by JL Schneider
Chapter 47
At 6 AM Carl called. He was entering Camden and would be in our location in less than thirty minutes. It was beginning to become daylight and we needed the night for cover. I told Carl to get us a hotel room and let me know where it was. We would meet him there and plan a strategy for that night, we also needed some rest. All of us had been on the go for over twenty four hours. Apparently the cop watching had the same idea because as soon as it became light he headed out. I told Shelby to hold up, if the cop was gone now might be a good time to move. I was afraid if we waited for the next night the cop might be back and we would need to deal with him also. I called Carl and told him to come to our location. The area was mostly old warehouses and there wasn’t much activity on the street, in fact, we saw no one walking at all, only an occasional car passed.
Carl called, he was parked a block behind us. I told him to gather our gear bag and come to us. Five minutes later Carl was sitting in the back seat with a large duffel bag. We loaded the shotguns and pistols. Each of us took a K-Bar and slipped it into our belt. Carl had an idea. He opened the car door and grabbed a handful of dirt out of the gutter. Shelby and I thought he had lost his mind. He spread the dirt on his face and clothes. He tore the sleeve of his jacket and his pants leg. He looked like a bum, now I understood. He tucked a 9mm behind his jacket in the small of his back. He headed out of the car toward the warehouse. We watched him stumble around like a drunk all the while checking out the place. Shelby had to laugh; he said it looked like him a couple of years ago.
Carl came back, he told us the door looked solid and had a double bolt, not easy to kick in. We needed someone from inside to open that door. Fat chance they would open if we knocked. I didn’t even know if Perroni had a family, but if he did and he thought they were in danger, he might try to get to them. I called his number. “Perroni, you fucked up buddy. You didn’t think of protecting your family, shame on you. Now I’m going to kill them and there ain’t shit you can do about it.” I laughed, disconnected, and waited.
Carl had positioned himself on the sidewalk near the door. For a few minute nothing happened, than the large driveway door began to open. I watched Carl position himself to the left of the door. Shelby and I checked for anyone in the area, grabbed our gear and headed for the warehouse. Before we got there Carl had slipped under the door and was inside. I heard hollering and one shot. The door stopped opening. Shelby and I slid under the door just as it began to go back down.
Carl was standing on the driver’s side of the Escalade pointing his pistol in the window. I could see he had shot the driver and Perroni was in the passenger seat. Shelby got to the passenger side with his shotgun to cover Perroni. There were steps on one side of the warehouse going up to a landing with offices off the landing. I started up the stairs, a door opened and a man almost ran into me. He was carrying an AK, he began to turn. I fired one shot from my shotgun into his chest. He fell over the rail to the floor below. Carl had the car secured and Shelby rushed up the steps to help. Two others came out of doors but when they looked down the barrel of the shotgun they dropped their weapons. Now we had to hope no one outside called the cops. We had Perroni alive, but his driver, and one other guy was dead. We checked and made sure the offices were empty, they were. Shelby tied the two others up and I took Perroni to one of the offices. He hadn’t said anything. Carl covered him while I tied him to a chair. Shelby finished tying the others up and went downstairs to cover the door. Perroni was frightened. The shock of the quick attack had worn off and now he was just scared.
Now it was time to talk. “You fuckers are all dead, you just don’t come in my town and do this.” It was false bravado. We had the guns and he was helpless, he was trying to convince himself how tough he was. I grabbed a chair and placed it directly in front of him. I sat in the chair and my face was just inches from his. He spit in my face, I just smiled, and that really pissed him off.
I started the conversation. “OK, here is the situation, you crossed the line when you dragged family into this. If you come at us, that we understand, but when you bring innocent people into it, you fucked up. I need to know, besides yourself, who else knows about the three of us.”
Perroni sat silently for a moment, “I suppose you will let me go if I tell you?"
I looked him in the eyes, “I suppose if I let you go you will promise not to mess with us or our families”
He shook his head, “Yes, I never meant any of those things, you are OK, just untie me and take all the money here. I won’t do anything.”
I knew he would say anything at that point. “You know I really wish I could believe you, but I don’t. We won’t be gone two minutes and you’ll be on the phone making an anonymous call to the cops. You’ll turn us in and we have nothing on you, no sorry, don’t believe you.”
Now realization was starting to set in. “Please, I have a family too, I would never do that. Please.”
I really wished I could believe him. “OK, here is the deal I’m offering you. You tell me who else knows about us, I promise not to mess with your family, and I kill you quickly and painlessly. Your second option isn’t so nice, I still would never mess with your family, but if you don’t tell me I will make you wish you were dead. I will take little pieces off of you one at a time. Sooner or later you will tell the truth. Do you understand?”
At that point I pulled the K-Bar out and held it in front of his face. “This ain’t my first rodeo brother, one way or the other those are your only options. What’s it going to be?”
Perroni tried to convince himself “You wouldn’t do that, you’re a family man. You don’t have that in you.”
I just smiled, “Don’t kid yourself, I have already tortured one man to death, and I kind of liked it. I won’t hesitate to do it to you.” Perroni look like he was going to be sick. He had turned white. I think the truth had finally hit him. I was tired bullshitting, “You have ten seconds, what’s it going to be?” Now Perroni was getting desperate “OK, OK, I have millions, I’ll give you everything, don’t kill me please.” I shook my head, “Sorry; you made that decision for me when you brought family into this, five seconds.”
I waved the knife in front of his face for emphasis. He was sweating profusely and began talking real fast. “OK, OK, I’m the only one who knows who you are, just me, I swear.” Carl was standing in the back of the room taking this all in. I turned and asked Carl if he thought Perroni is telling the truth. Carl just shakes his head no.
Perroni was stammering now “I am, I am, I swear on my mamas grave. No one else, I was keeping you guys to myself. I didn’t want anyone else offering you a better deal. I was worried you would be hired to come after me.”
I stood there and thought. Perroni was scared shitless, but what he said made sense. We were his private security force. He knew what we were capable of. I believed he was telling the truth. Now I had to face the reality, I didn’t hate him, but I knew if I let him go we would either be hunted or put in jail. This had to end here and now. I turned to Carl, he shook his head yes, he agreed with my assessment. Now the only thing remaining was the dirty work.
Just then Shelby stuck his head in the door and motioned for me to come out. On the landing he told me our friend from last night was parked out front again. The cop had returned, what the hell was he doing here so early, didn’t he have anything else to do? Shit, another complication. I walked down the stairs and peeked out the door, sure enough, he was parked in the same spot as last night, and he was alone. I didn’t need another complication, but there he was.
We had looked in all the rooms of the warehouse to make sure no one else was around. The first room at the top of the stairs was their drug processing room. It was full of bundles of drugs and money stacked in the corner. This was more than enough to put Perroni in prison, but then he would tell them about us. We would end up on death row. My mind was racing. We could kill Perroni and sneak out, but our car was parked just down the street from the cop. He
would see us either pass him or U-turn. The car was stolen. But why leave any evidence at all? I just couldn’t leave the car parked outside a murder scene, that didn’t sound like particularly good idea. It could be traced back to Baltimore and possibly on some surveillance camera in the airport they would see Shelby and me.
Carl, who rarely speaks, was standing on the landing and asked me to come up and talk to him. He had an idea. For Carl to speak was so rare, you had to listen. I listened to his idea and liked it. It wasn’t foolproof, but nothing is. We agreed it was the best we could come up with. Carl wanted to be the one to execute his plan, but I had gotten us into this mess and I wanted to be the one to get us out. We checked the ropes on Perroni who was screaming as loud as he could. He used this warehouse as a processing location and had made it virtually soundproof.
Carl and I walked down and explained to Shelby what we were about to do. He wasn’t any more optimistic than we were, but our options were limited. I did the Carl impression of a bum by rubbing as much dirt from the warehouse floor on me as I could. I messed my clothes up and hoped I looked the part. I needed to get as close to the cop car as possible without raising suspicion.
Chapter 48
There was a rear entrance to the warehouse, I exited there and walked down an alley two buildings away. I had a 9mm tucked behind my back under my torn and dirty jacket. I stumbled like a drunk down the street in the direction of the cop car. I had my hood of my jacket up and sun glasses on. I approached the car from the rear on the passenger side and noticed the lock was up. Good, as I walked by I noticed him glance at me then turn his attention back to the warehouse. I pulled the pistol, with my left hand and opened the car door with my right. He turned toward me in surprise, saw the pistol and began to reach inside his jacket. I told him, “Stop, put both your hands on the wheel.” He sat with his hand half inside and half outside his coat, thought better of it, and placed both hands on the bottom of the wheel.
I looked at him and said, “Now listen to me and you go home to your family tonight, don’t do anything fast or stupid.” He was stunned but managed to say, “I’m a cop, what do you think you are doing?”
I just smiled, “You’re sitting out here in a Crown Vic with public plates, the motors running, and you don’t think anyone knows you’re a cop? What did they teach you in cop school? Before I explain what’s happening there is one other thing you should know. There is a 7mm magnum pointed at the back of your head from a building eighty yards behind us. Even if you somehow take me out, you’re still dead.”
His ego was wounded but he said “You’re insane, you can’t get away with this.” My turn to shake my head “If you fuck up and die it won’t make any difference to you whether I get away with it or not.”
When I jumped into the car I landed on his two way radio, which was lying on the passenger seat. I kept the pistol pointed at him and pulled the radio out from under me. I slipped it into my jacket pocket. “OK, next, with two fingers, open your jacket and remove your weapon. “
Reluctantly he complied. I took the semi-automatic in my right hand and told him “OK, roll down the passenger side window.” As he was doing that I pulled the inside rearview mirror off the windshield and as the window went down, I smashed the passenger outside mirror with his pistol. Carl, who had taken the same route as me saw the window go down and approached from the passenger side. I handed him the cop’s pistol. He walked away, hood up and sunglasses on. He improvised and I had to smile. He walked with a very pronounced limp.
After Carl was out of site I said “OK, we are almost finished. You asked me what I wanted. Believe it or not we both want the same thing, to bring down Perroni. Why else would you be parked out here? Now, give me your cell phone and don’t try to bullshit me, everyone carries a cell phone.” He reached into his jacket pocket and hands me a flip phone. I slip that into my pocket with his police radio.
I looked at him “Now, right hand, turn off the ignition and hand me the keys.” He hesitates but does as he is told. The keys go in my pocket with his cell and radio. Still looking in his eyes I said “OK, one last item. Give me your backup piece.” He shook his head “I don’t carry one.” I gave him a disbelieving look, “Come on, I never knew a cop that didn’t carry at least a throw down.” He insists, “I swear I don’t have one.”
Still disbelieving I said, “OK, it won’t matter anyway, because if you try and come after me my buddy with the 7mm will end it. Now keep your hands on the wheel and I am going to explain what is about to happen. Listen carefully I’m only going to say this once and then I’m gone, forever. If you fuck up and don’t do as I say, you will not make it home to your family tonight. Do we understand each other?” He nods his head yes.
“Good, you are going to become a hero tonight. You are single handedly going to take the Perroni gang down. You were sitting in your car and heard shots. You responded immediately and entered the front of the warehouse. Two of the gang was already dead they had a dispute and killed each other, then Perroni came down the steps with a weapon in his hand. You ordered him to stop, he raised the gun. You fired twice in self defense striking him in the chest. He was dead before he hit the floor. You checked the rest of the warehouse where you found a large stash of drugs and cash. You got all that?”
He stares at me in disbelief. “You’re fucking insane, no one’s going to believe that. Ballistics and forensics aren’t going to support that story. Fuck you.”
I smiled, “Ballistics will match, you see, Perroni was just killed with your gun. The guns on the other two dead men will back up that story.” Suddenly the color drained from his face. He couldn’t think of anything to say.
I continued, “Now you can come up with any story you want. You can tell everyone you were taken down, disarmed, your gun stolen, and used to kill someone. I personally like my story, but that’s your choice. OK, I’m getting out of the car now. You will lie down on the seat for five minutes. If my partner see’s anything move before five minutes is up, he will fire, and he shoots very well. Your radio, cell phone, car keys, and gun will be in the warehouse. The phones in the warehouse don’t work; you will need to find the battery for the cell and radio. They are somewhere in the warehouse. Good luck officer, oh by the way, I didn’t get you name. I guess it doesn’t matter, don’t forget, lay down as soon as I get out. Oh and one last thing. If a few hundred thousand of all that cash happens to disappear, no one would ever know.”
He looks straight at me, “I need to ask one question. Did Perroni kill those men on the Camden wharf?”
I smile again, “Well let’s just say, the operation was his. You have a nice day.”
He almost shouts “Who did the shooting?”
I smiled at him and again reminded him to lie down immediately. I got out of the car and saw him lay across the front seat. I walked to the driver’s side and smashed the outside rearview mirror. I headed for the warehouse. Shelby was standing in the door. I tossed him the radio, keys, and cell phone, he went in and returned thirty seconds later. He had taken the battery out of the cell and radio and thrown them different places in the warehouse. We also pulled the two phones we found in the warehouse out the wall. Shelby untied the two guys we had apprehended and told them to go out the back door and if they knew what was good for them, to disappear. All the guns were placed to make it look like a firefight between the two dead men. We got in our rental car and u-turned. I was hoping the broken mirrors and his head down would prevent him from seeing us.
Carl had released Perroni’s bonds and walked him down the stairs. Halfway down the stairs he fired two shot from the cop’s gun into Perroni’s chest. He was dead before he hit the floor. He placed a weapon from the warehouse in Perroni’s hand, dropped the cop’s gun by the door and headed out. We headed south on I-676 and then west on I-76. We crossed the Walt Whitman Bridge into Philadelphia and exited on Packer Ave. Carl was already parked and waiting for us. We abandoned the stolen car, and jumped back on I-76 West turned
onto I-95 South and headed for home.
Chapter 49
Lieutenant O’Shea
O’Shea lay across his front seat and stared at his watch. He was tempted to open the door and run, but he just wasn’t sure if there was really was someone waiting for movement. These guys had already proven they could be violent, the smile from the man in the car when asked about the dead on the docks sent a chill down his spine. He knew he had to do something, but he didn’t want to die. He reached his backup piece in his ankle holster. At least he had been able to keep that. At the five minute mark he opened the door and ran to the cover of a nearby alley. No shots rang out. He sprinted across the street to the warehouse and hit the door. It was already partially open and he went sprawling inside. He landed right next to his pistol. He grabbed it and checked the chamber and clip, still loaded. He looked toward the stairs leading to the loft. There was a body face down on the stairs. Oh shit, they really had done it. He smelled his weapon, it had been fired. He cautiously moved to the body and flipped it over. It was Perroni. He had a semi-automatic pistol by his side. He checked for a pulse, although from the amount of blood on the stairs he knew it was futile. There was another body on the ground to his left. He approached the car and there was a body in the front seat. Both dead men had weapons near them. He climbed the stairs. The first room contained bundles of dope and stacks of money. More money than he had ever seen. The second and third rooms were empty.
