“What I’m looking for here is five rags. In your ‘hood four-five days ago, now they’re gone.” The runners hadn’t been seen anywhere since they broke out. “Y’all know anything about this?”
Ojeda glared at him, working his jaw. “Why would I?”
“Because you’re a coyote, Ojeda.” McGinley swayed in another pace, trying to crowd Ojeda, push him out of his comfort zone. No reaction. Harder with the Latins than with whites; they didn’t have the same personal-space issues. “Just like your daddy was. If anyone ‘round here knows how to get them rags over the border, it’s you.”
Dark spots began to bloom under Ojeda’s armpits. Just what McGinley wanted to see. “Your intel’s shit if that’s what you’re hearing. I’m just a guy trying to make a living. Besides, it’s illegal to leave the country now? I thought you people wanted them out.”
The air wrench behind McGinley had stopped screaming. He glanced back to catch a shaggy-headed wrench monkey staring at him over the hood of some fancy-ass four-door McGinley didn’t recognize. McGinley showed him how a stare was really done, and after a minute the kid stalked to the workbench behind him.
“It’s illegal to skip on a camp,” McGinley told Ojeda. “These five came out of Barstow, two weeks or so ago? Got told these boys were headed this way. Sound familiar?”
“Heard about it on the news. More people must’ve got out than they said.”
“Well, don’t believe anything you hear on the news.” The engine was ticking over behind Ojeda’s eyes, but he was still way too cool; time to rile him up. McGinley half-turned and waved across the cars. “I reckon it’s way too loud in here for you to think right. How ‘bout I just shut this place down a spell, so me and you can talk private-like.”
Ojeda’s neck flushed red. “That’s money out of my pocket, cabrón. This a shakedown?”
Score. “Should it be?” McGinley read the sudden heat coming off Ojeda and dropped back a couple steps, resting his right wrist on the pistol butt in his belt holster. Casual, just a reminder. The file said Ojeda had been Army in Afghanistan back in the day, so he’d probably been carrying as long as McGinley and knew how to use that weapon of his—what was it, a Sig Sauer? Serious piece, nothing cheap. Ojeda looped a thumb over the belt in front of his holster. Casual, just a reminder.
For a long few seconds, McGinley stared at Ojeda, waiting for a twitch. Well, the man had some balls. Would he really draw down on a Fed? Hard telling. These days, people did what they had to to protect their turf or their lives, and a badge didn’t carry the same weight it used to.
Finally, McGinley smirked and dropped his hand. He’d rattled the cage enough. “Well, then, Ojeda. Y’all keep your eyes and ears open. If you hear anything about these Muslim former Americans, you let me know right quick.” He stepped forward and flipped a business card out of his shirt pocket up into Ojeda’s face. “Meantime, I reckon I’ll find out where you’ve been the past few nights. Just curious, you know. Your daddy smuggled a lot of people into this country back in the day, and, well, like father, like son, right?”
The red crept into Ojeda’s hairline. He might look respectable, but hit the secret button and he spun up right nice. “That business is over. Nobody wants to come to this country anymore. People like you saw to that.”
“That so? Say, your son’s a Marine, ain’t he? Damn good training for the family business. All them long marches—”
“Leave my son out of this,” Ojeda snapped. “Yeah, Dad was a coyote. That’s long done. Nacho’s got nothing to do with this, and he never will.” He snatched the card out of McGinley’s fingers. “Watch the door on your way out.”
McGinley snorted, shook his head, looked around. “Some place you got here. It yours?”
“No. I’m the manager. A Chinese guy up in Sierra Madre owns the chain.”
“You don’t say.” He had to poke one last time. “Just wondering. If we ran an ID check on your boys yonder, how many do y’all think you’d lose?”
Ojeda’s eyes had turned black and ice-cold. “Have a shitty day, McGinley.”
“I often do, amigo.” He slapped Ojeda’s shoulder, turned and strolled outside.
This one might be worth watching.
Continue the adventure
“South is a brilliantly conceived and executed thriller, as good—or maybe better—than anything coming out of mainstream publishing.” – William Davis, author of Black Karma.
South is available now in the following English editions:
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Table of Contents
CAST OF CHARACTERS
ONE: Brooklyn, New York, 12 September
TWO: Tel Aviv, Israel, 12 September
THREE: Haret Hraik, South Beirut, Lebanon, 13 September
FOUR: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 15 September
FIVE: Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 23 September
SIX: Staten Island, New York, 1 October
SEVEN: Dearborn, Michigan, 15 October
EIGHT: Beverly, New Jersey, 16 October
NINE: Tel Aviv, 17 October
TEN: Brooklyn, 17 October
ELEVEN: Modena, Italy, 6 November
TWELVE: Modena, 8 November
THIRTEEN: Tel Aviv, 10 November
FOURTEEN: Near Blythe, California, 12 November
FIFTEEN: Teterboro, New Jersey, 13 November
SIXTEEN: Burbank, California, 16 November
SEVENTEEN: Secaucus, New Jersey, 18 November
EIGHTEEN: Brooklyn, 18 November
NINETEEN: Cherry Hill, New Jersey, 20 November
TWENTY: Detroit, Michigan, 21 November
TWENTY-ONE: Arlington, Virginia, 21 November
TWENTY-TWO: Arlington, 23 November
TWENTY-THREE: Arlington, 24 November
TWENTY-FOUR: Newark, New Jersey, 25 November
TWENTY-FIVE: Brooklyn, 28 November
TWENTY-SIX: Brooklyn, 28 November
TWENTY-SEVEN: Midtown Manhattan, 30 November
TWENTY-EIGHT: Brooklyn, 1 December
TWENTY-NINE: Brooklyn, 1 December
THIRTY: Newark, 1 December
THIRTY-ONE: Secaucus, 1 December
THIRTY-TWO: Newark, 1 December
THIRTY-THREE: Detroit, 2 December
THIRTY-FOUR: Staten Island, 2 December
THIRTY-FIVE: Staten Island, 2 December
THIRTY-SIX: Staten Island, 3 December
THIRTY-SEVEN: Cherry Hill, 4 December
THIRTY-EIGHT: Cherry Hill, 4 December
THIRTY-NINE: Staten Island, 4 December
FORTY: Philadelphia, 5 December
FORTY-ONE: Philadelphia, 5 December
FORTY-TWO: Philadelphia, 5 December
FORTY-THREE: South Philadelphia East, 5 December
FORTY-FOUR: East Parkside, Philadelphia, 5 December
FORTY-FIVE: Philadelphia, 5 December
FORTY-SIX: Cherry Hill, 6 December
FORTY-SEVEN: Philadelphia, 6 December
FORTY-EIGHT: Philadelphia, 6 December
FORTY-NINE: Cherry Hill, 6 December
FIFTY: Cherry Hill, 6 December
FIFTY-ONE: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 6 December
FIFTY-TWO: Philadelphia, 7 December
FIFTY-THREE: Dearborn, 7 December
FIFTY-FOUR: Cherry Hill,
8 December
FIFTY-FIVE: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 8 December
FIFTY-SIX: Cherry Hill, 8 December
FIFTY-SEVEN: Cherry Hill, 9 December
FIFTY-EIGHT: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 10 December
FIFTY-NINE: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 11 December
SIXTY: Cherry Hill, 11 December
SIXTY-ONE: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 13 December
SIXTY-TWO: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 13 December
SIXTY-THREE: Cherry Hill, 16 December
SIXTY-FOUR: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 16 December
SIXTY-FIVE: Near Wheatland, Pennsylvania, 19 December
SIXTY-SIX: Crown Heights, Brooklyn, 20 December
SIXTY-SEVEN: Brooklyn, 20 December
SIXTY-EIGHT: Brooklyn, 20 December
SIXTY-NINE: Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 21 December
SEVENTY-ONE: Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 21 December
SEVENTY-TWO: Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-THREE: Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-FOUR: Sunset Park, Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-FIVE: Park Slope, Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-SIX: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-SEVEN: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-EIGHT: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, 22 December
SEVENTY-NINE: Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, 22 December
EIGHTY: Brooklyn, 22 December
EIGHTY-ONE: Brooklyn, 23 December
EIGHTY-TWO: North Bergen, New Jersey, 23 December, 6:45 AM
EIGHTY-THREE: 23 December, 3:00 PM CET
EIGHTY-FOUR: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 23 December, 9:40 AM
EIGHTY-FIVE: 23 December, 10:40 AM
EIGHTY-SIX: Brooklyn, 23 December, 10:45 AM
EIGHTY-SEVEN: Brooklyn, 23 December, 11:10 AM
EIGHTY-EIGHT: Brooklyn, 23 December, 11:20 AM
EIGHTY-NINE: Brooklyn, 23 December, 12:05 PM
NINETY: Lower Manhattan, 23 December, 12:15 PM
NINETY-ONE: Lower Manhattan, 23 December, 1:35 PM
NINETY-TWO: Midtown Manhattan, 23 December, 3:10 PM
NINETY-THREE: Midtown Manhattan, 23 December, 4:05 PM
NINETY-FOUR: Central Park East, 23 December, 6:05 PM
NINETY-FIVE: Central Park East, 23 December, 6:10 PM
NINETY-SIX: Central Park East, 23 December, 6:30 PM
NINETY-SEVEN: Central Park East, 23 December
NINETY-EIGHT: Elmont, New York, 5 February
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SOUTH