by Matt Lincoln
Doc let out a deep sigh. “That will definitely get you some blowback.”
“And with Arik’s past, it would surely derail any serious stance the Judge takes on legal drugs.” Eve looked down at our hands and took a deep breath.
George tapped on the table as a way of asking permission to interject. “A little late to the party, but as I am now involved, just a tad, would you please fill me in on the boy? I’m not sure it all relates.”
Eve looked over at me, and I gave a stiff nod. If George were willing to do our surgery and house us, the man probably needed to know what he’d stepped into.
She resumed her explanations. “Arik is only seventeen, and he’s been in several drug addiction programs. He prefers Adderall and has, in the past, stolen to get what he wants. His latest treatment was in the Azores, Portugal, where he and Mia were kidnapped.”
“After running afoul of a scumbag who was supposed to get them off the island in secret so that mommy wouldn’t find out.” Kippy liked to throw that in as much as possible, it seemed.
“Yes,” Eve confirmed.
“I see,” George replied thoughtfully. “Quite a mess of things, I gather.”
“It is. It still is,” Eve uttered to herself.
Xavier took up the next leg of the saga. “So, using all this, I’ve been trying to tie someone or a group of someones into all the criteria. And crazy enough, a familiar name popped up.” He caught my eye and grinned. “The Yabut Shipping firm out of Colombia has been contracted with the DEA to run fake shipments in the hopes of identifying the real drug lords and chemists.”
“Well, I’ll be.” Doc took the words right out of my mouth.
Then the Yabut are in on this? Rosa signed rapidly. Are they trying to double-cross the DEA and the Judge? Rosa was shaking her head in disbelief. I wanted to join her.
“That’s kind of what it is beginning to look like.” Xavier stopped and looked over at Mia. “While she was on that boat, Mia said that the men kept asking Arik where his stuff was. All his belongings and clothes and everything that he’d come to the Azores with.”
“Why?” I didn’t see a connection.
“I’m still working that out.” Xavier referred to the brooder in the corner. “Kippy, want to tell us what you’ve found out?”
“Oh, goody. My turn at Show and Tell.” Kippy pushed herself off the wall and took a seat on the couch. “So, copain, remember the fire in the boat where we found her?” She tossed a look at Mia. “Well, I looked it over because that’s where Arik’s phone tracker was leading me. Before we got off the boat that night, I found his clothes and shoes in that fire. But the tracker had still worked, so it got me thinking.”
“What if Arik had something on him that these guys wanted?” she continued. “That would explain the obsession with his stuff that Mia mentioned.” She was waiting to see if anyone was ahead of her. “What if Arik has, or had, something that these Yabut people wanted? Maybe he was a mule of some sort for them, known or unknown.”
“Wait, you think Arik is in on this now?” I scoffed, trying to keep my sense of humor about this. “So, how does that work? You think Arik is a mole for the Yabut against his mother or something?” I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this all sounded. “Come on. That’s not even…” Then I looked around at the faces in the room. They were all seriously taking this in.
“Okay. What am I missing here? What’s going on?” I couldn’t figure out why they were all still listening to Kippy.
There was a doorbell from somewhere up above us, and George sprang into action. “Dinner time. I ordered numerous pizzas for everyone. I hope that’s fine. Besides, I think we all need a break.” He also had a knack for timing, it appeared.
As most everyone else, including Eve, filed out of the room, Kippy came over to me, blocking any polite way out of speaking to her. “Did you ever ask Sarabia about ‘Nace’ as I asked you to?”
“What? No. There hasn’t been time.” I sensed the challenge. “We’ve all been pretty busy in the last few days, in case you don’t remember. Some other things have come up, you know. Why don’t you ask her if you’re so interested or concerned?”
“Because it’s not for my benefit, copain.” She stepped back and put some room between us. “I told you about him because there are some dire consequences about to go down and be handed out.” Her eyes narrowed at me. “I see the way you look out for your team. And I see the thing between you and Eve heading only one way. But I know a setup when I see one, and this,” she looked off to one side then back at me, “is not clean. The kid may have been taken, but who isn’t as important as why.”
“That’s your professional opinion, is it?” I’d heard this all before, from better people than her. I knew that she believed herself to be on equal footing with my team and me, but that was certainly not the case.
“It is. But it’s not only an opinion.” She turned and left, leaving me alone to deliberate on it.
I wasn’t too pleased to have to listen to her opinions on me, my team, or anything we were involved in. As far as I was concerned, she’d just lost all favor in being kept in the loop and informed of our plans. With my body healing back to full strength and the cohesiveness of the team as strong as ever, it was time to take the reins again and finish this mission. I was more than ready for all of that.
Chapter 18
Jake
George and Xavier came back into the room, each carrying six boxes of pizza from a local favorite of the doctor’s. Doc had grabbed a selection of plates, cups, and napkins, while Mia and Eve brought in bottles of water and soft drinks and a pitcher of that beer.
Rosa brought up the rear of the procession and met my eyes with a humorous grin. Indoor picnic time.
George settled his boxes on the table. “I ordered a bit of everything, as I didn’t know how selective everyone was with their diet. So please, open a box until you find something agreeable to you.”
Xavier wasn’t known to be overly picky when it came to food. He opened a box and took two slices. Most of the rest of the group did the same.
Mia was about the only exception. “How do you know what is what? It all looks the same.” She tested a number of flats but was hesitant to make a choice.
“Surely, you’ve had pizza before, Mia?” I knew that it wasn’t a foreign meal anywhere in the Azores.
“Oh yes, but…” she shook her head. “This looks nothing like pizza. Not the kind I’ve eaten.”
Xavier moved over to support her. “Is there anything you don’t like? Pepperoni, olives, bacon?”
“No, all of those sound good.” She smiled up at him and handed him her plate. She covered her eyes with one of her hands. “Xavier, choose me something that I will like. I trust you not to poison me.”
I swear Xavier was practically floating with that comment. I moved away after grabbing a few slices and let them low-key seduce each other. It was refreshing to see him interacting with someone other than the team. I just hoped that it wasn’t a premature move for either of them.
Eve was waiting for me over on the couch, so I joined her. George had started to look around. “We’re missing Kippy. Where has she scampered off to?”
I avoided answering, not really wanting to explain our private confrontation earlier.
Doc was helpful, though. “She was heading to the garage, last I saw her. There should be plenty left for her when she returns.” There was a feast of pizza here, no doubt.
“Huh. Very well.” This response seemed to tide George over for now.
I leaned over to Eve, wishing that we could do and say more without such an audience. Looking into her eyes, I had to smile. She just had that kind of effect on me. “I would suggest that we go easy here and slip out later for something more intimate, but this is pretty good. What do you think?”
“This is actually okay,” she shrugged. “I mean, it's not Chicago Style, which is obviously superior, but yeah…” She teased me with a wry smile. “I’m
going back for seconds.”
“Tomorrow night then? Or are you going to need to check your calendar?” I nudged her with my knee. “But keep in mind, with the way things have been going on around here, maybe we should keep our schedules flexible for a while.”
“I can move a few things around, open up my availability.” Then she blushed, wondering if that was too much. “I mean, you know, I don’t have anything scheduled for tomorrow. Or any time, really.”
“Smooth.” I grabbed some water. “I thought that if things don’t explode before then, dinner at eight, maybe show you a little of what Miami is known for.” I was already planning it in my head. “Wear some comfortable shoes because you need to walk the city to experience it.”
“I have some hiking boots. Will that do?” She was getting into the spirit of it now.
“I’d go with running high-tops but use what you got.” I got up for another helping. “Want me to get you something while I’m up?”
She handed me her plate. “Another five-meat slice, and another, um, Philly one, please and thank you.”
“So polite.” I myself was after the double pepperoni, and bacon, chicken, and ranch.
The dinner was casual, and we put all the business talk off for the duration of it. George did break the mood when he mentioned his plans for tomorrow. “I have an appointment that will last most of the day, so I will not be available, even by phone. If any of you shall need something, you’ll have to find Kippy, and she’ll assist you if need be.”
Xavier and Mia were too busy conversing with each other, but Doc nodded. Rosa, however, glanced at me with a knowing look. This was not the kind of news any of us wanted to hear.
Unfortunately, George caught our looks and mood. “Kippy’s not your first chosen course of action, I take it?” He nodded and tried to be nonchalant about our reactions and moods. “Well, to each their own.”
No one addressed this again, not wanting to offend or confront George about whatever it was that he and Kippy had. It was best to just ignore it and move on. We couldn’t stall that unease forever, but we could for now.
After we all filled up and cleaned up, the room started to empty. Eve got a call that she had to take privately, so she excused herself. Xavier and Mia went off to do whatever, leaving Doc, Rosa, and myself. I had a need to get out and do some recon on my own after the info dump from before and the matter with Kippy. But to do that, I needed a vehicle, and I needed to know where I was.
“I know that we’re in Miami, but I’m not picking up much in the way of maps or locations on my phone. What gives?” I hoped that either Doc or Rosa would have what I needed.
We’re somewhere in the East Grove. Rosa’s reply was vague and unhelpful. It’s kind of complicated to explain. She glanced at Doc. We’re partly underground and spread out.
“What do you mean?” I sensed the underground part from the car garage a few days ago. But that still didn’t explain all of it.
What seems like a large complex is really just a long set of corridors and hallways. You haven’t been shown the whole thing, but neither have any of us. George has most of it locked down. She didn’t seem too worried about it, though.
“And that doesn’t throw up any red flags about the guy?” Just hearing it now made me uneasy.
“Oh, it did.” Doc was quick to see my point. “But he explained some of it to us, and we chose to give him privacy.” He looked at me thoughtfully. “He’s… he does a lot of work under the table. And he has some patients that, frankly, are out of our league.”
“Like how?” I knew that they were trying to be respectful of this guy’s confidentiality, but I needed to know before I threw my trust and backing behind him as they had.
Geez, Header. We’re in Miami. Think athletes and entertainers, okay? Rosa was shaking her head at me and had a bemused grin on her face. Not everyone wants the world to know when they see a doctor, you know?
“Oh.” I had not been prepared for that. That could explain a lot, the more I thought about it. “So, nothing nefarious or shady then. Wow.” Maybe I needed to step away and take myself down a notch.
“Don’t feel bad.” Doc clapped me on the shoulder. “We all thought the same thing, especially with his ties to Kippy. But Xavier ran a host of checks and profiles on the guy. He’s got a big-name reputation for discretion within the city. Everything from boils to Botox.”
“I see,” I nodded. “I guess… that’s good to know. However, it leaves a big question mark about how, why, and where Kippy comes in.” Mystery and secrecy were one thing, but an affiliation with an operator like her was something else altogether.
We still haven’t got an answer to that one yet, Rosa admitted.
“I have a decent theory, but I’m not at liberty to say,” Doc said with a smirk as he turned to leave. It seemed to me that the team had been doing a good job of uncovering intel while I had been out. I made me proud to know that they’d handled whatever this case threw at them with skill and maybe even a little grace.
“You’re really going to leave us hanging?” I knew better than to expect any reply, though. Doc liked to have an ace up his sleeve, just like we all did at times.
As Doc left Rosa and me alone, I told her about my plans, just so as not to have everyone thinking I’d gone AWOL. “I have an old friend I’m going to go see. He might have a different perspective on the situation, being here in the city. And any info can’t hurt at this stage, right?”
Right. Good luck. Call me if you run into trouble and need backup. She didn’t bother to ask more. Sometimes she knew when I needed the space.
I gazed down at her leg and the crutch, smiling a bit. She wasn’t going anywhere with that injury, but she was still more than willing and ready to do what was necessary for the team and mission.
Okay, smartass. I get it. If you call, I’ll send someone else. She glared, but it didn’t take. She saw the humor and the problem, too.
I headed to my room and grabbed my Ruger P97. It was straightforward enough to conceal, and where I was going, it was only common sense to have the protection. Not that it was all that dangerous, but if the wrong people overheard what I’d be asking about, it might be good to have more than my word to stand on.
I changed into jeans and a black tee and a short-sleeved button-down to keep the Ruger from making an appearance too early, if at all. I was reminded once again of the preparedness and smart thinking of my team while I had been recovering. There was no way that I could thank them enough, but I was going to try. I wouldn’t need much else to visit this old friend except for a ride. That meant that I was going to have to go ask George for a favor.
I walked down the medically bland halls, listening for any clue as to where this doctor could be. Since I’d arrived here, I hadn’t explored the halls much. Now, I was looking at yards of long rooms and closed doors. Fortunately, though, I found a room wide open and heard two recognizable voices in the middle of a discussion.
I held off on making my presence known to Kippy and George, but I saw her sitting on an exam table while the doctor inspected her arm. I felt I might regret eavesdropping and kind of spying on them later, but this was a chance to find out something more about their relationship. I needed information, and this was a good opportunity to get it.
George was studying Kippy’s right hand and arm, evaluating it for a range of motion and the like. “You should have told me when you arrived that you’d suffered an injury. This far along, if there’s been any internal damage, it could be permanent.”
“I know the drill, G,” she quipped. “But I did exactly like you’d showed me and checked it for fragments. I’ve pumped in the antibiotics and been doing the therapy.” She sounded annoyed, but what else was new?
“Still.” His voice sounded genuine in its concern for her. “I would sleep better if you’d let me x-ray it. There could be bone chips that you’d be unable to recognize as a problem until surgery was your only option. That would complicate your current missi
on, would it not?”
I couldn’t help myself. I peeked into the room. Kippy was still sitting on the table, and George was awfully close, a little too close to only be examining her hand.
“That’s never been an issue before. You worried about me, G?” Kippy reached up to touch his face. She was smiling and not acting like herself with him.
“I am always worried about you. Divorce doesn’t alter that, as you well know.” He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. There was a look between them, and I knew that I’d seen too much for my own comfort level.
I knew that I was way out of line here, witnessing them like this, so I took a few steps back and turned around to make me sound further away than I was. Then I called out, “Hey, George? Are you in there?”
I could hear him walking toward the open door, so I turned and pretended to be walking up. I slowed my steps to allow them the time to cover for themselves. No one wanted to be embarrassed by what I’d just seen and heard, least of all me.
George peered around the door and called out to me. “Jake? What can I do for you?”
“Sorry to bother you, but I need to borrow a vehicle from you,” I replied, refraining from glancing into the room. “There’s an old friend of mine that I’d like to talk to about this drug thing. I think that he might have something valuable to add. I’d have called a cab, but I got the impression that you like your privacy about this location.” I hoped that would keep me from having to answer more unusual questions.
“Of course. I’ll walk you to the garage and let you find something that you’re comfortable with.” He gestured me forward, down the hallway.
I avoided looking into the room where he and Kippy had been. I kept my eyes front and tried to look as uninterested as I could manage. We walked a few yards down to a double door with a decal of a Lamborghini Countach on one and a DeLorean DMC on the other.
Inside the garage were about a dozen vehicles, all parked for easy access, and angled toward a single exit at the end of the cavernous room. The place was lit well enough, had a concrete floor, and smelled of oil and disinfectant. George stopped only a few feet into the room. “What do you prefer? Sports, economy, or stealth?”
