by Don Easton
Chapter Twenty
Jack returned home and sat with Natasha on the sofa to tell her what he’d learned.
“You’re saying they’re going to let the bikers get away with threatening us and our children?” Natasha’s tone was angry. “I know you!” She tapped his chest for emphasis. “You’re not going to back off! What am I supposed to do? Take Mike and Steve out of school, quit my job, and live in the Arctic while you go on a one-man crusade down here? If Mortimer isn’t going to approve —”
“I’m not by myself,” Jack replied. “I’ve got Laura. Plus other UC operators who volunteered to help as soon as they heard about the bikers coming to our house.”
“Okay … and in the meantime? What about our family! What can you do that won’t cause us to suffer a backlash?”
Jack leaned over to cup her face with his hands. Then he looked her deeply in the eyes. “Don’t ask. There’s lots I can do … and soon. We have a new informant. Highly placed. Satans Wrath is going to be getting nailed left, right, and centre. Pure E won’t know what hit him, let alone who.”
“But what about us?”
“Don’t worry. You know I’d never do anything to jeopardize you or our boys.”
He dropped his hands while she appeared to reflect on what he said. The anger left her face, but now she looked tired and worn out. I’ve put her through so much over the years. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I love you so much.”
“What did Laura have to say about it?”
You’re supposed to say you love me, too. “I didn’t see the need to spoil the rest of her weekend. Rose’s, either, for that matter. I’ll tell them tomorrow. The assistant commissioner has weekly meetings with the section commanders every Monday at 9:00 a.m. I expect he’ll call Rose and me in after lunch.”
Natasha’s expression was unreadable. “Trust me,” he said. “I’ll deal with it.”
At last she murmured, “Okay.”
Thank you for trusting me. Jack smiled. “I’m also going to do something that I know will cheer you up.” He ran his fingers through his beard. “This is coming off, along with the moustache. Then tomorrow on my way to work I’ll get a decent haircut.”
“Won’t work,” Natasha said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m still upset. If you think getting rid of your hair will fix everything, you’re wrong.”
“Okay. How about I cook dinner tonight? Chicken cordon bleu with a bottle of Pinot Grigio?”
“That might help,” she conceded.
At 9:00 a.m. Monday, Jack, wearing a navy-blue suit and tie, greeted the hairstylist. He’d called Laura the day before and told her he had some personal running around to do and wouldn’t be in to work until ten or ten-thirty.
At 10:00 a.m., when Jack put on his coat, he discovered he’d received a voice message from Rose, telling him not to be late as Mortimer had called a meeting for ten-thirty. He tried to return her call as he hustled to his car, but it went to voice mail. At ten-thirty he rushed into his office and saw Laura. “Where’s Rose?” he asked, flinging off his coat.
“What the heck did you do to yourself?” Laura exclaimed. “Have you got court?”
“No, I’ll explain later.”
“Rose left a moment ago to meet with Mortimer. You’re supposed to be there.”
Jack ran down the hall and brushed past the secretary. Mortimer was seated behind his desk and Rose sat before him.
“Sorry if I’m late,” Jack said, noting Rose’s astonishment when she looked at him.
“Who are you?” Mortimer demanded.
“Corporal Taggart, sir.”
“Yes? Where is he?”
“No, sir … I’m Corporal Taggart.”
Mortimer looked taken back. “You’ve changed your appearance. Why?”
“I was told my photo has been posted in the biker’s clubhouses,” Jack replied as he sat down. “I thought it prudent to change my appearance. I realize it will negate allowing me to perform certain undercover operations, but I think it’s for the best.”
“It’s more than for the best!” Mortimer snapped. “One reason I called you in is to order you to cease any further undercover activities.”
“Thank you, sir,” Jack replied, sounding relieved. He then smiled nonchalantly.
“You don’t mind?” Mortimer’s eyebrows shot up.
“Certainly not. I’ve been doing it for years. Working nights and often away from home. It takes a toll on one’s family. Perhaps now I won’t need to deal directly with criminals.”
“Which in your unit is what I expect,” Mortimer replied. “You should be above that sort of thing.”
Rose sat slack-jawed, then turned to Jack. “What do you plan on doing?”
Jack met her gaze. “I was thinking now that the operational plan has been completed, I’d liaise with the Canada Border Services Agency.” He scratched the side of his face to hide the wink he gave her. “Maybe I could identify drug-smuggling methods and report on them.”
Rose’s outrage didn’t allow her to register the wink. “Report on it?” Her eyebrows knit. “You mean regurgitate it back to CBSA? Give them their own information and make it sound like we discovered it?”
Jack winked again, this time slower. “Working day shifts will also give me time to take night classes in French to further my career.” Rose’s face became expressionless, but a slight shift of her eyes toward Mortimer and back said she’d clued in that he was up to something.
“I must say, I’m pleased,” Mortimer said. “Progressive thinking’s exactly what’s needed — which brings us to another matter.” He picked up the operation plan and waved it in their faces.
“A problem, sir?” Rose questioned.
“I’m not going to approve it,” Mortimer said bluntly, then studied their faces for a reaction.
Jack shrugged indifferently and glanced at his watch, giving the impression that he couldn’t care less.
“Why aren’t you approving it?” Rose asked. “Is there something you’d like amended — perhaps more justification for one of the targets?”
“No, the report appears to be thorough in that regard.”
Rose’s voice sounded calm, but Jack saw her knuckles turn white as she gripped the arms of her chair. “Then I don’t understand, sir.”
“These types of criminals should be handled by the police,” Mortimer stated. He glanced at Jack and added, “Municipal police, I mean.”
“The Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit is made up of many officers from outside agencies,” Rose said.
“You don’t need to address me on that issue,” Mortimer said frostily. “I’m fully aware of CFSEU and that it comes under our area of responsibility.”
Therefore decision-making.
“I expect your unit to provide information on systemic issues or perhaps report on criminals of a higher calibre associated with white-collar crime.”
Like embezzlers who don’t carry guns. Gotcha.
“Forwarding something like this to Ottawa would be an embarrassment. They’re busy enough as it is.”
“Sir,” Rose said in a tone that revealed a conscious effort to control her emotions, “Corporal Taggart’s report outlines Satans Wrath’s three-three team. It’s a team of professional cold-blooded killers. They are high-calibre criminals. Surveillance of them coupled with wiretap could be a way to gain evidence on Purvis Evans.”
“You appear to have a problem thinking outside your own small world,” Mortimer replied. “Granted, these individuals may have been involved in criminal activity at one time or another, but at the moment I-HIT is busy with active cases. Who knows when or even if these individuals will commit another murder? It could be years from now, perhaps never. I’m not approving a colossal waste of manpower for what in reality would be a fishing trip.”
<
br /> Mortimer’s gaze switched back and forth between them. He then made a face as if he’d tasted something rancid and said, “You’re both dismissed.”
Jack smiled cordially as he stood. You think it could be years before they commit another murder? Not if I’ve anything to do with it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Once outside in the hallway, Rose grabbed Jack by the arm and faced him. “Damn you, Jack! What the hell is going on? What were you doing in there?”
“Let’s get back to the office and I’ll clue you in,” Jack replied. “Laura needs to hear it, too.”
Rose fell in step with Jack, but felt the need to vent. “I thought you’d have decked him in there,” she seethed. “Instead, you acted like you couldn’t care less.”
“Decked him?” Jack gave a lopsided grin. “Come on Rose, violence is no way to solve an issue.”
“Cut the crap! You arrive looking like you stepped out of GQ magazine and show no concern that your op plan is turned down.” She looked at him accusingly. “You knew ahead of time!”
“Of course I knew. I hardly slept last night, I was in such a rage. Mortimer was hoping to get a reaction out of me to justify having me transferred.” He glanced back and shook his head in disgust. “The last time I had to act that hard was when I was undercover buying child pornography. The urge to punch that guy was about the same.”
“How’d you know and why didn’t you warn me?” Rose replied crossly.
“I found out yesterday and thought there was no use ruining your weekend, as well. I was going to tell you when I came in. I figured Mortimer would be in his Monday-morning section-heads meeting. I didn’t expect he’d call us in so soon.”
“He’s cancelled the section-heads meetings,” Rose said.
“Likely afraid someone would say something that’d force him to make a decision,” Jack suggested.
“So how’d you find out?” Rose asked.
“How about I explain in your office? It’s sensitive.”
“Fine.” After a few more steps she said, “You did better than me at keeping your cool in there. I think he actually fell for it.”
“I hope so.”
“You’d never have gotten away with that with Isaac,” she said.
“With Isaac I wouldn’t have had to.”
Minutes later, with both Jack and Laura present, Rose closed the door to her office. She took a seat, then took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. At last she looked at Jack. “Okay, let’s have it.”
Jack told them of his meeting with Isaac, who’d told him that Mortimer wasn’t going to approve the op plan and was also looking for a reason to have Taggart transferred. He wrapped up by saying, “Isaac still believes that somehow Pure E can be made accountable.”
“We can’t do it on our own,” Laura protested. “These guys aren’t amateurs. We’ll need large surveillance teams, wiretaps, informants, and no doubt undercover —”
“Suck it up Buttercup,” Jack said. When Laura frowned at him, he added, “That’s what Isaac said to me when I cried about the same thing. He told me I sounded like a baby.”
“But what I said is true,” Laura argued. She looked at Rose for confirmation.
Rose gave Jack a hard look. “What’s your plan?”
“Plan?”
“Don’t tell me you don’t have one. You made a promise last month not to go behind my back. You said you were angry yesterday. You’d still be angry unless you had a way around this — so what is it?”
“Mortimer doesn’t know who we have.”
“Your new informant,” Rose said.
“Yes, and I think our new informant views Pure E about the same way we view Mortimer. He’d be happy to rid the club of him, but at the same time he’s still loyal to the club. Despite that, I believe we’ve got enough leverage that we’ll be able to use him to make lots of arrests. He’s already told us about three hundred kilos of weed coming in around the end of the month.”
“Plus cocaine,” Laura added. “He said —”
“— that there’s a possibility of a little cocaine coming, too,” Jack finished. He gave Laura a quelling look. She got the message and quit talking.
“Details of which you’ll pass on to Crime Stoppers,” Rose said.
“Exactly. In time Satans Wrath will realize they’re receiving extra police attention. It won’t take much to suggest that Pure E’s actions are to blame.”
Rose nodded. “With your informant, you’ll have a better chance of monitoring the three-three. Who knows, maybe you’ll even locate Damien’s body.”
“That’d be nice. I’m still hoping to catch Pure E on a wire.”
“Really?” Rose sounded doubtful.
“I know, we won’t get the opportunity to run wire ourselves, but if we find the body and I tip off Crime Stoppers, they’d pass it on to I-HIT. If I provide the right info, I-HIT might get a wire.”
Rose took a moment to massage her temple with her fingertips, then said, “As much as I hate to admit it, Mortimer did raise a valid point. Nobody knows how long it’ll be before the three-three do another hit.”
“It’s not like we have to watch them all the time,” Jack replied. “Our informant will let us know. I don’t think it’ll be long. Pure E wants to make a name for himself.”
“You’re right about that,” Laura agreed. “He took over less than a month ago and there’ve been four murders. So I’m with Jack. It won’t be long.”
Jack nodded. Especially with a little incentive.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Immediately upon returning to their office, Laura rounded on Jack. “Why don’t you want Rose to know about the cocaine coming in? Our friend said it was one hundred and twenty kilos. That’s huge, yet you told Rose that there was a possibility of ‘a little coke’ coming in.” Before Jack could respond, she added accusingly, “You promised not to go behind her back.”
“That was before my family was threatened,” Jack said brusquely. “I tried to do it right. What am I supposed to do? This time it was only a threat. Next time …”
Laura fell silent, then sighed audibly. “Obviously there’s more to your plan than you told Rose.”
Jack grimaced. “It wasn’t your family who was threatened.” He waited a beat. “I know you said you’d stay with me until it was over, but maybe you should ask for a transfer. Things could get ugly around here.”
“Are you kidding?” Laura looked taken aback. “In case you don’t know it, I consider you family. Them paying you a visit was like paying me a visit. I told you I’ll be with you until this is over.” She glared at him, then said, “Spit it out. What’s the deal on the coke?”
“It might come in handy to use as bait.”
“Bait?”
Jack mulled over what he intended to do. “You absolutely sure you want in? We’ve worked in the grey zone before, but this is inky black.”
“We’re not going to let him get away with threatening us,” Laura declared bitterly. “Mortimer’s taken away the tools we need to do the job. I don’t see any other choice.” She paused, then punched him in the arm. “Bow out? No way. It’s like I’m in the middle of a movie and being told to leave the theatre. I’m staying to the end. I’ll even buy the popcorn.”
Jack sat at his desk and when Laura did likewise he eyed her for a moment. “Okay. I do have a plan. In my mind we have three priority targets. Pure E being number one.”
“Goes without saying.”
“The thing is, if he suspects that either you or I are going after him, he’ll come after our families.”
“We should shove him in front of a bus,” Laura suggested.
“If anything like that was to occur and the club felt we were responsible, it’d jeopardize our families, as well.”
“I wasn’t being serious.”
“I know, b
ut we do have to be careful. Then there’s my number-two target — Vicki.”
“Vicki? I thought it would be Buck or perhaps the three-three.”
“Guys like Buck and the three-three will always be around. They’re like soldiers and would be replaced. As far as Vicki goes, I feel I owe it to Damien to get her. She set him up after he risked his life to save her and Buck.” Jack paused, then said, “That bitch deserves what I want to use her for.”
“Which is?”
“I’m thinking we could follow her to find Damien’s body.”
“She won’t know where it is,” Laura replied, “let alone go to it.”
“I know.”
“Then how? If she doesn’t — oh, man.” Laura’s eyes searched his. “She won’t be alive when we’re following her.”
“Right. Pure E had Buck murder his dad. Maybe he’d have him murder his mom, too, if the situation called for it. If not him, then someone in the three-three would.”
“If the situation called for it?”
“The trick is to pass info on to Pure E and gain his confidence without him suspecting it came from us. Info that will give him reason to order a hit and then we’ll be there to watch. The problem is it might be tough to follow them without a proper surveillance team. Maybe our friend can help, though.”
Laura took a deep breath and slowly blew the air out, making her lips vibrate. “Gain his confidence? I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“It’s all part of the plan I have.” Jack paused. “I think we should discuss that and the rest of my plan someplace other than here.”
“Why?”
“Because it needs to be kept secret and you’ll probably freak out and start yelling at me.”
“It’s that bad of a plan?”
“I’d like to think it’s that good.”
