CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
I entered the club, I was met with Kesha yelling, "Why the hell didn't you pick up my calls?"
"I was busy," I yelled over the pounding electronic music. "Why, what's going on?"
"We're being raided," she yelled as she guided me toward the back door. "You need to get the hell out of here until the cops finish their stupid little exercise in power exertion!"
"Wait, did they say why we're being raided?" I lowered my voice as we entered the back hallway and wound our way through the maze of pipes and heating ducts that turned the back storage area into a confusing labyrinth of twists and turns. It also made for a great hideout, and that was why I'd constructed a hidden apartment down here.
Kesha had prepped the rarely used apartment with all the things I'd need to stay underground for a few days and told me that the police had come in politely asking to check out the storage space since they'd gotten word that there were some drug deals going down in the club.
"I asked them who their source was for this information, but they wouldn't tell me jack shit," she said. "They've been downstairs looking around for the past hour."
"Did you secure the product?" I asked.
"Seriously, man, how fucking stupid do you think I am?" she said in an irritated tone. "Of course I secured the product, I always secure the product. It's our lifeblood."
"Good. Sorry, I didn't mean to question your abilities. I'm just looking out for the entire operation," I said. "Wait, you said the police are checking out the storage area?"
"Yeah, two cops with badges and guns," she said. "They showed me the warrant and it looked legit."
"But there were only two of them?" I asked. "And they didn't post any guards at the front or back door?"
"No, why?" she asked and then suddenly it dawned on her. "Oh shit!"
Kesha took off running for the storage area with me in close pursuit. We reached the cage and saw that the false panel we used to separate the liquor from the product had been cut into huge pieces, and numerous crates had been removed. I estimated that the thieves had made off with about five million dollars’ worth of product. In the larger scheme of things, it was nothing more than a drop in the bucket of our profits, but it also meant that our competitors had found a way to breach our security and make us incredibly vulnerable. They wouldn't hesitate to brag about it and that would make us even more vulnerable.
"Shut down the club now," I said to Kesha.
"But boss, it's not even midnight!" she protested.
"Shut it down, NOW!" I yelled as she went tearing up the stairs. I heard the DJ stop the music and make the announcement that the club would be closing early tonight because the fire department would be conducting its yearly emergency drill. That was followed by a collective groan as the club patrons all protested having to go out and find another place to party the night away. They were probably more pissed that the source for their nightly dope fix had dried up, but right now that was not my main problem.
I needed to find the source of the leak and plug it before anyone else got the bright idea to break in and rob us. I quickly got on the phone and called my corner boys and told them to send over the smallest, most invisible member of their corner teams. I had the brawn covered with my security guys, but I needed guys who could blend in to the scenery and watch every move on every corner.
"Club's closed, boss," Kesha said as she descended the stairs. "Dozer and the boys are sweeping the club to make sure everyone's out before they lock it up."
"Good, the corner boys are sending over crews to watch the streets," I said as I looked back at my phone. "I want you to organize those guys and set up a check-in so they can report back what they see."
"Got it, boss," she said. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, where the hell is Riza?" I asked as I realized I hadn't heard from her in hours.
"Not a clue," Kesha replied. "I haven't seen her since this afternoon when she left your office."
"She hasn't checked in?"
"Nope, not with me, she hasn't," Kesha said. "Maybe she did with one of the guys, I'll ask around."
I knew what the answer would be. If Riza hadn't checked in with me, she sure as hell hadn't checked in with one of them, but I didn't want there to be the slightest hint of dissension in the ranks.
"She was out on a fact finding mission, so maybe she followed a lead," I said as I looked at the hole in the wall. "I want you to get our building crew in here to fix this wall ASAP. But this time they need to install a steel frame and door. I don't care what the building codes are or what it costs."
"Got it," she said as she tapped in a note on her phone. "I'm on it as soon as I organize the watch."
"And Kesha," I called after her.
"Yeah, boss?"
"Tell everyone to be really fucking careful. Whoever did this opened a can of worms and now all the shit is going to start to leak out," I said.
"Gotcha, boss," she called as I heard her footsteps pound up the stairs.
I looked back down at my phone and wondered why I hadn't yet heard from Riza.