CHAPTER TEN

"What do you make of the envelopes being handed out?" asked Nine.

"I think it's exactly what we said. Payday. I think every fucking cop that goes into that building is in on this shit. Whatever this shit is. Which makes me believe that whatever Al and Mike are doing in New Orleans, someone else is doing in other cities."

"Yeah, but we need to know what it is they're doing. Code? Do you have anything on that ship yet?"

"Yep. Seems Al's woman, Maureen, is incredibly sick. She's been taken to the doctor's bay twice. The first time, they said she was seasick. This morning, the doctor said he thinks she has food poisoning. Of course, they don't want to say that because it could panic the passengers."

"How did you hear that?" smirked Nine.

" Don't insult me. That dude has more bugs on him than a stray dog has fleas. I'm headed into their cabin now while he's with her in the medical bay. Hannah is watching for me. Nice cabin. Three times the size of mine. Seems Maureen really splurged for this."

They could hear Code moving around the room, opening and closing drawers and doors. Then he said one word.

"Bingo. A will leaving everything to Al in his bag. Maureen has quite a nest egg. Seems she owned a chain of high-end salons and spas in Dallas. The woman has a nice hefty sum in her accounts, that's for damn sure."

"So, this is all about changing wills?" asked Alexandra. "It can't be just that. I mean, after one or two, they'd be questioned to death."

"Maybe it's not just them," said Erin. "I mean, we saw the payday envelopes. Maybe two guys go into different locations and do their thing and get out. They move to another city or another location, and two more go in."

"See, that's why I married you. You're brilliant," smirked Nine. She gave him a pouty expression.

"You mean you didn't marry me because I'm good in bed?" He laughed, shaking his head.

"First of all, you're fucking amazing in bed. Secondly, I married you because you're everything I am not, and I need you to balance my soul." She kissed him and smiled at him.

"You'll be rewarded for that later."

" Children? Can we focus? I've found two prescriptions that have me worried. One is for painkillers, and it is an opioid. The other is sleeping pills. Either one could easily be misused. I think I need to find a way to get Maureen off this ship."

"Brother, she has to want to get off that ship, and she may not be in a place to want that just yet. Keep an eye on them. Have Hannah make friends with her. Maybe she'll open up."

" I'll see what I can do. What happened with Teddy and the girls when they met with Mike?"

"Bastard tried to force them to sign a contract for Maison Soleil that was twenty-five percent above normal pricing. The team is looking into his role there, but he damn sure is acting as the muscle."

" Hey. Gotta go. Hannah said they're coming back up to the room." Code was cut off, and the others just looked at one another.

"What now?" asked Erin.

"Now we head out to dinner at one of the restaurants that the bartender gave us."

"Which one?"

"I don't think it matters. I'm going to bet that they somehow run into us no matter where we go. They probably already know that we're here in the hotel, so make sure that we don't leave anything behind that might give any hints to who we are."

"Didn't you already do that by telling them you were a Ranger and SEAL?" asked Erin.

"Actually, I did that," frowned Alexandra. "Did I screw up?"

"No, babe. You didn't screw up. It made them cautious, and that's what I wanted to see. Any other time, a cop would have wanted to talk to us, ask about our time in service, that kind of thing. They feel as though they're brothers to us, and, in many ways, they are. These guys weren't interested in shit with us. They just wanted us out."

Nine and Gaspar did a bit of research on the restaurant choices and had no problem choosing the one they wanted. Virginia's had been in the area for nearly a hundred years, serving up true southern food with a bit of low country thrown in for good measure.

But it also had a colorful past. Meetings in the forties and fifties of the KKK. Civil rights protests. Refusal to allow black customers entrance in the sixties.

In the seventies, there were six drug-related deaths, five of them women found in bathroom stalls. In the eighties, multiple shootings happened just outside the restaurant, including two dead police officers.

Since the nineties, it had been fairly quiet, except for three alleged homeless people discovered dead inside the dumpster in the alleyway.

"Another lovely place you're taking us to," smirked Erin, listening to her husband speak of the restaurant.

"I know, babe. I'm sorry. Look, don't go to the ladies' room alone. If you go, go together, and we'll be watching. We've got our weapons, and so do you. Keep the stealth netting around them, but don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Well, that leaves it wide open, doesn't it?" smirked Alexandra.

Arriving at the restaurant, the Matre'd seated them right away near the windows. It made Gaspar nervous as shit, but he only smiled, nodding at the man. As the evening progressed, they thought maybe they'd misjudged the local cops.

Salads and soup came and went. Main courses of thick juicy steaks, seafood, and other dishes were brought out until finally they waited on their whiskey bread pudding.

"This has been lovely," smiled Erin.

"Get up," said a male voice behind her. She turned slightly and then looked back at Nine, who gave her a small nod.

"Is there a problem?" he asked as Erin stood with Alexandra.

"The ladies need to go outside," he said. Gaspar noticed three more men around their table, then looked to see that most of the restaurant had cleared out.

"Well, fuck. This ruins my night," said Gaspar.

"I won't tell you again," said the man. Gaspar grinned at him.

"My wife isn't leaving this restaurant without me."

"Then she'll leave in the same body bag," said the man. He started to reach for his weapon, but his hand never got further than his hip. He winced, falling to the ground on his knees as the other men stared in shock.

"Now, that ain't nice. I don't like people not bein' nice," said Tailor.

"Jesus, what the fuck are you?" said one of the men.

"See, that ain't nice either," said Alec. "My brother and his wife were having a nice dinner, and you interrupted them."

When one of the cops came toward them with a taser, his arm was gripped so tightly he never even felt the twist and snap. Then he took note of the fact that his arm was literally hanging, with no feeling at all, and the taser was on the floor.

"Don't piss me off, little man," said Rory. He looked at Nine and Gaspar, smiling. "Heard you guys were in the neighborhood and wanted to have a drink. Guess we'll have to pick another place."

"You've fucked up, assholes. We're fucking cops!"

"No, you're fucked up, fucking retired cops," said Nine. "I have a feeling that if I go to the D.A., he has a lot to say about you boys. We weren't doing anything except enjoying dinner. Now you've ruined that, and I'm pissed off that I didn't get my dessert."

While three of the men writhed on the floor in pain, a fourth stood just watching it all. He was the one in charge.

"Why are you in Atlanta?" he asked.

"Told your friends. Just enjoying a few days away," said Gaspar.

"A Ranger and a SEAL don't just get away in Atlanta. It's too humid, it's too crowded, and it's too fucking far from anything you would want."

"Mister, I don't know who you are, but last I checked, a man can travel wherever he likes, whenever he likes. I don't need one damn reason to visit your city. That's the beauty of America."

"You should go back to Louisiana," said the man, smirking. Nine laughed, shaking his head as he heard Victoria's voice in his ear.

"And you, retired Captain Paul Scheel, should go back to Macon where you were born and raised. Maybe get those piss-poor SAT scores hidden before someone realizes what a real dumbass you are."

The man was so stricken with shock and surprise he couldn't move. Nine held out his hand for Erin, Gaspar doing the same with Alexandra. As his brother and friends laughed, the men left the restaurant, waving at them.

"Thank y'all for a good time," smiled Tailor. "Let's do this again soon."