Missy Goes to Hong Kong (Missy the Werecat Book 8)

by P. G. Allison

  Brooke asked, “It’s really okay, now? Chrissy is with you and her family isn’t going to do anything?”

  “We even have our own bodyguard here, Brooke. Chrissy says she totally cannot believe how big a deal this Alice Mathews must be. She never saw anyone stand up to her father like that. She keeps saying we need to completely forget all about him and never talk to anyone. But I told her I just had to let you know, since you somehow got Alice to do this for us.”

  Brooke was impressed. “So, you’re saying this Alice … she was able to convince your father …”

  Apparently, Chrissy was on the line because her voice suddenly interrupted. “My father was put in his place. Whatever organizations are behind Alice, he knows he can’t mess with them. As long as Janey and I keep quiet and don’t cause him any problems, he’ll leave us alone. I can never thank you enough for getting Alice to help us. How do you even know people like her? Is it because you’re at West Point?”

  Brooke said, “Well. I don’t really know her but I have this friend. One of my classmates here. So, I guess you could say it’s because of West Point. Only, it’s really ‘cuz this friend is someone who is pretty unbelievable. She just happens to be here at the academy. I’m glad this worked out for you two!”

  After finally getting off the phone, Brooke went in search of Missy. She realized she could never find the words to express how she felt but hoped Missy would somehow just know. After all … that’s what Missy always seemed to do. She always seemed to just know things.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Tuesday, Mar 31, 2020

  Ricardo Salvi was ready to take the next step. So far, things had gone well enough. When he’d explained about his new Chinese supplier to Harry “Hands” Harper, the capo in Vincent Corallo’s organization whom he’d been working for the past three years, Hands had asked a lot of questions but, in the end, had said he approved. The ten percent bonus … with assurance that would continue … had helped.

  Of course, Hands had wanted to understand how he’d been approached by this new organization in the first place. He’d replied, “When I went to the usual drop, there were all these Chinese guys there with Mendoza.” Justin Mendoza was their usual source and Hands had been letting Ricardo make the buys, keeping himself one step removed. The money for those buys belonged to Hands, of course.

  Hands said, “Yeah? So?”

  “So, Mendoza wasn’t happy. But, these Chinese … they said they had better product and they’d sell it to us for less, provided I got your approval. They had Mendoza outnumbered and they told him he could go sell to the Morelli and D’Amato organizations, if he wanted to, but they figured you and I might be interested in higher profits.”

  “Did they mention me by name?” asked Hands.

  “Oh, yeah. They knew all about you, me, our being in Vinny’s organization … everything.”

  “Should I be worried about that?”

  Ricardo laughed. “Nah. These guys don’t want no trouble. They say they’re just businessmen. You know? I coulda bought from Mendoza. Only, they said they had lots of others who wanted their product if I wanted to stay with Mendoza’s higher priced stuff. They kept saying how America was the land of opportunity.”

  “How do you know they’re not cops?”

  “No way could they have been cops, Hands. I mean … they’re from Hong Kong. Their organization is called Zhu-Gung and they’re a big deal over there. They showed me some stuff about them and talked about things they’d done back there. They just want a chance to compete over here. You know … try doing things the American way and everything.”

  Since it was Ricardo taking the risk relative to any police arrests, Hands had said he’d look into this Zhu-Gung organization and see if Vinny was okay with using them. Then he’d given Ricardo the okay a couple days later. If Zhu-Gung was looking to sell their product at these better prices, Vinny had agreed they should take advantage rather then let the other families be the ones to profit. It turned out Vinny was hearing from all of his capos about Zhu-Gung. This would give them an advantage over Morelli and D’Amato without breaking the truce.

  So, Ricardo had kept buying. His guys had kept selling. The product was good and the profits were rolling in, as promised. There was plenty more, if his guys could sell more. So, it was time for that next step. He’d been discussing it with his guys. Some said the only way to sell more was to expand their territory. But that might cause problems with the other families.

  Clay said, “Look, Ricardo … Frank and I already brought you more business. We can’t do more without Morelli’s people getting pissed off. When Paul Morelli got himself arrested, we were able to take advantage and fill the vacuum which that created. But, now? We do more? That’ll get noticed.”

  Ricardo nodded and said, “Okay, okay. Only, if you guys can manage selling more, then I’m paying more.” He had already explained the bonus system he was offering. “Don’t your customers want better prices? And, what about all their friends? You can get them buying from you rather than from Morelli’s people. The choice is up to the customers, right? That don’t break any agreements. You saying Morelli’s guys are gonna start something ‘cuz their customers are making choices?”

  While there were agreed upon territories, there was a lot of gray concerning boundaries. And, if the customers chose to cross boundaries, that ought to be okay.

  Frank said, “We’ll do it. We like getting paid more. Clay is just saying we may have some problems. But you know we can handle things and take care of any problems. We just don’t want to get blamed for starting any wars with the other families, you know?”

  The consensus among Ricardo’s people was that increasing business was worth the risk. After all, they wouldn’t really be the ones attacking anyone. And, in the event they needed to defend themselves, they wouldn’t be the ones breaking the truce. Right?

  Of course, Zhu-Gung had managed to convince two other families, besides Corallo’s organization, to increase business in a similar manner. While the Morelli and D’Amato organizations would continue with drugs purchased from South America, they would be losing customers. And, they would know it was all because of Zhu-Gung.

  -----

  Sid Yeary did a quick sweep of his apartment, verifying there were no listening devices. Then, he retrieved his burner phone from its hiding place and called Glenn Paxton. “Hey, Glenn. I’m home now. We can talk.” Although he was a New York City policeman who had been on the force for eleven years, he had been working undercover for the past two of those years. Glenn had recruited him to spy on the other cops in the department who routinely accepted bribes to look the other way. More important than identifying which cops were on the take, however, was his role in spying on those in the mob’s drug distribution system, both the buyers and the sellers. He had worked himself up the supply chain, finally getting close to Esteban Aparicio. Esteban trusted him since he had been accepting large payments from Esteban to prevent the police from interfering and … for the past several months … Esteban’s operations had not had any problems.

  “What have you found out?” asked Glenn. He’d tasked Sid with checking into the report he’d received from Ed Collinsworth about Zhu-Gung making a move into New York, selling drugs to the crime families. He and Ed had worked together in New York’s FBI Organized Crime Division prior to Ed’s going up to Boston.

  “Well, it’s like you said. The Chinese have been peddling their stuff at lower prices. Esteban’s guys are now only selling to the Morelli and D’Amato families. The other three families have switched to product from this Zhu-Gung organization.”

  “What does Esteban plan to do about that?” asked Glenn. He knew Esteban Aparicio headed up distribution in New York of all the drugs coming up from South America.

  “He asked me if the cops would maybe make some arrests. He thinks that would bring the others back in line. I reminded him there’d be too many questions from those getting arrested about why their protection money wasn
’t working. Most cops are being paid by the mob rather than by his people.”

  Glenn chuckled and said, “Yeah. It’s a real Catch-22 for him, isn’t it?”

  “True, but he still thinks the idea has merit,” said Sid. “He says that’s why he’s paying me the big bucks and that I should find a way to make it happen.”

  “Hmmm. Maybe I can help. If the arrests are made by the FBI rather than the cops, that would give those cops an excuse.”

  “What about waiting until you have all the evidence you need to bring down the higher ups?” Sid knew the FBI wasn’t anywhere near ready yet. He’d been helping them for two years and thought it might take another year or two. “Anyone you’d be grabbing now would only be one of the lower echelon guys.”

  “Yeah, but making a few arrests would shake things up and shouldn’t really hurt what we’re doing. We might even get some of those guys to testify against their bosses if we give them and their families witness protection.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. But, if having the FBI take action won’t ruin your big investigation, it would definitely help me with Esteban. Did I tell you he’s actually a good friend of Carlos Mancini? They started out together down in Miami.”

  “Who is Carlos Mancini?”

  Now it was Sid who chuckled. “According to Esteban, Carlos took over the Rodriguez organization in Colombia and is now head of all drug distribution from South America.”

  “Holy shit! Really? That Carlos Mancini? I thought you were talking about someone here in New York.” Glenn had seen the memos. The elusive Manuel Rodriguez, aka “the Frenchman”, had reputedly been running one of the largest criminal organizations in the world. However, he had mysteriously disappeared and Mancini had somehow managed to replace him.

  Sid said, “I’ll ask Esteban which dealers he previously was supplying that he now wants to get some revenge on for going to these Chinese guys. I won’t make him any promises but I’ll hint there may be some FBI arrests coming up and I might be able to influence who the FBI goes after.”

  “Great. What I’m really looking to do is identify all these Zhu-Gung people. I’m sure you’re right about nobody ratting on their bosses. But, they might be willing to talk about their new supplier in exchange for reduced sentences. We’ll see.”

  “Okay. I’ll get some names for you. Bye for now.” Sid turned off his burner phone and put it back in its hiding place. Then he placed a call to Esteban Aparicio using his other cell phone.

  It took a few minutes for Esteban to finally get on the line. Once he did, he asked, “Sid, what’s the reason for this call?” Even though the line was secure, he was not comfortable talking on the phone.

  “You know how you were hoping some people might get arrested?”

  “Sure. What about it?”

  “Can we meet to discuss that? I can come out tonight.” They had a meeting place they typically used whenever they needed to see one another.

  “Okay. Ten o’clock. Usual place.”

  “Great. I’ll be there. And, Esteban? I’ll need names and locations for where you’d like to see those arrests getting made. I can’t promise anything, but I think I’ve got a way to make that happen.”

  “Excellent. I will see you soon and we can talk all about that.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Wednesday, Apr 1, 2020

  “Hey, Nell. Congratulations!” Tracy breezed back into their room and smiled at her roommate as she was climbing out of bed that morning.

  “What for?”

  “You wanted to be near Ron this summer, right? You’ve been selected to do four weeks at Fort Benning starting in June.” Tracy knew that was not Nell’s first choice, of course, in spite of the fact Ron would be going there for his Infantry Branch training upon graduating.

  Nell frowned at Tracy and exclaimed, “But … but I put in for Fort Bragg this summer!” Her dream was to become a Psychological Operations (or PSYOPS) Officer and she was really hoping to get an assignment where she could experience some of that firsthand. Her second choice was for Airborne school since that was one of the requirements for PSYOPS.

  “Ha, ha … April Fools!” announced Tracy with glee. “If only you could have seen all the emotions which your face just showed were flooding through you right then.”

  “Oh, you are so, SO bad! I promise I’ll find a way to get you back for that, Tracy!”

  “Actually, we should be hearing later today what our assignments will be.” They continued to discuss what they might or might not get all through breakfast and then during Psychology, their first class which they both had together. Then, since the postings should now be up, they raced over to Taylor Hall to learn what … as Tracy was fond of saying … the Fabulous Fates had decided they’d be doing that summer.

  There was quite a crowd of anxious cadets all gathered around the postings for their Yearling Class. The rigorous selection process had started back in October with many rounds of performing various tasks plus additional assessments, board interviews, etc., etc., since then. Now, the results were finally being revealed.

  Nell was ecstatic to see she would indeed be going to Fort Bragg for the first part of her summer training. Then, she’d be a platoon leader for new plebes going through their Beast training. She looked to see what was there for Tracy and saw she had also gotten her wish. Tracy would be going to Fort Rucker and then coming back to be a company commander during Beast.

  “Hey, we both got what we wanted,” said Nell. She was bouncing up and down, unable to contain her excitement.

  Tracy was thrilled and said, “Wow! I almost can’t believe it.” She was pretty sure someone in the Army had influenced things for her; she had mentioned to Lieutenant Colonel Schermerhorn what both she and Nell were hoping they’d get. Then, seeing Missy approach, she looked at the posting to see what Missy’s summer program might be.

  “Oh, gee … no surprise.” Tracy looked at Missy and said, “It looks like you’re going to serve with a Special Forces unit at locations to be determined.”

  Missy grinned and said, “Yeah, they want me to join Team Twenty-Two again. Go figure?” The assignment was classified, so not much else was mentioned. “Oh, oh! There’s a note that I’m supposed to go see Colonel Dzierzeski. I wonder what he wants.”

  “Well, it’s probably what I said the last time you went to see him.” Tracy wiggled her eyebrows up and down, waiting for Missy to recall what she’d said.

  Missy laughed. “No good deed shall go unpunished?”

  “Exactly!”

  -----

  After her last class, Missy headed over to the Supe’s office to check in with the colonel. She stopped to see the sergeant outside his office and said, “I believe Colonel Dzierzeski wants to see me. There was a note on my summer assignment posting.”

  The sergeant said, “Yes, he told me you would be stopping by. I think he’s actually available right now. I’ll check and let him know you’re here.”

  A minute later, Missy was saluting in front of his desk and he returned her salute, saying, “At ease, Ms. McCrea. Take a seat.” He gestured to one of the chairs. Once again, he marveled at her sparkling green eyes. This time, he noticed just a hint of gold in them.

  After Missy was seated, he said, “I wanted you to stop by for two reasons. Since you’re here to see me, I assume you saw your summer assignment?”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “I don’t know if you are aware of just how unusual this assignment of yours is, Ms. McCrea. Normally, West Point cadets are required to do extensive training before serving with the Special Forces.”

  “Yes, sir, I do know that. I actually was applying for some of that training, just as many of my classmates have done.” Missy had discussed all this back during her board interviews, explaining how she only wanted to be considered in the same way as any other West Point cadet. Of course, she did acknowledge it was her goal to eventually serve in the Special Forces after she was commissioned as an officer.
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br />   The colonel nodded and said, “Yes, I checked. I was assured you did not ask for any special treatment, in spite of your service last summer. Nonetheless, because of that service … and how impressed this Team Twenty-Two was with your performance … it seems most of their training requirements are considered as waived or else as already met by that service.” He had received a special report concerning her which had gone to the Superintendent who was still out on convalescent leave. The Supe had forwarded that report to him, along with his personal concurrence on this assignment.

  Missy nodded and said, “I am honored that they want me back, sir.”

  “Yes, and since this particular Team Twenty-Two has some kind of special designation … apparently, all their missions are highly classified … well, it’s likely your summer will be spent overseas somewhere. The report I received is asking that you serve with them all summer and the academy is being asked to accept that as meeting all its training requirements concerning your status here.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “Well, the Supe concurs with that, even though it’s highly irregular. I’m a little uncomfortable with all this but that’s only due to everything being classified. We discussed that the last time you reported to me, so I’m sure you understand.”

  “Yes, sir!” Missy felt sorry for the colonel, who was obviously frustrated with not having a need to know. His mentioning the Supe’s concurrence meant this was a done deal, of course. She wasn’t quite sure why he’d wanted to see her.

  “All this leads up to the first reason I asked that you stop by. It seems there is a special briefing concerning your assignment scheduled for next Tuesday night. It’s classified and I’ve been told to make excuses here for your absence. You’ll be gone all night and, as has happened on some of your prior instances, you are not supposed to sign out and you won’t be signing back in. I will let Captain Bonomo give notice to those he thinks need to know about your absence, as he has done before.”