Sin City Assassin (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 3)

by Swinney, C. L.

  The two brothers looked at each other with disgust. She noticed it while looking in the rear view mirror as cops raced toward them. However, they both knew she was in charge and reported directly to the man who ran the operation. While he was safely in Canada, they were robbing and killing people for him in the United States.

  “Just get us to the garage,” Bruno replied smugly. “We can handle ourselves.” Bruno despised his sister. He felt, as the oldest and with the most training, he should be in charge. Yet, somehow his sister had been chosen to call the shots in Las Vegas and he didn’t like it one bit.

  Before Marie could knock her brother down a notch with a verbal jab, she spotted two unmarked units in the rear view mirror. They were gaining on her quickly, but she didn’t panic.

  “We have company. Disable the vehicles only. Killing cops is bad for business,” she said matter-of-factly.

  Bruno and Joseph opened the rear window of the Range Rover and waited until the vehicles were close enough for a more accurate shot before firing rounds at the tires and engine blocks in an effort to stop them from pursuing them. Marie needed to make a quick move toward the east if she wanted to reach the safe casino, The Fantasia. She trusted her brothers would give her time to slip the cops and hit the secondary basement of the casino. From there, they would all leave the area in separate vehicles in three different directions.

  She looked up at the rear view mirror just in time to see her brothers had begun firing rounds at the police cars. They’d better not kill anyone, she thought. She focused on her driving. A bullet casing, hot after being ejected from one of the rifles, landed on her neck and slid down her shirt. It burned the entire way down and caused her to twitch. The twitch caused her to veer slightly to the right, which made the rounds coming from her brothers’ assault weapons hit off target. Son of a bitch!

  Some of the bullets peppered the windshield of one of the unmarked police vehicles and into the cab of the car, striking the driver. The driver lost control and veered hard to the left, crashing into the second unmarked vehicle. The force of the crash sent the second vehicle spinning out of control in front of hundreds of pedestrians standing on Las Vegas Boulevard, stunned by what was happening right in front of them.

  “Stop shooting,” Marie yelled. “You idiots!” All hell broke loose as pedestrians fled for their lives from what was left of the spinning unmarked vehicle. Other vehicles crashed into each other at the intersection while trying to avoid the unmarked vehicle and pedestrians running away from it. This provided Marie and her brothers with a makeshift roadblock. She wondered if the officers driving the two unmarked cars were dead. She also hoped no one got run over in the crash. Not because someone would have lost their life—that didn’t bother her at all—but because it would bring unwanted attention to all of them.

  “It worked, didn’t it?” Bruno replied. He was pumped with adrenaline and seething as he spoke.

  “You’re the one who couldn’t handle a little hot brass and jerked the car.” Joseph defended his brother. He knew this wasn’t the time or place to challenge his sister, but he was tired of her barking out all the orders while he and his brother risked their necks for her and the boss back home.

  Marie thought about scolding them, putting them in their place again, but she was focused on the situation at hand. She needed to make it to the garage safely and everyone needed to split town. She relaxed as they pulled into the safe location.

  The siblings argued over who had to take the Range Rover to Pahrump. Joseph ended up losing the argument.

  Then, like all the other times they’d done dangerous jobs in Las Vegas, they took off in three different directions. Marie chuckled as she could see Bruno attempting to hide the briefcase as they neared the street. When will he ever learn, she wondered.

  “Bruno, toss me the briefcase. You’re wasting time,” she said while pointing under his arm.

  Bruno spun around and launched the briefcase at Marie with as much force he could muster. He hoped it would hit her in the head and knock her out. “I hate you,” he muttered under his breath.

  Marie easily caught the briefcase, opened it to ensure the cash was in it, and then said, “Thanks Bruno. I’ll see you two in Pahrump.”

  With that, the Roy Family, less the one brother they’d left behind at the scene of the theft and shooting, disappeared and waited for orders from Canada for the next operation.

  Chapter 4:

  Dix paced back and forth in the waiting room area, gnawing on his fingernails. He was eager to learn the status of Petersen. He figured his wife and Petersen’s wife would get there any minute. He desperately hoped he could give them an update when they arrived. Truth was; he needed an update too. It was killing him wondering if Petersen was going to make it or not.

  A doctor entered the waiting area and grabbed Dix by the arm, causing him to jump. “Sorry about that, I’m guessing you’re Bill Dix.”

  Dix was shaken but replied, “Man you scared the day lights out of me. Yes, I’m Bill, how’s Steve?”

  “Sorry, Bill, I didn’t mean to scare you like that. You’ll be happy to know Mr. Petersen is out of surgery and is expected to have a full recovery. The bullet missed his spine by millimeters as it went through his body.”

  Dix felt slightly relieved as he heard the news.

  “But it went all the way through and he should be out in less than a week. He can rehab a few weeks after, and with a little luck, he’ll be back in action.”

  Dix began to cry. He was elated to hear the good news. He couldn’t picture things without his partner. His excitement almost caused him to miss the last thing the doctor said about rehab.

  “What does he need rehab for?” Dix asked in a concerned voice.

  “Looks like a bullet nicked his left hand and broke several of the smaller bones,” the doctor explained. “Mr. Petersen will be able to use his hand, but it’s going to take awhile to get full motion and strength back.”

  Dix considered how upset Petersen would be if the injury forced him from the job. “Man he sure is lucky. Thanks so much for doing what you could for Steve.” He shook the doctor’s hand. The frantic voices of Jessica and Michelle echoed up from the hallway behind him. The doctor looked at Dix and he waved him off, indicating he would handle the situation from there.

  “One last thing, Doc, when can we see Steve?” Dix asked.

  “Once he comes to, and the nurses give us the thumbs up, he’s free to have visitors. I’m guessing in about thirty minutes.”

  Dix smiled. “Thanks again. You guys are my heroes.” He spun around to see his wife and Petersen’s wife running full speed at him. He could see they both had been crying and were clearly concerned and upset.

  Dix’s wife embraced him and he grabbed Petersen’s wife to hug her as well.

  “Guys, Steve’s gonna be okay! It’s a long story, but two suspects took us hostage while we were walking to dinner. As we tried to get away, cops arrived, and in the craziness, Steve was shot.” Before he could continue, Petersen’s wife, Michelle, also a fellow officer, lost it again.

  “Oh my God! Oh my God! What’re we going to do? Where is he? Oh my God!” She cried uncontrollably and punched the wall in front of her.

  Jessica tried to console her by telling her everything would be okay and embracing her.

  Dix jumped in to try to calm Michelle some. “The doctor just met with me. Steve will be able to see us in a little bit. He’s lucky to be alive, but he is expected to make a full recovery.”

  “What do you mean lucky to be alive?” snapped Michelle. “Is this all a big joke to you?”

  The comment stung, but Dix knew it was best to just let Michelle vent.

  Within a minute or so, she regained her composure. The news that her husband was expected to have a full recovery finally set in. She was still shaken, but tried to make sense of everything.

  “Sorry, Bill,” she apologized. “I really am. Thanks for getting him here and giving me the update. I just r
eally want to see him.”

  Dix hugged Michelle tightly. He was very thankful that he too wasn’t lying in a hospital bed. “No worries. We should be able to see him soon. I bet he’ll be happy to see you.”

  Chapter 5:

  Petersen’s head pounded when he came to after surgery. He felt numbness in his shoulder and lifted his left hand to see it was in a cast. Well, at least I’m alive, he mused to himself. Images of the gunfight crept back into his mind. He wondered what had happened after he lost consciousness. Within seconds he was worried about what his wife must be going through. He also felt a nagging need to know if Dix was okay.

  He looked to his left to see a red emergency button and pushed it.

  A nurse entered the room and smiled. “What’s up, Sugar?”

  Petersen chuckled from the ‘Sugar’ comment and felt serious pain in his shoulder. It hurt so bad, it caused him to lose his breath. He relaxed his muscles and caught his breath. “Any way you can track down my wife, Michelle, or Bill Dix? They should hopefully be out front, and I really want to see them.”

  “Sugar, they’ve been outside the whole time waiting on you. Let me go get them.” She turned and hurried out of the room.

  A moment later his room door burst open as Michelle ran to the side of his bed. They cried and kissed each other. “Babe, I’m so glad to see you,” was all he could muster to say to her.

  Michelle cried while shaking. “You jackass, we get married, and the first thing you try to do is get yourself killed?” She continued to hug him lovingly, teary eyed.

  Petersen knew she was joking with him and he was happy to be around to hear it. “Honey, can you lessen your grip just a little? You’re hurting me.”

  “I will not, I’m never letting you go again,” she replied defiantly.

  Petersen managed to roll his body in such a way to alleviate some of his discomfort. He was content just holding her. They must have embraced for at least ten minutes. Not many words were said, but the strong bond between the two felt even stronger now. After awhile, Petersen wondered about Dix.

  “Babe, how’s Bill? He okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, he made it through the gun battle and was shaken up a bit, but he’ll be glad you’re okay.” As she spoke, Dix poked his head inside the room. Michelle didn’t see Dix, but Petersen tried to wave him in.

  Dix shook his head and turned around to give them space once he could see Petersen was awake and being well taken care of. He was ecstatic to know his partner would be all right. Without hesitation, Dix’s mind changed gears. He vowed to spend every moment of every day he had left on Earth tracking down whoever hurt Petersen. So much for retirement, he thought. He secretly determined he’d treat the assholes responsible like animals once he found them. His blood pressure skyrocketed and he clenched his fists. Calm down, you’re no use to Steve if you can’t get it together. His wife was always able to calm him down. Dix walked around the corner and saw her. He did calm some, but all he could think about was tracking down and apprehending the crew that had shot Petersen. It’s gonna be a long couple of days.

  Chapter 6:

  Dix hugged his wife while his mind worked overtime trying to analyze the shootout. His cell phone began vibrating in his pocket. His wife felt it too and gave him a look like don’t you dare answer it.

  Dix needed answers, however, and he knew he had to take the call. “Honey, I have to grab this call. Someone’s gonna pay for what they did to Steve.”

  “I know. I just don’t want to be dealing with what Michelle’s dealing with right now. Promise me you can catch these jerks, and not get hurt.” She knew how close her husband was with Steve. She also knew whoever it was that put Steve in the hospital would be hunted to the ends of the Earth until they were located and dealt with.

  Dix grinned, but his eyes showed fierce determination. “Honey, you know I’ll try, but these guys are some real bad apples.”

  With a stern look, Jessica coolly answered him. “You get yourself hurt, and you’ll have to deal with me. I’ll make these guys look like playful kittens.” Dix cringed and she smacked him on the arm and went to sit down in the waiting area. As she walked away, she looked back and smiled at him. He knew she’d support him, but it was comforting to know she’d given him the green light.

  Dix retrieved his cell phone from his pocket. He entered the unlock code and saw he had three voicemails from Sergeant Randy Frazier with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department, his old friend who’d helped him at the scene where Petersen was shot. He glanced up at the TV as he dialed his voicemail and noticed the local news had interrupted the programming to show an unmarked police vehicle completely ablaze on Las Vegas Boulevard. He listened to all three messages, and then quickly called Frazier back.

  “Randy, it’s Dix, what’s the status?” He braced himself for some news, any news, that would help him locate the people responsible for shooting Petersen.

  “Bill, the bad guys just killed two of our men with automatic weapons right on Las Vegas Boulevard. They got away. I’m sorry, man. We’re doing everything we can. How’s your buddy?”

  Dix shook his head and let out a breath. “Damn it, these guys are crazy. What do you mean they got away? You guys can’t find one damn car loaded full of shooters?”

  “Calm down, buddy, we are trying. We haven’t seen anything like this before and we got caught with our pants down,” he replied defensively. He noticed Dix didn’t even mention his friend who’d been shot. He knew from experience that the man was probably okay since Dix rarely talked about stuff unless it needed mentioning. He continued. “I’ve got everyone looking for, and talking to, their confidential informants to see if we can get a beat on this crew. High-powered rifles, reckless abandon, sounds like professionals for hire to me.”

  Dix agreed with Frazier’s assessment of the suspects, but wondered what his people were up to at the time Petersen was shot, and if whatever it was they were doing could give him some leads. He also realized he needed to call his lieutenant and report that he and Petersen were in a shooting while on vacation... again. The lieutenant can wait, he thought.

  “How the hell did you guys get to the scene so quick?” Dix asked Frazier.

  “We had a panic alarm from our undercover agent. He’d been shot by the guys with the briefcase.”

  “What?” Dix was confused. He wondered how the suspects would know the undercover officer was actually an undercover officer. He also wondered how they would have known he’d have a briefcase, what was in it, and have the tenacity to steal it.

  “You heard me right. Our UC was supposed to meet a supplier of pharmaceutical pills, but instead he was shot and robbed by the thugs you ran into.”

  Dix’s mind worked frantically. He knew it was rare for a UC to get robbed, although it does happen. He wondered if the thugs worked for the supplier or a competitor, or if they were completely unassociated. “Is your UC okay?” Dix asked.

  “He lost a lot of blood, but he had the will to survive,” Frasier replied. “He was wearing a vest, but the round still penetrated his chest. He’s gonna recover, though.”

  Dix shook his head and whistled. “Guess it makes sense he works in Vegas with luck like that. I bet he’ll want to locate these bastards too.” Dix figured if the UC was anything like him, he’d want to personally find the men who shot him.

  “He’s already bitching about getting back into this one. Something about he’s fine and the fact he was shot gives him an even greater cover.”

  Dix chuckled and raised an eyebrow. “He’s right, you know.”

  “Yeah I know, but he’s gonna need to be on the sidelines for awhile.” Frazier would love nothing more than let his UC get the guys who shot him, but he also had an obligation to make sure he was healthy and ready to get back in the mix.

  Dix contemplated his next move. “Randy, I gotta tell you, I was about to retire. We were out here on vacation. I haven’t told my agency what happened yet, but I’m pretty sure they won’t let me
get involved.”

  “Stop right there, Bill. I know where you’re headed with this, and it isn’t necessary. You’ll be in on every step of this investigation. With or without the support of your agency.”

  Dix nodded in relief. “Randy, I really appreciate this. Consider us even.” The two discussed where to meet and how to get Dix involved with the investigation. Dix left Michelle and Petersen at the hospital and drove his wife back to their hotel to get a change of clothes and cleaned up.

  He walked her to their room and she gave him a huge hug.

  “Why don’t you come inside for a few minutes, you know, to get a change of clothes?” she asked with a wink.

  Dix could see passion and love in her eyes. He figured he might not see her for a few days so he’d better take advantage of the opportunity. He was wound up tight and could use the stress relief to help him think things through with a calm approach. He kicked the door shut with his foot.

  Fifteen minutes later, Dix emerged full of energy with fierce intent in his eyes.

  Chapter 7:

  Robert Blass, the only child of infamous Canadian gangster Richard Blass, poured a glass of expensive scotch. He replaced the cap and gently swirled the two ice cubes while pacing in his suite at the Ritz-Carlton. His view overlooked the Toronto Inner Harbour. It also had a clear line of sight to the Toronto City Centre Airport. He chuckled how beautiful and peaceful things appeared outside. His mind, however, was torn and brutal. Blass tapped his index finger on the glass, and then checked his Audemar watch. The hands indicated it would be ten minutes before his girlfriend and potential business associate, Marie Roy, landed at the airport with a quarter-million dollars body-packed around her waist and back. If she has the money, I’m going to ask her to join the inner circle, he decided.