Short chapter, but I'll try my best to kick the next chapter out sooner than a week. Thanks for reading/reviewing guys! ;) 5.28.08
Disclaimer: I don't own South of Nowhere or the characters.
"I thought I told you I didn't want you coming here anymore." Ashley stood in the narrow space between the door and its frame.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but HQ tried to call you last night and once more this morning. You had us worried." Abe looked around behind him before he arched his neck to inspect the inside of Ashley's apartment. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah."
"You look like you just woke up." She followed his glance to what she was wearing.
"It's 'cause I did, Abe." She responded somewhat sarcastically.
"So you couldn't give us so much as a call back?"
"I-I didn't have my phone on me at the time." Ashley pretended to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"Huh. Weird." He observed her behavior carefully. "That's really not like you."
"I was tired." She ran her hand through her hair, avoiding eye contact.
"I'd imagine you'd be…after hosting a guest last night." Ashley's eyes darted up to meet Abe's deep blue stare.
"What are you talking—"
"Cut the bullshit, Ash. I saw her walk out of here right when I pulled in." She sighed deeply before slowly turning around and walking towards the living room. "Who is she?"
"She's nobody." Ashley mumbled, shaking her head.
"Well for her sake, I really hope she is nobody." He followed her in and shut the door.
"She's some hooker I met at the bar last night." She walked behind the dining room table, using it as a weak barrier while she turned to face Abe. He chuckled as he placed his briefcase by the coat rack and tucked his red tie back under his blazer.
"Come on Ash. All you've done so far is lie your ass off. Why don't you try another approach, like telling me the truth, and maybe I'll be a lot more forgiving for this shit you're trying to pull?" He crossed his arms and stood in place. Ashley was at a loss for words. "That was her, wasn't it? Your ex-girlfriend?" She could hear the anger in his tone.
"Abe, it's not what it seems."
"And what does it seem like?" He shook his head, sighing in disappointment. "You broke your contract."
"I didn't try to get in touch with her at all, Abe! We bumped into each other and she kinda… followed me."
"Why?" His eyebrows furrowed in concern. "Does she know something?"
"No! She just wanted to catch up. But I did everything I could to avoid her. I swear!" She began to pace back and forth.
"Oh that's very apparent right now!" Abe mockingly nodded his head. "Did you bring her here? Was she here when the medic came?" Abe anxiously shifted his weight, placing his hands on his hips.
"No, no!"
"Then how did she find out where you live?" He paused, waiting for an answer. "Damn it, Ash. It sounds like she's onto you."
"Abe, I swear. She doesn't know a damn thing about me or about the company." Ashley lowered her voice to match her sincerity as she stopped pacing. "We had a run in. That's all."
"That's all?" He rubbed his forehead. "Ashley, this is a huge security breach! Don't you understand how detrimental this is to our company?"
"I promise you it will never happen again. She's not from here and we'll never ever see each other again."
"Damn right this isn't going to happen again! We'll make sure of that." He scoffed. "Don't think this is just a hiccup, Ash. You broke your contract. There are consequences that were specifically outlined when you signed on."
"Abe, if you're going to trust me on anything, trust me on this! You know I don't want anything bad to happen to anyone, not even her." There was a moment of silence as they stared at one another, waiting for Abe's anger to subside. He noticed the sincerity in her eyes as she pleaded, but Abe was never the type to make exceptions for mistakes.
"We'll talk about this later. For now, we need to move you to a safer location." He bent down and picked up his briefcase, slowly making his way to the dining room table.
"Okay." She quietly complied.
"Have a seat." Abe placed it on the table as they both sat on opposite sides. "HQ gave you a 94 percent on Operation Pandora. The 6 percent of course would be totaling the Rolls Royce." He smirked. "So congratulations on a job well done. I'm glad we could count on you to get back on track." Ashley hesitated to nod in agreement, still cautious about his temperament.
"Thanks."
"I hope it remains that way." He leaned closer, staring her in the eyes. "'Cause I'm telling you right now, Ash. Jack and I have spent years recruiting the best and perfecting our program. There's no way I'm letting anyone tamper with it. Do you catch my drift?"
"Abe," she shook her head, "it's not an issue anymore. I'm with the company a hundred percent."
"Good." He leaned back and took a moment to compose himself before opening the briefcase and pulling out a black file. "Just thought I'd mention that your work with Pandora isn't over."
"You're reopening the case?"
"No." He laid the file stamped Confidential on the table. "But there's much more to the Iliana and Stevinelli syndicates that requires your expertise."
"Such as?"
"Victor wasn't just selling firearms to Gierard. The briefcase Gierard received included their west coast cargo list. They were shipping from both sides of the country. So we were caught off guard and didn't intercept that shipment."
"So you want me to track down the shipment?"
"Yes." He brushed his fingers over his lips before grasping his chin with one hand. "This would be your first out-of-state mission, since putting a local agent on the case would only involve the other divisions. Jack made it a point to the execs that all business regarding the Iliana and Stevinelli syndicates would belong solely to our division." Abe smiled. "This will really bring up our numbers."
"And much more busy work I suppose." Ashley reached for the file, briefly read its contents, and placed it back on the table. "Operation Blackstone."
"There's more." He leaned forward. "Victor's not just the front man for the Iliana syndicate. Turns out that his full name is Victor von Kraten."
"von Kraten?" Ashley sat up in surprise. "As in—"
"The von Kraten Firm." He nodded. "Yes."
"That can't be good." She leaned her elbows on the table, briefly resting her face in her hands. "They're the largest and most notorious mafia…nationwide."
"Ash, it just means that we're going to have to be a lot more careful. Jack fought for full jurisdiction over operations dealing with the von Kraten firm as well, which means our division will be heading about eighty percent of the Red Sector's operations. Do you know why?"
"The most powerful mafias have some sort of partnership with the firm."
"That's right, including the Iliana and, as of two nights ago, the Stevinelli syndicates."
"Why was Victor V. masquerading as a member of the Iliana syndicate?"
"He wasn't. The Iliana and von Kraten mafias are blood-related." He paused. "Diedrich was part of the Firm as well."
"Great." Ashley rolled her eyes. "So we're only pissing them off the more we pick 'em off."
"You can't make omelets without breaking a few eggs, Ash." Abe smirked as he shut the briefcase. He stood up and pat down his blazer. "As for the other stuff…"
"Please don't tell Jack." Ashley looked up at him, pleading again with her eyes. "My contract still stands and that whole situation was just… a glitch, Abe. He doesn't need to know about it if nothing's changed." Abe combed his short blonde hair with his fingers. He slowly grabbed the briefcase and nodded, keeping his lips pressed tightly together.
"Just be ready to relocate soon."
"So I have your word on that?" She stood up.
"As long as I can trust that you're with us in this… all the way… till the end."
"You can."
"Okay then." He briefly smirked before making his way out the door. "And Ash?" He twisted around.
"Yeah?"
"Keep your phone on you at all times." Abe continued down the steps. "I don't think I'll have to remind you again."
"Right." Ashley shut it behind him and quickly locked it. She made her way down the hallway and into her bedroom closet, hastily searching for her emergency lock box stored underneath a rubble of clothes. She entered the combination and viewed its contents—an untraceable cell phone and a loaded gun. Ashley quickly hit the speed dial on the phone.
"Hello?"
"Lucas, it's me."
"Ash, what's up? I didn't recognize the number."
"It's 'cause I didn't want this call to be traced or monitored. I need to talk to you about a plan B. Can I meet with you tonight?"
"Sure. Everything okay?"
"I don't have much time left. I'll explain later."
Abe unlocked the Navigator and threw the briefcase onto the passenger seat. He unbuttoned his suit and quickly climbed in, shutting the door behind him. He then reached for the cell phone in his inner jacket pocket and hit the speed dial.
"This is Jack."
"Jack, it's Abe." He sighed heavily before starting the engine. "We have a problem."