Page 39 of Surprise Quadruplets for the Mob

I’m sitting in the passenger seat of the armored SUV while Lev drives us to who-the-fuck-knows where. Dimitri, Alyosha’s right-hand man, is in the backseat, pecking away at his laptop.

“Should be coming up on the place soon. It’s a big warehouse, so we won’t be able to miss it.” He points toward the upcoming intersection. “Take the next left at the light and slow down a little. We don’t want to go in guns blazing.”

I smirk and Lev snorts, glancing back over his shoulder as we come up on the light. “Haven’t you ever been anywhere with the boss? That’s exactly what we’re going to do.”

“Guns blazing is how I like to do business,” I agree, clenching my jaw as we turn the corner and the warehouse he’s been directing us to comes into sight. “This the place?”

Dimitri nods. “All the files I was able to decrypt from Booker’s computer originated from this location. All the scams he was a part of lead back to this place. This warehouse.”

“Let’s take a look.” I nod to Lev, who pulls the SUV over to the curb and kills the engine.

The three of us climb out, and Dimitri leads the way toward the main entrance. The door is locked, but Dimitri makes quick work of it.

“Remember,” Dimitri whispers as Lev and I pull our guns, “most of the people in here are going to be unarmed. They might not even speak English.” He looks at our weapons and grimaces. “If you have to shoot, just try not to fuck up any of the equipment. There will be tons of shit we can use.”

“No promises.” Lev smirks. “I don’t like people who scam others out of their life savings.”

“Same,” I add, stepping forward and kicking the door open.

As soon as the door swings wide, we’re greeted by nothing. No people, no noise, no sign of activity.

I frown. “The fuck is going on in here? Where is everyone?”

“Hello?” Dimitri calls out, his voice echoing through the cavernous space.

“Anyone home?” Lev shouts, following him.

We spread out, checking out the rows and rows of desks and computer equipment.

“There’s no one here,” Dimitri mutters, frowning. “This is weird. The whole place should be humming with people making calls, hacking systems, posting videos—the whole nine yards.”

“Let’s check the rest of the building.” I nod toward the back of the warehouse. “Maybe they’re all out getting lunch or something.”

There’s a door towards the back, and Lev notices it, too. I nod, motioning with my free hand. “I’ll go in first.”

“Be careful, boss.” He steps back, letting me take the lead.

I kick open the door and frown, trying to make sense of what I’m seeing. It looks like some kind of operating room, with a hospital bed and all sorts of monitors and equipment lying around. But there are also cameras and lights and boom mics, as if the whole thing is part of a movie set.

“What the hell?” Lev mutters, walking in behind me and looking around. “What is all this shit?”

“Wow.” Dimitri steps into the room before either of us can say anything else. “This is where Booker made his fundraisingvideos that I found on his hard drive. He always made it look like he was practically dying, like he was in a hospital bed fighting for his life.” He walks to the middle of the room and shakes his head. “The whole time, he was right here, scamming people left and right.”

“Motherfucker,” I mutter, holstering my gun.

“There’s got to be a record of where the money went,” Lev says, his eyes scanning the room. “Maybe in those filing cabinets.”

Dimitri moves to the filing cabinets and starts going through them. After a moment, he looks over his shoulder at me and shakes his head. “There’s nothing here. I can’t find anything. No files, no paperwork, no nothing.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Lev frowns. “Why would there be a room full of fake equipment and nothing to go with it?”

A loud noise echoes through the warehouse, startling all three of us and making me draw my gun again as I whip around to see what the hell is going on.

“What was that?” Lev hisses.

“Sounded like a door slamming,” Dimitri says, already hurrying back the way we just came. “There! Look! Someone was here.”

He starts running toward a side door that’s still half open, with Lev right on his heels. I don’t bother trying to catch up. Instead, I walk around the main part of the warehouse, looking at the empty desks and chairs.

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