JD are up to and who’s behind it all. I don’t care how I have to do it. The old ways work pretty well. A finger at a time.”

  “First, you’re going to listen,” Beth said. “And then we’ll see about fingers and toes. Your entire world has been hacked by someone other than me. You’re completely compromised. So I’d get your boys out of here, sit down and listen to what I have to tell you. Because everything you are, everything you have, is on the line.”

  Giambi turned to JD. “All I did for you. You got no right to betray me like this. What kind of man are you?”

  Beth said, “JD’s got nothing to do with this.”

  “He can speak for himself.”

  “You’d best listen to her,” JD said. “I don’t really know what’s going on myself. But I had nothing to do with what happened to the chopper.”

  Giambi turned to Beth. “Who the hell are you?”

  “Salvatore, I asked you to get your men out of here. Then we’ll talk.”

  Vincenzio had her bag. He pulled out the cloner, port connectors, CD programs and displayed it on the desk. “This bitch has been getting into your office with this. And I bet she’s been in your computer.”

  “That right?” Giambi demanded.

  “He’s right. I’ve been in your office and in your computer. And it’s not good news for you, so get these men out of here, because I’m not the problem. Right now I’m the solution.”

  JD said, “Salvatore, put that gun away. Your life and your future depend on what she has to say, just as mine does. Like you are so fond of saying, a smart man knows how to listen.”

  After giving her his best Godfather stare, Salvatore lowered his gun. He told his men to leave.

  As he went out, Giambi’s security chief glanced back at her malevolently before closing the door, as if letting her know he was right outside.

  Beth remained in her chair and Giambi sat in one of the two matching leather chairs on the other side of the desk.

  “Let’s start by understanding something up front. I’m not after you,” Beth said. “And I had nothing to do with blowing up that chopper. JD didn’t, either.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “Salvatore, I know all about you. Your money laundering, blackmail payments, the location of your numbered accounts, your past and what your future is going to look like.”

  “You a federal agent?”

  “No.”

  “Then who the hell—”

  “I’m an agent with another organization and that’s not really important. I’m after the identity of the woman who’s been blackmailing you for decades.”

  His face paled. “What do you know about that?”

  “Everything,” Beth said. “She’s of great interest to the people I work for. I’m here to confirm some things.”

  “Who do you work for? Don’t I have a right to know?”

  “Let’s just say I work for an agency with interests that intersect with yours at the moment. As to my true identity, I keep that to myself. What you need to know is what you’ve already seen. You’re in big trouble. You have a past. It has finally caught up with you. Your blackmailer, the one who signs off with an A, is my primary interest.”

  Giambi swore softly under his breath, his anger deflated, as if he was relieved that this information, so long known only to him, was finally out in the open. “Why would you be interested in who’s blackmailing me?”

  “When you were involved in the firebombing of the jail in Phoenix, you missed your target. Like I said, that target is of great interest to us. Names such as Weaver, Madame Web, Arachne. The Queen of Hearts. I’m sure you’re familiar with them.”

  “You know all of this?”

  “Yes.”

  “So what is it you want?”

  “I want to connect the dots. And, in the process, protect you.”

  “You want to protect me. Why?”

  “It’s all I can offer you for your cooperation.”

  “And if I refuse?”

  “You won’t. Once you realize you’ve now become the target of what might be the most dangerous assassin on this planet, and, simultaneously, the target of some mob folks who might not like what you can reveal about them, you’re going to need protection. More than you can provide for yourself. They can get to you, as you’ve seen. Even if you were allowed to stay in Monaco, which you won’t be, you wouldn’t be safe.”

  A knock at the door interrupted them.

  “What?” Giambi yelled.

  Vincenzio opened the door and stuck his head in. “Officier de police judiciaire. They want to see you about the chopper crash.”

  “Where are they?”

  “In the security office.”

  “I’ll be right down.”

  Giambi rose. “Damn OPJ. You two are under my house arrest. You won’t be leaving h
ere. When I’m done with the police, I’ll be back. And I’m taking this with me.”

  He grabbed the computer and she grabbed his wrists. “No. There’s a program running and I don’t want it messed with. It’s critical. Whoever has been watching your activities, whoever is trying to kill you, I might be able to find them with that program. They already know they aren’t alone. The more we can find out, the better.”

  Their eyes locked at about a foot distance, both of them with their hands on the laptop.

  She said, “You mess this up, we might lose one of the most important means we have to find A. Go deal with the police, let me do my thing, then come back here and we’ll talk. Trust me when I say I’m way ahead of you.”

  Giambi released the computer. He straightened up and glared at her. Then he turned and walked out, slamming the door behind him.

  JD said, “I hope you know what you’re doing or we aren’t getting out of this hotel in anything but a body bag.”

  “Giambi’s in big trouble and he knows it.”

  “Before we were so rudely interrupted, you were about to tell me how this is going to end. Apparently that has changed.”

  “I’ll get cooperation from Giambi. After that, I’ll see to it that he goes into the U.S. witness protection program.”

  “You’re deluding yourself if you think that man will ever go into a witness protection program. Not in a million years. You can’t be serious.”

  “He might not have much of a choice.”

  “You don’t know him like I do. He won’t do it. I know he won’t.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “And when you do, I’m on my way down the drain.”

  “No. You don’t go down the drain. You don’t think all those people that were here the other night were really interested in Giambi? My guess is your exile is just about over. A year or two off for bad behavior and suddenly you’re on everybody’s mind. When’s JD coming back? Who will get him? How will he do?”

  “Won’t there be some guilt by association because of my relationship to him?”

  “No. I’ll take care of it. Just like I promised.”

  Chapter 25

  B eth was convinced Giambi had no choice but to cooperate. She made contact with Delphi to discuss the end game. Delphi told her that federal protection would be in place and that agents in France, involved with other situations, would be available to take Giambi back to the States. The federal agent who would be in charge was in Nice. Beth was given a contact number and an ID code.

  Four hours after he left, Giambi returned to JD’s apartment.

  Beth and JD heard him beyond the door arguing heatedly with his security chief, the ever present Vincenzio.

  “We need to get that man the hell out of here,” Beth said under her breath.

  Giambi came in alone. He was shaken and Beth thought he was now beginning to show his real age. Whatever was going on with the police, it wasn’t good.

  “What happened?”

  “You mean other than somebody trying to kill me? The authorities in Monaco are not going to protect me, they want me the hell out of here. There’s been some deal behind my back. A conspiracy to turn everything I’ve built here over to that lying, swindling rat-fink bastard sitting out there on his fifty-million-dollar yacht.”

  “The Greek.”

  “Damn right, the Greek. He’s coming over here with a bunch of lawyers. They already have documents drawn up. He was, no doubt, expecting to see me blown to bits.”

  “Do you have some evidence that he knew what was coming? Or are you making an assumption?”

  Giambi went over to JD’s bar and poured himself a drink. “I don’t know anything. You tell me what the hell is going on. You seem to be the key to it all.”

  “I’ll tell you what you need to know. First, get Vincenzio out of here. He’s probably standing right outside the door. Get him off your floor. I don’t want any of your staff up here. That includes Jason. Everybody out. Now.”

  “Jason stays.” Giambi opened the door and told Vincenzio to go back to the security office.

  When Giambi shut the door and came back Beth told him to sit down. She asked JD to make sure everyone was off the floor and to give her some time alone with Giambi. “Have Jason lock off the elevator for now.”

  When JD was gone, she sat across from Giambi. “I didn’t come here to destroy you. I came here to find out two things. One of them, the primary one, has to do with the person who’s been blackmailing you. Unfortunately, the blackmailer, and/or some of the people involved with you in your money-laundering business, know you’re in trouble. And a man in trouble might just start selling out his friends and associates. I don’t know where the hits are coming from. But it’s over for you, not only here, but everywhere. You need to understand that.”

  Giambi stared at her. After a few seconds, as if processing what she was telling him, he said, “Go on.”

  “We believe the person blackmailing you, the one that leaves her calling card…the A…is the someone we’re after. And, this someone is after us. We’re trying to connect the dots. Help me. Tell me everything you know about her. How this all happened.”

  With heavy reluctance he opened up his past. He told her about the Queen of Hearts, the assassin from Boston, and confirmed she was a former CIA agent known as Weaver. He said he tried to take her out when she was in jail in Phoenix and confirmed that the blackmail accounts in Puerto Isla were hers. Then he said, “Who are you working for?”

  “I’m with an intelligence agency that few people know exists. I can tell you nothing about it. It’s of no importance to you.”

  “Of no importance to me? You’re destroying me. You’ve invaded my privacy, forced me into a no-win situation, sold me out to the highest bidder and it’s of no importance? Let me ask you something. Since you mentioned how far back all of this goes, is Marian Gracelyn—”

  “She’s dead.”

  “Yes, I know. But she was Weaver’s lawyer. And I know about the school for girls that she helped found. AthenaAcademy. Maybe I know more about a lot of things than you might think.”

  “I’m sure you do. Unfortunately, I’m not at liberty to corroborate your notions. Just know this, under the present circumstances, if you cooperate with me, I’ll give you the one chance you might have to survive.”

  “Which is?”

  “The obvious, considering the people who might want you dead. Federal protection.”

  “To hell with you,” he exploded, jumping to his feet. “If you think a man like me would go into some witness protection program, you’re nuts!”

  “Salvatore, sit down. You can go where you’ll be protected, or you can go to your funeral. That’ll be your choice. But we need to lay the cards out on the table first.”

  “You mean my cards.”

  “I’m going to reciprocate as much as I can.”

  When he calmed down enough to sit, she repeated the simple and hard truth. He was now a threat to two proficient killing machines, the mob and the assassin known to him as the Queen of Hearts. His chances of surviving one of them, let alone both, were not good. And wouldn’t improve.

  “No matter how good you think your security is, or how good you think you can make it, I assure you it won’t be enough. You know that as well as I do. Somebody had to shoot at your car. Somebody had to put the explosives in your chopper. Somebody knew you were going to fly. That’s coming from inside. That’s how close the people who want you dead are. They missed twice. Maybe they won’t miss the next time. And the next time could be very soon. You’re out of options. So let’s talk more about the Queen of Hearts, Boston, the bombing of the jail in Phoenix.”

  He stared at her like a man who couldn’t believe what was happening to him, but couldn’t deny it, either. He shook his head. He finished his drink and she got him another.

  Part of him knew it was over, it was just difficult for him to believe it, really accept it. She waited.

  Finally, he star
ted to talk and once he started, he unburdened himself of the whole mess. From the moment he ordered the killing of a mob boss in Boston, a job done by the Queen of Hearts, to his failed attempt to get rid of her once she became a threat to him. He talked about not only about how much money he’d paid the killer-turned-black-mailer over the years, but how much he’d paid other hit men to find her and finish the job. None had succeeded. All had died in the process. The CIA had trained her well.

  “For all I know, you could be working for her. Or the CIA. Or any one of a dozen other intelligence agencies. You have my files, my secrets, so now you own me. You tell me what my fate is but I don’t know if you’re telling me the truth or not.”

  “Listen to me. Your future is federal protection. You can pick some nice town, go in with a new identity and live out your years playing golf or writing your memoir or whatever.”

  “You said there were two reasons why you’re here destroying what’s left of my life. What’s the second one?”

  “My father was murdered. He was part of a cheating crew. I was twelve when it happened. I think you can help me find his killer.”

  His eyes widened and she took that as a sign he did know something. “I take it you aren’t the rich widow Anne Hurley and never were?”

  “I’m neither rich nor a widow.”

  “CIA?”

  “Stick to the discussion.”

  “How did you get JD? I send him to find out about you, instead you flip him and he betrays me. How did that happen? Are you that good?”

  “I’m good at what I do. It helped that we were ambushed and nearly killed.”

  “Who is your father and why would I know who killed him?”

  “He was part of a card-cheating crew out of Vegas. The kind of crews you keep out of Monaco. I know that one of the reasons you were allowed to put a casino here, something outsiders don’t get to do, is because of that. You have connections and interests in Vegas. You probably know who I really am.”

  Giambi’s whole demeanor made a subtle change, as if now she was touching on things he really didn’t think she could know.

  “My father was a man with serious addictions, but trying desperately to break free of them for my sake. And that’s what got him killed. I knew in the week before it happened he was scared. He’d angered somebody he was working for and he was thinking maybe we should get out of Vegas. He worked for a cheating crew that’s still around. You know the crews better than anyone. I want the name of the man who ran the most successful crew in Vegas at that time. You give me that and I’ll give you protection out of Monaco to the States and into the witness protection program. The feds will want to know all about your mob ties. But the rest of it, where the Queen of Hearts is concerned, others will deal with that.”