Point Blank

by Mike Ryan

  “Didn’t go well I take it?” Jones asked.

  “Huh?”

  “No answers?”

  “What?” Recker said, not really comprehending what was being said to him.

  “Did you find out anything?”

  “What?” Recker asked, still pacing, hearing something, but not concentrating on the words.

  Finally, Jones figured he had to go to extremes to get his friend’s attention. He stood up and started waving his arms around, eventually succeeding in catching Recker’s attention.

  Recker stopped and looked at Jones curiously. “What are you doing?”

  “Well, considering I’ve been talking to you for five minutes without a reply, I was starting to get desperate.”

  “Oh. Sorry.”

  “Good thing you responded. If you didn’t notice then I was beginning to think the only thing you’d notice was if I stripped down to my boxers.”

  “Uhh, yeah, don’t do that.”

  “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  “Right. So what were you trying to talk to me about?”

  “I was asking how your meeting with Jeremiah went,” Jones said.

  “Oh. Horrible. Couldn’t have gone worse.”

  “Didn’t have anything on Bernal?”

  “No, not really. Just told me he sold him a couple guns. Nothing more.”

  “Didn’t know more or just didn’t want to reveal more?” Jones asked.

  “Said it was bad for business to inform on his clients.”

  Recker looked away as he thought about Mia. Jones could tell something else was on his mind. He didn’t think Recker would look so despondent just because he came away from a meeting without any new information. Not unless it was something personal. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem like something that Recker was too interested in sharing.

  “Mike, what is it?”

  “Huh?” Recker asked, hearing Jones’ voice, but not his words.

  “Something else is bothering you. I can tell. It’s not just about Bernal, is it?”

  “No.”

  “Something from your meeting with Jeremiah or something else entirely?”

  Knowing that a picture was worth a thousand words, Recker dug into his pocket and took out the photos he took from Jeremiah. As he looked them over, Jones could tell he was troubled by whatever it was. Recker briefly looked at them, then handed them to Jones. As the professor browsed through the pictures, he now understood what Recker’s problem was, though he hadn’t yet learned of how big the issue actually was.

  “So, Jeremiah knows about you and Mia?”

  “Worse,” Recker said.

  “You’re holding something back. What else aren’t you saying?”

  “Jeremiah’s using Mia as a bargaining chip. He’s got people tailing her.”

  “Oh,” Jones said, realizing the severity of the situation. “For what purpose? What does he want?”

  “He’s using her to get me to work for him.”

  “To do what?”

  “He wants me to take out Vincent for him,” Recker said, drawing a surprised look from his friend.

  “That’s uhh...I don’t understand why he needs you involved.”

  “He thinks that at some point, whether soon or not, Vincent’s going to try and take over his territory. Instead of waiting and being on the defensive, he wants to get out in front and take Vincent by surprise.”

  “I still don’t see how that involves you.”

  “Because he knows I’ve dealt with Vincent before. He thinks I have Vincent’s trust and can get a meeting with him, where he wouldn’t suspect anything,” Recker said. “And then I take him out.”

  “And why does he need to involve Mia?”

  “Because I told him I wouldn’t do it. I said whatever they do is between them. Then he showed me those,” Recker said, nodding at the pictures. “He said he’s got men on her all day. That if I don’t take Vincent out, that Mia would be killed.”

  “Well that certainly is troubling, isn’t it?”

  “Troubling is hardly the word for it.”

  “So, what are you going to do?” Jones said.

  “Well I’m not killing anybody for Jeremiah and definitely not Vincent. I don’t have anything against him and nobody’s gonna blackmail me into doing something like that for them.”

  “Just don’t do it then. You can get to Mia before Jeremiah realizes it.”

  “The problem would then be what do I do with her? She has a boyfriend, she works, I can’t just stuff her someplace for who knows how long. And I can’t just sit there with her indefinitely either.”

  “I see what you mean. When does he expect you to do this?”

  “Within the week,” Recker said.

  “Doesn’t give us much time.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Especially when we still have another pressing matter to attend to.”

  “Bernal. I almost forgot how urgent that was.”

  “I can’t protect Mia and look for Bernal at the same time. Because if I take Mia off the grid, even for a couple weeks, and don’t take out Vincent, I’ve declared war on Jeremiah and his men.”

  “Well, he’d have taken the first shot.”

  “Doesn’t really matter, does it? In his mind, I’d be going back on the deal.”

  “Or you continue after Bernal until you find him. While you’re doing that, I’ll stay with Mia,” Jones said.

  “It’s a nice gesture, David, but I don’t think it’ll work. If they see someone staying with her, like a bodyguard, they’ll know something’s up. And they’ll come after you. You won’t be able to defend either one of you against Jeremiah’s crew.”

  “What about Tyrell? Or even Vincent? No doubt he’d be thankful for the news of the impending assassination. I’m sure he’d be willing to supply protection for Mia as a measure of thanks.”

  “I don’t think Tyrell can be of help on this one,” Recker said. “Every time he’s helped us on something, he didn’t have ties to who we were looking for. He does with Jeremiah. He’s one of his biggest customers. As friendly as we are with Tyrell, I don’t think he’ll want to mess with where his bread is buttered.”

  “You forget, money is not an issue for us. I can give him enough money to last him for years. Even send his brother to college. The least we can do is ask.”

  “I still don’t know. Even if he’s willing to help, he’s a major resource for us,” Recker said, resisting the idea. “He’s got connections, he knows people, if others found out he went against Jeremiah, they may turn against him. He may wind up being not as valuable to us. He might even end up dead.”

  “I would say Mia’s life trumps any possible future connections Tyrell may have in store for us. If he’s a well of information that dries up then so be it. This is an all hands on deck situation.”

  “I know. There’s just...there’s gotta be another way.”

  “I’m assuming the only way this ends is with Jeremiah being dead, correct?” Jones asked.

  “Has to. Otherwise Mia will always be a target.”

  “I know. I’m not railing against it or anything. I understand this is the only way. What if you take out Jeremiah, and as you’re doing it, I’ll make sure Mia’s safe. We’d have to time it precisely.”

  “No, won’t work. Jeremiah won’t meet with me again until Vincent’s dead. He’s afraid of something bad happening.”

  “OK. What about my suggestion of having Vincent help?”

  “Up to now Vincent and I have been on good terms,” Recker said. “But it may not always be the case. Up to now, Jeremiah and I were on good terms. Things can change in a heartbeat. I don’t want to get her out from Jeremiah’s grasps just to put her in Vincent’s.”

  “He already knows about her though. We both know it.”

  “You were the one way back when who told me we should be cautious in dealing with him and asking for favors. We’ve already done it one too many times. Eventually he’s gonna ask
for a receipt on those.”

  “What if we don’t tell Vincent anything? We just ask for his support in taking out Jeremiah. He obviously wouldn’t be opposed to that.”

  Recker let out a laugh, amused at the prospect of taking out Vincent’s competition yet again. “Kind of funny, isn’t it?”

  “What is?” Jones asked, not seeing the humor.

  “When we first started this, I said I wasn’t going to help any criminals. Wasn’t gonna help them, wasn’t gonna save them.”

  “Things happen we always can’t envision.”

  “Just weird how things work out sometimes. If I take out Jeremiah, it means I’d have eliminated two major criminal organizations in this city. When I arrived, there were three main players here. Once Jeremiah’s gone, there will only be one.”

  “Well the other two only have themselves to blame for their downfalls.”

  “Yeah,” Recker said, shaking his head. “It’s just hard to fathom how much I helped shake things out here. Vincent had two enemies when I got here. I already took out one. Now I’m about to take out the other. Both gone without him having to lift a finger.”

  “Well if it makes you feel any better, you probably helped avoid more bloodshed.”

  “How’d you figure?”

  “Well it’s true you helped shrink things down but it was always going to happen anyway. It was inevitable. We both know it. You taking out Vincent’s competition isn’t something that wouldn’t have occurred if you hadn’t been here. Those three factions would have had their war for more power at some point. You just sped things up. And you did it without the war. If those three factions had erupted, who knows how many innocent people would have gotten caught up in their dealings?”

  “Yeah, I guess so.”

  “Why don’t you just tell Vincent that Jeremiah wants you to kill him then let things take their course? Let them deal with each other,” Jones said.

  “Nice in theory but it doesn’t exactly help Mia,” Recker said. “Vincent’s not just gonna find Jeremiah in a matter of minutes. And don’t forget how Vincent likes to meticulously plan things out. He likes to play the slow game. As soon as Jeremiah gets wind of Vincent planning action against him, and that I helped him, or that I didn’t kill him myself, he’ll put a bullet in Mia’s head.”

  “You’re right.”

  “No, what I gotta do is protect Mia, kill Jeremiah, and find Bernal. And I gotta do it all at the same time.”

  “It’s a good thing we came back,” Jones said. “Who else would’ve been able to handle all this?”

  “Yeah, nothing like coming back with a bang.”

  “Not to complicate matters even more, but based upon your last conversation with Mia, how do you propose to protect her considering she probably doesn’t even want to see you?”

  “You sure like to pile on, huh?”

  “Well it is something of a quandary, is it not?”

  “Umm, well,” Recker said, stuttering as he tried to think of a solution. “I guess I’ve got two choices.”

  “Which are?”

  “I either protect her covertly so she doesn’t know I’m there. Or...I sneak up behind her, throw her in my car and kidnap her, taking her to a secure location until this matter’s settled.”

  “Hmm,” Jones said. “I have to think the second way may not go over so well.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You also have another problem?”

  “You really are a bearer of bad news, aren’t you?”

  “Well, since you said it, it reminds me of the fact we don’t have a secure location. We’ve never protected somebody this way before, by hiding them somewhere. We’ve always done it lurking in the shadows. Without their knowledge until the last possible second.”

  “I know. Any suggestions or ideas?” Recker asked, ready to listen to just about anything.

  Jones thought for a few seconds, but nothing came to him. “Not at the moment.”

  Recker continued thinking, and after a couple minutes of silence between them, finally came up with what he thought was a good solution. He was positive Jones wouldn’t like it though. The professor could tell Recker had thought of something by the little grin on his face and the way he was staring into nothingness. It was a sure indication he’d come up with something.

  “I almost hate to ask,” Jones said, observing his partner’s face. “What are you scheming in that head of yours?”

  “You really wanna know?”

  Jones closed his eyes and sighed, knowing there was no good answer to the question. “I do, though I have a feeling I may not like the answer.”

  “Well, you’re wrong about us not having a secure location,” Recker said. “We do have one. We use it all the time.”

  Jones tilted his head as he tried to wrap his head around what Recker was talking about. Then, after a few seconds, his eyes almost bulged out of his head and his mouth fell open as he realized what his friend was talking about.

  “Please tell me you’re not suggesting what I think you are?”

  “Can you think of a more secure location than here?” Recker asked.

  “Mike, the only people who know about this place are you and I.”

  “I know. It’s perfect.”

  “But...there’s a reason we decided to have a place of business to operate out of which nobody else knew about,” Jones said. “If someone else outside of our circle knows of it, then it’s no longer effective.”

  “Mia’s not really out of our circle. I mean, she’s the closest friend either one of us has.”

  “Yes, I know, and I know she’s trustworthy—”

  Recker interrupted. “She could’ve given us up a long time ago.”

  “I’m not debating her character.”

  “Then what are you debating?”

  Jones put his hands on his face and rubbed his eyes as he tried to formulate his thoughts into something cogent. “Though I do not believe Mia would ever intentionally give us or our location up, we’ve now seen several times, whether through her own means or ours, she is a target because of her relationship to us.”

  “You’re worried that six months from now, if she knows our location, she’ll show up and lead someone to us who she’s not aware of?”

  “That is my fear.”

  “Then we find a new office after this is over. We move somewhere else,” Recker said. “I’m sure you can find another spot within the city, or in the suburbs which would work just as well.”

  Jones turned away from his partner for a minute, instead choosing to concentrate on the computer screen in front of him as he contemplated Recker’s request. Knowing it was a lot to ask, Recker kept himself busy for a few minutes by attending to his guns in the cabinet. Though he believed it was the only solution for the time being, he knew it threw Jones for a loop, springing something of that magnitude on him suddenly. After briefly considering the pros and cons of the situation, and realizing they were losing time on all fronts, Jones finally rendered his decision.

  “I guess there really is no other decision to make right now, is there?” Jones said.

  Recker closed the gun cabinet and shook his head. “No, not really.”

  “We got into this business to help people. And no one is more important than Mia,” Jones said, looking around the room. “And as you said, this is just an office, nothing more really.”

  “I know this place holds sentimental value for you since this is where we started everything. But in the end, it’s just a building.”

  “I suppose you’re right. The bigger question is how you intend to get Mia here without Jeremiah’s men knowing about it.”

  “Oh, I have a few ideas,” Recker said.

  “Why does that not surprise me?”

  “Do these ideas involve killing anyone or just losing them?”

  “Well, if they’re dead then they’d be considered lost, wouldn’t they?”

  “Yes, I suppose they would in some sort of logic.”

  �
��I’m not as concerned about the men watching her. I’m more concerned about her,” Recker said. “I’m not exactly her favorite person right now.”

  “Well if you explain the situation I’m sure she would understand.”

  “Getting my foot in the door to explain it might be the tricky part. Maybe you might have better luck.”

  Jones looked at him strangely, hardly believing his ears. “Are you afraid to talk to her?”

  “What? Pffft. Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I’m not afraid to talk to her.”

  Recker may have insisted he wasn’t apprehensive about talking to Mia, but his body language said otherwise. He was shifting in his stance and his eyes were dancing about the room, not wanting to look at Jones as they talked about it. The longer the professor looked at him, the more amazed he was. Recker would rather face ten guys with guns in a locked room than face one woman who rightfully chewed him out. Jones couldn’t believe it. He never thought he’d see the day when Recker actually appeared afraid to do something, especially something as trivial as talking to someone who he had feelings for.

  “You are,” Jones said again. “You’re afraid of her giving you the business again.”

  Recker put his hand up to debate the point but quickly put it down, seeing as he really didn’t have a leg to stand on. Jones was right. Not necessarily about being afraid to talk to Mia, but him not wanting to get verbally dressed down again. He couldn’t recall a time when anybody talked to him like that. And what bothered him the most, wasn’t what she said, or how she said it, but the fact she was right. He was always pushing her away, regardless of his feelings for her, and always seemed like he was giving her mixed signals. Maybe now he knew the CIA wasn’t chasing after him anymore, he could have the life he once sought. The one he thought he would have with Carrie. The one Mia, at one time, wanted with him. It didn’t seem likely at the moment he’d ever get a life with her now, seeing as how she had a boyfriend she appeared to be happy with. But maybe it was the missing piece inside him and why he always seemed drawn to her, even though he always convinced himself to leave. Maybe secretly he still yearned for that life, and until he fully admitted it to himself, he would never be free of the pain which always tormented him.