Chapter 9

Wasp

Within a month Mylo had become the center of my world, I could honestly say that I loved that kid like no one I had ever done before. Love was something that I never really thought about before. The way I'd say "Love you" to my mother or father paled into insignificance for what I felt in my heart. At the time I'd thought that I'd loved his mother, but I suppose I was judging that experience on how I felt afterwards. When she walked out of my life it hurt, but maybe the hurt was really the feeling of rejection, the feeling that I wasn't good enough. But it was enough that I swore myself off women or getting involved with one again. With Mylo it was so different. When he was sad then so was I, when he was happy, I was happy, and I could almost feel my heart swelling inside my chest with pride when he accomplished something new.

I would do anything for him, even let him eat the last tasty cake in the pack. I knew that the life we were living wasn't ideal, wasn't really good enough for him but I also knew that I would never let him go. My biggest worry was keeping us safe, well keeping him safe, and devised all kinds of options in order to protect him. I knew that he would never be truly safe until those people were stopped so after leaving the house that I thought would be perfect, I vowed to do just that.

I felt that Mylo was safe when I left him on his own, even though he still hadn't spoken a word, I knew he understood what I needed to do. I never told him about his mother, for some reason I couldn't do it, couldn't add to the pain that he remembered because of her. He did know of the danger we were in though, and for such a young kid he was perceptive. His memory was phenomenal and along with how bright he was, he soon became very knowledgeable of my plans. That brought me some relief because the plans I shared with him would help him to survive.

I spent evenings and nights following up leads until I felt it was time to pull all of the threads together. I had so many photographs but I honestly didn't know where to start. So I went back to the beginning, back to how I thought this group of people worked and tried to formulate a hierarchy of where these faces fit in. In all of my night time surveillances though, I was sure that I hadn't reached the higher echelons, the bosses or leaders or those with the power. I also realized that I had no names or any idea of who these people were.

The puzzle I was having was to find that out without arousing too much suspicion. I pondered on that for days as I tried to act normally at work. I have to admit that there was a lot of properties to deal with that allowed me to spend less time at the office and more time with Mylo. Don't get me wrong, even if I say it myself, I was very good at my job. I could stretch out the time between meeting with potential clients.

It was the file from that property that gave me the opening that I needed, the property with the apartments and restaurants beneath them. Because the owners were looking to rent the units out that meant that I had a way to assess exactly who they were.

Trying to find tenants for the apartments wasn't easy, probably due to its location. Afterall it was very close to a run down part of Trenton and most people wisely wanted to avoid it. I had no doubt that in future years the whole area would become more desirable but for now it was the young couples who came to look. When at last I had a couple who were determined to take on the lease that was when I could delve more into the owners. The lawyer the company was using was to put it mildy, lazy and arrogant. It turns out that he was the man that I'd met up with when I'd first gone to view the property. Hence, he never questioned any of the papers I asked for. That enabled me to discover just who owned the building and had signed the lease. It was a name that I recognized, but like the lawyer I wasn't going to assume that they were involved or knew what was going on.

The name of the company intrigued me, there was something about it that teased at the back of my mind, but I'd closed so many deals on properties that it was lost in the many names that had touched my memory. It was following the completion on all of the units, providing me with a hefty bonus, that I let my guard down. I had never expected it, so was totally shocked by what followed.

Leaving the office and driving a circuitous route I was aware of a police car behind me, lights flashing and the siren blaring out. I pulled over to let the vehicle pass and was surprised when it stopped in front of me, and two officers left their vehicle. Let me tell you, they were not particularly pleasant as they pulled me from the car. Landing across the bonnet I felt handcuffs pulling my wrists together and hands as they covered every inch of my body. When I tried to turn to ask what the hell was going on, I was rewarded with an arm slamming my head back down on the car. I watched and even with the view that I had, could see them open the trunk. As they pulled a black plastic bag out, I tried to tell them that it wasn't mine, that I had no idea how it got there.

Needless to say, that was the afternoon that I was charged with possession of drugs with the intent to sell. All I could assume from that and the words from my appointed lawyer was that there were a lot of drugs found in the trunk of my car. The lawyer didn't believe anything that I said, I suppose actual dealers would say the same thing. I was lucky that I was taken before a judge that afternoon and lucky that a bails bond man named Vinnie Plum was willing to put up the bond. He was more than happy to have the collateral from the house that I owned, and I was more than happy just to get out of the court.

I took a taxi back to my original apartment for fear of being followed and it turns out that I was right to do that. It was obvious that the police had searched the place leaving a hell of a mess behind. I spent some time tidying up, with the knowledge that they wouldn't have found anything. I could only hope that no more drugs had been planted there to add to my conviction. The one thing that no one seemed aware of was the motorbike down in the garage.

Avoiding the SUV parked in front of my apartment building I made my escape, so worried that Mylo was safe and that no one had found the house that we were currently staying in. It was time to move again and this time it would be the final move, so I had to organize any evidence left and ensure that we had a foolproof escape plan.

SPOV

I woke with a start fearful of what had disturbed my sleep. Tensing I knew immediately where I was. Had I been right in assuming Ramos would keep me being here a secret or had I made a colossal mistake. Would he call the police to take me away or even talk to one of the bosses from the families of Trenton? Opening my eyes, the room was swathed in the last glows of sunlight from the sun low in the sky. The sound came again, making me frown, having me trying to work out what the hell it was. As I moved to get up Charlie's book fell on the floor so picking it up, I deliberated where to hide it. For some reason I didn't want anyone to know that I had it.

I opted for under the mattress, okay not an original place, my reasoning being that if no one knew of its existence then they wouldn't be looking for it. As I picked up the book, I remembered reading about the lawyer that Charlie had come across. Why did it not surprise me that Dickie Orr was involved. Charlie had described him well, but I wasn't too sure that Charlie was correct in his assumption that Orr was just a middle man. The Dickie Orr that I knew was a greedy scumbag and didn't care about the legalities of what he did as long as he didn't get caught. What I couldn't reconcile with reading that damn book was why Charlie had omitted the name of the man who had owned the building. I was beginning to think that Charlie had being really naive in what he saw as important. He should have written down every detail and then I could have eliminated them, instead of now trying to discover the name.

Once redressed in the trousers and sweater I pulled my unruly hair into an untidy ponytail as I walked through to the lounge where the sound seemed to be coming from. Leaning against the doorframe I watched amazed at the sight in front of me. Mylo was sat on the floor in front of the TV with a games controller in his hand and sat next to him was another little boy. This other child looked a bit bigger than Mylo, maybe older, but from the action on the screen it seemed that Mylo was holding his own in the game.

"Boys, table now. Your meal is ready"

Came from the side of the kitchen. I turned toward where the voice had come from and saw Maria in the kitchen. She was dressed as she had been this morning, in a black skirt and T-shirt with low heeled shoes. I watched as Maria placed two plates on the table and turned toward the boys again.

"Lucas, Mylo. Now or I'll turn it off myself"

Mylo, used to being shouted at immediately put the controller down and got up to walk over to the table. Lucas soon followed aware that Maria was serious with what she had said. I walked over to the table and sat down next to Mylo, noting the smell that came from his plate.

"That spaghetti smells wonderful"

All I got was a nod of the head from both boys as they used their forks to start eating.

A mug was placed in front of me by Maria before she returned with sugar and cream.

It gave me the opportunity to really look at Maria because I'd only caught a glimpse of her earlier. She was smaller than me, I'd say petite, and had her black hair pulled back into a bun at the back of head. I found it difficult to put an age to her through her looks and would probably assume that she was slightly older than me.

"Thank you, Maria. Have you been here long?"

"Not really. I offered to look after the boy while you had dinner with Mr Ramos and thought it would be good for the two boys to play together. He doesn't say much does he?"

She asked as she nodded toward Mylo.

"I haven't heard him speak a word since I met him"

"He's a good boy, so well behaved. I'm sure he'll get there eventually"

I wasn't so sure about that but hoped that she was right, though being in a strange place away from Charlie might not help. I sure hoped that Charlie would be okay soon but then a slight panic came over me, what if Charlie ended up in prison, what would happen to Mylo then?

"Mr Ramos asked that you go to the main house for dinner. I'll stop here and look after the boys"

"Is Lucas your son?"

Suddenly regretting me being nosey but from her smile and how she looked at Lucas I was sure that was the case.

"Yes. We live in the annex. When Mr Ramos is here I look after him with two of the other maids. When he goes away, he lets us stay to look after the house and any men who remain. That way Lucas can go to school here"

It sounded like a good arrangement but made me wonder if Maria knew exactly what he did for a living.

I was brought back to the present as Maria picked up the empty plates from in front of the boys and I watched as they raced back to their game.

"You need to get changed for your meal with Mr Ramos, he doesn't like it if his meal is delayed. There are some more clothes for you in the closet in the hallway, I'll put them in your room while you're out"

"Where are the clothes coming from?"

Because I was feeling pretty guilty for them suddenly turning up.

"Mr Ramos's last wife. She never came back so her closet still has her clothes in. Luckily you seem to be the same size"

That had me remembering the color of the house when I'd first laid eyes on it so long ago. It had been a bright pink which Ramos had said was because of his previous wife and he was going to be repainting it. No doubt at some point I would get to see what color he had chosen.

Leaving the kitchen, I went through to the hallway and opened the closet selecting a skirt and blouse that I thought would be suitable for wearing at an evening meal with Alexander Ramos.

Walking across to the house I felt quite nervous for what the evening might bring. I mean how many people can say that they were going to be sat at a table eating a meal with an arms dealer. I suppose for me it didn't seem such a far stretch, maybe one step up from picking up said arms dealer from outside of his house and driving him around the neighborhood for him to have a cigarette.

I was surprised that Nico was by the door and opening it for me as I approached. He was growing on me, so I smiled a thank you to him as I passed through the door.

"He's in the kitchen, Ma'am"

I was surprised on hearing that but not thinking more about it I went through the door to find Ramos once again stood in front of the stove. He turned as the door closed behind me and smiled at me.

"Almost there Stéfani, go sit down and pour us both a glass of wine"

I did as he asked, noting that the wine was a red wine, don't ask me if was a good one or not, but I assumed it would be expensive.

The plate that Ramos put in front of me looked amazing, steak with fries and a sauce that looked to have mushrooms and cream in it. It wasn't the type of meal that I expected but I wasn't going to be complaining.

"I thought that maybe you'd appreciate a good cooked meal"

Tasting the steak with the sauce I surely did.

"It tastes amazing Alex, did I see right, that you were cooking this?"

I waited as Ramos took a drink from his wine and saw the slight smile at the corner of his lips.

"I actually enjoy cooking and try to do as much as I can. But it makes it more enjoyable when I have the company of a beautiful woman"

I felt my cheeks heat up as he said that and focused on the food on my plate. I needed to make polite conversation with him before I ruined the atmosphere.

"I never did see the front of the house, is it still pink?"

He laughed loudly and set his glass down on the table.

"No. As soon as I could I had workmen in to repaint it. It's what you would call soft cream. What about that glorious car?"

Thoughts of Big Blue had me thinking of my Grandma and what she would be thinking of me. I had no doubt in my mind that Grandma would believe my story. My mother, well if all she had heard were rumors and seen what had been written in the paper then I'm sure she had probably ironed every curtain several times and was consuming a lot of her iced tea. I looked back up to Ramos realizing that he was waiting for an answer.

"I still borrow it from my Grandma, but not that often nowadays"

Instead, it tended to be Ranger who insisted that I used his cars, I didn't think he liked it when I used Big Blue.

"You seem distracted Stéfani"

"Sorry. I was wondering how my family were coping with everything"

I placed my knife and fork onto a clean plate, the meal had been lovely, and I was surprised at just how hungry I was.

"Thank you for preparing the meal, it tasted amazing"

"My pleasure. Why don't we go through to the lounge? I think maybe we need to have that talk"

I followed Ramos's example and picked up my plate, placing it on the worktop next to the sink and then followed Ramos out of the kitchen. The lounge faced the back of the house and had large glass doors that opened up onto the decking area. The view attracted me to look out of those doors, seeing the white of the waves as they crashed down on to the sand.

"You know, you'd enjoy the outlook from my house in Greece so much more"

That had me thinking of blue water and golden sand with the sun warming my skin, so I was pretty sure he was right.

"I could fly you and the boy away from here"

Looking at Ramos who was now stood next to me I could tell that he was being serious, but it wasn't what I wanted to do.

"As much as it's very tempting, I can't. I have to sort this mess up, plus Mylo, he'll need to be with his father"

"The father is the man who was shot?"

I just nodded my head and then regretted it. Charlie had kept Mylo's existence a secret and I'd just let Ramos know who he was.

"I checked with the hospital today, he's still in ICU, in a coma"

I had no idea that Charlie had been that seriously injured and with that thought I knew I had to clear my name otherwise the charges could change to murder.

"Mylo"

Came from me as what Ramos had said really hit me. What would become of Mylo?

"Stéfani, take a breath"

I hadn't realized how much that news had made me panic. I allowed Ramos to guide me to a chair and took a glass from his hand. Without thinking I took a gulp without realizing what was in it. The heat from the liquor hit my throat making me hold my breath before swallowing. The resultant heat spread throughout me and it actually did make me relax a bit.

"Sorry"

Was all I could think to say, sorry for turning up on Ramos's doorstep, sorry that I was asking for his help, sorry that maybe I was getting him involved with my problems.

"It will work out, have faith. I spoke to several people today trying to gage what they knew. It seems that someone is trying to muscle in on the families. Vitto is annoyed and Galbacci is losing money. Even some of the organizations that are tolerated by the families are feeling some impact"

I stayed silent as I listened to what Ramos was saying to me. Why would he be telling me that? Could he know what Charlie had been doing or that he had evidence of what might be going on?

"Stéfani, there is talk of someone who was noseying around and that perhaps it was that man Watson"

Oh shit, so Ramos knew. I suppose if men were looking for Charlie, word would eventually get back to the mob bosses. Very little happened in Trenton that they didn't know about. Somehow, I needed to be very guarded with what I said to Ramos, I couldn't let on that I knew anything.

"So there's a group out there trying to take control of the drugs in the city?"

"Not just drugs. Gambling as well. I've been keeping an eye on my line of business but so far everything seems quiet"

I had no idea how far reaching this was, I mean from what Charlie had said in his book he had only mentioned drugs. Was Charlie aware of the other areas or was that information yet to come?

"An acquaintance of mine, he has passed on a possible contact that you might want to talk to"

I knew I'd raised my eyebrows, how was that supposed to help me and how was that supposed to happen?

"How will that help me?"

"You need to find out who shot Watson and clear your name"

I suppose that made sense but being ever the pessimist, I wasn't too sure what kind of information this person might have.

"This acquaintance, he has a few apartments above his shop. One of the tenants broke down and tried to tell him why she was so upset. He didn't want to get involved but thought that maybe she could help you with the trouble you seem to have found"

"I want to, but how? I mean the police are looking for me and just about everyone knows my face"

Especially if the papers had plastered it on the front page of the paper.

"Nico and one of my men will drive you to the building. I'm sure if you made good use of the clothes that Maria brought to you, you could conceal your appearance"

Is that what I wanted to do? I mean it could be dangerous, but I suppose if Nico was there with another man and he stopped in front of the door, how many people would actually see me?

"Mylo?"

"He can play with Lucas. Maria will love the distraction"

I sat back thinking through what Ramos had suggested and for the first time in days felt that old sensation stirring through me. I wanted to do something that would help both me and Mylo and I was desperate to clear my name. It helped that the rush of adrenaline at the idea also fed my natural curiosity so yeah, I was ready to fight back.

"Okay. I'll go"

I couldn't help but smile back at Ramos when he smiled at me.

"Thank god for that. I thought we'd lost that spunky woman who never let anyone get the better of them"

I reran what Ramos had said to me as I walked back to our rooms. He was right, I'd spent the last few days being frightened to death and following Mylo, or maybe following what Charlie wanted me to follow. Now that I was eating and sleeping better my thoughts were becoming sharper and to me there seemed so much more going on than what Charlie had thought, unless I hadn't read that far yet. I didn't think so, I thought that Charlie had been so focused on Mylo and his mother that he wasn't seeing anything more. I also realized that maybe the only way that I was going to clear my name was to try and resolve the puzzle that Charlie had thrust on me.

Once back in our rooms Maria and Lucas left us, declaring that it was time for the boys to be in bed. A quick look around for Mylo and I saw him sat on the couch with a book in his hand. I'd never known a child who could read so much, okay so I only really knew my nieces. I walked over and sat next to him deciding that I needed to tell him what I was going to be doing in the morning.

"Mylo I have to go out in the morning. There's something that I need to find out. Will you be okay with Maria and Lucas?"

Okay so the frown that came across his face confused me. Was it because I was asking him to stay here at the house or because I was leaving him?

"Do you like Maria and Lucas?"

Wondering if maybe being with another boy was too much for Mylo. I watched as he shrugged his shoulders making me realize just how vulnerable Mylo was. It had never really occurred to me that he would find it difficult to be around people, though from what I'd seen of him here at the house he was one hell of a good actor.

"Do you pretend with them, you know, act as though you're okay?"

As he nodded his head, he suddenly moved away from me and came back with a book. It was a title that I'd never seen before and judging from the summary on the back of the book I knew straight away that it wouldn't be a book that I would have read. I didn't miss the fact that the story was about a boy called Mylo, or how he had survived living an isolated life with an uncaring mother. How this boy had eventually been rehomed with a foster family and how he had learnt to project an image to the people around him. That was where the name had come from, though obviously Charlie wasn't aware of that. It made me curious as to how the story had ended.

I had tears in my eyes as I looked back at Mylo, seeing for the first time the sorrow in his eyes. I wasn't too sure how to handle this, I mean what did I know about kids? I went with what I was feeling because I knew the truth was the most important thing.

"Mylo your father was injured at the house and I don't know how badly. At the moment you and I are in danger and we have people looking for us. The police think that it was me that shot him"

The last part of my sentence came out as a whisper because I didn't want Mylo to hate me. I felt his hand on my arm and looking up saw him shaking his head and pointing at me.

"What, you don't think I shot your father?"

His head continued to shake from side to side, which had me feeling so much better.

"Whatever happens Mylo I won't leave you until you're back with your Dad"

I was knocked backwards as Mylo suddenly flung himself at me, holding me around the waist. I hugged him back and gently rocked us as the emotions swept through me, but in the end Mylo had to understand that I had to leave him tomorrow.

"I have to find out who did it and where I'm going won't be safe for you. I need for you to be safe, to stay here until I come back. I promise I'll come back"

I was surprised when Mylo pulled away and fisted his hand with his little finger sticking up. I linked my finger with his as I whispered "pinky swear"

Once I eventually went to bed I slept well and woke up to hear movement from the kitchen. I decided that it was time for me to get my shit together.

RPOV

The information that I'd garnered from that low life mechanic had distracted me from everything else that was going on. I didn't feel that it had anything to do with what had happened to Steph, other than maybe how her gun had mysteriously ended up at that house. Had she been set up there as well?

Tank had appeared in my office and he was holding the file for the warehouse in his hand, so I immediately knew there were other threads that we were missing.

"You didn't like the feel of this, so I did some cross checking"

I raised an eyebrow wondering what he had cross checked with.

"That man who was tied into the nightclub and turned up at that gambling business, well it seems there are ties into this one as well"

"Go on"

Wondering why Tank was making me ask.

"Seems they all used the same lawyer when they bought the properties and when I asked Silvio to dig deeper into them, he came across some interesting coincidences. Each of these companies appear to be self contained, different owners or partners but when he chased the money, the accounts for where the money moved into and from was the same"

"One person overseeing them"

"Or the same group of people"

A cold feeling came over me as I thought over the accounts that we'd taken on and the enquiries that we'd had. Was it a coincidence that those companies had come to us?

"Tank, ask Silvio to run through the financials for some of the other companies that have come to us recently"

"Ah shit. You think that somehow we're being used?"

I didn't need to reply because I could see that Tank knew that that was exactly what I was thinking. No wonder we'd been rushed off our feet for the last couple of months.

Without another word he left my office, leaving me with my own thoughts. I was suspicious of what was going to happen at that warehouse and my first instinct now when considering what their product was, was drugs. There was a new drug on the streets, white demon, so it made sense that it might be coming from there. Anansi were openly advertising themselves as going into gambling, but it would be an ideal place to launder money through.

Drugs and gambling were generally controlled by the old families, the likes of Galbacci tended to manage any gambling that happened, okay he didn't use the internet yet to entice his players. Harry mainly operated through the streets collecting protection money and controlling the prostitution. Which left Ramos running guns and
Grisolli had control over the drugs coming into the city. There were others involved, mainly small fry that the families tolerated, Juadyn worked mainly through his gang while Castillo seemed to have a handle on the Hispanics. I was sure there were others within the many communities within Trenton, but they tended to keep things on the low down.

I decided that maybe it was worth touching base with one of those groups to gage what was happening on the streets. It was deciding who would be the best person to talk to, something that I wasn't looking forward to. I sent a message to Hector, Santos and Brown to meet me in the garage with the adage that we were going to hit the streets. They'd know what I meant.

Standing in front of the mirror in the bathroom in my apartment I had just finished pushing through a diamond stud through my ear when I remembered long ago when I was dressed like this. We'd just finished a job when Connie had called in a favor. Connie had helped me a lot when I'd first moved to Trenton by passing on information pertinent to catching high level FTAs. That was how I managed to raise the much needed cash to start Rangeman. The favor, to talk to a new bond enforcement officer and give some advice. I hadn't considered my appearance until I realized that this new bounty hunter was female, pretty and totally naïve. A woman who had proven that first looks are deceptive because with her instincts and guts she could certainly find her skips and any trouble that came with it.

I took some calming breaths to steady myself, to get myself back in control for what I was about to do. Telling myself that following this idea was another way of finding Steph. Once down in the garage I opened the door to my truck and nodded to Hector to join me. Brown and Santos would use one of the SUVs, but I needed to make an impression and show that I could still command power. Two other teams would provide back up if we needed it.

"Who?"

Was all Hector asked, because he knew the drill.

"Castillo then Juadyn"

"What are we wanting?"

"If their business has been affected over the last few months and what the talk is"

That reminded me that Ram still hadn't gotten a conclusive result from the sample that Hector had given to him, something that I would need to push him on when we got back.

Castillo was a cool customer who was extremely intelligent. Upbringing had made him realize that more money was to be made through illegal activities rather than working and he had a way of managing his business. He could usually be found at a detached house at the south end of Trenton where the neighborhood had a larger contingent of Hispanics living. An ideal base for him as he could keep control of the people around him. Usually, he wasn't a violent man but that didn't stop him from using his generals to do any dirty work for him. I didn't need to make an impression on him, we had a mutual understanding of sorts. We kept out of each other's way.

As we came to a stop outside, Castillo was soon stood at the entrance of the house, arms folded across his chest, giving me the impression that he wasn't pleased to see me. The man was tall and lanky with long black hair pulled back in a ponytail. It was eyes that gave him away and at the moment they were staring intently at me. As though knowing that we needed to talk he turned and stepped back into the house, leaving the door open for us to follow. Only Hector and I walked through that door, Brown and Santos literally stood guard over the cars and I knew the teams would be ready if anything went wrong.

Once inside he led the way through a door into what could have passed for a dining room, if it hadn't been for the guns and ammunition laid out on the table. Castillo had a man by his side, and I was aware of another one behind us blocking the exit. That wouldn't be a problem, they might give the appearance of being hard but Hector could take down all three of them without much effort and the way Castillo's men kept glancing at him they knew it as well. I looked from the guns to Castillo wondering why the hell he was collecting a small arsenal.

"Aint no way we're going down without a fight"

I hadn't been aware that Castillo was having any problems on his turf so waited, knowing he'd be desperate to have his say.

"Don't think I'm threatened by you being here either"

I was surprised that Castillo saw me as a threat, in the past we'd had a good relationship. He kept his people in line and let me know of any problems. In return the informal agreement was that if I felt there was going to be trouble for him or if one of his men had taken to being too violent, I would let him know.

"Why would you see me as a threat Castillo?"

I tried to temper the annoyance that was threatening to rise to the surface because I needed to know what the hell was going on that had caused him to mistrust me. The snarl as he answered was telling enough that he believed what he was saying.

"There's some rumors about, that this new business venture setting up shop here in Trenton has the help of enforcers. Men in black who'll make sure you cooperate"

"Not me Castillo or any of my men. Have you seen any of these enforcers?"

"No. But the threat's been sent"

I pulled out a chair and sat at the table, psychologically I was giving Castillo the upper hand. I saw the frown cross his face before he also sat down bringing the tension that had been building up in the room back down to manageable.

"Castillo who are the people?"

"No idea, but they're trying to force us into buying our stuff from them. No way am I touching their shit"

Interesting, enough that I wondered if it was the same stuff that Hector had gotten a sample of.

"What's wrong with their stuff?"

Castillo sat back in the chair, looking at me before he sat forward again, elbows on the table, leaning closer toward me.

"It's stronger, but I heard when you swapped it out for the usual it had bad side effects"

That was new to me, probably because we hadn't heard much on the streets and this new drug wasn't as readily available as the normal stuff through the dealers.

"Dabs, one of newer recruits, he thought he'd use it 'cos it were cheaper. When I found out he got a pasting, made sure he couldn't leave his hole. Next thing I knew he's going doolally, then he's convulsing and having fits"

To me those sounded like extreme withdrawal symptoms which I'd seen before, though that was from someone who'd been using for a long period of time. His man Dabs had probably received a bad enough beating from Castillo to stop him from walking out and he would have been made an example of for going against Castillo.

"What about the rest of your business?"

"You know how we operate Ranger, we keep things to ourselves, we look after our girls and any games are not open to outsiders"

I understood how he operated and whilst I didn't like what he did, he was a pretty fair boss to work for as long as you didn't go against him. That's why it was very rare for him to come into our radar. I stood up as I thought that I'd got what I needed but before Castillo could move, I leaned down over him, with my hands on the table either side of him, to give him my parting words.

"I'm on no one's side but my own, and I am not working for anyone else. You hear anything and you get a message to me"

"What you gonna do Ranger?"

I didn't reply, instead I nodded to Hector and walked out of that house. What I'd learnt from Castillo didn't sit well with me and it wasn't about the drugs. I was more annoyed that someone was spreading rumors about an enforcer and that it seemed to be pointing to Rangeman. I needed to catch up with Tank and see where he'd got to looking through those recent accounts because being drawn into that role without knowing it had a sick feeling rising from the pit of my stomach. I'd worked too hard to make Rangeman a reputable company for some prick to bring us down.

As I got into the car an alert came over the radio, a break in at a clothes manufacturer close to where we were. I was only thankful that this particular client had been with us for years and hopefully wouldn't be involved. Juadyn would have to wait until tomorrow.