“Yeah, but for some reason they won’t accept me into the academy. You don’t know anything about that, do you?”

“Not me, kid. But you may want to take that up with my crazy-ass brother.”

“So dear old dad blackballed me with the FBI?”

“I really don’t know. Could be that they don’t want Tommy Jewels’s kid in their little club. Fox in the henhouse and all that.”

“Maybe. So what’s eating you? You look like a guy who just got diagnosed with ass cancer.”

Romeo slammed his glass down on his mahogany desktop. “It’s family business, and you ain’t a member of the family. I wish that you hadn’t abandoned us. Wish it wasn’t like this. First, you go blue on us. Then your brother dies. Maybe if he still had you, then your Pop wouldn’t be … Well, the past has passed. No use bitching and whining about it.”

“What’s going on with Pop?”

“Not your problem. Why you here? I told you before I don’t give information to cops. I ain’t no rat, and I never will be. No matter who’s asking. And what’s with you bringing LJ into this? You trying to blackmail me with my great niece as leverage? That’s low, even for someone who bleeds blue.”

Nic moved to the edge of his seat and said, “It’s not like that. I just thought that maybe seeing her would soften you up a bit.”

Romeo looked over at a computer monitor sitting on a table behind his desk. The large screen showed the views from several security cameras. LJ and Burke could be seen prominently on one of the center scenes.

“The older she gets, the more she looks like your brother.”

“Yeah, she’s a pain in the ass just like him too.”

“It’s not polite to speak ill of the dead,” Romeo said. “Who’s the Kurt-Cobain-meets-Ryan-Gosling-looking kid with LJ? Don’t tell me the grunge rocker there is her boyfriend.”

“Absolutely not. He’s way too old for her.”

Romeo shrugged. “At my age, you all look like babies. Who is he? He doesn’t smell like a cop.”

“He’s not. His name is Dr. August Burke.”

“Doctor of what? Smoking pot and watching cartoons.”

“I don’t really know,” Nic said. “Criminal psychology, I think. He’s some kind of genius, consulting on this hostage situation.”

Romeo raised his eyebrows and said, “That testa di cazzo is a doctor and a genius?” He shook his head and added, “I don’t understand this world anymore.”

“I hear you,” Nic said. “But listen, Uncle, I really need your help. We have a hostage situation that I think is right on the edge of going bad.”

“The GoBox thing on the news? They’re saying it could be terrorists.”

“I honestly don’t know what it is, but it sure isn’t your average crew or a normal heist. We need to know everything we can about GoBox and whatever shady dealings they might be involved in. Even rumors and hearsay. Anything you know could help us save lives.”