by Mike Ryan
Recker and the men he borrowed from Malloy didn’t do much to pursue the fleeing crew. They had already done what they set out to do. And that was to rescue his friends. The rest, getting rid of any amount of Jerrick’s soldiers, was just a bonus. But it was a welcomed one. Between this incident, and the encounter they had at Vincent’s warehouse, Jerrick would need another recruitment drive. He wouldn’t be able to continue sustaining this many losses so close together. Especially when he was still building his organization. It was one thing to lose a bunch of men when you were already at the top of the food chain and you had more men than you knew what to do with, like in Vincent’s case. It was another when you were still in the infancy of trying to build what you wanted. If Jerrick had a couple more encounters like these last couple in the next little while, they might not have to worry about him much longer. He’d probably be out of business.
After a few minutes, and all the combatants had left, Recker finally found where his friends were. They were leaning up against some containers, waiting for him to approach. Recker quickly looked them over.
“Eh, looks like you two aren’t in too bad a shape.”
Haley grinned. “We were just about to run them off, you know.”
Recker smiled. “Yeah. It looked it.”
“Who are the other guys?” Phillips asked, observing some men in the background.
Recker turned around to look at them. “Some of Vincent’s men.”
“Where’d you pick them up?” Haley asked.
“On the way in, I called Malloy, asked if he had anyone nearby that he could spare. Luckily he had a few that were in the area already.”
Even though they helped save his life, Phillips didn’t look especially pleased at hearing the news. “Cooperating with the enemy again, huh?”
“Hey, that enemy helped save your bacon here,” Recker replied.
“Still feels like we should be able to do things without their help.”
“We can and we do. But sometimes, it’s good to have something extra in your back pocket in case you ever need it.”
“And it’s a good thing we do,” Haley said. “It’s lucky for us that they did.”
“Well, they’re not gonna miss an opportunity to take out more of Jerrick’s men. They’ll do that deal any day they can find it.”
“Speaking of Jerrick’s men, they’re losing a lot of men lately,” Phillips said.
Recker nodded. “They sure have. I have a feeling they’ll be laying low for a while.”
“What makes you think that?”
“They gotta lick their wounds. He’s lost what, close to twenty men in the last few days? That’s a hefty price to pay for any organization, especially one that’s not on solid footing.”
“What makes you think they’re not on solid footing?”
“They were on a recruitment drive not too long ago. Before you showed up. That means they’re still in the building phase, trying to get people to join. They didn’t have enough people to do what they wanted. Even if they accomplished that and had all they could handle, which I doubt, they’ve now got a serious dent in their armor. They’re gonna have to go recruiting again. That takes time.”
“And if they were already shorthanded, this definitely won’t make them frisky anytime soon,” Haley said.
“Right. It’ll probably mean they’ll back off their plans for a little while. They’ll disengage with Vincent, take the targets off of us, change their focus. At least for a little while. Until they can replace the men they’ve lost.”
“This could be a good opportunity to keep the heat on then,” Phillips said. “Why let them regroup? Let’s try and find out where they are and hit them again. And keep hitting them until there’s no one left.”
Recker and Haley looked at each other. The new guy had a point. There was certainly a good argument to be made for that. If they could find out where Jerrick was. He wasn’t like his mentor, Jeremiah, however. Jerrick didn’t seem to have a permanent base of operations like Jeremiah did. He liked to move around, operate in the shadows. At least that was his method so far, and they hadn’t gotten any information that contradicted that.
Phillips looked at the two of them. “What? Doesn’t that sound like the way to go?”
Recker nodded. “Yeah. That’s probably the way to go. If we can find him.”
“Nobody knows where he’s at? Not even like a club or a bar that he likes to hang out at?”
“No. He conducts meetings on short notice, varying the time and the place, making sure there’s not enough time for that stuff to leak out. He’s very secretive and doesn’t trust many people.”
“Well somebody’s gotta know something.”
“I’m sure somebody does,” Recker said. “It’s just a matter of finding them.”
17
As soon as they got back to the office, the group immediately started discussing what happened by the river. More importantly, they wanted to know what went wrong. Haley didn’t even try to disguise the fact that Phillips jumped the gun.
“I got a little overanxious,” Phillips said. He also didn’t try to dispute the facts. They were what they were. There was no use trying to deny them.
“A little?” Haley asked.
“OK, I should have waited.”
“Seems to be a theme with you,” Recker said. “You’re quick on the trigger.”
“I’d rather be quick on the trigger and alive then slow and dead.”
“But if I wasn’t around to save you, along with Vincent’s men, you would be fast and dead.”
Phillips bowed his head and nodded. He wasn’t going to try to keep arguing the point. It had already been made. He also knew it was an argument he wouldn’t win. He was unlikely to change his style at this point. He’d probably keep doing it the way he did until it didn’t work anymore. At that point he’d probably be dead and it wouldn’t matter after that. But it served him well thus far.
They continued talking about what happened, going over each detail from the moment they got there until the time Recker showed up. Recker wanted to see what was going through Phillips’ mind at each step of the way. For the most part, he wasn’t that impressed. And he didn’t agree with most of Phillips’ mindset. But he knew there wasn’t much he could do before he left. It was going to be Jones’ and Haley’s problem now. He hoped they could rise up to the challenge. Because he believed it was a big one.
Near the end of their conversation, Recker’s phone rang. He saw that it was Malloy.
“Thanks for the assist earlier.”
“No problem,” Malloy.
“Your boys give you the rundown?”
“Yeah. Another mission well-done, huh? Few more of these and Jerrick won’t have anyone else left to fight with.”
“That’s about how we figure it. We also figure he’ll probably lay low for a while. Go into recruitment mode.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right about that.”
“Listen, I called because Vincent’s a little worried.”
“About?”
“Your new guy. He’s got concerns.”
“He’s not the only one.”
“Between the incident at the warehouse, now this, he’s got some questions.”
“Don’t we all?”
“He would like to meet him.”
“Oh?”
“And he’d like to do it now.”
“Really?”
“And he’d like to meet him alone.”
“I’m not sure that’s possible.”
“Just passing on the message.”
“I’m not sure he’s ready for that.”
Malloy was silent for a few seconds. “I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but since it’s you, I will. I think Vincent wants to talk to him alone and kind of size him up, find out what kind of man he is. I don’t think he thinks he can do that effectively if you’re there next to him.”
“Understandable.”
“Kind of afraid that he’
ll be looking to you for answers or you’ll butt in and help him to make him sound better.”
“Probably true.”
“What do you say?”
“I’m still not sure I can do that,” Recker replied. “He’s rough around the edges.”
“Yeah, no kidding. You know how Vincent is, though. He’ll want to meet with him at some point. I’m the one who suggested doing it now.”
“Why?”
“Because if he doesn’t meet with Vicent now, he’ll do it after you leave. I thought if it was done now, you could at least try to coach him up on how to interact with Vincent effectively.”
“Makes sense.”
“Because you and I both know that once you’re gone, if this guy makes a wrong move, it could blow up the years of trust that we’ve built up in each other.”
“Not with me.”
“You know I’d go through a wall with you. And I have. And you’ve done it for me. But if this guy gets sloppy and loose and hurts Vincent where it hurts, Vincent will hit back. And I don’t think either of us wants that. Especially if Chris winds up getting caught in the middle of it. And I don’t want that either.”
“I can see that.”
“Vincent wants to know he can trust this guy the way he trusts you and Chris. If not, things might change.”
Recker sighed, but knew he would just be postponing the inevitable if he didn’t agree to it. But he also didn’t think sending Phillips in there all by himself was a great idea either. “Fine. I’ll send him. On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I send Chris with him. I’ll tell Chris to stay in the background, but, I’m not sending him in there alone. Not yet.”
Malloy thought about it, but quickly agreed. “OK. Done deal.”
“Where?”
“You know the spot.”
“Well it’s not breakfast or lunch so that leaves the diner out. Must be the warehouse?”
“You got it.”
“Half hour?”
“Yeah. Half hour.”
“Good deal.”
Recker had something else to say before he hung up. “Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Do me a favor?”
“Name it.”
“However this meeting goes, if he says or does something stupid, let it roll?”
“Because it’s you asking. OK. But I’ve already done that once with him.”
“I know. And I appreciate the restraint.”
“He’ll get a pass. Again. But he won’t get anymore after this.”
“I know. Thanks.”
“You got it. Enjoy your trip.”
“I’ll have a cocktail in your honor.”
Malloy laughed and hung up. As soon as Recker put his phone away, he turned around and saw everyone looking at him.
Jones was the first to speak up. “What was all that about?”
Recker looked at each of them briefly. “Vincent wants a meet.”
“With?”
Recker pointed at Phillips. “Him.”
“Oh. Uh, can I ask what for?”
“You can ask.”
“Mike?”
Recker shrugged. “Guess he just wants to talk to him.”
“And? There seems like there’s more to the story.”
“Long story short, Vincent wants to meet him. I didn’t think it was a good idea, but Malloy thought it would be better to do it now while I’m still around to give some coaching advice.”
“You’re not going with him?”
Recker could already see the concern written all over Jones’ face. “No. He wants to meet him alone. I said that wasn’t possible and that I’d only let it happen if Chris went with him.”
Jones turned to look at Phillips. He still wasn’t sure that was a good idea. Recker could see his friend was worried, but stuck his hand out to try to calm his fears.
“I think it’ll be fine.”
“You think?” Jones said.
“Hopefully Chris will be able to cut off any issues before they blow up.”
Jones rubbed his forehead, really not sure if this was a good idea. He would have preferred to keep Phillips in bubble wrap for a while and not allow the world to see him yet.
“It’s gonna happen sooner or later,” Recker said. “Malloy’s right. Might as well do it now while I’m here.”
Phillips finally interjected himself into the conversation. “Why do I have to meet with this guy?”
“Because he’s the head man in this city. Like we’ve been trying to tell you for the last few days, it would greatly benefit you if you figured out how to play nice with him.”
“And like I keep saying, I don’t play nice with criminals. They can all kiss my ass. I’ll take them all down.”
Recker rubbed his face, knowing this would be a challenge. “And like we keep telling you, Vincent is not an ordinary criminal. If you take him out, someone worse will likely take over that we can’t work with. That means more innocent people will get hurt or killed. Vincent is the necessary evil that we all know is required. We will never live in a grand utopia. He needs to be at the top. He understands our position and is willing to let us do what we do as long as he’s not impacted. We understand his position and let him do what he does as long as he doesn’t hurt anyone that’s not involved in his matters. It’s a nice little agreement that has worked for a long time. I’d really hate for you to screw it up.”
Phillips shrugged, not seeming to care about the unwritten agreement very much. His position hadn’t really changed. As far as he was concerned, Vincent’s organization should go down too. And if someone else came along and took over, Phillips would take them out too. And on and on it would go.
“And you realize that his men just saved your life earlier?”
“Maybe,” Phillips said. “I mean, that’s not a given.”
“And what would you have done if we hadn’t gotten there?”
“Took a run for the river.”
Recker looked at Haley, then rolled his eyes. “Oh. And you think you would’ve made it that far?”
“I dunno. I think I had a shot.”
“No shot, more like it.”
Phillips gave kind of a sarcastic looking grin, like he really believed he would have made it.
Recker looked at Haley. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s probably a good idea for them to meet now. I mean, it’s gonna happen sooner or later. It’s probably better that it happens sooner. The longer it’s put off, the worse things can become. People start to misunderstand each other, thoughts and words get twisted and their meaning becomes lost. Maybe this could head off some of that.”
Recker nodded. “You OK going with him?”
Haley shrugged a shoulder. It was no big deal to him. He knew them all and had no problems with any of them. “Yeah, it’s fine.”
“What, I don’t even have a choice in whether I want to go or not?” Phillips asked. “Nobody asked me whether I even want to meet this guy.”
Recker glared at him. Phillips’ opinion didn’t really matter to him. If Recker said he was going, he was going. Whether he liked it or not. But Recker figured he’d at least pretend to care what the new guy wanted. “So are you OK with going?” Recker didn’t really care what his answer was, because the meeting was already set.
“Sure! Why not?! I’ll go meet the slob.”
Recker looked at Haley again and shook his head. He didn’t envy him. Haley sure had his work cut out for him while he was gone. “Great. I’m happy you came to the same conclusion. Now why don’t you guys get ready and get out of here. You’ve got twenty-some minutes to get there.”
Phillips grabbed his gun, to which Recker quickly suggested not to worry about it.
“Don’t even bother,” Recker said.
“What?” Phillips asked. “Why not?”
“You ain’t getting in to see Vincent armed.”
“I’m not going to meet this guy unarmed
.”
“You will or you’re not talking to him.”
“You gotta do that too?”
“Not anymore. Used to, though. It’s a protection for him until he knows you better and trusts that you won’t shoot him.”
“There’s an idea.”
Phillips didn’t listen and still put his gun into its holster. “Just the same, I’d feel a little weird going there without it.”
“Feel even stranger when they take it from you.”
Phillips looked over at Haley and noticed he was taking his gun with him. Phillips pointed at him. “What about him? He’s got one.”
“Vincent knows and trusts him.”
“They taking his too?”
“Unlikely.”
“Well then I don’t see why they need to take mine. If they let him keep his, I should keep mine too.”
Recker wasn’t going to stand there and argue the point. He scratched his forehead and let the man do what he wanted. Phillips would find out the hard way. Maybe that was the only way he learned. Once the two men were ready, they headed for the door.
Recker grabbed Haley by the arm first. “Do your best to keep him from putting his foot in his mouth.”
Haley looked at Phillips, then back at Recker. “I’ll do what I can, but you know as well as I do, you can’t fix stupid.”
Recker grunted, releasing his friend’s arm. “Just do what you can.”
“I’ll try.”
“And hope he doesn’t cause something that gets his head blown off.”
“And mine too.”
“Yeah.” Recker watched the pair as they exited the office. He shook his head, knowing Phillips was going to say or do something stupid at some point, whether it was at this meeting or some point down the road, but he’d do something to cause some type of incident. He just knew it.
