“Yes.”
“Then let me handle this for you.”
“Okay,” Valencia said, and she followed him back into the living room, hoping that he and whoever those men were, knew what they were doing.
“So, what are we doing?” Geno asked, and Valencia took a seat on the couch.
“Carla is all setup and ready to trace the call and get a location when he calls,” Xavier said and looked at Valencia. “Do you have the money?”
“Yes,” she said, and Geno went to get it. Xavier stood up and went in the kitchen, carrying the bag he brought with him.
“Take it out of the satchel and put it on the table.”
Once the money was on the table, Xavier took another bag out of the one he was carrying and began putting the money in there.
“This bag has a built-in tracer, so in case we lose him, we can still follow the money. When he calls back with wherever he wants to meet, we’ll be ready for him,” Xavier promised, and Valencia just hoped he was right.
When the phone rang, Xavier picked up his.
“You ready, Carla?”
“Ready.”
“Go ahead and answer it, Vee. But take your time,” Geno said, letting go of her hands so she could answer.
She swiped talk and then waited for Xavier’s signal before she said, “Hello.”
“Do you have the money?”
“Yes,” she paused. “I have the money,” she said slowly. “Why are you doing this?” Valencia asked, pronouncing each word clearly.
“You bring the money and be at the Central Park carousel in one hour. I’ll call back then,” the blackmailer said, and ended the call.
“You got him?” Xavier asked.
“I got the number, he didn’t stay on long enough for me to get a location, and he turned the phone off,” Carla said, and Valencia was impressed.
She looked at Geno. She had no idea that he knew people like this, but what she did know was that she hadn’t seen him in years, and now he was working for Black.
There’s no telling what he’s capable of now, Valencia thought, and wondered if these people worked for Mike Black too.
The team had to hurry, but they made it to the Central Park carousel in time to get set up and were ready when Valencia got there. She stood there in front of the carousel, holding the phone in one hand, the bag with the money in the other, and looking around nervously. Valencia’s hands shook a little when two uniformed cops walked by her.
The phone rang and she answered it quickly.
“Hello.”
“Balto Statue in five minutes,” the blackmailer said, and ended the call.
“Wait! Balto Statue? Where the fuck is that?” she said aloud and looked around for the two cops.
“Calm down, I’ll guide you,” Carla said, and the team moved to the new drop off point. When Valencia got to the statue, her phone rang again.
“Yes.”
“You see that bench directly across from the statue?”
Valencia turned around. “Yes.”