Page 90 of Statler

His face fell.

“Or maybe not,” he amended. “I’ll let you know.”

He took whatever he’d been about to say, away with him, and Eliza’s shoulders slumped.

He’d isolated himself, yet again.

Same old, same old.

She had to get the hell out of Liminal.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Statler sat on his porch and sipped his mid-day coffee.

It was Saturday, and he had plans for the balance of the afternoon that excited the hell out of him…but he couldn’t take off before he’d interfaced with Dark.

That call was scheduled for just under a half hour from now, which meant his team would soon be gathering, then he could be done with business for the rest of the weekend.

After two weeks of surveillance—and breaking into various places to gather intel—they finally had everything for what Statler considered a full report, and had sent it off to Dark the night before.

They’d amassed over forty hours of damning infrared video that they’d carefully procured during their stake-outs after hours. Dizzy had broken into Eliza’s house, found Holden’s notebook, and had snapped pictures of every page. The information there had proven interesting, but inconclusive. It looked like Holden had been vague about details on purpose, in case his scribblings got into the wrong hands. Still, in conjunction with what the team had already uncovered, it helped substantiate their findings.

They also had audio from the numerous bugs they’d planted; not only the one at the entrance to the factory where the players took smoke-breaks, but they’d put one in Flazer’s inner-sanctum, as well.

Placing that bug hadn’t been hard.

Statler had asked to meet William in his office with a made-up idea to alter the pitch of the roof on a rear utility shed that jutted off the main building they were erecting. It was a completely unnecessary change, but Statler had convinced the man that he’d have run-off problems in the event of a big storm if he didn’t do the modification, and would find the floor of his main factory flooded if they didn’t make the amendment Statler suggested.

It was all bullshit, but the diversion had worked well; successfully letting Statler place a bug under the lip of Flazer’s desk.

That audio they’d received was full of intel regarding overseas buyers and money, and along with everything else the team had amassed, the road was finally paved for the long-awaited, grand finale.

In exactly one month.

Even though there was a delivery of guns being made tonight, right on schedule, the timing was just too tight. Having just completed their intelligence dossier, it still hadn’t been determined exactly how, and with whom, they would execute the raid.

It was a shame, but they’d have to let tonight’s current shipment be driven to the coast where it would be loaded onto a scow, then taken to a freighter and sent on to its destination.

As much as it irked Statler, they really did have to sit on things for the next four weeks, just to make sure that their operation would proceed seamlessly.

Statler couldn’t freaking wait to get this over with and put all the players away.

Then…

Damn.

What he tried not to do, was let himself think about how he’d approach Eliza after all was said and done.

Despite her dislike of her father, Statler was worried she still might freeze him out.

After all, the factory was probably something she would have ultimately inherited, and having it closed down would be a huge, financial blow. At least until the entire investigation wrapped up. Eliza might be left with something, but…

Statler sighed. He was under no illusion that it would be easy for her to dump the albatross of an empty factory if she ended up owning it; especially where it sat, so far north in what most everyone considered the boonies.

And even if she didn’t end up in possession of it, its demise would change the entire character of Liminal, rendering it an absolute ghost-town once all the bad characters were incarcerated, jobs dried up, and people moved away.

It was always the collateral damage that bothered Statler the most with these operations.