When The Program Fails People Die Part V
A Sunny Alexander-Johnson And Henry James Series
My name is Sunny Alexander-Johnson, and I’m Henry James, and we’re writers for Dark Sides of the Truth magazine.
Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV
Donnie Sullivan surprised us all by making the three-hour drive from Fort Worth to Austin in a record-breaking hour and forty-five minutes.
We suppose the guarantee of a six-figure job for standing around making sure nobody gets hurt must have put a little pep in the man’s step.
After a round of introductions and admonitions from both Cynthia and Robert for almost getting ourselves killed by Ray Tilton, the discussion shifted to how we were going to tackle the situation.
There were some questions we needed to answer, though. While Gorgie sat watching television in another part of the house, we gathered in one of the three living areas of Cynthia’s mansion home.
“Victoria? How do you and Manny know the program was compromised, and you and Gorgie were in harm’s way?”
“Ms. Alexander, we…”
“Cynthia, please.”
“Right, Cynthia. It wasn’t until a few months after Manny and I were married things started happening.”
“Private ceremony?”
“Yes. Just Manny and a justice of the peace.”
“Hang on a minute. Manny? What about the blood tests, the waiting period, and all that? Wouldn’t that have been in the public record as well?”
“Virginia doesn’t have those requirements, Henry. We received the marriage license, and a justice married us the same day.”
“Wow, how convenient is that?”
“Henry, don’t start.”
“I’m just saying, Cynthia.”
“Don’t just say, dear. Please, continue Victoria.”
“Gorgie and I have been in WPP since, well since Marco Bianchi killed my father, and my testimony sent him to prison. I tried to protect my brother from all of it, and for a while, I was able to, but…”
“He’s gotten older, and he understands what’s going on?”
“Yes, Cynthia, he does. I don’t think you can understand what it feels like. Every day looking over your shoulder, terrified something will happen to me, to him. Over the last ten years in the system, we’ve never had a single moment of peace, a feeling of security. Until…”
“Until you met, Manny?”
Victoria nodded and stared at her husband, then reached to the chair beside her where Manny sat and placed her hand on his forearm. Manny patted the back of her hand and smiled. For a brief moment Victoria seemed at ease, but when she turned her focus to the rest of us we all saw the fear in her eyes.
“As I said, about a month after Manny and I married, things started happening.”
“Things?”
“Yes, Cynthia, things like cars none of us had ever seen before parked across the street from Manny’s house. Cars with heavily tinted windows. Just sitting there all day, all night.”
“Could have been someone visiting a neighbor.”
“Yes, Henry, at first we thought so too. But this same car showed up parked across the street after I dropped Gorgie off at school, then I saw it when I came out of a grocery store. We even saw it parked at a local park Gorgie and Manny, and I always go to when we can.”
“Could have been a coincidence.”
“We don’t think so, Henry. The first thing I did was get the license and run the plates. The cars were all rentals to a dude already in the system. A small-time trafficker with connections to Bianchi and his organization.”
“Why didn’t you just have him picked up, dude?”
“For what Henry? Unless I miss my guess, sitting in a vehicle that’s legally parked isn’t a crime.”
“If it was me, I would have confronted the dude and showed him a little iron I carry.”
“You know what, Henry? For once, I agree with you, and I did just that. This past Sunday morning, I came out of the house to get the paper…”
“You still have a newspaper delivered? You know there’s the internet, right?”
“Damn James, will you just let me finish?”
“Fine.”
“As I was saying, I did just that. I picked up the paper, stepped back inside, got my pistol, and then stepped out and started walking toward the car. I barely made it to the middle of the street before the dude smoked the back tires of the rental and took off. We packed up whatever we could and came here that day.”
“What’s your work saying about this, Manny?”
“We’ve already been through this Sunny. All they know is I’m taking some time off.”
“So, what next?”
“I was hoping you and Henry would tell us. That’s the whole reason I brought Victoria and Gorgie to Austin. I need, we need your help with this.”
“Well, I got a few ideas.”
“That’s what I was afraid of, old man.”
“Cynthia?”
“Stifle it, Shaundrika.”
“Thanks, hon.”
“No problem, baby.”
“Okay, I think we need to start at the source. I mean, after all, it’s what we do, chase stories, right? So we get in front of Bianchi like we’re doing a story on him. You know, a story that paints him in a better picture, feeds the hell out of his ego. In doing so, we just might get a lead.”
“I’m not so sure that’s going to work, Henry. Marco Bianchi is too smart for that. He’ll recognize what you two are trying to do before you finish your first sentence.”
“You got any better ideas, Hermanos? If you’re such hot shit and know what to do, then why the hell did you even bother to come to us?”
A long silence in the room afforded us all time to think about the proposed plan. When Cynthia began to nod we guessed the others would pretty much follow her lead.
They did.
Manny shook his head then closed his eyes and pinched the top bridge of his nose with a thumb and index finger.
“Okay, Henry, it’s worth a shot. We need to leave tomorrow. By car, it’s going to take at least three days to get there.”
“What no private jet this time?”
“What the hell do you think, James?”
“Manny, I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”
“What time?”
“Nine.”
“So that puts you back at Dark Sides around ten-thirty or so?”
“Should.”
“Okay, then Robert and I will meet you and Henry, and we’ll leave from there. Mr. Sullivan?”
“Call me, Donnie.”
“Okay, Donnie. Cynthia, my wife, and her brother are in your hands now. You got this?”
“Yeap.”
“Oh, goodie. A road trip with all my besties. I hope everybody likes Slim-Jims and Twinkies.”
“I guess some things never change huh Henry?”
“Why mess with perfection Manny?”
Read On — When The Program Fails People Die Part VI
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