Page 51 of Tony

“No, no. I came in the back way. No one saw me. No one at all,” Hernando babbled, but Quentin had already looked back down at some papers on his desk.

Unsure if he should talk, Hernando stood shifting from one foot to the other.

“You got something to say, then say it. Otherwise, get the fuck out of my office.” Before Hernando could begin speaking, Quentin interrupted, “And, I don’t want any fucking bad news.”

“No, no. It’s all good. The idiot that tried to assault the court worker has been taken care of. I did it myself.”

Quentin’s gaze looked at him steadily. Unblinking. “Any blowback?”

“Oh no, sir. No blowback. She’s got no idea who threatened her and he’ll never talk,” Hernando chuckled, his eyes imploring Quentin to share the joke with him. Silence was all that greeted him.

“What about the court worker?” Quentin asked. “She gonna be a problem?”

“I’m keeping an eye on her and I’ll make sure she’s no worry to you or me. It’ll all be good. You’ve got my word on that.”

Quentin quirked an eyebrow as he continued to stare. “Your word? What the fuck makes you think that your word is worth anything?”

“I’ve never done you wrong, sir. That ought to count for something,” Hernando protested.

Nodding, Quentin agreed. “So far, you’re right. Make sure you keep it up. I want to know the instant that court bitch is a problem.”

“Yes, sir,” Hernando said, turning to hurry out of the room. Taking a deep breath, he willed his nervousness to go away. Sucking in another deep breath, he walked out of the front door of the building before realizing that he parked on the back block. “Damn,” he muttered. “Gotta walk around.”

* * *

Terrance called into Tony’s office. “Chief, been watching Quentin’s building and I’m seeing some people come out that never went in and others go in that don’t come out. You think there’s some other entrance?”

Tony immediately called BJ and asked him to pull up the floor plans to the old building. Thanking Terrance, he headed out to the main room to see what BJ could find.

“This block of old buildings have been around for a long time, but it looks like they may have some connections underground.”

Several of the others gathered around, watching the screen. BJ showed underground connections between several of the buildings in a two-block area. Lily walked over, having quickly pulled up more information. “The buildings didn’t have large passageways but did have tunnels large enough for men to install and work on the water and steam pipes, so they’re plenty big enough for a man to walk through.”

BJ confirmed, “Yeah, it looks like there are possible tunnels between the building where Quentin’s office is located, the old apartment buildings down the street and then the club in the back.”

Tony called Shane, reporting what they had found. While he was on the phone, the others traced the path of the tunnels to see what else they may be connected to, before looking up when Tony approached them again.

“Police can’t get a search warrant without probable cause, so…looks like we may have a black op mission,” Tony announced with a grin.

The whoops sounded as Gabe, Jobe, and Vinny broke out in shouting and fist bumping. Lily rolled her eyes, as BJ smiled knowing he would be able to be on his first clandestine assignment. Tony headed to the conference area saying, “Let’s go. We’ve got planning to do.”

* * *

Dressed in skin-tight, black, long-sleeved shirts and black cargo pants, the men slipped out of the van heading toward their destination. Terrance, as driver, and BJ, as computer expert, stayed in the van making sure everything from their end would go like clockwork.

Tony, Gabe, Vinny, and Jobe moved silently down the alley two blocks over from Quentin’s building. The dark, rainy night provided the best cover, keeping most people indoors, while these men barely noticed the rain.

Making their way into one of the buildings, they quickly found the entrance leading down to the steam tunnels. The tunnel initially appeared unused for many years but, as they made their way toward their destination, the evidence of use was easily seen.

Coming to Quentin’s building, they easily determined which set of stairs went to his office area. Gabe secured a small camera, checking with BJ to make sure it was operational. Moving along, following the tunnel map that Lily had discovered, they made their way to the entrance of the strip club that the police were watching.

Giving a curt nod, Tony motioned for Vinny to secure another camera at that junction. Noticing the next turn of the tunnel, he wanted to see where it led as well, since it was apparent that it was being used.

Within several hundred feet, they came to several run-down apartment buildings with two entrances to the steam tunnels. This time, Jobe secured the camera, before he and Tony re-traced their steps. Picking up Vinny and then making their way back to Gabe, the four men exited the tunnels as stealthily as they had entered.

Within minutes the six men were heading back to the agency building. Vinny looked over, asking, “What do you think, Tony?”

“Quentin’s definitely using the tunnels to move some people around. Could be people he doesn’t want coming in his front door. Could be his way of keeping his involvement in the club secret since his name isn’t actually on the ownership papers. The apartment building has me concerned. Don’t know why that part of the tunnel appears to be used.”

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