“Tailor and Alec. They were bored.” The entire room laughed.
“We’ll have a talk with them,” said Chief. “I promise, if you’re one of the good guys, they’re harmless.”
“And if we’re not?” asked Ernie. Trevon stared at them and then nodded.
“God help you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Chief? We’ve got a problem,” said Forrest. “We’ve got Santori on the line and he wants to speak with you.”
“Me? How does he know who I am?” asked Chief.
“Uh, well,” smirked Forrest, “he said he wanted to speak to the six-foot-five ape with the reddish-brown hair and a mean stare. His words. Not mine.”
“That sounds like half the guys in the room,” he smirked. “Okay. Fine. Put him through. Mr. Santori! So nice to see you.”
“We both know that you’re lying,” frowned the older man. “I don’t believe we’ve met but no matter. I’ve met your kind.”
“My kind? That sounds vaguely like an insult,” said Chief.
“It wasn’t vague at all. Listen, we’re going to make a deal. You give me my worthless nephew back and I’ll tell the president that our deal is off.” Chief stared at the screen. No man was worth the billions in oil that this vein would bring them.
“I’m afraid I don’t believe you,” said Chief. “See, I know what that oil is worth and I know how big it is. I also know that in just a few hours, there will be a press conference announcing the discovery of the vein and the company that has been chosen to drill for it. Sadly, it is not SanOil.”
“What a surprise,” grimaced the man on the screen. “Let me guess. Robicheaux Oil and Gas won the bid. Oh, wait. There was no bidding process. They just swept in and took over like they always do.”
“They didn’t sweep in,” said Chief. “They are an American company with nearly a hundred years of experience in the industry. It made sense to get them to do the work.”
“Them? Don’t you mean, you? We all know that you’re somehow connected to them. It matters not. You’ve got the oil, I want my nephew.”
“See, that’s where we have a problem. We have the oil, that’s true. We’ve got the land, that’s true. We’ve got the farmers nice and safe, that’s true. And, we have your nephew nice and safe, that’s true as well. I don’t see where you have any leverage at all over us to get your nephew back.
“Even if we don’t have to go to court, or we don’t file charges for all the cremated remains we’ve found, he would still be a dead man in your hands and we’re not willing to take that risk,” said Chief.
“You have no idea what you’re doing,” he said glaring at him. “He’s my family and I want him back. I’ll simply tell the government that you’ve kidnapped him.”
“Come on,” laughed Chief. “That’s about as weak as it gets. One phone call and he’ll be able to prove he’s not here against his will. What is it that you’re afraid we’ll find, Santori? We’ve already located the cremated remains. We’ve found evidence of bone, fabric, and teeth. We can trace back nearly every person you’ve murdered in your sick schemes. What else is he going to tell us?
“If it’s about you and the POTUS sucking each other’s dicks, we already know that.”
“You’re disgusting,” he spat. “We have a business relationship, that’s all.”
“Yes, a business relationship that benefits no one except the two of you. Whatever you’re scheming, we don’t want a part of it and for as long as your nephew needs a place to hide, we’ll provide it.”
There was noise behind Santori and a slow smile crept to his face.
“I don’t think you will,” he said with a satisfied grin.
“Chief!” yelled Garr running into the barn. “Chief!” He muted the call and looked over at Garr who was signing to him. Chief’s face blanched, the expression now one of pure terror and the desire to kill.
“Ah, I see you’ve heard,” he smiled. “I have friends as well. Chief. Call me back with where to pick up my nephew and maybe, just maybe, I’ll tell you where to pick up your wives.”
The line went dead and Chief stared at the room.
“What the fuck just happened?” asked Trevon.
“L-Lucy. Lucy and Rachel were taken while they were in the fields. They shot Chaos. Shot him. Sniff called for Claire to come down. The local vet is taking care of him right now. They had them in the car before we could even react, Chief.”
