Minnesota

consequences

“He’s upstairs.” Steve checked his phone after it rang with an obnoxious monkey growl. Gina stared at him in disbelief.

Steve grinned. “The idiot hasn’t figured out that part of the encryption includes a tracking program. I told Zee to upload a distinctive notification ring, just for Mark.”

“How passive-aggressive.” Gina mumbled.

Steve turned toward her. “Yes, he is passive-aggressive.” He grinned. “You need to get real regarding your little sunshine. He’s been avoiding us since we caught him with his hands in the safe. My concern is that he is hanging on to things that could hang him. He needs to be debriefed. The fact that he hasn’t answered his phone or responded to messages in the last 24 hours is suspicious.” Steve laughed cynically. “Why, I was concerned that he may have been picked up by the police.”

 Regina scuffed, slipped on her shoes and followed Steve to the penthouse. Steve didn’t bother knocking. He still had the keys and used them without hesitation. The moment the door swung open, he tensed, cussed under his breath and darted into the room.

            “Mr. Mark, please, I beg …” A woman’s voice pled, then howled with pain.

            Ava was on her knees, her long, lustrous, black hair wrapped around Mark’s hand. Only dressed in a bath towel, he stood behind her.

            “Let her go.” Steve seized Mark’s arm. When Mark didn’t relent, Steve punched him. Ava fell forward. Gina stood by, not bothering to help Ava off the floor. Steve pushed Mark across the room, pointing at him. “Sit”. He moved toward Ava.

            “It’s over.” He helped her up. She looked at him, face pale, wet with tears. “No, it’s not.” Ava hissed at Steve. “This animal,” she turned to Mark and spat in his direction, “you will pay for this, you pervertido. My brothers will not tolerate this. I am a woman of honor.”

            Gina cleared her throat, glancing at Steve. He nodded.

            “Ava, let’s get you to the staff quarters.” He locked eyes with her. Ava didn’t move for a full minute. Then, she sighed, nodded, realizing something. Steve escorted her out of the apartment.

            Regina waited until the door closed behind them. Then she turned to Mark, who sat on the couch, whiskey glass in hand. The decanter on the table was half empty. I have to sober him up. She went into the kitchen, put on coffee and checked to see what food, if any, was available. She closed the door and reached for the house phone. “Kitchen, please.” She waited to be connected to the small kitchen that served the apartments.

            “I don’t want anything.” Mark slurred.

            The kitchen staff finally picked up and she ordered sandwiches. “Mayo, no pickles, ham, cheese and tomatoes.” She listened. “No, three of them, don’t get too fancy.” He’ll probably puke them up in an hour, anyway. She sighed, trying to figure out what to do with Mark. Nothing worked with his father. His obsession didn’t stop until his fatal car crash. She shivered.

            “Get dressed and get sober.” She barked at him. Mark ignored her and stretched out on the couch. Within a minute, he snored.

            “Damn it.” Regina cussed.

Steve showed up an hour later, the circles under his eyes more prominent, mostly because he hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours since they got to Minneapolis. “He needs to leave, now.” He nodded toward the couch where Mark was sleeping it off. Soft snores occasionally interrupted the silence. “I can’t believe this.” Steve pointed at Mark. “He really is his father’s son.” He snorted. “Zee thinks he might have another stash house. We can’t find any proof he owns any other property here, so we need to ask him.”

He followed Regina into the kitchen. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hung in the air. She filled two cups, heated milk, sugar and cocoa. “No cinnamon?” Steve asked. She shook her head.

Regina handed him the cup of homemade mocha. “Wait, why does Zee think there’s more?”

“Because of what we didn’t find. The camera that recorded the most recent event. It’s not at the house, not in the safe. She found a bunch of cell phones, all disabled. Everything she did find dates back at least six months.”

Regina nodded. Since we know for sure he’s been active only a few weeks ago, there has to be more recent burner tech.

Steve sipped his coffee, watching her taking it in, giving her a moment. “He needs to leave. Preferably within the next two days, preferably Canada. Asher is the guy that’ll be able to control him.  He won’t let him off the leash.” Regina nodded. She had no choice. Steve would leave her if she’d refuse.

            “What about Ava?” She asked.

            He laughed. “She’s plucky, I’ll give her that.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Guess we taught her how to fleece us when we paid her for her silence the first time around. She promised silence in exchange for a property in the Yucatan Peninsula. She has family there and she wants to move her kids there. She also informs me that if we want her cooperation, we’ll get the honor of paying for her youngest girl to attend a private university. Of course, we’ll provide enough funds so that Ava never has to work again.” Regina nodded in agreement. Steve laughed again. “You know what she said when I asked her if she was certain she wanted to move back to Mexico?” She shook her head. “America is too degenerate.” He laughed louder, leaning his head against the kitchen cabinet. “Shit.”

            “In that case, let’s continue keeping our vacation house down there a secret. Luckily, the Yucatan is a big place and there’s no chance of running into her.” Regina sighed. “I’ve been thinking of going there anyway. Do you want me to take care of it? Get her set up with a bank account, property? One of our real estate brokers can set it up for her. Which city does she want to live in?”

Steve shrugged. “I didn’t ask, but she did mention near the ocean.” He sighed. “And I think we should delay any plans for a vacation. I want to be here to clean up Mark’s mess. You know there’s more to come, there always it with him. And it’s exactly why I don’t want you anywhere near this. We’ll get someone from our Telchac Puerto crew. They do the transit every other week, it’s the fastest and most secure way to get large amounts of cash down there.”

Regina sighed. Should’ve known he’d say that. He’s so protective.

But she couldn’t fight the urge to keep trying. It was her nephew, after all, that caused all this uproar. “That’s why we’re sending him up to Asher. Mark needs to stay there for at least six months. That’s enough time for this to blow over. The news make it sound like the victim killed Duane. If the police had any evidence, if Mark left anything behind, we’d know about it by now. You should call our insider at the police, see what he knows.”

            Steve frowned. “No.

“And I’m not sure I want to call the police just yet. Our contact in Minneapolis just moved here from New York. I haven’t been briefed on him. Let’s have this settle down, get Mark out of town. Then, I’ll sit down with Zee and get up to speed on things and then we’ll decide.”

 Regina scuffed. “Well, since you already decided everything ...”

Steve scowled. “Honey, I’m not in the mood to discipline you. I’ve got my hands full with your idiot nephew.” He grinned at her, walked into the living room, grabbed sleeping Mark by the hair and dragged him into the bathroom.

            “Ohh, what the fuck …” Mark’s screams were quickly drowned out by the noise of the running shower.