She frowns and sighs. She puts her shoulders back and I almost smirk. Such a bold little rabbit. “Because zinc chloride is a special combination that not many people around here would know how to work with. It has to be manufactured in a controlled lab. There are only two labs that can control the liquid form. And only one on this side of the state that can control the dust form.”
Hypnos stares hard at Charlotte. “How do you know this little warrior?”
I release her face, and she stares at him.
“Because I know a person who is well versed in compounds and science. He took me to every college to visit so I could see their science labs. He wanted me to have choices, and I found out the college here in Timberland has a state-of-the-art science lab.”
She stops talking and looks down. Ayres reaches out and takes her hand. I hold on to her waist. “Who is this person you are telling us about, little rabbit?”
“My guardian. He helped me with my final exam to get into college. He helped me make a controlled dust cloud of zinc chloride and smoke.”
Charlotte gulps, worrying her bottom lip. I loosen my hold on her. My rage is about to go off the charts.
“Who. Is. He,” I spit out.
She bites her bottom lip, and I want to go on a warpath. “Please, I don’t think it’s him. He would never hurt a fly.” Her eyes are full of unshed tears.
Before I can stop Ayres, he gets up and takes Charlotte into his arms. He shakes her hard. “Tell us who he is.” I stand up and so does Hypnos. I walk over to them.
“Enough. Release her.” Hypnos pulls Charlotte from Ayres’s grasp as I stand between them.
“Calm down, Ayres,” I tell him and look at Hypnos holding Charlotte.
“Little rabbit, you aren’t in trouble. But you need to tell us who this person is.” I keep my tone even, hoping she will give the name willingly.
“His name is David Smith. He… he goes by Haydes. He doesn’t live in Timberland. But he works at the social services building in Timberland. Main and Toler Road. Right side corner. But he took a vacation about a month ago. He said he wanted to work on his tan.”
Even though I want to punch a wall, I don’t. We all stand here quietly for a moment. Charlotte can’t know we are aware of who Haydes is. That son of a bitch. I’m going to kill him.
“Thank you, Charlotte,” Hypnos says as he holds her to him. “You’ve done well, little warrior.”
I pull my gun holster on. “Charlotte, you are to stay here with Ayres. Hypnos, go to the office and find our money. Ayres, I want you to comb through all the known bomb makers and find their signatures. I’m going to have a chat with Haydes.”
Hypnos hugs Charlotte one more time and then leaves. He’s good with computers. That’s where he needs to be for now.
“Go easy on Charlotte. She’s not a part of this,” I tell Ayres, not waiting to hear what he has to say back. The door slams behind me as I make my way to my SUV. As I drive to town, I think back to when we all used to be friends.
* * *
“Haydes,man, why are you so damn stubborn?” I hit the desk with my fist. I’m pissed once again.That seems to be my go-to feeling when he’s around.
“Because if we are going to rule this city, we have to be faster, stronger, and smarter. The old days are dead. Everything is controlled electronically. If we don’t adapt and learn to use these machines to leverage our crimes, we are dead in the water.”
“Hypnos already has the computer world on tap. I need you to control the shipments.”
I watched Haydes grow angrier.Anytime I mention that I don’t want him working with computers, he gets mad. I know he wants to be in the office, but he’s better at controlling the shipments. He knows how to control the employees better than any of us down at the docks. I’ve tried to explain that this is a strength and not a weakness.
“Hypnos is a forensic computer analyst in accounting. We need viruses, untraceable hacks, and sabotage software. The money part is covered. But what I’m suggesting for our organization will take out the entire competition.”
“No, now fucking handle the new compounds and stop wasting my time. We don’t need any of that flashy shit.”
As I walked away from him, he called me a bastard. I didn’t care, and I wasn’t willing to change. Our organization stood on its own. Although we were bat shit crazy, we had a code. We didn’t need computers to rule this city.
.
The crisp nightair batters me as I crouch in the trees across from the camping cabin the brothers own. It took me a few days, but I remembered where they would run to. I wouldn’t have to go to such lengths if the fuckers would have answered my threats. My patience is on a tight leash. One I’m not sure I can keep control of for much longer. It’s just like the past all over again. I’d have a brilliant plan, and they’d ignore it. It used to drive me insane. Now, I’m about to murder them all and to hell with the fucking plan.
My little bird is in there, caving to them. I can only hope they haven’t damaged her beyond repair. I know I should call the police, but I’m not involving them for purely selfish reasons. Besides, they own half the police force. The look on their faces when I take everything from them, will be worth the wait.
