Stephen left first with two other guys that night to set up before we arrived to meet with the dealers. Sephie’s old apartment made it easy to cover all entrance and exit points. While I knew she didn’t pick that apartment for that reason, I was still grateful she chose that apartment as it was making our lives easier right now.
Chen was in his apartment early once again, but Stephen said he was much less nervous this time. “He’s only checked outside a couple times since we got in position. Last time, he was checking every 15 seconds,” he said, laughing quietly. kind of feel bad for him. He didn’t know what he was signing up for,” Sephie said.
She took Ivan and Misha and picked Chen up on her way upstairs. He was much more relaxed this time. We could hear him joking and laughing with her on their way up to her old apartment. “Chen, it’s good to see you again,” I said when he walked into the apartment. I extended my hand to him. He grasped it firmly, giving me a small smile. “You too, sir,” he said. “Tell me about this new guy,” Sephie said.
“His name is Oscar. He’s been working with Gus for a few years now. They knew each other in Colombia; Oscar just came up here a few months ago. Gus trusts him and he says that Trino trusts him as well, but since I don’t know Trino, I can’t vouch for that statement,” he said.
“What about DJ? He gets along with Oscar ok?” Sephie asked.
“Yeah, DJ likes him, but DJ generally likes everyone. He’s been mostly quiet around you guys, but that dude has never met a stranger in his life. It’s no wonder he knows everything going on in the city. He talks to literally everyone.”
Sephie smiled at Chen, but was quietly contemplating meeting the new guy. She was still worried about being wrong. Misha noticed her look. He simply clicked his tongue at her, which caused her to look at him. He gave her a stern look. He had his hands on his hips and was tapping his pinky against his hip. It was exactly what she needed to break that thought pattern. She smiled widely at him, relaxing her shoulders.
“First up, DJ,” Stephen said in our earpieces. Andrei and Viktor walked outside to greet him and pat him down, while Misha moved to the door. Ivan and I stood in front of Sephie. As we were waiting on D] to make it upstairs, Stephen announced the arrival of the other two. “Gus is here and I’m guessing that’s Oscar with him.”
Ivan and I instinctively moved closer to Sephie, given that we didn’t know this new person. I would feel better once Viktor and Andrei checked him for weapons. We heard Viktor knock once. Misha opened the door for Gus and Oscar. Gus, as usual, found Sephie first, smiling at her before acknowledging anyone else in the room. I felt her hand find mine, timidly. She was still worried.
“Do I want to know what Trino has said about me this time?” she asked Gus after seeing his smile.
Gus laughed. “He sings your praises anytime he hears your name.” He looked at me. “Yours too, sir. Trino doesn’t like many people, but he likes both of you. It’s very obvious to anyone who’s known him for very long.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m also very thankful that he made it out okay yesterday. That’s one reason why we called you here. We need to move quickly. I’m worried that the Mexicans are going to start a war with Trino and I’d like to be able to offer my help. if that happens. I need to take care of the other bosses here first, though,” I said. I glanced to Ivan who put his arm around Sephie’s shoulders. I squeezed her hand once before walking toward Gus, DJ, and Oscar.
“I’m assuming you guys already have a plan for how to take out the warehouses?” Gus asked.
“Indeed. We’d like to hit them all at the same time, which makes it problematic for us. We need your help to make this simultaneous,” I said.
“What are we talking about here? How are we ensuring the warehouses won’t be a problem any longer? Fire? Raining bullets?
Bombs? Flood of Biblical proportions? What’s the catastrophe of choice?” Oscar asked.
Adrik
I heard Sephie chuckle quietly behind me. I could feel her relaxing more now that she’d seen him speak. Andrei spoke up to answer his question. “Bombs. The two smaller warehouses are easily accessed. You guys will take care of those. The warehouse at the docks is crawling with Sal’s people. It’s going to be harder to get close enough to that one to plant explosives, so we’ll take care of that one.”
Oscar looked at Andrei. “You can make them all go boom at once. We can still plant the explosives on the smaller warehouses, but then be available to help at the docks. I’ve seen firsthand how many of Sal’s guys are at the docks. That’s a big job. You’re going to need extra help there.”
“Remote charges aren’t as reliable as I’d like,” Andrei said.
“You can confirm with Trino, because you shouldn’t take my word for it, but I figured out a reliable system in Colombia for remote charges. Worked like a charm every time. I’ll show you how. That’s why Trino sent me here,” Oscar said. “Then, we can set the smaller warehouses to go boom at exactly the same time as the one at the docks. Maximum chaos. That strategy is what helped Trino rise to power in Colombia.”
“Of course Trino would send us his explosives expert,” Sephie said in Russian. “If it turns out I was wrong about him, I’m going to ki II him myself for making me like him so much.” We all laughed, which put the dealers at ease. “We’ll check with Trino. No offense, of course,” I said to Oscar.
“None taken, lefe. He told me to tell Sephie that my flair for the dramatic was almost as good as his should you question whether I was telling the truth,” he said.
“Point in your favor, Oscar,” Sephie said in English.
I grabbed her hand, pulling her to the bedroom while I called Trino to confirm Oscar was telling us the truth. This time, he picked up on the first ring. “Jefe, que pasa?” “Trino, did you send your explosives expert up here?” I asked.
“Si, Jefe. Oscar. He’s been one of my trusted guys for years. He was instrumental in my rise to power, too.”
“Trino, if it turns out I was wrong about you and you’re not this awesome in real life, I’m going to k ill you myself for making me like you so f**king much,” Sephie said. She sounded serious, but she had a wicked glint in her eye when she said it.
“Miha. I would never lie to you. I’m really this awesome. Maybe not as awesome as Jefe, but I need a goal to aspire to,” he said, laughing. “I’m guessing you’re moving forward on your plans to get rid of the brawn if you’ve met Oscar?”
“Yeah, I want to move quickly. I’m worried you’re facing a war and want to be available to help. We should be able to move quickly. Brawn first, bosses next.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.