THE FIXER AND FALLOUT

DAMIEN’S POV

They discussed some more, talking about other things. But I’ve heard everything I

needed to. It was funny, their plan to ruin me was cute. They just don’t know

what they’re up against. I got to my feet, leaving the restaurant.

I called up Hilda as I returned to the office. “Clear out the rest of my schedule for

today. I have something important I have to deal with.”

“Wife trouble?”

I rolled my eyes. “No, Hilda. Just clear it.”

“Okay, sure thing.”

Now, on to the next step in my plan. I scrolled through my contact list as I drove

out of the office, stopping on one of my fixer’s numbers. He was the best in the city,

and just the guy for the job at hand. I dialed him and he picked up at the third ring.

“To what do I owe this pleasure of speaking with the unstoppable Damien Vance?”

He said, and I could hear the smile in his tone.

Dexter ‘Dex’ Harper was a good friend of mine and my partner back when I was into

underground street fights. He fought for the money and the thrill of it. I fought

because I was bored and needed to piss off my no-good father. Together, we were

unstoppable. Sure, we made enemies along the way, but it was nothing a good fight

wouldn’t fix. The women, the drugs, and the high were great too, just a side attraction.

It was only after Lucas died that I left that world. I cleaned myself up, took over my

father’s company, and built it up to what it is today. But we still kept in touch. And

he handled whatever little issue I had along the way.

“I need some information about somebody. Anything you can find. The dirtier, the

better,” I said. “I already sent you a picture of the guy. Get back to me as soon as

possible.”

“Got it, give me thirty minutes tops.”

“Meet you at the White Lotus?”

He laughed. “You’ve made that place our hangout spot. But okay, see you in thirty

minutes.”

He walked into the White Lotus an hour later, taking a seat opposite me. “Sorry I

Kept you waiting, the traffic was horrible,” he apologized.

“By traffic, you mean a certain blonde,” I said, my eyebrows raised. He let out a

hearty laugh.

“Oops. It’s not my fault you refused to get married,” he replied, grabbing a manila

file and placing it on the table, deliberately flashing me his ring. He got married

three years ago and has been rubbing it in my face that I refused to get off the

market.

“Point of correction, I am married.”

“By contract.”

“Fuck off.”

He chuckled before getting serious. “But seriously though, this guy is fucked. I

Didn’t get all the Intel I needed on time, that’s why I was late.”

“So what do you have for me?

“The name’s Robert. He’s your guy’s best friend and partner in crime. Like, quite

literally. For the past 6 years, he’s been in and out of jail on multiple charges of

murder, sexual assault, and lobbying. You name it, he’s done it.”

“What else?”

“He’s been Carter Cosmetics' lobbyist for years and Adrian’s fixer, but not the good

kind. Remember your informant eight months ago?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Well, he did it. And what’s even worse is that he’s been helping Adrian cook the

books for Carter Cosmetics for years, stealing and embezzling money from his

wife’s nose to several offshore and crypto accounts all across the world.”

That was fucked up.

“Why do you need his Intel, by the way?” Dex suddenly asked.

“They’re coming after me. But they don’t know that I know about their plan. I saw

Adrian was talking to this guy at the restaurant I was at earlier. When I listened in, I

found out that they were planning on coming after me and taking the company,

splitting it too.”

Dex laughed, just like I did, as though what I told him was the most absurd thing

he’d ever heard. “That’s funny.”

“Exactly what I thought.”

“What do you wanna do?” he asked.

“I think it’s time we did this the best way, underground street fighter style.”

He smirked cockily, excitement showing on his face. “Oh, it’s on. Let’s get down to

business, then.”

“Tell the boys to get ready. We meet by the creek by 10,” I stated, getting up.

“You got it, boss.”

Hours later, I sat waiting as the boys dragged Robert towards me. He had been

stealthily kidnapped and adequately tortured enough to make him go insane,

confessing whatever came to mind. They had just finished giving him another

round of torture before throwing him in front of me, by my feet. With fear in his

eyes, he rushed to grab my leg, pleading.

“Please save me, let me go. I promise, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.

Everything I know,” he cried, exasperated.

“I thought you were the best fixer in town. Look how jittery and weak you look. Tell

me, with an accolade of killing my informant months ago, how do you want to get

dirt on me and take my empire, now that you look worse for wear?” I taunted.

He blanched, his mouth wide open in fear, so much so that it was almost laughable.

“You killed Lucia Garner because she knew who my brother’s killer was. You tried

to cover up for them, didn’t you?” I smiled sweetly, although the situation was

anything but.

“Please don’t kill me, I’ll tell you who they are. I’ll tell you everything.”

I chuckled, pulling out my Glock. “No need, I already know who they are,” I said, my

eyes menacing as I pulled the trigger.

One.

Two.

Three