Mo looked up from watching Stan adjust bolts on his Everyday carry to look out across the yard. Burnt grass and gravel. An old tennis court walled off by weeds and vines growing through the rusting chain-link fence around it.
“I thought your guy didn’t want you to wrench on that thing.”
Stan grunted with effort. “I think he put some thread locker on all these, too.”
Mo took a few swallows of his beer. Shook his head as he turned back around. “Maybe that’s because you shouldn’t be dicking with it.”
Stan stood up and shifted his weight from foot to foot with a satisfied smile. “Yeah, but he doesn’t have to wear it.”
Mo finished his beer and thought about switching to water. Through the window he saw Gen pulling Ronnie by the hand, both of their grins clear in the bright sun.
Gen’s braid swung like a blond pendulum. Ronnie’s brown afro bounced like it had a life of its own.
They’d already been to the beach. Heads together as they traded secrets. Gen had always had a smile for everything and everybody, but she was laughing more than he had ever seen her laugh.
“So what now?” he asked.
Stan cracked a fresh beer. Offered it up, and instead of turning it away, Mo accepted it without even pretending he wasn’t gonna have a few more.
Stan shrugged. “I just gotta walk on it a little. A few hops and jumps. Make sure it stays high and tight.”
Mo took a drink. A calming breath. “Nah, man. I mean … what now?”
Stan’s guilty smile made it clear he had understood the question just fine. He sighed. “Well, I’m almost out of money.”
“How much is almost?”
Stan looked up at the ceiling and tipped his head in thought. “If I didn’t have to involve Household Services, maybe quite awhile, but as it stands, I might have trouble seeing this through.”
“How much do you need?”
Stan grinned. Pointed at Mo like he’d caught on to his trick. “I won’t bother giving you a number because I’ll never ask you for help.”
Mo held up his hand. “No. I agreed to help. That means I’m in for what I owe.”
“You’re paying with your support.”
“Support.” Mo almost spit the word out. “What’s that worth?”
Stan pointed out the window. “Look at them. Smiling and doing what they can in a bad situation. Loving each other. What’s that worth?”
Mo understood the point. He just didn’t want to concede. “Whatever.”
“Look,” Stan said. He dropped back into his seat, and Mo was surprised when dust didn’t puff up from under him. Sure the place was on a private beach, but it was still a dump.
“I’m running on credit. Now, my credit’s good, but it won’t last. It goes through various fronts. Backed by what some people might see as extremely shady deals and loopholes. And for a while, that shit will stand. But the closer I get to my limit, the more pressure we’ll be under.”
Mo turned back to the window. The girls were dancing. It looked like Ronnie was trying to teach Gen a move or two. It looked good from where he was standing, but he’d watch Gen do just about anything.
He didn’t understand her sudden uncertainty. It had surprised him. He knew she was under some strain, but he hadn’t realized it was so far gone. He was embarrassed that he hadn’t seen it coming.
He didn’t want to marry her because he owed it to her. But he would because he did. Even he heard how hollow his excuses were becoming.
Mo drained his beer. Set the sweating bottle down without a coaster. “Me and Gen are good. I’m a cash-and-carry kind of guy. Got about 30,000 in a fire box. Two .45s. A Mossberg. Plenty of ammo. A credit card in a fake name for emergencies. Plus, I got skills. If we make it out of this, we’ll be fine.”
“That’s good to hear. Something I won’t have to worry about. Still, I’m not begging for change just yet.”
“Then what?” Mo said. He grabbed his own beer out of the cooler this time.
Stan waited until he had opened the bottle and taken the first drink. “Well, we need the evidence. The video we sent to the Herald made it, and then it got buried. Does it still exist?”
Mo shrugged.
Stan pointed his hand at him like a firing gun. “Exactly. We can assume it no longer exists.”
“Or it’s with the other one at the Attorney General's office.”
Stan “fired” his finger gun again. “Bingo. And we know we can assume they are locked up or destroyed. I don’t think we can count on getting help from any official agency. I wouldn’t even be safe to try to figure out which cops were safe to trust.”
“What about the one you sent to Mallory Black?”
Stan just leaned back and shook his head.
Mo squinted his eyes. “That doesn’t look good. Did you call her?”
Stan nodded. “Didn’t get through.”
Mo’s eyes widened. “Is she dead?”
“I don’t think so. But the feeling I got was that she had become increasingly difficult to find.”
“Somebody get to her?”
“Maybe. Or she went underground before they could. “Administrative leave” was the official line, but she’s had a shaky relationship with the sheriff’s office for some time now. Gone and back. Off and on. I think she might be a boozer.”
Mo held his bottle up. “How would you know that?”
“I don’t. It’s just her silence is a little convenient. Don’t you think?”
“Like somebody has leverage on her.”
“Exactly.”
“You know anything about her otherwise? Family or anything?”
Stan shook his head. “Not really. Just that I sent her something important, and now she’s gone.”
Mo grunted. “Maybe she’s even with them.”
“I thought of that too.”
The girls were still dancing. He could see the gleam of sweat on their skin. Gen loved the heat. Loved anything that made her sweat. Working or playing, day or night. Every once in a while he had a tickle of doubt and wondered if he was going to be able to keep up with her.
Would he be able to keep up with their children?
“You never really answered my question.”
Stan nodded. “Well, I need more money. And we need the video. So, I guess we’ll have to go to Texas to get it.”
“Or find Mallory Black.”
“Right. And if we start a secret missing person’s search here, we may stir up some shit. Make ourselves more well-known.”
“Not to mention there’s not even a peep about us on the news. Nothing from Kirby except how amazing his fucking cruise was.”
Stan growled. “That guy makes me want to vomit blood.”
“Damn,” Mo said with a disgusted sneer. “Anyway, if they’re keeping us off the news it’s cuz they don’t want us found. They want us dead.”
“Agreed.”
It seemed obvious to Mo. “Then we need to go to Texas.”
Stan rubbed his face with both hands. Picked his beer back up. Had it halfway to his mouth before realizing it was empty. He lowered it with a sigh. “I can’t help feeling like I’m missing something important. Like if I leave the danger here, I’ll be moving into danger there. Only this danger I know about.”
Mo didn’t see it the same way, but maybe he just didn’t have the same information Stan had. Which was possible. Stan often held it close to the vest, even around people he trusted. “No matter what, we need to get that video. Make a billion copies and spam ‘em all over the Internet. Like a campaign bigger than that Nigerian prince scam. We know two copies exist that we might be able to access, but we only know where one of them is. That seems to me to point to a road trip. Plus, you just said you're almost out of money, and that’s where the rest of it is. What, like unmarked bills in a safety deposit box?”
Stan frowned. “Something like that.”
“Then I think that’s the way to go.”
Stan nodded as he looked out the window. “You think we got a couple days here? Anybody know where we are?”
Mo nodded as he turned to follow Stan's gaze. “I think so.”
“Good. I think they could use a few days to decompress while we get ready.”
“Them? Hell, I could use a few myself.”
Stan grinned. “I heard that.” He bent for two more beers. Handed one to Mo as he stood. “Then let’s get out there. I guess dancing’s as good a way as any to test a new leg.”
Mo snorted laughter as he followed Stan outside. If the others could do it, he could pretend as well.