The Millionaires

22

“Ready to go two-for-two?” Joey whispered into the collar of her shirt as she strolled quietly down Avenue U. Surrounded by commuters returning home from work, she didn’t need the red dog leash. For now, she was one of the crowd.

“You never learn, do you?” Noreen asked.

“Not until we get caught,” Joey said, rounding the corner onto Bedford Avenue and picking up the pace. “Besides, if they invite you inside, it’s not breaking and entering.” Up the block, she eyed the six-story building that Charlie and his mom called home.

“Any doorman?” Noreen asked.

“Not in this neighborhood,” Joey said, already plotting her way in. It wouldn’t take much. As long as mom was still in the dark, any old story would do. Hi, I’m a Realtor… Hi, I’m one of Charlie’s friends from work… Hi, I’m here to sneak into your apartment and hopefully plug some of these creatively designed transmitters into your outlets. Laughing at her own joke, Joey continued to scan the block. Two kids skateboarding on the sidewalk. A navy blue sedan parked illegally across the street. And out front, a broad-chested man holding the door open for a heavyset woman. Joey recognized Gallo instantly.

“I don’t believe it…”

“What?” Noreen asked.

“Guess who’s here?” she growled, lowering her head, but refusing to turn away. Slowly backing up toward the used bookstore on the corner, Joey ducked into the doorway and poked her neck out just enough to steal a good look.

“Who is it?” Noreen pleaded. “What’s going on?”

Up the block, Gallo opened the passenger seat to his car and escorted Mrs. Caruso into place. She clutched her purse close to her chest, completely in shock. Paying no attention, Gallo slammed the door in her face.

“What a gentleman,” Joey muttered. But as Gallo crossed around to the driver’s side, he stared up the block, almost like he was searching for someone. Someone who wasn’t there. But would be soon.

“Oh, crap,” Joey added, reading the cocky look on his face.

“Can you please tell me what’s going on!?” Noreen demanded.

Gunning his engine, Gallo sped up the block. Joey took off instantly, darting back toward the building. “He’s got a crew coming,” Joey warned.

“Right now?”

“That’s what I’m guessing… in the next two to ten minutes…”

“They’re putting ears on her already? How’d they get warrants so fast?”

“I have no idea,” Joey said as she jerked open the building’s front door. As an elderly woman came out from the lobby, Joey caught the interior door, cut inside, and flew for the elevator.

There was a short pause on the other line. “Please tell me you’re not running toward the building…”

“I’m not running toward the building,” Joey said, attacking the elevator call button like a Morse code operator.

“Dammit, Joey, this is stupid.”

“No, what’s stupid is trying to do this after the Service have their eyes and ears in place.”

“Then maybe you shouldn’t do it at all.”

“Noreen, remember what I told you about the tug of home? I don’t care how hardened these kids are, once they’re on the run, they’ll eventually feel it. And in this case… when one of them’s paying mom’s bills and the other’s still living with her… When the ties are that tight, it’s like a magnet in their chest. They may only call in for two seconds, but when it happens, I plan to hear it. And trace it.”

Once again, Noreen was silent. For about half a second. “Just tell me what you need me to d-”

Joey stepped into the elevator, and the line went dead. That’s the way it was with cell phones and old buildings. She checked the lobby one last time, but there was nothing to see. As the doors slid shut, Joey was on her own.