The Squad

Mancini was sitting right where I left him, still looking poleaxed, good for his ass. “Uncle Hank, daddy said you have something to show me. What is it? Is it something for the lab? Did you get me…?”

“No, sweetheart, it’s nothing like that.” This fuck was watching my kid like she was a snake about to strike.

He came to his senses and cleared his throat when she walked up on him. “Catalina, I’m going to show you something; I want you to explain it to me, okay.” He showed her the same thing, and you could hear a pin drop. She didn’t change expression once; I was watching her the whole time, and except for a slight tightening of the jaw when Mancini stopped the tape, her ass said nothing. She didn’t even have the decency to look guilty or even a little bit afraid that she’d been caught.

“Do you want to tell me why you did that?” “Did what, uncle Hank?” That’s my girl! Deny, deny, deny…shit, what dafuq am I thinking?

“You know what I’m talking about, Catalina. You purposely touched him after putting it on the glove.” She huffed and sighed like she was annoyed or some fuck. I just raised my brow when she looked back at me. Don’t get my ass involved in your shit, kid.

Instead of answering, she pushed his hand out of the way and climbed up on his lap, reminding us both of how tiny she is for her age. She started hitting keys, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably, which told me he wasn’t expecting her to know how to do that shit. I just stood back and watched, enjoying the show.

She pulled up the room where the senator and his two aides met everyone earlier. “Uncle Hank, look at aunty Roxy okay.” I moved in a little bit closer as well to see what she was talking about, and it was hard to miss. The kid’s gaze fixed on the asshole as soon as he walked into the room, and the blood drained from her face.

We both watched as Mengele looked from her hand, which was clasped in Roxy’s up to Roxy’s face, then her eyes followed Roxy’s to the asshole. I sincerely do not remember this fuck’s name, so henceforth he will be called the asshole. On the screen, Roxy said something to Jason, who got her out of the room while everyone else was preoccupied with the greetings, everyone else except Mengele, who followed behind them unnoticed.

Hank took over typing in keys, and the screen changed to outside of the room where Jason and Roxy had disappeared. Mengele stood with her ear to the door and the look on her face, fuck. I’m buying ten locks for my bedroom door when I get back home. Shit, the trips, Cody. I’m gonna have to rearrange my whole damn house or ship this one off somewhere where they can keep an eye on her twenty-four seven.

“What were they saying, Catalina?” She clammed up and didn’t say another word.

“Mengele, talk.”

“He’s a bad man, daddy.” Hank kept trying, but I could’ve told him to give it up. He’d need the damn Gestapo to drag that shit out of her. He had the sense to change tactics and move the hell on, but he chose another dead end question.

“Catalina, how did you get that vial? The one you used in the lab.” She giggled like the kid that she is and jumped down off his lap. “Are you done showing me, uncle Hank? Lily Anna and I were learning to play Janggi; we’re going to play with aunty Roxy.”

“Daf… what is that?” I asked Mancini.

“It’s Korean chess.”

“And you just happen to have a board laying around?”

“No, but I have a Xiangqi board… never mind that we need to get Jason and Roxana in here.”

“I’m pretty sure we know what was being said behind that door.”

“Daddy, I’m going to use your credit card to do something.” One thing I’ve learned when dealing with her is to listen to every word in a sentence because she can set traps better than her sneaky ass mother with that shit.

“What do you mean you’re going to use it? Don’t you need me to give it to you?” From the way she twisted from side to side while pulling on one of those damn curls of hers, I knew she was up to some shit.

I pulled my wallet, but everything was there. Then a thought struck me. “Catalina, did you save my card info on your computer?”

“Daddy, shh, don’t yell in front of uncle Hank.” She got this pained look on her face that she gets when she’s embarrassed, but I’m not sure she wasn’t faking that shit. She learned that shit from her mother too.

“I’m not yelling, baby, I’m just asking a question.”