Page 37 of Baby One Last Time
“The petty jobs have dried up,” he continued. “All that’s left are big fucking deals with bad fucking people. And the Feds...”
I nodded. Some of the Feds were the worst fucking people of all, and without access to serious intel, it was damn near impossible to know which ones.
“I’m still one of the good guys,” I said.
He took another drag off his cigarette, then pointed it at me. “You,” he exhaled smoke, “I believe. You’re a girl scout. You’ll always do the right thing. I respect that.” He grinned, revealing a bit of the old Frankie charm. “I will never in my life understand or agree with it, but I respect it.”
“Thanks, Frankie. That means something in this world. And if you could help me out, I’ll do as much as I can for you.” HEAT had deeper pockets for paying CIs than the feds, and if he provided information that broke open this case, I’d personally plead his case to X.
“You’ve always looked out for me, Cynthia.” He stubbed out the small butt of his cigarette. “What can I do for you?”
I clasped my hands in front of me on the table and lowered my voice. “There’s a weapons cache moving through Miami.”
“What kind of weapons?”
It’s always a fine line, deciding how many cards to show when you’re playing with criminals, even the golden-hearted ones like Frankie. “All kinds. All sizes. And a metric shit-ton of them. So many, they’d need a big space to hold them. Only...”
He widened his eyes. “No beads on a warehouse?” He nodded, catching on. “If there were locals who wanted extra holiday work, they might be of value to someone trying to move that much stuff through the city.”
“The thought had occurred to me.”
“And in negotiating the deal, it’s likely the big bads are going to tell the locals where to report for duty.” There was a gleam in his eye. He’d missed being in the game. That could work to my advantage.
I nodded. “I just need a local presence who might have some guys available to help.”
“We might be able to do a deal.” He pulled out another cigarette and rolled it, unlit, between his fingers, clearly relishing being back in the saddle. “Same terms as last time”—he shrugged one shoulder—“with, say, a ten percent increase for inflation and the general state of affairs.”
I nodded. “You come through, I’ll get you twenty.”
X would have my ass for committing HEAT money without permission, but we’d only have to pay if Frankie came through, and if he did that, we’d all be too busy celebrating for X to hold a grudge for long. Probably.
Frankie switched his cigarette to his left hand and held out his right. “You got yourself a deal.”
We shook.
“You know how to reach me,” I said.
“I’ll be in touch the minute I know anything.”
We stood and exchanged a quick hug and air kiss across the table.
“Day or night,” I told him. “And, I know this goes without saying, but—”
“Calm and quiet.” He winked at me. “You just trust old Frankie. I’ve got it covered, kid.” His mouth twitched ever so slightly at the end of his sentence.
Shit. My heart lurched and my bullshit meter tacked off the charts. Then he smiled, genuine and true, and I wondered whether I’d imagined it or had some sort of short-circuit in my brain.
I resisted the urge to run back to the SUV, but I did speed-walk. As soon as I reached the shadows thrown by buildings along the sidewalk, Mai did a U-turn out of her spot and drove farther down the street so I could climb in without Frankie getting too good a look at the vehicle. Not that he would have learned much. It was the same standard-issue, bulletproof model most of the three-letter agencies owned in droves. But I was glad for every precaution she and I had taken. That was my gut talking, telling my brain it hadn’t short-circuited after all.
But I’d cast the die, now I had to wait for the roll to play out.
“So?” she asked as she eased the SUV into the nearly empty road.
“He’s going to shake some trees,” I said. “Hopefully he’ll know something soon.”
“Nothing yet? Nothing we should tell TJ and the team?” she asked.
My radar was all over the place. Up, down, truth, lies. Even now, sorting through my conversation, I couldn’t get a clear read. God damn, I was off my game. But with nothing that made sense, there was nothing to share. “Not yet. For now, we wait.”
