Maurice was a well-built man, built like a tank to be more precise, and he was one of Benicio’s most impressive soldiers, loyal and disciplined to a fault. Maurice had been with him back in the early days, in the glory days when Benicio and his brother Guillermo were key political players in Panama, getting rich under General Noriega. When Noriega was ousted in the American invasion, Benicio had been set up by his traitorous brother; connected to illegal smuggling; and imprisoned for twenty years. Still, Maurice was loyal to Benicio, even when he came with Guillermo to the United States, where Guillermo's shipping connections made him a force to be reckoned with in the smuggling market. Maurice continued to provide intelligence to Benicio, waiting for the day when Benicio would return to deal with his brother's treachery. Last year, he had returned.
And Guillermo had been dealt with, with the help of Benicio's daughter and the Inferno Motorcycle Club. The same club that Benicio suspected was now betraying him.
"At ease," Benicio said. "Have a seat. Tell me what you found." Benicio sat behind the large mahogany desk.
“Sir,” Maurice began. “We were able to acquire the reports from the medical examiner's office and the fire department, as well as video footage from security cameras on a building in the vicinity of your warehouse. In addition, we interviewed a homeless man who witnessed some of what happened."
“And what did you find?” Benicio was eager to clear up what had happened at the warehouse. Maurice had carte blanche when it came to tracking down intel, greasing palms or blackmailing whoever needed extra incentive to provide information. And he was very good at what he did.
“The coroner has identified the body, but the office has not made the information public yet.”
“Ours?”
"No, sir," he said. "They've identified the body as one of theirs - Jonah Wilson. Goes by the name of Tank. Dental records confirmed."
"You found security footage?"
Maurice nodded. "The owners were happy to hand over the originals."
"Excellent," Benicio said. "I trust they were well compensated for their willingness.”
“Of course, sir.”
"You said there was something interesting you wanted to show me."
“Yes, sir, on the video footage.” Maurice opened the cover for his tablet and slid his finger across the screen, then turned it to face Benicio. “This is footage from 10:30 am on the day of the fire.”
Benicio watched as the video played, and three bikers parked their motorcycles behind a row of dumpsters adjacent to the warehouse. “The men Mad Dog tasked to the warehouse, the protection detail. That was all kosher." He waited as the bikers removed their gear. "Well there's Axe. I recognize him. I don't know the other one."
"One of them is the one who was killed. The other is Joe Holder - goes by Crunch. He does the books for the club."
"I see."
“All Inferno MC, sir,” Maurice said. He pressed “play” on another video clip. “This is what happens at 10:42.”
Benicio watched as the three bikers wearing Inferno MC leathers rode up to the warehouse. They parked by the front entrance and removed weapons from underneath their leathers, sub-machine guns from the general shape and outline. One threw something inside the warehouse, and then a plume of smoke erupted.
“Flash-bangs,” Benicio said.
Maurice nodded. “Keep watching.”
Benicio watched as the bikers sprayed the warehouse with gunfire aimed at the three Inferno MC members inside, then as one of the fuel containers inside the warehouse exploded and the building caught fire. “Those thugs. Morons.”
Maurice nodded. “The rest of the video clips are more of the same. The warehouse goes up in smoke, and the first set of bikers leave. The other two bikers escaped out the back, and sped off on their motorcycles. A homeless man witnessed it as well.”
Benicio drummed his fingers on the table. “So, the Inferno just used one of my warehouses as a hit location. And Axe and another biker escaped.”
“That’s what it seems like, sir,” Maurice said. “Both groups of bikers were wearing Inferno cuts. Could be an informal squabble being taken care of, or some type of power play going on. Hard to know without digging around into the club’s business.”
“Dig,” Benicio ordered. “I want to know exactly what we’re dealing with here. Regardless, the end result is that I ended up with a hot warehouse, a dead biker, and the whole fucking place riddled with bullet holes and up in flames. If we didn’t have a couple of people already on the take within the LVPD, there would be a number of organizations sniffing around this.”
“I will start digging, sir,” Maurice said.
“This stays between the two of us. I want to know exactly what the Inferno MC is up to now, as well as what the dynamics are between the club members and Mad Dog. I want to know everything. Weaknesses, vulnerabilities. I don’t want to be blindsided by something like this again."
"Yes, sir. I'll get on it immediately."
"Dani came to me before she and Blaze left for Cambodia, wanted a quiet exit out of the country. Blamed it on wanting to get away from the club, having a regular honeymoon. I should have known there was something more she wasn't saying." Benicio said it more to himself than to Maurice.
"Should we get someone on them, Sir?"
Benicio shook his head. "I'm not sure what the angle is here yet. But the Inferno have no reach in Cambodia, I'm sure. Axe, on the other hand... Dani asked us to check in, keep an eye on him. Said he was drinking too much. Personal problems."
"Now he's got more than just personal problems."
"Yes. He does," Benicio said. "Do we have a track on him?"
"No, sir," Maurice said. "But we'll get one."
"Find him and the other biker."