My brother smiled at me.
“Lil bro, you are deadly. You know that?”
I shrugged.
“It’s in my blood. I gotta go.”
I had to get everything I needed in place to keep an eye on Max while she worked.
Roland called me as I was leaving my office.
“What do you have for me?”
“A lot, and I think you’ll like it. Why don’t we meet?”
We set up a time and place, and I was on my way.
For three weeks, we’ve been gathering intelligence on Mr. Shaw and his business. I’ve found out what he’s into and which cartel he’s working for in South America. It’s a low level cartel that’s trying to establish itself in the states. Border patrol and ATF are trying to prevent this from happening, so we’ve been gathering as much data as we could in order to provide them what they need. We also plan to provide our services in the event they want to eliminate this cartel as well.
I met Roland at a warehouse in Deep Ellum. I pulled up, and he was waiting for me outside. We shook hands.
“Man, this dude is by far one of the dumbest bad guys I have ever seen,” Roland informed me.
“He’s trying to get into a business he knows nothing about. And he’s sloppy. Do you know how many times I could have taken his life?” I told him.
Roland nodded.
“Yeah I thought the same thing. I could have easily put a bullet in his head twenty times over in one day, and he is messing with cartels?”
“I wonder what kept him alive all this time,” I asked him as we entered his warehouse.
“I can tell you that. The cartel is itching to get into the states. The reason why they used his daughter to get him in line with what they want to do is Shaw doesn’t want to ‘toe the line.’ He wants to be in charge of the operation on U.S. soil. But the cartel, of course, don’t trust outsiders. So they won’t let that happen. So the first time they took Max was to show them they mean business.”
My muscles in my neck grew taut as I thought about what they could have done to her.
“Do you know why they had her for so long?”
“No, not really, but I have a guess. I believe he tried to play hard ball, thinking they wouldn’t hurt her because they needed him. Little did he know this cartel was ruthless. They’re into women sex trafficking. They could have easily sold Max to the highest bidder. You know they would have made a fortune on her. Maybe that’s when he decided to play nice, I’m not sure. But I do know the second attempt was just to show they could snatch her again.”
“I wonder if they tried anything when she was in Philly.”
“I don’t have a doubt they didn’t. This cartel may be small, but they are resourceful. Besides, they have inside help within his organization.”
That bit of news raised my eyebrows. We came to his office, and I sat down on a huge plush couch. He poured me a Scotch, and I shook my head. I haven’t taken a drink since I came back from the beach.
Roland shrugged, took the amber color liquor down, and sat in a chair across from me.
“Ralphie and Sammy found a connection with two of Shaw’s men. They are working for the cartel for any information they need about Shaw. Shaw thinks he has loyal followers. So if they try and set up something to go against the cartel, the two little snitches blab to the cartel, and they take action. I know Shaw has to know he has a mole, but he probably thinks it’s one of his foot soldiers. He hasn’t a clue it’s two of his trusted men that have been with him for years.”
I took in everything Roland said. I knew how it was to have disloyal people around you. I knew it was time Shaw and I had that talk.
“Can you pick a time and place where we could meet? And can you give me everything you have on his snitches? I also want what the government has on him. I don’t want tapes, but I want proof of the wire taps that are everywhere. I’m going to plead with his reasonable side first. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll have to get messy. But before we do this, I need some things to take with me. I have just the gear.”
That night, I sat in the back of AB’s restaurant and watched Maxine. I sipped on water to stay sober, and I watched her closely. I found out that there were two of Shaw’s men sitting in the restaurant, but they stayed clear of her. I also recognized these two to be the snitches within his organization. Roland showed me pictures of them when I was in his office.
This, of course, forced my hand. I wanted her to know I was here, and I wanted them to know she had a friend here tonight. I’ve never seen them in this place before, so they either followed her here or stumbled upon her. I walked toward the bar and found a seat to wait for her to acknowledge me. It’s been three weeks since we had sex. I haven’t called her, but I did text her a few times to make sure she was okay. I couldn’t risk hearing her voice, or I would’ve have caved and found some reason to be at her doorstep and in her bed.