Tunji Malu, the asanbosam, a West African vampire. It was his vampiric compulsion that I served for ten years. His will that I followed. I snapped his neck and incinerated him to ash, his metal teeth the only evidence he ever existed.
Those were the simple ones.
The rest of the Covey was a harder nut to crack. Cunning and strength have played roles, no doubt, but my true obstacle was following the web of deceit they'd built in their time in Miami. The shadow play. Nigerian business fronts. A gang war incited in Little Haiti. These things led me to the politician who benefited from the conspiracy of belly-up real estate.
And that was why I was back in Miami proper, risking discovery from the "enhanced" police patrols. Rudi Alvarez wasn't an animist or a Nether creature, but he had plenty of power. It was his order that sent the DROP team to my door. He was the one with the political muscle to become mayor and own this city. Instead of taking my offer of truce, he was coming at me with everything he had. In my book, that makes him one of them, puppet or not.
Puppet strings are hard to see but, if you know what to look for, they can lead you right to the puppeteer.
But first I needed to locate the puppet. Rudi's security wasn't at his house, which meant he wasn't either. The commissioner was on lockdown, his staff disappeared and out of reach. That made for days of surveillance without yield. My investigation had pretty much ground to a halt.
Frustrating considering how close Rudi had gotten to me last night. If the Covey was going to turtle up, I had to change my strategy.
I opened the glove compartment and pulled out a spare burner phone. I use several to stay ahead of modern surveillance, but sometimes stealth is overrated. I dialed the direct line to the commander of the team tasked with hunting me down.
Chapter 10
"Cross," said my buddy as he answered the phone.
Evan wasn't my first choice for an ally these days. As a general rule, best friends don't lead midnight raids against each other.
"What's your boss playing at?" I asked calmly.
"C-Cisco?" he stuttered, correcting his voice to a whisper. I heard him put the receiver on the desk and shut his office door. When he picked up again, he said, "You have a lot of nerve calling here. You know that?"
"You mad because your nighttime romp in the Everglades wasn't fruitful?"
"I... The... We were just spinning our wheels."
My friend's tone betrayed confusion, like he wasn't sure where I meant. Maybe the silvans hadn't been pulling my leg after all.
I got straight to the point. "You wanna tell me what you're doing running a hit squad?"
"What?"
"I'm threatening to expose the commissioner's corrupt dealings—the manufactured gang war, the property values—all of it. They need me dead or they'll be exposed. You see that, right? They're using your team to justify my murder."
The lieutenant's voice was sharp. "We're police officers, goddamn it. Not assassins. We're going to find you, Cisco. I promise you that much. But you'll be in handcuffs, not a body bag."
I scoffed. "You sure about that?"
"Of course I am."
"You'd put my life in the hands of Sergeant Garcia? The guy who wants your job? Who wants to impress the brass at any cost?"
My friend finally had no comeback. I hoped the silence was him being sympathetic to my cause.
"What do they know about me?" I asked.
"What?"
"They know my name," I explained. "Cisco."
"Yeah. They heard me call you that at the standoff two weeks ago. It would've been suspicious except Commissioner Alvarez knew your name too. Apparently you walked right up to him and introduced yourself."
I shrugged. "I'm a personable guy. So what else do they know?"
I could practically hear Evan shaking his head in disbelief. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because people will get hurt, buddy. My family, Martine, everybody the Covey knew I was in contact with is dead. Or in your case, threatened and underhand."
Evan cleared his
Those were the simple ones.
The rest of the Covey was a harder nut to crack. Cunning and strength have played roles, no doubt, but my true obstacle was following the web of deceit they'd built in their time in Miami. The shadow play. Nigerian business fronts. A gang war incited in Little Haiti. These things led me to the politician who benefited from the conspiracy of belly-up real estate.
And that was why I was back in Miami proper, risking discovery from the "enhanced" police patrols. Rudi Alvarez wasn't an animist or a Nether creature, but he had plenty of power. It was his order that sent the DROP team to my door. He was the one with the political muscle to become mayor and own this city. Instead of taking my offer of truce, he was coming at me with everything he had. In my book, that makes him one of them, puppet or not.
Puppet strings are hard to see but, if you know what to look for, they can lead you right to the puppeteer.
But first I needed to locate the puppet. Rudi's security wasn't at his house, which meant he wasn't either. The commissioner was on lockdown, his staff disappeared and out of reach. That made for days of surveillance without yield. My investigation had pretty much ground to a halt.
Frustrating considering how close Rudi had gotten to me last night. If the Covey was going to turtle up, I had to change my strategy.
I opened the glove compartment and pulled out a spare burner phone. I use several to stay ahead of modern surveillance, but sometimes stealth is overrated. I dialed the direct line to the commander of the team tasked with hunting me down.
Chapter 10
"Cross," said my buddy as he answered the phone.
Evan wasn't my first choice for an ally these days. As a general rule, best friends don't lead midnight raids against each other.
"What's your boss playing at?" I asked calmly.
"C-Cisco?" he stuttered, correcting his voice to a whisper. I heard him put the receiver on the desk and shut his office door. When he picked up again, he said, "You have a lot of nerve calling here. You know that?"
"You mad because your nighttime romp in the Everglades wasn't fruitful?"
"I... The... We were just spinning our wheels."
My friend's tone betrayed confusion, like he wasn't sure where I meant. Maybe the silvans hadn't been pulling my leg after all.
I got straight to the point. "You wanna tell me what you're doing running a hit squad?"
"What?"
"I'm threatening to expose the commissioner's corrupt dealings—the manufactured gang war, the property values—all of it. They need me dead or they'll be exposed. You see that, right? They're using your team to justify my murder."
The lieutenant's voice was sharp. "We're police officers, goddamn it. Not assassins. We're going to find you, Cisco. I promise you that much. But you'll be in handcuffs, not a body bag."
I scoffed. "You sure about that?"
"Of course I am."
"You'd put my life in the hands of Sergeant Garcia? The guy who wants your job? Who wants to impress the brass at any cost?"
My friend finally had no comeback. I hoped the silence was him being sympathetic to my cause.
"What do they know about me?" I asked.
"What?"
"They know my name," I explained. "Cisco."
"Yeah. They heard me call you that at the standoff two weeks ago. It would've been suspicious except Commissioner Alvarez knew your name too. Apparently you walked right up to him and introduced yourself."
I shrugged. "I'm a personable guy. So what else do they know?"
I could practically hear Evan shaking his head in disbelief. "Why should I tell you?"
"Because people will get hurt, buddy. My family, Martine, everybody the Covey knew I was in contact with is dead. Or in your case, threatened and underhand."
Evan cleared his
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