CHAPTER NINETEEN
“What’s the noise about Guyana? Who do we have in Guyana that could be backing this?” asked Ghost the next morning.
“No one,” said Sly. They all turned to look at him and Code, and they both nodded. “Guyana isn’t the place where these guys would base themselves. We don’t know of any players in that area right now.”
“Maybe it’s someone new,” said Gaspar. “Ask the young guys if they know of anyone that the military has been chasing down. Check with our contacts at DEA and Homeland.”
“We still don’t know if this has anything at all to do with the floats,” said Ian. “It could be a total coincidence that those files were attached to the trailer. How could they have known that?”
“You’re right,” nodded Gaspar, “but since we’ve been sending guys out there for security purposes, nothing else has happened. The two guys we caught the first night were doing what they said, having fun. They’d been caught vandalizing other things before. The guy in the suit was from a business hosting three floats in another parade.”
“So we’re back to square one,” frowned Nine.
“I hate to say it,” said Miller, “but Deanna has to have a breakthrough and figure out who and what she saw that night. I spoke with her a little yesterday, and she doesn’t even remember the details of her conversation with her parents that night.”
“Any street cameras?” asked Nine, turning to Sly.
“None. It’s the one street in the area without any traffic cams or business cams. What do you think the odds are of that?”
“I think it all sounds pretty shitty for us and for her,” said Ian. “Why would the killers leave her standing there? Why not kill her as well? If there were no witnesses, they had a clear path to do whatever they wanted.”
“Maybe it’s time we did what we wanted,” said Ghost. The entire room looked at him with a grin. “We have no clue how many men they might have, although that wouldn’t deter us. What we do know is where all their strip clubs are located. Miller, Whiskey, Antoine, and Vince. Gather your supplies. It’s time to make things go boom-boom.”
“You’ve just made me so happy. I mean like having my first sip of beer happy,” said Miller with a huge smile on his face. “What about the girls inside and the customers?”
“Get in, and set the explosives, then trigger the fire alarms. Someone needs to be the last man out to ensure everyone is out of the buildings. We’ll have trucks ready to get the girls out of there if they want to leave,” said Ghost.
“I am so game for this,” laughed Antoine.
“Same, brother,” nodded Whiskey.
“Code and Sly, we need to know the names of the ships they’re using,” said Nine. “If they’re coming through New Orleans, which docks are they using? If they’re not coming through here, I want to know where they are. We’re about to cripple them.”
“What about Guyana?” asked Baptiste.
“Whoever is in Guyana fucked with the wrong family,” said Gaspar. “We’ll find them if they don’t find us first. Either way, we just might be starting a war all because of taxes. Just think of this as our own little Boston Tea Party. Only it’s being held in our backyard. The Bayou Tea Party.”
Deanna pulled her sweater around her shoulders, fastening the top button to secure it. The sun was out, and it was warming up, but still not quite warm enough for her.
Having been born and raised in the New Orleans area, she was used to steamy, sweaty, humid weather. Not whatever this was. Only a few weeks before, they’d had a rare occurrence of snow in New Orleans. As a kid, she would have loved that. As an adult, she wasn’t so sure.
Seated on the edge of the fountain in the maze, she passed a hand through the water, swiping back and forth. Her world was spinning out of control, and she had no clue how to make it slow down.
Within the span of a few months, she’d lost both her parents, sold her father’s company, and now had lost her job. Although the latter seemed to be working itself out. She tried to remember what had happened that evening. It wasn’t even dark yet.
She and her parents enjoyed a late lunch together and did a bit of shopping. As they left Jackson Square, they passed through several small alleyways they knew to be shortcuts to the parking garage.
Staring at her reflection in the fountain, she tried to remember the conversation but couldn’t seem to bring it forward in her mind. It was as if she’d skipped four or five chapters in a book. Her reflection wavered, and she stilled seeing another image behind her. It was dark and menacing, tall and evil.
Touching the water, she gasped, leaning forward in attempt to make it disappear. Suddenly, she fell, the cold of the water soaking her to the skin.
“Deanna!” yelled Pax, running toward her. He lifted her from the fountain, shaking and stunned. “Deanna, look at me.”
“S-someone was here.”
“No, honey. No one was here. It’s just me,” he said, walking toward the offices. “Comms? Get someone from medical to the offices ASAP.”
Roger that .
Setting her down inside the door, Tru and Dylan came running out with blankets and hot tea.
“It’s okay, honey,” said Tru. “You’re alright now. What the hell happened?”
“I don’t know,” said Pax, staring at the ashen face of Deanna. “She was sitting on the edge of the fountain and had her hand splashing the water. Then, she just leaned forward and went in face first.”
“S-someone was there!” she cried.
“Oh, honey,” said Dylan. “It’s alright. It’s going to be alright.” Deanna just stared at the people around her, shaking her head.
“I’ll never be alright again.”