Concrete Justice

by A. R. Ford

  His cryptic explanation confused me even more. Leah appeared in the door of our room. She smiled at Ryder. I held her close when she slid onto my lap, head resting against my shoulder. “I thought you were sleeping, Leah.”

  “My snuggle bunny left me. Can’t sleep without him for some reason,” she murmured. “What are my two favorite men talking about?”

  “Trees, and roots,” I replied. “Ryder lost me five minutes ago.”

  “I have a list of roots,” Leah murmured. “When do you want it?”

  Ryder grinned, arms held aloft in the air as both hands displayed the victory sign. “We start tomorrow.”

  I watched in amazement as Leah and Ryder huddled at her desk at seven the next morning. Sleep’s tenuous grasp held me. I sipped coffee as much to wake up as to satisfy my need for the heady dark taste. Leah produced a legal pad before explaining the details to Ryder.

  “These are the only roots that I can think of. Then there are unknowns that none of us are aware of. I went back to my time in protective custody. Of course, Nick and I are on that list. You can also cross both of us off. Next would be D. A. Shawn Carmichael. He prosecuted the case against Soranno’s henchmen. He’s a known. Then, we have Mendez, one of the cops who died when the safe house was compromised.” Leah paused, tears shimmering in her eyes. “He died protecting me. Cross him off the list.”

  “Who does that leave?” Ryder asked while typing notes into a blank document on his new laptop.

  “Officer Phil Walker, Special Agent Ally Brendel, and Special Agent Benjamin Halman. Those are the knowns,” Leah replied. Her eyes caught mine for a moment. A faint smile lifted the corner of her lips.

  “And there are others, I assume,” Ryder stated.

  “Unknowns,” Leah confirmed. “At least three, or four, unknowns. Let’s go through the list of knowns, one at a time.”

  Ryder opened Shroud before entering a name. His slender fingers danced over the keyboard. “I fucking love this program. It looks for the money trail, one of the first hints that someone is on the take. Ally Brendel has a decent mortgage payment, and debt. The value of her home offsets that amount though. Her financials look fairly normal for a five-year veteran of the FBI. Next?”

  “Agent Ally goes in the unlikely column for now. Next would be Agent Benjamin Nospeak,” Leah said.

  Before lunch hour rolled around, Ryder and Leah had researched each person using Shroud. They kept their searches to publicly available information for the most part. At least I hoped they had. I learned more about the deep net, Tor, and Shade Tree Lane in those four hours than I would after attending a semester-long class. Ryder was an anomaly. He possessed an innate understanding of the deep net, and how it could be used for crime. An umbrella corporation called Apex Holdings appeared to be a common thread. Ryder’s plan was to research Apex Holdings after lunch. That plan lasted all of sixty seconds when Lukas appeared with D. A. Shawn Carmichael at his side.

  “Meeting in five in the conference room,” Lukas called out, his face flat, and devoid of emotion.

  Lucky for us both special agents attended the meeting, along with Morgan, and Lukas. Shawn Carmichael was a power player. Leah’s testimony at the trial for Soranno’s two henchmen was nothing but a ploy to advance his career. When the trial ended, so did his concern for Leah’s safety. It was the primary reason I left the force.

  “I hear Soranno’s men are on the loose again,” Carmichael stated. “I guess we have the feds to thank for that.”

  “You’re out of line, Carmichael,” Agent Halman said. It was unusual for him to speak, especially so early in a meeting.

  “This is none of your concern, and is out of your jurisdiction,” Agent Brendel added. “So, there’s really no need in you being here.”

  “The explosion is within Warner’s jurisdiction,” Carmichael grinned.

  Agent Brendel grinned in response. “The ATF took over there. Sorry, Carmichael, you’re out of luck today. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have real work to do here. I’ll walk you out.”

  Damn. Agent Brendel wasn’t feeling the love where Carmichael was concerned. Leah despised the man from the moment she met him. I could understand why. Carmichael’s abrasiveness rubbed almost everyone the wrong way.

  Lukas visibly relaxed after Carmichael was gone. “I’m really sorry for everything that has happened, Nick, Leah. Hopefully, the insurance company expedites the claim for damages to the home, and car. You’ll let me know if you need anything?”

  Silence hung over the room. It was as thick as a blanket of new fallen snow. The meeting had taken an unexpected somber turn with the reminder of the explosion’s destruction.

  Leah proceeded without missing a beat. “Ryder and I have made some progress on investigating the roots. There are some unknown players out there. We don’t know who they are. They’re good at masking their identity, probably with help from someone with skills like Soranno.”

  “With your permission, Lukas, we would like to create a persona, and begin our travels through Shade Tree. Without that, our chances are slim to none,” Ryder added. “And thanks for the laptop. It’s exactly what I needed.”

  “I’ll get IT on it. We have to ensure that your I.P. address is masked. Probably with an off-site proxy service. I’m sure the feds have something like that. Agent Halman?” Lukas looked pointedly at the reserved agent.

  “I can have some of our folks pay you a visit. We all need to be on the same page with this. Soranno isn’t someone to take lightly,” Agent Halman volunteered. “And for what it’s worth, Leah and Nick, I want to say how sorry I am that you lost everything in the explosion.”

  Miracles do happen. Agent Halman had a heart, and a voice. Our little mismatched team adjourned to allow Leah and Ryder time to continue their web surfing investigation.

  Unknown Two: Jacinda

  THE DOOR CREAKED OPEN, revealing only a dark corridor leading away from the safety and warmth of sunlight. It was a horrible mistake to come here. She knew that, but chose to come anyway. Heels clicking on the floor, she felt rather than saw her way to the elevator at the end of the hallway. It opened with a ding, then closed before humming upward to the meeting she wished had never been arranged.

  The elevator doors hissed open. A dimly lit waiting room sat directly across from the elevator while a hallway led east, and west to other closed doorways. The waiting room’s door stood open. It contained only a few rickety chairs, and two suit-wearing bodyguards.

  “You’re late,” one of the bodyguards snapped. “You should know better than to keep Mr. Soranno waiting.”

  “I-I had problems getting a cab,” she stammered as cold sweat formed on her face, and body. A chill knifed through her gut the instant the office door opened. A bodyguard shoved her unceremoniously into the room to face her worst fears.

  Leo Soranno sat near the window looking out over Warner’s skyline. He turned, greyish smoke trailing upward from a cigar held in one hand. Cold, dark eyes raked her from head to toe. Soranno leaned back in the chair before crossing his feet on the desk. The black designer suit, and white shirt open at the neck were a fashion staple for the man, as were the polished leather shoes. “You kept me waiting, Jacinda. And the explosive device you planted was not where you were told to leave it. The explosion did not take our target out. There are consequences.”

  She shivered, knees knocking together as excuses swirled through her head. What would work? What would he believe? The wrong story could bring a bullet in the brain. She knew enough about Soranno to know that. “I had problems catching a cab. Nicky wouldn’t let me inside. And his girlfriend threatened me! I’m sorry that I kept you waiting.”

  Soranno smiled at the man standing in the dark corner near the door. “Show our friend here what happens when you keep Leo Soranno waiting. Use the room at the end of the hall. It should have everything you need.”

  The man dressed in black, wearing a ski mask which obscured his facial features, stepped toward Jacinda with the e
asy grace of a predator. A large hand clutched her neck. She screamed, and was rewarded with a backhand to the face. “Come quietly, or it will be the last time you see our benefactor,” the man hissed.

  “Yes, anything you say!” Jacinda whimpered before walking at the man’s side as he led her out of the office, and down the hallway.

  The door of the room slammed shut behind them. An expensive sound system stood near the doorway. The man punched the power button. The sensual, raw beat of a Nine Inch Nails song vibrated the floor, and walls. Jacinda backed away from the man until he caught her again. She squirmed helplessly as he fastened cuffs around each wrist and ankle, before clipping the cuffs to a wrought iron frame in the center of the room.

  “Don’t hurt me!” she begged. A maniacal laugh was the only response the man gave.

  He rolled a stainless-steel tray close to the wrought iron rack. A row of instruments, and devices lay on the tray. “Let’s try something gentle first, Jacinda.”

  He brutally ripped the clothing from her body. The pain from the first device was overwhelming as it rippled through nerve endings. By the time the second device began its work, she begged, and cried. He laughed at her pain. “We only hurt those we love. That quote is utter bullshit. I hurt those that give me pleasure. It helps me keep them in line, Jacinda.”

  His tongue slid along the side of her face. Her first scream came as the twisted song’s words ricocheted off her mind, and into the air.

  There were no more screams by the time the final words pounded the air.

  Chapter 16

  Leah

  IN THE DAYS THAT FOLLOWED the explosion, Nick and I clung to each other. The quiet moments late at night when we talked about the explosion helped both of us process the events. It was not my habit to be needy, or dependent on anyone. My mother taught me that much during the formative years of my life. It was refreshing to have a group of people in my life who supported me. Lukas, Morgan, Sarah, and everyone at Knight Security went out of their way to show their concern. Rose remained with us for a few days, but eventually returned home with Riley Briggs dispatched to watch over her.

  Sleep was difficult for me. I frequently woke drenched in sweat after nightmares of the explosion. It was during those sleepless nights that I returned to the office to dig deeper into the lives of those surrounding Leo Soranno. Ryder accompanied me on the first journey into the dark web on Tor.

  “Let me show you where to go,” Ryder encouraged after firing up the laptop that was permanently attached to his hip it seemed. A light green window opened confirming Tor was active. “We don’t need deep web search engines since we know Shade Tree Lane’s web address.”

  Ryder’s fingers danced across the keyboard. “Our code name is Aurora. Email set up is next. We’re using TorBox for that. I’ll write the code name, email login, and password down for you. Same for Shade Tree. Keep it under lock and key.”

  I remained motionless; eyes locked on the screen as Ryder navigated the dark web. “Leah, you understand? Lock and key,” Ryder repeated.

  “Yes, lock and key.” My gaze returned to the computer screen. Ryder accessed Shade Tree. It was a secret deep web forum dedicated to information, intel, and any sick perversion imaginable. He bypassed sub-forums with blatant titles. Some of them turned my stomach. I understood now why he warned me to be careful.

  “InfoIntel is the sub-forum where we need to be,” Ryder said as he found the appropriate forum. “And let’s post a question as a confused newbie hoping to find answers. Now, we wait. We can check back in the morning. You should get some rest, Leah. You’re exhausted.”

  “I’ll be fine,” I murmured. “Lukas made sure to stock coffee, and a coffeemaker.”

  “You’re not okay, girl,” Ryder said in a soft, soothing voice. He took me in his arms, and held me while I cried. “I can’t imagine what it’s like knowing that someone wants you dead, or losing a home to an explosion. You and Nick are just getting started. Now, you’re living in a makeshift barracks with me and Nick.”

  “It’s not the most pleasant thing in the world,” I admitted. I tried to hold back a yawn.

  “See, you are sleepy. Why not go back to bed with snuggle bunny?” Ryder laughed.

  “You’re right. I’ll see you later.”

  I made my way back to the room Nick and I shared. Sliding against his warm body was soothing. A hand came to rest on the lightly furred chest of the man I loved. The rhythmic sound of his breathing lulled me to sleep. It was the first time since the explosion that I slept soundly.

  I woke late the next morning alone in bed with the comforter pulled over me. A note penned in Nick’s scrawl lay on his pillow.

  Leah,

  Sleep as long as you can. Ryder said you were up late last night. I’m in the office working. You can find me there.

  Love,

  Your Snuggle Bunny

  The note was a reminder of how special Nick really was. I folded the note neatly, placed it in a book on the nightstand, and went to find my snuggle bunny.

  SHADE TREE offered no leads on Soranno for days. The bastard was good at closing off possible leads. So far, none of the suspects panned out. Both the special agents were squeaky clean. Officer Mendez was dead. Nick’s former partner, Phil Walker, walked a line close to the dark side, but was clean other than cheating on his wife, and having unpaid parking tickets. Even D. A. Shawn Carmichael was squeaky clean. Perhaps too squeaky. That left us with unknown informants who didn’t care to share information with Soranno.

  On the third day, Ryder and I both hooted when we found a response to our post on Shade Tree Lane the next morning. Nick grinned as we settled down. Someone named Enigma responded wanting more information.

  “This person seems to know a lot about Leo Soranno,” I said while Ryder replied to Enigma’s post.

  “We go slow, build trust. I should talk to Lukas about purchasing some bitcoin,” Ryder replied. He logged out of the forum, left the dark web, and shut the laptop down. As was his habit, he disconnected the ethernet cord connecting the laptop to the internet.

  “Why do you disconnect the internet each time?” Nick asked Ryder.

  “You can’t trace what you can’t find,’ was his cryptic response to Nick’s question about the odd habit. “Just in case. You never know what technology can do in this world.”

  Communication with Enigma continued. Others posted warning us to steer clear of Soranno for good reason. A name began appearing after the first couple of weeks. One that I knew would torment Nick. Jacinda. At least two unknowns were involved. Private emails began to filter in that hinted at male, and female unknowns.

  My days passed in the same way. Sleep. Nightmares. Wake. Research. Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm me, yet I pushed forward. At least I could watch Nick as he slept. He was so peaceful with eyes closed, sprawled out in bed on his back. The neatly trimmed beard and mustache lent a mysterious air to his handsome face. I ground my teeth in frustration. It was time to take control of my life, and stop letting Leo Soranno control it from afar.

  My plan to put the explosion behind me began with working out. Lately, I had been lax in the daily workouts that reduced my frustration, and anger. The first day after my epiphany, Nick found me running the stairs from the ground floor to the top floor, ten stories. I grinned as I passed him on the way up from the lobby. By the time I catapulted through the doors on the tenth floor, a crowd had gathered to watch me. Clenched fists in the air, I raced to the end of the hallway before tapping the windowsill. The crowd of onlookers applauded. It was a good start.

  Lukas graciously supplied a treadmill, exercise bike, and a large bag for the general living area. I changed into running gear before settling into a slow jog on the treadmill. The treadmill was situated near a window which offered a view of Orion Loop, and northern parts of the city. Earbuds and music maintained my focus. The pounding, erotic beat of a Nine Inch Nails song filled my head. It felt good to run while clearing my head.

  The
treadmill powered down, and I stepped off. Soranno was dirty enough to use anyone to get what he wanted. The pounding, sexy beat continued. How I loved hour loops of this song. It made my heart beat fast, my mind move faster.

  By the time Ryder and Nick appeared in the office at nine that morning, a half pot of coffee was in my stomach. A growing diagram of a tree’s structure graced the wall containing a six feet tall, by ten feet long, dry erase board. The limbs contained names of known associates, and business enterprises. The root system contained a list of names, and four separate instances of unknown associates.

  “What the heck happened here?” Nick said, eyes going wide when he saw the extensive drawing, and labels.

  Ryder stood back, eyes moving over the drawing, and names. He grinned before saying, “It looks like we have our work cut out for us. Leave it to you to figure out a unique way of looking at things.”

  “Why the hell is Jacinda’s name on the list, Leah?” Nick’s finger tapped the board beside the one unknown that was clearly identified.

  “Who shows up after two years with no contact in the days before the explosion? And why? You said yourself that Jacinda is a trust fund baby. She doesn’t need to worry about money. Why show up after two years?” My words challenged Nick.

  In the next instant another name flashed in my head. One too close to my heart. One that led to me in the crazy, convoluted circles for most of my life. I scrawled the words Leah’s Mom beside an unknown. My eyes met Nick’s, and held firm. “You know it’s a possibility. The same with my mom. I wouldn’t doubt my mom selling me out if it meant she could get a fix, and a place to stay. The thought hurts, but I accept the reality of it.”

  “I’ll look into this in the conference room,” Ryder volunteered. His eyes caught mine before moving to Nick, who remained motionless at the dry erase board. “Looks like you guys need to talk this one out.”