shake his resolve, but what did was coming to with pictures of the Baileys with bull’s-eyes drawn on them taped to the walls of his bedroom.
Chapter Eleven
Trevor decided then he would distance himself from the Baileys. He stopped visiting their home and didn’t stay with them when his uncle was out of town. The next time his uncle threatened Shanice, Trevor told him he didn’t care about her or anybody. He hoped it would be enough to keep Phil’s focus off the Baileys, especially if he could convince his uncle they weren’t important to him anymore.
That hope was short-lived. Soon Phil owed the mob so much money, the state of Florida alone wasn’t enough. His uncle checked him out of school one day to share an ingenious plan he and Frick and Frack had cooked up.
As Trevor approached Phil’s car that day, he saw the mobsters waiting in the car, one in the front passenger side and one in the backseat. Phil opened his door, but Trevor just stood there, wondering if he shouldn’t run.
Where would he go, though? The Baileys were out of the question if he didn’t want to put their lives in jeopardy.
“What’re you waiting for?” Frack said. “Get in the goddamn car.”
“Trevor,” Philip said in warning.
Trevor had no choice. He got in and Philip pulled away.
“So, here’s the deal,” Frick said. “Back when Phil told us where he gets his money from, that got us thinking. If we expand this little operation to a couple other states, we could give Florida a rest while we fleece some new ones.”
“You can do that can’t you, kid?” Frack said.
“’Course he can,” Phil said. “My nephew is a computer genius.”
Trevor was not in a mood to be patronized that day, so he decided he’d stall them. “I don’t have the inside access that I had when I started doing this for Phil. Going in blind trying to do this in another state is going to take a while.”
“How long?” Frick said.
“It could take months to hack into the list alone. Then I’d have to find out which banks they used, and that could take several more months.”
Frack pointed a finger in his face. “Listen, you’re not jerking us around, are you, kid?”
“No. I promise,” Trevor lied.
“In the meantime, the Boss has got some more slot machines he wants you to fix for him.”
Trevor got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He did the slot job, and he “started” on the other job, when in fact he was just farting around on the internet feigning the work for the other states. David once told him that when hackers did things across state lines, that was automatic federal time. He would try to stay within the confines of federal law a little while longer.
“T-t-trevor... ”
Shanice was crying so hard on the phone he could barely understand anything except his name. His resolve to stay away from the Baileys went out the window when he heard that little girl crying.
“Hey, Shanice. What’s wrong?”
There was more sobbing before she said, “It’s Mom... .”
Trevor’s mind immediately went to Frick and Frack. What If they’d done something to Brenda to send him a message? “Okay, you need to calm down and breathe so I can understand what you’re saying. What happened to Brenda?”
“S-she was in an a-accident.”
“Where are you?”
“At home with the twins. Dad’s at the hospital with Mom. S-she lost the baby, Trevor. It was a little girl.”
“I’m on my way.”
Trevor didn’t care that he just had a learner’s permit. He took the car Phil promised him for his birthday that he wasn’t supposed to be driving alone yet, and drove the few miles to the Bailey’s home. Their neighbor’s dog began to bark like Trevor was a stranger, despite the fact he’d been a resident of that street when they got him.
He called Shanice rather than use the doorbell to let her know he was there. The twins were probably in bed, so he didn’t want to wake them. A few seconds later, she opened the door
Chapter Eleven
Trevor decided then he would distance himself from the Baileys. He stopped visiting their home and didn’t stay with them when his uncle was out of town. The next time his uncle threatened Shanice, Trevor told him he didn’t care about her or anybody. He hoped it would be enough to keep Phil’s focus off the Baileys, especially if he could convince his uncle they weren’t important to him anymore.
That hope was short-lived. Soon Phil owed the mob so much money, the state of Florida alone wasn’t enough. His uncle checked him out of school one day to share an ingenious plan he and Frick and Frack had cooked up.
As Trevor approached Phil’s car that day, he saw the mobsters waiting in the car, one in the front passenger side and one in the backseat. Phil opened his door, but Trevor just stood there, wondering if he shouldn’t run.
Where would he go, though? The Baileys were out of the question if he didn’t want to put their lives in jeopardy.
“What’re you waiting for?” Frack said. “Get in the goddamn car.”
“Trevor,” Philip said in warning.
Trevor had no choice. He got in and Philip pulled away.
“So, here’s the deal,” Frick said. “Back when Phil told us where he gets his money from, that got us thinking. If we expand this little operation to a couple other states, we could give Florida a rest while we fleece some new ones.”
“You can do that can’t you, kid?” Frack said.
“’Course he can,” Phil said. “My nephew is a computer genius.”
Trevor was not in a mood to be patronized that day, so he decided he’d stall them. “I don’t have the inside access that I had when I started doing this for Phil. Going in blind trying to do this in another state is going to take a while.”
“How long?” Frick said.
“It could take months to hack into the list alone. Then I’d have to find out which banks they used, and that could take several more months.”
Frack pointed a finger in his face. “Listen, you’re not jerking us around, are you, kid?”
“No. I promise,” Trevor lied.
“In the meantime, the Boss has got some more slot machines he wants you to fix for him.”
Trevor got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He did the slot job, and he “started” on the other job, when in fact he was just farting around on the internet feigning the work for the other states. David once told him that when hackers did things across state lines, that was automatic federal time. He would try to stay within the confines of federal law a little while longer.
“T-t-trevor... ”
Shanice was crying so hard on the phone he could barely understand anything except his name. His resolve to stay away from the Baileys went out the window when he heard that little girl crying.
“Hey, Shanice. What’s wrong?”
There was more sobbing before she said, “It’s Mom... .”
Trevor’s mind immediately went to Frick and Frack. What If they’d done something to Brenda to send him a message? “Okay, you need to calm down and breathe so I can understand what you’re saying. What happened to Brenda?”
“S-she was in an a-accident.”
“Where are you?”
“At home with the twins. Dad’s at the hospital with Mom. S-she lost the baby, Trevor. It was a little girl.”
“I’m on my way.”
Trevor didn’t care that he just had a learner’s permit. He took the car Phil promised him for his birthday that he wasn’t supposed to be driving alone yet, and drove the few miles to the Bailey’s home. Their neighbor’s dog began to bark like Trevor was a stranger, despite the fact he’d been a resident of that street when they got him.
He called Shanice rather than use the doorbell to let her know he was there. The twins were probably in bed, so he didn’t want to wake them. A few seconds later, she opened the door
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