by Dave Daren
“Yeah,” I responded. “He left a salad with fruit and nuts. It’s pretty good. I’m hoping it’ll get me through the rest of the day.”
“You didn’t go back to sleep?” the purple-haired man asked.
“Not really,” I hedged. “I did some more research on the car trades. Your friend was right, they’re definitely switching them between ships out in the middle of the ocean. And that means that they can go to any port in the world. I know you’ve been looking into Dian’s Asian connections, but you should look into his European and African ones, too. He’s bound to have some.”
“Right,” the hacker said. “I’ve found the names of a few people in South Africa that he could be linked to. It wouldn’t be hard to fly the planes out of there to anywhere in the world.”
“Exactly,” I said. “They might drive them, but flying would be faster, and I’m sure his clients want their new acquisitions to arrive fast. So, I’m thinking that you should check into his connections at airports. I’m sure there will be a lot less of those than the ports he has friends at, and we can use the flight logs to find out where they usually pick up their cargo.”
“And then narrow down what ports they could dock in,” the tech genius said, and I could hear him start to type onto his computer. “This is brilliant, Hunter. I might even have something for you by tomorrow.”
“Don’t you ever take a day off?” I chuckled.
“Do you?” Gabriele countered.
“Touche,” I said. “Alright, call me as soon as you know anything.”
“Will do,” the hacker said. “Has Old Man Tony shown up yet?”
“No,” I said. “But it’s only one-thirty. And he just said that he’d be here sometime after--”
I paused mid-sentence when the sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house. My phone gave me a notification for the sensor at the front door, and I reached over to pull up my home security app. Sure enough, Old Man Tony stood outside with a big black duffel bag swung over his shoulder.
“I swear that man has perfect timing,” Gabriele laughed. “Tell him I said hi. And I’ll text you with an update as soon as I have one.”
“Thanks,” I said and pushed myself to my feet.
I strolled over to the door and yanked open the door right as Old Man Tony lifted his hand to ring the doorbell again. The Italian man had a polo shirt on with a simple logo with the word ‘Security’ underneath it like he was some side character in a bad mobster movie. The lumpy black duffel bag could’ve carried guns just as easily as it carried cameras, and I was sure that the neighbors would be suspicious of the large gray-haired man if they caught sight of him.
“Hunter,” the older man grunted and walked past me without an invitation.
“Hey,” I replied as I looked outside and waved to my neighbor.
She stood near the row of rosebushes by her house with a hose in her hand, but her eyes were focused on my house. The water barely sprayed on the bright pink buds, and when I smiled she scowled and turned back to her plants like I was a drug dealer. She’d probably be on the phone with the rest of the neighborhood watch before Old Man Tony was even finished with the installation.
“I heard you had a visitor last night,” Tony said when I followed him into the living room.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m pretty sure he came in through the back gate. He managed to avoid the camera on the patio and left a note on the sliding glass door.”
The gray-haired man grunted and dropped his duffel on my sectional before he strolled over to the sliding glass door in question. The spot where the note had been taped was still sticky, and I thought about getting the Windex, but I still needed someone to dust it for fingerprints.
“Alright,” the gruff Italian said and stepped out into the chilly afternoon air. “I’m not going to put in all of that crap that Gabriele ordered.”
“He was a bit caffeinated,” I chuckled. “He said something about putting a moving camera in the house.”
“Yeah,” the security man said. “That’s not happening. The kid’s a bit overactive when his Monster kicks in. I am going to put in some more hidden cameras, though. You’ll have one on each corner of the house, and I’ll put one right by the gate. They’ll be linked to the app.”
“Perfect,” I said. “Do you need me to do anything?”
Old Man Tony lifted an eyebrow and scowled at me like I was the biggest idiot that he’d ever encountered. I nodded and made my exit while the Febbos’ security man went to work. He didn’t talk to me again, just went outside with his duffel bag of mystery gear, and then came back inside to grab the stepladder so that he could reach the roofline.
While he worked, I went back to my computer and the conspiracy theory website. It didn’t have anything else that I could learn from it, but I did send the grainy picture of Dian to my phone. I wanted to pay the Phoenix Import Company a visit and see if the CEO was getting the Enzo back, but first I needed to make a call.
“Hey,” Hank said as he answered. “What’s up?”
“Are you free right now?” I asked.
“I can be,” the bodyguard said, and I thought I heard Lorenzo, the butcher, behind him, taking an order. “Is everything alright? I heard you had an incident last night. They didn’t come back, right?”
“No,” I replied. “And Old Man Tony is installing everything now. Not nearly as much as Gabriele ordered, though.”
“Then you’ll definitely be safe,” the beefy Italian said. “Don’t let the gray hair fool you, that man is strapped, and will not hesitate to protect himself.”
“Is that Hunter?” Lorenzo called from somewhere in the background.
“Yeah,” Hank responded.
“Are you going to see him?” the butcher asked. “Tommaso has an order for the office. And I have some lamb that I prepared this morning that I think he’ll like.”
“Did you hear that?” my bodyguard asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “That sounds fine. I don’t actually have a plan for dinner. I was probably just going to get fast-food.”
“He said he’ll take that lamb,” Hank said. “So, Hunter, what do you need? I know you didn’t call to have me deliver your dinner.”
“I’m going back to Phoenix Imports,” I said. “And I wanted backup. Just in case he has that cop friend around.”
“Sure,” the beefy man responded. “Lorenzo said you can just put the lamb in the fridge. And I’ll be over in about half an hour.”
“Perfect,” I said.
I hung up the phone and then went to check on Old Man Tony. The gray-haired Italian was nowhere to be found, so I walked around front and saw him talking to the neighbor with one foot on the ladder.
“Hello,” I said with my most charming smile. “I’m Hunter.”
“I know,” the gray-haired woman looked me up and down with disdain. “I was just telling Tony that he’s not allowed to add anything to the outside of the house without permission from the home owners’ associate.”
“I understand,” I said and nodded to the older man. “It’s just an upgrade to my security system. That’s perfectly within the guidelines.”
“You already have cameras,” the irritating woman said and puffed herself up like a blowfish.
“I do,” I agreed. “These are upgrades.”
“You can be fined,” she reported with a grin like she’d played a trump card.
“I cannot,” I said and stuffed my hands in my pockets. “I’ve read over the HOA’s guidelines, and as long as I don’t paint the house or make any other additions to the front that would change the look of the area, then I don’t need your permission.”
“What about the construction you’ve been doing the last couple of weeks?” the neighborhood watchdog huffed. “You’ve certainly been making more noise than is allowed. And what about that car and the man inside of it that watched your house? What are you doing in there?”
“I’m a lawyer,” I said with a shrug. “I sometimes have cases tha
t require extra security. I explained that to the president of the HOA when he visited. As for the noise, it was performed during normal business hours, as per the HOA’s requirement. And none of the changes are visible from the front of the house.”
“Well, I…” the woman spluttered and tried to find something else to complain about.
“I’m sorry,” I said with a forced smile. “I understand that I’ve caused a little bit of worry, but after these updates are secure I’m sure that you won’t have any other issues from me.”
“What about that boy that comes and goes?” the woman said as she finally grasped at something.
“My paralegal,” I said. “I have a home office, and I needed space for my paralegal to work in while I talk privately with my clients.”
“So you’re going to have people coming and going at all hours?” she asked.
“Mostly during business hours,” I reassured her. “But I’m available to my clients whenever they need me. I assure you that they will be respectful and quiet.”
“I’m sure,” the woman narrowed her eyes and then shot Old Man Tony an angry look. “Make sure that you keep the noise down. And don’t think that you can just bring your criminal clients around and endanger this neighborhood. I WILL be speaking to the HOA about this.”
“I understand,” I said with a nod. “I hope you have a wonderful day. Your roses are gorgeous.”
She studied me for a moment like she wasn’t sure if I was being genuine, glanced at Tony, and then huffed and stomped back across the street. The old Italian man looked over at me before he started to climb down the ladder.
“That woman is too nosy,” he muttered. “She’s going to get herself into trouble.”
“She just needs a hobby,” I said.
“I think spying on you might be it,” the security man said.
“Great,” I said. “Maybe she’ll get bored when nothing happens and leave us the hell alone. Or I can convince Tommaso to make friends with her. He makes some delicious cannolis.”
“Food does bring people together,” Old Man Tony said with a grunt as he gathered up the rest of his gear. “You’re all set here. It should be live in just a few minutes. You’ll get an update on your phone.”
“Thanks,” I said.
I looked up at the roofline where he’d installed the camera, but the only thing that I could find was a small solar-powered flood lamp with LED lights. The thing flickered on and off a few times, and I finally saw the little camera lens on the base. If I hadn’t been looking for it, and known that it was there, then I never would’ve guessed. Even the nosy lady across the street would just think that I was trying to make sure there was plenty of light on my garage door for the other camera.
“This is great,” I told Tony. “Are all the lights like this?”
“Yeah,” the gray-haired man said and shouldered his bag. “If you have any more visitors, then you’ll be able to catch them on camera.”
“Thanks,” I said and looked over at the black Chrysler 300 that pulled into my driveway.
“Old Man Tony,” Hank said with a warm grin as he stepped out of his car. “It’s been too long. How have you been?”
“I’m still topside,” Tony said with a rare flash of a smile. “So you’re the schlub that got stuck with the lawyer?”
“Hey,” my bodyguard said. “This lawyer is a badass. Much better than the old asshole.”
“Meh,” the older Italian said. “I’ve heard the stories. I still haven’t made my decision.”
“Thanks?” I said.
“Don’t worry, Hunter,” the beefy Italian said. “Old Man Tony takes about six years to warm up to someone.”
“That was just you,” Tony chuckled. “You were so skinny, and nice, that I didn’t think you’d make it. But just look at you now.”
He patted my bodyguard on the shoulder affectionately and then looked over at me like he was sizing me up. I kept my chin up and didn’t break eye contact until the inspection was done. The security man grunted, shook his head, and then hobbled over to his car.
“Don’t take it personally,” Hank said.
“I don’t,” I responded and walked over to grab the ladder that had been left out. “Are you about ready to go?”
“Yeah,” the large man said. “I just have to put the lamb in the fridge. Lorenzo doesn’t play around when it comes to this kind of stuff. And if he finds out that I didn’t put it away properly, then I’ll never hear the end of it.”
We both went back inside to properly store my dinner, and then we were on the road within ten minutes. I drove my car, and Hank followed behind in his just like he’d done for all those months when the Serbians had been a real threat to my life. Hank had offered to let me ride in the 300, but the beefy Italian had work to do after we crashed the Phoenix Import Company, and I didn’t want to keep him from it. We made good time through the city, and soon we were pulling up to the gates.
“Do you have an appointment?” a tired-looking security guard asked me.
“I don’t,” I said. “But my name is Hunter Morgan. I’m sure Mr. Pham will be willing to see me.”
“Sure,” the portly man said with a shrug. “I just have to call down to the office. Is the guy behind you with you?”
“He is,” I said. “He’s my bodyguard.”
“Naturally,” the exhausted man muttered and picked up the phone.
It took him a few tries, but he finally reached someone. He glanced over at me and told Dian, or whoever was on the other end, my name, and that my bodyguard was with me. Whatever Dian said made the security guard roll his eyes, but he agreed, and then hung up the phone.
“Alright,” he said around a yawn. “Go head on in. There’s an inspection from the Port Authority in progress, so you’ll have to go around to the back warehouse so you’re not in the way. You see that building all the way over on the right?”
“The one that looks abandoned?” I asked and looked over at the grimy windows of the warehouse.
“That’s the one,” the guard said. “You and your bodyguard just wait there. And Mr. Pham will be over when he’s good and ready.”
“Thank you,” I said.
It annoyed me that Dian was shuffling me over to a place where I wouldn’t be seen, but that would give me a little more time to look around. I found a parking spot around the side of the building just as the Vietnamese businessman walked into view with the Port Authority inspector.
The inspector was exactly what I would expect out of someone who did audits every day of his life. He had navy-blue slacks, a light-blue button-up shirt with a pocket protector and pens in his left breast pocket, and thick black-rimmed glasses perched on the end of his nose. The clipboard he held in his hands was large, made of metal, and was thick enough that he probably had storage underneath the top like a portable drawer.
Dian casually steered the man away from the warehouse where Hank and I had parked with a friendly smile as he pointed toward another warehouse, though the businessman did shoot a nervous glance over his shoulder at me and my bodyguard as he led the inspector over to the docks.
I couldn’t tell if it was the warehouse or us that he didn’t want the Port Authority to see, so I decided to take a peek inside the building next to me.
For the most part, it was just like every other warehouse that I’d ever seen. There were huge windows that lined three of the four walls, and a thick layer of grime that hung over every inch of the place. The wall that faced the dock was primarily made up of a rolling steel door that was currently closed, and the only light came from dusty fluorescent bulbs in the vaulted ceiling.
“This place is disgusting,” Hank said from behind me.
“It is,” I said. “It smells like he used it for gutting fish and never cleaned it.”
“Mr. Morgan?” a familiar voice said from the back room. “What are you doing here?”
I looked over to see Chris standing in what might’ve been an office at some point, and n
oticed the set of keys that he had in his hands. The teen shoved the bundle of metal into his pocket as soon as I saw it, but the damage was done.
“You have more cars around here?” I asked and stalked forward like a predator that had spotted his prey. “Is the Enzo here?”
“N-no, sir,” the teen stuttered. “It’s just some high-end cars. Nothing like the Enzo. But stuff that sells quick. We had to hide them when the inspector came.”
“Don’t you usually do this kind of thing at night?” Hank asked.
“Ye-yes, b-but Mr… Mr. Pham has been anxious and said that he had someone breathing down his neck,” the terrified young man stuttered, and his gaze flitted between Hank and I like he couldn’t figure out who was more terrifying. “He said that he needed to make sure the product got to where it needed to go without any more mishaps. And, and that if I got caught again, that he’d send me to-to his boss.”
“His boss?” I asked and slipped my hands in my pockets. “So Dian is just the middleman?”
“I-I don’t know,” Chris seemed like he was close to tears. “Please, please don’t tell him that I told you this. He’s already so mad at me and--”
“It’s fine,” I stopped the teen before he started to hyperventilate. “Where are the cars you just hid?”
“They’re in the back, under some tarps,” the young man said and pointed to the back of the warehouse. “You can’t miss them.”
“Good job, kid,” Hank said and clapped Chris on the shoulder. “Now, get out of here. And take a deep breath. You’re doing fine.”
Chris nodded so hard that he looked like a bobblehead, and then tore out of the warehouse like I’d just pulled a gun on him. I watched him go and then shook my head. He’d been so sure of himself on our first meeting, but the realization that he’d stolen from the next head of the Febbo family had probably had him looking over his shoulder ever since.
“What the hell did you do to that kid, Hunter?” my bodyguard asked as we walked out to where the cars were hidden.
“I just intimidated him a little,” I said. “He was too cocky for his own good. And he wouldn’t give me the information that I wanted.