by R. A. McGee
“Because you kidnapped me.” Vance put his hand to the side of his face.
“Man-napped,” Porter said.
Vance shook his head. “Are you planning on shooting me again or can I get off my airplane?”
Porter made an exaggerated motion with his arm, ushering Vance out. Porter followed behind the CEO, pausing at the top of the stairs to look at the breadth of the fire. It wasn’t stopping anytime soon.
He finished descending the stairs and was greeted by an enormous hug from Amy.
“Holy shit. You do this all the time?” Amy was shaking.
“Too often,” Porter said. “You’re taking it well.”
“I told you I was ready to help,” she said. “For Cat.”
Badway materialized from the smoke in front of them. He still had his rifle, and the front of his shirt was covered with blood. Amy saw him and ran over to him, stopping short of hugging him.
“You look gross,” she said.
“I’ve had better days. Don’t worry, none of it’s mine.” He pointed to the blood.
“You really ran after that one cow, didn’t you?” Porter said.
Badway shrugged. “It’s a habit. You seem like you managed okay.”
“I got by,” Porter said.
Several feet away, Stacy and Vance embraced. She shrieked at the damage to his face, and he assured her that he was fine.
After several minutes of conversation, Vance stepped over to Porter.
“Where’s Hylands?” Porter said.
Vance shook his head. “Kevon shot him when we came out of the trailer. He was just waiting for us. I shoved Stacy back inside, so he couldn’t get her. He needed me to fly the airplane, or I would have been a goner.”
“Lucky you have some use,” Porter said.
“What are we going to do?” Vance said.
“About what?”
“This mess. All these bodies. It’s bad enough most of this place is going to burn down. Can you imagine if the investigators find a bunch of charred corpses? One or two are easy enough to explain away. But we’re looking at what… nine? Nine bodies? The Senate’s already looking at Parabellum. If this gets out, I’m finished.”
“I guess my main question is, why are you using the word ‘we’? What do you mean, what are ‘we’ going to do? This looks like something you need to deal with,” Porter said.
“What do you mean? This is all your fault,” Vance said. “You led them to us. If it wasn’t for that, I’d be in the air already. Keith and Clancy would still be alive. My fiancée wouldn’t be crying because her brother’s dead.”
Porter thought for a moment. Vance wasn’t entirely wrong. Sure, Porter had been played, but the fact that he was at least partially responsible for the concrete factory turning into The Wild Bunch wasn’t lost on him. “So handle it. You have people, right? Use them, make it go away.”
“Most of my people are overseas right now. Or dead. There isn’t much I can do, at least not fast enough to stay out of trouble. I want to take Stacy and Trey away from here. If I get down to Costa Rica, I can let everything blow over for a while. Hell, I could run the business from overseas. Why don’t you handle this cleanup for me?” Vance said.
Porter laughed. “Why would I do that? All I have to do is get into a beat-up Ford truck, then me and mine are gone. You’ll never hear from us again.”
“Aren’t you already dealing with a murder investigation?”
Porter glared at Vance.
“Don’t be surprised. I’m very thorough. Once you and your cousin got involved, I dug up everything I could. A quick background told me you guys just got out of jail.”
Porter stepped closer to Vance and lowered his voice. “If you think you can blackmail me, that bullet must have done more than tear your face up. I’ll leave you out here with Hylands and Kevon to burn.”
“You misunderstand me,” Vance said. “I want to ensure you are properly incentivized to help me handle this. Aside from you not wanting to deal with any potential charges, I’ll pay you.”
“You don’t have enough money to afford me,” Porter said.
Vance gave a number.
Porter was wrong; Vance had enough.
“Add another two-fifty. I want to have a nice, round number to split with my friends.”
“Done.”
“Just like that?” Porter said.
“Just like that. I’ll have to make a couple calls to get it wired to you, but I’m a man of my word. Besides, if I stiff you out of a million dollars, is there anywhere I could run that you wouldn’t come and find me?” Vance said.
“I’m glad we have an understanding,” Porter said.
Forty
Porter went back to Badway and Amy, telling them what Vance had offered. Their eyes lit up at the sum.
“But it only works if we’re all in,” Porter said. “If not, I’ll tell Vance to eat a dick.”
“You know I’m in,” Badway said. “The Bump House needs renovations.”
“You could sell it instead,” Porter said.
Badway ignored his cousin.
“I mean, I’ve never disposed of a body before,” Amy said, using her fingers to make air quotes when she said ‘disposed.’ “But I already told you guys I’m in. In for a penny, in for a pound. How do we do it?”
“I had an idea after we man-napped Vance. I think if we tweak it, it could work now, too. Plus, if things go right, it sends Gor Petrosian a message. Hopefully, it’ll keep him off Badway’s ass for a while.”
Vance walked over to the group. Stacy Brown and Trey joined him. “Do we have a deal?”
“We do.” Porter pointed in the direction of the trailers. “Those things are slag by now. No way I can get Hylands or that guy Clancy out of there.”
Stacy Brown yelped and began crying again. Trey pulled her down to him and rubbed her face.
Vance rubbed the back of her head. “Two bodies, right? And you get rid of the rest? I can deal with that. A hunting party staying in the trailers got caught up in a forest fire. I can explain that away.”
“Fine. We’ll handle the rest,” Porter said.
Vance pointed to the plane. “Do you mind?”
“Mind what?” Badway said.
“Before we take off. Kevon is still… you know…”
Porter nodded. Vance sent Stacy on a walk with Trey, and Porter helped the CEO drag the body from the plane and hide it in some unburnt tall grass. Badway and Amy jogged down to the destroyed SUV farther down on the runway and pushed it clear.
Vance ushered Stacy and Trey onto the plane. Porter could see that he turned left, away from the carnage near the cockpit.
The big plane whirred to life. Mere minutes later, Porter, Badway, and Amy stood well away from it and watched it taxi and take off into the still smoky sky.
“Well,” Porter said. “Let’s get to work.”
And they did.
Epilogue
Two weeks later, Porter was in Badway’s apartment. Amy and Erin, the beer-tub girl, were also there, sitting on nice new leather couches. Erin had gotten over her reluctance to be in an apartment in which she’d previously been a hostage when Porter invited her to watch a movie and promised to keep her safe.
Porter was cleaning up after dinner with Badway, loading the nice new dishwasher to capacity.
“Did you see Amy’s article in the paper?” Badway said.
“She gave me a copy. It looked damn good.”
Amy had sold her editor on the idea of Gor Petrosian being an Armenian crime boss. Her claims were bolstered by the fact that the police, acting on an anonymous tip, had discovered a mountain of dead bodies in a warehouse Petrosian owned. This, coupled with the fact that the county had responded to an explosion at another of his buildings a few days prior, led to the developer being brought in by the police for questioning. There was also a rumor that Homeland Security was looking closely at Petrosian.
“She’s a hell of a writer,” Porter said.
“She’s nice,” Porter said. “I didn’t want her to think we forgot about her, after what happened. It’s just…”
“Trish?”
“I don’t want to settle down or anything. I don’t want to lead Erin on.”
“Don’t sweat it. Just be Mr. Right Now and see how things go. Besides, how long are you planning to stay, anyway?”
“You trying to get rid of me?” Porter said.
“Not at all. Hell, I hope you stay a while.” Badway pulled out a bag of microwave popcorn, sliding it into a nice new microwave.
“I’m not sure,” Porter said. “Ross called earlier. Said he had a line on another missing kid case. Big reward money. Somewhere in the Midwest. Indiana, I think.”
“You want to work again already? You haven’t even spent any of that Vance money.”
“Maybe,” Porter said. “I was thinking about taking a break from searching for kids for a while. Missing grown-ups have reward money, too. Find some missing wife or brother or something. Then I don’t have to worry about little faces and feelings and shit.”
“Trey really got to you, didn’t he?”
“It was like looking into a mirror. If Trish didn’t… our kid might have looked like that, you know? I don’t want to think about that shit anymore.”
“It’s your world,” Badway said.
“I swear, the service around here is horrible,” Amy said to Erin, but loudly enough that the men in the kitchen could hear.
“I’ve been waiting an hour for popcorn,” Erin said with a laugh.
“If that one waiter didn’t have such a nice ass, I’d have been out of here a long time ago,” Amy said.
Erin giggled.
“I like her,” Badway said to his cousin.
“You should. She’s awesome.”
“I couldn’t believe how strong she was at Cat’s funeral,” Badway said. “She has a hell of a stiff upper lip. Deep down, she’s still torn up about it.”
“Of course she is, they were like sisters. Still, you might not want to talk about Cat too loud right now, I think you’ll ruin the mood.”
Badway mimed turning a key near his mouth.
The men stepped into the living room, and Porter split the popcorn between two bowls and handed one to Badway, who took his place next to Amy on the loveseat. Porter sat a respectful distance from Erin, but close enough to share the popped buttery goodness. She slid closer to him.
They all watched a nice new television and enjoyed themselves. And for a time, all thoughts of Armenian gangsters, psychotic husbands, and military corporations were pushed from their minds.
The End
READY FOR MORE PORTER?
Check out Forceful Intent, the explosive first book in the Porter series. Not sure it’s for you? Take a look at the description below…
To find a missing girl, he has no problem adding to his body count…
Porter makes a killing tracking down missing persons. The former federal agent has the bank statements and body count to prove it. But when a good friend asks him to take on a charity case gone cold, he reluctantly agrees. After all, no family should have to bury their little girl's empty coffin…
As he retraces the girl's last-known steps, Porter squares off against a disgruntled bus driver, Tampa gang leaders, and human traffickers who peddle their wares on the darkest corners of the web. Through dirty hands and bloody knuckles, Porter learns that the girl may still be alive. And he won't stop until he's given her captors exactly what they have coming…
Forceful Intent is the brutal first book in a series of suspenseful crime thrillers. If you like flawed heroes, pulse-pounding action, and the Jack Reacher series, then you'll love R.A. McGee's gritty tale.
Buy Forceful Intent for a thrill-ride that gets its hands dirty today!
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Tracking down a missing person takes a brilliant mind and bloody knuckles…
Porter has no match when it comes to tracking down a target. The former federal agent has built a business gathering leads from missing persons posters… if the reward is enough to line his pockets…
When Porter finds a potentially profitable case in the disappearance of a free-spirited co-ed, he never expects the father to offer a double reward if the girl is found in 24 hours. In a race against time, the former agent follows a twisted trail of frat boys, ex-lovers, and a vengeful crime boss. Porter vows to get to the truth before the day is through, no matter how much pain he needs to cause to get the job done…
Subtle Deceit is a gripping crime thriller novella that packs a psychological punch. If you like brutal action, a diverse cast of characters, and edge-of-your-seat suspense, then you’ll love RA McGee’s compelling tale.
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About the Author
I’m a lifelong fan of stories and reading. Because of this, I decided to channel that passion into storytelling. In the simplest terms, this is what motivated me to become a writer. I strive to write books that I think are fun to read, with action and violence and memorable characters.
I live with my patient wife, who happily reads the first draft of everything I come up with, and waits supportively when I bang my head against the wall hoping ideas fall out. Together, we corral our small tribe of children, who threaten to overrun us at any point and start a Lord of The Flies type society.
I love to talk with readers. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to chat about my books, someone else’s books, comic books, Denzel Washington’s movie The Book of Eli, Booker T. Washington, a book you wanted to write in fourth grade but never got around to, booking a flight, problems with your bookie, or any other book related topic. Except book reports. Screw book reports.
Best,
R.A.
ramcgee.com
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