Wrench & Blood

The First Name

The safehouse phone rang at 7:14 AM.

Adam woke up swinging. His fist hit empty air. He was on the cot in Danny's old office, still wearing his jacket, the ledger pressed against his chest like a shield. Micheal was already on his feet, gun drawn, eyes scanning the dark corners.

The phone kept ringing.

"Who has this number?" Micheal asked.

"No one." Adam grabbed the phone. The screen showed a blocked number. He answered. "Yeah?"

"Adam Kosta." A woman's voice. Low, rough, like she'd been smoking for thirty years. "Your brother told me to call this number if he ever went silent."

"Who is this?"

"Someone who wants Cindy Vance dead as much as you do. Meet me at the Rusted Spoke. One hour. Come alone."

The line went dead.

Adam stared at the phone. Micheal lowered his gun. "Well?"

"Someone Danny knew. Wants to meet."

"Could be a trap."

"Could be. But I don't have the luxury of ignoring leads." Adam stood up, stretched his sore back. "You stay here. Watch the safehouse. If I'm not back in two hours, assume I'm dead and burn the ledger."

"Burn it?"

"If I'm dead, Cindy wins. No point letting her have the book too."

Micheal nodded. "Be careful."

"Careful doesn't keep you alive in Blackhaven. Smart does."

---

The Rusted Spoke was a diner on the edge of The Cut, a greasy spoon that served truckers and night-shift workers. Adam had passed it a hundred times but never gone inside. The windows were grimy. The sign was missing half its letters.

He walked in at 8:05 AM. The place was nearly empty. A cook behind the counter, two old men in a booth, and a woman sitting alone in the back corner.

She was in her fifties, with gray-streaked hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her face was weathered, her hands scarred. She wore a mechanic's jumpsuit under a leather jacket. A cup of black coffee sat in front of her, untouched.

Adam slid into the booth across from her. "You called."

"You came." She studied his face. "You look like Danny. Same jaw. Same eyes."

"Who are you?"

"Name's Elena. I used to run with the Serpents back when Danny was just a kid running numbers. I got out. He didn't."

"Why did you call me?"

"Because Danny was like a son to me. And because I know who pulled the trigger."

Adam's heart rate spiked, but his face stayed neutral. "Who?"

"A man named Leo Cross. He's Cindy's personal enforcer. Big guy, shaved head, tattoos on his neck. He's done a lot of her dirty work over the years."

"How do you know it was him?"

"Because I was there." Elena's voice didn't waver. "Not inside the warehouse. Outside. I followed Danny that night. I knew he was in trouble. I wanted to help."

"But you didn't."

"By the time I got there, it was too late. I heard the shots. Saw Cross come out with two other men. They got into a black SUV and drove toward the Spire."

Adam's hands were under the table, clenched into fists. "Why didn't you go to the cops?"

"Cops in this city are bought and paid for. You know that."

"Why come to me now?"

"Because Danny's dead. And because you're holding the only thing that can bring Cindy down." Elena leaned forward. "I want in."

"In on what?"

"Whatever you're planning. I know the Serpents. I know their safe houses, their routes, their weak spots. I can help you."

Adam studied her. "What do you want in return?"

"Same thing you want. Blood."

He thought about it. The Rule of Three gave him seventy-two hours. He needed soldiers. He needed information. He couldn't afford to turn down help just because he didn't trust it.

"Fine. But if you betray me, I'll kill you myself."

Elena smiled. It was a hard, ugly smile. "Danny said you had teeth. I'm glad to see he was right."

---

They talked for an hour. Elena laid out everything she knew about Cindy's operation—the smuggling routes, the payoffs, the hierarchy. Leo Cross was her main enforcer, but there were others. A man named Viktor handled the cartel connections. A woman named Sasha ran the trafficking logistics.

"The trafficking is the key," Elena said. "Cindy keeps that separate from her other operations. Only a handful of people know the details. Cross is one of them."

"Then Cross is my target."

"You can't just walk up to Leo Cross. He's a professional killer. He's got six inches and fifty pounds on you. He's been fighting his whole life."

"I'm not going to fight him. I'm going to outthink him."

Elena raised an eyebrow. "How?"

"First, I need to know where he lives. Where he drinks. Where he sleeps."

"He lives in the Spire. High-end apartment, paid for by Cindy. He drinks at a bar called The Black Anchor, down on Wharf Street. And he sleeps alone—no wife, no girlfriend, no family."

"Everyone has a weakness."

"Cross's weakness is his routine. He does the same thing every day. Gym at 6 AM. Breakfast at the Anchor. Work from noon to midnight. Drink from midnight to 2 AM. Then home."

Adam filed that away. "What about the other two men? The ones with him at the warehouse?"

"Hired muscle. They work for Cross directly. Names are Cole and Vance."

"Vance? As in Cindy's family?"

"Distant cousin. Low-level. He's not important. Cole is the dangerous one—ex-military, good with a rifle."

"Three men. Plus Cross." Adam nodded. "I'll need more than just me and Micheal."

"I know people. Old Serpents who got pushed out when Cindy took over. They're angry. They're armed. And they don't have anything to lose."

"How many?"

"Five. Maybe six. I'll make some calls."

"Do it. But keep it quiet. If Cindy finds out we're building an army, she'll crush us before we start."

Elena stood up. She left a five-dollar bill on the table for the coffee. "I'll be in touch. In the meantime, stay alive."

She walked out of the diner without looking back.

---

Adam sat alone in the booth for a long moment. His coffee had gone cold. His stomach was empty, but he wasn't hungry.

He pulled out one of the prepaid phones from Danny's safehouse and dialed a number he'd memorized years ago.

"Lena? It's Adam."

His aunt's voice was rough with sleep. "Adam? Do you know what time it is?"

"I know. I'm sorry. I need to ask you something."

"What's wrong? You sound strange."

"Danny's dead."

Silence. Then a sharp intake of breath. "What? How?"

"Cindy Vance. She had him killed."

"Oh, God. Adam, I'm so sorry."

"I need you to stay off the streets for a few days. Don't go to the diner. Don't talk to anyone. Cindy might come looking for me, and she might use you to get to me."

"I'm not afraid of that woman."

"You should be. Please, Lena. Just do this for me."

Another silence. Then: "All right. But you be careful. You're all I have left."

"I will."

He hung up. The phone felt heavy in his hand.

---

Adam walked back to the safehouse through back alleys and side streets. He checked his reflection in a cracked window—no one following. He circled three blocks before ducking into the auto body shop.

Micheal was waiting inside, gun still in hand. "You're alive."

"Barely. I met with a woman named Elena. Old Serpent. She knew Danny."

"Elena Cross? Any relation to Leo?"

"No relation. She wants in. She says she has people—ex-Serpents who hate Cindy."

"Could be useful. Could be a setup."

"Everything could be a setup. We don't have the luxury of vetting everyone." Adam sat on the cot. "She confirmed the shooter. Leo Cross. Cindy's main enforcer."

Micheal's jaw tightened. "Cross is bad news. I've seen him fight. He's not human."

"He's human. He bleeds. He eats. He drinks at The Black Anchor every night."

"You want to hit him there?"

"Not yet. First, I want to watch him. Learn his patterns. Find the cracks."

"And then?"

"And then we squeeze."

---

The rest of the day was spent planning.

Adam laid out a map of Blackhaven on the floor—Danny's map, covered in notes and arrows and X's. Safe houses. Supply caches. Patrol routes. Danny had been preparing for something big.

"He was going to run," Micheal said, looking at the map. "This isn't a war plan. It's an escape plan."

"Same thing. You just reverse the direction."

"You're not running?"

"Nowhere to run to." Adam traced a finger along the Docks. "Cindy controls all the ports. The airports are watched. The highways have cameras every mile. She'd catch me before I reached the city limits."

"So you fight."

"So I fight."

Micheal sat down across from him. "You know what happens if you win? You kill Cross. You burn Cindy's operation. You hand the ledger to the feds. Then what?"

"Then I walk away."

"You think they'll let you? The feds? The other gangs? Once you have that kind of power, people don't just let you disappear."

"I don't want power. I want revenge. There's a difference."

Micheal shook his head. "You sound like Danny. He said the same thing. Look where it got him."

"I'm not Danny."

"No. You're not. Danny would have run by now. He would have taken the ledger and tried to bargain his way out. You're still here. That's either courage or stupidity."

"Maybe both."

Micheal almost smiled. "Yeah. Maybe both."

---

At midnight, they went back to Rex's pawn shop.

The lights were off. The door was locked. Adam knocked three times, waited, knocked twice more. A slot slid open.

"Password," a voice said.

"Danny sent me."

The lock clicked. Adam and Micheal stepped inside.

Rex was behind the counter, surrounded by papers and photographs. His face was pale, his hands unsteady.

"You found something," Adam said.

"I found everything." Rex pushed a photograph across the counter. "The bullet fragment came from a Glock 19. Serial number traced to a purchase made three years ago by one Leo Cross."

"Cross. I knew it."

"There's more. Cross isn't just Cindy's enforcer. He's her partner. In the trafficking operation. He recruits the girls. He transports them. He's done it for years."

Adam looked at the photograph. Cross was big, bald, covered in prison tattoos. His eyes were dead.

"Where does he recruit from?"

"Homeless shelters. Group homes. Runaways. Girls no one will miss." Rex's voice was flat. "He's a monster. But he's a monster with protection."

"Not for long."

"Adam." Rex leaned forward. "I traced the bullet. I did my part. Now I'm telling you—back off. Cross has killed a dozen men who came after him. You're not special."

"I don't need to be special. I need to be smart."

"Smart men don't go after Leo Cross."

"Smart men don't let murderers walk free." Adam pocketed the photograph. "Thanks for the information, Rex. I'll remember your favor."

"You won't live long enough to remember anything."

Adam turned and walked out. Micheal followed.

Outside, the rain had started again. Cold. Relentless.

"Now what?" Micheal asked.

"Now we watch Cross. Learn his routine. Find the moment when he's vulnerable."

"And then?"

"And then we remind Blackhaven that no one is untouchable."

They disappeared into the rain-soaked streets, two ghosts hunting a monster.

But somewhere in the Spire, Leo Cross was already loading his gun.

The hunt had begun.