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“Initially, I wanted to take down my bullies from those days in school. When I learned what was really going on in the Society, I decided I’d take it one step further. Why not expose and torment them all? They deserved to suffer in the same way I suffered. Like the other hundreds of people they’ve made suffer too.”
“I’m guessing that’s where the blackmail comes in,” I say.
“Close. I needed a partner-in-crime. I met Brenda on a dating app. We weren’t very compatible.”
“Your first date was a disaster and she almost didn’t see you again.”
“I admit originally, I didn’t see how useful she could be. But working for city hall and having the trauma she had, she was the perfect accomplice,” he says. He shoots a smirk at Brenda from beside her. “She felt powerless and was itching for a chance to make a difference. I decided I would ask her to be a part of this very important cause. Together, with my family connections and her career connections, we had enough access to the elite we wanted to destroy.”
Over the last year, I’ve interacted with Brenda countless times, but many of the moments she’s spoken about Chet come back to me. Including last Halloween night when she’d told me she was meeting him. I had been on a secret mission of my own—at the time I was sneaking out to check on my vandalized apartment.
“Working out tonight?” Brenda asks as we make it to the elevator together.
I humor her with a smile. “Just getting ahead of the curve. The holiday season is coming. I always get greedy on Thanksgiving.”
“Me too! Except I hate working out, so I’ll just become one with the extra pounds.” She laughs, pressing the down button. “Chet and I are meeting up tonight. I’m giving him a second chance.”
“Hopefully he’s less of a fuckboy this go around.”
“He better be! He says he has something important to tell me.”
I had never followed up with Brenda about what that important thing was. I was juggling so many different issues between my assault, rekindled relationship with Salvatore, Octavia Doukas’ murder, the charges against Michael Frausto, and my vandalized apartment, I hadn’t given the exchange a second thought.
“You told her about what you wanted to do and she agreed?” I guess.
“Brenda was terrified at first. She’s never so much as jaywalked. It took some convincing for her to be my accomplice.”
Brenda shifts uncertainly in her stance beside him. Though she doesn’t dare contradict him. I study them both and their body language. Accomplice is right. Chester is in the driver’s seat.
I’ve dealt with enough criminal pairs and their dynamics to know what’s going on—Brenda might hesitate every so often, even getting cold feet—but Chester is around to set her straight. When necessary, he steps in and convinces her to stick by him.
Rarely are criminal partnerships equal. There’s usually a mastermind. A leader.
In Chester and Brenda’s case, it’s clearly him.
“I tried to recruit you too, in case you’re still not understanding,” he says. “The night you and Brenda were having drinks at Luxe and I showed up.”
“You didn’t want me to leave. You both asked me to stay.”
“We were going to make our reveal, but then you had to go leave and kill Skip Little.”
Flynn, who has fallen noticeably silent, turns his head in my direction. “You killed Skip Little? He’s been missing for weeks.”
Shit.
I ignore his accusation, maintaining my calm demeanor. “You thought you could recruit me by blackmailing me. If you think that’s how to win over people, you’re sorely mistaken.”
“That was a scare tactic. We never intended on exposing you. I gave you how many chances?”
“What was your end game? Blackmail Northam’s elite and then what?”
“Destroy them, obviously,” Chester answers. He shrugs, his gun waving along with his arm movement. “Someone has to tear down the system. It’s the only way we can rebuild it. Right from the ground up.”
“ENOUGH!” Flynn shouts suddenly.
He runs toward Chester and tackles him much in the same manner he had Brenda earlier. Only noticeably harder. The move is fast enough that he catches Chester by surprise. The two men stagger for several feet, locked into a grappling match for control of Chester’s gun.
Brenda squeals and jumps out of the way.
