Geek Mafia: Mile Zero (25 page)

"You selling houses now?" asked Paul.

"It was convenient and empty," said Isaiah.

"And secure I hope," said Paul, looking around for signs of Isaiah's other Crewmembers. He thought he heard a creak from upstairs, but it might have just been the house settling.

"As secure as it can be," said Isaiah.

"Is Winston coming?" Paul asked.

"I couldn't get a hold of him. He's apparently busy with other matters."

Paul assumed Win was taking care of Raquel's body. Or at least he hoped that was the case. "Ok, well, I'll run him down later. But this can't wait."

Isaiah nodded and said nothing, indicating that Paul should proceed.

"We've identified Eddie's ally. The other Crew that he's lined up to take Raquel's place."

"How?"

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"We spotted Eddie talking to one of them. A real bastard named Raff."

"I haven't heard of him," said Isaiah said. "Where does he work out of?"

"I don't know for sure. But he used to be part of Chloe's Crew in San Jose. And he betrayed us. Totally fucked us, in fact. Set us up to fail, got the police involved and turned the Crew against itself. All the while hiding daggers in his smiles. He's as dirty a fucking bastard as they come. And let's not leave out the little fact that his partner shot Winston."

Isaiah, who'd remained stone-faced through Paul's tirade, frowned at this last fact, raising an eyebrow as if to say, "Really?"

"Yeah, I can't imagine Winston's going to be too happy about that. I'm telling you, he's got to be the guy that killed Raquel. It fits everything we talked about."

"Is the man who shot Winston here as well?"

"No," said Paul, thinking of Bee.

"How can you be sure?"

"He's dead."

Isaiah nodded. "Then that debt at least had been repaid."

"That's not the point!" shouted Paul. "The point is he's a murdering, no-good son of a bitch."

Isaiah held up his hand, "I hear what you're saying. And I agree, this doesn't look good."

"That's an understatement. We need to do something."

"What would you suggest?" asked Isaiah.

"We need to drive Raff and whoever he's with out of town. We need to make sure they never come back again."

"And you want my help with that?"

"No," said Paul. "I'm offering you my help with that. This guy is bad news for you and for your whole shadow corporation scheme. If he gets involved - if he even finds out what it is exactly you're planning to do, the whole thing will come crashing down around your heads, I guarantee it."

"I hear you," said Isaiah, although Paul could not tell if the man actually believed him. "Where is this Raff now?"

"I'm not sure. We're tracking him though. We had an encounter with him down by Mallory Square. We think he might be in the Hyatt complex there by the water - which is where Eddie and his crew are staying by the way."

"So he knows you are here?" said Isaiah.

"I think he must have known we were here from the beginning."

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"Why? How?"

"I don't know. Maybe he tracked us here. Or maybe he found us through Winston. I don't know."

Isaiah sat still and pondered for a moment, staring out the front window. Paul wondered if he might have an earpiece in, listening to a report from Amelia or one of his other companions.

"I agree with you. We do need to isolate this Raff person and find out what he knows about Raquel's death.

Assuming what you're telling me about him is true, he is the most likely suspect. Indeed, the only likely suspect, and we should treat him as such. Raquel deserves justice."

"Great," said Paul. "How do you..."

"But," Isaiah interrupted, "We must tread carefully. We don't yet know what his relationship with Eddie is.

Indeed, it's entirely possible that Eddie had nothing to do with the murder. And if we can avoid alienating him and his crew, we must do so."

"Why?" asked Paul. "Why is Eddie so important that we have to tiptoe around him like this? What's his deal?"

Isaiah paused again, this time staring at Paul instead of out the window. Paul met his gaze for as long as he could, but eventually blinked. Isaiah then said, "Eddie has important contacts in the Caribbean - ones we would be hard pressed to duplicate."

"What? With banks in the Caymans or whatever?"

"Those too of course, but that's not important. The banks are always eager for new money. No, Eddie has his hands in another big business down here - cruise ships."

"Cruise ships?" asked Paul.

Isaiah nodded.

"What's so important about cruise ships? If you need a buffet hook up, I can..."

"They go everywhere," said Isaiah. "In and out of every major port."

Paul understood at once. "You're talking about smuggling."

Another nod.

"But don't they go through customs like everything else? And aren't there all kinds of extra security and all that? There's got to be easier ways to smuggle things in and out of the country."

"Security is tight if you're a passenger," Isaiah agreed. "But once you're on the inside, it gets much easier. And there's no more comfortable way to smuggle people. If you have the right contacts in customs and pay off the right people on board, you can move people and cargo without arousing any suspicion. And the nicer the cruise ship, the more expensive the berth, the less likely you are to attract unwanted law enforcement attention. Eddie and his crew have those connections. They practically live on those cruise ships and they make payments to officials in every major and minor port in the Caribbean."

"Ok, sure, I guess," said Paul, who didn't care at all about smuggling or any of that. He just wanted to get Raff out of his life ASAP. "Fine then, we'll keep clear of Eddie, at least until we know whether or not he's Chapter 20

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involved."

"Agreed," said Isaiah.

"But if he is involved..."

"If he's involved, there will be justice for him," said Isaiah. "Raquel was a friend."

Paul nodded and sighed, taking a deep breath. He needed to calm down and focus on the task at hand. "So, what now?" he asked.

"What do you think?"

"Well, for starters, I'll send you over a pic of Raff and everything else we know about him. That way you and your people can be on the lookout for him. And maybe you can check with your sources or whoever and see if you have any idea who he might be working with."

"Any information about his former partner might help," said Isaiah. "The man you said is dead."

"Yeah, sure." Paul thought of Bee and her obsession with the dead man. Maybe if Isaiah could track down some history on him it would give her some closure.

"Of course Winston's the one to talk to about that," said Isaiah. "He's much more knowledgeable about the various Crews out there."

"I'll get in touch with him about it, don't worry," said Paul. "I guess in the meantime we need to decide what to do about Raff when we find him."

Isaiah cocked his head to one side, indicating he wasn't sure what Paul meant.

"I mean, should we take him into custody or something?"

"We're not the police. We're not the military," said Isaiah. "You may of course do as you please. This is your home, and I have not promised Raff or anyone associated with him - besides Eddie apparently - my protection. But I would advise against it."

This assertion surprised Paul. "Why not?"

"It's not what you do. Nor is it what we do except in the direst of circumstances. We gather information and use it to our advantage, and I find that you're not likely to gain the kind of information you want by kidnapping people and forcibly questioning them. Besides, it's a messy business. A messy, dangerous business that attracts cops."

Paul didn't know if he agreed, and Isaiah must have read his doubt on his face. "If things need to become physical, you'll know it. But don't be the one to escalate matters. Not until you have to," said Isaiah.

"It might be too late for that."

Isaiah shrugged. "The decision is yours." He stood up and held out a hand to Paul, who shook it. "In the meantime, we'll proceed as before. I'll meet with Eddie again, but I won't let him know that we've discovered his connection to Raff. We'll see how he wants this situation to play out. But until we have more evidence, I won't help you move directly against Raff."

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"All right," said Paul. "I'll send you the info on Raff and keep you up to date. And if you talk to Winston before I do, tell him to call in."

"Of course," Isaiah replied, releasing Paul's hand. "Best of luck."

Paul turned and headed for the door, but before he could open it Isaiah said, "I have to tell you something."

Paul turned to look back at Isaiah.

"I've been impressed with what I've seen from you so far," he told Paul. "If you and Chloe can sort this situation with Raff and Eddie out in a tidy manner, I'd be willing to offer you a larger role in our little project."

"Tidy?" asked Paul.

"Only two goals are important to me right now, Paul. Finding Raquel's killer and keeping Eddie's cruise ship network intact. Eddie's Crew's network, I should say. As for Raff or Eddie or any other individual, well..." he shrugged.

"Ok," said Paul, who didn't really care about having a bigger role in Isaiah's shadow corporation but was very interested in fucking over Raff. "Good to know. I'll let you know if there's anything you can do to help achieve those two goals."

"Please do."

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Chapter 21

CHLOE could hear Cassie before she could see her. She'd just parked her scooter at the beach lot on the south side of the island when she became aware of a sort of wailing/singing moving off key up and down the scales.

Chloe turned and there she was, Cassie on her rollerblades, shouting her crazy person song as she sped along the sidewalk, waving a faded, torn American flag that was stapled to a stained and rotting length of two by four. A nearby family of fat tourists in the parking lot pointed and laughed as she zoomed toward them.

"AAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEE!!!!" she shouted as she zipped by Chloe's parking place.

"Cassie! Wait!" Chloe shouted, but the homeless girl sped right past her, leaning into a hard right turn as she skidded into the parking lot and circled back toward the tourists, holding the flag in front of her like a lance.

The pasty family scattered as she bore down on them, the little boy screaming as he clutched his mother's thigh. But Cassie braked hard at the last possible moment, halting just a few feet from their car. She waved the flag back and forth in front of them and, more shouting than singing, said "GOD BLESS A-MER-I-CA!"

Then she lowered the flag and took a deep, theatrical bow, holding out her hand in expectation of a tip. The father said something in what Chloe thought might have been German. With a wary smile, he handed Cassie a couple of crumpled up bills. She saluted him, spun on her skates and started to roll at a leisurely pace back toward the road.

"Cassie!" Chloe called again. "Over here."

The crazy girl's face lit up when she recognized Chloe, and she dropped the flag and skated over to where Chloe waited. "Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," she said in a sing-song voice. "We going to your place now? Maybe have some enchiladas?"

"Not right now Cass," said Chloe.

"Really? I like your enchiladas."

"Some other time," said Chloe, who had never cooked anyone enchiladas in her life, much less Cassie. "But I've got a job for you if you want."

"I'm not taking off my clothes," said Cassie. "Unless it's for something artistic."

"No, the clothes stay on if you want. Actually, I'm going to have to insist that they do."

"You sure?" said Cassie, with a disappointment that confused Chloe.

"Yeah, I'm sure. I need you to find someone for me."

"Oooh? Do you need a date? Because Lazlo was talking about how hot you are the other day and..."

"No, no. I need you to find a specific guy for me," said Chloe, pulling a sheaf of papers from her shoulder bag, each with the murderer's picture on it. "This guy here."

"Who's this guy?" asked Cassie as she took one of the papers.

"Just some guy," said Chloe.

"He's kinda mean looking," Cassie observed.

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"That's because he's more than kind of mean. So you need to be careful. But I have to know where he is as soon as possible."

"ASAP!" said Cassie. "That stands for..."

"As soon as possible," interrupted Chloe. "Exactly right." She pulled out a disposable cell phone from the bag as well. "And I got this for you, so you can call me as soon as you find him."

Cassie took the phone gently in both hands, holding it like it was a Faberge Egg. "For me?"

"My number's programmed in. And if you find him, I'll give you $100. Cash." Chloe could've afforded much more, of course, but a reward too high would make Cassie suspicious or, just as likely, make her think that she'd dreamed the whole thing up. $100 was real enough that she could visualize it.

"That sounds real good. Then I could afford to make you enchiladas."

"Sure thing," said Chloe. "And tell your other friends, too. Give them pictures and tell them - and if anyone you give a pic to finds the guy, I'll still pay you the hundred bucks."

"And pay them a hundred bucks too?" asked Cassie.

"Of course," said Chloe, guaranteeing that Cassie would bring in a partner, if only to get another $100 out of Chloe.

"And if two other friends help me?" she asked, testing Chloe's limits.

"Two is fine," said Chloe. "But it can't be more. But show everyone you know the picture and call me, ok? As soon as you find him, call me."

"As soon as me and up to two friends find him."

"Yeah. As soon as that happens." Chloe pulled a $10 bill from her pocket and handed it to Cassie.

"What's this for?" she asked as she pocketed the bill.

"It's for expenses," said Chloe.

"You mean like gas money?"

"I guess if you had a car, you could use it for gas."