Chapter 126: Thief
"That's right, just like prison gangs - they ain't unified. When the old dogs die, new ones step up to fill the void immediately." Andy, who was crunching numbers with his head down, added from experience.
"But assassinating the biggest cartel boss in a country..." Arthur waved his hands excitedly: "You know what that means? It means even if we cap him, we'll have every gang from coast to coast hunting our asses.
Unless we can haul ass to the Mexican border right after the hit, that bounty money's worthless."
"Fair point, but..." Ron noticed the signature of the lead federal agent on the intel report: Luke Hobbs. Wasn't this the same big guy he'd just worked the CIA job with?
"But what?"
"But maybe we should sit tight. With this many players eyeing him, somebody's gonna lose their patience and make a move before we do," Ron said, his eyes sharpening: "
All we gotta do is wait for that eager beaver to pull the trigger, then we insert ourselves into their operation. Remember, whether Reyes lives or dies ain't our concern. We just want the payday, capisce?"
"BOSS, don't you think you're starting to sound more and more like the wiseguys we're supposed to be hunting?" Andy finally couldn't help but complain.
"So what? Corporate America's just the biggest crime family anyway." Ron shrugged dismissively.
He wasn't just talking out his ass. The moment he saw Hobbs' name, he immediately thought - wasn't this the plot from Fast Five?
If Ron remembered correctly, Dom had called him the day before saying they'd fled to Brazil, hiding out in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.
One of Dom's old crew was down there - the big guy who'd thrown down with O'Conner in the first movie.
If his hunch was right, he just had to wait patiently, and soon Dom would get approached by Reyes' people to boost some cars, kicking off the Fast Five storyline.
"Hold up!" Ron's eyes casually swept over the equipment rack next to the coffee station, and he suddenly noticed the count was off. "Andy, if memory serves, I should have eight surveillance drones in the office. Why's one missing?"
"I remember eight too, that's correct." Andy sat up and counted the equipment rack. "One, two, three, four... seven. Yeah, one's gone."
The drone was now the signature weapon of Ron's tactical team.
"Damn it, have we been keeping too low a profile lately? That why people around here think this is just some rinky-dink consulting firm? Someone actually had the balls to rip me off!" Ron griped irritably.
"But there's no signs of forced entry on the locks or windows." Hank, out of old cop habits, immediately checked all the access points. "So maybe it was an inside job?"
He then shot Arthur a suspicious look, his hand instinctively moving to his lower back where he used to carry his cuffs.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Why am I the first one you suspect for this bullshit! I'm a professional killer, not some two-bit burglar!" Arthur jumped up indignantly: "Fat man, believe me, I'll slit your throat in under a minute!"
"Bring it on and let's find out! Let's see if your blade's faster than my piece!" Hank wasn't backing down: "I can put a round through your junk from two hundred yards out! You'll be sitting to piss for the rest of your miserable life!"
"Enough! Shut your traps!" Ron cut through their bickering: "Nobody's getting their throat cut, and nobody's getting their dick shot off. You're my crew, and I trust all of you completely. I know none of you are thieves!"
"Think about it - besides our own people, who else has been in here recently? Any of you lose your keys or something?"
"BOSS, you might want to take a look at this." Andy spun his computer monitor around to face everyone.
On screen, the security camera clearly showed a short figure returning to the office after closing time. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door, then opened the mini-fridge like he owned the place, grabbed a Coke, and started messing around with the drone.
Before finally making off with the drone, he put everything back exactly how he found it, his technique so smooth even Arthur was impressed.
"Isn't that Carl? Who brought him to the office?" Ron immediately recognized the short figure as Carl Gallagher, the punk kid he'd worked a job for once.
"Who brought this little delinquent around? I thought I made it clear we don't hire minors."
"That was me," Hank said, raising his pudgy hand sheepishly. "I caught him shoplifting a loaf of bread on the South Side the other day. Kid told me he was just hungry, so I brought him in to help with cleanup a few times.
Guess I accidentally let the little guy make a copy of my keys."
Hank's wife was recently pregnant, and maybe because of that he'd developed a soft spot for little Carl, which Ron could understand.
"That kid looks like a straight-up gangbanger!" Arthur fumed. "And you had the nerve to suspect me!"
Arthur had every right to be pissed - he was the one who got accused.
"That's enough!" Ron shut down Arthur's continued ranting.
Hank hung his head in shame like a schoolkid getting lectured. "I'll go track down Carl and get him to return the equipment."
"Nah, I don't have anything pressing right now, so I'll handle it myself."
"Boss, um..." Hank watched Ron head for the door, wanting to speak but hesitating.
"What's on your mind?"
"Carl's still just a kid - could you maybe go easy on him?" Maybe it was the prospect of becoming a father that made Hank unusually protective of Carl, or maybe he was just naturally a decent guy.
"I can use my bonus to cover whatever damage he caused, but the kid's got his whole life ahead of him. I hope this incident doesn't mess him up too bad. Maybe he really did pull this stunt just because he's dirt poor."
"Don't worry, I know how to handle it." Ron rarely disagreed with Hank's suggestions. "I'll check out his living situation. If push comes to shove, I can give him a shot for your sake.
Hell, just having him work as a janitor here might be a decent option. Place is pretty big, but I'm happy to pay fair wages.
But if I find out he boosted that gear just to buy some new Xbox games or whatever, then I guarantee this kid is screwed!"
(End of chapter)
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