“You need to shut up,” I said instead.
“Will you just listen to me?” he snapped. “Eduardo is getting old and distracted. He’s falling apart. He’s surrounded by tired, old men who have no idea the times have changed and every meeting, he flies off the handle and threatens to cut everyone out, and he never does, and he won’t.”
“Cortez,” I pointed out.
“I think there was more to what happened to Cortez than what we were told. That whole thing was suspicious as fuck, but I don’t care about Cortez. He was as bad as the rest of them. If it weren’t for their seconds, these assholes couldn’t find their own asses if it was taped to their mouths. Remember how Eduardo flipped when you took the kids off the playing field? Remember that?”
I did … vividly. I was sure that Eduardo would flip the table during that meeting. His rage had been a living flame bursting to life before our eyes.
Kids were the best workers, in his opinion. They were the easiest to train, to mold. The younger they were, the less chance they had of escaping. A junkie kid made the best soldier in recruiting other kids into the organization. Taking that kink out of the system hurt his bottom line. It took away his future crews and runners.
“He’s stuck in a rut,” Davien was saying when I focused again, “and he doesn’t even know it. His ideas are stale. His methods are tired. That’s why he freaks out every time no one has any new ideas, because he doesn’t either and he knows once his competitors hear that the wheels are no longer turning and Eduardo is losing power, they will descend on his territory. What this organization needs is someone new, someone who—”
“If you mean me—”
“Of course I mean you!” he cried, slapping the wheel with the heels of his hands. “You’re smart, Nero. You know the streets, but more importantly, you know the people. When was the last time Eduardo mingled with the common folk? He’s lost touch and all he cares about is money.”
“He’s a criminal,” I reminded him.
“So? So are we and we know every single person on our block. We know their families.”
“Because they’re in a binder!” I snapped, patience dwindling into panic. “We keep track of them.”
“Bullshit!” he shot back. “How many BBQ’s have we been invited to? How many parties? We have helped them move furniture, get a ride home. We’re not just thugs people run for cover from. We are part of the community … in a sense.”
I wanted to argue, to tell him he was insane, but part of me, a tiny part, was intrigued.
“So, what are you suggesting? I kill Eduardo, take over his organization and rebuild?” I was being sarcastic, hoping he saw sense and realized what a stupid idea it was.
“Yeah, basically.” Dav made a slow turn, propelling us closer to our side of town, the side we’d both grown up on and knew better than the backs of our hands. “Think about it, Nero. Our city is falling apart. It’s not just our section. He’s making our people homeless, getting them hooked on his crap, destroying their lives. People like Mia’s parents are working themselves into an early grave to pay for his … what? Protection? He’s the one destroying them.”
My heart was thumping in my chest, a hard assault of apprehension and anticipation. I knew it was my job to kill Davien where he sat. Every word he’d spoken was treason, grounds for immediate death. But I knew he was right. I had been on the streets my whole life. I had seen firsthand what Eduardo’s reign had done to my people. I had cleaned up his messes more than once.
“You need to stop talking,” I said instead, keeping my voice low. “You’re going to get us both killed.”
The other man never wavered, never so much as batted an eye. “You know I’m right.”
“That doesn’t mean we can,” I hissed.
“Why not? You’re the best enforcer that ever lived. If anyone can handle this job—”
“It’s not just a matter of killing Eduardo,” I cut him off. “I would have to take all the leaders out, and their seconds. I would need to clean house and somehow take the high seat without more bloodshed, which is exactly what will happen once word gets out. And what about Alejandro? He’s not going to just let me kill his master.”
I could almost see the wheels spinning behind Davien’s eyes, the thoughts and ideas blending together. I thought maybe I was getting through to him.
“You’d have to take Alejandro out first,” he decided at last. “Once he’s out of the picture, the rest will be easy enough. We gather men, anyone sick of Eduardo’s shit — and believe me, there are plenty — and we take his empire down one brick at a time. Just think about it.”
I told myself I wouldn’t, but it wove around me, wrapping me up in the possibilities. It continued to plague me all the way down Mia’s street. Davien was right about one thing, Eduardo wasn’t fit to be a leader. He may have been once, but age and paranoia was making him reckless and dangerous. It was those under his rule who suffered.
Things had always seemed bad growing up. I was raised in the belly of the beast, at the knee of a killer. I never knew anything else. The world had always been bleak and hopeless with people in power finding ways to grind others under their heels. The system was what killed my father and ruined my mother. The system was what kept Mia away from us. Even Davien and I were part of the problem. We were aiding in the destruction of those we cared about, and for what?
But I couldn’t. It wasn’t just a matter of storming into Eduardo’s fortress and blowing his brains out. An enforcer knew how to plan, how to execute every step and second of his task. I would need to remove Eduardo of his guards, especially Alejandro. That would be a mission in itself; he would not be easy to take out. I wasn’t worried about the others, but once I had Alejandro out of the picture, I would have to systematically rid of the other leaders and their guards and seconds. I would have to do all of that without getting caught, without drawing attention from the police or the crews. It would be taking the seat after the fact that would be the most challenging. I would need men and power, and lots of it. I would need years. A plan that intricate and meticulous couldn’t be rushed.
“Hey, check it out.”
I blinked out of my plotting and focused on the familiar outline of Mia’s family home. Two figures stood on the path leading up to his front steps. I recognized Luis. He stood clutching a ratty lunch bag and facing off with a portly man in a green and white striped t-shirt. The two seemed to be in a heated argument, one that had a red tinge clawing up the other man’s plump face. Luis held on to his calm, but even I could see the tight grip of his knuckles around the worn cloth of his bag. The bigger man was edging closer, dominating the space around Luis with every low hiss of his words.
“What do you think that’s about?” Dav asked, watching the scene unfold with a hand on the door handle.
“Don’t know,” I answered.
“Should I break it up?”
I snorted. “Do you think Luis will thank you for interrupting?”
Dav grunted a sound of agreement but unlatched the door. It popped open with a soft click, and he was unfolding himself from the seat. I followed after a shake of my head.