CHAPTER TWENTY

Code, Antoine, and Miller found the address of the small warehouse on the river. There was a basic deadbolt lock on the outside of the building, but nothing indicating that it belonged to any business.

Miller picked the lock, slowly opening the creaking door to reveal a completely empty space. To the right of the door was a light switch, and they flipped it on, only to see absolutely nothing.

"It doesn't look like there's anything here," said Antoine.

"Give me a minute," said Code. He walked toward the back of the building, looking along the walls with a flashlight, hoping to see what he knew was there.

"Brother, it's fucking hotter than a tin roof in here. Can we fucking go?" asked Miller.

"No. There's something here, and I'm going to find it."

"What are we looking for?" asked Antoine.

"It could look like a small box built into the wall. It might even be a box sitting on one of the rafters. It's here. I just know it."

"Hey, do you remember when that crazy chick took Adele and brought her down to these warehouses?" asked Antoine.

"I remember. It was Tory that saved her, thank God. Then, of course, Tory and Gabe fell in love," smirked Miller.

"I think about it every day," said his brother. Miller looked at him, frowning. "I think about all the close calls, the almost ‘gotcha' moments. I think about how fucking lucky we've been that no one has died other than Tony and Grip."

"Yeah, and we both know that your mother would say it's for a reason," said Code, still walking slowly around the space.

"That's for damn sure," chuckled Antoine. "Mama sure knows how to make everything feel magical and, and, hell, I don't know. Heavenly?"

"But for how much longer?" asked Miller. Antoine stopped, staring at his brother as Code turned and did the same. "I'm not trying to be morbid, but how much longer do we have with her and Pops? We've been so damn fortunate to have them for this long. I'm not sure I want to know a world without them."

"Don't go there," said Antoine, shaking his head. "I'm asking you nicely, mon frére, please don't go there. It scares me."

Miller gripped his brother's shoulders, hugging him as he slapped his back.

"I know. I'm sorry. We'll always have each other," said Miller. "Hell, Mama and Pops may outlive everyone the way things are going."

"I'm not seeing anything, Code," said Antoine, becoming frustrated. He wiped the sweat from his brow, flinging it to the floor and wiping his hand on his pants.

"It's here!" he yelled.

Miller and Antoine stopped cold, staring at him. He never lost his temper, so for him to be so certain, they needed to make sure. Both men nodded, then Miller held up his finger.

"Do you hear that?" The other two men listened intently. "It's a hum. Like the hum of an air conditioning unit, but this place damn sure doesn't have a/c."

Code moved slowly, cautiously around the room, telling Miller and Antoine to stay still. He could hear what Miller heard, but he couldn't pinpoint the location. Inch-by-inch, he found his way around the space until he finally heard it loud enough to know. He'd found it.

Shining the flashlight against the wall, he saw the faint outline of the box. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his utilitarian tool and unscrewed the cover. Behind the metal was a small routing box that allowed them to send and receive messages without being traced.

"Is that it?" asked Antoine.

"This is it. I'm going to download their information to my tablet, and I'll be able to retrace every time they try to move money from someone's account. In the end, it will go into an account owned by us, and we'll redistribute it to the credit card companies and banks."

"You can do that?" scowled Miller.

"Brother, it's what I do all day, every day. Don't you remember all the money we funneled from the bad guys into our victim's funds? Between Jean, Erin, Alexandra, and a few others, we've been able to make good use of the bad guys' money. It makes my day a little brighter for sure."

"Why can't you just tear that down?" asked Antoine.

"I can, but they would know it. They'd simply build another and put it somewhere else that I couldn't reach it. This way, I know where it is, and I've done something that they can't detect."

"Would they need someone like you on their team to do this?" Code turned, staring at them with a questioning look. "I mean, do they need a tech genius to figure all this out?"

"No. Not necessarily. Bouncing signals are pretty commonplace anymore. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out, but it does require some basic knowledge. The more complex thing is what Clint found. Just having that means that they're getting help from someone."

They watched him work while they continued to sweat through their clothes. When he was finished, Code replaced the panel, making everything look exactly as he'd found it.

"What happens now?" asked Miller.

"Now, I get to track them. Everything they try to do, I can stop, only they won't know it until it doesn't appear in their accounts. It's going to be fun to watch."

"I'm glad you're on our side, Code," laughed Antoine.

"Me, too."

As they left the warehouse district, they decided to drive by the new children's shelter being run by Molly and Asia. Both women had been a part of their team for many years, but when this opportunity arose, they were excited for something new.

"Well, hello, handsome," smiled Asia, hugging each of the men.

"Which one of us is handsome?" grinned Antoine.

"Just take it as a uniform statement," she grinned. "What do you boys think?" She waved her arm at the big open space, all of it starting to take shape.

"This is going to be amazing," said Code. "These kids will finally have a place to go and be safe at night. I know it's not a fix for everything, but maybe we can keep them off the streets, at least for a little while."

"You have no idea," said Molly, walking up and hugging the men. "These kids have been trying to sleep in here since we started construction. They just want somewhere that's safe and dry. We're hoping to have it done within the next sixty days."

"It's amazing. Really, you guys and Grant have done something really amazing here," said Miller.

"Well, we can thank Matthew for it all," said Asia. "That man doesn't think twice about writing a check with a whole lot of numbers on it."

"That's Pops," said Antoine and Miller in unison.

"We just wanted to see how things were going," said Code. "Let me know when the time comes, and I'll come back down and set up the computer systems, the alarms, all of it."

"Will do, sweetie," said Asia.

The ride back to Belle Fleur was quiet. The three men seemed to be deep in their own thoughts as they passed business after business along the rural river road.

"Pops helped Mr. Fouchon to start that garage after he lost his wife and son in that house fire. He was so distraught he lost his job and just couldn't do anything. So, Pops stepped in to help him with a fresh start," said Antoine. "If I remember right, he got remarried about six years later and had another family."

"Yep. And he helped Ms. Rivera start that daycare after her husband left her, and she had no way to make a living and no one to watch the kids if she did find a job," said Miller, pointing. "And that butcher shop over there run by Mr. Ourso and his brother. They were down on their luck, looking for work at Robicheaux Oil and Gas. Pops knew that wasn't the life for them and helped them start a new life."

"That's a helluva legacy to have to live up to," said Code. "Good news is, I know you're both up for the task." Miller smiled at his friend, punching him in the shoulder.

"Thanks, brother. Thanks."