After the call ended, Jason quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Vladimir had taken the bait.
Now all they had to do was wait for old Mr.
Moran to deliver the C4.
After about fifteen minutes, an older model Mercedes Benz S600 pulled into the alley and stopped behind the Ford.
With one car at each end, the narrow alley was completely blocked off.
The Mercedes flashed its high beams four times.
Three long.
One short.
Jason said, “Looks good. Give him the signal.”
Paul nodded and did as instructed, holding down the brake pedal three times, then giving it one quick tap.
That was the code Jason and Mr.
Moran had agreed on over the phone.
If either side got the sequence wrong, it meant something was wrong with the deal and the other party was to leave immediately.
Once the signal was confirmed, Jason got out of the car.
The Mercedes driver stepped out as well, opened the rear door, and helped an elderly man from the back seat.
The old man’s temples were gray.
Gold-rimmed round glasses rested on his nose, and his face was covered in wrinkles and age spots.
Leaning heavily on a cane with one hand, he climbed out of the car with some difficulty and approached with a cheerful smile.
Jason walked up to him without even bothering with a greeting.
Instead, he leaned forward and sniffed.
“Light perfume, so she probably doesn’t have much body odor. Sweet fragrance, the kind a lot of young girls like. Let me guess… Asian college student?”
Mr.
Moran nodded in admiration.
“Jason, that nose of yours really is something. You can practically identify a woman by perfume alone.”
Jason’s expression immediately twisted.
“Ugh! You disgusting old bastard. The women you sleep with are younger than your granddaughter.”
Mr.
Moran didn’t bother denying it.
He merely sighed.
“The older you get, the more you appreciate a young body. Don’t laugh at me. Your day will come too.”
Jason spread his hands indifferently.
“Enough bullshit. Show me the merchandise.”
Mr.
Moran nodded to the driver.
The man walked to the trunk, took out a matte black briefcase, placed it on the hood, and opened it.
Inside were five blocks of C4 plastic explosive arranged in a row like slabs of dough, along with a remote detonator.
Mr.
Moran pointed at the explosives.
“All five charges have already been wired together. There’s enough power here to blow a house apart, so be careful with it.”
Jason ignored the lecture and immediately reached in to inspect the explosives himself.
The driver tensed, his right hand instantly dropping to the holster at his waist.
Mr.
Moran calmly stopped him.
“Relax. Jason isn’t an idiot.”
After checking everything and confirming there was nothing wrong with the explosives, Jason nodded in satisfaction.
Mr.
Moran said, “You’ve inspected the merchandise. Now pay me.”
“Mr. Moran, considering how many years I’ve been one of your best customers, how about letting me put this one on credit?”
“What?” Mr.
Moran’s expression changed instantly.
He frowned in displeasure.
“Jason, you know the rules of the black market. Nobody gets credit. Nobody.”
Jason pressed his palms together pleadingly.
“Come on, old man. Make an exception for me this once. I swear I’ll pay you back within a week.”
“No. Rules are rules. Once you start breaking them, they stop being rules.”
With that, Mr.
Moran glanced at the driver, signaling for him to take the case back.
“Wait!”
The driver ignored Jason and started closing the briefcase.
Jason’s expression darkened.
He planted one hand on top of the case.
The hood of the Mercedes immediately groaned beneath the pressure.
The driver glared at him and tried to yank the case away.
It didn’t budge.
Mr.
Moran narrowed his eyes, his tone turning hostile.
“Jason. Are you trying to rob me?”
“Of course not. If I did that today, then starting tomorrow, every black-market dealer in New York, and probably the entire United States would blacklist me for life.”
“Then what exactly are you doing?”
Jason replied, “I just want to change the location of our transaction. If we get lucky, there should be plenty of cash waiting for us there.”
Mr.
Moran immediately understood.
His cloudy yellow eyes suddenly gleamed.
“Where? Kingpin’s place?”
Jason rolled his eyes.
“Jesus Christ. Kingpin keeps fifty or sixty armed men at his place. You’d have to be insane to go there. I’m talking about Vladimir.”
Mr.
Moran’s interest didn’t diminish in the slightest.
“Blood for blood. Never letting a grudge go unanswered. That’s Jason for you.”
He thought for a moment before continuing.
“How about this? Give me one piece of information I want, and I’ll make an exception and come along with you.”
Jason looked surprised.
“I actually know something you want?”
Mr.
Moran leaned closer and lowered his voice.
“Of course. Your falling-out with Kingpin has the entire New York underworld buzzing. You went from his right-hand man to his mortal enemy overnight. Everyone wants to know what the hell happened between you two.”
Seeing the expectation written all over Mr.
Moran’s face, Jason sighed.
“A profiteer really is a profiteer. That information has to be worth more than three hundred grand.”
Mr.
Moran held up one withered hand.
“Someone’s willing to pay five hundred thousand dollars for it.”
Since when did New York gangsters love gossip this much?
“I’ll tell you, but you waive the price on the C4. Consider it my commission for supplying the intel.”
The moment money came up, the smile vanished from Mr.
Moran’s face.
“Pay me, or I’m leaving.”
Jason sighed helplessly.
“Fine. You win. I’ll tell you.”
He leaned close to Mr.
Moran’s ear and whispered, “While Kingpin was away on business in Los Angeles, I slept with Vanessa.”
Mr.
Moran’s eyes lit up instantly.
His face filled with disbelief.
“You lunatic. You absolute fucking lunatic. You actually slept with Kingpin’s woman?”
Jason hurriedly waved for him to lower his voice.
“Keep it down. Keep it down.”
The information was so shocking that Mr.
Moran actually went dizzy.
His steps became unsteady, and he had to brace himself with his cane to keep from falling over.
Five hundred thousand?
This was worth at least a million!
While Mr.
Moran was still recovering from the revelation, Vladimir called.
Jason climbed back into the Ford.
“My men and weapons are ready. Twenty four people total, including me.”
Paul asked, “Location?”
“The warehouse Kingpin arranged for us. You know the place.”
“Good. I’ll be there soon.”
After the call ended, a conspiratorial smile spread across Jason’s face.
He gestured for Paul to get out of the car.
It was time to strap on the C4.
Looking at the linked blocks of plastic explosive, Paul visibly tensed.
His breathing grew rapid.
As Jason secured the explosives in place, he reassured him.
“Breathe. Relax. Don’t tense up. You won’t feel a thing. One instant, and then you’ll be standing in front of God.”
Paul closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Then he slowly exhaled.
After repeating the process several times, some of the tension finally left him.
Once the explosives were secured, Paul drove alone toward the Russian mob’s base.
Jason climbed into Mr.
Moran’s Mercedes and followed from a distance.
When Paul was less than two hundred meters from the warehouse, Jason called him.
“Hide the phone in your suit pocket. Make sure I can hear what’s going on. When the time is right, shout as loud as you can.”
“I know… Jason, don’t forget what you promised. Take care of my family.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
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