by David Carter
“It’s going to be okay,” he assured him.
“No, it’s not! We have to help him!”
“I’ve already taken care of it.”
“Huh? How?”
Franks smiled. “I helped him escape in the back of my cousin’s truck while he made his delivery to the kitchen this morning.”
“You did what!” exclaimed Ryan.
“Where is he now?” demanded Blaze.
“I’m going to take you to him. But we need to find a safe place for him to stay. I figured that seeing as you are holed up here that you may as well have a buddy in your cell. What do you say, detective?”
Ryan exhaled heavily. Jesus Christ. What have I got myself into? “I don’t know. I’d be incriminating myself by agreeing to that,” he replied.
“Come on, Ryan,” Blaze pleaded.
He considered his desperate appeal. “All right; but we play this out my way with no exceptions, Blaze. You got it?”
“Thank you.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Good. So, what’s the plan that you and Franks had in mind?”
“Well...we were going to pay Archer a house call if you get my drift?”
“Shit, why could I sense you were going to say something crazy like that.”
Franks interjected, “All I want is for Archer to sign my resignation request and to leave me the hell alone. He’s threatened my kid to make me stay, goddammit!”
“And all I want is for him to sign a death certificate with Danny’s name on it,” added Blaze.
“Why a death certificate?” asked Ryan.
“It’s simple. The authorities won’t be looking for a dead man, will they?”
Ryan grinned. “Now you’re thinking outside the square. So, what’s your plan B if everything goes south?”
“I’ll slit his throat,” said Blaze tersely.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that,” said Ryan. He paused, considering his options. At last he said, “I’ll let Danny stay here with you on one condition...”
“Name it,” said Blaze.
“You have to promise me that no matter what happens you’ll leave Archer alive so I can arrest that son of a bitch. If I’m risking my neck for this friend of yours, whom I’ve never meet by the way, I at least want to come out of this with something.”
“Agreed,” they both said.
“Okay. So where is Danny now?” asked Ryan.
“On his way to Woodridge with my cousin,” answered Franks.
“Why not just bring him here?”
“Because I want to hurt Archer where it hurts most.”
“Which is where, exactly?”
“His pocket.”
“Sorry, I don’t follow.”
Franks grinned. “This is why I need Blaze; our favourite pyromaniac.”
“What are we burning down?” Blaze smirked.
“An abandoned warehouse on the Old Mill Road just outside of Woodridge except that it’s not actually abandoned.”
“What’s inside it?” asked Ryan.
Franks’ pearly white teeth were visible in the darkness as he smiled. “This season’s entire marijuana supply for Woodridge and surrounding areas.”
“You’re kidding me!” exclaimed Ryan.
“Nope. Seth Archer must be one of the wealthiest men in the central North Island. He’s got his hand firmly in control of the drug supply industry. And not just dope, but cocaine, ecstasy, methamphetamine...he’s worth millions.”
“Would you be prepared to testify against him in a court of law?” asked Ryan.
“Only if I don’t end up in jail with him.”
Ryan hesitated a moment, then said, “All right then, it’s settled. Let’s go nail this asshole.”
Chapter 51
Jamal and Danny waited outside the derelict warehouse on the Old Mill Road in Jamal’s beat up white 1982 Toyota Hiace van. The night was deathly quiet; too damn quiet for Danny’s liking as he gazed into the flickering light from the lone lamp post on the verge of the road, eagerly awaiting Franks’ arrival. He fixed his attention back to the once prosperous lumber mill; not a single window pane was intact, rotten boards had come loose, the walls were a tapestry of cobwebs. The rusted tin roof was covered in a blanket of moss and grime, with jagged rust holes providing shelter to the multitudes of rats and mice who sought refuge from the feral cats roaming the countryside.
Jamal interrupted his thoughts as he saw a pair of headlights in the distance. “That should be Frankie...”
“He’s late,” replied Danny.
The sound of gravel crunching under the wheels of Franks’ 4x4 ute rippled through the night as he pulled off the road and into the car park. He killed the engine and got out to greet them.
“Didn’t think you were coming,” said Danny.
“I had to make a small detour,” he replied.
“What for?”
Franks motioned towards his ute. “Miss me?” said Blaze as he climbed out of the passenger’s door.
“Blaze!” exclaimed Danny, elated to see him, and unashamedly embraced him.
Franks said to Jamal, “You ready to get to work?”
“Hell yeah,” he replied.
Franks marched up to the front entrance of the warehouse and unlocked a rusted padlock and chain securing it shut. The door was huge, made from solid steel, and screeched open to the left on its worn rails. The smell of marijuana hit them like a brick to the head as they stood in the gaping entrance, straining their eyes into the darkness.
“I think I’m in heaven,” said Jamal.
“You can take whatever fits in the back of your van,” said Franks. “Just be sure to keep it where no one will find it.”
“I’ve got a big woodshed out the back of my place, and there ain’t no other houses nearby.”
“Seems like being a pot smoking hermit is finally paying off for you,” he joked.
With the aid of Franks’ powerful torch, they all helped Jamal extract and cram the rear of his van with a little over 90 pounds of processed marijuana—all neatly packed in black rubbish sacks. They then gathered around the tray of Franks’ ute and each lifted out a 10L gasoline can.
Franks said, “Danny, you go with Blaze around the perimeter and soak the shit out of it. Jamal, you come inside with me.”
They all emptied their cans and returned to the front of the warehouse. Franks said to Blaze, “Would you like to do the honours?”
“I think the honour belongs to Danny. He endured The Wolves’ Den far longer than I had to. It’s only fair.”
“Archer must be going crazy wondering how I escaped,” added Danny with a smirk.
Franks chuckled. “He tore his office apart in a fit of rage. He kicked the shit out of one of the new inmates we got in this morning, too.”
“Shit, did he? Poor bastard...”
“Don’t feel too sorry for him; he raped and shot his own mother. He was earmarked for The Wolves’ Den anyway...”
Danny took the lighter from Franks and lit the end of a petrol soaked rag. He dropped it at the base of the warehouse’s front wall. It ignited instantly. The flames gobbled up the dried wooden boards and beams. The speed of the fire was incredible. Blaze watched on as memories of burning down St Mary’s flashed through his mind, and he wondered for a split second if it had all been worth it: prison, Archer, The Wolves’ Den, Franks, Danny, Ryan, Arnold Spencer, leaving behind his brothers in the MC, and most of all; Zoe. Fuck, I miss her.
The heat and smell of hundreds of pounds of burning marijuana was almost overwhelming. “Let’s get the hell outta here,” said Blaze.
Franks and Jamal said their goodbyes. “Just lie low for a while, all right?” Franks said to him.
“You got it, man. I got God’s herbs to keep me company.”
“And make sure you ring me to let me know you made it home in one piece,” he added. “That son of a bitch, Archer, has eyes and ears ever
ywhere. You can’t be too careful.”
Jamal assured Franks he would call him and started the engine in his van.
Franks called Ryan on his smartphone. “You seen any search patrols out on the road?”
“Nothing in your immediate vicinity. Just steer clear of Woodridge town itself; it’s crawling with cops and search parties from Winterhill. Jamal should be safe to make a clear run home if he leaves now.”
“Sweet. What about Archer’s place?”
“It’s all quiet out there.”
“All right. We’ll take it from here and thank you, detective.”
Ryan clicked off and headed back to Glendale. Jamal proceeded home after getting the ‘all clear’ from Franks.
Franks, Blaze, and Danny drove back towards Woodridge and pulled into a quiet road a comfortable distance away from the burning warehouse. Franks killed the lights and turned off the engine so he could fill Danny in on the plan. He said, “You still got that computer geek friend of yours in Woodridge?”
“Yeah, most likely. He doesn’t get out much.”
“Good. We’re gonna need to pay him a visit in the near future.”
“Why?”
“Because tonight we’re gonna get Archer to kill you.”
Chapter 52
Jamal carefully drove his precious cargo along the narrow country road, listening to Bob Marley on the radio, squinting as he looked out for his letterbox in the darkness. When he saw it, he pulled off the road and drove up his long, gravel driveway to his shanty. It wasn’t much to look at, but he loved it perched at the top of a grassy hilltop, with a panoramic view over the Woodridge plains, almost three hundred metres back from the road, surrounded by countless flocks of grazing sheep. He drove around the back and reversed up to his woodshed to unload the van. He tensed as he thought he heard the faint whining of an engine slowing down. He ran to the front of the house and saw no headlights, and thought, you’re just being paranoid, you drug fucked idiot...
He carried two rubbish sacks into the shed, dropped them on the ground, and decided to celebrate by sampling his unbelievably large stash. His experienced fingers made light work of rolling a joint, and he couldn’t believe how potent it was as he inhaled his first lungful of smoke. He left the joint gently compressed between his lips as he turned around to go back outside to resume unloading the van.
But he didn’t make it past the door.
Chapter 53
“You were right, Frankie; it’s a fucking fortress,” said Blaze as he stared out the window of Franks’ ute, taking in the view of Archer’s property while parked to the side of the quiet country lane, trying to remain inconspicuous between two cherry blossom trees that lined the roadside. In the dark, the recently-built mansion resembled a three-storey miniature city, as dim lights glowed in every window. It stood proudly at the end of a smooth, white concrete driveway, where a roundabout with an elegant water fountain in the centre greeted any guests that had the privilege to set foot within the property. The driveway dissected a manicured, carpet-like lawn, a fair distance back from a set of electronic inward-opening security gates with sharp, metal spikes sculpted atop each steel bar that made up the gate and fence line surrounding Archer’s sanctuary.
“Well, it appears that scaling the fence isn’t an option unless you want to bore yourself a new asshole,” said Danny, as he, too, observed the target from the roadside. The immaculate lawns, both front and rear, were complemented by perfectly kept flower gardens and shrubs. A cedar-stained wooden deck lined the entire length of one side of the house furnished with comfortable deck chairs, a barbecue grill to rival all barbecue grills, and a luxurious, heated spa pool.
Franks said, “We can’t go through or over the front gates because they have to be manually opened from inside the house or with a remote which I don’t have and there are regularly monitored security cameras in the entrance way. Our best chance to get in is from the rear. There’s an orchard on the other side of the back fence with a row of tall apple trees just within jumping distance of it. Assuming we don’t snag our nuts during our descent, we can work our way back up the yard to the side of the house with the decking. There’s a good chance Archer will be outside indulging in his usual routine: drinking an expensive bottle of whisky and smoking a cigar while soaking in his spa pool.”
“And what happens if he’s inside?” asked Blaze.
“We go to plan B,” he replied.
Danny said, “I hate to be a pessimist, but this sounds way too fucking easy. Is there any other security we need to worry about?”
Franks hesitated. “You’re right. It does sound too easy. But believe me when I say it won’t be. There will be two armed guards patrolling inside the fence line, and one inside watching the security cameras.”
“How do you know that?” asked Danny.
“I do one or two nights of sentry duty every week.”
“Shit, you really are Archer’s bitch,” said Blaze, grinning as he said it.
Franks gave him a dirty look. “Lucky for you, I know the routine of the guards. And we have the element of surprise.”
“How big is the back section?” asked Danny.
“It’s bloody huge; a couple of acres at least. But there’s heaps of cover: small trees, shrubs, giant ceramic pots, garden sheds, hedges; you won’t be spotted if you stay quiet and alert.”
“Okay, let’s say we avoid the guards and make it to the spa pool without any trouble. What’s the plan if he isn’t there?” asked Blaze.
“What if he is, and squeals?” added Danny.
Franks answered Danny first. “Do anything necessary to disarm the guards. Because if you don’t; there’s only one outcome for any of us that get caught. I’m sure I don’t need to elaborate...”
“And plan B?” asked Blaze.
“We can get inside through a door the guards use. Through that door is a room where they are allowed inside for meal and coffee breaks and to monitor and activate the security gates. There is another door inside that room connected to the rest of the house, but it’s locked at all times.”
“So why would we go in there?” asked Danny.
Franks’ teeth glowed in the dark as he smiled deviously. “You are forgetting that I am Archer’s most trusted employee and have a master key to his house. We can blindside him if we go in that way; no one ever goes through that door; he won’t be expecting us.”
“I like it,” agreed Blaze. “But you’re missing something, Frankie...”
“What’s that?”
“A contingency plan.”
“That was the contingency plan...”
“No, that was plan B. We have no weapons, and there are at least three guards in there armed with guns and fuck knows what else. I think we should split up in case one of us runs into any trouble.”
Franks argued the point. “Look, I know the lay of the land, and I’m in favour of us staying together. To capture Archer and get what we want from him will require all three of us. He’ll have a weapon on him as well. You can’t view him as the middle-aged governor of Winterhill anymore. He’s a highly sophisticated drug lord, and will stop at nothing to stay at the top of the business. And you’d be surprised how well he can handle himself in a fist fight if it came to that.”
“Now that I would like to find out for myself,” Blaze sneered. “But I still think we should split up and regroup at a designated meeting place. I’d feel far more comfortable knowing we have some backup if one of us gets in the shit.”
“What do you think, Danny?” asked Franks.
“I agree with Blaze,” he replied. “We only get one shot at this. And if it all goes south, we’re fucked.”
Franks gave in. “All right, we’ll jump the fence together and make our way, separately, through the gardens and up the side of the house to the spa pool. But let me make one thing perfectly clear...”
“What?” they asked in unison.
He looked them in the eye, one at a time, and sternly said, �
�Whatever you do, don’t get caught.”
They remained silent; understanding the risks. Then before either of them could reply, Franks noticed a pair of headlights in the rear-view mirror coming from a vehicle speeding along the road towards them. “Shit! We got company!” he said, and fired up the engine to leave. But it was too late. The car homed in on their position and parked no more than twenty metres past the security gates.
The car turned off the road and slowed as it pulled up to the gates. The driver waited patiently, before respectfully driving through the opening and up the driveway.
“Do you think he saw us?” asked Danny.
“There’s only one way to find out,” replied Blaze, then opened his door.
“What the hell are you doing?” hissed Franks.
“I’m going for a closer look. Keep the engine running.”
“We need to leave now!”
“Just give me a fucking minute,” he snapped, and slunk across the road and up to the closing gates.
Blaze heard voices. One was heavily accented, and vaguely familiar to him; South African. The other, too, was familiar, but sounded distressed and in agony.
Blaze’s eyes adjusted enough to see one of the guards he recognised from The Wolves’ Den dragging a man by his long dreadlocks along the ground after heaving him out of the boot of his car, leaving a smeared trail of blood behind on the driveway from his previously inflicted wounds and as his skin grated away from his naked body.
“Shit,” cursed Blaze under his breath, before sprinting back to Danny and Franks.
“Did the driver spot us?” Franks asked him urgently.
“Nope,” he panted. “But we have to get inside the house now!”
“Why? What happened?”
Blaze couldn’t look him in the eye as he said, “I’m sorry, Frankie; but the fuckers caught Jamal.”
Chapter 54
Blaze, Franks, and Danny quietly crept around the fence line to the orchard behind Archer’s property. They easily climbed over the waist-high wire fence and into the orchard where the apple trees stood adjacent to Archer’s back fence. They carefully and quietly climbed a tree each and waited for Franks’ signal.
