An Element of Risk

by Don Easton

  “So you’re willing to swear to me that this Jerry is cool?”

  “For sure. The cops woulda come looking for him if he wasn’t.”

  Jack stroked his chin as he appeared to think about it, then focused on Vath. “That’s good, I guess, but either way, we’re not waiting a few months or for however long Jerry wants you to lay low. We won’t even wait a few weeks. If you can’t do it, we’ll get them somewhere else.”

  “Let me contact him,” Vath pleaded. “For the amount you want, I think he’ll make an exception.”

  Jack pretended to mull it over. “How long will it take you to find out?”

  “I’ll call them right now!”

  “Them?”

  “I deal with Jerry, but sometimes there’s another guy who’s with him. I don’t know his name.”

  “All right,” Jack replied. “Go ahead. Talk to Jerry.”

  “All I have to do is pop out and get a new phone because I was told to throw my other one out when Graves was killed. If I do that I can talk wide open and we don’t have to worry about our call being bugged.”

  “I see.”

  “Can you meet me back at my place in an hour?”

  “How about I wait at your place and order in a pizza? You might need me to field a few questions once you contact him.”

  Vath’s face lit up. “Great. I’ve got beer in the fridge, so you can help yourself.”

  They returned to the basement suite and Vath ordered a pizza before leaving. Jack watched him drive away in his white Hyundai, then used the opportunity to search the premises in the hopes of finding names or phone numbers. The fact that he didn’t have a warrant didn’t bother him. He knew he wouldn’t be going to court.

  He discovered a laptop, but it was password protected. In the end his search came up empty and when Vath returned thirty minutes later, Jack was sitting on the sofa sipping a beer.

  Vath held up a phone. “Got it,” he said.

  “Good. The pizza hasn’t arrived yet.”

  “Okay, give me a sec.” Vath paused at the entrance to the hall and grinned at Jack.

  “What’s so funny?” Jack asked.

  “These guys are gonna shit when I tell ’em who you are and what you want.”

  I bet they will.…

  Vath then went to his bedroom and Jack could hear the murmur of his voice. At one point he heard Vath excitedly exclaim, “Damn right, I’m sure! The fucking president and a bunch of his guys came to visit me at work today. They were all wearing their colours. This is the real deal, man.”

  Minutes later, Vath returned to the living room while still speaking on the phone. He then gave Jack a thumbs up, lowered the phone slightly, and said, “We can do five hundred immediately, all sorts of different makes and types. Got full autos, rifles with silencers … you name it, we probably got it.”

  “Cost?” Jack asked.

  “Cost to you would be roughly 1.25 mil.” He studied Jack’s face for a reaction. When he didn’t get one, he hastened to say, “But that’s negotiable depending upon what models and types you select.”

  “I see. That works out to about twenty five hundred dollars a pop. Seems a little steep in my mind for an order that big. Especially, as I presume, you’re talking U.S. dollars.”

  “Hang on.” Vath put the phone back to his ear. He then looked at Jack and said, “That price would also include ammo and lots of accessories like scopes and silencers and shit.”

  “That sounds more reasonable,” Jack replied. “Make it clear that I’ll want to see and examine what we’re buying before toting 1.25 mil across the border.”

  “Uh, hang on … okay, he heard you. Yup, that won’t be a problem.” Vath listened to the phone, then added, “As long as you’re not armed and you come alone.”

  “Of course,” Jack replied.

  “Of course,” Vath repeated into the phone. He turned to Jack and asked, “Once you check ’em out, how long would it take you to get the money?”

  “We have that much on hand,” Jack replied.

  Vath repeated what Jack said, then listened for a moment and ended the call. When he put the phone in his pocket he looked at Jack and smiled broadly as he sat in a chair facing him.

  “So?” Jack asked.

  “I’m to take you across the border into Washington this coming Saturday around seven p.m. You’re to pack an overnight bag for a two-day trip.”

  “Two days? Where the hell we going?”

  “I don’t know where they’re taking you. All I was told was I’d be dropping you off and that you’d then go with them while I return to Canada.” He waited for a response. When he didn’t get one, he asked, “Is that okay with you?”

  “Yeah … no problem.”

  “Good. That’s it then.” Vath then settled back in the chair.

  “Jerry and his buddy, how long have you known them? Do you trust them not to try to rip me off?”

  Vath leaned forward, looking worried. “To be honest, I only met Jerry a few months back. He was introduced to me by Graves.”

  “How’d Graves meet him?”

  “Over the internet. Graves has, uh, had a website, and Jerry reached out to him through that.”

  The white supremacist website.… Jack studied Vath’s face. “So, you don’t really know Jerry well,” he noted.

  “Not really. He’s a short little guy. He doesn’t look tough, but to be honest, something about him freaks me out sometimes.”

  “Freaks you out?”

  “Maybe that’s the wrong word. He seems like he’s always angry or pissed off at something. I don’t like being around him any longer than I have to. I get the feeling he doesn’t like me, either.”

  “What about the other guy?”

  “Him … I don’t even know his name. He usually remains in the background and hangs on to the pieces until Jerry knows it’s safe, then we meet up with ’im.”

  “Does he look like he could handle himself in a fight?”

  “For sure. He’s a big guy. It wouldn’t surprise me if he rode a chopper.”

  “Oh?”

  “He’s got long black hair and a bushy beard to match.”

  Too bad, the Coggins brothers are tall, but have red hair and were clean-shaven.

  Vath shrugged, “Guess that doesn’t mean he rides a bike, though. I mean, look at you guys. Most of you look like guys who’d wear suits.”

  Because Satans Wrath doesn’t need to look tough. Everyone knows they are.

  Vath was silent for a moment. “I know it doesn’t sound good what I said about Jerry and his buddy, but they’ve always been straight with me. If they’re going to show you the guns first, then you know that they got ’em and aren’t blowin’ smoke.”

  “That’s what I figure, too.”

  A look of suspicion came to Vath’s face and he looked at Jack. “That being said, they’re not somebody I’d dare screw with either.”

  “I don’t intend to screw them around,” Jack replied. “We’ve got the money.”

  Vath nodded, but didn’t appear convinced.

  “So I meet them Saturday night,” Jack stated.

  “Yes.”

  “Want me to meet you here before we leave?”

  “That’d be good. Come over about six.”

  “Not a problem. I’ll get my ol’ lady to drop me off.”

  “Okay, but if there’s a change, do you have a number I can reach you at?”

  “Yeah, grab a pen and paper and I’ll give it to you. I’ll also reverse the last four numbers to be on the safe side.”

  “Got a pen and paper in the kitchen. You want another beer while I’m at it?”

  “Sure.” He watched as Vath went to the kitchen and rummaged around in a drawer before retrieving a pen and piece of paper. He then took two bottles of Lucky beer from the fridge and set them on the counter. Jack saw him furtively looking at him before opening them.

  Vath’s hand trembled when he passed Jack the beer along with the pen and paper
. After he sat down his face twitched and he turned his head and raised his own beer to his mouth in an apparent attempt to hide his nervousness.

  “What’s wrong?” Jack asked.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Don’t give me that shit. Something’s on your mind. You look like a kid in a drugstore working up the courage to buy his first box of condoms.”

  Vath set his beer on the coffee table and looked intensely at Jack. “I know these guys will kill you if you mess with them,” he said bluntly. “Maybe kill me, too.”

  Second thoughts? This isn’t the time to fuck with me, asshole.

  Jack took a sip of beer, then glared at Vath. “Likewise,” he snarled.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Jack was backing out of his garage to go to work the following morning when his phone vibrated. He stopped and glanced at the call display. Washington area code. Sorry, Wayne, I was going to call you when I got to the office to bring you up-to-date. He answered.

  “Hi, Jack. It’s Betty.” Her tone revealed how depressed she felt.

  Betty? He tasted the black coffee he’d had moments before rise to the back of his throat. “Hi, Betty. Uh —”

  “I’m sorry it took me so long to call you,” she said. “I know you called and wanted to speak to me the night Ferg was killed.”

  He breathed a sigh of relief, then said, “When I called then I was told you were resting and to wait until you called me. I’ve been thinking about you a lot.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. I was there when you spoke to Wayne, but I wasn’t up to it then.”

  “I understand.”

  “I hope you forgive me. Emotions were running pretty high with the guys and I was in a mess from hearing the news. I thought it best to wait. Then things got busy with family and people dropping in.”

  “I wanted to tell you how sorry I am,” Jack said. “I feel sick that I wasn’t there when —”

  “No, don’t do that,” Betty said sharply. She paused and her tone softened. “Please don’t blame yourself. Ferg told me when you called him that night that he had to skedaddle up to the border. He mentioned you didn’t have permission to enter the States, but he wasn’t upset. He really liked you. He understood where you were coming from. The morning he drove your SUV up to the border for you he told me that you’d gotten in trouble for crossing the border. He felt bad about that and would’ve really gotten worked up if you’d done it again.”

  Jack was conscious of the pause that followed, but didn’t know what to say.

  “I’m sure you were frustrated over not having permission, too,” Betty continued. “You wouldn’t believe the number of times Ferg bellyached to me about policy or the law, too, for that matter. Still, when it came down to it, I know he respected both.”

  “You have no idea how much your call means to me,” Jack said. “It really helps to hear you say that.”

  “I don’t want you blaming yourself. Not in the least.”

  Thanks, but it was me who let a piece of policy get someone killed. For that, I’ll never forgive myself.

  “I mean that, Jack. We were married for twenty-nine years. I knew the risks involved in the work that Ferg did, and so did he. What happened … happened. It was through no fault of yours.”

  “Thank you so much,” Jack said emphatically. “You’ve lifted a heavy burden off my heart.”

  “Good. That burden should never have been there to start with.” She paused. “Anyway, I want you to know that the funeral is on Monday and I hope you’ll be there.”

  Crap, I might be busy meeting whoever killed Ferg, yet I can’t tell her that and give her false hope. What will you think of me if I don’t show?

  “I’m serious, Jack. I don’t care that you’re from another country. When it comes to this, we’re all family. Same for Natasha. You’re both welcome.”

  “I know Natasha would like to attend and offer her condolences, but she won’t be able to because she works at a small clinic and is covering for another doctor who is away. Plus she’s juggling that with being home to look after our sons.”

  “I see, but you’ll come?”

  “I promise I’ll do my best.”

  * * *

  When Jack arrived at work he avoided Rose and went straight to his desk and called Wayne.

  “How’d it go?” Wayne asked as soon as the salutations were over. “Any luck getting your source to meet Vath?”

  “Yes. Good news. The intro was made and I met Vath last night on the pretext of buying five hundred guns.”

  “Five … holy shit. You asked for a lot.”

  “If I only ordered a few they might not have gone for it.”

  “So what —”

  “Vath called his source when I was with him and his source went for it. Tentatively they think I’ll be paying 1.25 mil in U.S. for them.”

  “Oh, man. That’s great. The money won’t be a problem. I’ll arrange to get it in case you need to flash it. How soon is it going to happen?”

  “I don’t think it’ll be necessary to show the money. Vath is to bring me down to the States Saturday night. I’m then supposed to take a look at the guns and decide which ones I want, then return to Canada and get the money.”

  “Sweet baby Jesus! We’re gonna get ’em!”

  “Vath also told me he deals with two guys.”

  “The Coggins brothers?”

  “Doesn’t sound like it. One guy is named Jerry, who he described as short, and the other guy he doesn’t have a name for, but said he’s big with long black hair and a bushy beard.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s who killed Ferg that’s important to me. Oh, God, this is fantastic!” Wayne exclaimed.

  “I’m not sure how long it will take. Vath is supposed to drop me off and head back to Canada, but I was told to pack an overnight bag for two days.”

  “Two days?”

  “I’ve no idea where they’re taking me.”

  “It won’t matter. I don’t care if they take you all the way back to Alabama. We’ll be there to cover you. Don’t worry about that. It won’t be like last time.”

  Yeah … last time.

  “It’ll be like we’re in you hip pocket,” Wayne continued. “That’s guaranteed.”

  “The hip pocket is a little too close,” Jack replied. “These guys obviously run counter-surveillance. You’ll need to give me some distance. They had no qualms about murdering Graves to sever the connection to them. They wouldn’t hesitate to do the same with me and Vath.”

  Wayne’s voice became solemn. “We also don’t want the same thing happening because we weren’t there to back you up.”

  “I’m not too worried about needing protection. They think I’m with Satans Wrath and —”

  “Satans Wrath! How the hell did you pull that one off? Steal a set of colours?”

  “Don’t ask, and keep that detail to yourself,” Jack replied. “The point is that I’m sure whoever I’m meeting will respect me enough not to piss me off. They might be worried that I’ll try to rip them off, but I doubt they’ll ever suspect I’m a cop.”

  “But you’ll still need protection. You’ll have a phone, right? We could keep a safe distance and track you through that, providing they don’t make you turn it off.”

  “I doubt they would make me turn it off because of who they think I am. If I was really a biker and intent on ripping them off, my fellow bikers wouldn’t have the access to the phone companies along with the sophisticated technology needed to track me by phone. I’ll probably be treated like royalty. At this point they expect me to check out the merchandise and decide on what I want to buy. After that they think I’ll be returning to Canada to talk to my people and get the money.”

  “So once you’ve seen the guns and are clear, we could arrest them,” Wayne noted.

  “Exactly, but I still don’t want Vath charged or arrested later on. It would bring too much heat on my informant. I want to keep my identity as a police officer secret, as well.
It’ll muddy the water enough that the bad guys won’t know whether both Vath and I ratted them out or only one of us.”

  “Yup, you mentioned that before. I confirmed it with our district attorney. It’s not a problem. Vath isn’t who we want.”

  Jack felt his anger rise when he thought about the nameless killer he was after. “You got that right,” he said vehemently.

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  After ending his call with Wayne, Jack strode into Rose’s office and took a seat to wait while she was talking on the phone. When she ended her call she peered over her reading glasses at him.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  “Good morning to you, too. You’re looking a little better than you did two days ago,” she noted.

  “I feel a lot better,” he said emphatically, then gave her a lopsided smile.

  “Have there been some new developments south of the border?”

  “They don’t have anything yet. They’re relying on us at the moment.”

  “Oh.” Rose looked disheartened. Then she eyed him curiously. “You seem awfully chipper. We’re to meet Lexton this morning. Aren’t you concerned she’ll remove you from the case?”

  “She won’t,” Jack stated.

  “Humph. I wish I had your confidence. She was seriously thinking about it when we last spoke to her. I think whatever she’s decided will be anybody’s guess.”

  “Things have changed since then,” Jack said.

  “How? I thought you said there weren’t any new developments?”

  “There aren’t down in the States. It’s up here that things have progressed.”

  Rose’s face brightened. “That sounds promising. Did MCU get something off of Graves’s computer?”

  “No … nothing to do with MCU.” He paused as he decided what to say. “Maybe I better start from Monday when you told me to go home.”

  Rose took off her glasses and sat back in her chair. Her eyes narrowed as she regarded him suspiciously. “You didn’t go home?”