Packing Heat(16)
I heard some footsteps approaching and looked up. Vince smirked at me as he came toward me. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Pacing,” I grunted.
“You look fucking crazy.” He opened his office door. “Get your ass in here.”
We walked into his office. It was a pretty big space. He had a desk toward the back wall, and I had a desk toward the front. Most guys didn’t have an office like this, but Vince ran his crew like a business. He didn’t fuck around like some of the other guys did. He was tough and violent and powerful, but he wasn’t a crazy piece of shit like some of the guys were. I wouldn’t have been working for him if he were.
“How was the girl last night?”
“Fine.”
He sat down at his desk, but I just leaned against mine. I had too much energy to sit down and act like we were working in some office.
I wished I could get out on the streets and crack some skulls. That was where I worked best. I had a way with people, especially with men who thought they were tough. I could break a man if I needed to, and I fucking enjoyed it. Breaking bad men was one of my favorite hobbies.
“What did she say?” he asked.
“She doesn’t know anything. She’s just some girl.”
“But that Spider knew her name.”
“True. She was writing an article about human trafficking and stumbled onto the Spiders. Apparently she gave them the location of our whorehouse without even knowing who they were or that it was our place.”
Vince nodded, frowning. “So you think she’s innocent?”
“Not innocent. But not a threat.”
“She was writing an article about us.”
“She was. But believe me, when I told her who I was, she nearly fucking flipped. She doesn’t want anything to do with it now.”
“Smart girl.”
“She is smart. And naïve. Vince, this girl isn’t going to be an issue.”
He looked at me for a second and then nodded. “Okay. I trust your instincts. But you’ll have to convince the others. You know I can’t stop them.”
“I know. I’ll do what I can.”
“Good. You have my support too.”
“Are there any updates on the Spider girl?”
Vince nodded. He took out a bottle and two glasses from his desk and poured two drinks. I walked over and picked one up.
He took his. “She’s dead,” he said.
“What happened?”
“Lonnie happened. Seems as though her heart gave our eventually. Blood loss and stress did her in.”
I nodded. We drank our drinks back.
“Did she talk?” I asked.
“A little bit. She talked about how the Spiders are a group of women fighting to liberate sex slaves. Said a bunch of idealistic bullshit, too.”
“Do you believe her?”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t there. I’m just hearing this secondhand.”
“She seemed like a fucking fanatic. She let Lonnie tear out all her fingernails before she started talking.”
“Shit.” He poured two more drinks. “To that badass bitch.”
“To the Spider.”
We clinked glasses and drank.
“Ernesto didn’t seem happy, if I’m honest. He didn’t seem to like what they learned.”
“That’s bad for the journalist.”
“It is,” Vince agreed. “And it’s bad for us. If this really is a group of idealistic freedom fighters, we may have a serious war on our hands.”
“It wasn’t serious before?”
“No,” he said. “Before we could negotiate, maybe come to terms or some shit. But now? They’ll try to bleed us dry before they give in, assuming what this girl said is true.”
I nodded, understanding. If the Spiders were in it for profit, we could offer them a better deal and maybe go into business together. But if they were just out to destroy us, well, then we’d never be able to get anywhere with them. There was just no common ground with an enemy that disagreed with your fundamental existence.
And in business, you needed common ground. Dasha had seemed tough, and I was wondering why she’d put up with so much pain instead of talking. She gave us the journalist, but that made sense. She probably saw Cassidy as so low value, she could give us that bit.
Then she decided to fucking die before she told us anything useful. That was one tough chick. I had to admit, I admired her courage and her convictions, even if they were pretty fucking ominous.
“What’s the plan for the journalist, then?” Vince asked.
“For now, I told her to lie low.”
“That won’t be enough, not with this Spider dead.”
“I figured that.”