Page 46 of Rise of the King (Checkmate 5)

CAB – is a ghost. I don’t know that one.

ML – I don’t know that one, either.

I’m working on it.

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From: KingOnD8

Subject: That’s a lot of unknowns!

What exactly do you do each day, Ace? Because you have a lot of fucking unknowns, and not enough answers! Give me something. Give me coordinates; I’ll take care of the rest.

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From: AcesAndEights

Subject: Fuck you!

And fuck you again!

I work myself into the ground for this intel. Shut the fuck up and sit down. Don’t question my work ethic again.

Find CAB, find Trenton, and find ML. That’s your mission!

You think you’re so smart, figure it out.

Flipping screens, I find the internet search engine and start simple:what is CAB?

509,000,000 results, and 0.50 seconds later, I bite off a string offucks.

It’s a fucking taxi.

Not helpful!

Trying again, I type inCAB sex club.

Nothing.

Ithasto be a club; whatever the initials are, one of them has to be a club. Clubs are this empire’s bread and butter; it’s where they bring their girls; it’s where they train and sell them. In the back alleys behind the clubs is where they buy and sell drugs and guns.

CAB or ML must stand for a club somehow.

Typing inML sex club, I get a bunch of hits. Too many hits, but it’s better than getting a fucking taxi. Taking out a pen and paper, I start listing all of the clubs in the city whose name speaks to me, and whose website’s interior photos make me think of Abel and Pete’s clubs.

Murphy’s Law.

Monster Lounge.

Mr. Love.

Fuck me, could Mr. Love be any creepier?

Deciding to work from the creepiest back to reasonable, I stand and pull my beanie back on. Out of habit, I check my gun and place it back under my shirt, then, leaving my things on my bed, I swing back toward the front door and pull on a coat since I left my other in Soph’s apartment.

I’m going to sit in these clubs until I find Trenton, then I’m going to find his boss and take him out.

I’m not playing. This isn’t a fucking game to me. This is my brother’s life, and even if I want to beat the shit out of Kane for being an impatient prick, I still refuse to let him get hurt because I wasn’t paying attention.

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