[Lady Justice 13] - Lady Justice and the Assassin

by Robert Thornhill

  “Did you find the garage?” I asked, ignoring the barb.

  “Yeah, we found it, but it didn’t really do us much good. Our guys watched twenty or so gang members go into the place. We really couldn’t do anything but watch. They weren’t breaking any laws and we didn’t have enough to ask for a search warrant. They broke up about ten o’clock and scattered. An hour later, a liquor store over on Prospect was hit. It was a Viper, probably earning a fang.”

  “Too bad,” I said. “How can we help?”

  The Captain and Harriman exchanged glances. “We need a man on the inside,” Harriman said.

  That one took me by surprise. On at least a dozen different occasions, when I had been sitting in that chair and hearing those words, I was about to be volunteered for an undercover assignment.

  “Please! You can’t be serious! Do you really think an old white man could blend in with a gang of young black men?”

  The Captain and Harriman both laughed. “Heavens no!” the captain replied. “There’s not enough spray tan to darken your lily white skin and even if there was, I don’t think that the second coming of Al Jolson would go over very well. We have something else in mind.”

  I waited expectantly.

  “This Darius kid,” Harriman said. “Didn’t you say that the Vipers were trying to recruit him?”

  “Yes. They want him for his lock picking skills. Wait! Surely you’re not thinking of putting him in that hornet’s nest. He’s just a kid!”

  “Don’t get your panties in a wad,” Harriman replied. “Think about it. Didn’t you say you overheard this Rashon character say that if Darius didn’t come around they might have to wing him next time?”

  I nodded.

  “Realistically, the only way that boy is going to have any peace is to leave town or if the Vipers are out of the picture. Why don’t you have a talk with the boy and see what he has to say?”

  Unfortunately, Harriman was probably right. On his own, poor Darius was a sitting duck.

  I knew that before I talked to Darius, I would have to talk to Willie, and I wasn’t looking forward to that conversation.

  “So dey want de kid to join up wit de Vipers?” Willie asked. “Den what?”

  “They’ll put a wire on him so they can hear what goes on in their meeting in that old garage on St. John. If they hear a job being planned, they can wait for the Viper to show up. They’ll have him cold and have evidence to connect him to the gang.”

  “You know what happens to Darius if’n dey find dat wire? He won’t come out o’ dat garage in one piece, dat’s what.”

  “The Gang Unit will be just a block away, listening. If anything starts to go south, they’ll crash the place in a matter of minutes.”

  “You been dere befo’. How’d dat work fo’ you?”

  Willie had a point. On more than one occasion when I was undercover, the back-up guys were one step behind the bad guys.

  “Looks to me like Darius is between a rock and a hard place. He wants no part of the gang, but you know they won’t leave him alone. You heard Rashon say they might have to get rough with him to convince him. Do you have any better ideas?”

  A long silence.

  “Guess I don’t. Les’ go talk to Emma an’ Darius. It’s up to dem anyway.”

  Emma and Darius sat quietly while I told them about what we had heard at the Blue Moon Bar & Grill, and what Franco Harriman of the Gang Unit was proposing.

  When I had finished, I saw the tears well up in Emma’s eyes. She knew what was coming.

  “I gotta do it, Grandma,” Darius said with resolve. “They ain’t ever gonna give me any piece. I either gotta do it, or quit school and leave you --- and I ain’t no quitter!”

  I worked out the arrangement for Darius to meet with Harriman at a remote location to be fitted for the wire. The last thing we needed was for a Viper to see Darius with a cop.

  When we were ready to leave, Willie said, “I be along directly. I need a minute.”

  As I walked out the door, I saw Willie embrace Darius and then Emma. He whispered something in her ear. She nodded and held him close.

  I would never tell the Captain or Franco Harriman, but I knew that wherever Darius was going, Willie wouldn’t be too far away.

  If it was me going into that lion’s den, that’s what I would want.

  CHAPTER 14

  Henry saw the cloud of dust and heard the crunch of the gravel as Brant Jaeger’s Hummer pulled into the Roscoe Encampment.

  He climbed out, stretched, and took Terrance Cobb’s hand. “Well, do we have a marksman?”

  “Damn straight!” Cobb replied. “Told you I’d make an Annie Oakley out of him. He can put the whole clip in the red at a hundred feet.”

  “I’m not concerned about round #17. Is he dead on with round #1?”

  “Dead on! He’s as ready as he’s gonna get.”

  Jaeger turned to Henry. “Well done! Looks liked we picked the right man.”

  “So what now?” Henry asked.

  “Now I’m going to take you back to civilization --- real food --- flush toilets --- a bed with a mattress. I’ll bet you’ve had your fill of the wilderness.”

  “Actually, it’s been very refreshing. I’ve been battling the banks, the credit card companies and the utilities for so long, it was good just to be out here where all I had to worry about was not wiping my butt with poison ivy.”

  Cobb roared. “This guy was a hoot! I’m gonna miss him!”

  Henry grew solemn. “Seriously, how much time do I have?”

  “A few days,” Jaeger replied. “The president will be coming to Kansas City to dedicate a new preschool for inner city kids. As soon as we have his itinerary, we’ll contact you. Once we pick the ideal location, you’ll want to be there early to save your spot. There will be thousands lined up to see the guy and I’ll never understand why. He’s eroding the very foundation of our freedom. Until we call you, just enjoy your remaining time with your family.”

  “One more question,” Henry said. “I’m no politician, but saying I’m successful, what have you gained. It seems to me that the next guy is just more of the same.”

  “Very astute,” Jaeger replied. “This thing is way bigger than just us. You have a counterpart on the west coast that will be taking care of that situation at the same time. We have gone to great lengths to find the perfect moment when we can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I’m sure you’ve given thought as to how history will remember you. While other assassins have been labeled murderers, if we succeed in our mission, you may just be hailed by future generations as one of the men that liberated our country from tyranny.”

  As unlikely as that sounded to Henry, he had made his bed and now he had to lay in it.

  At Emma’s insistence, Darius had requested that Ox and I be part of the surveillance team. I suspected that Willie had put her up to it.

  The Captain agreed and Harriman reluctantly granted us temporary admittance into the Gang Unit.

  Darius had been wired, and six of us sat in the back of an old bread truck that had been converted to a command center, listening as he made his first contact.

  “Well, well,” Rashon said. “If it ain’t my home boy, Darius. What can we do for you, school boy?”

  “Well, for starters, you can quit shootin’ up the hotel. Damn near got me killed an’ old man Feeney shit his pants.”

  “I knew it!” Rashon said, slapping his knee. “So you got my message loud and clear?”

  “That’s why I’m here. I figured that if I wanted to see my next birthday, I’d better throw in with you guys.”

  “Ohhh, he’s good!” Harriman said. “A natural!”

  “Now you’se talkin’ some sense,” Rashon said. “You ready to get started?”

  “What you want me to do?”

  “We havin’ a meetin’ tonight at Smitty’s old garage over on St. John. You know the place?”

  “Yeah, I know it.”

  “Good. Be th
ere at seven sharp. I’m gonna show you how we can make some real money. Before you know it, you’ll have your first fang and a wad of cash in your pocket.”

  “Sounds good to me!”

  At six-thirty, we were set up a block and a half east of the old garage.

  Gang members, some with their pants barely clinging to their butt cheeks, came drifting in.

  Darius arrived just before seven as he had been instructed.

  The snippets of conversation we heard initially were what one might expect from a gathering of street punks; bragging about their latest sexual conquest or the bag of weed they had scored.

  Finally, we heard the unmistakable voice of Rashon Rippe. “Yo! Brothers! It seems dat the invitation that we sent to the Three Trails Hotel the other day got someone’s attention. I want you to meet Darius. De man’s got some skills dat we’ll soon be usin’. Tonight, I want him to see how we operate. Billy! Front and center!”

  “I’se here, Rashon.”

  “Billy, take three of the brothers and hit dat electronics store over on Troost. Me an’ Darius will be watchin’.”

  “You got it!”

  “Let’s roll!” Rashon shouted.

  “Well, crap!” Harriman said. “We got what we wanted. We can be there waiting when they hit that store, but I wasn’t counting on Rashon throwing Darius’ fat in the fire right away.”

  “That could be a problem,” Ox replied. “When your guys hit the store, Rashon’s gonna know that somebody tipped us off and his first suspect will be Darius.”

  “But we know there’s going to be a hit,” Harriman said. “We can’t ignore that. Let’s just hope that Rashon isn’t that sharp, or if he is, we can get to them before something happens to Darius.”

  I certainly understood Harriman’s dilemma, but I didn’t like the odds.

  If everything didn’t go exactly right, Darius would be in deep trouble.

  Harriman dispatched the Gang Unit to the electronics store on Troost. They were to remain out of sight until Billy and his home boys entered the store, at which point they would sweep in and collar the four gang members.

  We knew that Rashon and Darius would be sitting somewhere close by to watch the action. We were parked in the bread truck, out of sight, a few blocks away.

  Once we were set up, the tech twisted a few dials and we heard Rashon’s voice.

  “Watch closely, Darius. Dis is what we call a ‘smash and grab’. Billy can handle disarmin’ alarm systems, but he ain’t worth shit picking locks, so he has to bash in the glass to get in. Dat sets off the alarm and dey got just a few minutes to grab as much stuff as they can befo’ the cops show up. Dat’s where you come into de picture. With you poppin’ de lock, Billy can slip in an’ shut off the alarm and nobody knows we’re there. We can take all the time we need and clean out the place. Get the idea?”

  Darius must have nodded in acknowledgement.

  “Good! Now watch. Here come our guys.”

  The next voice we heard was the squad leader of the gang unit. “Okay, boys! They’re in! Let’s do this!”

  All hell broke loose as we heard commands being shouted and the panicked voices of the gang members.

  When things quieted down, we heard Rashon’s angry voice. “Dat just ain’t possible! No way de cops coulda got here dat fast unless --- unless dey knew in advance dat we was comin’.”

  Silence.

  “The only way they coulda known was if someone tipped them off, an’ dat just wasn’t possible because nobody knew about de hit before de meeting.”

  Silence.

  “If dat’s true, den the only way they coulda known was if somebody was wearin’ a wire. Darius, are you wearin’ a wire?”

  “Oh shit,” Harriman exclaimed. “He’s made him! Let’s go!”

  You could hear the venom in Rashon’s voice. “Darius! You a dead man!”

  “We’re not going to make it!” I moaned. “He’ll be dead before we get there!”

  Then another voice came through the speaker. “I wouldn’t do that Rashon. Put down the gun!”

  “Louie! What are you doin’ here? You puttin’ dat big lip o’ yours where it don’t belong!”

  “Jus’ lookin’ out for a friend. Now put that thing away before I have to do something we’ll both regret.”

  Apparently Louie the Lip had convinced Rashon that it would be better to comply and live to fight another day.

  “Darius,” Louie commanded, “get out o’ de car and head down de street. Somebody waitin’ for you dere.”

  We heard the car door open and shut.

  “You gonna pay fo’ dis, Louie,” Rashon muttered.

  “We’ll see about dat,” Louie replied. “Jus’ stay away from my friends.”

  Our connection faded. The last thing we heard was the roar of an engine coming to life and the squeal of peeling rubber.

  By the time we arrived on the scene, there was no one in sight.

  When I arrived at home that night, I went straight to Willie’s studio.

  “Evenin’, Mr. Walt.”

  “Busy night, Willie?”

  “No idea what you talkin’ about. Been right here all night.”

  “Sure you have. Where’s Darius?”

  “You know dat I respect you, Mr. Walt, but it’s better you don’t know. If’n you don’t know den you can’t tell nobody.”

  “But Willie, you know Rashon’s going to come after him. He’s in danger and he needs police protection.”

  “Yeah, how did dat work out for Darius tonight?”

  I could see his point.

  “He’s somewhere safe where Rashon ain’t gonna find him. It’s better dat way.”

  “What about Louie?”

  “Louie can take care of hisself. Don’t you worry about him. Louie’s got more street smarts in his little finger den Rashon’s got in his whole body.”

  “Okay, but if you hear anything, you’ll let me know. Deal?”

  “Deal!” he said

  As I lay in bed, I couldn’t help but marvel that a young man, trying to do what was right, was still breathing, not because of the Kansas City Police, but because of two old street-savvy con men.

  The next morning after squad meeting, I cornered the Captain.

  “Have you heard anything from Harriman after our bust last night?”

  “Yes,” the Captain replied, “and I’m afraid none of it is good. It seems that the four bangers they collared at the electronics store are a lot more afraid of Rashon than they are of us. They aren’t talking. After they got the four of them booked, Harriman hit Smitty’s garage, but it looked like the Vipers had pulled up stakes and moved on. The place was cleaned out.”

  “So we’re back to square one?”

  “Looks like it. I don’t suppose you have any idea where Darius is hiding?”

  “Not a clue!” I replied truthfully. “You’ll let me know if you hear anything?”

  “Absolutely!”

  Ox and I had just pulled out of the garage when my cell phone rang.

  It was Willie. “Mr. Walt. It’s Emma! Rashon’s done took Emma!”

  CHAPTER 15

  “Easy, Willie! Just tell me what happened.”

  “I got a call from Mary over at de hotel. When she came out to get her paper dis mornin’, dere was a note stuck to her door wif a big ole knife. De note said, ‘Darius, I got your granny. Will trade even up --- you for her. I’ll be in touch. If you want to see de ole lady again, you’ll do as I say.’ It was signed ‘Rashon’.”

  “Pretty smart,” I said. “He knew one of us would get the message to Darius. So what do you think?”

  “I talked to Louie and we bof agree. Even if Darius was willin’ to make de trade, Rashon ain’t gonna let either one of ‘em live.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “Nope! Louie is doin’ some checkin’ around, but I doubt he’ll find where Rashon’s keepin’ Emma. I’se real worried, Mr. Walt. You know dat Emma’s mighty special to me.”

&
nbsp; “Yes, Willie. I know how important she is to you. Let me talk to the Captain and Franco Harriman. Maybe they can come up with something. You call me the minute you hear anything from Rashon. Okay?”

  “Sho will. Rashon betta hope dat you guys find him befo’ Louie and I do. He done gone too far dis time!”

  Ox had overheard the conversation. “Back to the precinct?”

  “Yes. We need to let the Captain know about this.”

  “What do you think Willie and Louie would do if they find Rashon first?”

  “Whatever they have to. You know how protective that Willie has been with Maggie and me. Well now he’s messing with the lady Willie’s sleeping with. I wouldn’t want to be in Rashon’s shoes.”

  “Walt, Ox,” the Captain said. “I didn’t expect to see you back so soon. What’s up?”

  I told him about my conversation with Willie.

  “Oh boy! This couldn’t have come at a worse time!”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “There’s no such thing as a ‘good time’ for something like this.”

  “That’s true, but now is especially bad. I’m about to have a visitor. You might as well stick around for a family reunion.”

  “A what?”

  Just then, there was a knock on the door.

  “Come!” the Captain said, and in walked Mark Davenport, my half brother.

  Until a year or so ago, I didn’t even know that I had a half brother and neither did my father. Dad was an over-the-road trucker, and given his overactive libido, he had been keeping a girlfriend way out on the west side of Kansas. The woman got pregnant about the same time that Dad’s route was changed. She raised the boy by herself and never told my father.

  We may never have known if I hadn’t been working a case involving a new Dr. Death practicing euthanasia in Kansas City. Mark was an F.B.I. agent at the time, and had come seeking a contact with Dr. Death for his ailing mother.

  Since that initial contact, I had worked two different cases with Mark, who had transferred to Homeland Security. I couldn’t imagine what had brought him to Kansas City again.