No Safe Choices
Vex
“We need more information.” There isn’t a single approach we can make without risking lives. “We need to know everything about those previous cases.”
“That’s a lot of information. It could take weeks… months maybe for me to get it all without a trace. Unless…” Shock closes the laptop.
Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
“…you can get me access to Vincenti’s tech again.”
No.
Payne turns from where he’s staring down at the club. “Every person opens us up for a leak. If it’s the government, we can’t afford a single slip-up.”
“It could just be a wacko.”
Shock is grasping at straws, and we all know it. The chances that this is a wacko that hunts odd twins are slim. But it’s still a possibility. At this moment, it could be anyone for all we know. “There are too many variables. We need more information.”
“We can trust Vincenti, but he has a huge family. That’s a big ask. ”
“It’s Barb,” Shock says what we’re all thinking.
Barb is one of us.
“It would just be simpler to get Barb some cosmetic surgery and a new identity,” Payne spitballs an idea.
“You’re not touching her face.” Shock almost leaps at him.
Touchy much? “We aren’t playing games here, Shock. You and I can’t take on the government.”
“We don’t know it was the government.”
He’s right. “We need more information.”
“Get me Vincenti’s tech again.”
This isn’t a risk I can ask of Vincenti. “Fine. I’ll make some arrangements. But I’ll need my phone to do it.”
“You have to be careful about what you say.”
I raise an eyebrow at Shock. “While I do that, I want you to check all the other DNA registries around the world.”
“On it.” Shock takes apart all the fun little gadgets he set up to ensure our privacy and hands back each of our phones before leaving.
“My idea makes the most sense,” Payne says as soon as the door shuts behind Shock.
“It’s certainly the safest play for Barb. But she isn’t the only person at risk. How many more people might die if we protect her and turn our heads on the problem?” And that’s the worry settling in my gut.
“We’ve already got more than we can handle.”
Payne is right. I know he’s right. “Can we just leave those people to die?”
“People die every day. It isn’t our responsibility to save them all.”
Can I ignore it? “We save Barb and pretend the rest don’t exist.”
“That doesn’t sound right.”
No, it doesn’t.
“And what about Imogene and Dahlia?”
Nothing can happen to Dahlia. Ever. “Let’s get more information first.” If it comes down to a choice between the world and Dahlia, she wins every time .
Me: We need to talk.
Max: Again. I’m starting to think we might be friends.
No chance of that ever happening.
Me: This is serious.
Max: You’re always serious.
Now I’m seriously thinking about breaking a few of his fingers.
Max: My house in an hour.
Me: It needs to be private.
Max: The park across the street from my house.
Does he not understand the meaning of private?
Me: Private
Max: My office?
We could do it here, but then I’d need to get Shock back to set up all his techy stuff.
Me: Private
Max: I’ll text you an address. Meet me there in an hour.
Is this where the Vincentis take care of problems? I guess I’m about to find out.
***
A warehouse in the middle of nowhere fits the bill for private. It’s also a solid place to take care of wetworks. You never have to worry about surprise guests in this area. Payne and I have our own warehouse, which is not too far from here.
As I pull up, a garage door opens.
Max knows I’m here. The door shuts as I turn off the ignition.
Max steps out of a room in the back corner. “You weren’t followed.”
“Of course, I wasn’t followed.”
“You can never be too careful with drones these days. Follow me.” Max doesn’t wait for me to agree before heading back into the room .
“Do you have a box for our phones?”
“No need. The room is lined, and I have a digital jammer running. Whatever you say in this room stays in this room.”
Good to know. I might need one of these setups in the future. “Shock needs to use your tech again.”
“For his private project?”
“You knew about that?”
Max tips his head to the side.
Tech guys and their trust issues. “Yeah. Do you know what it’s about?”
“No. Shock covered his tracks, but I can see when he went off book. What is this little project that has you acting like you’re about to be jumped by men with guns and possibly a badge?”
“You don’t want to know.”
“As soon as someone says that to me, I have to know.”
Same. Not that I’m going to admit that to him. “How is this then; you don’t want to know.”
“Probably not. But if you want the tech, you’re going to tell me anyway.”
“It could endanger your family.”
“You’re risking Dahlia?” Max steps back, bumping into a metal table that’s bolted to the ground.
“No. I’ll break it off before it comes to that.”
Max reaches up and grabs a curl tugging on it. “There must be bodies in the ground all ready for you to react this way. Too many to ignore?”
“I could ignore the ones in the ground except there might be more. And one of them was almost a friend of mine.”
“They safe?”
“For now.”
“You going to make them disappear for a while?”
“That might not be enough.”
His mouth drops open. “Forever? ”
“That was discussed and is a strong possibility right now.” One I hate, but a new life is better than death.
“Did Shock know about this when he started using my tech?”
“No. He stumbled upon it. Then did a little digging.”
“What are we talking about, another organized group like you already are making friends with, a wacko, or is this some sort of government thing?” Max leans against the edge of the table.
“We don’t know. My gut is shouting it’s the government and to run hard and fast. But we don’t know enough. Shock needs to do some digging on the bodies we already have and the ones that went missing before we make any decisions. And to do that in a timely manner—”
“—he needs my tech.” Max stands up and walks around the room. “How many bodies in the ground?”
“Dozens.”
He stops. “Have you found anything that ties them all together yet?”
“Yes. But it’s odd.”
“Could it be anything less? Well?”
“They’re all identical siblings, but they each have one genetic difference.”
“I’m in,” Max practically jumps in with both feet.
He wouldn’t act like that unless… “You know someone like that?”
He nods. “You do too. Aleksei Kamenev’s sons are identical twins, but one was born with Downs Syndrome.”
Why did he have to say Kamenev?
“If it looks like those boys are in trouble, I’m going to tell him.”
And that’s how leaks happen. But I’d want to know if my kids were in trouble. My kids… What would Dahlia look like pregnant? This needs to go away soon.
“I have two other conditions.”
Of course, he does. Max couldn’t make one thing easy. “What are they?”
“My father has to know. With something like this, it’s a family rule.”
The mafia etches their rules in blood. “Fine. ”
“And Shock needs to come here to do his searches.”
We already talked about this. “Shock is squirrely already. He doesn’t do well with change. We have a great setup at the club.”
“You do—” Max walks over to the tablet I didn’t notice on the table, and presses a few buttons. “—but you don’t have this.” The wall slides open, revealing an all-white room with one wall completely covered in monitors. “Half of this doesn’t exist. I could destroy economies all over the world without leaving this room.”
That I can believe. “My only question is, how are we going to get Shock out of here?”
Max chuckles.
I really don’t like it when he’s that happy.