Miami Malice

by Matt Lincoln

  “And then we decide if the threat is something we can tackle and help out against or with,” I nodded. “That’s how we vote or whatever to accept a mission.” I was explaining this to Eve, as much as to myself. I wanted to find a pattern. “So then, there’s no direct line that the Yabut and Azores link would have come to us personally?”

  “No.” Xavier was shaking his head vehemently. “I have my contact information available, that’s how the Judge and Eve emailed us, but that’s not what happened in the Yabut case.”

  That means that your wire, your vine, ‘pinged’ about the Yabut and the Azores enough times to get our attention. Can that be manipulated? Rosa was following the track and making the logical conclusions we needed to figure this out.

  “Yes, both directly and indirectly,” Xavier admitted. “If the story, or the news, gets enough coverage, it shows up on my sites. It would simply be a matter of certain keywords, phrases, numbers for my system to pick up the threat and alert me to it, and then I’d alert all of you.” His face slacked off in disillusion as he remembered this.

  I wanted to kick myself. “And I’m the one that pushed for it. I thought that it sounded exactly right for what we could provide. Tailor-made, even.” I looked to Rosa and Doc, and they both had that same sick look in their eyes. “We were staged to take the Yabut case.”

  Xavier was rubbing his forehead, trying to come to terms with this. “The more sources that tagged those words, the higher it would rise in my feed. They could have all been affected, and my system wouldn’t see that as bias. Only a trending line of news.”

  “Admiral Farr planted seeds to get us interested and to react. He wanted us in the Azores, and he wanted us in contact with the Yabut.” I hated getting played with, especially by a man I respected. “So, now we have to figure out why.”

  I looked over at Eve. “What do you know about the Judge’s relationship to the Admiral? What connects them?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I got the file on him pulled the day that the Judge put me on it, but most of that file was redacted.” She thought back. “I have to assume that it was something to do with a case, or a warrant, or something of that ilk. She knows a lot of powerful people. But I don’t have that kind of access to her.” Eve sounded frustrated with trying to figure it out. “And I don’t think I can trust anything she’s been telling me. Not now. Not with all of this. Excuse me.” She got up and headed for the bedroom for privacy.

  I looked at my team. “If Farr’s in on something with the Judge and even possibly Ozoa, then we can’t use anything they give us. We have no way of knowing what the source is, or what’s true and what’s not. Everything has to be suspect from here on out. And with the DEA now involved, we’re going to have a harder time getting the information we need.”

  “Are we even sure that this kid Arik is in trouble?” Doc was only voicing those unpleasant little thoughts we all had been asking ourselves. “I know, that’s a terrible thing to say, but if an Admiral is leading us by the nose to a group and location, and then a Judge is doing the same, can we be sure that any of this is real? What’s the motivation?”

  That was the big question. Why?

  You know who we have to talk to. Rosa was unhappy about it as well. Her whole body language was off even thinking about it.

  “I really don’t want to.” That went without saying. The idea of having to work with Ozoa again made me sick, particularly since we didn’t know what side she was even on anymore.

  Let's meet somewhere neutral. Somewhere open and public and very obvious. Rosa was already planning for a confrontation. I could see it.

  I remembered something, looking back down the hall at Eve’s closed door. “Good idea. Only let’s make it a bit more interesting. Xavier, do you still have Ozoa’s number to contact her? Or George even? I’m sure that he can get a message to her.”

  “Yeah. When’s the meetup, and where?” He was poised, ready to type.

  “This afternoon. The Vizcaya Gardens.” I grinned to myself. Eve would love it.

  “Why there? What’s the strategy?” Doc approved of this by his tone. He just didn’t get the significance.

  “Miami doesn’t have a fort or a castle that meets the other criteria that Rosa listed.” I knew that the mystery was killing them, but that made it all the more fun for me.

  “The Coral Castle?” Xavier offered.

  “Too enclosed. But not a bad idea. I’ll add that to my list.” When all of this was over, someday, I wanted Eve to see some of those historic structures she’d talked about on the first day I met her. In the meantime, what was the harm in mixing a little business and pleasure?

  Chapter 27

  Jake

  With the time set and the space confirmed, we all headed to the designated area. The small hedge maze was the meeting point, and we had come ready. We were all carrying firearms and cells. We weren’t planning on getting separated or moving too far out of eyesight from each other, but the unexpected did sometimes happen.

  We’d dressed to conceal our weapons and to blend in with the tourists and nature lovers. We wore a collection of jeans, shorts, tees and tanks, and button-downs or overshirts. It was all very informal, low-key, and unassuming. Xavier had ditched the laptop and brought along a genuinely nice digital camera to look the part, as well.

  We had planned to get there and set up an hour before Kippy was supposed to arrive. However, she was already there, waiting for us. George was with her, dressed in a very out-of-place blue linen suit and hat, looking like an actor on set for a period drama or a drug deal.

  Kippy was wearing jeans and a white tee, as simple as one could get. Walking toward them, I could tell that she was armed at the hip and shoulder, with maybe even a knife on her thigh. I thought that was an interesting choice for her. She didn't seem like the type to get up close and personal enough to use it. George also had a weapon under his jacket that I caught a glimpse of when he waved to us.

  “You’re early.” That was as much greeting as I was going to give her. She had to know that this was a very tense situation that she’d put us in. And while the meeting place I’d chosen made it a little easier to manage, nothing coming from her was worth this risk.

  “Maybe,” she replied stubbornly. “What’s this about? I thought that the band had broken up for solo careers?” She still had her exasperating streak ready to go, it seemed. Maybe that was just her thing. Perhaps I was expecting too much out of her.

  “We need to clear up some misinformation about, well, everything that’s been going on since you came into the picture.” That wasn’t much of an overstatement, I thought.

  “Ask, and you shall receive. But first,” She held up one finger, “You met Nace yet?” Her insistence at making sure that we knew about him and had actually met him did make me even more worried about him than I had already been. He alone had a disturbing attribute, but when she mentioned him, it got a lot worse.

  “Yes, this morning, as a matter of fact. Charming fellow. Kind of a reverse side of the ‘you’ coin. Arrogant, rude, condescending…” I could have kept going. And I would have if I hadn’t been stopped by more measured and calmer voices.

  “Header,” Xavier whispered to me. He knew that this wasn’t the way to go about getting intel from her. She would never respond in the way that we needed her to if I kept telling her what I really thought of her. I didn’t like any idea that meant having to be polite to Ozoa, but I did see the purpose of at least trying to be civil.

  “I didn’t think you had put that much thought into my personality, copain. I’m flattered.” Kippy smiled and winked at me. “So, enough sweet talk, we’ve all earned the next date. What do you need from me?”

  “By who and how exactly were you contacted to retrieve Arik from the Azores?” I needed to know if there were even more players involved. At this stage, I could easily see there being string-pullers operating from the shadows. It wouldn’t be the first time things like this had happened to the team.
>
  Kippy watched the team as I asked this, then she nodded her head. “Back to the beginning. I like it. That would be Judge Miranda Fu. She contacted me directly. On a private, secure, and untraceable line. I know because I tried to trace it.”

  “Did anyone else contact you in any way about going to the Azores for another reason?” I was waiting for her to drop that name, or any name, really. If I was correct, Kippy was holding out on a goldmine of intelligence that she alone wanted to be in command of.

  “No.” She shook her head. “I have an extremely strict policy. I only deal with the boss. That avoids confusion.” Her smirk grew, and I could see that she was truly enjoying this act.

  “That would be the arrogance he mentioned, Kippy,” George interjected. He caught her eyes, and something unspoken passed between them. Their past had to be a complicated one for them to still react to one another in this manner.

  “It works for me. And I’m not changing it.” She sighed and shifted her weight as she stood. Once comfortable again, she continued. “Your questions sound… conflicted. Is someone else pulling strings now? Or do you think that they always were?”

  “I think the Judge is doing more than she’s letting on. We think she’s being influenced or doing the influencing of some top military brass and even the DEA.” That should hook her. I was willing to give a little to get a lot, now and then.

  “Well, duh.” Kippy glanced at George, and they both shook their heads as if that were the most transparent thing in the world. That was not the reaction I was hoping for. But I wasn’t going to let on.

  “I told you, the Judge is not what she’s pretending to be. Never has been.” Kippy’s smugness dropped a level at her own words. “What tipped you off finally?” She sneered a little, and that was for her own benefit. “I know that it wasn’t my warning.”

  I looked at Eve to give her a chance to explain from her end. She exhaled and started with the phone call she had received in the hospital. “Judge Fu has shifted her emphasis from finding and saving Arik to using his disappearance to boost the Task Force that she and Nace are heading. She has, I feel, lost all interest in finding him now. It’s like she’s trying to mold the situation to make it beneficial for, well, I don’t exactly know.”

  Kippy nodded in agreement at this, as she must have been thinking the same thing. “To be honest, I don’t think her focus was ever fully on her son. My intel has been leading me toward something more… malicious.”

  “Dare we ask where your intel has led you?” I asked sharply. She was up to her old dodgy, half answered replies, and I needed more from her if anything was going to get done. “You know as well as we do that Arik could still be in danger and that if he’s here, or near here, the Judge’s priority isn’t to find him. We need to know why.”

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “That’s the only certain thing I’ve been able to find out. She’s using him for some unknown means or ends. I’m at least glad that we can agree on that.” Kippy steadied herself and then dove in. “Alright then, but if I tell you what I have, you can’t use it against me later, understand?” She eyed me, and I knew that more than Arik’s future was hinging on what I said and did next.

  I looked at my team for confirmation. Rosa gave a signal to go ahead. Doc nodded once, and Xavier shrugged his shoulders. I guessed that was enough. We had to get this moving somehow. “Deal. What do you have?”

  “This is going to take a bit. You all want to sit down someplace, get a delicious cool beverage, or take a bathroom break first?” She motioned off to an area closer to the water. “Or we could just take a walk. George was actually really looking forward to coming here and exploring.”

  Eve’s eyes lit up, and I decided that maybe going mobile was for the best. It would allow us to look less conspicuous to the masses, and it would make Eve happy. “Yeah, why don’t we walk and talk? Make use of the grounds, huh?”

  “Precisely,” Kippy agreed. “G? I will completely understand if you wander off and get lost in the moment. This isn’t your kind of fight.” Kippy smiled at him in a very genuinely kind manner. It was so odd to see how those two interacted with one another.

  “That is true. You can fill me in later if need be. Ladies? Gentlemen?” George tipped his hat and proceeded to go off to enjoy himself. We’d all gathered in the first maze sections, and he seemed to know his way around. Within minutes, he had disappeared off into the more tree-lined areas and was gone from all sight.

  Eve looked longingly after him, but she stayed with us. I reached out and took her hand, whispering to her, “We’ll do the tour after this. I promise you.” She nodded, smiled, and set herself for the chore ahead. But I could tell that her heart wasn’t in this.

  Kippy explained what she knew as she walked out ahead of us. She looked like a tour guide leading us around the grounds. “So, the first thing you need to know is that I recruited Simon Chorley to my team while he was still working for the Judge,” she began. “That’s essentially how I came into her employment. I was wooing Chorley, and he mentioned me to her for the job of intimidating Hemez to leave Arik alone. She looked over my references, liked what she saw, and hired me for the extraction of her son from the Azores.” Kippy sounded sincere, and it matched what else we’d heard before, not that this meant it was gospel.

  “Why were you after Chorley? Was it because he worked for the Judge?” I wondered if she had ulterior motives there. What better way to get certain intel on a mark than to infiltrate the lower ranks? Then again, maybe I just really didn’t like dealing with this woman.

  “No,” she replied, shaking her head. “He was a vet and had good skills. As I said, I’m always on the lookout for talent. And he used to be a sniper.” She shrugged as if that was a perfectly normal reason to do anything. “Expats and vets make the best mercenaries, in my opinion. That’s why I’m always looking. I saw his resume and reached out.”

  “So then, was Chorley feeding you information on the Judge?” I wasn’t sure why that would have worked otherwise. If there was more to Ozoa’s claims than she admitted, it would make a kind of sense.

  “He had nothing to feed,” she assured me. “She had stuck Chorley as a babysitter because he was big, mean-looking, and could keep the kid in line. Sometimes.” Kippy jeered at the clear exception. “The truth was, he felt sorry for Arik and the way his mother treated him. Arik was a messed-up kid whose mother didn’t want to take the time to fix him, or even help him.”

  We all knew the type that got written off. Some people would probably have said that about me at some point in my life. Parts were hitting close to home, and it made me all the more worried and anxious about finding him.

  Kippy resumed, and we continued to tour. “Arik didn’t find out about the Rehab Center in the Azores and that he was being sent there until Chorley told him to pack up that morning. The Judge hadn’t bothered to let him know. She just bought the tickets and handed them to Chorley. They flew here to Miami from Columbus and then booked it to the islands.”

  “They flew out of Miami?” I asked thoughtfully. “There might be a connection, then. Maybe someone saw him as a target and followed him from here.” That gave us a reason to think that he had value to the kidnappers, so he might still be alive for a ransom. “If the Yabut were trying to double-cross the Judge and DEA, then taking her son while he was under such low guard would make sense.”

  “You forget about Hemez,” Kippy explained calmly. “Arik was never under threat while he was in rehab. It wasn’t until he tried to escape the island with Mia and the fake IDs that he got onto someone’s radar.”

  “How do you know that?” Doc asked. “That he wasn’t under any kind of threat in the center?” That did seem suspicious. My mind wandered back there, trying to recall details that might add up to what she was talking about.

  “Ah.” Kippy had messed up. And she knew that she had messed up. She shook her head and sighed, clearly unhappy with her slip-up. “I have an informant there. He was keeping an eye on t
he kid for Chorley once I knew the situation.”

  My mind immediately flew to Remy, the patient with the braided pigtails. “So, you knew what was going on before the Judge hired you?” This wasn’t adding up. We continued to walk the grounds, pausing our conversation whenever we passed by a group larger than two people. We had gotten past all the mazes and were well in the manicured lawns and topiary that the gardens were well known for.

  “His mom’s super powerful, the kid is an underaged drug addict, and he’s being sent overseas with a single bodyguard who was looking for a new job. There were a few alarms going off. Chorley was concerned, and so I did what I could to speed up the process of his possible employment.” She tilted her head as if this defended everything she had done afterward.

  It didn’t, but Kippy plowed on with her story. “So, after the call that Chorley made to the Judge about Arik wanting money, I started to look into his activities and to why he wanted cash. His half-day passes were spent down by the docks, looking for trouble. These are not my words. They’re my informant’s. There were also a series of thefts around the rehab center that worried a few of the doctors and patients. They always happened before Arik got to leave, and he always came back with money to bribe the staff for more half-day passes.”

  This was not what I wanted to hear. I passed a look at Rosa, who was looking disheartened, too. Kippy’s version was a lot more explanatory than we’d expected. I still couldn’t help but feel that we were all missing a key element, though.

  “He was pretty desperate to get out of there,” I pointed out. “Do you know if he had a strategy after the escape? And what about Mia? How did she get so immersed in his plans?”

  “Chorley told me that Mia was a nice young woman that Arik became infatuated with. There was even a chance that he thought that traveling with someone else might lower his profile and help him get off the island easier. But Arik did like Mia. It may have been an intense crush, but it was mutual.” Kippy avoided looking at Xavier, but we could all feel the friction that might cause. “Talking to her now, she just got stupid over a boy and is paying a ridiculous price. As well she should.”