by Dave Daren
Chapter 10
“How do I know that I can trust you?” I asked the beautiful woman in front of me.
I would love to have someone from the Andorran government on my side, but I wasn’t naive enough to believe everything that I was told.
“You don’t,” Arielle said with a shrug. “But you’ll never get that subpoena served without my help.”
A group of men in street clothes came out of the building beside us, and the brunette reached out to tug my phone from my pocket. She pretended to put her phone number in it until the crowd passed, and I noticed that at least one of the men seemed to look at us a little too long.
“So I’m just supposed to trust you?” I asked once I had my phone back.
“What other choice do you have?” the government lawyer asked. “You can either work with me, or you can go back to your country without the information that you need for your RICO case.”
I did have other options, but those included illegal hacking, and I wanted to do this the legal way. I ran a hand through my hair as if I was still debating what I wanted to do, but my mind was already made up.
“Please,” the beautiful woman whispered. “I have worked with other agencies, but they came up with nothing. I tried to go to the Swiss government so that I could talk to Smithe, but they won’t help.”
“Smithe,” I said.
I knew the name already, but I wanted to know how much she’d already gleaned. I didn’t know if she’d believed that he was actually the head of the company, and if she did, then she wouldn’t be of much help to me.
“Yes,” she said with a roll of her pale-blue eyes. “The man that they have as… what’s the word in English… a decoy?”
“A patsy,” I provided.
“Yes!” she exclaimed with a bright smile that almost blinded me. “So you know about Smithe as well?”
“I do,” I said as I shifted from foot to foot.
“You have potential,” the beautiful woman said. “We will meet later to discuss this more. It isn’t safe to talk so close to the building. There are too many ears.”
“Where and when?” I asked.
“Nostrum at seven-thirty tonight,” she responded. “Make sure that you are not followed.”
She let out another flirtatious giggle, kissed me on the cheek, and then sauntered back into the building without another look back.
I looked around to see that there were a few eyes on me, and wondered how quickly the Gryffon Company would know about our little exchange. I’d kept my body posture light and a smile on my face as she pretended to flirt with me, but if she’d really gone after them before, then they could probably guess what we were talking about.
The drive back to the hotel was quick despite my detour to check out the restaurant that I was supposed to meet her at. It was a tiny place in the corner of a building with what looked like apartments above it, and I’d only spared a glance at it as I drove through the streets with what I hoped was a confused look on my face until I was back in front of the Hotel de L’Isard.
“How did it go?” Hank asked when I came back into our suite.
“Good and bad,” I said.
The beefy man looked up at me questioningly from the couch, and I shrugged as I set my briefcase down.
“The magistrate refused to serve my subpoena,” I said. “He said that it’s an American issue and not an Andorran one.”
“Alright,” Gabriele said with a smile. “That means it’s my time to rock and roll.”
He cracked open a can of what looked like a Monster, but the label was in another language. He took a huge swig of it, rolled his shoulders, and then opened his laptop.
“Not just yet,” I said. “That’s where the good news comes in.”
I shrugged out of my suit jacket, tossed it onto the bed, and then dragged a chair over to where the two men sat on the couch.
“What’s the good news?” my bodyguard asked.
“On the way out I was stopped by an attorney that works for the government,” I explained. “She wants to bring down Gryffon, and she’s offered to help me serve the subpoena.”
“When?” Hank asked.
“Not sure, yet,” I said. “She wants to meet tonight at a restaurant called Nostrum so we can swap information.”
“And you trust her?” the hacker scoffed. “What’s her name? I’ll have everything that I need to know about her in seconds.”
“Arielle,” I said. “She didn’t give me a last name. I don’t know if I trust her, but I recognized that hunger in her eyes. She’s got her reasons to bring down the company, and I want to see how this plays out.”
My bodyguard nodded his head as he processed.
“Alright,” the beefy man said after what felt like forever. “Gabriele, how long will your hack take?”
The purple-haired man looked up from his keyboard with a blank expression on his face. He blinked a few times, squinted, and then turned back to his computer as his fingers flew across the keys.
“A few days,” the hacker said before he took another swig of his energy drink. “Their system is actually pretty legit. I’ll have to have a gentle touch if I want to go unnoticed.”
I stood and started to pace around the small space as I thought about what I should do. I didn’t know enough about Arielle to trust her, but she’d been sincere when she said that she wanted to bring Gryffon down, and I wanted to find out what she could do to help me.
On the other hand, if I stayed too long in Andorra, then Galic would find out where I was and send his goons. I doubted that he’d show as much restraint since I wasn’t on American soil, and the magistrate had seemed like he might already be in the Serbian’s pocket. I still wanted to give the legal way a chance if we could, but it all came down to timing.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll go to this meeting tonight and find out exactly what the lawyer knows. If it doesn’t go well, then Gabriele, you’ll go ahead and start the backup plan.”
“Why not start now?” the hacker asked as he took another long swig of his energy drink.
His black eyeliner had smeared under his eyes during the flight, and it had given him the appearance of a punk raccoon with a caffeine addiction.
“I want to give the legal way a chance,” I said. “I still have the subpoena. Give me one full day before you do anything.”
“It’ll take at least three days,” the young Italian man said. “And I’ll have to be in Andorra if I want to get into their servers. Do you really think that we have the time to waste?”
I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I didn’t want to expose us any longer than necessary, but if I had any chance of helping Anthony keep things legal, then I needed to make sure I exhausted every last resource that I had.
“We’ll have to make it work,” I said. “We’ll keep a low profile. Hank, do you think that you could go buy me some local clothes? Maybe a ball cap, too.”
“Sure,” the beefy man said. “But, Hunter, we need to make sure that we get what’s on those servers if we want to go home.”
“We will,” I reassured him.
The large man frowned, narrowed his eyes like he was debating something, and then shrugged before he went out to find something for me to wear so that I could blend in.
“Why do you have to look like a local?” Gabriele asked. “It’s not like anyone here knows who you are.”
“You’d be surprised,” I said as I sank down onto the couch. “They recognized me as an American the moment I walked into the building. And the security guard at Galic’s house in the states knew exactly who I was the moment he saw my face.”
“Oh yeah,” the hacker laughed as he shook his head and sat back in his seat. “I heard about how you took down some armed goon while the boss was working.”
I looked at him for a few seconds as I wondered how much the purple-haired man knew about the Febbo operations. He hadn’t had any trouble getting into my phone or my email, but I didn’t think that he would
be dumb enough to break into Anthony or Sal’s files.
“How many people know about that?” I asked.
“Everyone, my dude, everyone,” he said. “There’s nothing that mobsters love more than a little idle gossip.”
“I thought that would be frowned upon,” I said.
“If it was a secret, sure,” Gabriele said with a shrug. “But between Jovanni and Sal, everyone was talking about the lawyer with the fists.”
I laughed at the ridiculous nickname. I sounded like I was some terrible Saturday morning cartoon hero.
“Glad to know I’m appreciated, I guess,” I said.
I glanced at my phone and realized that I was in the same time zone as Liz. I knew her schedule well enough to know that she was probably about to go to lunch, and I decided to check in on her and make sure that she was still okay.
“I’m going to call my co-counsel,” I said.
“Is that what they call it these days?” Gabriele teased. “Have fun. I’ll be working.”
“Not on Gryffon,” I warned. “I want to do this legit.”
“Don’t worry,” the hacker said. “I do other work, too.”
I watched the young man for a few seconds before I pushed myself off of the couch and wandered into one of the bedrooms. I found Liz’s number and hit the send button. I had missed my part-time girlfriend over the last week, but I knew that she would find someone to occupy her time while she was in London, and I couldn’t help but wonder if I might be able to spend some quality time with Arielle.
The government attorney was gorgeous with her light-blue eyes and brown hair. It had always been a favorite combination of mine, especially since she’d paired it with a burgundy lipstick that stood out against her pale skin. Her black dress hadn’t been too tight, but it had hinted at the curve of her hips and the swell of her breasts.
“Earth to Hunter,” Liz said in my ear.
“Oh shit,” I muttered as I came back to the present and the woman that I’d called.
“You better be thinking of me if you’re that zoned out,” she joked.
“Of course,” I said. “How’s work going?”
The beautiful blonde groaned, and I could almost see her roll her eyes all the way in London.
“Celebrities are literally the worst,” she huffed. “I think I’d rather be back working with you and the Febbos.”
“You’re welcome anytime,” I said.
We both knew that she wouldn’t leave her plush job in London. She loved it despite its occasional frustrations, and the fact that it put her in line for a promotion to partner only made it that much more enticing.
I heard someone in the background call her name, and she gave them a quick answer that I couldn’t hear. I just needed to find out if she had seen anyone tailing her after our last phone call. I doubted that Galic would’ve sent men after her because she wasn’t working on any cases for the Febbos, but it was always a possibility. Especially since I had a relationship with her.
“Sorry about that, Hunter,” Liz said as she came back on the line. “I have to go. There’s some issue with a contract. Can I call you later?”
“I’ll be busy with a case,” I said. “I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay.”
“What?” my part-time lover asked. “Oh, yeah. No boogeyman has followed me around. I really think that they’ll leave me alone now. I’ll talk to you later, though?”
“Of course,” I said.
I looked out of the window as I hung up the phone and thought about the good times we’d had together working the Febbo cases. I was happy for Liz, even if she was working in London now. Her career was taking off, and so was mine, and though I doubted that we would ever become anything serious, we’d always be there cheering each other on.
“Are you still on the phone?” Gabriele asked as he knocked on the bedroom door.
“No,” I said. “What’s up?”
“I was thinking about tonight,” the purple-haired young man said as he strolled in with his hands in his pockets.
His torn jeans and black t-shirt were wrinkled, and I wondered if he planned to stay in that same outfit for the duration of our trip. I hadn’t seen much in his bag except for hardware, but since it was black canvas, his clothes probably blended in with the fabric.
“Okay,” I said.
I stood up and walked into the Jack-and-Jill bathroom that I shared with the other room and splashed cold water on my face. I had slept fine on the plane, but the time difference was telling me that it was still early in the morning.
“I was thinking that even if this lawyer woman is a bust,” the hacker started. “You could use whatever info that she gives you to help me hack into the systems.”
“How so?” I asked.
“Well,” he said with a glance out of the window like he was trying to organize his thoughts. “The more that I know about the Gryffon Company, the easier it will be for me to find a back door. I’m not talking like passwords or anything like that, though that would be great if she has it, but I need to know how they run their day-to-day operations. How do they store information? Who has access to it? All that junk will really help.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” I said. “She said that she’d worked with other agencies to try and take down Gryffon before, but no one has been able to.”
“That string of failure is going to end with us,” Gabriele boasted. “I don’t like to lose.”
“Neither do I,” I laughed.
“I can tell,” the young Italian man said. “I looked up your cases. Not just the ones that you’ve done for Anthony, but like, all the way back to law school. You’re kind of a shark.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” I chuckled.
“You should,” he said as we walked back into the sitting room. “The best people are sharks.”
He pulled up the hem of his black t-shirt to show me a tattoo of a shark that was taking a bite out of a computer.
“What are you two doing?” Hank asked as he came back in. “Showing off your tats?”
“I don’t have any,” I confessed.
Gabriele snorted and rolled his eyes as he dropped his shirt and took the plastic bag of clothes that Hank handed him.
“That’s not surprising,” the tattooed man said. “Though, I have to admit you strike me as the kind of guy that might hide them underneath a suit. I knew a guy one time that looked completely straight-laced. Like he wore three-piece suits and everything. But underneath the collar, he was completely tatted. Not one inch of free space.”
“That would be interesting,” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seriously entertained getting one, though.”
“They’re not for everyone,” Gabriele said. “No judgment.”
I took the bag that Hank offered me and peered inside. I was glad that he hadn’t bought me anything too out of the ordinary for my usual wardrobe. I had a pair of blue jeans, a t-shirt with a picture of a superhero poster, and some white sneakers.
“This is perfect,” I said. “Did you get something for yourself?”
“I did,” the bodyguard said.
He pulled out a black hoodie, dark wash blue jeans, and a plain black t-shirt.
“Rockin’ the black,” Gabriele said with a nod of approval.
Hank rolled his eyes and then made his way to the bathroom to change, but he still looked intimidating when he came out. His muscles bulged against the thick fabric of the hoodie, and his thighs barely fit into his jeans. He wouldn’t blend in entirely, but anyone that looked at him would think twice before they approached him.
“I replaced my side arm, too,” the bodyguard said as he lifted his shirt.
“Where did you find that?” I gaped.
I knew that it wasn’t legal unless Andorra just loved to hand out handguns to Americans.
“It’s best you don’t ask too many questions,” Hank said with a shrug. “The important thing is that I have protection if we need it.”
“Ho
pefully, we won’t,” I said.
I almost laughed as the words left my mouth. I had been in constant trouble for the last year, though most of it I’d fought my way out of legally or with my bare fists. I did keep my gun on me when I was in the city, but I hadn’t needed it yet.
We spent the rest of the afternoon planning. Hank had taken a look at the restaurant while he was out and was sure that it would be easily defendable. He had already picked out what table he would sit at so that he could watch for any of Galic’s men or for any suspicious cars that might decide to shoot up the place.
I reviewed some paperwork that Tommaso had sent me while Gabriele worked on something on his laptop, and soon it was almost time for me to go to my meeting. I changed into the jeans and t-shirt, took the knife that Hank offered, and then stuffed my wallet and cell phone into my pockets before I headed out.
The restaurant wasn’t too busy when I walked in, and there were a few empty tables I could choose from. I immediately noted Hank as he took up his position in the back corner at a table that had suddenly become available when he walked in. I tried not to snicker as the waiter suddenly cleared the table and set down a fresh tablecloth and setting, all of which Hank had probably prearranged during his earlier visit. I tore my eyes away from the scene and looked around for Arielle. I almost missed her as she walked in with her hair down around her shoulders and a pair of sunglasses that covered half her face.
She’d changed her clothes, too, and the new outfit made my mouth go dry. She had on cut-off shorts over black fishnet stockings that had been strategically ripped, and an off the shoulder black tank top with a pair of red glittery lips that stretched over her ample breasts. She still had on high heels, but the ones that she wore now had metal spikes that ran up the back of her shoe.
“Hunter,” she said with a bright smile as she made her way over to me. “I’m so glad you were able to make it.”
She ran her hands over my shoulders and laced her fingers together behind my neck as she leaned her body against mine.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” I played along while I pulled her close.
“Should we get a table?” she purred.