CRYPTO: Infidelity (Book 1)

CHAPTER 60: LESSONS

"Don't ever do that again!" Rockie scolded me as he led me out of the restaurant.

"What? I didn't hurt him," I said.

"You don't want to pick fights with anyone in the Family. If you get on their bad side, they'll have no problem killing you. Many newbies have wound up dead just because they didn't get along with the others."

"He was the one picking a fight with me," I defended. "He doesn't even know who I am."

"That's the problem. He doesn't know you. That was my bad. I should've introduced you when we entered. Why don't you go run your errands? I'll go back and tell him you're sorry."

"Shouldn't he hear it from me?"

"No. You've done enough. I can't guarantee he won't pummel you if you step back into that room."

"He couldn't pummel me."

"He could and he would. You don't know him either. He's a nine. He's worked hard to get where he is and he's been with us for years," he told me. "If you want to keep your life and get a good ranking, you can't be causing problems. You have to be professional."

"I'm sorry. I'll do better next time."

"Good. And just for the record, you are a kid in our eyes. You're not even old enough to drink. So get over yourself."

Rockie went back inside and I sat in my car, thinking.

I knew who Nitro was now, but I needed to get more information out of him, or find a way to get him arrested without him catching onto me. All the police knew was his first name. We needed more than that. Maybe his car is parked out here. I thought. If I could figure out which one was his, I could get the license plate number and we'd know who he really was and even where he lived.

The only problem was, it was dark. I wasn't sure I'd be able to see his license plate when he left. And I didn't want to seem suspicious sitting in my car waiting for him.

I moved my car out of the parking lot and parked far enough away that I wouldn't be noticed, but I would still be able to see when Rockie's car left.

When I saw his car leave, I walked to the restaurant parking lot and wrote down all the license plate numbers in order of where the cars were parked so I would already have it written when Nitro got in his car. Most of the cars in the parking lot were expensive cars. I guess it paid to be a criminal... temporarily.

I hid in the bushes and waited. It didn't take too long for the gangsters to come out of the restaurant. They said their goodbyes and I watched Nitro get in the car four cars from the left by himself and drive off. I put a checkmark next to that license plate number on my phone.

The next morning, I shared the license plate number with my partner.

"Can you run this plate?" I asked him. "There was some suspicious activity, but nothing illegal. I'm just curious who the owner of the car is."

"Okay."

While he was searching that, I looked up Birdie's dad using the limited information she gave me. I was able to find out which prison he was sent to and when he was released. I started to search for his current address.

"You're not gonna believe this, Crypto," Dedrick said. "The owner of the car was an American Bulldog named Nitro Smith. Didn't that drug dealer mention a guy named Nitro yesterday?"

"Yeah... I think you're right!" I said, acting surprised.

"I'm gonna show this to the chief," he told me.

I kept typing as he walked away. Murphy Graham, Birdie's father, had gone back to prison after almost six months of getting released on parole. He was accused of committing domestic violence. There were pictures used as evidence of a female cougar with bruises and cuts all over her body. I also found out Murphy had died in prison just a few years ago after being attacked by the other prisoners. I wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to Birdie. She really looked up to her dad.

"Looks like we're going with," Dedrick told me when he got back from talking with the chief.

"Going where? With who?" I asked.

"The detectives are gonna go to Nitro's house to talk to him. They want us to come along since he has been convicted with a Class A misdemeanor in the past: unlawful possession of a firearm."

"I don't think it's a good idea for us to go," I said. "I mean, I'm still inexperienced and-"

"You're not scared, are you?"

"I just think it's unwise. Someone more experienced should go."

"The chief wants us to go," he said. "Come on. It'll be good for you."