Disclaimer: Anything familiar belongs to JE and the creators of Criminal Minds.

Warning: Adult language, adult situations

Chapter 59: Tuesday, August 30th, 1000-1300

Palm Beach

Terry's POV

Our flight to Florida was uneventful. The brat was good, no crying during takeoff or landing. It also helped that take-off and landing coincided with mealtime, so he was busy sucking on the bottle. It took us far too long to get off the plane and get our rental car. It is now 10:15. It will take about an hour and fifteen minutes to get to the house. I decide to call our mark.

"Hello," a man responds.

"Good morning. Is this Eric Wilson?" I ask.

"Yes. Who may I ask is calling?"

"This is Tina Conti from Discreet Adoption Services. I am calling to let you know that we arrived in Miami and are expected to be at your home with your darling son in about an hour and a half. Will you and your wife be there to welcome the new addition to your family?"

"Yes. We will be here and are excited to meet our new son, Ms. Conti. We will be eagerly awaiting your arrival."

I confirm their address, along with the best way to get to their home from the airport. Once I have all that information, I end the call.

"Okay, Richard, I got all the information we need from them. Did they wire the money?"

"Yes, Theresa, the money is in the account. Got the directions?"

"Of course."

"Let's go," Dickie responds. We get to our rental car and secure the brat in the car seat. We start our drive north after getting coffee from a local Starbucks.

"How are we going to take care of Stephanie? It's been too long that we've let her be. You promised me that she would be out of the picture permanently the day she threw me out of my house."

"Richard, we went over this. Uncle Vito made me leave her alone. He sided with her because he said that you were too stupid to get caught with your pants down. That any self-respecting man would know better than to fuck his mistress in his home when it was possible for his wife to walk in on them. You were just asking to be caught by fucking Joyce in your home. He said you were lucky she didn't get a better attorney because you would have been out much more money."

"You never listen to your Uncle Vito."

"When it comes to the Family, I can't disobey a direct order. Since Stephanie has started bounty hunting, she's been a thorn in our side. Anyone who goes FTA from the Family keeps getting caught by the bitch. She's able to find them no matter where they hide. Hell, Ranger isn't even that good at finding everyone. When she caught the Rug, that was the final straw. However, Uncle Vito needs things to be good in Trenton. If we got to her there, it had to look like an accident. You would think with the number of cars that she's destroyed that one of those bombs would have gotten her by this point, but Ranger keeps swooping in to save her. Don't you think for one second I appreciate the hold she has on Joseph."

"Huh, Joe fucking Morelli. He doesn't deserve you, Theresa. You are too good for him."

"That may be the case, but he likes his women just as much as I like my time with you. I'd let him fuck his whores and his bitches whenever he wants, as long as he lets me do the same. He'd give me the credibility I need to make my "break" from the Family seem real. Once Joe and I are married, then we are free to branch off on our own. That's my Uncle's rule. So, with Stephanie being in Miami and no direct link back to my Uncle, we have free reign to be more obvious and not as devious in getting rid of her."

"But how do we get her? My sources have told me that she has never been out around Miami without Ranger, his brother, or one of his other men." Dickie states, aggravatedly.

"We shoot her. Sniper attack. We know that Ranger has a grandmother here, who raised him for a short period. We know that he visits her at least once every time he's in Miami. She is the only family that he seems to be close with. If we make the alarm go off on her home, Ranger will race over there, with Stephanie in tow. They will congregate outside to try and determine what happened. While they are all standing about, doing nothing, I can shoot Stephanie. I can probably get Ranger as well, as he'll be too busy trying to save her life." I finish, before adding under my breath, "Joe will probably fuck me good if I am responsible for getting rid of Ranger."

"What did you say at the end?" Dickie asks me.

"Nothing," I respond quickly. I can see Dickie doesn't really believe me. "Did you find out anything new about who they managed to snag last night? Do we know where they are being held yet?"

"No. It's bothering me a bit. There's been too much radio silence. All I know is that the crew are not in lockup at MDPD and our Rangeman mole has not seen them enter that building either. They seem to have vanished. However, we know Manoso has houses all over the place. He could have them stashed there, in some safe house someplace."

Chills run down my spine as we continue to ride north on I-95. Could we be walking into a trap? I mean, Manoso is here in Miami taking care of his brat. He was looking for our guys. But he stopped, a few days in because they found no leads. There is no way that he found out about our side business. I mean, I'm sure Ron didn't tell him anything. Ron hated Manoso and wanted him out of their lives. The fool even offered Ranger to us when we first grabbed him, claiming that he could get him to the house alone, without his thugs and goons. He would have been ours if we just would keep him alive. If I had been at the scene. I would have made the trade, then killed Ron anyway, but Manuel is not a planner. He is a get things done guy. You tell him what you want, and he makes it happen. In the past, he has been great at never leaving a trail behind or getting caught, but he's slipping lately. But thanks to the push on the drug trade, it is harder and harder to find good help. Most of our established guys are in jail for drug-related charges. Dumb asses. How can you get caught four-times selling to the same undercover narcotics agent?

I glance in the back at the brat. The baby's awake, looking out the window. I must say, he is one of the quietest babies we have dealt with. He hasn't cried at all, outside of the wet diapers he has had. This family is going to be lucky.

"When are we leaving for Tahiti?" I hear Dickie ask me.

"We leave Thursday morning. Do you have everything in place for our travel?"

"Yes, I do. Our passports, visas and driver's licenses for Nunzio and Nicolina Carbone are perfect. We are quite the travelers. We've been all around the world. No one will think twice to see us head to Tahiti from Miami. I also took the liberty of purchasing other tickets in their names to Australia, Indonesia, Dubai, and Athens before returning to Italy. A tenth anniversary trip around the world. Our itinerary is set."

I shake my head slightly. He can be so clueless sometimes. Now, we need to burn those IDs. Our back story doesn't cover the money we would need to travel to all those locations. Nunzio and Nicolina are not wealthy. Nicolina is a legal secretary at a law firm, while Nunzio is a paralegal, working his way through law school. We are sure to be flagged at some point. As much as I'm going to miss the extracurricular activities between Dickie and me, I won't miss his impulsiveness.

We get off I-95 and follow the directions through the nice neighborhood where Samantha and Eric live. As we get closer to their house, I can't help getting that feeling of dread once again. I feel as though I'm being watched. I look around and can't see anyone out of the ordinary. I mean, aside from an older gentleman with gray hair washing his car, there is no one around. I sigh and harden my resolve to get this done. It is the last adoption that I will personally be involved in, so once we're done, we are out. Dickie parks the car in the driveway, and we get ready to exit.

"Should we bring in our weapons?" Dickie asks.

"No, Richard, we do not. We have an infant with us. Besides, what danger are we in from a couple who are ready to adopt the child of their dreams. We'll be in and out in twenty-thirty minutes tops. I don't see a need for any insurance."

"Okay, Theresa, you're the boss." He states, before leaving the car. I exit, going into the back seat to get the child. I am carrying him in, as most families have everything they need already in the house. Dickie takes his briefcase, and we are ready to give the brat to Samantha and Eric.