The Genesis Group

by Mike Dagons

  “Let’s go,” Valow said, and then Doc plunged a hypo in her neck. She was out cold in a second.

  Valow put her in a wheelchair and carted her out.

  Doc put on surgical gloves, and then removed the needle from my arm. He picked up the stack of clean clothes, and handed it to me. “You get dressed, and then you get something to eat before you go to that meeting. I mean it, girl. If you don’t, I’m coming in there and dragging you out. You understand?” he pointed a finger at me.

  “Yes sir, I’m going directly to the kitchen. What do I care about being late?” I answered sarcastically.

  “Do not defy me, young lady!” he barked, and then turned and marched out.

  I couldn’t help laughing. I pulled my curtain closed and started getting dressed while I listened to the brothers chatting happily in the next cubicle.

  Melvin Ryan was a fair man, and it’s why I liked working for him. We were family, and now I felt like Jamal and Jamil were too. Janie Delores was the real enemy, not her brothers. I was glad I hadn’t killed them. They didn’t deserve to die, but she did.

  I didn’t know if she really thought Melvin was planning to kill her. There is some truth to the saying, keep your enemies close, but I believe killing them is a better, more reliable remedy. I was hoping Melvin was going to kill Janie Delores, or at least allow one of us to do it.

  Chapter 14

  “D’Agon is deleting Janie’s access codes, and scanning for any backdoors she may have installed,” Blue informed us. “We all know what she did, and it is disappointing, but we don’t believe it hurt the mission.”

  “Do we know for certain if Severe’s cover is blown?” Rayce asked.

  “No, but we don’t think Janie was dealing with anyone but Yeltsin, so it’s a safe bet that she has not been exposed to Basin.”

  “What are we going to do about Janie?” Choc asked. It was something we all wanted to know.

  “It’s up to Ryan,” Blue replied, and we all looked at him.

  “Salvaging this operation is our priority now. We’ll keep Janie in lockup until it’s over, and then we’ll decide as a team what we should do about her.”

  “We all heard about the special circumstances, and I want you to know that I’m good with whatever you decide,” Choc said.

  “Me, too,” I said, and the others agreed. I wanted her dead, but I would respect his decision.

  “Thanks for that,” Ryan was clearly moved by our show of support.

  “Okay, back to business,” Blue said. “Roc and Chavez are returning tonight, so we’ll have more bodies to put on this thing. Bender has come up with a plan to infiltrate the auction. I’m going to turn the floor over to him, so he can tell us how we plan to do it.” He sat down, and Bender stood.

  “Earlier today, I returned Steven Chandler’s computer. It was hidden behind a wall that we only know about because of Severe. It has a timing mechanism that records whenever it’s opened or closed, and it has a failsafe lock, so we caught a break when he left the damn thing open last night.

  After I put the computer back, I reconfigured the timer to record it being closed a few hours after his last entry, prior to his death. Before I returned it, I added the names, William Segal, and Petro Yeltsin to the list of bidders.

  As you know, we originally planned for Ryan to play an active role, but we learned through Severe that Tyler Basin has hired Viper to oversee his personal security. It means Ryan is out. We have also learned through Severe’s investigative work that Tyler Basin is a closet racist. It’s a side of him that he keeps well hidden from the public, so it was not included in his dossier. He tolerates white people in business, but he does not trust them. So, a black man has a better chance of getting inside his organization. He certainly will be allowed to move around more freely in his home, and it is another reason why Choc is better suited for this role. He should be black enough for him.” He paused while the room cracked up laughing. “He is going to be going in as William Segal, billionaire playboy who earned his fortune as a killer for hire. He travels with his bodyguard, Avenia Hall. Rayce will be playing that role, and his money man, computer genius, Scott Pearson, will be played by D’Agon.”

  “I’m a tall, dark, and handsome playboy assassin, so all I have to do is act natural. It’ll be a breeze,” Choc smiled.

  “Rayce you need to be bad ass and sexy. D’Agon you’re smart, and faithful. Basin expects the white people working for him to behave like good pets, so you need to act like a servant without a voice,” Bender explained.

  “Woof, woof, woof,” D’Agon howled and we all laughed some more.

  “Segal is not in the phone book, and only a select few have ever seen his face. In reality, all three personas are virtual game characters I created a few years ago. I decided to use these aliases for this op because of the time constraints. Each character is already an established identity with authentic credentials. All you have to do is step into your roles. I know you may have some apprehensions about not being included in the new plan, Ryan, but I hope you understand why I decided to do it this way.”

  “I understand why you want me out, but I don’t know if it’s smart, considering we may have to go up against Viper.”

  “Your past exposure to them means you, and any of the men involved in returning the card to Basin can’t be visibly involved in its recovery. Otherwise, as soon as the card is missed, all eyes will be on Genesis. The importance of this being done covertly, dictates the need for us to distance ourselves from it. With that being said, I also realize the importance of having enough manpower on the ground if we have to engage the enemy. And it’s why I’ve instructed Roc to change his plans to come back here tonight, and go directly to Kentucky where he will meet Valow, John, and Blue, who will be taking the Sikorsky to Big Foot tonight. Roc and Valow will serve as backup outside the plantation. They will be stationed in the woods surrounding the property. John and Blue will be your extraction team. Our plan is to tiptoe around any hostile conflicts if we can, but they’ll be in place if trouble arises. I want to stress that we need to keep our involvement under the radar. I want you all to understand that,” he paused to make eye contact with each of us.

  “It sounds good on paper, but I don’t like it, and I’m going on record as saying so,” Ryan said. “We don’t know what or who to expect when they walk into that place. Working with a skeleton crew is not smart in my opinion.”

  “We’re taking every precaution, Ryan. I’m sending Severe in to scope out the place before Choc arrives. She’ll learn what she can before the main event, and report back.”

  “What, how, without backup?!” he frowned at Bender. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I can do it, Ryan,” I spoke up. I had invested months in the operation, and I really wanted to see it through. I was hoping Bender hadn’t decided to label me as a liability and bump me now that Steven was dead, and I was glad to hear he hadn’t.

  “You’re the boss, and you can veto the plan if you want, but I’m asking you to hear me out before you do,” Bender said.

  “Let’s hear it,” Ryan exhaled a long breath, and then leaned back in his seat.

  “I put Segal’s bid in at twenty million, which puts him in twelfth place on the list,” Bender resumed the briefing. “Yeltsin is holding the next to the last slot. As you know, the government is financing our involvement, so it’s covered. The bid from Yeltsin is subsidized, so we’re not sacrificing our bank. I beefed up his worth on paper like I did Segal’s because Basin is nothing if not thorough. He is not going to hand out invitations to people who are not wealthy enough to compete. Segal’s worth equals the national debt, so he’ll definitely impress. Yeltsin was only promised an invitation to get him off our backs. He’ll pass the screening process, but Basin is not stupid, so I set him up as having an undisclosed backer. Hopefully, it will divert suspicions, and help Basin to overlook that he’s a mobster coming out of Chicago. We do not want him linked to us. I want you to steer clear of him,
Choc, and know that if he gets jammed up, we can count on him telling Basin about the deal he cut with us, and how he got his invitation. If he does, it will cause a major problem for Genesis.”

  “I’ll watch him, and if it looks like he’s going to cause a problem. I’ll find a way to take him out.”

  “Try to make it look like Basin’s people did it, so we don’t get any pushback from the mob. Let Basin deal with them,” he said.

  “Tell me how you plan to get Severe inside, and keep her safe,” Choc asked. “You said Basin is a racist, and she can’t pass for black.”

  “She’s going in as Steven’s grieving fiancée. I got the idea to do it this way because Basin is going to be looking for her anyway. Steven was his golden boy. He’s going to want answers about his untimely death. The person he was sleeping with is the logical person to ask.” Bender spoke directly to me. “He’s going to want to talk to you personally, Severe. When he does, you need to convince him that you were dear enough to Steven to be invited to attend his memorial service.”

  “You’re trying to pass me off as his fiancée, not his girlfriend? His mother is never going to believe that he asked me to marry him.”

  “She may not like it, but she’ll believe it,” he insisted. “Before I put his computer back in the safe, I purchased you an engagement ring using money from his personal account. I had it delivered to his loft with instructions to contact the building manager if he wasn’t home. I generated an electronic note giving the manager permission to allow the courier to leave the package in his loft. I also noted that in his absence, he would be leaving them both a generous tip on the bureau in the sleeping area. Just to make sure they found his body.”

  “You think the delivery guy is going to leave it without getting a signature from Steven first?” I asked.

  “When you pay as much money as I paid for your ring, the store is usually willing to bend over to accommodate, and it’s already done.

  We know that Steven likes white women, and he usually finds a new one in every town he visits. We were hoping to get him to make an exception in your case, and invite you home to meet mommy. He invited you home, but it sounded like he intended to keep you hidden. That wouldn’t have done us any good, but since he’s dead, and can’t object. We can make your relationship with him as special as we want. As his soon to be bride, you’re special enough to get invited to Big Foot to attend his funeral.”

  “It will definitely set me apart from the others, but I don’t know if it will make his mama open her arms to me. The woman hates me. I made the mistake of answering Steven’s phone, and then introducing myself to her as his girlfriend. She made it crystal clear that I was no more than the help, and as such, I could spare her the introductions and put her son on the phone.”

  “Damn!” Choc laughed. “You sure a ring is a big enough statement, Bender?”

  “I think the one point five million I spent for it makes a big enough statement. Nobody spends that kind of money unless you plan to take her home to meet mommy.”

  “I know that’s right!” Rayce jumped up and slapped fives with him, and we all laughed.

  “You’re going to the funeral, but there’s a downside. His mother is not the only one who is going to be looking at you real close. Given the implied nature of your relationship with Steven, Basin is going to lean on you hard to find out how much information Steven shared with you about his business. He may even suspect you killed him. You’re going to have to convince him that you’re innocent, and I don’t expect that will be an easy task.”

  “How’s she going to explain Steven purchasing a ring for her after he was dead?” Rayce asked.

  “We have to assume his death will be investigated. They’ll discover that he was poisoned. How do I explain finding his body and not reporting it?”

  “Weren’t you listening? The courier is going to find the body, not you. Where is the faith, ladies?” he made a sad clown face. “I purchased the ring online, and then I hacked into their system, backdated the order, and set the delivery date for today. I manipulated Steven’s bank account the same way. The purchase withdrawal transaction happened a week ago. With the bids closing, today, I have to assume Steven would be transmitting his results to Basin today. I didn’t find anything in his computer to let me know the exact time it was supposed to be done, so I couldn’t chance sending it in for him. When Basin didn’t hear from him at the appointed time, I knew he was going to come looking. I needed to preempt that, and it’s why I didn’t wait for your approval, Ryan. You guys were tied up, and every second I spent waiting decreased our chances of being able to stay ahead of them,” he explained.

  “So where are we at, now? You said the delivery already happened, right?” Choc asked.

  “The courier from Tiffany’s delivered the ring to the building manager three hours ago, and they set things in motion when they discovered Steven’s body as planned.

  Ceylon Battle was in the city with five men two hours after Steven’s death was reported. He came in hot, and went directly to Steven’s loft. A man went to the morgue, and a couple of them are sitting on Severe’s apartment in Englewood. I’ve been watching them via satellite, and I’m tapped into Steven’s building security surveillance equipment.

  Mr. Battle has already questioned the building manager. He’s collected the computer from the safe, and he’s searched the place and found the engagement ring. So far, everything is going according to plan.”

  “It’s already in motion?” Ryan asked in a tone that revealed he hadn’t been listening.

  “I proceeded without your approval, as discussed, because we needed to move expeditiously.”

  “So, you were bullshitting me about having the option to veto it? You think you the muthafucka in charge?!” he was out of his seat, and in Bender’s face— up close, and personal.

  Bender took a step back. “Get your fuckin’ emotions in check, man! You know I wouldn’t bullshit you about nothing this serious. If you want to kill the plan, all you have to do is say so, and I’ll try to come up with something else. But I’m telling you, this is by far the surest way to get the result you want!”

  We all waited quietly while Ryan and Bender glared at each other angrily. “Well, chief, what the fuck you want to do, talk about fixing the muthafuckin’ problem, or box?” Bender was gay, but there was no bitch in him. He was as angry as Melvin, and not shying away from the confrontation.

  “Your plan is too fucking dangerous!” Melvin argued.

  “This job is going to be dangerous anyway we go about it. It’s Janie’s betrayal, not the job, that has you on edge—we all are, but we can’t let that bitch throw shade on what we have to do. Now, I say again, you the muthafuckin’ boss. Do we proceed or start over?”

  “Bender is right, Ryan,” I broke the silence. “I know how dangerous it is going to be for me to go in there alone, but I’m willing to do it.”

  “I’m on board,” Choc said.

  “Me too,” Rayce interjected.

  “So am I,” D’Agon made it unanimous.

  “The plan sounds like a winner. I think you should green light it,” Blue spoke quietly.

  “And what about you?” he asked Valow.

  “I say when do we leave?”

  “So you’re all in agreement that we should follow Bender’s plan?” Ryan looked around the room.

  “I know this is a tense situation, and this job is going to be a bitch, but we all need to lighten up a bit,” Valow suggested. “Ryan, you hand selected each of us. You got a top grade team. In our absence, Bender has formulated what sounds like a solid plan. Now you need to show a little faith. Besides, what’s the worst that could happen? They string Severe up and pull out her fingernails.”

  “Fuck you, Valow!” I shouted, and everyone started laughing, including Ryan.

  “I’m sorry about coming off as a control freak. You’re right. This thing with Janie has got me paranoid, and I’m being too sensitive. I been tied up with personal
shit all day, and you all have been real patient with me. Bender, I appreciate the way you stepped up and took the initiative to handle the business. I’m sorry for blowing up,” he extended his hand to Bender.

  He looked at it for a beat before he grabbed it, pulled him into a tight embrace, and then gave him a loud kiss on his cheek. “For those of you wondering what the fuck is going on, it’s called kissing and making up,” he winked at us.

  Ryan flushed red with embarrassment. “Alright, I deserved that,” he sat back down, and we all laughed.

  “I hate to play the role of a doubtful Dottie, but ain’t the poison Cognac going to connect the murder to the Delores brothers, and thereby connect it to us?” Rayce asked.

  “I removed the Cognac from the loft, and deleted the brother’s visit from the building’s digital security recordings. I also deleted Severe’s encounter with them in the hallway. The way you handled that was smart, girl,” he paused to say.

  “You think Ceylon is going to check the surveillance recordings?” D’Agon asked.

  “That muthafucka is checking the footage as we speak, but he won’t find a record of any of you being in that loft today, or any footprints of me being in their system.”

  “It sounds like you’re staying a step ahead of them for now, but do you think we can keep it up by just monitoring his comings and goings?” Again, this came from D’Agon.

  “What if they sweep for bugs?” I asked, making him laugh.

  “I’d never use some old fashioned shit that transmits a signal, so quit playing, darling baby,” he chuckled. “And in answer to your question, D’Agon, yes, I think that we can. We only need to know what he knows to stay ahead of him. Here’s a footnote before anyone asks, Jamil drove Jamal to the hospital, so there is no record of an emergency vehicle being dispatched to the location today. He reported it to the hospital as a drive by, and Choc picked him up before CPD took an official report. I changed his name in the hospital records, so they won’t know where to look for him. I also put two men in the liquor store, so it’s business as usual there. If questioned, they’ve been instructed to say Severe was last seen leaving yesterday morning, and did not return. I also erased the brothers connection to Janie that D’Agon found earlier, so if Ceylon runs a search, he will not find any connection between them, Janie Delores, and Genesis.”