We were on the south side of the factory, a block away from the nearest vehicular entrance to that mammoth property.Why was there a van over here?
“So this is the place,” Archer said, straightening his tie as he pointed out the squat brick building to Trojan.“It’s got twenty units inside, though you wouldn’t guess it.”
Trojan nodded, his gaze slowly drifting over the uninspiring façade.“And you guys are going to…develop it?”
“No.Just hold.”Archer cleared his throat, glancing around as though someone might be listening.“We’re trying to get as many as we can in this area.”
“As close to the factory as possible,” I added.
Trojan’s gaze slid away from the apartment building, zeroing in on some cars down the street.I followed his gaze, but then I looked toward the Cross van again.While I stewed in my confusion, I stepped onto the street.“Let’s get closer.”
As soon as my foot hit the pavement, Trojan’s hand shot out across my chest.A millisecond later, a dark SUV zoomed past, mere feet away from me.I barely had time to realize what had happened.
“Jesus!”Archer shouted, peering down the street.“Fucking Cross Developments.”
“You need to look both ways,” Trojan admonished lightly with a subtletut tut.
“Thanks, Dad.”I adjusted my suit coat, drawing a deep breath to calm my racing heart.Maybe Cross Developments wasn’t actively trying to kill me, but they’d almost succeeded.We crossed the street without incident, stepping up onto the broken sidewalk outside the apartment building.
“Do you want to go in?”I asked Archer.
“We could.”His gaze landed on the front door, which looked to be hanging open.“I don’t want to spook anyone, though.”
I watched further down the sidewalk.There was activity at the Cross Developments van—workers opening the back door and unloading equipment of some sort.
“I wanna know whatthey’redoing,” I muttered, jerking my chin in their direction.“We’re a city block from the fucking factory, why are they here?”
“Maybe no parking,” Trojan cracked.
“Why would they need street parking when they own a square mile of pavement?”I turned back to the apartment building, trying to shake the ominous feeling.“We should buy this.”
“This is building one of three on this street,” Archer said, pulling up some information on his tablet.
“Do we have the owner’s contact information?”I asked.
“Julia’s got it,” Archer responded.“She’s ready to offer as soon as we say go.”
“That’s a go from me.”
Archer nodded, swiping through screens.“Sending to Julia now.”
I stuffed my hands into my pockets, squinting back down the sidewalk.Men walked our way, some with hardhats, others without, a few carrying what looked like surveying equipment.I kept waiting for them to peel off and have business with a different building, but no.My gut cinched into a knot as they got closer.
"What the fuck?"Archer said under his breath.
They stopped just short of us near the front door of the building.Metal clanked as they unfolded their equipment and got things set up.Archer and I exchanged a confused look but we held our ground.Trojan stood by, arms crossed, keeping an eye on the workers.Nobody seemed to even notice us.
After several more moments, surveying equipment popping up around us, I became too curious to restrain myself.
“Are we in the way, fellas?”I asked.
One of the workers looked up and shook his head.“You’re fine.”
Our business here was done, but I felt inclined to stay longer, just to see what these guys were really up to.Trojan cleared his throat again, nodding toward the sidewalk.I followed his gaze to see someone new coming down the sidewalk.
A tall man strode toward us, dressed in a tailored charcoal suit with leather shoes.His hair was perfectly styled, notable even from down the sidewalk.From a distance, he looked like a dude from a cologne ad.As he approached, his features came into clearer view, and the confident smirk told me exactly who this man was.
“That’s Cross,” Archer murmured.
