Underdogs The First Stories - By Geonn Cannon Page 0,57

whenever she could, taking the occasional five or ten. When she was finished, she had a Hefty bag full of small bills that hung like it was full of a lot more. She stuffed that into the backseat and drove back to Lake City.

The NEST Landfill was on the west side of the neighborhood. Ari drove the perimeter a few times until she spotted Beck's yellow Jeep in the parking lot. She parked well away from the Jeep and grabbed her things from the backseat. She had changed into a baggy white T-shirt, vest and torn jeans. She had her hair pulled back into a ponytail to keep it out of her eyes and keep her peripheral vision clear.

She had a large duffel bag that concealed the nitrous tank, and she had it strapped to her back so she could carry the bag of money and keep one hand free. The section of the landfill she was in was home to a multitude of discarded appliances, cars in varying states of decay. Ari scanned her surroundings as she walked, not eager for a sneak attack from Pen. She reached a clearing with a small wooden shack at the far end of it. Portable lights had been set up and Ari knew she'd reached her destination.

Ari dropped the bag of money and slipped the duffel bag straps off her shoulders. She gauged the wind and opened the tank. Then she pushed the bag over, letting the wind carry the fumes away from her. "All right, I'm here." She turned in a slow circle and searched the now imposing towers of refuse all around her. "I'm a little early, but hopefully you won't hold that against me."

"Not at all." Ari turned and saw Sadie coming out of the shack. She had a gun held down by her side, but Ari knew she would be able to draw it in the blink of an eye. "I like promptness. You really would have made an excellent addition to our pack."

Ari heard footsteps on the gravel behind her, but she didn't turn. "Pen, go join Sadie over there. I don't want you behind me."

"Yeah. I bet you don't." Pen hesitated but, after a slight nod from Sadie, circled her and walked toward the other side of the clearing. She lifted her head and looked back at Ari as she walked. "What's that smell?"

"You're standing in the middle of a landfill. You really have to ask?"

"Enough games. Did you bring what I asked for?"

Ari shook her head. "No."

Sadie brought the gun up. "My mistake. I thought you liked Dale."

"Oh, I love Dale. I didn't bring what you wanted. I brought what you needed." She opened the bag with her money and took out a leather-bound ledger. She held it up so they could see it in the light. "Recognize this? Really stupid to leave one of these ledgers lying out when you have a guest in the house." Sadie's eyes widened in recognition. "I knew that you would take Dale with you if I forced you out of the house this afternoon. But I wasn't after her. I wanted these ledgers." She opened it and flipped pages. "Nice details. What did you say your boss was called? Vicki? Think she would be upset if she found out you guys had skimmed, ah..." She flipped to the back. "A hundred grand, judging from this book. I think she might be a little annoyed at all of you. Be a shame if someone told her."

"You don't know--"

"I'm talking. I said it would be a shame if someone were to drop by Victoria Fennick's home and drop off a few of these ledgers. Or put them in a package addressed to her home in Mount Baker, or her offices in Beacon Hill. Packages that are set to go out unless I call them before eight tomorrow morning and stop them."

Pen laughed and Sadie twisted to look at her. She turned back to Ari and glared. "You just killed your friend."

"No. You asked me if Dale's life was worth half a million dollars to me. She is worth so much more. She is worth your life, and Pen's, and Beck's. I will destroy all three of you if Dale is even scratched. I'll bury you all. Now put down the damn gun and go get my friend."

"I think you need to stop making demands, wolf." Ari and Sadie both turned toward Beck's voice. She came in from a second entrance,