“Want to check that out?” I ask.
“Let’s do it.”
We pull right up and pause, waiting to see the reaction. Whisper has his gun in his lap while I’ve got my knife ready to go.
A huge guy with massive muscles stalks toward us, wearing a black leather jacket and jeans. Tattoos cover his bald head, face, and neck, and I imagine the rest of him too. He has a menacingscowl on his face meant to intimidate us, but obviously, we’re not deterred.
I roll down my window, motioning for him to come over.
“The fuck do you want?” he asks, his voice thickly accented. I’m pretty sure it’s Irish.
“Looking for someone. You know Brooklyn?”
One eyebrow rises as he subtly looks in the direction of his friends. “Who wants to know?”
“I do.”
He grunts. “And you are?”
“My name isn’t important. All I want is information Brooklyn might have. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
He scoffs at that. “You threatening me? You two? I could snap you in half with one hand.”
Quickly reaching out, I twist my hand around the collar of his t-shirt, pulling him hard into the door of the van and pressing my knife to his neck. “And I could have you bleeding out in seconds. Your call.”
Big Man raises his hands in surrender. “Alright, chill, man. Brooklyn is over there, with the red hair.”
“Thank you.”
I release him and step out of the van. Whisper joins me, and as I stalk over to Brooklyn, I keep one eye on the group of about six men hanging around. They look more curious than dangerous.
“Brooklyn?”
He turns to me, his eyebrows raised. “Who the fuck are you?”
“No one. I just need to know something, and I think you can help.”
“And why would I do that?”
Shrugging, I smirk. “Your choice. You can help and I can leave, or you can be a dick and see how I handle that.”
Brooklyn pulls his head back slightly, his eyes flicking between me and Whisper. “What do you want to know?”
“You know Leon. I’m looking for him.”
“Leon. Leon.” He repeats it as if he’s unfamiliar with the name. “I got nothing.”
“I have it on good authority that you do know Leon. Now you can tell me where he is or where you think he might be, or I can get it out of you anyway.”
Whisper chuckles. “You don’t want him to do that.”
“The fuck you guys think you are? This is my territory, and I suggest you get the fuck out.”
“I don’t give a fuck about your territory or what you’re doing here. I just want to find Leon. Are you gonna cooperate or not?”
“How about not?”
He’s barely finished his sentence when I close the distance between us, grab his neck, and body slam him to the ground. Whisper pulls his gun out, making sure the others know he has no problem using it.