Mob Lawyer 5: A Legal Thriller

by Dave Daren

  “Ah,” I said. “Don’t kill the messenger and all.”

  “Exactly,” Anthony said with a grin. “Alright, you have half an hour to make your call to the feds. Tell them that you have all of the information from the Andorran servers and that you want to hand it over.”

  “Not a problem,” I said.

  I smiled as I tugged my phone out of my pocket. I scrolled through my contacts until I found Agent Hisashi, and then paused before I hit the call button.

  “What is it?” my client huffed when he saw my hesitation. “I thought you were all for giving the info to the feds.”

  “I am,” I said. “It’s always better to have the government do the heavy lifting. But… How is your father going to react?”

  The older Febbo hadn’t been shy about his opinions, and though it had seemed like he was giving Anthony the green light to make his own choices for the family, it was still best not to upset the made man.

  “He’ll deal with it,” the younger Febbo said. “I’m going to make this decision for the family. He said he wanted to retire, and that means that he needs to let go of the reins and trust me a little.”

  “Okay,” I said before I hit the dial button.

  “Mr. Morgan,” Hisashi said on the third ring. “I haven’t heard from you in a few days.”

  “I’ve been busy,” I said. “I wanted to thank you for that subpoena that you sent me.”

  “Oh?” the bald agent said in an intrigued tone. “Did you find someone to help you execute it in Andorra?”

  “Sort of,” I hedged. “I do have a present for you, though.”

  “I do like presents,” the FBI agent said. “Especially ones that help me on a case.”

  I grinned as the fed picked up on what I was talking about. I shook my head when Anthony lifted an eyebrow in question, and the mafioso just shrugged and went back to the files on his computer.

  “How convenient,” I said. “I may have something that will do just that.”

  The sound of Monroe’s voice came through the line as the younger agent asked what the hell I wanted. He was still hot-headed, but he’d been lucky to have a partner that was smart and quick-witted. If he paid attention to what Hisashi taught him, then he’d go far in the bureau.

  “Sorry about that interruption,” the older agent sighed. “You were telling me how you came by such a fantastic present.”

  “I wasn’t,” I said.

  There was silence and then a huff from the other end of the line, and I could almost picture the agent’s neutral face as he geared up to come at me from a different angle.

  “Alright, then,” Hiashi said. “Where did the information come from? Did you actually have someone help you to serve the subpoena?”

  “Like I said, sort of,” I repeated. “Listen, it doesn’t matter how I came by the information, just that I have it. You didn’t complain when I helped you out before.”

  “Mmhmm,” the fed muttered.

  He’d heard the Gryffon’s mouthpiece when he said that one of the laptops had been stolen, and he had probably already guessed that the data I was about to give him was acquired in a less than legal fashion, or that it came from that same computer. But he just had to say that an anonymous source gave it to him, and then he’d be able to use it in his case.

  “My friend has more anonymous data that will help you with Gryffon and your corruption case,” I said.

  “Really?” the bald man asked. “How nice of your friend.”

  I stood and started to walk around the office as I tried to get rid of my nervous energy. I had to do this right if we were going to take down the Serbian mobsters that were after my client and his associates.

  “He’s a pretty good guy,” I said. “But, for obvious reasons, he would like to remain anonymous.”

  “Of course,” Hisashi said. “We can work out a place for him to leave the information.”

  I nodded my head as I wracked my brain for the best place. I would need it to be somewhere crowded where I could watch and make sure that the right people found the USB.

  “It’ll need to be somewhere public,” I said. “How about near the criminal courthouse in Brooklyn?”

  It would be busy enough that no one would think twice about a lawyer, or a fed, that was in the same area within a half hour timespan. It was also neutral territory that didn’t belong to the Italians, the feds, or the Serbians.

  “What the hell is taking so long?” Monroe snapped from somewhere near the bald agent.

  I could almost picture the young agent leaning over the desk. I was used to his agitation, and his impatience.

  “We’re making a plan,” the older agent said. “It’s important to have a plan so that things don’t go wrong.”

  I heard the younger agent huff and mutter to himself, but there were no more outbursts.

  “Everything okay over there?” I teased. “It sounds like there’s trouble in paradise.”

  “Kids,” the fed grumbled. “Always so impatient.”

  I looked at my watch and did some quick calculations for how long it would take me to drive from the Febbo estate to criminal court in Brooklyn. I had hours before the building closed, and I already knew where I’d hide the USB and where I’d watch the feds as they grabbed it.

  “You’re a great babysitter,” I said.

  “You said something about the criminal courthouse in Brooklyn?” the bald man asked.

  “I did,” I responded. “I can be at the Brooklyn courthouse in about an hour and a half.”

  Someone called Hisahi’s name, and the line went quiet while he talked to whoever it was.

  I paced around the room as I waited. I knew that Brooklyn was a safe place since my friend, Alessia Pizzano, was the new DA, and she was the most honest person that I knew. I had helped her in her election campaign, and she was not on the list from Gryffon.

  “Are you still there?” the fed asked as he came back on the line.

  “I am,” I said. “Can you meet me in Brooklyn in an hour and a half?”

  “I can,” Hisashi said. “What will your friend be leaving me?”

  “There’s a place near the bottom of the stairs,” I said. “There’s a really great planter there, a gift of some patron of the city. It’s a great place to look back into your memories.”

  “Right,” the bald man said. “Tell your friend that I appreciate his help.”

  The line went quiet as the older agent hung up the phone.

  I grinned as I stuffed my cell phone into my pocket and turned to look at Anthony. I walked over and sat in my chair right before the tech guy with thick-rimmed glasses knocked on the door and then popped his head inside.

  “Mr. Febbo?” he asked. “I have the data you asked for.”

  “Give it to Hunter,” my client said. “And the rest of you can head home. Thank you so much for your help. I’ll make sure that you have some overtime pay.”

  “Thank you, sir,” the middle-aged man said before he hurried back out into the hallway.

  I retrieved my laptop and briefcase from downstairs, plugged in the USB, and then checked the data to make sure that everything was there. I found the information from Galic’s laptop and everything from Gryffon’s location in Andorra. I double-checked that Joey and Mattias were absent, and their numbers for the payoffs weren’t anywhere to be seen.

  “It looks like everything is here,” I said as I closed my laptop.

  “Did you figure out what you want to do?” Sal asked as he came back into the office.

  “Yes,” Anthony said. “Hunter is about to go bring the feds the information that we have on Gryffon and the payoffs.”

  The older Febbo paused as he gripped the back of the leather guest chair. He clenched his jaw and took a few deep breaths as his face turned bright red.

  “So you’re a rat, now?” he asked in a low, angry tone.

  “Pops,” my client said with a sigh. “We’re using the feds. They’re going to take care of all of our dirty laundr
y for us. No bloodshed, and no arrests. At least, none for our guys.”

  “Don’t you ‘pops’ me,” Sal growled. “Get out of my office.”

  The older Febbo pointed to the door with one hand as he held onto the chair with the other, and he shook with rage as he glared between the two of us. He closed his eyes like he was trying to control his anger, but the shade of red had turned almost purple.

  “Alright,” Anthony said as he stood and closed his laptop.

  He was calmer than I thought he would be as he was being kicked out of his office. He nodded his head to his father before he strolled past with me right behind him.

  The door locked almost as soon as we’d shut it, and I heard something hit the wall as Sal started to shout what I was sure were obscenities in Italian.

  “I thought he was finally coming around,” I sighed as we walked down the hallway toward the stairs.

  “It’s fine,” Anthony said. “I’ll handle my father while you go to the meeting.”

  The younger Febbo shook his head and strolled toward the kitchen. He grabbed an apple from the counter, smiled at his mother, and then walked out to the patio and the fresh air.

  “Good luck,” I said. “I’m going to go home after the meeting. I need a shower and a night in my own bed.”

  “That might be best,” my client said. “It might take a few days to convince my father that this is the only real solution. But he’ll come around when the arrests start to be made.”

  “And I won’t have to represent anyone on murder charges,” I said.

  “Again,” the mafioso said with a smirk.

  I shook my head as I said my goodbyes and then strolled back through the house. I waved to Gulia and Annie as I passed through the kitchen, grabbed a water for the road, and then retrieved my overnight bag from the living room.

  Hank waited outside for me when I walked down the steps, and I wondered if Anthony had texted him to let him know that I was on my way out, or if he’d been expecting me.

  “Where are we headed to?” the beefy man asked.

  He looked refreshed, like he’d slept late, and I envied that he’d been able to go home to rest before he had to come back. I would be in my own home soon enough, though that was a few hours away.

  “Brooklyn,” I said. “I need to make a drop-off at the courthouse, and then we’ll grab a coffee at the shop across from it.”

  “Yes, sir,” the bodyguard said.

  He gave one last look at the house before he climbed into the black Chrysler 300.

  The drive into the city was a little stop and go, but most of the traffic was on its way out rather than on the way in. There was a wreck that took an extra ten minutes to get around, and my leg bounced the entire time as I checked my watch to make sure that we hadn’t missed the drop off.

  Hank pulled the car up in front of the courthouse ten minutes before Hisashi was supposed to arrive, and I tried not to seem like I was in a hurry as I climbed out. I looked around, waved to a few of the lawyers that I recognized, and then went to stand next to the planter where I was supposed to hide the USB.

  “Mr. Morgan, I haven’t seen you around here in a while,” a familiar voice said to my right.

  I looked over and almost groaned as I saw one of the attorneys from my old white shoe law firm. I couldn’t remember his name since it was one of the generic names that I’d heard a million times when I was in high school, but one which escaped me at the moment.

  “It’s been forever,” I said as I gave up trying to remember his name.

  “The firm has been doing great,” the man said, though I hadn’t actually asked. “I’m on my way to making partner. Can you believe that? Soon there’ll be an office with Chris Johnson scrawled in perfect block letters.”

  Chris! That was it. I couldn’t believe that I could forget that, but everything about the man was forgettable from his medium brown eyes to his weak chin and ill-fitting suit.

  “Congratulations,” I said.

  I had the USB in my hand, but I still needed to put it into the planter without my old colleague noticing. I sat down on the ledge of the planter and yawned like I hadn’t slept in forever, something that Chris would be familiar with given the amounts of paperwork my old firm used to go through, and then I slipped the metal stick into the soil right next to where I was sitting.

  “Thanks,” the attorney said with a bright smile. “I hear that you’re doing well, too?”

  “I am,” I said. “Ah. There’s my friend now. I apologize, but we have some business to discuss. Congratulations on your upcoming promotion. I’m sure you’ll make a great partner.”

  Chris looked over at Hank, and his eyes went wide. His mouth flopped open like a fish on the deck of a boat for a few seconds before he managed to regain his senses.

  “Th-thanks,” he stuttered before he hurried toward the parking garage next to the courthouse.

  “What was with him?” Hank asked as I fell into step beside him.

  I had to fight the urge to turn around and make sure that no one else had seen the USB, but I knew that there were plenty of cameras in the area that would record me, and I couldn’t give the impression that I was nervous.

  “I think you scared him,” I told my beefy bodyguard with a smirk. “You are a pretty big man.”

  “I don’t scare you,” he pointed out as he held open the door to the coffee shop.

  “That’s because you’re here to make sure I’m safe,” I laughed. “Remember, I’ve fought you, and I know how fast you can move.”

  “You do pretty well, yourself,” the bodyguard said.

  “I do what I can,” I said with a shrug. “I’m going to get us a table. Can you get me a dirty vanilla chai latte?”

  “Feeling like fall?” Hank teased.

  “It is nice weather outside,” I said before I weaved through the crowd of lawyers and office workers.

  I managed to find a table right next to the window. I slid into the high top chair, balanced my briefcase on the window’s ledge, and stared out across the street toward the courthouse and the USB. I didn’t have to wait long before Hisashi strolled down the sidewalk with a paper in his hand.

  The bald agent plopped down on the planter, stretched his legs out in front of him, and then opened his newspaper to what I was sure was the sports page. He stayed like that long after Hank had retrieved our coffees, but he still hadn’t reached for the USB. He finally made it to the last page of his newspaper, snapped it shut, and then set it down as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He was so smooth grabbing the small stick with his paper that I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t been watching so intently.

  “That went well,” my bodyguard said as he stood up and stretched. “Now let’s get you home. You look like shit.”

  “You know, everyone keeps telling me that,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “I must need a vacation.”

  “Maybe you’ll have one soon,” Hank said as we walked into the crisp afternoon air. “If everything goes according to plan, you should have fewer cases to work on.”

  “That does sound nice,” I said.

  I practically walked on air the entire way back to the car. I’d finally given the information to the feds, and it was in their court now. I’d also kept Anthony from becoming a made man, and his transition into the next head of the Febbo family would be made without bodies stacked underneath his feet. All I had to do now was wait, and the Serbians, and corrupt politicians, would be routed out of my city.

  The trip home was fast, and I drifted into sleep knowing that soon New York would be a safer place again.

  I woke the next morning to Tommaso making breakfast in the kitchen. He filled me in on my schedule and the three new cases that had come in since I’d left for Andorra. He’d done most of the work that I needed to do for prep, so all I had to do was review the files and then show up to court when I was scheduled.

  The young paralegal was exactly what I needed, and I decided to make him a permanent fixt
ure around the house. I put a desk in the office for him so that we could both work easily at the same time, and I called a contractor about extending the wall into the backyard so we could have more space.

  The first week passed by in a blur of catching up on cases, traveling to the different boroughs, and having most of the charges in my old cases dropped. It wasn’t until the second week without any headlines about Gryffon or corrupt politicians that I started to worry.

  Anthony started to doubt the plan at about the same time that I did, and he warned me that if the feds didn’t do something soon, then he’d have to use his father’s tactics. He didn’t like that the FBI agents seemed to be sitting on the damning evidence, and questioned whether Hisashi or Monroe were on the payroll under different names.

  I went through the files again in the hopes of figuring out what was taking so long, but nothing popped out at me. I didn’t know enough feds to recognize their names, and if the Serbians had someone on their payroll, they hadn’t listed that particular connection. I doubted that they would leave something like that out of their files, but as the days passed by I started to become as antsy as Anthony.

  I gave Hisashi a call, but the line went to voicemail after several rings, so I called the hotline and had them transfer me to his landline. It still went to voicemail, so I decided that I’d leave a message on his cell phone where his co-workers were less likely to overhear it. I called his cell phone number again, told him to call me, and then distracted myself with the latest case.

  Hank had left for his date, and I decided to stay in the office to go over the files again to find anything I’d missed. I had read the same pages again and again until it felt like my eyes were going to bleed, and I almost jumped out of my skin when the phone rang, and I answered it without even looking at the number. I heard gunshots on the other end and jumped out of my chair as I pulled the phone back to see that it was Gulia.

  “Hunter!” the matriarch shouted through the chaos of windows breaking. “We’re under attack.”

  Chapter 16

  “Gulia!” I shouted into the phone.

  There was no answer from the other side of the line, and the sudden silence made my heart drop into my feet. I pressed my phone into my ear for any sounds at all that would tell me what was happening, but the call had been dropped. I dialed Gulia’s number three different times, and each time it went straight to voicemail.