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

by Swinney, C. L.

Pierre looked at his computer screen. “It’s a thirty-meter hit that just happened. Whoever has the phone has to be directly across the street from your location. Jesus, how the fuck would they know where she is? It doesn’t matter I guess. There’s a large office building behind the park if I remember correctly.” As he finished the statement his voice cracked. His nerves were making him edgy. He wanted to know what Dix and the other officers were doing.

  Dix, however, saw an opportunity. One he might not get again so he had to snatch it. He motioned to some of his men and made hand gestures with his fingers like someone walking. His team knew it meant they needed to follow him on foot.

  “Pierre, it’s going to be okay. Keep sending the GPS coordinates to my cell phone. We’re going to see who’s outside near the park.” Dix shook his head. He still couldn’t believe anyone working with Marie knew she was in custody. Even if someone knew she was in custody, only a handful of people actually knew where she was located currently. Dix sighed, hoping he didn’t have another leak wearing a badge. It was becoming more common, and it pissed him off.

  Pierre bounced his right leg like crazy. “Okay, I’ll keep you posted,” he paused and looked at the screen one more time. “And whatever you do, don’t get yourself hurt.”

  Dix smiled. “Will do. Just keep sending me info on the status of the target phone.” And with that, Dix hung up and updated the team just before they headed outside. They left the hospital from various exits and worked their way toward the front of the hospital. Each agent had his head on a swivel looking for a threat, or someone on their cell phone that looked suspicious. Dix started a group chat on their cell phones and instructed his men to take photos as inconspicuously as possible of everyone they saw. Just before he walked outside, he got a call from Frasier and updated him.

  Frazier sounded excited, and said he be there in a few minutes.

  The fresh air outside felt exhilarating to Dix. It softened his stress, only momentarily, as he walked outside. Show time, he thought, show time.

  Chapter 32:

  Blass had no idea where Marie was, but he was sure she was either dead or injured. She’d never kept him in the dark this long. The fact he'd located an undercover agent watching the safe house, and now Marie wasn’t responding, meant to Blass that she had likely been apprehended. He found himself trolling around local hospitals. He figured if she'd been caught, she would not have gone down without a fight, leaving her, as well as others, seriously injured. While calling his resources in a desperate attempt to ascertain Marie’s status, he suddenly realized he had feelings for her beyond just being a business partner. What in the hell is wrong with you? Not knowing her status bothered him. He knew it was bad for business that he had feelings for her, but he was smart enough to know he needed to stop lying to himself and locate Marie at any cost. If she was dead, so be it, but he needed to know her status either way.

  His other concern, one far scarier for him, was what exactly Marie would do if he confessed his feelings for her. Would she see me as weak and try to kill me? He wondered if he should keep quiet about his true feelings and forget the whole thing. His brain told him yes, but his heart ached for her, and he couldn’t deny that. Focus, damn it!

  Now he was pretending to practice his tennis serve while watching the front of one of the three trauma centers in Las Vegas. Blass had checked the other two and had not located Marie. He did not see anything out of the ordinary now—no cops going in or out and no signs of Marie. He had checked the local news, nothing. His contacts also had nothing. It was as though Marie had disappeared without a trace. Blass spit on the tennis court in disgust. It was the first time, in a very long time, that he felt helpless. He squeezed and let go of the tennis ball in his hand over and over while trying to develop a plan for searching the hospital for Marie. It’s risky, but it’s gotta be done, he thought, besides, no one knows who I really am.

  Blass retrieved his cell phone and dialed the phone number for one of his suppliers. As the phone rang, he noticed a large black plume of smoke to his right and estimated it was coming from the area of the safe house. Son of a bitch, he’s not a worthless piece of shit after all. He wasn’t quite sure what it had meant when he located the agent earlier in the day, but whatever it was, he was about to force their hand because the place would be burned to the ground in minutes. Fire trucks could be heard in the distance. They raced by Blass, headed toward the old safe house. Satisfied the job was done, he turned his attention to the job in front of him. His first cell phone call didn’t go through, so Blass dialed the supplier again.

  The man answered on the first ring.

  “You seeing this?” asked the supplier.

  “Well, at least you did that right. Now, have you heard anything about the girl?” Blass assumed the man would have nothing useful to add.

  “The assassin?” replied the supplier.

  The mention of Marie caused Blass to stir. “Yes. I’m unable to locate her, and she’s not answering phone calls or text messages. I need to know her status,” replied Blass coolly.

  The supplier cleared his throat and paused. He had information, but was wondering what he could get out of the man on the other end of the line in return.

  “I may have heard something, what’s it worth to you?” The supplier knew he was pushing the limits with the man, but business was business, and he needed money.

  Blass, on the other hand, felt his pulse quicken and anger swirled inside. He wanted to crush the supplier. Rip out his tongue, and feed it to the fishes. In due time, he decided.

  “Here’s what I’m prepared to offer. You provide me the update, and I let you live. Anything short of that, I kill everyone who knows you, including your sweet mother at the rest home,” Blass replied angrily.

  The supplier lost it. “Whoa! Calm down, I’m sorry man, look, you know I need money—I was just trying to get a few extra bucks.” He realized he’d just fucked up, and was now negotiating to save his, and all his friends’ and family’s, lives.

  “Spit it out, or am I talking to a dead man.” Blass decided no matter what the man told him, he’d be dead by sundown.

  “Please, you gotta believe me, man, I’m sorry. So, I heard she was taken down outside Pahrump in a big fire fight with the police.” The supplier had a pit in his stomach and began sweating profusely.

  “Bullshit! There’s nothing on the news. You’re a dead man, you mother fucker! Do you know who I am?” Enraged, Blass looked down to see he’d destroyed the tennis ball then looked up. Women and children, men—Christ, even the dogs—had stopped and were staring at him as he screamed into his cell phone.

  He gathered himself. Blass covered the microphone of the cell phone. “Oh gosh, I’m so sorry everyone, please forgive me.” Most of the people went about their business. An elderly woman shook her head at him.

  The supplier was in a full panic. “It’s the truth, man. My friend works at the gas station where it all happened. He said a Honda Civic driven by a hot girl pulled up for gas and the lady came inside. She walked back out, stopped, pulled out a couple guns and began firing wildly on a bunch of undercover cops!” He cursed himself for being so greedy.

  Blass mulled the information in his head. It sure sounded like Marie, but he needed more to be certain.

  “Keep talking, asshole,” said Blass.

  “My friend said all hell broke loose at the gas station and the cops chased the lady out toward the hills behind the station. He said cops came pouring in and he even saw a damn helicopter. He said he heard a few more gunshots and then an ambulance came. He said he heard one of the cops say something about the ‘Mantis’ being caught… he mentioned the name Dix too.”

  Blass almost choked. Goddamn, Bill Dix. Everything the supplier was telling him had to be about Marie. He grimaced and clenched his jaw tight. How the fuck did Dix know about Marie? How did they find her? How the hell did they catch her? How could none of this be on the news? Where the hell is she? The questions blasted his mind like
a shotgun round. Based on what he knew now, it was very likely Marie was just a few yards away from him in the hospital. He began formulating a new plan, that of rescuing Marie.

  “Anything else?” he asked the supplier.

  “No man, please, you have to believe me. I’m sorry okay? I’ll take whatever you want to do to me, but please, leave my mom alone!” The supplier was almost in a state of shock. He loved his mother more than life itself. He couldn’t believe how badly he’d screwed up this time.

  Blass laughed. “I’m not an animal. But you fucked up. We’ll be in touch, but your sweet mother is fine,” he said in a sadistic tone, “for now anyway.” Before the supplier could plead further, Blass hung up on him.

  He put his cell phone in his pocket and began packing up his tennis equipment. He turned to walk toward the hospital and noticed two marked units pull up to the park. An elderly lady, the one who’d shaken her head at Blass earlier, was talking to them and pointing in his direction. This ought to be interesting, he thought. He causally looked around for escape routes and squeezed the bottom of his tennis bag confirming his Glock firearm was there. Instead of walking away, he walked right toward the officers.

  He got about twenty feet from them before they finally engaged him in a conversation.

  “Hey, buddy, stop right there,” said the taller of the two officers. His partner, built like a pit bull, stood next to him in a bladed stance tapping his handgun.

  These guys never change, thought Blass.

  “Hello officers, how can I help you?” Blass poured on the charm and feigned weakness.

  The taller officer pointed to the elderly woman, “She says you were cussing up a storm on your cell phone.”

  “Oh dear, I didn’t know that was a crime.” Blass toyed with the officer. He realized he needed to be careful because the men had him basically cornered. He would not be able to get out his gun and shoot both cops and get away because there were too many witnesses. He considered grabbing a hostage. It would buy him time, and he’d have a much better chance of escaping. However, he needed information and desperately wanted to find Marie so he stalled some.

  The officer smugly shook his head. “That isn’t a crime, smart guy, but threatening to kill someone is.” Both officers took up defensive positions in front of Blass. Their body language and eyes told Blass they wanted answers.

  Blass pretended to be shocked. “Oh gosh, is that what she said?” he asked as he pointed over at the elderly woman standing a few feet away near their patrol car.

  The officers nodded.

  Before they could question him further, the elderly lady said, “What did he just say? Is that young man talking foul again?”

  Blass saw his way out, but he needed to be patient.

  The shorter officer jumped in. “Let me have your driver’s license please. We need to run you out, and figure out what to do next.”

  Blass obliged. He carefully reached into his tennis bag and moved the Glock to get to his wallet. The officers had no clue how close to death they were. Every bone in his body wanted to retrieve the Glock, kill the cops, and put a bullet in the old lady. Calm down, he thought.

  He fished out his identification and handed it to the officer. He was in such a rush that he exposed the Canadian ID card that was behind his Nevada driver’s license and it caught the eye of the officer.

  “Hey, what’s that other ID card?” asked the officer.

  Blass knew giving it up would tie him back to Marie. He hesitated. The second officer moved closer and unsnapped his taser holder.

  “Let me see the other ID card, pal, or we’re gonna have some issues here.” The officer watched Blass and his hands like a hawk.

  Blass felt like such an idiot for being careless enough to expose the ID card, but he had to show the officers now or risk further complications. He fished it out of his wallet slowly and handed it to the officer.

  The officer laughed and looked over to his partner and said, “What the hell is a Permis De Conduire?”

  The second officer scoffed. “Sounds French to me, maybe this guy’s from France.”

  The two officers shared a laugh. It was not funny to Blass. The officer inspected the Canadian driver’s license and held on to it. He stepped back a few feet and ran the subject out through dispatch. As he did, he noticed there were two different last names on the identification cards, which caused him some concern.

  “Hey, why does one card say your last name is Laurin, and the other one says Blass?

  Blass didn’t even hesitate. “Oh, that’s my surname, I’m Canadian. When my parents divorced, I never changed the names around to reflect the same name," he looked sheepish, "I'm lazy, what can I say.” The officer nodded and ran both names out for the person standing in front of him. He had no idea none of the information would ever come back to Blass.

  Dispatch confirmed the man had no arrest warrants or criminal history. The taller officer heard the same update through his ear microphone and became a little less tense based on the fact the subject was clear of warrants and had no criminal history.

  Blass needed to go and was done toying with the cops. “Guys, I’m sorry to waste your time like this,” he pointed to the elderly woman, “But she’s clearly hard of hearing and she’s only a few feet from me. I did not threaten anyone over the phone.”

  Again the elderly lady chimed in. “Why does that young man keeping pointing at me? What’s he saying?”

  “Son of a bitch,” said the taller officer, “this guy’s right. She can’t hear a damn thing.”

  The shorter officer looked at his partner and shrugged. They both knew they had no case and no reason to keep the subject detained any longer. They both had a feeling the guy was lying, but they had no victim, and the only witness was hard of hearing.

  The smaller officer handed Blass his identification information. “Consider this your lucky day. Be advised, in Las Vegas, we don’t take kindly to foreigners using foul language in front of women and children. Have a great day.” The two officers thanked the elderly woman and walked back to their patrol car and left.

  Blass cast an ugly glare to the elderly woman and decided he couldn’t walk into the hospital now because there was too much attention drawn to him. During the ordeal with the cops, people from the hospital had come out to watch. Blass begrudgingly got into his car, circled the block, and worked on another plan to get inside. All he could think about was rescuing Marie.

  Chapter 33:

  Dix and his men, wearing plain clothes, worked further away from the hospital and toward the park. Dix noticed the park was quite nice, and had tennis courts. He could see the large office building behind the park. As he scanned faces and the area he grunted. Almost everyone was on a damn cell phone. Well shoot, he thought, this is gonna be tough.

  Some of his men worked slowly into the park, but had to be careful because they needed to blend in with the other people so they didn’t tip off the person using the target telephone. A couple of other guys acted as if they were old friends reconnecting and sat on a bench to catch up on old times. A few others began stretching and jogging in the area.

  One of the men working with Dix noticed a man with a newspaper on his lap watching Dix. He texted the physical descriptors and location of the suspicious person to Dix’s cell phone. Dix received the text and waited a few seconds before scanning the area to locate the suspicious person. The man was having a heated discussion on his cell phone and he was looking in his direction. With a subtle nod, Dix indicated to his team that they should keep eyes on the suspect. He texted them back and told them to keep looking for more suspicious people.

  A few minutes went by and no one really stood out. Dix felt his cell phone vibrate indicating he’d received a text message. He opened the message and saw it was from Pierre. He rubbed his chin while reading the text. It stated the target telephone was still in the area per the ping and the person was currently using the phone. Dix quickly looked up and could see the person he and
the team had looked at earlier was not on his phone. Dix texted the team to advise them the man he’d told them to watch was not their target.

  Dix walked around the park some more. Everyone was a suspect to him, excluding children and the elderly. Each person was lumped into compartments in his head, threat or no threat, possible target or not a target. Dix knew Marie and her brothers were Canadian and wondered if the person they worked for was also Canadian. He scanned the area for people who appeared to be foreign that maybe wore different clothing or looked like a tourist. As he looked over toward the tennis courts he felt his heart pause. He could see a man on his cell phone standing in the tennis courts, but two things struck Dix as odd. One, the man was squeezing the hell out of a tennis ball and didn’t have a partner or racket out, and two, he was visibly upset, suggested by his beet red face and he had a vein bulging in his forehead. Dix texted the team to move closer to the guy on the tennis courts and attempt to set a perimeter to ensure the person could not get away.

  The man hung up and immediately Dix received a text message from Pierre stating the target phone had just ended a call. Dix felt his pulse accelerate. He hoped another ping would happen shortly, and that the ping would still show the target phone in the area. If that happened, Dix was pretty sure the man on the tennis courts was their guy. Dix texted his team to move in closer. As the team members began taking up positions closer to the subject, Dix saw two marked police cruisers park in front of him and both officers sprung out of their vehicles and began walking toward the same subject Dix and his team were surveilling. Damn, someone called in his tirade on the cell phone, thought Dix. He retrieved his cell phone and told everyone to stand down and stay out of the way of the local cops.

  The two officers contacted an elderly female who pointed at the subject Dix had been watching. The officers nodded and began interviewing him. Dix watched as the man looked nervous. He wasn’t sure, but every time one of the officers stood in a defensive stance, the subject countered by shifting his weight and blading himself to the officers. It wasn’t something the normal everyday citizen would do. The officers appeared to ask the subject for his identification. It looked like they ran him out and eventually let him go.