Thresh: Alpha One Security: Book 2 (17 page)

“No shit, Filipo. Think I don’t know that? I wouldn’t have brought him this far if it wasn’t important.”
 

Filipo considered. “You ain’t ever been
valea
, so I guess it’s all right. But you gotta come in and tell me what trouble you got into.” He stood in the doorway as Lola and I made our way inside, and I know the wary, sharp-eyed old man didn’t miss the knife on my belt, or the gun at my back.
 

The inside of the trailer matched the outside. Cluttered, dirty, old. He’d been here a long-ass time, and didn’t give much of a shit about appearances. Beer bottles and soda cans were clustered on a coffee table, along with an overflowing ashtray, contractor bags full of more empty bottles, takeout containers, dishes, and more than anything else, fishing gear. Tackle boxes, lures, flies, rods, reels, and waders. If there was anything that helped catch fish, Filipo had several of them of varying ages and qualities.

He cleared off the couch by sweeping his arm across it to knock the detritus to the floor, and then kicking it aside. Lola sat beside him, while I did my best to hunker near the door. The trailer was small enough that I barely cleared the ceiling if I stood upright, which only served to make me feel all the more conspicuous and claustrophobic. The smell of cigarettes and old booze, the fake panel walls, the threadbare couch, the shit everywhere, the oppressive heat and humidity…I was back in the trailer in Mississippi again. I hooked my thumb in my hip pocket and focused on keeping my breathing even.
 

Filipo focused on Lola. “Why you here, Lola? Real talk.”
 

“I’m just…there’s trouble. I need to get away for a while. I thought I could go in and see Dad for a few days.” She looked at me. “He’s helping me.”
 

“Help you do what?”
 

“Keep away from the trouble.”
 

“What’s the trouble?”

“Less you know, better for you,” I said.
 

Sharp dark eyes fixed on me. “That kinda trouble, huh? So you’re runnin’ into the ’Glades to get away?”

“I’m taking her in there, make sure she gets there, and then I’m gonna go handle things.”
 

“Problem with that is you go in, you don’t come out unless you know the way.”

I hadn’t considered that aspect.
 

“I’ll figure something out. Just gotta get her somewhere safe. So we need the boat, so Lola can get us in there.”
 

Filipo tapped the shotgun barrel against his palm, eyeing me thoughtfully. “Your trouble…it gonna find its way down here?”

I bobbed my head side to side. “Maybe. Seems likely, honestly.” I jerked my chin at his shotgun. “Anyone shows up that ain’t me or her, shoot first and ask questions later.”

Filipo nodded. “Got’chu. Got no hold up ’bout that. My girl, here.” He nodded at Lola. “You and her—”

“
Ua lava
, Filipo. That’s my business.”
 

“That
susopoki
what done you over—”

Lola’s eyes blazed. “I said
enough
, Filipo. That’s…
my
…business.”
 

He raised his hands. “Fine, fine.” A thumb jerked at me—“But this
pukio
, if he—”

“
Filipo
!” Lola hissed.

He let out a breath, stood up, and patted the air placatingly. “You know I’m gonna worry. But you take care of it. Whatever. I’ll get the boat in the water.”
 

He left the trailer with a slam of the screen door, and that sound, the
bang
of the door…fuck, man. Shoot a fucking cannon next to me, I won’t flinch. Grenades going off every which way? No problem. That slam of the screen door? I jumped half a foot.
 

And bet your ass Lola noticed. “Thresh, you okay?”
 

I shook my head. “This fucking trailer, man. Keep expecting to see my old man stumble outta that bathroom.” I had to shut my eyes and shake my head to clear the thought. “Sooner we’re gone, the better.”
 

I shoved open the screen door, exited the trailer, careful to not let the door slam—old habit. Lola wasn’t far behind me, her hand on my shoulder as I moved toward the Jeep.
 

She didn’t say anything, which was fine, since there wasn’t much to be said.
 

Eventually, she glanced up at me, digging a toe in the dirt. “Where we’re going, there’s no signal of any kind. You want to get hold of your guys, you’d best call them now.”
 

I nodded, dug my burner phone out of my pocket, dialed Duke. It rang, and rang, and rang…which wasn’t like him. He always answered on the second ring, always. Especially if it was me calling. Worry seared through me. I dialed Puck.
 

“Who’s this?”

“This is Thresh. Burner phone.”
 

He’d answered on the fourth ring. “Hey, Thresh, can’t talk long, man. Got some shit going on.”

“That shit come in the form of Euro-trash thugs?” I asked.

“Got it in one. You too?”

“Yeah. I’m about to go way off the grid and wanted to check in. You hear from Duke?”
 

“Negative. He’s been radio silent for a few days. Anselm called me, though, gave me a head’s-up. Problem is, these guys aren’t the typical bone-headed thugs Cain usually hires. These dudes know their shit. Watch your tail, big man.”
 

“This is what he wants, you know.” I let out a frustrated breath. “Separating us, keeping us off-balance.”

“Got that right, and it’s working.” I heard rustling in the background, the blare and roar of a train. “Gotta go, my ride’s here and I’m gonna lose you. Listen, you remember the spot I showed you? The Ozarks? Where we shot cans and got shitfaced?”
 

“Yeah,” I answered.
 

“Meet me there. Soon as you can make it. We gotta coordinate, take these fuckers down and go after Cain. This shit ain’t gonna fly. I got plans, and they don’t include running around this damn globe ducking bullets.”
 

“Hear that, Puck, I hear that. Can’t say when I’ll make it, but I’ll be there.”
 

“Check you later.”

“Right.” I ended the call, dialed another number.
 

Three rings, and Anselm answered. “Thresh. Did you lose your tail?”

I wondered if I wanted to know how Anselm knew it was me, since I was on a burner. “And a couple others.”

“They are on Puck’s tail, and Duke is not responding to communication. I am in search of his last known whereabouts.”
 

“Yeah, I just talked to Puck.” I lowered my voice, even though there was only Lola nearby. “I spoke to Cain himself, briefly.”

A stunned pause. “I see… and?”
 

“I think Cain might be a little smarter than Harris gives him credit for. He’s going after all of us in A1S. At once, I think.”

“I wondered about this.” Anselm paused for a moment. “I have not noticed a tail, but then, I think anyone would have a difficult time finding me anyway, even if they knew where to look. I will stay out of their purview as long as I can, see what I can do.”

“I’m getting Lola somewhere safe. You need to make sure everyone else knows what’s going on.”

“What is this safe place?”
 

“Her dad is a hermit, lives deep in the Everglades somewhere. I figured she could chill with him till we get this sorted out.”
 

“I think you should stay with her, Thresh. I know you will disagree, but you are recently injured already—”

“I lost one tail and took out three others. I think I’ll be fine.”
 

“We must begin assuming Cain is a very real threat, with a reach further than what we had originally considered.”

“You’ve got a point, but—”

“
Thresh
.” Anselm cut me off, his voice hard, which got my attention. Anselm was unfailingly polite under all circumstances, and never raised his voice. So for him to snap at me…

“Anselm?”
 

“You have never, in the years I’ve known you, expressed interest in any female to the extent which you have toward this Dr. Reed. This means something, for me. You must protect her. If they found her, when none of us even knew her name, then I think this danger goes beyond our scope of understanding. Stay with her. Protect her. I will have Lear begin tracking you, and then arrange an extraction. For her to be safe, and for us to have the use of your skills in your full capacity, then she must be in a place which we can control.”

“Fine. Agreed.”

“
Das ist gut
. Expect a call from Lear.”
 

“Thanks, Anselm.” I was about to hang up, when I remembered a promise I’d made, back in Miami, to a certain hipster-douche. “Anselm, one other thing. I sort of borrowed a car. It’s parked outside a trailer in Plantation Island, Florida. I’d like it returned to its original owner if possible, or have the guy recompensed, if not.”

“Consider it done.”
 

“Thanks, again.”

“
Es ist nichts
.”

I hung up, then, and Lola leaned against me.
 

“What’s going on?” she asked.
 

“Just making plans,” I said.

“Which are what?”
 

“Well, for now, we continue with our original plan to go see your pops, and then we hang tight. My boy Lear is going to use his hacker magic to track us, and someone is going to pop in for an extraction.”
 

“An extraction? What does that mean, exactly?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. A helicopter, probably.”
 

“There will be nowhere to land, and the backwash could cause major damage,” Lola pointed out.

“It won’t be that kind of an extraction, babe. Harris will swing by with a helicopter, pop into a hover a hundred or so feet up, and someone will be in the back to lower down a cable which we’ll hang on to while they haul us in.”

Lola stared at me, looking skeptical. “That sounds…fun?”

I laughed. “Don’t worry, Doc, I’ll keep a good hold on you.” When she only frowned harder, I rolled my eyes at her. “You’ll be clipped to the cable. It’ll be fine. I’ve done it dozens of times.”

“If you say so.”
 

I gestured at the nearby river, which I assumed led out to the channels and canals into which we were soon to be venturing. “I’m trusting you to get us in there, you trust me to get us out, okay?”
 

She nodded. “Fine. But I’m not super keen on helicopters.”
 

“And I’m not super keen on riding in a tin pot through a vast wetland. Times like this, you do what you gotta do.”

My burner phone rang just then. I accepted the call. “Lear, talk to me.”
 

“Got to make this fast, Muscles. Just stay on the line for me while I run the triangulation…” The line went quiet for several moments, and then I heard Lear snap his fingers on the other end. “Gotcha. Damn, you are
way
the hell out there, man.”

“Just getting started, my friend. I won’t have signal where I’m going.”

“That doesn’t matter. Now that I’ve got your location pinged, I can keep a close eye on you. Harris is getting a bead on a helo down that way, and then he’ll scramble one of his faster rides to get down there.”
 

“Is everyone else accounted for? I spoke to Anselm and Puck, and now you, and you’ve spoken to Harris.”

“Duke is the only one we can’t get hold of. Layla is with Harris, obviously.”
 

“Can you do anything to find Duke?”
 

“That’s why I’m trying to get you sorted as fast as possible. Either he’s intentionally gone dark, or something happened, because I’m having trouble pinning him down. I know Anselm is working things on his end, too. We’ll find him.”
 

“I’m not worried about him,” I lied. “I’m worried he’ll have all the fun without me.”
 

“He would never.” Lear was tapping at a keyboard in the background. “Okay, Harris is en route to you. He said to expect him in a few hours.”
 

“Great. See you soon, little buddy.”
 

“Oh fuck off, you damn tree.” He clicked off with an amused chuckle.
 

I stuffed the phone back into my pocket, and ran my palm over my mohawk with a frustrated huff. “Goddammit, Duke.”
 

“Someone is missing?”

I didn’t bother trying to hide the worry in my voice; something told me Lola wouldn’t see it as a weakness. “Yeah, my buddy Duke. He’s never out of communication. He’s permanently attached to that fucking iPhone of his. He’s even got this bulletproof case he had custom made, so he can take it out on ops without risking it getting blasted. For him to not answer
anybody
, let alone me? Not like him. Even if he’s in the middle of getting it on with a girl, if one of us calls, he answers. Even if just to say he’ll call back when he’s done. Even Anselm and Lear are having a tough time getting a lock on him. It’s worrying, and I don’t worry easily.”
 

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s probably just doing the same thing we are.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know Duke. Subtlety is even less his strong suit than it is mine. And he may not even stop to check in with anyone before he goes on a rampage if he were to catch wind of someone following him. The dude is my equal in every way when it comes to wreaking ruin, but once he gets his ire up, it’s almost impossible to rein him in. I learned early how to shut my shit down. Duke…doesn’t have that off button. And it can blind him.”
 

Lola’s eyes were soft on mine. “You’re really close to Duke, aren’t you?”
 

I had to look away, because the expression on her face was doing something weird to my heart, and my worry for Duke was putting a lump in my throat. “Yeah. Everybody at A1S is family, and the only family I got, but Duke…he’s the brother I never had.”

“He’ll turn up. He’ll be fine.”
 

Filipo was approaching on foot, waving for us to join him.