Page 45 of Jacking Jill

“This guy Benson is an asshole,” Kay was saying.

“Yes, everyone says so,” Jill replied.

Benson sighed gruffly, then settled down in his chair and grinned. Chuckles of relieved amusement went around the room. Nancy smiled with smug satisfaction.

And Benson’s temples stopped throbbing as that familiar ripple of excitement moved through his creaky semi-bionic body. This was Jack and Jill’s mission, and right now Benson was just going to sit back and listen, relax and let it play out instead of thinking he could take the reins from the universe and not get bucked off that cosmic rodeo. Yeah, it was time to let things flow like a river flows naturally to the sea.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

15

“It couldn’t have turned out worse,” Kay was saying as Jill hurried down the long hallway and took a left followed by a right until she was hopelessly turned around. She ducked into an empty room furnished with nothing but a window overlooking dense dark Virginia forest. Jill sat her butt down on the edge of the cool metal window-sill, glancing up just as Jack’s broad frame appeared in the doorway.

“Just so you know, they’re all listening in on speaker in the conference room.” Jack ambled past Jill to the wall beside the window, slid his butt down to the carpeted floor, stretched out his legs and made himself comfortable. Then he looked up at her, gestured with his head, patted the carpet beside him. “Sit. It’s the middle of the night and you’re exhausted.”

Jill sighed, then nodded and sat down next to him. She stretched out her legs alongside his, adjusted the hem of her black dress so it wouldn’t ride up too far, then placed the phone on her thigh and tapped the speakerphone button.

“How’s Nina?” Jill asked. “Did Romeo let her go to a hospital?”

“Of course not,” said Kay. “We were hoping to pass off Bobby’s death as a tragic car accident. But Nina heard all the gunshots and saw Bobby getting shot. She’s been screaming her head off about shooters and ambushes and assassins. There’s no way Romeo’s going to let her go anywhere near a hospital or the police until she settles down—which isn’t going to happen anytime soon. She’s strung out and hysterical. It’s chaos here at the mansion, Jill.”

Jill’s heart sank. “Is . . . is Romeo going to kill her to shut her up? Because if he is, I’m going to call 911 right now and send the cops to the mansion.”

“Do not do that, Jill. Trust me, it’s a bad idea. The local police are on Romeo’s payroll, and they’ll write it up like Romeo says.” Kay was silent for a breath. “Besides, Nina’s been saying that Jack killed Bobby, that you put Jack up to it because you didn’t want the wedding to happen. So calling the cops is only going to get them looking for you and Jack, and if that guy Benson really is ex-CIA, I guarantee he wants to stay clear of the cops and FBI as far as possible.” She sighed again, then inhaled sharply. “Anyway, Romeo’s not going to hurt Nina. Word has already gotten around that Bobby was shot dead, so it’s pointless to try to keep Nina quiet now. Romeo has other things on his mind right now anyway, with Bobby’s mom going nuts. Romeo also has to deal with the wedding guests, many of whom are members of the other East Coast Mafia Families.”

Jill glanced anxiously at Jack, then gulped and nodded. “So . . . so Nina’s safe for now?”

“Yes.” Kay paused a beat. “But you aren’t, Jill.”

Jill frowned. “What? But . . . but Romeo knows Jack and I didn’t shoot Bobby.”

Kay sighed. “I . . . I advised Romeo to stick with Nina’s story that you and Jack did it.”

“Wait, what?” Jill almost screamed into the phone. “You know we had nothing to do with it, you . . . you bitch!”

Kay exhaled, and Jill could almost feel her shrugging. “I’m sorry, Jill, but it was the best option, the best narrative, the best explanation. Especially after you guys fled the scene and almost got Romeo’s guards killed in that second crash. Besides, it was the only way I could convince Romeo not to put a bullet in Nina’s head and dump her body in the Delaware River, Jill.” Kay took a sharp breath now. “Look, you know Romeo wasn’t particularly fond of Bobby in the first place. And so Bobby’s mom was convinced that Romeo himself had her son killed. Nina’s story about how you wanted to stop the wedding and hired Jack to kill Bobby worked to get Bobby's mom off Romeo’s case. It’s the rational choice.” She took a breath, sighed it out. “And the cold truth is, it serves my purposes too.”

Jill frowned as the rage settled to a hot simmer. “How does it help you?”

Kay sighed again. “Oh, Jill, you should have taken my advice and walked away while you still could. You aren’t cut-throat enough for this world.” She chuckled coldly. “But I bet that snake John Benson understands. He’s listening, isn’t he?”

Jill looked up at Jack, whose face was clouded with anger, eyes burning a hole in the phone balanced delicately on the curve of Jill’s thigh. Benson didn’t respond, but Jack did.

“It works for you because now Romeo Carmine is forced to avenge his nephew’s murder by coming after Jill and me,” Jack growled. “Romeo might not personally give a shit about Bobby, might even be thrilled his nephew is dead. But it happened in the middle of the wedding party, with all the East Coast Mafia Families in attendance. Romeo will have to hit back to save face, to protect his reputation. That’s the code by which these mafia scumbags operate in their underworld society.” He glanced grimly at Jill. “Nina’s story serves Kay’s purposes because it clearly identifies the two of us as Bobby’s killers, takes suspicion away from himself, prevents any rumors that a rival Mafia Family was involved. It’s the cleanest path for Romeo, and it makes sense to take it. Romeo’s already declared war on Darkwater, and so he might as well double down. It’s not a bad move at this point. He knows Darkwater isn’t law enforcement, that if there’s a showdown, it’ll happen in the shadows because Benson and Kaiser don’t want the public to know that a CIA-linked off-the-books team operates within U.S. borders.”

Kay gasped in mock surprise. “Well done, Jack Wagner. I’m re-thinking that action-figure comment after this display of intelligence.”

Jack chuckled dangerously. “Nah, you aren’t reconsidering a damn thing. You’re betting that an action-hero Delta-Force killer like me is not going to rest easy with a target on our backs. That’s what you want from this deal, isn’t it, Kay? You want Romeo Carmine dead. You’ve set it up so that Jill and I will never be safe unless Romeo is dead, and you think I’ll kill him to protect her.” He snorted. “You and Benson would make a good team, Kay. You both have a surprising talent for twisting morality to suit your own purposes.”

Kay snorted back at him. “There’s no such thing as morality, and I bet Benson knows that better than anyone. We’re all driven by animal instinct and selfish incentives. Morality is just a story we tell ourselves so we can pretend that we’re somehow better than the beasts who prowl the jungle.” She paused a beat, her voice sharpening when she continued. “And you, Jack Wagner, are very much in touch with your jungle instincts. From what I heard, you almost ripped Bobby Carmine’s throat out in the parking lot for calling Jill something unmentionable. Oh, and that moment on the dancefloor with you and Jill seemed more than just an act. Tell me, Jack, if the phone hadn’t interrupted you back then, would you have kissed her?”

Jill stared at the phone, her cheeks burning from the rush of hot blood. She gulped back some unnamable emotion, glanced up at Jack, who was frowning so hard his entire face was twisted into a sharp V.

He flicked his gaze to meet Jill’s, then blinked and seemed about to respond when Benson’s voice crackled from the phone’s loudspeaker.

“What happens to the deal with Diego if Romeo is killed? Hell, what happens to the Carmine Mafia Empire if Romeo dies suddenly?” Benson asked. “He doesn’t have any children, no siblings other than Bobby’s mother—who doesn’t seem to be part of his mafia operations, doesn’t appear capable of becoming a mafia queen, heiress to Romeo’s throne. Bobby could have been the heir, but it sounds like Romeo didn’t want that either. So what’s the succession plan for the Carmine empire if Romeo drops dead, Kay?”

“There isn’t a succession plan.” Kay’s voice carried a hint of eye-rolling contempt. “Romeo finds the whole system of bloodline-based entitlement to be tasteless and pathetic. His legal will contains only a few sentences. Bobby’s mother keeps the mansion in Philadelphia along with a generous trust fund that will maintain her in luxury for the rest of her life. Bobby would have been part of that. But that’s all they get. The rest of his wealth—both legal and illegal—is up for grabs.” She laughed once. “Romeo wants chaos to reign after he’s gone. Law of the jungle. Whoever can take what Romeo leaves behind, gets it. No rules. Romeo wants the other Mafia Families to fight over his territory. His bodyguards and henchmen can fight over his possessions—the cars in the garage, the cash in the drawers, the damn silverware and bedsheets, for all Romeo cares. The banks and investment companies will get into legal battles to claim the money in his accounts and investment portfolios. The government will try to seize his properties and homes. Distant relatives will crawl out of the woodwork to claim their share. Fake relatives will show up with forged credentials. There’ll be court-cases and street-battles. There’ll be bribery and blackmail, threats and treachery, murder and mayhem.” Kay laughed again, then sighed. “Romeo imagines himself watching in glee from the afterlife as criminals and government agencies and banks and hedge funds all fight over pieces of his kingdom. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” She sighed again. “Too many testosterone injections, if you ask me. But I guess we all have our internal narratives, our personal legends, private myths of our own greatness.”

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