FIFTEEN
The building is inconspicuous enough. It’s really nothing more than an old warehouse converted into a storefront business selling lawn-care items.
A front for my brother’s drug operation, just one of the many dirty rackets he has his hands in.
It’s served him well for many years. Either the cops don’t know or don’t care about it, and the ones who do know are paid to keep away and keep their mouths shut. Money talks, and as much as people don’t want to believe the men in blue can succumb to its siren’s call…they’re only human. They have bills, they have families, they have wants and dreams, and a little extra cash for turning a blind eye is something many are willing to accept.
Dawn is still two hours away, so all is dark and quiet for the time being.
It won’t stay that way long.
Four of Tarek’s men will arrive around six a.m., ready to spend the day sitting in the back office, bullshitting in between shipments while a clueless employee stands in the front in case any customers actually show up. My brother is good at one thing, he’s managed to keep a few people in the dark so if things go to shit, they can’t tell the cops anything if one he hasn’t managed to pay off accidentally stumbles in. I’m sure the employees suspect something shady, but Tarek’s men are scary enough to prevent questions.
I slip into the side entrance using the same passcode that’s been in place for as long as Tarek has owned the building. The moron didn’t even bother to change it after I left. Whoever is handling his security doesn’t have a fucking clue.
Maneuvering through the dark, I make my way to the back offices and open yet another door that should have been secured. It’s almost like he’s begging me to do this.
Poker chips and cards lie scattered across the table, leftover from their last game, and empty beer bottles overflow from the trash bin.
The bomb goes in the most obvious place…smack dab in the middle of the underside of the table. The blast will take out his men but leave the innocents out front unharmed. No matter how much I hate my brother, I'll do what I can to avoid collateral damage. The blast will also draw the police to the warehouse and any stock that isn’t destroyed by the rest of the bombs will be confiscated.
If I were going to let him live, he’d be going away for the rest of his life. But Tarek will never see the inside of a jail cell. All he’ll see is my face before his life ends.
Four more bombs placed in various locations around the main warehouse guarantee total annihilation of this location. Once assured everything is perfect, I head back out without leaving a trace. No one will know I was ever here until the whole place is up in smoke.
Tarek’s empire is vast, but he centralizes most of his operations here in Philly. It makes taking off the head of the snake easier.
Three more warehouses. Twelve more bombs.
Then I make my way to the one place I had hoped to never return.
My brother's headquarters.
The bakery is a legitimate business run by one of our cousins who also came over from Albania. I hate that I have to do this to her. But Tarek set it up as a front almost immediately and took over the back portion and the upper floors of the building.
Lorenc already told me Tarek hasn't shown his face here with Jade, and I believe him. He has no reason to lie unless he's in bed with my brother, which I highly doubt given the amount of firepower and help he's provided since our telephone call.
He’s also been staking out the other locations he suspected Tarek may be holed up. But the effort is futile. I know where my brother is. He's arrogant enough to think he's safe there. And it will be my next stop as soon as I get this place wired.
Getting in and out of here undetected is going to be a lot harder than at the warehouses. There's always someone here. The bakery runs twenty-four hours in order to keep up with the demand of the various specialty markets it provides baked goods for. And Tarek would never leave the throne of his empire unprotected.
But he did leave it weak.
I make my way to the fire escape that runs along the side of the building. I begged him to have it removed a hundred times, or at least, have it wired with motion sensors, given how easily someone can get in and out undetected this way, but again, my brother thought he knew better and didn't take my advice, much to my benefit currently. The window to his office pops open easily from the old jamb, and I crawl in and take stock of the room I haven't set foot in for over two years.
The same large wooden desk dominates the space and photographs of my brother and various friends and acquaintances of high-ranking stature line the walls. Tarek is always such a whore, kissing ass, and licking the boots of anyone who can get him anywhere or anyone he would look good standing next to.
One picture in the room, in particular, draws my attention.
Jade…
It must have been from the first couple of days when she came to him all those years ago, though I’ve never seen it before. I doubt it was taken with her knowledge.
Her hair billows out behind her in the wind as she leans over the railing staring out to the vastness of the ocean. A small smile tugs at the corner of her lip, but the sadness in her eyes is apparent even in the profile view. She knew what her father had done to her even then, and my brother was too big of an asshole to let her go even though it was the right thing to do.
Well, it's time she's free of him. She chose her monster and it's me.