Shit.
A last minute thought made me take the exit into the town of Lexington just west of Columbia. I got directions at a local mini-mart to the Sheriff’s Department. Minutes later I nosed into a parking spot on the side of their building. A bored looking officer was behind the desk when I entered. “Hi, are you the one I’d report to about my car being stolen?”
It took fifteen minutes to fill out the paperwork, explaining my rental car was stolen while shopping at the local mall just down the street. I piled back into the Hyundai, intent on putting some miles on the road before stopping for the night. I yawned, fighting through exhaustion. Only eight p.m., and ready to sleep already. Another hour and I’d stop.
Next day I’d been on the road a few hours, and closing in on Winston-Salem. Last night I’d decided to bypass all the places I’d been lately, and grab a flight from the closest airport that had direct a flight as possible to Seattle. I eased my butt, wishing I’d taken the time to at least do some stretches before hitting the road this morning.
CHAPTER TEN
“Some more coffee, Sir?”
I smiled at the flight attendant and shook my head, absently watching her move on to the next customer. Three hours to go before we landed in Seattle. I re-focused on the last two sealed letters Phil had given me. They were the most interesting. A coded document that Phil said would lead to where the counterfeit money was hidden, if I could decipher it. Phil hadn’t been able to. Apparently Willie had become spooked by his boss, and decided to stash it for a couple of years until things cooled down. Phil’s ability to come up with this kind of information was legendary. At least in the circles I used to move in.
I sighed. Have to save this one till I had more time to concentrate. Plus get some help from folks with more brain power than me. Also, Willie had raided two of Crosby’s heroin stockpiles that were awaiting shipment to the west coast. Wasn’t expected, so he got away with it. Even managed to switch blame to the gang responsible for moving that shit into the states. So far he’d been able to sell enough to ensure he was funded the next couple of years. Phil hadn’t been sure where Willie had disappeared to, but suspected the Caribbean.
I stuffed the material back in my bag, damning myself for not having read all the documents before I’d left Charlotte. After a minute, I gave a shrug. On second thought, it was probably best to do what I was doing. Ensure the bad guys lose my trail, and going back to protect my friends.
I stared unseeingly out the plane window. Yeah, that was the correct priority. Family first. At least they felt like family. The miles slid by while I continued to stare out the window.
* * *
“You’re gonna have me go where?” Alice’s screech had all of us cringing, even Marty.
He patted the air, trying to calm her. “Now, honey, it’s the safest place you could be. An’ it won’t be for very long…”
She stood, going nose to nose with him. “Y’know I can’t stand your sister. She’s always lookin’ down her nose at me, treatin’ me like a second class citizen.”
Tony walked in, shaking his head. “Marty, you’ve got to learn how to explain things to a woman. Bet you didn’t preface your conversation with ‘hey, dear, my sister’s going to California to visit her in-law’s for a couple weeks,’ did you?”
I waved a hand, getting Alice’s attention. “Plus we’ve got three of the premier female bodyguards in the Northwest to keep you company till this mess is all over with.”
“Oh. That’s not so bad, then.” She gave a sniff of disdain and sat.
I moved back to the large table in the middle of the side conference room, once more studying the large map Dave had placed on it. “This an up-to-date map of the area around Anacortes?”
“A week old according to the shop I got it from,” Dave said.
Marty came straggling in, shaking his head. “Damn, I’ll never understand women.”
Tony, a step behind, slapped him on the back. “Especially if you marry them.”
Alice’s voice drifted through the room, sounding uncomfortably like a cougar’s growl. “I heard that.”
I gave a chuckle. “Doesn’t sound like either of you are in her best graces at the moment.”
Dave glanced at all of us, a smile on his face. “Seems weird to have everyone here at once. Well, almost everyone. Nate’s out gathering more information.” He tapped the map. “Nate and I came up with a security plan. It’s in two parts: Defensive and offensive strategies. First of all we need to scout the target, tomorrow night. Three of us should be enough for that task.”
“Why tomorrow?” Tony asked.
“They’re going to be tied up with one of the outfits who ship drugs to them. From what we’ve been able to find out, these meetings usually take about six hours, from the time they leave the compound till they get back. Only be a skeleton force to deal with.”
“There a reason for three?” I asked, running my finger along the border of the map.
“Two to insert into the target, one to pull security. I thought Nate would be ideal for security, while you and I handled the rest. To do this, we need the following…”
Thirty minutes later the last of the questions had been dealt with, and Dave wrapped it up. “Each of you has a list of equipment to gather, and tasks to complete before we kick this off tomorrow night. I think we broke it up so everything can be easily taken care of by noon tomorrow. Questions?”
Tony looked at Dave, eyebrows lifting. “You’re good at this planning
