Generation Lost (Gray Wolf Security #17)

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“So, they’re choosing spots near the docks that they can build a casino on, run their dirty money, drugs, and women through, but, more importantly, own that section of the docks to unload and load weapons. It doesn’t really matter who lives there, seniors, millennials, or the Rockettes. Is that right?” asked Nine.

“We think that’s right,” nodded Seamus.

“I don’t suppose you have a relationship with any of these families,” said Ghost.

“I no longer run in their circles,” smirked Conor. “I’m what you lads call on the fringes. I hear and see things but typically don’t engage with them.”

“Rafe, you, Gabe, Baptiste, Vince, and Bull make some calls. Find out what the government knows about this, if anything. See if they have a plan in motion or if this is going to be dumped in our lap. We’ve already pissed them off. We might as well go big,” said Gaspar.

“If you’re willin’ to go big, lads, I might have something else for you.”

“Don’t keep us waiting,” said Nine. “You know we’ll be all in.”

“Well, I know you lads got all your fancy flying machines, and you’re makin’ fancy weapons of your own, for the good of man and all,” he smirked. “But what if I knew where one of the weapons plants was located.”

“Conor, you sly leprechaun,” smirked Nine. “Where the fuck is it?”

“Neshkan. Russia. Awful close to your beautiful state of Alaska,” said Conor. “I’m goin’ to bet your geeky lads and their fancy machines could find it…”

“Got it,” said Code, smiling at the man.

“How do ‘ye bastards get to that so quick?”

“Magic,” smiled Code. “It’s well hidden, but if I had to bet, what’s beneath all that concrete is weapons manufacturing. See the huge steel doors. They built this into the side of a mountain. Well hidden, secure, and if anything is nuclear, it’s undetectable if they’ve fortified the structure.”

“Keep an eye on that damn place,” said Gaspar. “Doug? Can I ask you and Chipper to take this one?”

“You don’t have to ask me,” smiled Chipper. “It’ll be like the old days. Only this time, I know for sure they won’t see me coming.”

“I’m in,” smiled Doug. “It’ll be good to drop a few bombs.”

“How populated is the area?” asked Nine.

“Almost none,” said Code. “Also, that mountain is manmade. Most of what’s there is sandy, so you can bet if we blow it, the whole thing will fall in.”

“Watch it. All of it. I want to know if people are going in and out of there, and if they do, what are they wearing, carrying, and if anything comes out of there, I want to know what it is.”

“Will do,” said Code, nodding at his boss.

“I don’t think there’s much else we can do here. The boys are watching Grant and his team to be sure the Rizzolis don’t get a stupid idea, but so far, they’ve stayed back. Of course, Grant’s team is all carrying weapons and even sleeping on the property,” smirked Gaspar.

“Then let’s eat,” said Ghost. “Conor’s got a date.”

“Aw, feck off,” he grinned.

It was a true statement. Annie stepped inside the cafeteria and immediately caught sight of the handsome older man with the beautiful Irish lilt. He blushed, waving at her, and then turned to see his grandson smiling at him.

“It’s alrigh’, Granddad. Granny’s been gone a while now. You deserve a companion, and she’s lovely. Helped all those poor people.”

“Thank you, Seamus.” He stood, walking toward the woman, and held out a hand. “Lovely to see you again, Miss Annie.”

“Just Annie, Conor. It’s lovely to see you as well. I love the Irish accent,” she smiled. “I had a great-uncle who was from County Cork and used to read me bedtime stories from Ireland.”

“Are ‘ya sure they weren’t nightmares?” he smirked.

“Well, I must admit some were a bit frightening, but I was always a kid who liked a bit of danger.”

“Hence your Joan of Arc activities with your friends,” he smiled. They filled their plates and took a seat, smiling at one another.

“It wasn’t quite that heroic,” she said, shaking her head. “Some of those people were in their eighties and nineties. They couldn’t do anything for themselves. What the Rizzoli family has done to them, to us, is criminal. How can you look at them and kick them out of their homes, scam them, take everything they’ve ever worked for?”

“I don’t have an answer to that,” said Conor. “I’ve known a lot of horrible people in my life, and the only thing that’s ever made it alright is knowin’ there are boys like these who fight for what’s good.”

“They do seem to be special,” she smiled.

“So, you know I was a fighter. What did you do, Annie fair?” She laughed, shaking her head.

“I was a medical assistant for years. Not an RN or LPN, but I helped out at the clinic prepping patients and taking their histories. It was a good job that afforded me an income that I could live on my own.”

“Never married?” he asked.

“Once,” she nodded. “We were wrong for one another and knew it. I think we got married because we were both in our thirties and thought that’s what everyone else expected. There was no nasty divorce or cheating. We just looked at one another over coffee one morning and said, ‘I’m not happy.’ That was it. We filed for divorce, he moved to Oregon, and I continued in my little home.”

“I’m sorry you lost it,” he said, gripping her hand.

“Me too,” she nodded. “But maybe it’s the universe sending me a signal that I need to do something else. Maybe it’s time for me to travel if I can build up my savings again. I always wanted to do that.”

“Ireland is beautiful. Should your feet land you there, you’d always have a place to stay.”

“I wouldn’t want to be a burden, Conor.”

“Tis no burden, lass. I live in an ancestral castle,” he smirked. “You can have your pick of the seventeen bedrooms and their wee ghosties.”

“Seventeen!” she gasped. “Oh, it sounds so beautiful. Ghosts. I would dearly love to meet a few ghosts.” Conor smiled at her, seeing the Belle Fleur ghosts in the distance.

“Is that so?”