"Nick?" Mike asked. "What does Angelo want to talk to me about Nick for?"
"I don’t know, Black. When I asked him what it was about, all he said was Nick and hung up the phone," Freeze said as Nick came into the office.
"All right, let’s go see what Angee wants." Mike stood up and started for the door, followed by Nick and Freeze.
"Hey, Mike, I got some business that I need to handle," Bobby said, and Freeze shot him a look. "It’s not going to take me long. Couple of hours at most."
"Handle your business," Mike said.
"I’ll get with you later," Bobby said.
After Bobby left the office, Freeze leaned toward Black. "Remind me to tell you something about Bobby," he said, and they left the office.
Mike had Freeze drive him and Nick to Yonkers to see Angelo Collette. They pulled up in front of a small private club and were met at the curb by two large gentlemen. Jimmy Lacoursiere and his associate approached the car as Mike and Nick got out of the car. "You comin’, Freeze?" Mike asked as he and Nick followed Jimmy inside the club.
"Yeah, I’ll be in there in a minute. I just need to check on something."
"Cool." Once they were inside, Mike turned to Jimmy. "Jimmy, how are you?" Mike said, handing Jimmy his guns.
"I’m okay, Black." He patted down Mike. "Angelo’s in the back. He’s waiting for you."
Mike went down the hall to Angelo’s office and knocked on the door.
"Come on in, Mikey, and sit down.
"How’s it goin’, Angee?"
"A little older, a little smarter," Angelo said. "What about you, Mikey?"
"I don’t know if you know it or not, but somebody kidnapped Cassandra from my club in the Bahamas yesterday."
"No, Mikey, I didn’t know that. Tell me, what I can do?"
"You can take me to the guy that did it. His name is Sal."
"Shit, Mikey, you know how many guys call themselves Sal? Like lookin’ for a fuckin’ needle in a fuckin’ haystack."
"This one used to run with two Latinos, but they’re both dead. They were meeting an undercover DEA agent yesterday."
"At your spot?"
"Yeah," Mike said as he stepped to the bar and poured himself a drink. "Shit went south for them, and they ended up clippin’ the agent and takin’ Cassandra."
"Do you remember Sally Fitz?
"Yeah, I remember him. Why?"
"Sal made a reputation for himself for being able to get anything for anybody, as long as they could pay his price. This naturally makes Sally very popular in some circles. I know he’s been workin’ with a couple Cubans. I don’t know if he’s in New York, or where to find him."
"If he’s my guy and he’s in New York, I’ll find him," Mike said confidently. "Now, what did you want to see me about?"
"Nick."
"What about Nick?"
"Nick’s made some people very upset lately."
"Who?"
"Diego Estabon." Before Chilly met his untimely demise, Diego Estabon used to supply him.
"Diego?" Mike had known Diego Estabon for a very long time. He used to do business with Diego’s father, Gomez, back when Black was an enforcer. He respected Gomez, but had none for Diego. "What’s he pissed about?"
"Diego says Nick is DEA."
"Nick?"
"Nick," Angelo answered.
"That’s bullshit, Angee. Nick ain’t the DEA. I’m not buying that shit."
"He said Nick cost him a lot of money."
"I don’t need this, Angee, not now."
"Said Nick did a lot of damage to his operation. On top of that, Nick killed Chilly, and you know Chilly was making big money for him."
"What does Diego expect? Chilly came to kill Nick ’cause he fucked Chilly’s wife."
"Nick fucked Gee?" Angelo asked and Mike nodded his head. "Gee’s a bad bitch. I woulda fucked her fine ass too."
"Fuckin’ with married women is bad for business."
"Whatever, Mikey. He said Nick killed some guy named Felix and some general. Diego says they were an important part of his operation."
"The General was Nick’s commander in the Army. After they got them out of South America, Felix recruited what was left of his team. Nick went after them after they had his partner, Jett was killed and they tried to kill the other partner. She’s still in the hospital now. But Nick didn’t kill Felix and the General."
"He didn’t?"
"Freeze killed them."
"What difference does it make, Mikey? The fuckers are still dead."
"Okay, so what does he want?"
"Nick. He wants Nick."
"I can’t believe that Nick is DEA."
"It don’t matter what you believe. The question is, is he or isn’t he?"
Mike sat back and thought about it. Whether he wanted to believe it or not, the possibility did exist. Nick could be a DEA operative, and if that were true, he would have to be dealt with.
"What does Diego want?"
"He wants to sit down with you."
"When and where?"
"The where is here. I’ll call you when he calls me."
Mike stood up. "Let me know."
Once they were outside and heading for the car, Mike looked at Freeze. "Nick, you drive," he said, and Freeze nodded his head. Freeze threw Nick the keys to his truck and got in the backseat on the driver’s side.
As Nick drove away, Mike sat in the front seat and thought about what Angelo had told him. Suddenly the DEA was all up in everything. First a DEA agent was killed in his club, now Angelo said Nick was DEA. Coincidence? Maybe. Nick did say he knew the agent who was killed in Black’s Paradise, so it was possible they could have been working together.
Even if it were true, why would he involve Cassandra?
Mike looked at Nick and refused to believe that somebody he’d known most of his life would turn on him. But like it or not, believe it or not, Mike had to face it and do it now. "Hey, Nick, do you remember when you and Jamaica had that scam goin’ where y’all were shakin’ down the number runners that you knew were skimmin’ money off Andre?"
"Yeah, that was a sweet hustle while it lasted," Nick said as he drove. He didn’t notice that Freeze had taken out his gun and set it on his lap.
"Andre was pretty lax about that whole gambling thing, wasn’t he?" Mike asked.
"Yeah, all Andre saw was drug money. The houses, the women, the numbers, none of that made any difference to him. It wasn’t until you took over that the money got right."
"Yeah, but it fucked up y’all’s hustle. And I know you and Jay were makin’ crazy money off them muthafuckas, right?"
"Damn sure was, Black."
"But when I took that shit over, you came to me like a man and told me about it. I didn’t even have to ask you. You just came to me and said, ‘Yo Black, this what’s happenin’, boom, boom, boom.’ Even though that shit cost you money."
"Come on, Black. I was loyal to you and you trusted me."
"Are you still loyal to me, Nick? Can I still trust you, Nick?"
Nick looked at Mike. "Of course I am."
"Nick, I gotta ask you something. Something important. I don’t even like having to ask you some shit like this, but I gotta."
"What you wanna ask me, Black?"
"Are you DEA?"
Before he answered the question, Nick glanced in the rearview mirror at Freeze. Nick immediately pulled off to the side of the road and put the car in park.
"Why you ask me that, Black?" Mike didn’t answer. "No! Hell fuckin’ no, I am not DEA."
"Tell me why Diego Estabon thinks you are?"
"Diego?" Nick said excitedly. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. "I don’t know, but it might be because it was his plant we were moving on in South America when most of our unit got killed. Maybe it’s because he had Jett killed and he’s the reason Monika is in the hospital. Maybe it’s because I killed Chilly."
"And Felix and the General," Mike pointed out.
"I killed them, Black," Freeze said.
"Diego says you cost him a lot of money."
"Look, Black, I swear to you, I am not the fuckin’ DEA."
"I had to ask."
Nick looked at Mike and glanced in the backseat at Freeze. "You were gonna kill me behind some shit fuckin’ Diego Estabon said?"
"No, Nick, I wasn’t gonna kill you on his word. But I had to look into your eyes and ask you that question," Mike said and looked back at Freeze. Nick turned back to Freeze.
"Yeah, Nick, I’da killed you. It wouldn’t be easy, much shit as we been through, but yeah, I woulda done it."
Nick looked at Mike. "It’s cool, Nick. I believe you," Mike said and Nick drove off. He never really believed Nick was DEA.
No, Diego is working some other angle, Mike thought.
"Do you remember Sally Fitz?" he asked Nick.
"Yeah, I remember him. But if you’re thinkin’ it’s the same Sal, I doubt it. I woulda recognized him," Nick said.
"Freeze, I know that you got shit you need to handle, but you and Nick ask around, see if you can find Sally Fitz," Mike told them. "Angee says Sally Fitz is workin’ with two Cubans. And two Latinos and a white guy named Sal kidnapped Cassandra. Too much of a coincidence."
"Even if it is just a coincidence, Sally Fitz knows a lot of people. He might be able to put us on to something. ’Cause right now we ain’t got shit," Freeze said.