Page 53 of Double the Dilemma

Razor pulled out his gun and so did Karissa, her expression determined. “What building is this?” Karissa asked him. “Could it be that this is just a cellar or something for it?”

“Possible,” Razor said. “Only way to know is to ask Code to pull up the blueprints.”

“Do that,” Simba said with a nod.

Razor pulled out his phone to call Code. Code answered after a few rings, but barked, “Woman, if you don’t fucking leave me alone, I’m going to tie you up and lock you in the basement. Fuck this shit about working together.”

Razor chuckled, especially when he heard Glitch say back, “Oh, now, don’t promise me a good time like that, big guy. I might just take you up on it. But remember, turnabout is fair play, so prepare that tight ass of yours or it’s going to hurt worse when I yank out that stick you have up there.”

Code growled and Razor hurriedly said, “Brother, need your help with something. We found a hidden door in the ground in the back of the alleyway under the dumpster. Need you to pull the plans and tell us what it leads to.”

Code huffed but he heard him tapping away on his computer. “There is no record in the blueprints of anything there,” he finally said. “There is a basement in the building to the right, but it doesn’t show any kind of way to go out, other than through the building itself.”

“Who owns the building, and what kind of business is it?” Karissa asked loudly so that Code could hear her.

“I got you,” Glitch called, earning a low growl from Code. “Oh, shut up, dickhead. I’m here to help, whether you like it or not, and it’s not my fault you couldn’t think a step ahead.” A few clicks in the background and he could now clearly hear both of them. “Put me on speaker phone, pretty biker.”

Razor gave a low growl at the nickname. “I see why Code is annoyed with you,” he muttered.

“He’s annoyed because he has to share his space with someone who is obviously much more talented than he is, and it’s hard for him to take,” Glitch returned. “Now, the business is supposedly a small Italian restaurant run by a man named Tio Ricci, an Italian-American born to a man named Marco Ricci, who came to the US in the fifties with his new wife, Maria. He started the business shortly after they arrived, and now their son and his wife run it. They have three kids, Penelope, Adrianna, and Mario. The girls live out of town, but Mario is supposedly working there and helping them.”

“What does that have to do with the hole in the alley?” Razor asked in confusion. “I appreciate the history lesson, but can we get back to the murderer’s potential evil lair?”

Glitch sighed. “I swear, men don’t know how to use their brain for more than one thought at a time,” she grumbled. “I’m getting there, if you would hold your horses and let me finish. Now, the son, Mario, he’s gotten himself in trouble with the local law a few times. Mostly speeding and driving recklessly, but twice for possession. He refused to give up his dealer, but someone snitched and said they saw him meeting with none other than our man Fuzz. Fuzz spent some time in jail after that, and during that time, Mario paid him a visit. The audio wasn’t recorded due to a system problem, so there’s no record of what they were saying, but Fuzz has been a regular at the restaurant since he got out.”

“So we have a connection to Sena through Fuzz, and now it sounds like whatever this is, is probably something set up by Mario as a favor,” Karissa summarized. “Alright then, it’s either a space for holding drugs, or it’s a space for people to hide out from the law if they’re trying to avoid detection. Either way, we’re about to open a door that could get someone killed, so we need to be careful.”

“Brother, turn off your light,” Jag ordered Razor. “We’ll need the element of surprise.” Razor nodded and did as asked. He moved his bike to the road and then made his way back into the alleyway.

“What are the chances that you’ll agree to be lookout?” Simba asked Karissa mildly. She gave him a cold glare and he shrugged. “I figured I would ask. It is you she’s trying to kill, after all. I’m not exactly keen on giving her an open target.”

“She’s a terrible shot anyway, so I doubt she’ll hit me,” Karissa returned evenly. “And I’m not letting anyone take out that bitch but me. Now, I’m done talking, let’s get this show on the road.”

Simba sighed and looked at Razor. “Which means you won’t be lookout either, I suppose?” Razor shook his head. “Alright. Copper, you take watch, and keep Glitch and Code on the line in case we need them.”

“Got it,” Copper replied easily, taking Razor’s phone.

“Alright, let’s do this,” Simba said.

A whole new feeling settled over the alleyway, and Razor again saw just how well they worked together. Their faces shuttered with no emotion evident, only hard focus. They surrounded the hatch as Copper effortlessly climbed up on top of the dumpster and readied himself, gun leveled at the hole. No one spoke, and Razor barely dared to breathe. Simba looked at everyone and then nodded.

Vulture leaned down, and surprisingly his giant hand fit under the handle, though Razor had to figure it was a tight fit. He looked up at everyone, and then he pulled it away and stepped back so smoothly that it was almost a blur. Guns pointed, they listened and waited, but the hole underneath was dark except for a very small, dim light to the right. “Clear it,” Simba ordered quietly to Karissa, Razor, and Warg.

Karissa moved forward, and Razor had to fight back the urge to pull her back out of harm’s way. That would only get him in shit, and possibly alert anyone down there, though he doubted Sena was inside. If she was waiting for them then shit was about to get dangerous.

Still, he followed Karissa down, staying as close as he could. When Karissa reached the bottom, she moved back into the shadows along the wall and waited for him. The room was small, and across from the ladder was a steel door, with a beam of light coming through the cracks around it and the gap at the bottom. Warg dropped down beside him soundlessly and glanced over at him and Karissa.

“I’ll check under the door,” Karissa whispered. Razor and Warg nodded, and Razor held his breath as he waited for Karissa to lay down on the ground and inch her way forward, trying not to make any noise. When she reached the door, she put her head down to the ground and peered under the door. She laid there for a long moment, and Razor forced himself to be patient and not ask any questions.

Finally, Karissa inched herself back, got to her feet and whispered, “There is no one in there that I can see. The room is a decent size, and I think there is a bed in the corner.”

“We still go in carefully,” Warg whispered. “I’ll take the lead on this one.” Karissa looked like she wanted to argue, but she nodded. Razor stood back as Warg carefully moved toward the door, and he gave Karissa’s hip a squeeze as they waited for Warg to open the door and step in, gun drawn and ready to fire. Karissa glanced back at him and gave him a knowing look, then turned back and focused ahead.

It was a few long tense minutes until finally, Warg came back out and said, “All clear. I’ll let the others know. But now we know how Sena has been avoiding you, Xena. She has definitely been staying here.” There was something in his voice that put Razor on alert.

Karissa moved forward, Razor right behind her. When they entered the room, Razor scanned the space. The room was littered with garbage and food, the bed was unmade, and there were traces of white powder and a razor on a small table in the corner. But it was what was on the wall at the end of the bed that had him stiffening. There was a picture of Karissa, taken while she was sleeping in her apartment, and a knife sticking out of where her heart would be. “Motherfucker,” he hissed.

Karissa didn’t say anything as she continued moving around the space. Razor wished he had his phone. “We need to take a picture of this and send it to Code and the guys,” he said to her tightly.

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