“So that’s what you got close to us,” he said. “Anything bigger this side of the river?”
“No,” Liberty said. “Not on paper at least. Their big stuff’s still in Philly. Skyscrapers, riverfront buildings, fancy glass towers. Legal fronts with ten illegal ones buried in their basements. Out here? You’re looking at satellite bullshit. Middle-man stash points. Money counting. Product cooling. Nothing they’re going to cry over if it burns. They’ll be annoyed, not injured.”
8-Ball tapped the map with one blunt finger. “We could hit these three in a night,” he said. “Roll in, break shit, roll out. But if all we’re doing is putting dents in fenders when the engine’s still purring…” He let it trail.
Snake Eyes stopped flipping his pen. “We’d be spending bodies on something they can write off with one insurance claim,” he said. “Feels like pissing in the ocean and calling it a flood.”
He wasn’t wrong.
We could go in. We could make a mess. Hell, we’d probably enjoy it more than it was healthy. But the ledger pages were clear enough: the money that mattered the most was stacked closer to Tesauro’s house. The skyscrapers. The condos. The docks.
“You want me to have the girls start casing any of it?” Liberty asked. “We can keep an eye on the Jersey spots. See who comes and goes. Maybe catch a face that matters to them doing something stupid.”
“Maybe,” Blackjack said. “Eyes on everything you can manage without overextending. I don’t want you out guns or down bodies if it won’t matterin the long run. No point in wasting resources on the ones that won’t actually hurt them.”
Liberty let out an audible sigh. “I agree. I’ll keep babysitting the bomb. If shit gets dicey Alice, let me know. I’ll send bodies down to help.”
“We appreciate the childcare,” 8-Ball said dryly.
She snorted. “Did Roman give you anything else yet?” she asked. “Beyond oaths and promises?”
“Not specifics,” Blackjack said. “Just told me he’s got fail-safes and he’s going to use them. Something that’ll drag Tesauro’s attention to one spot. He likes keeping his drama close to his chest.”
“Old men with empires and secrets. Their love language truly is a bunch of cryptic bullshit.”
“You’ll be looped in when he stops talking in poetry,” Blackjack said. “Until then, keep your compound tight and your girls close to their guns.”
“Always do,” she said. There was a pause, then softer, “Tell your boys… tell them Raptor’s name isn’t just in your clubhouse. We’re carrying him here too. The Shore Vipers don’t forget.”
Everyone in the room went a little still.
“We appreciate that,” Blackjack said quietly.
“Now go plan some violence,” Liberty said, shoving the mood sideways before it turned sentimental. “Valkyrie, don’t let them get too cute though. I want payback and some fun too.”
Valkyrie’s mouth pulled into something that almost counted as a smile. “I promise,” she said.
The line then clicked dead.
Blackjack sat back, rubbing a hand over his face. He stared at the map like he could will it to give up an answer it hadn’t yet.
“So, that’s where we are,” he said. “Roman’s playing chess. We’ve got a ledger full of places we can punch that’ll sting Tesauro but not cripple. Big ticket items are in a city that will bring cops and cameras down on our heads if we go full scorched earth. Maybe before we even get across the bridge. He hit our strips, our bar, our armory, Dante’s club, Raptor. We owe him. But we’re not throwing ourselves into downtown Philly without a parachute and an escape plan.”
8-Ball nodded slowly. “We can hurt him laterally,” he said. “The Jersey spots, the smaller fronts. Hit enough of them and he starts to feel static in his cashflow. Annoy a man like that long enough and maybe he moves his hand where we can break it.”
“Annoyance isn’t enough,” Snake Eyes said now leaning forward. “We need leverage. Fear. Something bigger that makes him think twice before sending another SUV to any of our doors.”
“That’s what Roman’s supposed to be cooking up,” Spade said. “Tesauro’s afraid of losing his spot at that table more than he’s afraid of us throwing bricks at his windows.”
Blackjack exhaled. “So, we do both,” he said. “Let’s prep to hit the smaller spots, but we don’t pull the trigger until we know how Roman’s setting the board. No solo trips into Philly. No cowboy bullshit.You see anything Vincino, you don’t touch it. Not yet. Not unless it’s some lone body you can snuff out without risking your own skin.”
He looked at me, then at Valkyrie.
“You two stay put for today,” he added. “You’ve been running point on too much of this. Take the damn chance to breathe while we still have it.”
“Don’t threaten me with rest,” I said.
He snorted. “Get out of here,” he said. “We’ll keep chewing on this. I’ll update you if anything changes.”
