Eric considered things for a moment, patting his bottom lip with a raised index finger. “If we want you to help us, where can we locate you?”
“Under the Williamsburg Bridge, it’s nice and dry there.”
The queue moved forwards.
“Again, I’m sorry,” said the hunchback offering a hand to shake. “I am Pat.”
Eric shook his hand, noting the firmness of his grip.
“This is my work colleague and friend, George, and I am Eric,” he said. The thinner man gave Pat a large smile that chilled him to the bone. They had reached the food serving area at last and held out their trays, awaiting whatever delights were on offer.
“OK Pat, welcome aboard,” announced Eric. This time his grin held something different, something sinister.
THIRTY-SIX
McCall’s phone started to ring. Still looking at the monitor she picked up the receiver and hooked it between her head and right shoulder.
“McCall, Homicide, can I help you?” She spoke as she typed something into the database about one of the vics.
“McCall, it’s Steel.”
The phone almost dropped from her grip at the sound of his voice.
“Steel! Where the....?”
“Look, I got a tip,” he interrupted her. “Something is going down under the Williamsburg Bridge tonight to do with the killings. So I would suggest you come heavy and silent.” And with that he was gone, leaving her looking down at the receiver.
Her heart was racing. Was she falling for this guy, she wondered? “No,” she thought to herself. “Don’t even think it.”
She waved to her two colleagues to follow her and they went in to see the Captain. Captain Brant waved them in as McCall knocked on the door. As they entered they waited for him to finish his phone call.
“What’s up, Detective?” he asked, putting down the receiver.
“Steel just contacted me and said he had a tip something was going down under the Williamsburg Bridge tonight. Something connected with the killings,” she said, shifting her posture.
“So do you think he has something?” the Captain asked, leaning back in his chair.
“I hate to admit it, Sir, but he has come up with some useful information at times, so yes I think there may be something to it.”
Captain Brant nodded to himself, realizing that she had made the right call.
“One more thing, Sir,” she said, as she was just about to leave.
“Yes Detective?”
“He suggested we go in heavy and silent.” The Captain looked worried.
“Do what you got to, McCall.” He frowned. Knowing about Steel’s past as he did, his words probably meant that the shit really was about to hit the fan.
THIRTY-SEVEN
The night air was still and cloudless, and the sky was a dark blanket of twinkling beauty. Under the vast metal construction of the bridge sat a hunchbacked man in front of a small fire. As he sang to himself, he poked the fire, causing the flames to rise, and embers to spew up and be carried on the slight breeze like fireflies.
McCall and the SWAT team moved in, and Tooms and Tony followed in behind her. Suddenly the team leader went down on one knee and raised his left fist. The others went to ground, disappearing into cover.
“What’s wrong?” asked McCall softly. The point man indicated a package on the small wall next to him.
“Bring it,” said the team leader. The lead scout picked it up and tossed it. Catching the package, the sergeant looked at it and passed it to McCall.
“It’s addressed to you, Merry Christmas,” he said jokingly. As she opened the package, they noticed there were four earpieces and a recorder which was connected, possibly by Bluetooth. She passed the pieces of equipment to Tooms, Tony and the team leader.
“I guess someone wants to be heard,” the sergeant joked. They all put in the earpieces and the sergeant gave the signal to proceed forward. Creeping past smashed-up vehicles and the bridge’s large supporting metal struts, the cops reached a safe haven where they could observe what went on. Hearing a voice they all took cover. The sergeant asked for a situation report (known as a sit rep) from the lead scout.
“Just some homeless guy, all clear ...wait.” He saw several men approach the homeless man, all dressed in some sort of black tactical gear.
“Hey, old man, have you seen a cop round here?” The new arrival was tall and broad shouldered, and his blond hair was cut short.
“Na, sorry son, just me, what you want him for anyway?” asked the hunchback.
McCall had a bad feeling about the situation.
“We were sent to clear up a loose end, our employer don’t like loose ends, you see.” As the man spoke another man, behind them, was screwing a silencer onto a pistol. The hunchbacked guy saw this and ran towards the river. McCall watched as the shooter let him think he was home free, then put three rounds into his back. Pat was thrown forward from the impact of the rounds, straight into the swirling waves.
“STOP! POLICE! Put down your weapons and put your hands up,” cried McCall, her weapon trailing the obvious leader of the team.
“Sorry, officer, no can do.”
And with that, a blaze of automatic gunfire rang through the night air. Both sides opened up as bullets shattered brickwork and caused sparks to fly off the steel bridge. She dived for cover as a stream of brass and lead flew her way. The SWAT team took down two of the assailants but lost one of their own.
“Damn it, Steel, where the hell are you?” swore McCall, making pot shots as she and Tooms tried to get round the side of their opponents. As they edged round into the open her earpiece activated.
“McCall! Above you!” Instantly she leapt for cover, and at that moment the ground exploded where she had been standing. Tooms and Tony trailed their weapons up and took down the sniper. He fell from his hiding place just under the bridge. The support harness stopped him from falling all the way, but they knew he was dead. The firelight came to an end as most of gang lay injured or dead on the ground.
“OK, you two, get up with your hands on your heads,” screamed McCall to the two who lay on the ground spread-eagled. All the cops stepped forward, weapons trained on the crew.
“McCall, get the hell out of there,” a voice screamed as one of the uninjured men got up. There was a CLINK as the distinct noise of a grenade safety was released, and seconds later the noise of gunfire as the SWAT team took the man down just before he was able to throw it. A loud explosion echoed through the metal beams and the ground shook as the grenade activated, sending deadly shards of metal in every direction.
“Is everyone OK?” asked the voice in their earpieces.
“Yeh, we are fine, thanks,” replied McCall. There was a pause.
“Uhm, can you give me a thumbs up because this thing is only one way? Sorry.”
“Asshole,” she said, raising a fist with the middle finger standing out straight.
“Yeh that will do,” said the voice with a chuckle.
The area had been sealed up tight and CSU were having a field day marking all the bullet strikes and collecting evidence. The SWAT sergeant, McCall, Tooms, and Tony were debriefing the Captain on the events that had taken place.
“Steel never showed up but led us into a war zone instead,” said McCall, angry that she had trusted him.
“Well, your boy was right, something was going down, plus who’s the cop they were after? You?” asked the SWAT leader, looking at McCall.
“What cop?” asked the Captain. He looked concerned, wondering if Steel had lied to everyone.
“One of the guys asked the homeless guy ‘where the cop was’, I don’t know any more than that.” McCall was tired and annoyed.
“Could Steel have led us into a trap?” asked Tooms. “I mean, the boy’s not here, is he?”
“Couldn’t be him, he was telling us where the sniper was, and he alerted us to the guy with the grenade,” interjected the sergeant. “No, he saved your butts. All of our butts act
ually.”
“I want to know where Steel is, Captain.” Detective McCall was really mad. “I mean, he led us here but where is he? He’s just a voice. So, no, I don’t buy it.” The thought of John Steel being dirty was ripping her up, after the way he had been leading her on.
There was a rustle of undergrowth and then they saw a hunchback moving slowly towards them, his arm outstretched, making a silent cry for help, just before he collapsed. Tony and Tooms rushed forward, the medical teams not far behind them. Tony put two fingers on the man’s neck: there was no pulse.
“He’s gone,” said Tony, standing up. “Why did they have to kill the guy? He was no harm to anyone.” Tony kicked an empty can that lay on the floor, sending it sailing across the open area.
“I will get him back and see if he’s got any evidence on him,” said Tina with a sympathetic smile.
THIRTY-EIGHT
Normally Tina would have music playing while she worked but today felt different, something sad was in the air, but she didn’t know what to ascribe it to. McCall had followed the transport and was now sitting on the swivel chair waiting for the body of the homeless guy to be brought in.
“So what happened out there?” asked Tina as she stirred her coffee.
“Don’t really know,” Sam replied. “We got a call from Steel, who said that something was going down, next thing we know we are at the OK Corral.”
“So where was Steel in all this?” asked the puzzled ME.
McCall shook her head, “Don’t know, but he was talking to us. God, it was weird, it was as if he set us up but couldn’t go through with it.”
Tina frowned. “I can’t believe he set you up.”
“I know, you’re right after everything that has happened.”
“No, I mean I CAN’T believe he set you up, there has to be more to it.” Tina hadn’t spent that much time with the mysterious detective but she was good at reading people. And what she read in him was goodness. He was a little messed up maybe, but nevertheless a good man.
The doors of the morgue flew open and two orderlies arrived with Pat’s body on a gurney and transferred it on to the wash table.
“Thanks, guys,” Tina said. She took a deep breath and put her gloves on, ready to search for fibres or anything that may have been transferred to him from the killers. She looked at his large round face and, even in death, he held what appeared to be a smile.
The door burst open in the other room and footsteps could be heard. Tina and McCall looked at each other and headed through. There stood the Captain, Tooms, and Tony, all with cell phones in their hands.
“So what’s the matter, Doc?” asked the Captain, shocked that he had been summoned
Tina looked at McCall and shrugged in surprise
“We didn’t send for you—for any of you,” said Tina, just as confused as the others.
“No, I did,” a muffled voice came from behind them, and then from the shadows came the figure of the homeless man, Pat, who they’d last seen in the gurney. Tina and McCall shot to the other side of the room, where their colleagues stood open-mouthed. Pat walked up to where Tina had been standing and reached for his left ear and pulled. They all looked away in disgust as he screamed. Eventually, the screams turned into laughter.
Daring to take a peek, McCall saw Steel standing there with pieces of latex still stuck to his face.”You asshole!” she screamed, slapping him on his padded shoulder.
“But I checked your pulse,” said Tony, completely baffled by the experience. “You were dead.”
“Don’t be hard on yourself, Tony. It’s special latex, real, feel it if you like,” said Steel still grinning. Tooms grabbed his hand and as he shook it brought him close and hugged him,
“Cool move, Bro,” he said.
The Captain, however, was not in a brother-hugging mood. “Steel, do you want to explain what the hell is going on?”
Steel’s smile vanished. “Sir, if I may get changed, then I’ll meet everyone in the briefing room.”
The Captain nodded. “You got ten minutes.”
As Steel entered the briefing room everyone was sitting around the large table, and he felt a touch of déjà vu, remembering the previous such meeting.
“OK, Steel, what the hell is going on?” asked the Captain. “You disappear and then you get people in a fire fight, I mean just what the hell are you up to, boy?”
Steel looked lost for a moment, as if a thought had just occurred to him.
“Well?” reiterated the Captain, who was by now at breaking point.
“They asked for a cop.” said Steel, with a long staring look above everyone’s heads, apparently at nothing as he sat down.
“At the bridge, they asked where was the cop. At first I thought he meant me but of course”
“You were in disguise.” McCall finished his sentence, sharing a conspiratorial look with him.
“Steel, what the hell are you talking about?” asked the Captain.
Steel pushed the thought away and started from the beginning. “I’m not sure. It’s still puzzling me, who they were and how they are mixed up in the case, unless this is now two completely separate affairs, but my gut says they are tied together somehow.” His expression was distracted, as if he wasn’t concentrating on what he was telling them.
However, with a shudder he finally came back to earth. “Yesterday I got to thinking about the homeless guys we have been looking for.” He took a sip from the coffee, and his eyes rolled back with pleasure at the excellent taste.
“I was thinking that the occasion when they moved Marie-Ann move was not the only time these guys were used.” Steel put his cup down for a second. “We have been thinking about routes for vehicles, and how long it takes to drive from here and there. Well what if we were looking for, say, a shopping cart or something similar?”
McCall’s face came alive as his words started to make some sort of sense. “Of course! Everyone would remember a van or a car, but they wouldn’t think twice about seeing a homeless guy moving something,” she added.
“Anyway,” Detective Steel continued. “I got to thinking that the only way to find them is to become one of them.”
“And did you find them?” asked the Captain
“It took some time but I got them. They were talking about doing another job for ‘the man’. My idea was to stir up their interest and, well, get noticed.” Steel nodded as he took another sip of coffee.
“So what went wrong?” Tony asked, leaning forwards with interest.
“At the most I thought ‘the man’ would pay me a visit, not some goons from The Expendables. I was just trying to get a reaction.”
“Well you got that, my man, big time.” Tooms laughed
“Yeh well I was expecting hordes of homeless guys on a pay check, not mercenaries with a death wish.” This struck a chord with everyone in the room, and the mood changed.
“What makes you think they were mercenaries?” asked Tooms, a strange look on his face.
“Tooms, man, you were in the forces, you would recognize a private soldier, right?”
Tooms nodded in agreement.
“They did appear to me to be professional solders, bought and paid for.”
“Well, for a start these were not some last minute buy types, they were organized and kitted out.” Tooms added, nodding in agreement with what Steel had said.
“So what are you thinking, Detective?” asked Dr Davidson, who had been sitting through all of the previous revelations watching not the room but Steel: his gaze was focused on Steel alone.
“Actually I’m wondering how a group of highly trained soldiers, a couple of homeless guys and a psycho killer come together in the mix.”
The Captain stood up and put his hands on his hips. “So, how do they?” he asked Steel, but deep inside he knew he didn’t want to know the answer.
“They don’t,” said Steel, taking a sip from the cooling coffee.
“What do you mean they don’t?” yelled Tooms
.
“Let’s go over it again. The mercenaries asked for a cop, not a bum, a cop.”
McCall’s suddenly looked scared, and then she glanced up at Steel, who must have read her mind because he nodded in confirmation; he had also had the same thought.
“The hotel room,” she said, her mood one of mixed emotions. “Did we get the sniper rifle from the guy you lads so brilliantly found under the bridge?”
Tony and Tooms looked at each other and both simultaneously began to make for the door.
“Ballistics should match the hotel room,” said Tony, as they left.
“You know, it’s so cute the way they do that, are they a couple?” Steel asked, making the Captain and McCall smile.
Steel saw Dr Davidson out of the corner of his eye, and felt himself being carefully observed. He shuddered with revulsion.
“So what now, Steel?” Sam McCall asked.
The Captain was sitting on the other side of the table and crossed his arms.
“We carry on,” John Steel replied. “We carry on as though last night never happened. If we go chasing mercenaries we lose sight of what we are really after.” Steel sunk back into the chair and finished the now-cold coffee.
“And what about the mercenaries?” the Captain asked.
Steel thought for a moment. “We have no idea who sent them or why.” He paused. “But we do know that someone knew that either I was going to be there or Sam McCall was. Bottom line, you got a snitch in the department.”
The Captain looked round the room and shook his head in disbelief.
“Our best bet is to forget about them, carry on, and solve this investigation.” Steel stood up.
“And if they try again?” asked McCall with a lump in her throat.
“Then we make sure we catch one alive. Either way our plan should be if we don’t bother them they don’t bother us.” Steel shrugged.
They left the briefing area, and Steel headed for the coffee room. He badly needed a refill. Hours of drinking bad coffee and bad booze had numbed his taste buds.
Rise of a Phoenix: Rise of a Phoenix Page 16
