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Convergence, a Nate Reign novel by iris bolling
Convergence
In a world where justice hangs by a thread, Detective Nate Reigns uncovers a sinister conspiracy that threatens to dismantle the very fabric of society. With his friend’s murder and…
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Convergence: chapter 1

Overall, Fazio, as his friends called him, was a nice guy, some would even say the life of the party. His home life was filled with love and laughter. The people who worked for him respected him and were committed to him because he made their lives easy. He treated his people well by sharing his illegal earnings generously with them. When he purchased a new home, he made sure his people could do the same. He ensured their children had the same opportunity for education as his daughter. Whatever he had, his people had too. That was the way he built a devoted team. He had a team that was the envy of others in his line of work, at least it was until two years ago.

The DeFazio organization’s main line of work was prostitution. He owned houses and clubs across Virginia which earned him millions. There was no shortage of customers or women.  Was his line of work against the law?  Yes, it was. Prostitution was illegal, but his girls had chosen to be in the business. Did any of them grow up saying ‘I think I want to be a paid whore when I grow up?’ No, of course, not. However, circumstances sent them his way. Who was he to refuse them? To his way of thinking, he was doing the world a service, by providing clean, healthy women to an eager clientele, in a good working environment. He handled his business so well that it caught the attention of an outside organization that offered him a ridiculous amount of money to partner with him, that he simply could not refuse.

However, he discovered that his new partners were taking girls from their families and branding them with marks. At no point in time was he forcing girls into this life and putting them on the block like a piece of cattle. He treated his girls with dignity, while his partners treated them like crap. He did not like it. But there was no getting out. He had taken their money and shared it with his team, and he didn’t have any means of returning the money to them.

Then his men reported that they were targeting Black and Brown girls, not just from across state lines, but from across the border, he became concerned. Word had it they were locking them up like prisoners and then killing them off if they attempted to leave. That pissed him off. Yes, he had ordered people to be taken out, but those people were a threat to him or his organization. He didn’t force women into the life, nor take out women because they wanted to leave. Hell, he would help those who were ready to step into a better life. Taking young girls from their families was against all that he stood for as a father. It was a bridge too far. All he could do was think of his own daughter as his men explained what they had witnessed.

He had been working outside the law his entire adult life. Still, he did all he could to keep it clean. Not to bring the local authorities to the doorstep of his houses. In the past, he had several police officers on his payroll who would warn him if they were crossing the line. However, since the new Chief had taken over, those officers were released or moved to other areas. But he still kept things as clean as possible. Now, the law looked at his organization as a cartel because his partners brought women in from across the border. There was no way he wanted to be a part of trafficking young girls.  His whores were there by choice, not by force.

Things exploded when there was a raid on one of his houses. The police discovered several dead bodies in barrels. There was no way in hell he was going to allow his people to take the fall for that crap. Hell no, his people were good men with families. There was no way he was going to risk theirs or his good reputation. Several of his loyal people had come to him stating they were out. He had no problem letting them go, but he promised them he would make adjustments to their operation and take it back to the clean-cut business of prostitution. It was time to get the hell out of this deal.  That day he made the call to his partner to advise them his properties would no longer be available for their use. He knew there would be blowback, but for the first time in two years, he felt good. Yes, he was going to lose money because of this decision, but at least he could look his men in the face again. Hell, he’d be able to look his daughter, Susan in the face again.

As if his thoughts conjured her up, his cell phone buzzed. He looked at the picture that appeared then answered.

“What are you doing up so early? Do you have class this morning?”

Susan laughed. “I would not get up this early for classes. I wanted to let you and Mom know I’m going to hang out at the beach.”

“Have you completed your assignments for the week?”

“Yes, Daddy. I sent Mom a text message, but she didn’t respond. So let her know. I don’t want another lecture on being responsible.”

“Okay,” he chuckled. “I’ll tell your mother when I go inside. Have fun and be careful.”

“Okay, Dad, love you.”

“Love you right back, kiddo.” He wanted to say more, but Susan had disconnected the call. DeFazio chuckled. He was certain, she was dressed, probably already in the car with her friends on the way to the beach. He had railed against her going to college in Florida, but hey, if he could have lived on his parents’ dime, in a condo in the sunshine state while going to college he would have. “Oh, to be young again.”

Walking into the house from the garage he could hear the music coming through the sound system. He checked his watch. It was a little after eight in the morning. Jill, his wife, must be getting dressed to go to the gym with her friend, Rena. They had a regular morning date for the gym and coffee. What a combination, he thought, but it gave him time to sleep in after a long night at the club and it kept his wife looking good. He had no complaints.

Turning to the keypad near the door he was about to punch in the code to disarm the system, but it wasn’t necessary. How many times had he told Jill to arm that system before going to sleep? Hell, he even put an app on her phone so she could set it from anywhere in the house. He exhaled then walked by the pantry doors into the kitchen, which was open to the family room. He didn’t notice them at first, because his back was to the room, but as he dropped his keys on the tray on the island he looked up and froze. There were two people sitting in his family room. One was sitting in his favorite chair while the other stood next to it.

“What in the hell are you doing in my house?”

“Initially I came to talk you out of parting ways from our organization. After all, we all prospered from the relationship. Now, I’m just going to kill you.”

Fazio looked towards the staircase.

“Are you looking for your wife? No worries, she has already proceeded you in death.”

Fazio reached for his gun that he always kept tucked in the back of his pants, but the hand on his back indicated it was too late. His body was pushed over the island and held down.

“A team has been sent to your daughter’s condo. She will be joining you soon. We believe in family values. We try to do all we can to keep families together in life and death.” The person stood. “Our organization is a lifetime appointment, Mr. DeFazio. The only way out is death, by your hands or ours.”

“Wait…” He attempted to jerk up but was pushed back down face first. “We can talk about this.”

“I’m afraid it is too late. Take him out of his misery.”

Fazio felt a prick in his neck. That’s it? A prick in his neck. I can handle that, he thought. Then his body went limp. He had no control of his muscles. Oh hell, he was going to die. Like this? No bullet to the head, no chopped-up parts of this body thrown into the river. Just a pinch to his neck. He closed his eyes and thanked God for granting him mercy. Now he had one prayer left. Protect my daughter. Give her the strength to do whatever is needed for her to stay safe and alive. The darkness came over him with the knowledge that God would answer his prayer.

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