by Don Easton
“I don’t need to,” Brandy said. “They worked me over pretty good, but I want to go home and —”
“It’s not for you.” Laura’s tone was harsh. “I’ll drop you off a block or two away as soon as it’s safe. You can call a cab.”
“Oh, you’re going to follow Klaus away from the hospital,” Brandy said.
I don’t have time to follow him, Laura thought, tucking the shotgun under her jacket. Immediate persuasion would be needed. When I find him, he’ll phone and beg for Jack’s life as if it was his own … if I’m not too late.
Chapter Eleven
When Anton shot Clive, Jack dropped the bag of cocaine and ducked behind the table saw.
Anton stepped over Clive’s body as he approached and waved his .32 Beretta back and forth, pointing it at each side of the saw. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!” He exchanged a grin with Bojan.
“Want to play games?” Jack said. “Well, guess what, asshole, my gun is bigger than yours.”
Neither Anton nor Bojan were smiling when they glimpsed a 9mm pistol pointing at them from above the table saw and Jack’s face peeking out from behind. “Drop it!” Jack barked, “or I will sure as hell drop the both of you!”
Anton must have known he was an easy target and lowered his gun.
“I said drop it! If I intended to kill you, you’d both be dead already.”
Anton dropped the gun.
“The both of you, no talking, put your hands over your head and turn around and take three steps,” Jack demanded.
Anton and Bojan nervously complied. Jack came out, scooped up the Beretta, and stuck it in his waistband before making them lean against the wall to be searched. He took a phone from Bojan’s pocket and two phones from Anton. He then had them both lie face down on the floor. He was going to use their belts to tie them up, but spotted a roll of duct tape and a box cutter lying on a pile of bubble wrap.
He ordered Anton to tape Bojan’s hands behind his back and bind his ankles. When he was finished, Jack had Anton bind his own ankles and then lie face down on the floor again while he tied his hands behind his back.
After checking to ensure that Bojan was secure, he yelled, “Where’s the rest of the stash hidden?”
“You got what we had left,” Anton said.
“That’s a lie.” Jack ground the side of Anton’s face into the cement floor with the sole of his shoe. “The brick I have was busted off a kilo. Where’s the rest?”
“That was all of it,” Anton protested. “I swear on my mother’s grave.”
“Okay, I tried to be nice,” Jack said. “Looks like we have to do it the hard way.”
Anton and Bojan glanced at each other in panic while Jack wrapped duct tape over their mouths. He then dragged Anton by the ankles into the room at the back of the shop.
Once Jack had Anton out of Bojan’s view, he started the band saw and let it run for a moment, then shut it off. “Fuck it, too messy.”
Anton’s body twitched when Jack fired a shot into a pile of wood near his head before walking back to talk to Bojan. As he did, he felt his phone vibrate. He had received two calls earlier, starting when he ducked behind the table saw. He decided to ignore this call, as well, so as not to lose the momentum of fear he’d induced in the two men. Instead, he ripped the tape off Bojan’s mouth. “I know the stash is here someplace. I’ll find it one way or another, so why not make it easy on yourself and tell me where it is?”
“There is no stash,” Bojan insisted. “Besides, you’re going to kill me, anyway, so even if there was a stash, why should I tell you where it is?”
Jack’s phone vibrated again and he saw it was Laura’s number. He hesitated, then shoved the phone back in his pocket and put his gun to Bojan’s temple.
Bojan shut his eyes tight and a few seconds ticked by, then Jack muttered, “Too easy for you. Messy or not, let’s see how the band saw works. If you don’t talk in the next ten seconds, I will use it.”
He grabbed the tape around Bojan’s ankles and slowly dragged him toward the back room while counting down from ten. By the time he reached four, they heard Anton’s muffled voice through his gag. Jack silently cursed to himself, then dragged Bojan the rest of the way and laid him face down beside Anton. “I decided to give you guys one more chance to tell me where the stash is. Think about it while I make a call.” He speed-dialled Laura’s number.
She answered right away. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. Sorry to take so long to get back to you.”
Laura took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Damn you,” she muttered.
“I know you’ve been calling, but I was too busy to pick up. The two guys here tried to kill us. I’m okay, but things didn’t turn out so well for Clive.”
“In what way?”
“The dead way. But everything’s under control now, so relax. Both guys are hog-tied and kissing the concrete.” He gave Bojan a nudge in the ribs with his foot. “Their stash is around here someplace. I’ve got a band saw, and if they don’t tell me where it is, I’m going to use it. Once I find out where I am, I’ll need you to come over here with some heavy duty garbage bags.”
Laura understood that Jack was in earshot of the men who were trussed up, but her stress over the situation was still running high. A situation Jack knew nothing about.
“We’ll need to talk,” Jack continued.
“No shit we need to talk!”
Jack realized how stressed she still was. “Did something happen there?”
“Not here, but … I’m with Brandy and driving out of the hotel parking lot. I’ll drop her off in a moment and call you back.”
“What’s going on, Laura?”
Laura felt sick. “Oh, man … call Rose immediately, then call me back. I’ll be clear by then.”
“Rose?” Jack questioned. What the hell does she want at this hour?
“She called because of what you’re doing. That’s all I can say at the moment … except call her!”
Jack hung up, but hesitated before calling Rose. How did she find out? He looked at Anton and Bojan and then over at Clive’s body in the main part of the shop. Okay, so I’ve got a body … and two bad guys hog-tied. Everything is under control.
* * *
Halfway around the world Maurice Leblanc stared at the lifeless body of his partner on the floor of the public washroom. Kerin was sprawled on his back with his eyes staring at the ceiling. A man’s gold-and-silver watch and a .32 Beretta pistol lay alongside his head. Maurice felt like his chest was being crushed in a vice. Two years ago I was best man at his wedding. Gabrielle is pregnant. How do I tell her she no longer has a husband?
Chapter Twelve
“Thank God! Are you okay?” Rose asked when Jack called.
“Of course I’m okay,” he replied. “Why wouldn’t I be?” He tried to sound casual.
“Are you with someone?”
“Yes. Give me a sec.” He walked to the front of the workshop so he could talk while still watching his captives. “Okay, Rose Alice Wood, I’m clear.”
“Your life is in danger,” she said. “I received word that the guys you’re with are going to kill you.”
“You received word?”
“I don’t know if I have time to explain. What’s your situation?”
“The situation you are no doubt referring to has been rectified,” Jack said.
“Rectified? How? What the hell is going on?”
“Rose, how did you —”
“I’ll explain, but first tell me what you’re doing.”
“Well, uh, I’m with three bad guys, but one has a bullet in his head and I’ve hog-tied the other two.”
“You killed one them?” Rose asked.
“No, let me start at the beginning.” Jack paused a moment, wondering what the staff-sergeant could possibly know and whether it included his antics in the hotel room.
“I’m listening,” she prodded.
“An informant called me tonigh
t. She needed help after meeting with a client I had asked her to report on.”
“A client?”
“The informant’s a hooker.”
“Was this client, by chance, Clive Dempsey?”
“Yes.” Jack felt a little nervous that Rose knew.
“Keep talking,” Rose said.
“Dempsey and two others, Klaus and Liam, had her in a hotel room and were torturing her. Laura and I intervened. I pretended I was her pimp to protect her as an informant.”
“Go on.”
“Well, when we went in, her eye was swollen shut and I saw that Klaus had been burning her butt with a cigarette.” He let the anger show in his voice.
“Damn it, Jack, is it Klaus who has a bullet in his head?”
“No. Why are you angry with me?”
“Because I know how protective you are of your informants and how you feel about men who abuse women.”
“Sure, I would’ve loved to put a bullet in him, but I didn’t.”
“So they did kill Clive Dempsey.” The staff-sergeant sounded matter-of-fact.
“You already knew he was going to be whacked?”
“Yes.”
“How —”
“I’ll get back to that. What did you do to Klaus? I know you would have done something.”
“I, uh … he may be roughed up a little, but I didn’t kill him and —”
“That’s a relief.”
“Yeah, well … and as far as Dempsey goes, he was shot by one of the guys I have hog-tied.”
“Okay, starting from when you roughed up Klaus a little, what happened?”
“Dempsey volunteered to compensate me with a pound of coke. I left Laura and our informant to guard Klaus and Liam. Dempsey then drove me to where I am, and I met two guys called Anton and Bojan. After Anton spoke on the phone a couple of times, he gave me the coke and I had Laura cut Klaus and Liam free. Then Anton shot Dempsey. I got the drop on them and tied them up. That’s when I called Laura and she said to call you. I don’t want to report Dempsey’s murder because it’ll burn my informant.”
“Christ, you want to hide a murder?”
“These guys killed Dempsey just for bringing me here. Imagine what they’d do to my informant.” When Rose didn’t respond, Jack went on, “They also have access to blank passports. That, combined with Anton talking on the phone before killing Dempsey … and trying to kill me, I’m sure I’m on to something bigger than the two yokels I’ve got here.”
“You’re right that you’re on to something big,” Rose stated flatly.
“So fill me in,” Jack said.
Her hesitation, Jack guessed, was because she was a bit afraid of how he’d respond.
“What’s going on, Rose?” he pressed her quietly.
“You’re not safe, Jack. How long do you think you have before Klaus and Liam show up? We better get the troops over to where you are before they do.”
“Forget the troops. That would burn everything. Besides, I have reason to believe they won’t show up for at least a few hours, so quit stalling. Tell me what’s going on.”
At last the words spilled out of her. She told Jack about her calls from Interpol and everything the French knew about the Ringmaster, leading up to their undercover officer being murdered.
Jack wanted to cry out in both pain and rage, but managed to remain stoic as Anton and Bojan watched him from the far end of the building.
“You there, Jack? Speak to me,” said Rose softly.
“Yeah … I’m here,” he replied. “Something doesn’t add up. These guys never searched me or found my badge. There’s no way they think I’m a cop.”
“Then it doesn’t make sense.”
“It does if they were testing Kerin,” Jack said. And he failed the test big time, all because of me. He swallowed, then asked, “Was he married?”
“I don’t know. A moment ago I got a call direct from Paris telling me about their investigation into the Ringmaster. We didn’t know if you’d been killed, too. I’m expecting another call any minute from a Maurice Leblanc. He was Kerin’s partner and he’s at the scene.”
Jack knew it was not a good idea to take his eyes off his captives, but he turned away briefly and pretended to cough as he wiped the moisture from his eyes with his knuckles. “And they don’t have any idea who this Ringmaster is?” he asked, sounding croaky.
“A witness heard the shot and saw a man running from the washroom, but there haven’t been any arrests. The killer left a watch behind, along with a pistol. The French are not optimistic that Forensics will come up with anything.”
“What kind of pistol?”
“I don’t know yet. The person I spoke with wasn’t at the scene.”
“What about the guy they call the juggler? Is he in custody?”
“No, Roche Freulard slipped away during the commotion … although then the officer I was speaking with changed it and said they didn’t have any grounds to arrest him, so they let him go.”
“Yeah, let him go without any surveillance on him. Meaning whoever you spoke with was too embarrassed to say they lost him.”
“They’re pretty upset.”
“No more than me.” Jack was bitter.
“No, but imagine the panic. Roche took second seat to finding the killer.”
A plan began to formulate in Jack’s mind. “I’m glad Roche slipped away.”
“Why?”
“I don’t want him arrested. I want the Ringmaster.”
“Nobody knows who he is.”
“I’ve got Anton. He might know. He’s Roche’s brother, after all.”
“Possible, but the French say only the higher echelons know his real name and that Anton reports to Roche.”
“All the more reason not to arrest Roche,” Jack said.
“You’ve already got some sort of plan, don’t you.”
“I’m working on it.”
“What are you thinking?” Rose asked.
Jack paused, then said, “Will you let me handle this the way I want?”
“Depends on what your plan is,” Rose replied firmly.
“To start with, I have to protect the informant.”
“Will she accept Witness Protection?”
“It shouldn’t be offered. She’s young and not all that bright. Her parents and siblings live here, and even if she agreed, I know she’d back out or turn around and return to her family later. That’s if her family’s still alive. These guys seem vengeful.”
“I agree with you on that,” said Rose.
“It’s not only the Europeans we have to worry about,” Jack went on. “We have our local hoods involved, as well. Liam was crying like a baby tonight, but I saw what they were doing to my informant for fun. Imagine how they’d retaliate if they found out she was an informant.” He paused, then added, “Besides, I gave her my word that I would protect her.”
“I understand.”
Good. Then there’s no need to explain to you the judicial repercussions if defence discovered I was a cop. Smacking a guy’s teeth down his throat and letting Brandy clean out a wallet while I shove a shotgun up a guy’s ass would likely not go over well.
“So what do you want to do?” asked Rose.
“To continue my undercover role and find out who he is,” Jack said determinedly.
“But you’ve got a murder victim where you are,” Rose replied “You can’t get around that without blowing your cover.”
“I can if I don’t report it.”
“You can’t do that! You witnessed a murder. You’ll have to report it.”
“Okay, so how about I delay reporting it until I feel it is safe for my informant?”
“When would that be?”
“I’m not sure yet. How and when I do it depends on what happens in the next few hours.”
“For the sake of your informant, I might agree to stall,” Rose conceded.
“Might?”
“Depends on what your plan is — and don’t
tell me you haven’t already thought of something. I know you better than you think. How do you plan on getting in with them?”
“At the moment I don’t know. I want to stall for a couple of hours to figure out my best options.”
“A couple of hours?”
“Yes. During that time I want you to find out every detail you can about this organization, including getting a translation of all of Kerin’s undercover notes.”
“I doubt I could get the notes that fast.”
“Then have them read the notes to you over the phone so you can record them.”
“I’ll try.”
“Explain that I’m going undercover into the group, as well. What I learn could be critical to how I go about getting in.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“I also need to know Roche’s level of sophistication,” Jack said.
“From what I was told, he’s sophisticated. Travels internationally.”
“By sophistication, I meant lifestyle. Bikers are international, too, but not the sort to hang out at cocktail parties. Find out his tastes in wine, clothing, cars, women … whatever. I need to know whether to continue on as a pimp or figure out a way to change my image.”
“But you have a body and two bad guys trussed up. There —”
“— isn’t much time. Exactly. I also need you to find Klaus and set up surveillance on him and report his movements back to me.”
“Yes, Klaus.” Rose paused, then, “Why, as you said, are you fairly certain that he and Liam aren’t going straight to where you are?”
“I think Klaus will be going to Emergency. Try VGH — it’s the closest hospital.”
“You said you roughed him up a little.”
“I brought it to his attention that he has bad teeth and should get them looked at.”
Rose’s sigh was audible. “Hang on, I’ve got another call.”
Jack waited for about a minute, then Rose came back on line. “That was Maurice Leblanc — Kerin’s partner. He’s glad you’re alive and wanted to know what we knew about the guys here. I told him we hadn’t even heard of them until tonight.”
