Operation Endurance

CHAPTER 28

He parked his car at an angle in front of the gang of juvenile delinquents leaning up against the chain-link fence.

“Yo, man, you’re in our space. That could be dangerous for a man like you,” one of the punks called to him.

“Yeah, well, I’m not too worried. Go fetch your boss-man, Slade. We have some business to discuss.” As a group, the punks relaxed their stature. Knowing Slade was a shoe-in for safety within this group.

He leaned up against the hood of his car while he waited, looking over the motley group to memorize their faces. There was no telling when information about one or more of them might prove useful to him.

On the verge of losing his patience, finally he spotted Slade coming through the doorway. The cocky bastard was strolling like he had all the time in the world. It was time to disabuse him of that notion.

He flicked his thumb toward the passenger door and growled, “Get in.”

A momentary flash of wariness popped into Slade’s eyes, but then he seemed to remember that all his homies were watching him closely. Slade couldn’t show weakness if he wanted to stay in control of these boys, so he ambled toward the car like he didn’t have anything to worry about.

As they drove away, he asked, “So how have things been going for you, Slade? Did that little problem I took care of for you a couple of months ago work out?”

“Yeah,” the kid mumbled.

“Good, good, because now it’s time for you to show your appreciation for what I did for you.” He tossed Slade a manila envelope. “I need you and your boys to take care of this guy. He’s become a problem for me. I don’t care how you do it or what you do to him. Just get him out of my way. The details about where he lives and works are in there. Make sure you take care of him when he’s alone. I don’t want any other collateral damage. Do we understand each other?”

Slade nodded.

“By the way, I heard your sister, Louisa, has a little problem. No worries. I’ll get it taken care of. Remember, you scratch my back, I scratch yours.”

The naked fear in Slade’s eyes made him smile. His problem would be taken care of soon. Slade knew the score and what would happen if he failed.

They pulled back up in front of the group of boys where he’d originally parked. Slade grabbed the door handle, but he stopped Slade before he was able to exit the car.

“Oh, and Slade, the guy has a bad left knee. You can take advantage of that. Just make sure you do it as soon as possible.”

As he drove away, he chuckled to himself. Soon, the neighbor would be out of the way and if for some reason Slade failed at his job, well, Louisa fit the profile for one of his special ones perfectly.

Number nine had been taken care of last night. Just a few more and then all would be right in his and Jocelyn’s world.