Author’s note: If you haven’t read Night of Silence, this and future interludes won’t make sense. If you skipped it because of its content, the same warnings apply to this and future interludes. If you read it and were frustrated at the rather large loose end, consider this the first step toward tying things up. But only the first step…
Interlude No. 1
By Yankeegirl (aka Jennie C)
The shadowy underground lair echoed laughter back at its source. He sat behind the solid desk and smiled at the stammering man before him.
"Come, Joseph, you must have more to report than that." His dark eyes narrowed as he waited. When the short, squat hulk failed to speak, he raised one eyebrow. "The art center progress report was good. Much more thorough than I would have expected. Frankie seems to be doing a booming business with the ladies. Olyfant and the rest of those weasels chipped in their contribution to our pension right on schedule. But I expected more."
"But, but, boss. There is no more. You’ve got plenty of rackets, but I filled you in on them all." Joseph fell silent as the man stood.
"Not all." The sound cracked in his ear. "You forget. You know I don’t keep those who forget. What about that girl and her friends?"
Joseph cringed.
"Now, Joseph." His coarse voice caressed the words, their very smoothness grating. "I’m sure you didn’t forget our discussion last week."
Joseph shook his head.
"So what did you discover?"
Joseph took a deep breath to ease the trembling in his knees. "The oldest boys are gone, off at school in Missouri. The other two, they’re a mixed bag. The blond one, her brother, is book smart, but his survival skills are the least of the four boys. We could keep him for a few days without food and he’d tell us anything."
"And the other boy?" He raised one eyebrow. "He looks pretty scrawny."
Joseph shook his head. "Part of his job is chopping wood and doing the heavy lifting around Wheeler’s preserve. He’s skinny, but there are muscles under there. Besides, he’s the street kid. Part of a big gang in the city before he moved out here. We’d have to find his weak point and threaten that."
"One of the girls, perhaps?"
"The new one, I think." Joseph nodded slowly. "She’s the one who tried to rescue him when that Tolliver screwup tried to muscle in on our territory. She could be useful in another way too."
"How so?" He tapped a pen on the rich mahogany desktop.
"The young man, the boy’s uncle – he seems to take more than a passing interest in her. He’s also the boy’s only relative. Wheeler thinks he’s pretty important too – borrowing him for a bit might give us the leverage you’re looking for."
The man dismissed Joseph’s words with a shrug. "What about the girls?"
"Taking the blonde would be too dangerous. Everyone in town considers her a hero, and the cops would be everywhere. Plus, she’s worked her way out of tight spots before."
"And the others?"
Joseph shrugged. "We could kidnap either and demand ransom. Their fathers have plenty of cash. It would be an extra bonus for this job." He stopped to think. "The dark-haired one would be better – she’s not a detective like the other two, just a pretty face. No chance of her leading them here."
The man nodded slowly. "You’ve given me a great deal to think about, Joseph. I think your continued survival is well-deserved. Now, I have another mission for you."
"Yes, Mr. Lannio. Whatever you want." Joseph bowed his head and listened to the instructions.
The End...for now
Disclaimer: These characters (except for Wolfgang Lannio and Joseph) are the property of Random House and no money is being made off their use. Big thanks to Mary for editing!