Ace is gasping for breath at this point. “Come here andfight!” he yells.
I step out of the shadows.
The three crew members shuffle back as if I’m a monster.
I speak calmly, both hands raised. “Now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, let’s talk. I want to make a deal.”
Ace breathes hard. “Think again, punk. We’ll never work with you.”
I study each of them. “Which one of you is Rasheed?”
The first guy who attacked me looks away.
“I have access to each of your accounts,” I say conversationally. “And I found something really interesting onhisphone.” I point to Rasheed.
Rasheed visibly swallows.
“How long have you been stealing from the Crew?” I ask.
“Shut up!” Ace snarls. “Don’t listen to him!”
“Rasheed has been doing business on behalf of your crew, but he’s been scraping off the top.”
“Is that true?” Rico, the one on Ace’s right, glares at Rasheed.
“I… I…”
“Damn, bro,” Rico spits. “Are you crazy? You know how Robin gets about stealing from our own.”
The whites of Rasheed’s eyes are clearly visible. “H-how do you know about that?”
“Don’t keep receipts on your phone, you dodo bird,” J mumbles in my ears.
“That’s not the right question, Rasheed. The right question is… whoelseknows?” I prowl toward him, and they all shuffle backward on cue. “What happens if your boss finds out?”
“He’s bluffing.” Ace moves his head back and forth. “Don’t listen to him.”
J pipes up. “Ask Ace how that worked out for Pen.”
I have no idea who Pen is, but I slip a hand into my pocket and recite, “Not listening to reason is why things ended badly for Pen.”
Like puppets pulled on a string, all three of them jerk back.
“That’s crazy,” Rico hisses.
“How do you know about Pen?” Ace demands. “Who the hell are you?”
“Again. Not an important question.” I check the clock symbol on my phone. It’s time to wrap this up. J hasn’t slept for over twelve hours, and Dr. Kenji was firm about her needing to recover. “In the next two minutes, my people are goingto send your leader all the screenshots documenting your embezzlement.”
“You can’t use big words around Ace,” J advises.
“Ace, embezzlement is just a big word for stealing,” I explain.
Ace’s nostrils flare, and his eyes bulge to the point of exploding out of their sockets. He hates me with his every breath. I don’t need to read through my expressions handbook to see the signs. However, he can’t do anything.
I have him cornered.
“Don’t.” Rasheed drops to his knees. “Please. He’ll kill me.”
