Fight 4 Us | Book 14 | Revenge, page 19
part #14 of Fight 4 Us Series
“Nice general answer,” I say.
Artem shoots me a look of disgust, but then he quickly laughs and says, “You’re a wise-ass, huh? Sal is the same way. I like that.”
“Artem, tell them what you know about Sal and what you told me about his operations,” says TJ to Artem.
“Sal is looking to expand his operations and he needs people to do that. Svetlana and her people are only willing to help him so much as they have their own problems and they can’t only be concerned with Sal’s community,” responds Artem.
“Do you work for Svetlana or Sal?” asks Phil to Artem.
“I’m an independent contractor, but I have worked for Svetlana’s group before and have recorded messages of her and Sal talking,” answers Artem.
“Are you a hacker?” I ask Artem.
Artem chuckles and answers, “That’s one way to describe me, but I do have skills that I have used to gain access into secure companies, buildings, and services, yes.”
“Why does Sal want to clear out Ybor?” asks Phil to Artem.
“I think it’s mostly about a power play and pissing match over Tampa Bay. He hates that the black group has so many buildings and connections all over here and he wants to slowly carve out his own piece of the pie,” answers Artem.
“Can we trust Sal?” I ask Artem.
Artem smiles and answers, “Can you really trust anyone anymore? People are only concerned about saving their own asses and getting what they want no matter who gets hurt.”
I look at Phil, but don’t answer.
“Do you know Sal or anything about him?” asks Phil to TJ.
TJ answers, “Somewhat, but he’s pretty smart at letting other people take the fall for things. We know he’s a criminal and has connections with organized crime, but Tampa PD hasn’t ever been able to convict him or really even gotten close to convicting him.”
“Where does Dennison and Alberto come into play with Sal?” asks Phil to TJ.
“They are lower-level criminals and have been in and out of jail for years. Ray and I must have busted them several times for similar crimes every other year, but they had connections with lawyers and they got the minimal sentences on things a lot of the time,” answers TJ.
“You think Sal and his lawyers were able to get Dennison and his crew minimal jail time?” asks Phil to TJ.
“Yeah, I never met Sal personally, but from what I’ve heard and seen, he does take care of the people that he’s connected with,” answers TJ.
“Speaking of taking care of people, what am I getting for this meeting?” asks Artem.
I look at Artem and can’t tell if he’s joking or not. Artem looks serious as he makes eye contact with TJ, Phil, and then me.
“What do you want?” asks Phil to Artem.
Artem doesn’t answer and he looks at TJ.
TJ smiles at Artem and answers, “How many times did I save your ass. Remember who saved you just last week when those people broke into your place?”
“Yeah, yeah. I know big police man and his dog saved me,” replies Artem.
“Where are you living Artem?” I ask.
“All over. I try to keep moving as to avoid being caught. It’s just me that I have to worry about and my gear is designed to be mobile,” answers Artem.
“I recently saved him when he was living in a mansion on the beach,” says TJ.
“Nice, but who tried to rob you?” asks Phil to Artem.
“I don’t know, but luckily they didn’t get me,” answers Artem.
“He hid in the safe room, while Janet, Odin, and I cleared out the house and scared the looters away,” says TJ.
“Did you ever live in Channelside?” I ask Artem.
“For a brief time, but I left after Sal started removing people. He cleaned out so many useless people and people that he perceived as a threat,” answers Artem.
“Do you know the three Russian motorcyclists?” asks Phil to Artem.
Artem chuckles and answers, “You crack me up Phillip. I know they are Svetlana’s troika and they handle their shit. My advice is to stay away from them.”
“What do they do for Svetlana?” I ask Artem.
“Anything she wants, but mostly they eliminate anyone that crosses or threatens her,” answers Artem.
Artem finishes his bottle of water and asks Phil for another bottle of water.
“When do you plan on meeting with Sal again?” asks TJ to me.
Phil comes back into Shaun’s living room and hands Artem two bottles of water.
“I don’t know, we haven’t heard back from him since we had dinner with him the other night,” I answer TJ.
“No date to clear out Ybor? Are you guys definitely going to help Sal with Ybor though?” asks TJ.
“They have to, as Sal would take it as an insult and it would be very bad for them,” says Artem.
“Bad how? What would he do?” I ask Artem.
“Maybe nothing, but maybe he would attack you and your friends. He might get his friends to go after your friends and he could try to remove people from your community,” answers Artem.
“How do you know all this? You don’t work for Sal or live in Channelside?” asks Phil to Artem.
“I have listening devices all over Tampa Bay and I hear a lot of chatter all around here. I’ve heard Sal talk about some crazy things, some violent things,” answers Artem.
Something seems off with Artem, but I guess living in a zombie apocalypse will do that to people. Artem just seems like the guy that will have loyalty for a price and his allegiance is based on who is paying him the most.
“Well, thank you for the information Artem and we appreciate your input,” I say as I look at Artem.
Phil looks at me and wonders why I want to end the conversation with Artem and TJ.
“That’s it? Thought you said they would ask me tough questions,” says Artem to TJ.
I feel like my information and interaction with Artem could be used against us somehow down the road, so I end my conversation with Artem, but ask to speak with TJ privately.
TJ has Artem wait in his jeep that is parked in Shaun’s driveway.
Artem exits Shaun’s house and Phil and TJ look at me and Phil asks, “What’s up Ry? Why did you end the conversation with Artem?”
“That guy could be playing us and something seems off about him,” I answer Phil.
“He’s a good guy and he’ll tell it to you straight with no bullshit, but he is out to protect himself,” says TJ.
“Yeah, but who is not to say he won’t go talk with Sal or whoever about meeting with us and the questions we asked here?” I ask.
“He’s got a point. What if he goes to Sal and says that we were asking about him and he makes us look bad?” asks Phil to TJ.
“I doubt that will happen, but I get your point and concern. You don’t know what he could do and frankly, I don’t either, but it just worked out that we saved Artem from a group and I thought he could help you guys,” answers TJ.
I thank TJ for bringing Artem here but also voice my concern about Artem and how he seems loyal to people based on payment.
“Artem has always been about getting his own and saving his own ass, but he is good at getting information and his skills may be able to help out with Sal and things around here in the future,” says TJ.
I think about the government, military, and what Bakari and Isiah told me recently and ask TJ if he knows anything or has heard anything about the government and military being involved with things around Tampa Bay.
“If the government or some rogue group of special forces are involved with things around here, then they are doing so quietly. My dad hasn’t told me about anything like that happening at MacDill, and I haven’t seen anything like that there either, but I’ll look into it,” says TJ.
“When were you last at MacDill?” I ask TJ.
“It’s been a little while. I’ll try to swing by MacDill after I drop Artem off today,” answers TJ.
BEEP! BEEP!
The sound of TJ’s jeep horn is heard and TJ sees Artem honking his horn as he sits inside TJ’s jeep.
“Looks like your Russian friend is getting restless,” I joke.
“I better get going. I hope this was helpful and I’m glad you guys and CO are okay,” says TJ.
Phil and I thank TJ for coming and TJ exits Shaun’s house and exits Citrus Oaks.
“That guy was a piece of work,” says Phil.
“Great special guest,” I joke.
“At least we got some information about Sal and things around here,” replies Phil.
“Yeah, but it’s clear as mud now. Still don’t feel one hundred percent comfortable working with Sal though,” I say.
“Ryan are you there, Ryan?” asks a woman over the radio.
I look at Phil and Phil asks, “Who is that? You got a side piece?”
I grab the radio off the end table and say into the radio, “This is Ryan. Who is this?”
“Faith, are you available to talk?” answers the woman over the radio.
“Yeah, is everything okay?” I ask into my radio.
“Yeah, it’s going pretty well actually, but I wanted to give you an update with Bishop and the Pastor and everything,” answers Faith over the radio.
“How did that go? Are they coming after us?” I joke.
“It went well, and they accepted the Pastor’s body. So, you don’t have to worry about that,” replies Faith over the radio.
“They better have, as it was his fucking dead body,” says Phil.
“Any word on your daughter?” I ask into my radio to Faith.
Phil sees Matt, from inside Shaun’s house through Shaun’s large living room window, drive down the street and towards our main entrance gate.
“The last information I got from Bishop is that she’s alive and at one of the islands in the Caribbean,” answers Faith over the radio.
“That’s good news, but who has her?” I reply into my radio.
“That’s what I’m trying to find out, but at least I know she’s alive. Now I just need to get to that Island,” says Faith over the radio.
“I’ll look into it. I’ll ask around and see if my contacts know anything about the Caribbean,” I say into my radio to Faith.
“Always the hero,” jokes Phil to himself after he hears that I’m going to ask around about the islands in the Caribbean.
“That would be great and please let me know if you find out any information as soon as possible,” says Faith over the radio.
“I will, and thanks for the update. Did you find out any more information about Bishop and the group he’s with?” I ask into my radio to Faith.
Faith quickly answers, “No, but I gotta go. I’ll be in touch.”
Faith ends our radio call and Phil looks at me and says, “That was a rushed ending to your conversation. Someone might have been watching her on the radio.”
“You think she was forced to call me? Was she lying to me about Rachel, the Island, and the Caribbean?” I ask as I put the radio down onto the end table near Shaun’s front door.
“Hard to know, but we did hear Bishop tell Faith about Rachel being on the Island when they were here,” answers Phil.
“Well at least they accepted the Pastor’s body and that’s done with now,” I say.
“Where was Matt going?” asks Phil.
“He was going to see Mike,” I answer Phil.
“For what?” asks Phil.
“To see about getting access to the Ybor and downtown cameras,” I answer Phil.
“How do so many people know how to access things like that? How to hack into companies and businesses?” asks Phil.
“Guess they stayed alive by hiding in their mom’s basements,” I joke.
Phil and I exit Shaun’s house and Phil asks me, “Who are you going to ask about the Island in the Caribbean?”
“Think we should start with Hector and then Javi,” I answer Phil.
“You want… I’ll call Hector at the Haven and go from there,” replies Phil.
“Thanks man, and nice work getting TJ over here today. Even if that guy Artem was a weirdo,” I say to Phil.
“I do what I can, but yeah he was kind of weird. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a better sense of Sal or anything else either,” replies Phil.
“Can’t win them all, let me know what you find out, if you find out anything,” I say to Phil and then cross the street and go into my house.
Hours go by and it’s getting kind of late. I start to worry about Matt, so I pick up my radio and call for him as I walk out my front door and look across the street at his house and empty driveway.
Brody answers me over the radio and tells me that he hasn’t come back yet, but he’ll let me know when he does.
“If he’s not back in an hour, we are going over to Mike and Whitney’s house,” I say into my radio to Brody.
“I’m doing fine guys. JJ and I are looking at Mike’s Space Wars robot and we lost track of time. We’ll be home shortly,” says Matt over the radio.
“Where are you now?” I ask into my radio.
“At Mike and Whitney’s still, but we are finishing up,” answers Matt over the radio.
“Good to know, hope you got some good information for us,” I reply into my radio.
“Oh, I do, we’ll be home shortly,” responds Matt over the radio.
I sit down on my front porch as the sun sets in the distance. It’s nice and cool out and there is a nice breeze in the air. I’m enjoying the quietness, but that doesn’t last long as I hear gunshots and commotion near our main entrance.
“What’s going on at the entrance?” I ask into my radio.
BANG!
BANG!
Two more gunshots go off at our main entrance and Brody tells me over the radio that they killed a group of zombies and they are gone now.
A car comes driving down our main street and I see the car turn the corner and pass my house. It’s Matt and JJ in the car. Matt drives down the street and turns the other corner and heads towards the back of our neighborhood to drive JJ home.
I stand up from my front porch chair and impatiently wait for Matt to turn the corner and park his electric car in his driveway.
After what feels like hours, but was probably minutes, Matt finally comes back down our street and parks his car in his driveway.
“Everything okay with Mike and Whitney?” I shout to Matt.
Matt didn’t see me and kind of gets startled as I shout to him. Matt shouts back to me, “Yeah, everything was good! I’ll tell you everything in a minute, let me go check on Kylie and my mom first!”
“Okay, just come over when you’re done,” I say to Matt and then Matt goes into his house.
I enter my house and Lauren asks me, as she sits on our living room sofa, “What’s all the yelling about?”
“Matt just got home from Mike’s and I hope he has some good information for us,” I answer Lauren.
Matt knocks on my front door and he comes into my house.
“What did you find out?” I ask Matt as I stand in my living room with Lauren.
“It’s better if I show you,” answers Matt as he holds a video SD card in his right hand.
Matt hands me the video SD card and says to Lauren, “I’m not sure you want to see this video.”
“Why not?” asks Lauren.
I put the video SD card into my DVD player and Matt answers Lauren, “I don’t know if you want to see all these zombies. Mike was able to get some good video of Ybor and downtown.”
I play the video that’s on Matt’s video SD card and I sit down on my sofa next to Lauren.
“Mike was able to record what we saw on his computer monitors and it’s not looking good in Ybor,” says Matt as we look at my television.
“How many zombies are in there?” asks Lauren as we see tons and tons of zombies trapped inside the streets of Ybor.
I look at the large group of zombies bumping into each other, moaning, groaning, screaming, and staggering around on my television screen and answer Lauren, “A shitload more than we can handle.”
CHAPTER 18
GET PATTED DOWN OR LEAVE
“We’re going to need one hell of a plan, if we’re going to succeed in clearing out that many zombies,” I say as I look at the paused image of thousands of zombies all together in the streets of Ybor.
“Why are they so close together? Why aren’t they more spread out?” asks Lauren.
“It looks like someone was able to block them in and keep them from getting out of Ybor with blockades, fencing, and vehicles,” answers Matt.
“Can’t we just drop a bomb and blow them up?” asks Lauren.
“Sal wants Ybor and the businesses preserved. We can’t damage the stores, buildings, restaurants, and really anything in there,” I answer Lauren.
“I’m glad I’m not going in there, it looks like a death trap,” says Matt.
Lauren looks at me with a concerned expression and I say to Lauren, “We’ll figure something out, and I’m not going to risk any of our lives for some stupid ass restaurants and shops.”
“Did JJ see this video?” I ask Matt.
“Yeah, and he seemed concerned about all those zombies,” answers Matt.
“I bet, that number of zombies could really cause some major problems around here,” says Lauren.
I look at my smartwatch and I see that it’s 6:34 PM and I tell Matt, “Let’s get everyone together first thing tomorrow morning and we’ll come up with a plan for Ybor.”
“Do we really have to clear it out?” asks Matt.
“Have you spoken with Sal about it since our dinner?” asks Lauren.
“I haven’t talked with him, but I think clearing out Ybor is still part of the deal,” I answer.
“I don’t know man, it seems like it’s not worth the risk,” says Matt.
I see Lauren has another worried expression on her face and I turn off the video, thank Matt for getting the video, and tell him again to get everyone together first thing in the morning.
“Like what time and where are we going to meet?” asks Matt.
