'The Jade something.'
'Yeah.'
Breach handed a narrow slip of paper across the desk to his friend.
'I got that in my fortune cookie. See what it says?'
''While we stop to think, we often miss our opportunity,'' Prochaska read slowly.
'Exactly. That fortune got me thinking about how life can give us surprise opportunities, like the Jaffes, for instance. I do a favor for Frank, now his kid does one for us by chopping up Manuel Castillo. Such a nice kid, too. Who'd of thought she had it in her?'
'That was sure a surprise, Marty; a girl making hamburger out of Castillo.'
'With Pedro's muscle off the street we're seeing a little anarchy in the drug business,' Breach continued.
Prochaska only had a dim idea of the definition of 'anarchy,' so he just nodded and hoped that Breach wouldn't ask him about it.
'Aragon is weak right now, what with all the judges and lawyers and cops who are connected to him being arrested.' Breach paused and fixed his beady eyes on his friend. 'Do you see where I'm going with this, Arty? Opportunity is knocking. Like the cookie said, we'll miss it if we don't do something fast. What do you think?'
Prochaska's brow furrowed for a moment while he contemplated the opportunity about which his friend spoke. Then he remembered that the gist of Marty's fortune-cookie message was that thinking too much could screw up everything. Thinking had never been Prochaska's long suit anyway. He was a man of action.
'What's that anarchy mean?' Prochaska asked.
'Everybody running around doing what they want. No order or nothing.'
'Order is good, right?'
'Sure. Especially if the right guy is giving the orders.'
'Pedro's not just going to give us his territory, Marty. He'll make trouble.'
'Yeah,' Breach said thoughtfully. 'He's the type of guy who'd say we'd have to take it over his dead body.'
Prochaska grinned and Breach stared at the wall in rapt concentration.
'Anthony speaks Spanish, right?' Breach asked.
'I think so.'
'Think he'd like to go to Mexico?'
About the Author
Phillip Margolin's insider's view of the criminal mind comes from his unique background as a long-time criminal defense attorney. All eight of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers. His PerfectBound e-books are Wild Justice; The Associate; and Ties That Bind. Visit www.phillipmargolin.com.
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