No more cars in front of them, no more behind them, just the five of them on the open road. And... needing to make sure Adam drove that fucking thing back in one piece.
* * *
The semi was brimming with wooden crates full of weaponry, almost too much to fit inside their bar. Paul had sworn he’d find contacts to pick up the pieces. Dan was also confident he could sell some as an aid to his plan to get city officials on their payroll.
Once they’d finished off-loading the guns in the back room of the bar, and had promptly ditched the trailer in the river, they settled in. Spilling drinks more freely than a burst dam and yelling so loud in their revelry that Paul had warned them to quiet multiple times already.
Through the bursts of laughter from his friends, with a giggle on his lips, Adam suddenly yelled. “Shut the fuck up!”
Dan ran behind the bar to the phone, his fingers tripping over themselves as he dialed a number they’d found courtesy of the white book. He signaled the group to quiet down, too, placing his finger over his lips. The others looked at Adam curiously, but Adam just shook his head and smiled. It would be worth it.
After several rings the person finally picked up.
“Who is it?” A strong Russian voice came over the line.
Now leaning over Dan, hands on the table, Adam said, “We have your guns.”
Paul, Mercedes, and Carlos widened their eyes, the latter two pointing viciously and making slashing gestures at their throats.
“Youstole my guns,” the voice growled.
“We did, and we want to make a deal,” Dan said.
“I don’t make deals with anyone other than Dorian Blake.”
Adam grabbed the phone from Dan’s hands. “I think you’ll want to make this one.” His smooth voice was confident as his vocal cords caressed that phone line like an intimate lover.
“Who are you?”
Dan hushed the group again as Adam started to speak. “We’re willing to pay you for what we took–”
“What is catch?”
Adam and Dan beamed at each other, the conversation heading down the exact planned path.
“If—and only if—you deal exclusively with us from now on,” Adam said, keeping his eyes on Mercedes, Paul, and Carlos.
The voice on the other end was silent for a moment.
And then silent for a moment longer.
And another...
Dan shrugged at Adam. But Adam simply shook his head and smirked again, nodding at the phone, telling them to wait.
“You want us to deal with you, whoever you are, and cut the Blake Family out?”
“That sums it up,” Adam said, a hardness in his voice.
“You are crazy.”
“Maybe,” Adam said. “But either you agree to do business with us, or we’ll just keep stealing from you.”
“Why give me the choice at all?”
“To makemylife easier,” Adam said. “I’m just as happy stealing from you if you want to do things the fun way.”
Mercedes slapped his shoulder.
