“Our suppliers will be more than happy to step it up. Right now they have a surplus of supply,” I explained happily.
“Excellent. Well, Gage, it’s been a pleasure. Let me know if you need any additional equipment. I’ll be here by the phone.”
“Your number is blocked.”
“Call the office.” He disconnected the call.
I texted each of the guys. New developments. Meeting in the boardroom. ASAP.
I stared at the names on the list. I was pretty sure those three guys would be with Ivan. They were all his top men. It was no surprise the FBI was waiting to have them handed over on a silver platter. I couldn’t believe I had agreed to be the one serving them up. I wanted the first two dead.
A little while later, all four of my guys came in and sat down around the table.
“What’s up?” Ricky asked.
“I just talked to the mayor a little while ago,” I told them.
“Oh joy, what did he want?” Chase asked.
“He actually called in a favor in exchange for immunity,” I answered.
“I’m sorry, what?” Jorell raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing what I told them.
“He’s going to make sure we stay below the radar for helping him out when we storm the yacht.”
“What do we have to do?” Juarez asked with his ears perked up.
“He wants us to storm the boat tonight and keep Ivan, Dimitri, Aleksei, and Boris alive so that the FBI can pick them up tomorrow from the boat,” I explained.
Their jaws hit the table.
“You told him to shove it, right?” Jorell said.
“Did you miss the part about immunity? Plus, we’re getting new clients out of this deal,” I explained to Mr. Eager Ambition.
“New clients?” Ricky’s ears perked up.
“From what he was saying, everyone who is supposed to be part of this deal tomorrow is going to start coming to us after Ivan is shut down.”
“And you believe him,” Jorell stated flatly.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “He’s offering us any gear we need for tonight, so what I need you to do is to check back over everything and see if we need anything else. He said he’ll hook us up with anything we need. He’ll have it delivered right to us.”
“Yes, sir,” he said resentfully.
“So, we’re doing this tonight?” Chase asked.
“That’s what he said. Hit Ivan tonight, get Julia back, do whatever we want to anyone not on the list, and hit the road before the authorities show up.”
“What about the drugs?” Ricky asked.
“He said leave the drugs and weapons. He’s got some people coming to handle all of that. Some of it is going to the FBI so they have something to pin on these guys,” I explained.
Jorell shook his head. “I can’t believe we’re working with the law on this one.”
“Hey, it’s going to put us back on top, and Ivan’s going to be gone. This is going to break Ivan’s operation up and put us back on top. That’s what we want, right?” I asked Jorell.
“Yeah, I guess so. Whatever. I mean, you’re the boss, right?” He stood up. “I’m going to go ahead and check our gear.”
We all watched him leave, and as the door closed behind him, we turned to each other.
“Guys, I don’t know about Jorell.” I was the first to speak.
“Yeah, he’s turning out not to be the greatest candidate for his position,” Ricky added.
“No, I think he’s great for security and armed operations, but for a position at this table?” I added.
“I say we demote him after tonight,” Chase said.
“Please. You think he’s going to let go of his position? He’s not going down without a fight. Gage, I’d watch your back as long as he’s around,” Juarez added.
“I mean, if we think he’s a threat, he doesn’t have to be around long,” Ricky suggested. “Shit happens when you get a bunch of guys together in the dark firing their guns off.”
“I think we can all agree we didn’t hear that,” I said, cutting my eyes to Ricky. Losing Jorell in the middle of a gunfight was definitely preferable to having to fight him down from his position. He had seemed like such a good fit, too.
“What have your eyes told you?” Ricky asked.
“Nothing out of the ordinary. We may just be looking at an internal threat here,” I said.
“That’s not good either.”
I hit the table, breaking the growing tension in the room. “Well, look, we have a lot bigger things to worry about right now. We’ll revisit this problem after tonight,” I said. “Right now, we need to focus on making sure everything’s ready.”