by Mike Dagons
“It sounds like you’ve thought of everything,” Melvin said.
“Maybe we should secure the nanny. She could be a loose end,” Valow suggested.
“I already had her moved to Section Medical Facility. Her injuries are minor. She only has a mild concussion so she doesn’t really need to be hospitalized, but she’s scared, so she’s willing to stay under our protection for as long as we want. Maybe we should have the brothers transferred there to be with her. They’ll all be more comfortable, and their presence will make her feel safer.”
“That’s an excellent idea. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it,” Melvin said.
“You would have, eventually,” Bender smiled. “You ladies have any more questions?”
Rayce shook her head no, but I asked, “When do I meet Ceylon Battle?”
“He finished searching the loft hours ago, but he’s still there. I suspect he’s waiting there in case you show up, which you will. I expect that he’ll be taking you someplace for questioning, so don’t resist.”
“Take me someplace like where?”
“I don’t know for certain, but my guess is he’ll take you back to Big Foot to meet Basin. I’m guessing he’ll want to be present for your interrogation.”
I didn’t like his use of the word, interrogation. It sounded scarier than just being questioned, but I couldn’t punk out now that I’d boasted about being ready to handle the danger, so I just nodded.
“I’ll be tracking you, so we’ll know where you are at all times, but we won’t be able to come to your aid.”
“Can you tell me anything about him that will help me handle the situation?”
“Mr. Battle is called the California Viper because he is charming, but extremely deadly. My suggestion is you treat him like you would any other heterosexual male. Be a damsel in distress, but try not to appear too weak. Nobody likes a cry baby.”
“I heard that Viper has stepped up their game, so you’re all going to have to do some real good acting to sell it,” Blue said.
“That means you’re going to have to come out of those baggy jeans, Rayce, and channel your inner temptress.”
“You’re assuming Rayce can sell sexy?” Choc teased.
Rayce was pretty in a studious kind of way. She had smooth dark caramel skin, and thick coarse hair that she always wore in a ponytail. Like me, her fashion style was more tomboyish than seductress. I found comfort clothes, like jeans and gym shoes, more appealing than evening gowns and high heels. I don’t think I’d ever seen her in makeup, or blush as red as she was now.
We had become close since we started working together. She confided in me that she has a crush on Choc. He has never shown any real romantic interest in her, but I think he’d be open to the suggestion if she wasn’t too shy to approach him.
“Stop teasing, Rayce. She’s doesn’t have to worry about selling sexy because she has a fairy godmother to do it for her,” Bender said. “Your wardrobe is already packed, Rayce, so you’ll be set to go when the time arrives. And please no jokes about all gay men being fairies,” he chuckled.
“Is the plan clear to everyone?” Blue asked.
“Am I getting a makeover, too?” I asked.
“Absolutely not, darling baby!” he frowned. “They know that you’re poor white trash, so they’re expecting you to look shabby like you do. If you show up looking sheik, they’ll know something is wrong.”
“Fuck you,” I huffed playfully.
“Not a chance, but I do love you,” he winked.
“Yeah, right,” I laughed.
“You will all be taken to section in one of the cargo vans. I have your bike there waiting for you, Severe. I want you to stop by your place before you go to Steven’s to meet Ceylon. It’ll give his men a chance to follow you, and see you as an unsuspecting female. D’Agon, you will fly Choc and Rayce to New York. From there y’all will take a private jet to Cartagena, and then take another helicopter to Sego, my own personal island. I am loaning it to you until we finish this operation. Ryan’s father has agreed to allow us the use of his personal jet to fly you to Big Foot. I’ve doctored the necessary paperwork to authenticate the ownership to Segal.”
“You actually have your own island?” I asked.
“Yes, Segal does.”
“I get why you want us to stay in character, but I don’t see why we have to be so covert leaving here?” Choc commented, and then shrugged when Bender shot him a ‘WTF’ look.
“These are serious people dealing with serious money. Suppose they have a man posted on this building watching us, and they see Segal leaving Genesis when he should be sitting on some tropical beach waiting to get his fucking invitation? You think that we should just hop in a car and drive over to O’Hare, and take a commercial flight to Big Foot, and expect them to believe you flew in from Sego on your word? Is that how you would expect me to handle your business for you, Mr. Baltimore?” he paused until Choc opened his mouth to answer, and then he interrupted him with a raised hand. “Let me assure you that it is not how Mr. Battle is handling his. He is covering all of his bases, and it’s why I’m smuggling your ass out of here covertly. You will all get into character right now, and you will stay in character until you’re back here with that fucking card!”
“Severe! What the fuck you mean you ain’t down wit’ the cloak and dagger bullshit?” Choc stomped his foot in a playful attempt to respond emotionally.
We all cracked up because responding emotionally was not something he would ever do for real.
“Fuck you, Choc,” Bender rolled his eyes at him, and we all laughed some more in an effort to shake off the nerves. “Seriously, I’ve been watching Viper since they got to town, and I’m telling you that they are operating at one hundred. We have to match their diligence, or we’re going to lose our advantage.”
“He’s right,” Blue said. “Their heavy hitters are already on the ground, and since they know all about us, it’s going to be hard to deceive them. We need to play it smart.”
“Are there any more questions, anyone?” Bender paused and scanned the room.
“You got it laid out for us, man,” Choc stood up and started clapping his hands.
We all joined in, and applauded. Bender lowered his head modestly. “Stop it!” he slapped his hands on the tabletop, and then laughed when we all ignored him and continued clapping
“You the man,” Choc got up and pulled him into a hug, and kissed him the way he’d done Ryan.
Chapter 15
“Severe, for the reasons Bender outlined in the briefing, I want you to be extra careful. Viper is a dangerous organization, and Tyler Basin will not hesitate to order your death if he suspects you’re there to spy for us,” Melvin draped an arm over my shoulders and started walking with me.
“I know what I have to do, and I’m not worried, so you don’t need to,” I answered cockily.
“It’s that cocky attitude that has me worried.”
“I’m not new at this, Ryan. Well, not that new,” I added when he cocked a brow. “You praised the job I did with Steven, and I’ve been trained to handle myself in the field.”
“He was a bookworm. A nice guy who was nothing like the men you’re going to be facing. Once you leave here, you will be operating completely sterile. You will not have a partner, and I don’t recommend you contact us for at least forty eight hours. This assignment is going to be as difficult as it is dangerous.”
“Are you trying to scare me?”
“Yes, I am, and if you want to back out, I’ll understand. But once you go back to Steven’s loft, there will be no backing out. You will be on your own. There will be no rescue.”
“Okay, now I’m really scared, but I’m still confident that I can do this.”
“Okay,” he smiled. “I thought that Steven running into you at work the way he did, and you deciding to go operational preemptively, was going to present a major problem in our strategy. I’m happy to say, I was wrong. Janie couldn’t have
done a better job than you’ve done so far. Your instincts are good, and you have performed exemplary. Keep using your gut, and rely on your wit. You’re a white woman, and Basin is a sexist, as well as a racist, so he’ll probably underestimate you in every area. Use his preconceived idea about how white women are supposed to act, but also show him some of that sista girl attitude you show us everyday. I believe it’s what made Steven fall for you.”
“So you want me to act natural?”
“Yes, I believe it will work to your advantage. It may also help them understand what made you so different in Steven’s mind.”
“Okay, I can do that.”
“Bender hit on this, but I want you to clearly understand that you will be interrogated, and unfortunately I don’t expect it will be pleasant.”
“You’re saying they may torture me, how?”
“Hopefully, nothing invasive given the status of your relationship with Steven, but I can’t swear to it.”
My confidence level took a dive, and Ryan noticed. He stopped walking and took my face in his hands. “I’m telling you this because I want you to be prepared. It will not be a walk in the park. It will test your courage, endurance, and your training. I am not sugar coating it because I want you to be prepared for the worst. I also want you to know that I will not think any less of you if you don’t do it. You will still have a job with Genesis, and you will still have all of our respect.”
“I understand, and I’m good, really,” I chuckled nervously. “What you think he’s going to ask me, and how much can I tell him?”
“Tyler Basin did not get where he is today by accepting people at face value. He is going to push to find out if you were involved in Steven’s death, and how much he revealed about his business before he died. Stick to your innocence, but don’t deny having knowledge of why he was in the City. You were with him for several months. It’s expected that you would know something about his job, but deny knowing anything about the details of it. You know he’s a broker, but you don’t know what he was brokering. Make up something…say you thought he sold antiques. If it gets too bad, tell him whatever he wants to hear, and make it obvious it’s what you’re doing.”
“You think they’re going to torture me right away?”
“Yeah, and the first twenty four hours they have you will be crucial in establishing your bona fides. Your instinct will be to fight back, but remember that you want them to see you as a poor white girl in a dead end job at a fast food restaurant.”
“I should play into his prejudices,” I reminded myself.
“Absolutely, show him fear and helplessness, but with a lot of fight,” he paused and gave it some thought. “I’m not going to micromanage, or give you a script to follow. I don’t want to inflict doubt because I do believe you can do this. It’s just my nature to worry about the people I love.”
Hearing him say that was touching because I knew that he meant it. He cared about all of us, and I knew it was why what Janie did hurt so much. “Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ryan. It means a lot to me, but so does your insight. Micromanage me if you think I need it. You think I should err on the side of caution?”
“Absolutely, your training is specialized in the respect that you’re expected to obtain information through manipulation, not by force. You already proved to be a skilled operator by the way you handled Steven. You’re going to have to do some serious acting. Act afraid, because they will expect you to be. It would be unnatural not to be. Approach them with confidence that your innocence will save you. Tell them some truth, and a lot of lies. You have any particular worries?”
“Is using my real name going to link me to Charter if they look closer?”
“Not even if they put it under a microscope. Ice had you inducted as a special favor, because you couldn’t pass the academic side of the program. The program you went through was especially designed to hone your street smarts. You were kept isolated from the other recruits, and your name was kept off the books. Consequently, there is no record of you ever being there. The soft job you did for them after you graduated was just to test your abilities. You passed, and because you did so well in the field, they’ve added a new program that will concentrate more on developing physicality and street smarts. It has broadened the scope of their future recruitments, but they lack vision, so I knew they were not going to utilize your full potential. It’s why I recruited you.”
“I didn’t know that…brawnier and less brainy?”
“Don’t you ever refer to yourself as less brainy, or discount your street smarts. It’s what sets you apart from the rest. It also made them realize that operators need more than book smarts to survive in the real world. You should be proud of yourself. I know Ice is, and he got a big bonus for referring you,” he grinned.
He made me feel so good, I hugged him, and he mussed my hair like I was a little kid. I’m petite so they all forget that I’m a grown woman, and not fourteen, but I don’t care. It’s cool having a bunch of badass brothers. “We ready to go?”
“Yeah, meet me at the dock. You’re riding out with the big boys.”
“Okay,” I went to the locker room and grabbed my red leather jacket, and then I went down to the dock. Jamal and Jamil were already loaded in the van, and I climbed in the back with them. “What’s up, fellas?”
“We’re good,” Jamal grinned. “I heard they’re taking us someplace secret where I can eat to my hearts content.”
“Yeah, well, I ain’t ever had to hold up there, but I hear the cooks are great, and you can order meals all day if you want.”
They gave each other high fives, and I laughed knowing that together they were capable of busting any food budget.
I draped myself with the thermal shield like the ones they were wearing, and buckled up for the ride. The shield would cloak our body temps and keep us from being picked up by infrared devices. The lead lining in the cargo area would prevent it from being x-rayed. Anybody scanning it wouldn’t detect any warm bodies in back.
Blue got in behind the wheel. “We’ll be there in about an hour,” he said before he closed the panel separating us from the cab. Immediately, we were plunged into darkness, and then a second later, green light illuminated the truck’s interior.
Blue pulled the van out the docking area and onto the street. I knew that several identical vans were rolling out behind us to confuse any watchers by giving them multiple targets to follow. On the street, we all went in different directions.
“We’re passing what looks like watchers,” Blue reported.
“I see them,” Bender’s voice crackled over the speaker.
“They’re taking the bait and following you, Melvin. Take the muthafuckas on a joyride downtown,” he chuckled.
“Sit back and enjoy the ride. Good luck, fellas,” Melvin laughed.
In the back of the van alone with the twins, I decided to ask them a question that had been bothering me. “I had a run-in with a Jacker the night Steven died. Do you know anything about it?”
They looked at each other, and then Jamil said, “I hired him. He was supposed to take Steven back to his place, and make him give up his computer.”
“He was going to kill us after?”
“Yes, and I regret it now, but at the time, I didn’t think we had any other option.”
I’d heard that they thought they were trading my life for their niece’s. Given the facts, I probably would have done it too. “I understand why you did it, and I’m not mad at you, but we’re family now. So you muthafuckas better not ever try to kill me again.”
“I promise we won’t, and I won’t ever forget what you did for me, either,” Jamal said. “I know you could have killed me in that hall, and you could have let me drown in Lake Michigan. I know Jamil will agree when I say that if you ever need anything from us, just holla, and we’ll be there.”
“I appreciate that, biggums,” I slapped a hand on his shoulder.
“You call me biggums, shorty?” he chuckle
d.
“Yes, biggums one. Jamil is biggums two. It’s my pet name for you guys, and since you’re part of the Genesis family now, I’m making it your official codenames.”
They both laughed heartily, and then we quieted down and rode the rest of the way to section in silence. When we arrived at the agency hospital, Blue used his security code to open the autogate, and then he drove the van into the underground garage, and parked it in the loading station.
I helped Jamal and Jamil remove their thermals, and then we waited for Blue to open the door. When he did, two guards were standing with him. They unloaded Jamal’s bed with Jamil’s help, and started wheeling him to the doors.
“Bye Biggums. Don’t eat too much,” I teased.
“We will,” they both yelled back at me.
Me, and Blue cracked up. “You ready for this, kid?” Blue asked me.
“Yep, I’m as ready as I’m going to get.” I took my earpiece out and gave it to him. “Being in the enemy’s camp without a weapon is making me more nervous than usual,” I admitted. “Melvin said I can’t carry, or wear a tracker.”
“I have something for you,” he handed me a small box. “It’s not your Sig, but it’ll do in a pinch.”
I opened the box and found a belt. I took it out and held it up. It had a big metal and ceramic horseshoe shaped buckle with an emblem of a chick riding a Ducati in the center, her hair flying in the wind. The strap was sturdy black leather, with a row of dime size jewel coins embellishing it.
“This is beautiful,” I stripped off my old belt, and started threading the new one through my belt loops.
“I’m no fashion guru, but Bender swears the big belt buckle is what biker chicks wear. It is special, though.” He took my hand and pressed my thumb to one of the jewels. The butt section of the buckle popped open, and Blue pulled it out revealing it was really the butt end of a Silent Soldier Brous blade.