Geek Mafia: Mile Zero (6 page)

"He's not kidding," teased Chloe. "Trust me. If he didn't keep his comic books at the house, I'd never get him to come home."

"Maybe we could help you find her," suggested Paul. "We know a lot or people - especially bartenders and club owners."

"I don't know if that's necessary," said Winston. "No need to put yourselves out."

"Winston's right," said Isaiah. "We don't want to crowd Raquel's style. She'll show up when she shows up."

"Sure, sure," said Chloe, "I understand. When do you want to meet..."

"But what if something's happened to her?" asked Paul. The other three all looked at him, curious.

"What do you mean?" Isaiah asked.

Paul waved his arm around the room, "You obviously went to a lot of effort to set all this up. And I know Winston wouldn't have come all the way to the East Coast if this meeting weren't about something important, right? And you said that, that...what's her name? Raquel? That Raquel was excited or interested in what you've got going on. Now I haven't been doing this as long as any of you, but I do know that precision and timing are vitally important in our line of... work."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Before Paul could continue, Isaiah said, "You're right, Paul. No point in taking needless chances. Something bad might've happened to her, and if it did, we better find out right now.

And if she's just late, well..." he glanced at Winston. "That tells us something about her too."

"Exactly," said Paul.

"It's your town," Isaiah replied.

"Do you have anything more for us besides a name?" asked Chloe. "A pic, a description?"

"Give me a secure e-mail address and I can send you everything you'll need," said Isaiah.

"Are you certain that's wise?" asked Winston. "When Raquel finds out you're sending her picture all over Chapter 05

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town, she won't be pleased."

"Then she shouldn't have been late," Isaiah replied. "In any case, I'm sure Chloe and Paul will be discreet in their search."

"Of course we will," said Chloe. "Always."

"Let's get started then," he said, standing up from the table.

"One more thing," said Paul. "What do you want us to do if we find her?"

"If she's fine, ask her to come here ASAP," Isaiah replied. "If she's in trouble, help her. Either way, your first call is to me."

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Chapter 06

CHLOE didn't like being told what to do. Especially in her town.

Most especially by a complete stranger. "That Isaiah," she said to Paul as they exited the elevator back on the ground floor. "He's not afraid to give fucking orders, is he?"

"No," laughed Paul. "Not at all."

She glanced over and saw Sandee sitting at the hotel bar, sipping on something that could have been a vodka tonic, but was probably just a tonic and lime. She gave Sandee the slightest of nods and motioned with her eyes to meet them outside. Given how prepared Isaiah had been upstairs, Chloe would have been very surprised if he and his Crew didn't have someone (or some camera) surveiling the lobby. She and Paul made straight for the front door and stepped out onto the street.

They headed west down Duval and turned left at the first cross street. As soon as they were out of sight from the La Concha they both pulled out their cell phones and started dialing.

"Wait," said Chloe. "Who're you calling?"

"I was calling Bee," said Paul.

"I was going to call Bee," she said.

"Oh, ok. Then I'll call San."

"No, you call Bee, I'll call San."

"What're you going to call me?" said a voice from behind them. They both turned around to see Sandee standing there, still stunning in tight dress and dagger heels.

"Ok, you call Bee, I'll talk to San," said Chloe. Paul nodded and resumed dialing. None of the Crew had any numbers or information of any kind stored in their phones. Likewise, Bee had modified them all to erase their outgoing and incoming call histories after every call. You never knew when you might lose a phone, and you certainly never knew who might find it. Or steal it.

"I put two of Bee's little watchers in the lobby," said Sandee. "One's in a plant, looking down the hallway to the elevator. The other's in a plant in the bar where it can cover both main doors."

"See anything unusual?" Chloe asked.

"Besides my presence in the bar at La Concha? This will do no good for my reputation, you know. No, nothing unusual."

"Ok, well, now we're looking for a woman."

"Who isn't?"

"We're looking for a specific woman. Name's Raquel, although she's probably going by some other name."

"A wise choice. Raquel is very '70s, isn't it?"

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"More than Sandee, certainly," said Chloe.

"That's Persephone Petals to you!" insisted Sandee, referring to the stage name often found on the marquee at various clubs around town.

"Sorry, Persephone. Anyway, we should be getting a pic of this Raquel chick any minute. Bee will forward it to your phone. Can you ask around at your usual haunts and see if she's been in? Be discreet, of course."

"Of course," Sandee said. "I'm the soul of discretion."

"That's what your mom said."

"Well, mother is most definitely not in the slightest bit discreet," said Sandee with a wink. "Toodles, chica. I'll check in if I find your woman." Sandee started to turn and walk away but stopped as Chloe gently touched a bare shoulder.

"Check in even if you don't, ok?" said Chloe. "There's a lot of strangers in town tonight."

"I know," said Sandee, giving Chloe a kiss on the cheek. "I'm one of them."

Chloe watched Sandee sashay up the block, back toward Duval. She reflected for a moment on how lucky they were to have found San for the Crew. Without the help of a Key West native - or conch as they preferred to be called - she and Paul might never have cracked this town. Now they practically had the whole island in their grasp. Assuming this Isaiah fucker didn't screw everything up with whatever he was up to.

"Bee just got the pic," said Paul, breaking her out of her reverie. "Should be on your phone any minute."

"Ok," said Chloe. "Where do you want to cover?"

"I was planning on hitting the mega-bars and tourist traps tonight anyway to recruit for the party, might as well make my rounds as planned."

"But maybe no party recruiting, right?" chided Chloe. She immediately regretted her tone as soon as she saw annoyance flash across Paul's face. He hated being reminded of the obvious. "As you already no doubt knew..."

"Right," said Paul. He didn't seem angry, but then, just one of the things she loved about him was that he was good at letting little things like that go. "But I need to pass out new addresses to a few bartenders and waiters tonight. So I figured I'd show Raquel's pic around at the same time."

"Sounds like a plan," said Chloe. "San has central Duval covered. I'll hop on my scooter and tour the periphery."

"And when and if we find her, I assume our first call is most definitely not to Isaiah," said Paul.

"Of course not. Let's hear her side of the story first. She no doubt knows more about Isaiah and whatever the fuck he's up to than we do."

"She would have to - we don't know anything."

"Not yet," Chloe said. "But the night is young."

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"I put Bee on Isaiah as well," said Paul. "She's digging around looking for anything she can find on him and where he might be staying."

"I hope she's careful," said Chloe. Bee was an amazing engineer and the best with gadgets, but she was no hacker. She knew her way around a computer, but from what Winston had said, Isaiah was a primo, oldschool hacker. He'd sniff Bee's digital scent a mile away if she got close to anything sensitive.

"She'll be fine," Paul assured her. Chloe wasn't as confident, and decided to give Bee a warning call once she was alone.

"You're probably right," she said, pulling him close for a kiss. "Now let's get on this thing. And remember, Raquel's probably not at the Pirate's Den."

Paul laughed. Chloe teasing him about the strippers at the Pirate's Den was now an old joke between them even though, truth be told, Chloe usually had more fun in the Den than Paul did. "You can never be too thorough in these matters," he said. "I'll leave no stone unturned."

Then they both checked their e-mail on their phones, downloading Raquel's picture onto their screens. She was a pretty, if severe, looking woman. Latin features and coloring, short, black hair. The pic looked like it came off a security camera - she certainly didn't seem aware that her picture was being taken. Still, it was a good, clear shot, and if the woman still looked the same, anyone who'd seen her recently shouldn't have any problem recognizing her.

Chloe watched Paul as he followed Sandee, heading back toward Duval. She took off at a jog, headed back to Artist's Alley where she'd left her scooter. Considering the Vespa's security system and the thumbprint recognition device in the left handlebar, it should still be there. At her current pace, she would be in the seat and motoring in less than five minutes.

Since the weather had finally, finally, finally turned from unbearably hot to pleasantly warm, Chloe had been jogging a lot lately, usually covering six or seven miles as she zigzagged through Old Town's streets or covered the island's perimeter. She memorized street names and house numbers and explored alleyways as she ran. Although she was somewhat frustrated by Key West's small size, she did feel like she was getting to know every little nook and cranny of its streets, which gave her a certain sureness of place she'd never quite felt in the vast sprawl of Silicon Valley.

Chloe turned left on Simonton, retracing the path she and Paul had walked earlier with Winston. With fewer people on the sidewalk she increased her pace, running west to her Vespa. She got a few stares from drivers passing by, but she decided that time was more important than avoiding attention. Right now all she wanted was to find Raquel before Isaiah's Crew tracked her down. At the very least it would be a sign that she really did have some pull in this city and might therefore strengthen her position. If she was lucky, she could make some deal with Raquel or learn something that she and Paul could use to their advantage going into this negotiation or revolution or whatever it was.

Closing in on her destination, Chloe slowed her pace to a trot and then a quick walk as she turned onto the more populated streets by the marina and saw a pair of cops standing not fifteen feet away. Nothing attracted police attention like someone running. They were right between her and where she needed to be, but she wasn't worried. Key West cops kept the drunks in line and harassed street dealers and street walkers. They had no idea about the Crew or any of the crazy shit she and Paul were up to. She saw that the two officers, dressed in white shirts marked "Police," shorts and heavy black belts weighed down with pistol, nightstick and radio, were doing one of their other favorite duties - harassing the homeless.

In this case though, Chloe recognized the young woman they were questioning so intently. And at that Chapter 06

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moment the young woman noticed and recognized her as well. She was small, with pixie-like features and long, stringy brown hair. She wore a pair of dirty, gray men's suit pants that she'd slit up the sides to her thighs and tied at the ankles and around the waist with rope salvaged from some dock. Her worn, faded blue spandex halter top looked like it came from the same dumpster as the pants. As usual, she wore a pair of chipped but serviceable roller blades in place of shoes.

"Hey, hey!" said the woman, pointing at Chloe. "She can tell you! You can tell them, right?"

Outwardly, Chloe flashed the cops a pleasant smile, but inside she was groaning. "Hey Cassie," she said.

"What's up?" Both cops turned to look at her. Chloe recognized them as officers Hurley and Gutierrez. She'd taken the time a few months ago to memorize the names, faces and, where possible, the records of every officer on the Key West police force. They, on the other hand, didn't seem to recognize her at all, which was good.

"You need to tell them," Cassie said. "Tell them it's ok."

"You know this woman?" Officer Gutierrez said to Chloe, his eyes suspicious in that bored cop way.

"Sure, sure," said Chloe. "Why? What's up?"

"They wanna shut me down, man!" Cassie interjected. "They want me to stop... stop..."

"Stop what?" Chloe asked.

"Stop..." Cassie said, calming down as she tried to remember what was going on.

"Stop her from making a nuisance of herself," Officer Hurley offered.

"I wasn't..."

"You weren't skating into pedestrians on the street?" Gutierrez said.

"No..." Cassie mumbled into her chest.

"Cassie," the cop continued, his voice level and calm. "We saw you. You skated right by us and nearly knocked that woman over."

"Oh," said Cassie. "Really?"

"Now, take off the skates and we'll have a patrol car come pick you up," said Hurley. Cassie's eyes widened at this and she tried to back away, but Gutierrez grabbed her. Chloe absolutely didn't have time to get involved in this shit right now, but she didn't want to leave Cassie hanging like that. She knew that the homeless girl had a pathological fear of being held in custody.

"Can I just take her home?" Chloe asked, not believing it even as she said it.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" asked Hurley. He knew as well as she did that Cassie didn't have a home and he no doubt wondered why Chloe was sticking up for her.

"I could, you know, just take her home. Let her chill out a little. Sleep it off, you know?"

"This woman lives with you?"

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"She stays over sometimes. It's no big deal. I just thought maybe..."

"Please!" said Cassie. "I'll be good and quiet and sleep like a bug in a rug and not run into anybody, I promise.

Promise, promise, promise."

The cops gave each other a look. Chloe hoped that they were now tired of the entire encounter and willing to turn responsibility over to her so they could get on with their evening. They weren't quite there yet.