Free Kill the King by Eric Samson

rugs lined the floors and walls,
plushy leather furniture in the living room, and a cutting edge
sound system with speakers appearing in every room.
    Khaled put on
his shirt and some gold chains. “Yeah, it is. I’m glad you like it,
my friend. Now, are you going to tell me why you’re here?”
    “Glad you
asked. How well do you know someone named Finch?”
    “What, that
ginger kid with the droopy eye? I don’t know. . .not that well, I
guess. He’s been with us for maybe a year. I’ve never worked with
him. Why do you ask?”
    “He seems to
have disappeared a week ago.”
    Khaled
understood what that implied. Boreta always saw sudden
disappearances as a sign of suspicious activities, and his
misgivings were seldom proven wrong. This was not just a matter of
protecting himself and his subordinates but also a matter of
personal conviction. Disloyalty was the most grievous offence, and
never could it go unpunished.
    “Okay, so what
do you have in mind? When do we start?”
    “Right now. His
landlord told me he saw him leave his apartment shortly after dawn.
Finch might still be in town. . .at least for now. I paid off the
landlord so he’ll call me if he spots him coming back, but we can’t
rely on that as our only lead. Finch might be getting ready to skip
town at any moment. We have to set up a trap.”
    Khaled zipped
up his jacket and grabbed his car keys. “Okay. Let’s see if we can
still work our magic.”

    ****

    Tyler was the
first to become Family, but it wasn’t long before he managed to
convince his new boss to bring Khaled into the fold as well. Marko
Boreta quickly saw the value of allowing them to work alongside one
another whenever possible. Although all were expected to be
uncompromising in their loyalty him, it wasn’t always easy to
convince the rest of the Family to trust one another. In the case
of Tyler and Khaled, this kind of bond was already present. They
could be trusted to cooperate successfully rather than compete with
one another to climb to the top—and fracture Family unity in the
pursuit of power. As far as Marko Boreta was concerned, loyalty and
trustworthiness were far more precious than talent and ambition. .
.and far less dangerous.
    Of all the jobs
that Tyler and Khaled did that pleased Marko Boreta the most, it
was tracing that made them stand out above the rest. Finding
someone who does not want to be found was a very hard job; it
required quick thinking, thoroughness, patience, and brutality.
Very few could do this kind of work—let alone be trusted with
it—but this was where Tyler and Khaled worked their best. If money
was overdue and a debtor went into hiding, or if an exposed
informant tried to escape to save himself, Tyler and Khaled were
dispatched to trace the skip. No one got away from Marko
Boreta. No one.
    It took nearly
three hours of driving all over town before they could collect
enough leads to form a solid trace. Hookers, pimps, and winos were
usually the most reliable sources of information; they spent much
of their time outside looking out for people, and they never turned
down easy money in exchange for conversation. Junkies were far less
reliable, but given the very short time left before the trail could
run cold they had to be consulted with as well.
    Much of what
Tyler and Khaled were told was of little significance. The city
always buzzed with rumours, and at least half of them were false
and purposely spread by one gang to boost their reputation or
discredit another’s. Even so, one rumour ended up reappearing on
numerous occasions. It was odd enough to raise a big red flag: a
young man had been spotted selling very high quality products at
bargain prices in a very bad neighbourhood, and in broad daylight
no less.
    Tyler and
Khaled suspected that only an amateur could be so careless. It was
time to set the trap.

    ****

    Kibera
Boulevard was not a good place to be found wandering around
aimlessly. It was an ugly four-lane street lined with