Page 65 of Tony

This is what Betina hated. Recruiting. Getting lonely, outcast girls to trust her.So that I could get them shit jobs in a shit laundry for shit money.

She walked down the hall toward the cafeteria, seeing a new student standing to the side, looking around trying to not stand out.But you stand out to me. I can spot you a mile away.Old clothes, worn backpack. A hungry look…not only for food but for company.

Betina casually walked over to the student, with a small smile on her face. Too big a smile and she would look insincere. No smile would make her look unfriendly.

“Hi. You new here?” she asked.

The girl nodded, her eyes darting around as though she did not want anyone to know she was new.

“I’ve been here a while. I can sit with you during lunch if you’d like,” she added. “You want to get your lunch first?”

“I…um…don’t eat lunch. I’m not hungry,” came the reply, the girl’s chin lifting in slight defense.

“I’ve got extra if you want,” Betina offered, sitting next to the girl and offering an abundance of food from her backpack.

The girl’s eyes grew wide as she looked at the food, but gratefully dug in. Betina made small talk for a few minutes, carefully gaining the girl’s trust, while loathing herself.

“If you ever want more food my…step dad runs a grocery and he’s always giving away some food to my friends. He might even get you a job there sometime if you want.”

She knew the instant she had the unsuspecting girl hooked. It was the look in her eyes. The way she smiled at Betina like she were a saint. She handed the girl a card with the grocery’s name and address printed on it. “When you go, just show them this card and they’ll fix you up.”

The bell rung and Betina stood, saying her goodbyes. The other girl stopped her with her hand on Betina’s arm.

“Thank you so much,” she said. “This means so much to me that you would help me out. I really owe you,” she added.

Tears hit the back of Betina’s eyes as she battled to keep them at bay. “No problem,” she croaked out then turned quickly to hurry back down the hall. She bypassed her English class and bolted out of the back door. Jogging down the street to an alley she crouched down behind a dumpster, finally letting the tears flow.

Cursing Hernando and whoever he worked for. Cursing her mother for being weak and not seeing what was going on in her own home. Cursing herself for being afraid to get out from under Hernando’s control.

The tears finally abated and she sat a few more minutes in misery.If I think this is bad, what about when I start recruiting at a bus stop.She gritted her teeth and screamed out in frustration. Shaking with fury, she felt her tears flow again. Down the alley, a back door opened as a man came out trying to identify the scream. She hurried around the corner out of sight, wiping her tears away once more.

Taking a deep breath, she made her way to the nearest bus stop, knowing that she had no choice but to start Hernando’s new assignment as soon as possible.One more year until I graduate. One more year, mom, and then you’re on your own. One more year and I’ll leave Hernando forever. Please…just one more year.

20

Tony, Gabe, BJ, and Jobe parked their panel van across from the laundry, eyeing the building.

“Figured we could get one wide screen camera on this old apartment building here on this side of the road and it would capture the entire front of the laundry. Then we’ve got lots of places for the alley to get the back door. That would give us maximum vision on the exits,” Jobe stated.

Tony nodded his agreement, saying, “Let’s get going.”

With the three men in nondescript uniforms they went to work, giving off the impression to any onlooker that they were from a utility company checking lights.

While Gabe and Jobe secured the hardware, Tony watched the front of the building for any observers, pleased to see that they did not appear to be attracting any unwanted attention. BJ worked in the back of the van with his computers, making sure of the connections and the visibility on his screens.

“Looks good, boss,” he reported as Gabe and Jobe climbed back into the van.

Driving around to the back they repeated the operation. “What do you think is going on, Captain?” Jobe asked.

“Don’t really know. That’s why I haven’t called in Matt or Shane yet. But Sherrie was attacked near here. Lily says there is a high turnover of employees and when she dug deeper, she wasn’t too sure about the tax records for the laundry. If Sherrie is working with this guy’s stepdaughter, then I want to know what’s happening.”

Gabe and Jobe made quick work of installing the camera in the alley and as soon as BJ cleared it as operational, they headed to Hernando’s grocery store to do the same.

Tony sat in the driver’s seat watching as Hernando walked out of the front of the building and waited on the sidewalk. After a few minutes, two teenage girls with a younger boy with them came around the corner. They approached Hernando cautiously before handing him a card. Hernando made a grandiose gesture of bringing them inside.

To the outside world, he looked like a generous neighborhood businessman, but the hairs on Tony’s neck stood up. Too many years trained to notice every detail of his surroundings, including people, had him distrusting the man instantly.Fucker’s up to something.The idea of Sherrie having to be in the man’s presence at all had him gritting his teeth so hard he thought they would break.

His attention was diverted when Gabe and Jobe joined them in the van again.

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