by Mike Ryan
“My apologies for being late,” Vincent said. “Things are always coming up.”
“Thanks for making the time.”
“Always for you. What’s this about?”
“I don’t want to be lied to or misled,” Recker answered. “I think we’re past that now, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
“Did you know this Jerrick was in town?”
Vincent sighed and took a few seconds to respond. “So you know who it is now?”
“Question is, how long have you known?”
“Not as long as you’re assuming.”
“But you did know?”
“Let me set the stage for you. About five or six months ago, I started getting word about there being a new player in town. Now, that in itself isn’t exactly big news. In a city this big, in which I’m in control of most of it, there’s always someone new popping in and trying to get a piece of the pie. It’s a regular occurrence.”
“You didn’t know who it was at first?”
“No. Not for quite a while, actually. It was a big mystery, really hush-hush. Just a lot of talk about this new mystery player who was recruiting hard.”
“When did you know?”
“It really wasn’t until Jimmy told me about Tyrell being taken until I put it all together.”
“But you knew the name?”
“Yes. I heard the name Jerrick. Didn’t really mean much to me at the time I heard it. This wasn’t until a few weeks ago, until I even got that piece of information. It’s been very secretive up to now.”
“Why didn’t you tell me then?”
“I didn’t think it pertained to you at that time. All I heard for months was that there was a new guy in town, that he was assembling an organization, that everyone thought he was gunning for me. I didn’t have a name, didn’t have any ideas on what his plans were, nothing. Then when Sadko quit, that’s when it really hit me that I had to be concerned.”
“He knew everything about your schedule. Everything inside.”
“He knows the way we operate, the places we go, the people we see, everything. I mean, he wasn’t high on the totem pole or anything, but still, he knows things most people don’t. So then, I really started turning the heat up, trying to find out who this guy was. I knew it wasn’t as simple as Justin starting his own group. He wouldn’t have the wherewithal to pull something like this off. He’s got the brawn, but not the brains.”
“So what’d you do?”
“As soon as Sadko left, I immediately changed everything. Stopped going to familiar places, changed up meeting places and times, did business completely differently. If there’s a new guy in town who’s now got one of my guys, he could surprise me very easily at a hundred different places and take me out. This is why I’ve been meeting in unorthodox places for me lately. Have to change habits.”
Recker nodded. “I’ve been wondering why Jerrick hasn’t taken his shot at you before now. He missed his best chance at it when he recruited Sadko.”
“I agree. And I knew that. And it made me very uncomfortable. That’s why I changed routines immediately. I knew his best chance to hurt me was to get me when I was vulnerable, which was in the days and weeks after Sadko left. Before then, he was still gathering men, beginning his plans, but once he got Justin, that was his opportunity to strike. And he would have if I hadn’t changed course.”
“Makes sense.”
“Then a week, two weeks, three weeks ago, whatever it was, I finally got word about this Jerrick figure. Still not much about him, just a name, that maybe he was behind everything.”
“What’d you do?”
“I did what I would do with anyone. We started investigating, seeing what we could find out on this Jerrick, figuring out if he had ties to anyone.”
“Did you know he had ties to Jeremiah?”
“Not at first. It was actually Jimmy who remembered there was a Jerrick that was in Jeremiah’s gang. As you know, we had checks on all of his men when Jeremiah was operating, knew who all his men were.”
“You didn’t put the name together at first?”
“Not at first, no. When Jeremiah was eliminated, I thought all his men had died with him. I didn’t get word that any of his men had left town before that.”
“Neither did I,” Recker said.
“Then we did some digging and found out this Jerrick was the same guy on Jeremiah’s crew.”
“What do you know about him?”
“Not much. Jeremiah was high on him apparently, thought he could eventually take over the business in ten years or whenever Jeremiah was ready to step aside. But when he was here, Jerrick was no more than a mid-level guy. He wasn’t high up in the organization.”
“Jerrick told me that Jeremiah sent him away to start his own gang and learn the ropes, that way when he came back he’d move in without missing a beat.”
“Quite possible.”
“You didn’t put the connections together when I told you someone was after me?”
“No. At that time, I had no reason to believe it was the same person. We hadn’t gotten any information that Jerrick was also after you. As far as we believed, his only interest was moving in on me. When you said someone had taken a shot at you, and went to your apartment, and even with Mia, for that matter, I had just assumed that it was a different person. There was no evidence that it was all Jerrick behind everything.”
“Maybe that’s why he started on me,” Recker said. “He wasn’t getting what he wanted when he brought Sadko on board. Maybe his initial intention was to get Sadko, then ambush you, then he’d take over. With you changing everything, that inside information was not as helpful as he wanted, so he had to change course.”
Vincent nodded, agreeing with the assessment. “So he remembers from the last time he was here that Mia worked at the hospital and that she was involved with you. He picks up from where Jeremiah left off in trying to use her to get to you. He knows you have a relationship with me, and eventually, he’ll get to me through you. But at the same time, he still wants to take you out for what happened before. So now, he gets to you, brings me out of the light, and he gets to start trying to pick us apart.”
“So initially, he follows her, finding out where we live. Sees us go downtown, tries to take the shot at me. Then when he misses, he goes to our apartment to try and find out if I’ve got any addresses or phone numbers written down of you, or Jones, or anything they can find. If he can, that’s where he takes his next shot.”
“But he can’t find anything, so then he resorts to his next option. It’s back to the hospital to try and take your girl. I believe his plan wasn’t to kill her. At least not at first. I think he was going to take her to try and lure you out.”
“Probably.”
“But then that failed as well, so then he had to go and take Tyrell. He knew Ty had an arrangement with both of us, and that was his way back in. So when Jimmy told me that Tyrell had been kidnapped, and they wanted to use that as a way to meet with you… I knew it was Jerrick. I knew it was him behind everything. That’s when all the little missing pieces all started fitting together. That’s when I knew.” Recker nodded, believing him. “Believe me, if I knew about this months ago, and knew that you were a target, and that Mia was a target, I wouldn’t have kept it from you.”
Recker looked at him and nodded again. “I believe it.”
Vincent then patted Recker on the shoulder. “Now, there may have been a few people I know that I wouldn’t have given the same courtesy to, but they’re little weasels, hardly warranting the gesture. But not you. You deserve that respect.”
“Well, the question now is where does Jerrick go from here? Where do we go from here? When I took Tyrell home last night, I saw a couple of Jerrick’s men outside watching his place.”
“Are they still there?”
“No. We took care of them.”
“The best way we can probably deal with Jerrick now is to bring him out into the li
ght. Find a way to make him show himself and stop operating in the shadows.”
“That’s gonna be difficult. He’s a Jeremiah disciple, but he doesn’t operate the same way. Jeremiah operated by brute force and dared you to stop him. He didn’t care if you knew where he was or if he was coming. Jerrick doesn’t seem to operate like that. At least not so far. He’s been relying on finesse, out thinking you, catching you off-guard. He’ll know we’re trying to lure him out. He won’t take the bait so easily.”
“I agree. But until we have something else to hang our hats on, it’s going to be our best bet.”
“It won’t happen quickly.”
Vincent sighed, not liking the possibility of a long struggle, but agreeing it was the most realistic outcome. “No. I think we’ll be in this for the long haul.”
“Looks like we’ll both have to be on guard at all times for the next little while. We’ll have to be at the top of our game.”
Vincent nodded. “Every thing we do, every operation we have, every person we talk to, they all could be a Jerrick plant. Everything we do could be being manipulated by him to catch us in a compromising situation. And that’s when he’ll take his next shot.”
“Can you still lend a few men at the hospital in case he tries there again?”
“Absolutely. Consider it done. They’re there for as long as you need them. But do you really think he’ll try there again?”
Recker looked out at the river, watching the water get moved around by the wind gusts. He tried to put himself in Jerrick’s shoes. “Not at first. I think he’ll try some alternative measures first. But I don’t think he would wait too long to try it again. Not if he feels he doesn’t have many other options. And now that he’s made himself visible, now that he knows we’re both on to him, I don’t think he’s going to wait that long to strike. He’ll want to get in the first blow. And he’ll want to do it soon.”
As Recker and Vincent walked along the banks of the river, Malloy answered a phone call. He stopped walking as he concentrated on what he was being told. He stood still for a minute, making sure he understood completely what was going on. After the call was over, he jogged forward to catch up with the others, eventually catching them and whispering in Vincent’s ear. The look of concern on Vincent’s face was unmistakable as he glared at his trusty lieutenant. Vincent thought for a few seconds about how to proceed.
“Bring the car around.”
Malloy instantly turned and motioned to one of the other men, giving him hand signals to bring the cars up near where they were.
“Everything all right?” Recker asked.
“It appears Jerrick’s plans are happening even sooner than we anticipated.”
“What’s going on?”
“Four of my men were ambushed twenty minutes ago outside of one of our businesses.”
“They make it?”
“They’re dead. I have to go and figure out what happened.”
“I understand.”
Before he left, Vincent left him with one last piece of advice. “From here on out, if either one of us get anything, no matter how small or insignificant, we’ll share it with the other. Agreed?”
Recker nodded and shook his hand. “Agreed.”
“Together, we’ll find this son of a bitch and bury him.”
16
Recker had just reached the office. Haley was at a computer. Jones was swiveling around from station to station. Something was going on.
“Should I ask?” Recker said.
“Don’t get too comfortable,” Jones replied.
“Why?”
“We may have a job coming up.”
“I take it that means soon.”
“Most likely. Where have you been?”
“Meeting with Vincent,” Recker answered. “Told you I was meeting him this morning.”
“I didn’t realize it would take so long.”
“Had to set up a different spot. Four of his men got ambushed while we were talking.” Jones and Haley stopped what they were doing and turned to face him. “Not right where we were. While we were talking, he got word his men got ambushed somewhere else.”
“Oh. Serious?”
“Dead.”
“I’m guessing I should take it that our new friend Jerrick is somehow involved.”
“I think that would be a good assumption. What do we have going on here?”
“Robbery attempt.”
“How bad?”
“Aren’t they all equal levels of bad?”
“Well…” Recker sighed. “With everything else we got going on…”
“The world doesn’t stop just because we’re having a rough time of it.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“Nobody is going to feel sorry for us.”
“Didn’t say they would.”
“We still have to fight crime on multiple levels.”
“I know.”
“I just thought I’d mention it.”
“Thanks. Appreciate the pep talk, Dad.”
After a few more minutes of scrambling between computer screens, Jones finally got the last piece of information that he needed.
“There it is,” Jones said, writing down the time. “Thirty minutes.” He ripped the paper off the legal pad and handed it to Recker.
“What is it?”
“Jewelry store robbery. The store’s located in a strip center. It’s on the end of eight buildings.”
Recker sighed. “Of course it is.” Recker continued reading the paper. Seeing the address, he knew they could make it there in fifteen minutes. There was time to digest what he was reading first. “Four guys.” He lowered the paper to his waist. “Any chances of surprises this time?”
“Not that I’m aware of. I’m fairly confident it’s only four.”
“Fairly confident, huh? Just fairly?”
Jones threw his hands up. “What do you want from me? I only work here.”
Recker snickered. “All look like they’ve done some time.”
“But none so much that they look like they should give you problems.”
“We’ll see about that.”
Recker sighed again and put the paper in his pocket. He looked at Haley. “You ready to roll?”
Haley was already getting guns out of the cabinet, including the ones that he knew Recker liked to use. He closed the doors. “Let’s do it.”
Recker and Haley hurried out of the office and jumped into Recker’s car. They didn’t feel the need to go separately in this instance. Everything seemed like it was happening at the same place. As they drove to the jewelry store, they began formulating their plan.
“What are you thinking?” Haley asked.
“Uh, I’m thinking we could both be inside, posing as customers when they come in. Then as soon as they flash their guns, we take them out.”
“What if they keep someone outside? Either on the door or in a car?”
“We either let them skate or one of us stays outside and keeps watch.”
“I’m thinking we do one in, one out. That way we cover all our bases.”
“And if they all go in?”
“Whoever’s watching the outside goes in after them.”
“Could get caught in the crossfire.”
“Could happen anyway.”
“True,” Recker said. “All right, you wanna do it that way?”
“I think that’s the best move.”
Recker nodded. “Which spot you want?”
“Don’t matter.”
“I’ll take inside and you take outside?”
“Works for me.”
They arrived at the jewelry store roughly ten minutes before the incident was about to go down. They stayed in their car for a minute and just looked around, making sure the crew wasn’t there already, waiting for their cue to go in. They didn’t see anyone waiting in a car that was nearby, though.
“Where you gonna set up?” Recker asked.
Haley quickly look
ed around. He had a straight view to the store from where they were sitting. “I dunno. Looks like right here’s pretty good.”
“What if they drive up in a van or something and it blocks your view?”
Haley shrugged. “Then I’ll move.”
Recker shrugged as well. He was good with it. If he was on an assignment with someone else, a rookie, or just someone he didn’t know or trust as well as Haley, he might have wanted some more assurances than that. After all, it was Recker’s life on the line if he was in the store with men firing guns at him. But Haley was a pro’s pro, and Recker didn’t have to worry about him ever not being where he was supposed to be.
“Keep com’s on?” Recker asked.
Haley nodded as he grabbed his weapon and touched his ear. “On.”
Recker swiveled his head around to scan the parking lot as he walked toward the jewelry store, just in case the crew came in hot and heavy. Once he made it to the doors, he opened them, and found the store was pretty light on customers. There was a man behind the counter dealing with an elderly couple, and another woman, younger, mid-thirties, on the opposite side of the store, helping out another woman near the same age.
“Be right with you, sir,” the male worker said, looking at the door as the bell rang when Recker stepped inside. “As soon as I’m finished with these fine folks, I’ll be right there.”
“Take your time,” Recker said.
As he waited for the action to come, Recker walked around the glass counters, looking inside them at the merchandise. After looking at a few pieces, he almost forgot why he was actually there. He looked back at the door, then at the time. It was right when the crew was supposed to get there.
“How we looking out there?”
“Quiet as can be for now,” Haley answered. “Nothing moving. I take it nobody’s in there already?”
“No, only three customers in here.”
“Could one be an advance scout?”
Recker carefully looked at the three customers. “No, I don’t think so. I don’t get that vibe. They just seem like regular people.”
Haley’s eyes glanced at a white van pulling into the parking lot. It was unmarked. And it looked like it could use a wash, though it wasn’t the dirtiest he’d ever seen.
