Featured image by Bruno /Germany from Pixabay

A shave and shower really cleared my head. I needed a clear head to deal with Dimitri. Henry dropped me off a couple of blocks from the bar then went to park in the alley behind it. This way he would be in the kitchen or office of the place well before I got there. He might even don his apron and cart a few trays out to people. I was going to have to eat here too most likely. It was getting late enough for most food places to be shutting down. Would have to go clear back to the Interstate to find a truck stop still serving food otherwise.

Henry had a nice place. It had an outdoor patio and was far enough from Bourbon Street to be a locals only watering hole. Dimitri should have stood out like a Herpes wart in a convent. I wonder what kind of cover story he was feeding the patrons if he was there every night. I mean, it’s a bar. People wanting free drinks come up and talk to you.

There he was. Just like Henry said. Small table in the farthest corner of the patio. Looks like he ate here too. Why didn’t Henry just take care of him? Maybe he has? Maybe he at the same white fish I did?

Other than a couple of synthetic blades I was naked. Dimitri isn’t a small man either. Would be an even or better match for Slim. He acted like he was reading a book. I know he saw me long before I got to his table. I saw the twitch in his cheek muscle and tensing of his forearm. When I was close enough for him to speak he put his book down and said “I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show. Sit, please. We have much to talk about. Food is good here.”

As if on cue a waiter began clearing the table and Dimitri asked for another menu. “Why are you here?” I asked.

“Had you checked your work phone you would have known we’ve been supposed to meet for a week now” Dimitri lightly snapped.

“I find I get more time to myself when I don’t check that thing” I responded.

“Here is thumb drive I’ve been carrying around longer than I wanted to. It has everything you need” Dimitri said as he handed me the drive. “Since you won’t bother reading shit I will tell you. A certain individual has become inconvenient to my employer. He is here with few friends. They need to be gone soon.”

“Why don’t you just sprinkle radio active pixie dust on them? Isn’t that your favorite toy now?” I asked.

Dimitri was about to rise to the jab when the waiter came back. I ordered the white fish and a bottle of Chardonnay with a chiller. Mainly because I wanted to see just how much Dimitri knew.

Once the waiter left Dimitri had a little smirk on his face. I decided to bait the bear. “Why? What did you order?”

“The jambalaya of course” responded Dimitri. “This is New Orleans after all. Every restaurant has their own little spin on it. One simply must not over indulge or one will shit flame. I was just surprised you could still eat white fish.”

“I like it” I responded.

“Dah. Always best to eat what one likes and understands” stated Dimitri. “At any rate, this individual and their friends have something we need found and returned before they ‘go away.’ So, even if we wanted to use some kind of pixie dust we couldn’t. They need some creative convincing and we had best not be doing that on your soil. Not all of them are from the Motherland. Could get messy. No, would get messy. They have some deep contacts. One of them has been watching the place you were supposed to show up.”

“Rather interesting you would know something like that” I pointed out.

“We know who we bought!” snapped Dimitri. “We had people keeping an eye on them. One of them moved into a house all by himself. Not long after your friend Henry showed up. Then the Badger. Surveillance pulled back and I kept coming here every night because this is where we were supposed to meet once the team was assembled.”

My food arrived. Dimitri allowed me to eat in peace for a bit. Something still bothered me though. Well, something other than killing Dimitri right here in front of everyone. When I was nearing completion of my meal, without looking up I asked “So who did you buy?”

“You know who we bought, don’t play games” Dimitri spat.

“You forget, I haven’t turned on my company phone for a while now. I’m having a minor disagreement with management and company policy. When they finally admit I’m right we will be on speaking terms again” I stated.

“How did you get here then?” asked Dimitri.

“Henry called one of the burners I keep, told me to show up. Between then and now he saw you here and told me to come speak with you” I replied. “My first impulse was to kill you from across the street, but he told me you had information I needed. So, there you sit, hale and whole while I finish my meal. Since you know I have yet to read anything and now you know Henry told me I could only speak with you, not collect past debts, I will ask again. Who did you buy?”

He thought on that one for a bit. I watched his face change from distrust to recognition to disbelief. In the end he leaned forward and whispered “you offed another HR person? How many is that now?”

“I don’t keep track” I responded.

“This explains much. We had heard there were some sudden management changes in your company, but, couldn’t nail down the rumors. I’m surprised they haven’t handed you over to us” Dimitri mused.

“I suspect two things. First, they did just that putting me on this team. Second, they’ve found it to be much cheaper all around to send HR people they don’t like to speak with me” I stated bluntly.

He roared with laughter. It took him a while to bring it under control. Finally he said “Oh, my friend, that is a very Russian attitude!”

After a brief pause he continued “We purchased you, Henry, Badger and The Acrobats. We suspect the items we wish to have returned are in some place which will need their talents, if not it cannot hurt to have them along. This person has roughly six friends who are all muscle. Yourself and Badger are so good at having polite conversations with people who need to speak of things they try to hide and there could be too many of them who survive for one person to question them all in a timely manner. Henry we want to cook a special meal for the main person. He will then become theater.”

“But they knew where we were supposed to gather.”

“Dah. You have a leak. Or someone has that phone you don’t use anymore” responded Dimitri.

“How would they even know your firm would come to mine?” I queried. “You could have went lots of places. You say I’m five days late. How come they haven’t sold whatever it is and bailed? We don’t have a leak. We have some people from your employer working with people at my employer trying to create their own little company borrowing heavy from the assets of both. Those thumb drives, they are your operatives, bank accounts and equipment stashes. Everything someone needs to funnel work to your employees without paying for it. You don’t have to answer. I can tell by the look in your eye I am correct. Your company may well have sanctioned action against these people, but, one of their friends made sure you were sent. We are both obstacles to their plans.”

“That’s quite a story” Dimitri said in a tone which said he didn’t believe it.

“Fine, don’t believe it. Continue the fantasy that you are perfectly safe” I said in a light ‘I’m about to leave and stick you with the bill’ tone.

“You’ve said nothing to make me believe otherwise” Dimitri challenged.

“The people you want just magically found out your company hired my company to deal with them. Nobody would put us as your company’s first choice. Someone in your company, knowing our history and the fact I would rather off you than complete an OP made sure you were here. They know much the same about you. There was a management change at my company. I should have taken his nametag off the door as I left. Both he and the HR person expired within the same sixty seconds but this time my hands are clean of HR. I’m in the process of cleaning up the problem at my company, but you haven’t started. Three condoms showed up at that place the others are watching. Badger is dead and still there along with the condoms. Someone will most likely notice the smell before long given the heat of this place.”

“Continue believing what you want” I said as I stood up. “You are sitting in a free country. You don’t have days anymore, I assume minutes. As soon as you report the drop happened and that we are both alive you will no longer be necessary. You were bait and I was the bear” I said quietly as I leaned over the table. “They planned on at least one problem being solved with this meeting so they will be most disappointed by your check-in.”

“You didn’t clean the place” Dimitri growled through gritted teeth.

“Where would I get cleaners?” I whispered back. “I knew I was fucked before I came down here. You at least ate a good meal before you got fucked. If you know of cleaners which will take care of that quietly, go for it. Need really strong stomachs and no sense of smell though. There is a family with lots of little kids not too far away. Won’t be too many more days before they report a really bad smell.”

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