Geek Mafia: Mile Zero (17 page)

Eddie bore down and concentrated for a moment, staring at the pair. "Maybe I can get their card or something.

Leave my number maybe..."

Sandee laughed. "Oh, sweetie, you're a funny one."

"What?" said Eddie, confused and growing angry.

"Did you not hear me when I told you he's one of the biggest drug importers in the state?"

"Yeah, that's why I wanna..."

"And you think he's going to take your card? Or give you his number? Sweetie, he's not going to give you the time of day!"

"Why the fuck not?"

"Because he doesn't know you. You could be a cop. Or, more likely, some drunk tourist looking to make a buy, which would, I'm sure, annoy him even more."

Eddie scowled. "I'm not a cop. Not a tourist either. I'm not looking to buy shit from him. I could help him is all."

"Well how would he know that?"

"You could tell him for me!"

"And why would I do that?"

"Why would...?" Eddie looked confused. Chloe suspected that the conversation in his head might be going very differently than the one the rest of them were hearing.

"He's a friend, I'm not going to bother him with nonsense. He's here to have fun." Sandee gave Eddie's thigh a squeeze. "Just like you. Don't you wanna have some fun?"

"It's not nonsense," insisted Eddie. "You should tell him it's not. I'm not."

"I'm sure you're very good at whatever it is you do," Sandee said. "But he's not interested in small time..."

"I'm not small time!" Eddie practically shouted. "You have no idea..."

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"Ok, ok, sweetie, calm down," Sandee said, "Why don't you quiet down and explain it to me. Tell me what you want me to tell the big man."

"I can help him move things. All over the Caribbean and the Gulf. Up and down the East Coast. I can get anything anywhere."

"You can?"

"Sure as hell can."

"How?"

"It's a fucking secret. But I can, trust me."

"You have planes? Boats or something."

"Boats? I've got fucking ships!"

"Ok, ok," said Sandee. "You've got ships. That's great."

Chloe thought that this sounded a lot like boasting to her. Eddie certainly didn't have any ships did he? How could he? If he could afford multiple ships, then he wouldn't need whatever help Isaiah and Winston could offer him. This wasn't working. But she needed to know if Eddie knew anything about Raquel. She caught Sandee's eye, mouthing "ask about Raquel." Sandee nodded in understanding.

"So is that why're you're here in Key West," Sandee asked. "Because of your ships?"

"Nah..." said Eddie. "I mean, yeah. Sort of. Just a business meeting, you know."

"A business meeting? Or a business meeting?" Sandee asked, putting a finger to her nose as she asked the question a second time.

"Do I look like the kind of guy who has boring ass meetings with fuckers in suits about quarterly profits or whatever?"

"Not to me you don't."

"Fucking right I don't."

"And how's the meeting going?"

"Ahh, it's not so bad. Sort of. The guy in charge is a real dick."

"The world's full of them," sympathized Sandee.

"Yeah. Fucking right it is. And this other bitch hasn't even showed up yet. Got in some kind of trouble or something."

"People are so inconsiderate."

"Yeah, right? I mean, this is supposed to be some big deal and she's all not here and shit. Or dead or whatever."

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"Doesn't sound very professional."

"No! It's not. I mean, c'mon. At least have the decency to phone ahead if you're going to get killed, right?"

"I suppose so," said Sandee. "It's the least you can do. So does this mean your business isn't going to work out?"

"Did I say that?"

"No, but I thought..."

"Did I say that?" Eddie asked again, louder. Sandee just smiled, knowing to let him rant. "If it were someone else, then yeah, it would be all fucked up. But it's not somebody else, is it? No. It's fucking me."

"So it's not fucked up?"

"No way. I've got a backup."

"A backup?" asked Sandee. "That's smart."

"I'm smart."

"I know you are, sweetie."

"I'm so fucking smart, you see, I knew. I knew from working with that bitch before. I knew she was trouble.

Always trouble. Always telling people what to do and shit."

"That does sound like trouble."

"It's no way to work with partners."

"She's not the boss of you," Sandee prompted.

"Not anymore she's not. No fucking way. And that's why she's so fucking smart. No. I mean, that's why I'm so fucking smart!"

"Why is that?"

"Because I was ready. Not like these other fucks like that black fuck and that old guy and the other fuck. All their crazy pie-in-the-sky bullshit. I was prepared."

"You were prepared," Sandee agreed.

"I had a backup. Someone else I could bring in. Someone I could rely on if this other bitch didn't work out. Or if something happened to her."

Chloe managed to keep the surprise off her face, not that Eddie had paid her any attention at all since Sandee had fixed his attention. Who the hell was this backup he was talking about? Another person like Raquel? Or another Crew maybe? So far, even in his drug-addled state, Eddie was talking mostly in generalities. No specifics yet. Sandee had picked up on this fact as well and started searching for answers.

"That's very smart," Sandee said, hands caressing Eddie's chest once more. "But what do you mean by Chapter 14

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backup? I don't understand."

"A plan B?" said Eddie, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Don't you know anything? You've gotta have a plan B in this business."

"Of course, of course, darling."

"I knew there was all kinds of hinky shit with this... this deal I'm working on. New partners and all, right? So I knew that, ok? And I knew I needed - might need anyway - might need someone else I could trust. You know? Someone I'd worked with before."

"I thought you said you'd worked with this one woman before."

"Yeah, I worked with that bitch. She's why I wanted a backup. Nobody..." Eddie stopped himself, his brain catching up with his mouth. His eyes narrowed and he looked close at Sandee. "It doesn't matter. Are you going to introduce me to those two old fucks or not?"

"Of course, darling, of course," soothed Sandee. "What do you want me to tell them?"

"That I want to talk with them!"

"I'll need something more than that, or I assure you they won't have any interest in..."

"Just fucking ask 'em, will you? Ok?" he sniped.

"Of course, of course. Don't get your panties in a bunch, sweetie. You just wait right here. Do you have a card or something I could give them?"

"No. No cards. Just..."

"I know, I know," said Sandee, standing up. "I'll be right back."

Chloe and Eddie sat on opposite ends of the couch in silence, watching Sandee walk over to the couple as they danced. Chloe knew both of them by sight. The man's name was Garth Mackee, and he owned the Bleu Fandango restaurant. The woman was Connie Abernathy, and she was his long-time girlfriend and the hostess at the restaurant. Although both of them liked to smoke a joint now and then, the only thing Garth imported into the U.S. was food. They just liked to party and they spent freely. Sandee tapped Garth on the shoulder and gave both of them quick kisses on the cheek.

Eddie turned to Chloe again, seeming to just remember she was there now that he couldn't openly stare at Sandee's ass without being too obvious.

"Hey you," he said to her.

"Hey yourself," she said, forcing herself to sound dreamy and stoned.

"You having fun?" he asked, sliding over next to her. He didn't waste a moment. Chloe was sick of him and Sandee seemed to have everything in hand, so it was time to blow him off.

"Not as much fun as you two seem to be having," Chloe said in sarcastic tones.

"What? Her? We're just..."

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"I'm drunk, not blind!" said Chloe.

"What? Jealous?" he said with a smile, reaching for her thigh.

She brushed his hand away. "I don't give a fuck what you do."

"Yeah, right. Listen, why don't you calm down and just join us? No reason we can't all three have a good time..."

"Ewww!" said Chloe. "You fucking perv!" She started to walk away but he grabbed her by the wrist.

"Wait a sec," he said. Chloe snatched her wrist away and was fighting the urge to slug him, when all of a sudden Eddie was knocked back onto the couch by 120 pounds of giggling Sandee landed in his lap.

"Ooof!" said Eddie as Sandee laughed in his lap, holding a glossy black business card between two fingers.

"What the fuck...."

Chloe laughed and retreated a few steps, well out of Eddie' reach. "Fuck, Sandee's good," she thought. Not only did Sandee back her up when it looked like things with Eddie might be getting ugly, the job had been done without breaking roles. The squirming brunette in his lap had certainly distracted him from any anger he'd felt toward Chloe.

"He says he'll talk to you," said Sandee, gently caressing Eddie's cheek with the business card. "But not tonight. He wants you to call him tomorrow at this number." Sandee slipped the card into Eddie's front pocket, giving him a playful squeeze in the process.

"Thanks, babe," said Eddie. "You're a princess."

"Well then," said Sandee. "You'd better treat me like one and buy me another drink."

"Anything for you," he said. Sandee squirmed off of him and he got up to his feet. He pointedly ignored Chloe as he headed over toward the bar, weaving a bit from side to side.

"You gonna be ok?" Chloe asked Sandee.

"This puppy-dog? Nothing easier. He'll be passed out cold in ten minutes, tops."

"Was that one of Bee's cards?"

"It most certainly was. D. W. Oliver."

"You're brilliant," said Chloe.

"I know. See you at home?"

"Eventually." Chloe glanced toward the bar and saw Eddie headed back their way. She raised her voice, stepping back away from Sandee and throwing her arms up in disgust. "No way! You're both disgusting! Just leave me alone."

Chloe couldn't hear what Sandee and Eddie said as she spun on her heel and stormed out of the room toward the front door. But she knew she'd be able to listen and watch the full replay on video as soon as she got home. The Crew's secret watchers never missed anything. She just wished she could be there in person once Chapter 14

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Eddie figured out that Sandee was really a man.

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Chapter 15

PAUL watched the three dots diverge on the display screen. The one he knew represented Chloe was moving at a leisurely (or tired) pace through the streets of Old Town. Although she was headed the wrong way at the moment, Paul knew she'd eventually find her way home, once she was sure she'd shaken any followers. The other two dots represented Sandee and Eddie. Since they were both inside the Crawford House still, their dots were right on top of one another, making the display a little difficult to interpret.

The screen Paul watched showed an overhead picture of the entire island, with the street names and block numbers digitally overlaid on top of the satellite image. The city display gathered data from several different kinds of sources, including GPS devices in the Crewmember's phones and on their vehicles along with similar tracking devices hidden elsewhere. But it was hard to find a reliable tracking device much smaller than a compact cell phone - at least one that had enough battery life to be worthwhile for any length of time. It was relatively easy to hide such a device in a car or scooter, but few people in Key West did much driving. If you wanted to keep track of someone, you needed to hide something on their person that they wouldn't notice.

That's where Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID tags came into play. Bee had gotten her hands on a few thousand of the cheap, flexible and easily hidden spy chips. Manufacturers sewed them into clothing, hid them in packaging, or sealed them in products as a way to track inventory down to the individual item. And soon they will be included in every U.S. passport and Driver's License. Thin as a piece of paper and no larger than a quarter, these hidden antennas each contained a unique ID number that they could transmit when pinged with the right radio frequency. Without sending the exact frequency, the RFID tag was inert and almost undetectable. The only drawback was the device's very limited range - the reader sending the signal had to be within, at most, a few dozen feet of the tag.

In stores, these readers are located at doorways and in the shelves, making it easy to achieve complete coverage within an enclosed space. The Crew wanted to be able to track the tags outside on the street, a challenge in any city, even one as small as Key West. So far, they'd failed to achieve the complete coverage Bee dreamed of, but they had managed to incorporate RFID readers into their hidden camera network that spread out over much of old town. While this still only gave them spotty coverage, it did allow them to track people as they moved through most of the major intersections or past the more popular tourist spots. With that data, Bee could then use her spy camera array more effectively, since the Crew's computer kept a record of every active RFID tag's location at all times (not counting the thousands still boxed up and waiting for use).

The business card that Sandee had given Eddie contained an RFID tag. Chloe had called and told Bee that it was the card with the name D.W. Oliver on it. Bee then activated the tag in the RFID network and assigned Eddie's name to the card in her master tracking database. Now whenever one of their readers registered the tag, Eddie's name would pop up on the screen with the time of detection. Unless he was staying somewhere well off the beaten path, they should be able to easily track him back to whatever hotel or guest house he was staying at. And unless he had an RFID reader attuned to the exact proper frequency, it was unlikely that he'd detect the hidden device. All this assumed he didn't just throw the card away, of course. Then all they'd be able to track is the garbage.