Author: Emerith Damera
Title: Pivot Point (#3)
Chapter#: 2
Category: Angst / Adventure / Romance
Pairing: Hector / Steph / Lester
Rating: Some language, some implied violence.
Summary: Hector puts it all on the table.
Disclaimer: The characters in this story (with the exception of Rufio, all mine) belong to Janet Evanovich, I make nothing from them. Just a wee bit of amusement.
Warning!! Really not much of a warning here.. Except maybe an allusion to gasp boys who like each other! snort
Ya'll should know by now I don't write for the light of heart.
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews Babes! And more thanks to the Beta Girls! I figured I'd give you guys this chapter tonight since it's painfully short, and stands right up against the last one. All flashback, hope they haven't gotten annoying yet. And the music still stands. Oh! And Hector has asked me ahead of time, to tell you all, for the sake of clarity, that alma means soul, and cordura means sanity.
Enjoy!
Pivot Point
2
We were all once again clustered around one end of the big conference table. All four of them held a look of patience on their faces, but I was positive that patience was in limited supply.
"I'll give you everything you want, and I will most definitely take your offer of employment. But there are a few conditions I would like to request." Always be prepared to negotiate, no matter how good the deal already is.
I wavered for a moment myself this time, a little unsure of just how much I would need to reveal in order to obtain what I was after.
"The man who shot at me yesterday was my.. friend, for a very long time. I have no doubt that the incident was planned, and his involvement was coerced by The Crowns. His death pains me greatly, and it is only that which swayed my decision in your favor." I paused, making it a point to catch eyes with every man at the table. They needed to understand just how serious I was about this.
They didn't have my loyalty, or my trust yet, but I would give them my help. In return for their own. If things worked out I could genuinely see myself being comfortable in this world one day. But they had a lot to prove to me before then. I was sure the feeling was mutual.
"I will give you everything it is within my power to give. Under the condition that you avenge Rufio on my behalf." My eyes settled on Ranger's as I tried to make him understand. "He was mi alma, mi cordura. I can not allow what they did to go unpunished." A miniscule nod, from Ranger, a twitch really. But it was enough to tell me he understood what I was saying. Jail was too good for these people. Jail wouldn't stop the gangs. It just gave them a secure place to operate from. No fear of authority when the guards were on your payroll as well.
"I have one other request."
I stopped for a moment, taking a deep breath to clear the fear clogging my throat. Fear that this would be the one thing that would break the deal. When I met Ranger's eyes again it was with a steely determination in my own.
"I cannot give you the Primera Corona." My head shook sadly before I could think about the action. All those years I'd spent trying to stay out of things so that I wouldn't be culpable were actually working against me.
"I've never known who he is. I've always kept myself on the fringe of things." My eyes slowly dropped from Ranger's to the tabletop. "I wasn't willing to give them my humanity. I kept that for me.. And for Rufio." I'm certain my eyes had been blazing when I brought them back up to scan the faces in front of me.
"I can however give you the home address of the Segunda Corona. The entire Tribe's handler, and the only man who knows the face of La Primera. Rufio and I have spent the last ten years living in a small room in the back of his home." I slid the piece of paper I'd scribbled the address on last night down the table to Ranger. "You would have my utmost gratitude if our belongings could be salvaged and brought back here for me. It wasn't the best period of my life, but it's all I have and all that's left of Rufio."
"If they haven't already tossed our room, you will find a floor safe in the eastern corner beneath the dresser. Inside is two laptops. One labeled Hector, one labeled Koa. Both are encrypted and I will gladly hand over the encryption for the Koa system as long as I never have to see it again. It contains everything you should need. Client lists, pick-up schedules, member lists as well as names of every member who has been 'dropped' since I was brought in. I can give you over thirty homicides that LK is responsible for over the past ten years if you can get that laptop."
The entire room held an eerie silence when I stopped talking. As if my words had sucked all the life out of the room. Ranger finally glanced down at the piece of paper in his hand. His eyes coming back up with one eyebrow raised in question. Talk about moderation of words.
"The names of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Crowns. Those, and the address should be enough to get you what you need. Even without the laptop. Yes. Two of the three were sitting at that table with me and Rufio when you brought me in the other night."
If only we could have just done this all right then and there, Rufio might still be alive.. But would I have handed them all over if I hadn't been faced with losing him? I'll never know now.. I'll never know how much differently our life together would have been if I would have taken the initiative to save us.
Silence descended on the room again. This time I used the opportunity to study the other men at the table.
Tank met my gaze with a steady one of his own. He seemed as if he were trying to puzzle me out. At least we were on even footing then.
Bobby sat directly across the table. Regarding me curiously. Maybe he was finally seeing past the wall of automatic discrimination that most people put up.
Lester was proving himself hard to ignore. A beautiful distraction. He sat diagonal from me, fighting a grin at the corners of his mouth. There was a flicker behind emerald eyes that told me he was impressed, but not entirely surprised. Lester hadn't underestimated me. He gained a little bit more of my gratitude that day for that simple look across the table.
When I returned to Ranger, he was turning the small paper end over end between his fingers while he considered me thoughtfully.
"I can live with those conditions. As a matter of fact, I almost like them. We'll use this to it's highest advantage. In return I give you my word I'll try my best to recover your belongings. By the time you return from Miami I'll have whatever is left waiting in your apartment for you" It seemed as if Ranger would spare no effort in making sure the mess The Latin Kings had made of New Jersey would be set right once again. An honorable man.
He handed the paper off to Bobby, who was out of his seat with the door swinging shut behind him before I could process the action. Guess Bobby wanted to get this taken care of as badly as I did.
"Lester can take you back up to the apartment. I'll have Ella come by later to take your measurements for uniforms. There will be a ticket waiting for you in the morning. You'll fly out in the afternoon." No nod, no indication he'd said what he wanted. He just stopped talking and stared at me expectantly.
Dismissed again.
"Thank you Ranger. I'll owe you for this, you know that. I don't take my work lightly, you can guarantee you'll get the most out this arrangement." With that I nodded my thanks to both Ranger and Tank before joining Lester at the door and stepping out into a whole new world.
OoOoOoOoO
To be continued…