“You think we should get new phones?” Mikey asked, pulling his spare out and looking at it.
“Maybe, after this job. Just make sure you take the chip out when you destroy it. I’ll pick up a couple more next week.”
“I got a line on a new fence,” Mikey said.
“Yeah, well, the one in Lincoln is pretty good. Give me his name and I’ll ask around. You can’t be too careful.”
“You’re always so fucking paranoid.”
“Hell yeah, I am, why d’you think we haven’t gotten caught in all these years? I don’t take anything for granted.” Kalvin laughed. He knew Mikey was trying to get the upper hand. Mikey didn’t like playing second fiddle to planning or getting rid of shit.
“How the hell’d you get your hands on all those drugs, dude? I mean, they are friggin’ stringent when it comes to that.” Kalvin changed the subject.
Mikey laughed, a large smile creeping up his handsome face. Mikey had the face of an angelic choir boy. People trusted him like no other, but Mikey was as rotten as they came. Yet, he’d never been arrested, he’d come close, but had talked his way out of it. Kalvin shook his head. He’d watched the kid do his thing from time to time. Mikey in action was a thing of wonder. That kid had mad skills. People were suckers, they both knew that, and Mikey knew how to exploit that weakness well.
“That’s my little secret. And I have enough connections to keep us fat.”
“Fine, but don’t think about looking for another distributor. The last fucking time, you almost connected with a fucking undercover nark.”
Mikey’s face flushed deep red, his mouth turning down. Kalvin knew he didn’t like being reminded of his near disaster. He’d come so close to walking into a trap. It was only sheer luck that Mike had got away unseen.
“Whatever, man. Fuck it. I’ll leave the goddamn plotting and planning to you,” Mikey grunted.
Kalvin laughed and reached over to smack the man on the back.
Mikey grudgingly grinned. “So, what the hell’re we going to get from this next gig?”
“Heard that the guy is some kind of high muckity-muck in technology. Figure he’s got a lot of good shit in his home. TVs, computers, all that shit, plus any jewelry and so on. I got a line on a van we can use. An old beat-up piece of shit. I got some plates we can put on it too.”
“Sweet. I’m friggin’ in, dude,” Mikey chortled.
“I think tonight’ll be the perfect time to hit it. It’s Monday, and everyone’ll be tired from the weekend. They’ve more than likely worked a long day today. You know how it is,” Kalvin said, sipping his beer.
“Yeah, you know, those boys party hard over the weekends. Monday’s hangover day. Tonight they’ll cut out early.” Mikey laughed, his blond brows high on his forehead.
Mikey was thirty-three but looked sixteen. He had pale blond hair, bright blueberry eyes the whitest teeth you ever saw, and slightly rounded cheeks. That combo made him lethal. The girls, young and old, smiled at the man. It was amazing to watch.
“I still can’t believe that bitch carded me,” Mikey said, looking over at the waitress.
“I know, and how long’ve we been coming here?” Kalvin laughed.
“You’d fucking think they’d remember my face.”
“Hey, take it as a compliment. You look like a kid, and you know you get away with more shit when you do,” Kalvin said, laughing. He knew Mikey hated being carded.
“Yesterday I stopped by to pick up a bottle of Jack. Same goddamn guy I always see at the liquor store, and he fucking asks me for my ID. I think he does it just to be an asshole.”
“Maybe it’s because they have cameras all over and he might get busted selling to a kid. You have to admit, you look like a fucking sixteen-year-old,” he sniggered.
Mikey shot him a dirty look, which made Kalvin laugh harder. Then his handsome face cleared, and he grinned and shrugged. “I just hate when they give me a ration of shit,” he grumbled.
An older woman walked by, eyed Mikey, and grinned at him. Kalvin laughed. He got some of the looks, but Mikey got the girls. Kalvin was burly, big and blunt, with a barrel chest and massive arms. His father was pure up Italian, his mother African American, with a little Latina mixed in for good measure. Kalvin had a rough kind of handsomeness. The women liked him well enough, but some were nervous around him. Not so with Mikey. They didn’t see the bastard behind the smile. They swarmed him and lived to regret it.
The woman came back and walked up to Mikey “You’re a cute one. What’s your name?” she cooed.
Mikey grinned and put an arm around her thick waist, looking up at her. “Mikey. What’s your name?”
“Patricia. Here’s my number. Give me a call one of these days, sugar,” she said and wrote down her number on a napkin. She bumped her hip to him and left.
“Jesus Christ. You’re like a goddam honeypot,” Kalvin laughed.
“You know, I got game,” he laughed, and tucked the napkin into his pocket.
“Yeah, you got game. Back to planning. I say let’s hit it around 2 am. Everything will be quiet, everyone dead asleep. We can get in and out quick,” Kalvin suggested. He liked things simple, quick, and easy. He didn’t like to linger at sites; too much chance of being seen by someone unable to sleep.
“Sounds like a plan, Sam.” Mikey grinned, his cerulean eyes twinkling mischievously. He lifted his glass in salute.
“I still don’t get how you get the girls. It seems like you have a new girl every week,” Kalvin grouched. His dating life was nearly dead.
“Those bitches don’t know what hit them. I get it, hit it, and quit it. Just like my dear old mother. That bitch used to beat down on me. It was a goddamn relief when she blew town,” Mikey said, his eyes narrowing.
“You hit the women? They don’t, like, call you out on it?”
“Fuck no, they’re too goddamn scared. I make sure that when I’m done, they know not to open their fucking mouths. My dad taught me that. He used to beat the shit out of me ’cause my mom left. He said that if I told anyone, he’d beat me even harder. Maybe even make me brain dead. It always scared the shit out of me.”
“Shit, Mikey. I knew you had a rough fucking childhood, but dude, I didn’t know it was that bad,” Kalvin said, shocked. You never knew what someone had gone through.
“Ain’t nothin’ but a thang. ’sides, women like that shit. They like it rough. When they say they don’t, they’re full of shit. Trust me. I’ve had a couple come back for more,” Mikey said, grinning. He looked over at the woman who’d given him her number and winked at her.
“See, it’s just that easy. She’ll be begging for more,” he laughed, nodding at the woman.
Kalvin shook his head. He had to admit, the kid had charm. But it was deadly.
Mikey stretched and belched. Then he got up from the table. “Gotta get back to the grind. Come by about one, we’ll head out from there.”
“Sure will,” Kalvin said, and watched as Mikey left the bar. He’d known Mikey all his life. Even as kids, Mikey had been a bad seed. The boy had had it rough, he’d give Mikey that. He’d not known how bad till now, though. Mikey was a calculating little bastard and crafty as hell. He’d not met many men like Mikey, and he was glad for it.
Kalvin shrugged and got up. He needed to get back too. Going outside into the bright sunshine, Kalvin squinted his light brown eyes against the harsh glare. Kalvin laughed. He was glad he wasn’t on Mikey’s bad side. The guy wasn’t that big, but he was just that mean.
Sayer and Joy were sitting at the computer browsing the latest news updates.
“Well, nothing else about POSEIDON. That’s good, isn’t it?” Joy asked, her hand on Sayer’s broad back.