CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Lawrence was roused at precisely six a.m. He quickly dressed in his usual suit, white starched shirt, tie and Italian loafers.
He drew his winter coat around his shoulders as he slid into the backseat of the car.
Sitting on the small, custom-made stand was his breakfast. Tea, toast, a hard-boiled egg and half a grapefruit.
“Not too fast, Cliff. I don’t want to stain my suit.”
Cliff said nothing as they pulled off the property. It would take them at least an hour, possibly longer, to get to the warehouse, depending on traffic.
The world outside was just waking. People were headed to D.C., Fredericksburg, Arlington, and other spots housing the country’s government locations.
When they pulled up to the warehouses, the car was driven into the second one. This one had boxes of cargo, mostly legal. Lawrence looked out the window, not seeing any other vehicles and no footprints in the snow.
“We’ve beat them here,” he smiled. “Good. I’ll be in the office watching from the window.”
“Sir, don’t sit too close to the window,” said Cliff.
“Cliff, you really do worry too much,” he chuckled. “We’ve got this taken care of.”
As the minutes ticked by, turning into half-hours, then an hour, Lawrence started to become concerned that no one would show. Then, the crunch of snow and gravel alerted him to a car.
“Finally,” he smiled. Stepping out of a what was probably a rental car, a tall, blonde man of about forty, maybe more, maybe less, stood and looked around the space.
“Only one man?” asked Cliff. “Sir, I don’t like this.”
“Let it play out, Cliff. These are the type of men that will sacrifice themselves for others. This might be the man who actually killed my father. We’ll be fine.”
They watched as the man approached the door to the warehouse, turning and looking around once more. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. They waited a few minutes, then one of his men locked the door. They heard banging from the inside, then silence.
“Come along, Cliff. We’ll use the underground tunnel to the building. Our guest should be getting anxious right about now.”
Marc stood in the dark warehouse, not saying a word, not moving. He knew there was lighting, because he could see it from the light of the windows along the top of the building. What he couldn’t be certain of, was whether or not anyone else was in the building.
After a few tense moments, he heard shuffling behind and a door slamming shut. He turned, waiting anxiously.
“You killed my father,” said a voice.
“No. I didn’t kill your father,” he said.
“Then why did you come? Selfless volunteering by the great warrior?”
“Nope.”
“Then what? Don’t test me, I’m ready to be done with all of you!”
“You are but I have something you want,” said Marc holding up a small thumb drive. He swung it in the air on the cord wrapped around his finger. “You want all of us. Why kill one when you can have all?”
He started to step forward, then thought better of it. Could it be a trap? He looked around the warehouse and didn’t see anyone other than his own men. They’d brought six inside and there were six inside the other warehouse.
“I want the man who killed my father.”
“That would be me,” said Christopher stepping forward.
Where had he come from? He couldn’t possibly just appear out of thin air. There was no one else in this warehouse. They’d not seen anyone enter. How?
“It wasn’t you, asshole. You’re always taking credit for my work,” said Patrick.
“Both of you stop your bitching,” said Wes. “We know I’m the better of all of us.”
“Wh-what’s happening?” said Morris whispering to Cliff.
“I don’t know sir. They’re identical.”
“Which one of you did it?” he yelled.
“Oh, that’s easy, it was me,” said Quinn.
“Nope, me,” said Finn.
“Not hardly. It was me,” said River.
“What are you doing? Who are you people? Tell me!” he screamed, the echo in the warehouse sending chills down his spine.
“They’re all covering for me,” said Moose stepping out of the shadows. “I killed your father.”
“Kill them. Kill them all,” he said to Cliff. As Cliff raised his weapon, the building shook violently as flames and metal shards filled the air.
“What was that?” he asked ducking to the floor.
“Oh, that was the warehouse next door,” said Moose. “My friends took care of that for us. All you’ve got are the six men here and they’ll be disposed of quickly.”
His men circled one another, staring into the dark corners of the warehouse.
“Where are the lights?” asked Morris. “Turn up the lights!”
“They won’t work,” said Cliff. “What have you done to us?”
“He’s signed your death warrant,” said River. “You made a lot of mistakes. One was coming after my family. The other was coming after the woman I love.”
“You loved Natalia?” he laughed.
“Never in a million years would I touch a scrap that you touched,” said River. Morris frowned at the man, angry that they’d gotten the better of him so far.
“You love the agent, Marciella.”
“I am madly in love with her,” smirked River. “She’s safe, secure, and you won’t ever lay eyes on her again. We have the information that her father gathered, as well as information about you and your business. Including the wreck of your ship.”
“That’s not possible. None of this is possible.”
“You talk too fucking much,” growled Tony stepping through the doors. “Hey, boys. Nice to see yooz boys again. I told you once before that no one comes through our docks, touches our shit, without me knowing. You fucked with someone I cared about and now I’m gonna take care of you.”
Lawrence could feel his own men back up, the sounds of their steps clicking and clacking on the floor. Then he heard grunts, moans, and the smell of blood filled the air. A small Asian man walked past him, brushing his sleeve, then wiping a bloodied blade on it.
“My suit!”
“Your suit?” laughed Moose. “That’s what you’re worried about. My men just took care of all of your men. You are alone. Pathetically, alone.”
“Then kill me. Kill me like you did my father,” he said jutting his chin out.
“No, they don’t get that honor,” said Tony. “Me and my boys get that honor.”
Five very bulky men with no necks, large, cracked knuckles, all carrying baseball bats or guns walked into the space.
“This isn’t the end,” said Morris.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” said River. “It is definitely the end for you. For us, not so much. When you get to hell, say hello to your father for us.”
River and the others walked out of the warehouse, leaving Tony and his men to deal with Morris. Twenty minutes later, they emerged and advised the men to go home.
“What about you, Tony? The cops are gonna investigate that warehouse explosion,” said River.
“I told you before, kid, no one gets near our docks without us knowing about it. And the cops know that too. We’ll be just fine. Give Priscilla a hug for me.”
“I’ll do that, Tony. I hope to see you soon,” smiled River.
Each man gave Tony a hug and back slap. When Moose’s slap sent him stumbling, he broke into raucous laughter, shaking his head.
“Time to go home,” said Cole smiling at the men.
“Time to go home and watch my brother marry his girl,” said Finn. “I’m the best man, right?”
“I’m the best man,” said Quinn. River could only laugh, shaking his head.
“Maybe I’ll have two best men. Then both of you will shut up,” he laughed.
“That’s not likely but it was a good thought,” said Quinn. “I wonder whether or not we still have careers. I guess we’ll find out.”
“I suppose you’ll know soon,” said Patrick. “No matter what, you’ve got a job with the family.”
“We have one more stop to make,” said Moose.
It took them about an hour but they finally found the broken-down motorhome of Leopold. They did him the courtesy of knocking on the door this time, hoping he didn’t slam the door in their face.
“Well? How did it go?” he asked.
“We’re here aren’t we,” smirked Moose. He held up a set of keys and waved his arm behind him. “As promised. Twice the size of this shithole, all the equipment you could possibly need with all the bells and whistles. There’s a full shower, Leo. Use it.”
He couldn’t believe it. They actually delivered what they promised. He stepped inside the new motorhome, touching the high-end finishes and admiring the new appliances. The recording and electronic equipment was beyond his imagination.
Stepping back to the door, he leaned out to call for them.
“Hey… Hey, where’d they go?” he asked himself. The men were gone but the old RV was sitting there and he couldn’t wait to ditch it. This was going to be amazing.
Before they left D.C., they packed up everything in Priscilla’s apartment, ensuring she would never have to return again. Now, it was time for a wedding.