Page 52 of Pitbull
“Wait, Pit’s got a girl?” Barbie asked. “When did this happen?”
“When we weren’t lookin’,” Tex replied.
“E tu, Tex?” Pitbull frowned.
The whole team had a good chuckle.
“All I’m saying,” Beast said. “Is our Pitbull all all grown up. And the woman he’s claimed—well, she’s the type to keep him in line.”
“Who?” They all chorused.
“Beast!” Pitbull warned. “She could be listening.”
“No, she’s not.” Tex guffawed. “She’s in the bathroom. I’ll give you the heads up when she returns.”
“Oh! You’re such an ass!” Pitbull tossed his free hand up. “Traitors.”
“Anke,” Beast replied. “He has a thing for Anke.”
“Ooooh!” The rest of the team teased.
Pitbull facepalmed.
Luckily, Anke returned and Tex warned them by welcoming her back to the room. Pitbull didn’t know if he could go another round of teasing. The truth was, being with Anke wasn’t a secret. But he wasn’t sure if she wanted everyone to know. Hell, he wasn’t even certain what they were to each other.
He kept his eyes on the time, watching the time tick away as if there wasn’t a care in the world.
“Mouth,” Barbie said. “Come take over.”
Pitbull glanced up to see Mouth scrambling through the center of the vehicle as Barbie eased to a stop along a dark street. Soon, Barbie had taken Mouth’s spot and was drawing her rifle bag out from under her seat.
The first stop was to drop Pitbull and Crash off. He didn’t wait for the truck to begin its travel before he and Crash took off through an alley leading behind the houses. Neighbourhoods like this always gave Pitbull a strange feeling. They seemed too perfect with their manicured lawns and white picket fences.
It took less then three minutes for Beast to ask for a roll call. One by one, the team sounded off and Pitbull knew it was time for Tex to work his magic.
“Aw’right, brothers.” Tex drawled. “There are no cameras in or around the premises except one in the panic room. Other than that, the place is clean. I’ve deactivated the security system on the doors. Do your thing.”
Crash picked the lock while Pitbull backed him up and soon, they were entering the home of their suspect. All the lights in the place were on and for a moment, Pitbull feared someone would be home. After quickly checking each room, they realized no one was home. For the first time, he took a good look around. Penrod seemed to be doing quite well for himself. It seemed strange he would still be holding a grudge over being let go from CIRO.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Crash asked, sliding his fingers into a pair of latex gloves.
“This is one of those we’ll-know-it-when-we-see-it deals,” Pitbull replied.
“I was afraid you’d say that.”
Together, they divided up the house and began going through each room. Pitbull was careful not to leave a trace they were even there. It was about four minutes and Pitbull was beginning to think they would come up empty when Crash called him. He hurried up the stairs and skidded to a stop beside Crash who was staring into a closet.
“Tex, are you seeing this?” Crash asked.
“Yup—taking pictures now.”
“Okay, this is beginning to get really irritating,” Pitbull growled. “Another closet full of my pictures.”
“You mean this sort of thing happens a lot?” Crash asked.
“Too much of late.” He stepped by Crash to peer at what was glued to the wall. After a while he frowned. “Beast.”
“Here.”
