It was Jefferson, who was leaning against the car, wearing civilian clothes. Nugent was sitting on the hood, arms folded, his eyes hidden behind aviator sunglasses. In my exuberance over being with my men, I’d practically forgotten about these two.
“Well, X, you’re free,” Jefferson stated. “So you know what that means . . .” His broad smile revealed every last one of his teeth.
He turned his attention to Elijah. “Cash on delivery. That was our deal, right?”
Elijah stared at him blankly, but I had to give credit where credit was due. They’d planned and executed something I honestly didn’t think they could pull off. I said to Elijah, “You got their money?”
He nodded, waving over Samuel and Adam, two of our men who were posted closest to us. Each man was carrying a green duffle bag. Samuel handed a bag to me, and I opened it, pulling out a thick stack of money for all to see.
“As promised, half a million dollars each.” I put the money back in and tossed the first bag to Nugent, who caught it on the fly. He opened the bag, showing Jefferson the contents with a smile.
“Hey, what about me?” Jefferson rubbed his hands together greedily.
“Don’t worry, Jefferson. I got yours here too.” I turned to Adam, who handed me the bag he was holding. I tossed the bag to Jefferson, who unzipped it and pulled out a thick wad of cash.
“Now, that’s what I’m talking about.” Jefferson’s greedy ass started doing the happy dance.
The distinctive sound of rounds being chambered stopped Jefferson’s dancing. He and Nugent looked up to see Samuel and Adam pointing their firearms at the two screws.
“Motherfucker, you got to be kidding me, X!” Jefferson shouted. “Are those guns?”
“First of all, my name isn’t X,” I stated for clarity. I glanced at the 9mm pistols Samuel and Adam were pointing at them. “Secondly, yeah, they look like guns. What do you think, Elijah? They look like guns to you?”
Elijah nodded. “Definitely guns.”
“What’s going on here, Xavier?” Nugent dropped the bag and raised his hands. There was no question about it; he was scared, but he remained cool as a cucumber. “We’ve done a lot to help you and your people, including putting our livelihoods on the line helping you escape. All we want is our money and to go home. I thought we were all friends here.”
“Friends,” I replied. “I don’t think so. I like to think of us as business associates whose association has come to a conclusion. And for the record, I really appreciate all the hard work you’ve done for the cause, especially breaking me out. Regrettably, you know entirely too much about me and my organization, and your partner talks entirely too much. Eventually someone’s going to figure out your involvement in my escape. So your services are no longer required.” On that note, Elijah and I turned toward the cars.
“X, you son of a bitch! You’re not going to get away with—”
Bam! Bam! Bam!
I never looked back, but I can assure you those were the last words Jefferson ever spoke.
Vegas
9
Twenty minutes after I left my car, I stepped out of a wooded stretch of land and was met by the fence that surrounded an expensive gated condo complex. I hopped the fence, staying in the shadows as I made my way toward the buildings. Earlier in the day, Marie and I had visited the place as prospective buyers. Of course, she had no idea I was really scouting the place out for tonight’s business, but as the realtor took us around the property, I was able to get the lay of the land, so I knew exactly which condo unit I was headed to now.