Chapter Two-Hundred and Fifty-Three
Chapter Two-Hundred and Fifty-Three
Hawkins waved at the group. “Let’s go, boys. We got some digging to do and if we discover his secrets before he tells us about them well that’s gonna make him useless. We’ll just leave him alone to stew in his own juices while we dig into his life.”
“I’m thirsty.” Jenson snarled. “I need something to drink.”
“We got water.” Kota walked over to the small mini fridge against the wall and grabbed a bottle of water.
“I don’t want water, fool,” Jenson snapped. “I need something stronger.”
“It's water or nothing,” Hawkins told him.
Kota walked back to the cell and set the bottle of water just inside the bars. Turning, he walked toward the door.
Titan and Hawkins joined him.
Jenson wore a look of disbelief when they headed up the steps. “You're just gonna leave me here, tied up with nothing to drink?”
Hawkins paused and turned to smirk at him. “Your hands are tied in front. We left you a bottle of water, but yeah we’re just gonna leave you. We’ve got to start unraveling what the city has been doing behind the cloak of supposedly doing business. This Ronnie that you don’t know said the next few days are vital for things to be in place. We need to figure out what that means so we can know what’s gonna happen in a few days.”
“You lousy fuckers!” Jenson screamed.
Hawkins smirked then slowly closed the door behind them with a neat little snick.
Jenson was still cursing them out, “Who the fuck do you think you are! This is kidnapping and you're going to jail.”
When they got to the main room, Hawkins glanced over at his men then he met London’s gaze. “Your dad is a stubborn man. He’s insisting that he hasn’t done anything wrong.”
London nodded. “Of course he is. He’s been lying to himself for years.”
“Yeah, I hear ya.” Hawkins nodded. “That’s easy enough for some people to do. I did the same thing years ago and it cost me my son and almost cost me my granddaughter. I was so focused on getting this club started, that I overlooked a lot of things.”
“No, Grandpa, this isn’t the same thing,” Cat assured him. “You didn’t break any laws back then and you never abused your family. Jenson Dalton has been breaking the law and hurting people along the way.”
Hawkins nodded. “I know but I was pointing out how it's easy enough to lie to yourself and pretend that what you are doing is righteous, but it really isn’t. Many people suffer from that kind of self-delusion. I read the texts on Jenson’s cell. So now we have to figure out what’s going to be happening in the next few days. If they are planning to kill the rep from the cartel and blame Hondo, we need to stop that in its tracks.”
“Then we need to shut Ronnie and his group down,” Kota added. “But we need to know for ourselves what’s going on out on the Rucker farm.”
“I can help with that,” JuJu spoke up. “In fact, I’ve been looking into that sale since this morning and London is correct. Ronnie Dunlap did buy the Rucker farm for one dollar.”
Hawkins shook his head. “How the hell is that even possible? That land on its own is worth like 30k. Just the shop alone was worth more than a lousy dollar.”
“Gil Holland wanted to make a deal quickly and quietly and that’s all Ronnie offered for the land,” London told them. “It was a handshake and a wink sort of deal. Meanwhile, Joe was in the hospital and they mysteriously lost half their herd of cattle. Eloise said they were run off but no one found any sight of them; it was almost as if they were rustled right out the back door. Then because a huge chunk of the land was wetlands, it couldn’t be used for farming and the mayor said it was reserved land, which brought the price down to practically nothing.”
“How the hell are they getting by?” Wilder asked.
“Not very well, I’m afraid.” London shook her head. “When Joe got out of the hospital, Eloise had to take him to a small apartment she’d rented. He just laid in his bed and wouldn’t speak to her for days. Even now, years later, he’s barely hanging on.”
Just then, Hawkins’ phone rang and it was Hondo on the other end. Hawkins answered the call and put the call on speaker, so everyone could hear it as he asked, “Hey, did you find anything out?”
“Si, I did,” Hondo replied. “My men found out which flight Carlos was going to be on and which route he was taking. So we can set up a meeting along the way. All we want to do is talk so we may need some of your men to stop the car and bring the man to us. Would you be willing to do that?”
“I think we can help you with that, yes,” Hawkins told him with a grin. “Tell us when and where you need us and we’ll be there.”
“Bueno, this is very good. Running a cartel is profitable, but it can be deadly at times. But this is one death that doesn’t need to happen. I think I found out something that you might need to know as well. This Ronnie Dunlap is getting ready to move his operations. He and his men have decided that the farm is now too small for what they need. It looks like they still need to figure out where they will be moving their operation to.”
“That means they think they can expand their operation,” Hawkins said in a disgusted tone. “We need to find out the where and why.”
“Si, if we could find that out,” Hondo agreed. “We might be in a better position to talk to this cartel guy, Carlos. Especially if they are working for the cartel and maybe shorting the money they send back to them. Or maybe cutting the cartel out altogether after they move.”
“Now if that’s what they got in mind,” Hawkins said. “They better hope the cartel can’t find them, but if their man ends up dead and they can’t reach Ronnie anywhere, they will come up here to check things out. Then if they find the farm empty, they will be hunting Ronnie and his friends down with vengeance in their hearts.”
“Si, es stan. This is true,” Hondo agreed. “That would not be a good thing for innocents in that path of vengeance. The Braza cartel is more on the vicious side than most of the cartels.”
“Maybe you should warn them?” London suggested.
“Who is speaking?” Hondo asked over the speaker.
“I’m London and I am unwillingly involved in this.”
“I see,” Hondo replied. “Senora London, you cannot warn men like this of something that might happen,” Hondo explained. “Not if it hasn’t happened yet. Numero uno: they wouldn’t believe it and two: they might warn Ronnie that they heard a rumor…no telling what Ronnie might do in that case.”