“No.”
The club is completely deserted, considering how early it is.
We head around to the side entrance where a wiry man with darting eyes and a nervous twitch waits for us.
“This him?” Brennan asks under his breath.
“Guess we’re about to find out.” I focus on the man as we approach. “Are you Gus?”
He kicks at the ground, avoiding my gaze. “You’ve got ten minutes, tops. I can hold the feed that long, but if anyone notices the loop…”
“We’ll be gone. Where’s the office?”
“Second floor. Look for the red door at the end of the corridor.”
Brennan and I don’t hang around, making polite conversation.
Gus unlocks the door, and we duck inside the club.
We move fast, neither one of us speaking as we sprint across the main floor and take the stairs to the second floor.
Just as Gus promised, we find the red door at the end of the corridor, which has been propped open by a wooden crate.
“Down to nine minutes,” Brennan states as I kick the crate aside and shut the door behind us.
“Whoever decorated this place deserves to be shot,” I eye the tacky leather furniture before getting to work checking the walls for false panels as Brennan starts pulling open the desk drawers. “Time?”
“Six minutes.”
“Fuck.” I abandon my section and move onto the filing cabinet tucked away in the corner.
The first two drawers are nothing of interest, but the third drawer is filled with receipts and vendor invoices.
I dig through the stacks of papers until I find three old-style ledger books bound in red leather. Each one is packed with handwritten names and numbers, some of which I recognize.
A smile tugs at my lips. “Bingo.”
Brennan appears at my side and quickly scans the open ledger in my hand. “Looks like drugs and weapons. Look at these supplier codes. He’s been running cargo out of the docks under false manifests.”
“If this gets out…”
“He’s finished. His empire crumbles overnight.”
“How much time is left?”
Brennan checks his watch. “Two minutes. Should we head out?”
“Give me a second.” I pull out my phone and quickly snap as many pictures as I can.
“Ninety seconds.”
“Okay, I’m done, let’s go.” I quickly stuff the books back into the filing cabinet and kick it shut before ducking out of the office.
By the time we’re back out in the humid air, my heart is racing in my chest.
Gus gives us nothing but a nod before slipping back inside to restart the cameras.
Brennan wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “That was close.”
