#hashtag BACK FIRED

Chapter Four

The Don picked up yet another cell phone from his endless supply and dialed a number. He had shut himself inside his secret command post again as soon as he had retrieved the Pontiac’s plate number from Jack.

“Hello?” McAllister's voice floated through.

“M, I want an ID on this number plate.” Danny read out the figures.

“Give me a minute.”

Danny switched off the phone and waited. He had quickly recovered from his initial shock of being shot at. The question on everyone's lips was, who wanted The Don dead?

He recalled his conversation with Tony, when Tony had said, “If Gabriel was to disappear, that would make you the only top man, am I correct?”

Danny shifted uneasily. Who else could have been listening to their conversation? Did someone plant a bug in his place? This, Danny doubted, but it was also easy to carry out thorough, electronic debugging check-up.

He also recalled Tony's response when he had adjudicated the option that he might not be interested in Tony's offer to become the Number One by relying on the death of someone else.

“Your guess is as good as mine. It’s business so the interested party gets the deal. I don’t see any of the other parties wanting to keep up with the competition.”

Danny’s eyes had remained fixed on Tony’s when Danny had said, “Are you aware what you are saying? What makes you think that you can leave here alive? So far I’ve indulged you because I’m certain that you cannot leave here without my say so. I hope you do realize that, don’t you?”

Did Tony arrange to have him eliminated? This,

Danny thought highly unlikely as he was yet to supply Tony with the new Mr. Big's name. Or had Tony concluded that Danny was incapable of providing this piece of information and had secretly contacted someone else? Perhaps Gabriel?

His cell phone rang and he picked it up.

“D here,” he spoke quietly.

“Car is registered in the name of Gabriel.” Danny caught his breathe sharply.

“Thank you.”

“D, are you alright?”

“I'm fine. Any new development on Biggy?”

“Nothing yet. My men are still working on it.” McAllister paused, concern in his voice. “I'm thinking less and less of the existence of such a name, you know.

Something's not right, but I can't figure out what.”

“Let me know as soon as you have news,” Danny said and hung up. “Damn!” he shouted and viciously threw the cell phone into its shredder.

Gabriel! Why Gabriel of all people? Lucas would have fitted the bill more appropriately, in terms of greed and ambition. Problem was, neither men had an inkling on the nature of how The Don operated his business. Eliminating him would profit neither man, at least not directly. He had carved a niche for himself, and clearly in no direct competition with anyone.

So, the question remained.

Why would anyone want The Don dead?

No one wanted The Don dead, but of course Danny didn't know that. Not yet. So, naturally, he pondered the point to exhaustion.

                                *

Tony posed the same question when Danny returned to the sanctuary of his office, where he'd left Tony, who was pondering the same question as he paced the floor, a worried look on his face.