"Hello Larry, how are you today?" Chelsea asked as she passed him on the way to the kitchen to get some drinks for the men. "You look happy."
"Oh, I am happy. Tomas is in jail for five days, and on suspension for thirty," he told her.
"Oh?"
"Yep, but also, while he was in court John said we hit one of those stash places you gave Elias and we came away with a good amount of his resources. About eight hundred."
Elias whistled. "Now we have some play money."
"Yep. Also, I made a friend down at Internal Affairs and passed him some of the victim names. Just a couple, just to see what he was going to be able to do. We still want to use some for the other side, right?"
"Right. So, what did he say?"
"Well, he's a cop, and you know they don't tell you much, but after a quick search on his computer with those names he was very interested in talking to Chelsea and learning more about her story." Larry said. "Of course I told him that wasn't possible right now—doctor's orders—but still, the fish was hooked I would say."
Chelsea listened and tried to understand what he was saying, "He wants to talk to me? Is that a good idea?"
"No baby, not right now, and you don't have to worry about it until you are much, much better, alright? Doc's not going to let them bother you," Elias told her.
Chelsea nodded, still processing. She remembered her pill and went back to the kitchen to take one.
"He doesn't need to talk to you Chelsea," Larry called after her, and walked a little toward her so she could hear him. "He's got enough to get started. He's a cop, he'll do his job."
"Okay." She nodded. "I'm not sure I want to talk to him, either. Every time I've talked to a cop I've gotten a ticket or have been arrested. Not the funnest thing I can think of doing."
Larry laughed. "I hear you. You know, speaking of that, Duffy mentioned to me that he was looking for someone to work his counter down at the shop for him. Seems his girl now is taking off for California."
"California? I’ve always wanted to go there. Someday I want to ride out there and see the Ocean. Maybe San Diego."
"Yeah, that would be a nice ride, huh? But you know, Duffy might like you to work for him if you are thinking you might want a job." Larry continued.
"Work for Duffy? He's funny. Did he mention anything about my Shelby? Has he sold it yet?" Chelsea asked.
"I think he has a buyer for you, yes. You might want to give him a call and find out," Larry told her.
"I'll do that, thank you," Chelsea said as she brought a tray of drinks out for Jeff, Dave, Tom, and Elias.
After she served them, she said to Elias, "I'm going to call Duffy and see what's going on, alright?"
"Sounds like a good idea," Elias told her.
Elias watched her walk back to their room, and then he turned to Larry. "I don't think she's quite ready for a job yet, buddy, but thanks for the effort."
"Yeah, she didn't seem that interested did she?" Larry mused.
"We just got back from Doc's. She's probably got a lot on her mind right now," Elias offered. "So, tell me about this Internal Affairs guy."
"Oh, he's not the interesting one, the interesting one is Tomas' partner. The one and only Mike Wilson."
"I know that name," Jeff said, taking a sip of his cola. "Guy’s a hound that hunts, is what I hear."
"Oh yes," Larry said. "Guys practically a legend in the department. I didn't want to slip him anything until I talked to you Elias, but I think that's our real man on the inside. If Wilson gets something in his teeth, he's not going to let go until it's torn to shreds and very dead."
Dave nodded. "That's what I hear as well. If we could get him on Tomas' trail he could be a real benefit to us, especially with Tomas being his partner and all."
"A dirty partner of a legend cop," Elias mused. "Interesting. I'm getting good feelings about that. Let's make a move. Go ahead and send him over some information. See if you can cross-check a bust that he was in on, that Chelsea might have on her list, and feed him that."
"Ouch," Larry said. "That will stick in his craw if we could pull that off. I'll get on it. Also, John raised my budget to one hundred grand with the success of the raid this morning. With that, I should be able to get a bull’s-eye if there's one to hit."
"Wow, that's some serious cash there, mister lawyer man." Elias smiled.
"Hey, I'm keeping good books," Larry complained.
Elias laughed and raised his hands in surrender. "Never crossed my mind otherwise. Ease down on that throttle, shit."
"Sorry," Larry chagrined. "I guess it makes me a little nervous having that kind of budget. No offense."
"None taken. I might be a little worried about it myself. So, is John going to try to hit one of the other stashes?"
"Tonight," Larry said with a nod. "With Tomas in jail, John's thinking the more we take, the less he'll have, and it might piss off a partner or two of his as well. Cause some chaos for him."
"Any feelings on what the trio has decided as far as the club backing Chelsea?" Elias asked.
"I think that would be under the heading of 'talking out of class,' my friend. He did say that he wants to see you and Chelsea tomorrow down at his office. He asked me to see if seven o'clock would be alright with you," Larry told him.
"Seven will be fine. Should I call him?"
"I'm heading back to talk with him when I leave here. I'll let him know," Larry offered.
"Thanks. Yeah, seven will be fine. Chelsea too, huh?"
"Yeah. He said it concerns her, and she should hear it from him," Larry said.
"Yeah, alright," Elias agreed, not really liking the sound of that.
Chelsea came skipping out of the hallway, wearing a light blue, very short sun dress, and her hair pulled back in a pony tail that bobbed behind her. "Duffy sold my Shelby!" she announced.
"Nice; how much?" Elias asked, turning toward her and noticing that Jeff and Dave both suddenly had other things to look at, which amused him greatly. She did look very sexy in a girl-next-door sort of way.
"Nineteen!" She laughed.
"Sweet," Larry said. "That'll get you a nice Sportster. Hell, you could go new with that."
"Yep!" she said with a smile. "But I'm thinking that the guys are right—maybe I would be happier with a Softail. You know, larger gas tank, better range, and the belt drive for a smoother ride."
"I love mine," Larry agreed. "Let me know if you would like to try it out sometime."
"Oh? Well, then, I'm letting you know!" she said with a grin. "I love your bike. Very sexy. It's no wonder you get the young girls."
Dave coughed into his fist and Jeff chuckled. Larry blushed a little. "Yeah, that's probably it," he said, and then shot warning looks at the other two men. "Well, I got to get going. I'll come by tomorrow and let you take it for a spin."
"Perfect!" she laughed and then bounced over and gave him a hug. "See you soon."