Page 132 of The Right to Remain

He shined the flashlight on Theo’s face. “Here we go, cousin,” he said, as he jumped down to the concrete floor. “They’re all here. I need all twenty empty barrels you promised.”

“Right in front of you,” said Theo.

“And the paperwork?”

“Done,” said Theo.

He shined the light in Theo’s eyes again. “Better be a good signature on the SED. If I find out you got cute and signed it ‘Mickey Mouse,’ we’ll ship out what’s left of you in one of those barrels.”

The “SED” was the “shippers export declaration,” a verification to U.S. Customs that the shipment contained the goods that were listed and described in the bill of lading, invoice, and other shipping documents. The signatory faced criminal penalties for any fraudulent statements.

“It’s my signature,” said Theo.

Baptiste put the flashlight away, ordered his men to unload the truck and fill the barrels, and then returned to Theo. “Lemme see the documents, cousin.”

Theo was getting tired of Baptiste and the “cousin” crap.

“I already reviewed everything,” said Elton. “One container to Santo Domingo. Twenty-footer. Plenty of room for twenty barrels. It’s all good.”

“Good for you, maybe,” said Baptiste. “I wanna see for myself.”

Elton pulled a pack of Marlboros from his shirt, showing no sign of being intimidated. “Knock yourself out,” he said. “I’ll be in the alley. I need a smoke.”

Elton walked ahead of them, through the office and out the side exit to the alley. Theo and Baptiste stopped in the office. Theo retrieved the paperwork from the filing cabinet and handed it over. Baptiste opened the file. Theo waited. From the strained looked on Baptiste’s face, Theo wondered how well he could read English.

“Don’t be standing there watching me,” Baptiste said sharply. “You’re bothering me.”

Theo didn’t smoke, but he had no interest in helping Baptiste’s goons unload the truck and stuff his prized barrels with guns.

“I could use a cigarette too,” he said.

“Go. I’ll be right here,” said Baptiste.

Theo stepped out the side door to the alley. Elton was on the other side of the dumpster, talking on his cell phone. He spotted Theo, ended the call, and walked toward him. They were standing just a few feet apart, but it was too dark for Theo to read his facial expression. Even so, Theo sensed it was decision time: Either Baptiste was in for a huge surprise tonight or he wasn’t. It all depended on the answer to Theo’s next question.

“So, Elton John, what’s the word?”

He put his phone away, his expression very serious. “Someone saved my life tonight,” he replied in code, saying so much more than the title to an old song.

Theo felt a rush of adrenaline. The plan was in motion.

“Good to know, sugar bear.”

Andie was at the kitchen table with Righley, checking her math homework. One sheet of multiplying single-digit whole numbers by multiples of 10.

“Mom, hurry up. It’s not that hard.”

Andie’s mind was elsewhere. “Looks good. Now give me twenty minutes of reading.”

Righley put her homework in her backpack and headed to her room. Andie’s cell rang with a call from her ASAC.

“Todd, what’s up?” she said into her phone.

“It’s Operation P-P-P. You said you wanted to be there when something breaks that involves your family.”

“Do you mean Jack?”

“No. Your extended family.”