Geek Mafia: Mile Zero by Rick Dakan (best fiction novels to read .txt) 📕

THE meeting place that Jeanie chose had surprised Paul. He wondered what kind of contacts she and Raff and their Crew had that they could gain access to an empty storefront so close to Mallory Square. Located between a cheap jewelry shop and a place that sold sandals, the former boutique’s windows now sported white butcher paper in the windows instead of sundress-clad mannequins. The store had opened only six months earlier, but making any business work in Key West was an uphill struggle, even in a year without hurricanes. Paul could see slivers of white light shining through the cracks at the edges where the paper didn’t quite cover the whole window. Someone was home.

Chloe knocked on the door and the two of them waited, looking around the empty street for signs of life. It was 3:30 a.m., and although most of the big bars didn’t close for another half hour, this part of town was typically quiet at this time of night. Paul saw one homeless person trudging along back toward Mallory Square and wondered if he might not actually be a member of Raff ‘s Crew. Or Isaiah’s. Or Winston’s. Or Eddie’s. Christ, there were too many players in this game. He touched Chloe’s shoulder and motioned toward the guy. She shook her head and whispered in his ear, “No, he’s the real deal. I recognize him.” She knocked again, louder this time.

A few seconds later they heard someone unlocking the door from the other side, and they both took a step back. The door swung open to reveal Jeanie, who smiled and stepped aside so they could come in. She was looking a lot better than the last time Paul had seen her. She wore a short denim jacket and blue jeans, with a dark green tank top underneath. She’d tied her dark hair back in a ponytail. If she was still suffering from the effects of her wound she didn’t show it, as she seemed to move without pain or discomfort. But maybe she was just good at hiding her true feelings. Or maybe she was on painkillers. Or both.

“Come on in,” she said, letting them walk past her as she took a moment to scan the street outside. “Is that homeless guy with you?” she asked as she closed the door behind them.

“Nope,” said Paul. “He’s local.”

Jeanie nodded and followed them into the empty store. Paul looked around - it was a shop waiting for product, with shelves, display racks, dressing rooms and cash register all in place. There were even five naked mannequins lined up against one wall. Plenty of places to hide cameras or even people for that matter.

“I appreciate you coming out this late,” Paul said. “We need to sort this whole mess out right away.”

“I agree,” said Jeanie. She was watching Chloe as she spoke, who was wandering around the store, poking her head into the dressing rooms. Jeanie didn’t seem to like this and directed her next words straight at Chloe. “I know you and Raff have had your differences to be sure. But there’s no reason we can’t put that behind us.”

Chloe turned to face her. “I agree. Bygones be fucking bygones and all that.”

“Good,” said Jeanie. “Then maybe you’ll let Raff go.”

“Let him go where?” asked Chloe.

“Let him go. I assume you’re holding him somewhere.”

Paul didn’t know what Jeanie was talking about. “We’re not holding him anywhere. What makes you think we are?”

“I haven’t spoken to him since you and your friend in the pirate costume attacked our house.”

“Maybe he ran out on you,” said Paul. “He’s got a history of abandoning those who trust him most.”

“You’re assuming he wasn’t already working for me and my husband the whole time he was with you,” Jeanie said. “He was never disloyal to me.”

Paul didn’t quite believe her. Raff working for someone else the entire time? It didn’t make any sense. He was too independent and too ambitious. She was playing some game with him here, but he really didn’t want to play along. “Whatever,” he said. “Point is, we don’t know where he is, which is fine with me. If you’re in charge, then you’re the one we need to be talking to anyway.”

“Fine,” said Jeanie. “Then let’s talk. You said you have the guy who stabbed me?”

“We do,” said Paul. “And he’s prepared to explain everything and make whatever amends are necessary.”

“I’m sure an apology will be sufficient. He only tried to kill me, after all.”

“You can work the rest out with him,” said Paul. “That’s between you two. What I want to talk about is how we can help each other.”

Jeanie leaned back against the counter by the cash register, her arms folded across her chest. “Go on,” she said.

“You’re here because Eddie and Marco invited you. They told you they could let you in on a huge new scam that Isaiah is putting together. The only problem was, there was already someone else in your way - Raquel.”

“Eddie never told me any names or details, but so far that’s about right.”

“Well, we’re prepared to offer you something better - we can get you into the inner council of Isaiah’s group. A seat at the organizing table where all the biggest profits will be split. Eddie’s seat at the table.”

“And you have the authority to do this?” she asked. “I’m skeptical.”

“As well you should be,” Paul agreed. “Except we have Winston and his weight behind us, and once we turn the man who attacked you over to Isaiah, we’ll have his support as well. You know Eddie. He’s obnoxious. He rubs people the wrong way. He’s a liability. You help me remove him from the picture, and we’ll help you take his place. We keep Marco and the others on board to run the cruise ship end of things.”

“When you say ‘remove’ Eddie, what exactly do you mean?”

“Well…” said Paul, looking for the right words. “I mean…”

“He means kill me,” said a voice from the rear of the store. It was Eddie, emerging from the back room with three others. The first two were the other lackeys who’d been watching the back of the house. The third was the big surprise - Isaiah’s wife, Amelia. “Oh shit,” Paul thought. “This wasn’t the plan.”

“Hey Eddie,” Paul said. Chloe was moving over to Paul’s side. At least there was no one between them and the front door. Assuming of course that the Big Guy wasn’t waiting for them out on the street. “We were just talking about you.”

“So we fucking heard,” Eddie replied, stepping into the middle of the store. At least he wasn’t brandishing a gun. But his two mooks were both holding baseball bats. Amelia remained back near the shadows at the rear of the room, watching as events unfolded in front of her.

Paul tried to ignore Eddie and his pals for a moment and focused his attention on Jeanie. “I assume you invited them?” he asked.

“Sorry,” she said with a humorless smile. “I thought I should hear offers from both sides.”

“Only one side worth listening to now,” crowed Eddie. “The good guys. Unless you’re happy to side with people who hide murderers in their house.”

“See?” Jeanie said to Paul. “He makes a good argument.”

“He hasn’t made a good anything since he was shitting his diapers,” Chloe said. “He’s scum.”

Eddie turned and called back to Amelia. “You see how much of a bitch she is? I told you! And you notice they don’t even deny they’ve been hiding Raquel’s killer all along.