Page 2 of Bad Seed

“I’m three blocks away and just saw a small army of black vans, dark SUVs, and three armored SWAT vehicles heading toward the docks. Have we been made?”

“Oh shit! I don’t know, but don’t come in unless I give you the all clear,” Ollie said, then hung up and backtracked to a safe distance away to watch.

To his horror, Phil’s hunch was right. Before Ollie could alert the men on the ground, federal agents were swarming the warehouse by the dozens, with SWAT teams leading the way. He sped away from the docks, calling Berlin as he went. The phone rang repeatedly, to the point Ollie thought it would go to voicemail, and then the call was picked up.

“What?”

“Boss, it’s Ollie. We’re being raided as I speak. Phil and I got away.”

“How the hell did this happen?”

“I have no idea,” Ollie said. “The only unusual thing at the company offices was an auditor on-site, but I think it’s over.”

“What? An auditor? Why?”

“I have no idea, only that the old man had one on-site for the past three weeks.”

“What’s his name? Would you know him on sight?” Berlin asked.

“It’s a woman, and yeah, we’ve seen her. She’s a looker.”

There was a long moment of silence, and then Berlin gave an order.

“Go back to the area. If you see her anywhere on-site, then that means she knew this was happening and she’s way more than an auditor.”

“Yes, sir, and if she’s there, what do you want me to do?” Ollie asked.

“Follow her and make her sorry.”

“How sorry?” Ollie asked.

“Dead sorry,” Berlin snapped. “Then let me know when the job is done.”

“Yes, sir,” Ollie said.

The call ended. He turned at the next block and headed back to the warehouse district. The area had already been cordoned off, so he parked outside theperimeter, jumped out, and headed toward the gathering crowd, keeping an eye out for a tall woman with long, black curly hair.

The moment he saw her, he ducked into an alley to watch what she was doing, and when she finally got in her car, he shifted gears.

Make her sorry, Boss said.Dead sorry.He could do that.

Shivering from the cold, Ollie watched her drive past him, then went running toward where he’d parked to follow her. He came around the corner on the run and then skidded to a stop. The car was gone! Either someone had stolen it or towed it, and he was afoot in a snowstorm.

He began cursing a blue streak as he headed up the street to a local bar, and as soon as he was out of the weather, he called for an Uber. He had no option but to wait. An hour later, he was still waiting and at the point of going to heist the first vehicle he found empty, when his ride finally showed up.

“It’s about damn time,” Ollie said, as he slid into the back seat.

The driver glared. “You’re lucky I made it. There’s a foot of snow on these side streets. Whada’ya want from me, dude?”

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” Ollie said.

“Where to?” the driver asked.

“The Logan Philadelphia at One Logan Square.”

The driver rolled his eyes and eased back into thestreets with the wipers aimlessly swiping at the still-falling snow.

***

---