Page 109 of Never Enough

“You can’t let him be traded. If you do, they’ll kill Zahra. They… they’ve made a deal with the devil.”

Tension vibrated throughout the room.

“What do you mean?” TB asked.

“The Kaders have pledged themselves to the Salieri. It’s a loyalty test.”

“Okay, I’m done with this. Who the fuck are the Salieri? No bullshit anymore, Gem. You, or someone, needs to start talking now.”

Her fingers pinched and unpinched the blanket edge. “Medusa could explain it better, but basically, they’re a form of crime family. They have people all over the world, and if it’s criminal, they’re involved in it. They’ve been around for centuries, and they have very… specific rules. The Kaders have pledged to murder Zahra in order to join.”

“What the fuck? Why does Zahra need to be murdered?”

“Because she’s a woman. There are no women Salieri. Men who join the Salieri are forced to remove their mothers, sisters, grandmothers, wives, and daughters from their direct bloodline and forsake their extended family,” she whispered.

“What the ever-loving fuck?” Demon bellowed.

“That’s beyond barbaric,” Steel muttered.

“How do they manage to keep this secret?” Waters asked.

“Their policies, believe it or not, are very similar to Tribe’s policies. When Cherry offered me the job way back when, she told me that if I opened that folder and then said no, I would disappear. It was too big of a risk to take when my da needed me so badly. The Salieri work on much the same principle. If you’re offered membership and you don’t take it, it’s a death sentence. Both groups are extremely selective, and both groups do their due diligence and research fully so that they know if someone is worth their effort or not.”

“And why are the Kaders worth the effort?” Demon asked.

“The mines,” Waters supplied. “Somehow, the Salieri found out about the stones in the mines where they shouldn’t be together, and they’re going to use the Kaders to get access to them.”

“Yes,” Gem agreed. “But eventually, they’ll use them and throw them away, taking over the mines for themselves until they use up its resources.”

“This is all good information, but it doesn’t resolve our current issue, which is Nemo,” TB pointed out.

Waters held up his hands in surrender. “True. But it does help us know what we’re up against.” He focused on Gem. “What can you tell us about Nemo’s situation?”

“Ka-Bar said that he was being taken to the abandoned Murphy Mine in South Africa.”

“Is this another situation like what was going on in the Mzingwane Mine?” Waters asked.

“Yes, and the Kaders are also in control of this illegal mining operation, but it’s in its infancy stages. Before they can make that mine pay, they need to blast the veins they found. Pharaoh is going to use the combination of his trade for Zahra and the new mine as his ticket into the Salieri.”

Waters snapped into project mode. “Okay, gang, wash, rinse, repeat. Midas, start pulling up anything and everything?—”

“—on the Murphy Mine. On it.”

“Steel. I need you to check in with the safe house. Make sure everything is good with Zahra and the boy. Double the guard, tighten the rotation, and make sure everyone understands they are on complete lockdown until we give them the signal. No exceptions.

“TB. Get with Cerberus. If it causes blood loss or things to go boom, I want it in working order and ready to be used. Teareverything apart. Clean it. Reassemble it. Make sure it has ample ammunition.

“Demon, get Medusa out of bed and have her get her little bird ready to fly again. Make sure Gem is good to go, get food in her, then put her back to bed to rest up. Then check, double-check, and triple-check the status of our medical supplies. When we get him back, he’s likely to be in shit shape, so think about everything that could possibly be wrong with him and make sure we have whatever is needed to treat it, fix it, or heal it.

“Loki and Gilgamesh are working on a plan to get those kids out of Mzingwane. I’ll let them know they’re going to double down on what we’re going to find at the Murphy Mine. Then, I’m going to call Cherry and convince her to get God on the line. Between Loki, Gilgamesh, God, and me, we need to find contacts to help us out. Go!”

The men scattered to their tasks. Waters walked up to Gem’s bedside. “Your job is to rest and do whatever Demon tells you to do. We need your help to get him out of this.” Waters’ face had a strange look on it. “When he comes back, you’re both going to have choices to make. Make the right ones.”

42

SEPTEMBER 20, 2022

Nemo

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