by Mike Ryan
“Piece of cake,” Haley answered.
“Couple of young kids,” Recker said. “Scared out of their minds.”
“Was that before or after you showed up?” Jones asked.
“Both.”
Jones took his water and walked back to his desk to sit down.
“Find out anything useful yet?” Recker asked.
“In regard to?”
“Nowak.”
“I did find one interesting thing,” Jones said, shuffling a few papers around until he found the one he was looking for. “I found a manifest for our mysterious property, scheduled to be delivered tomorrow.”
“So, they’re planning on moving in. What’d they order?”
“Says office furniture.”
“Office furniture?”
“That’s what it says.”
“I can’t make heads or tails out of this,” Recker said. “I wish this lady was more straightforward instead of deviously planning everything.”
They sat around for a little while, stewing about the situation, though it was mostly Recker doing the agonizing, as Jones and Haley got on computers to work. About an hour went by, and Recker had finally gotten up and started moving around, though it was mostly just pacing around the office. Though his marching around the office didn’t usually bother Jones, for some reason, in this instance, it was distracting.
“Are you planning on wearing out the carpet?” Jones asked.
“Possibly.”
“Why don’t you try sitting down and doing something productive?”
“I am doing something productive,” Recker answered.
“I fail to see it.”
“Maybe you’re not looking hard enough.”
“Michael, just sit down and relax.”
Recker was about to continue debating, but his phone started ringing. He was surprised to see it was Malloy calling.
“Something I can do for you?” Recker asked.
Recker immediately pulled the phone away from his ear, shocked to hear the sound of gunfire going off in the background.
“You butt-dialing or are you busy?” Recker said.
Jones and Haley both stopped what they were doing and looked over at him, his choice of wording getting their attention. As Recker waited for a response, he could hear more gunfire in the background. It sounded like a war was going on. Not knowing what was going on, but assuming there were problems, he patiently waited for Malloy to respond.
“You there?” Malloy said, after shooting off a few more rounds.
“Yeah. What the hell is going on there?”
“We got suckered. Need your help fast.”
“Where are you?”
“Old supply building off of the boulevard. Says Bowman’s on a big sign on the front of the building. You know it?”
“Yeah, I know it.”
“I don’t know how much longer we can hold out.”
“Who and what are you up against?” Recker asked.
“Nowak’s crew. We’re outnumbered, bunch of my guys are dead, the rest of us our likely to join them if we don’t get some kind of help.”
“OK, sit tight, we’ll get there as soon as we can.”
“Hurry up ‘cause we’re running out of bullets too.”
Recker hung up and stuffed the phone in his pocket. He motioned to Haley to drop what he was doing and follow him. “C’mon, we gotta go.”
Haley jumped out of his chair. “Where we going?”
Jones spun his head around, wondering what was going on. “Where are you two going? Who was that? What’s happening?”
Recker and Haley grabbed a few more guns out of the gun cabinet and raced toward the door. He tried to explain as much as he can before leaving. “Not sure. Malloy and his men got ambushed by Nowak in some factory off the boulevard. Says they’re outnumbered and running out of ammo. Thinks he ain’t got much time left if we don’t get there to help.”
“At least give me the address so I can pull it up on the satellite so I can advise you what you’re walking into.”
“Called Bowman’s,” Recker said, his voice trailing off as he and Haley ran down the steps.
Jones got up and closed the door, which was still swinging open. He then went back to his computer and brought the image of the building on his computer screen. He didn’t like the fact that Recker and Haley left so quickly without knowing what they were walking into, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. He could try to bring up images of the place so he could direct them to the best spot to enter the building though.
Recker and Haley got to Bowman’s in about twenty-five minutes, seeing a bunch of cars parked in the lot in front. A few of those he recognized as vehicles that belonged to Vincent’s crew. They kept driving, parking in the building next to it, which was a large car dealership. Once they parked, they jumped out of the car, each armed with a couple of pistols, as well as an automatic rifle. They weren’t sure what they were walking into, but they were going to be well armed for it.
Before they got there, Jones got the schematics for the building and let them know to enter along the side. There wasn’t a door there, but a circular ladder that led up to a third-floor window. They assumed that the front and back doors would be guarded, so they hoped going up a side ladder would be the path of least resistance. After leaving the protection of all the new cars on the lot, Recker and Haley scurried to the side of the former medical supply factory.
Recker quickly climbed up the ladder as Haley provided a lookout from down below. If anyone showed their face in the window before Recker got there, Haley would shoot it off. Once Recker got to the window without incident, Haley started climbing as well. The window was locked shut, but Recker took his rifle, which was hanging by the strap around his back, and spun it around, breaking a small piece of the glass. Haley heard the glass break and looked up, moving his head to the side as the pieces fell down past him.
Recker put his hand through the hole in the window to unlock it, pushing it up. He climbed through it and spun around, looking for the first sign of trouble. It was dark, but it looked like he was in some type of storage room. At least it used to be. It wasn’t much now but a lot of trash and empty boxes littered on the floor. He walked over to the door, waiting until Haley got in. Recker opened it a slither and immediately heard shots being fired. He could tell they weren’t coming from the floor they were on as they sounded a little muffled.
Once Haley had entered through the window, Recker opened the door further, and stepped out. They ran down the hallway, ready to join the fight, without having a clear plan in mind. There was an elevator to their right and the stairs to their left. Haley grabbed Recker’s arm, having an idea.
“What?” Recker asked, wondering why he had stopped moving.
“I got an idea how we can get them by surprise.”
“I would think just showing up would accomplish that.”
“No, but what if we send the elevator down there?” Haley said. “They’ll hear it coming, think that maybe they got company, then everyone’s attention will be looking at that. Meanwhile, we come in the back way and go down the stairs.”
“And hopefully catching them with their backs turned.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Might work,” Recker said. “Worth a shot.”
Haley ran towards the elevator, as Recker ran over to the stairs. As Haley pushed the button for the first floor, Recker started making his way down the steps. Haley then ran over to the stairs as well. Recker had just turned the corner on the stairwell when he ran into another man, who was making his way up. Recker knew all of Vincent’s men by now. He knew their names, their faces, and the cars they drove. This guy wasn’t one of them.
The man was surprised at the sight of Recker, and having a gun already in his hand, brought it up to try and use it. Recker was too fast for him though. He lifted his rifle up, and with both hands on the weapon, fiercely jabbed it at the man’s face, stunning him and knocking him off balance.
The man fell backwards, his gun flying out of his hand, as he rolled down a couple of the steps. The man was bleeding heavily from his nose, which was definitely broken from the blow. He wasn’t out of the fight yet though. In spite of the fact that he was a little groggy, he still attempted to get back to his feet. Knowing his weapon was too far away to do him any good now, he was ready to duke it out with the intruder. As Recker walked down a couple more steps, not an ounce of panic or excitement in him, he approached the man once more. Recker ducked a right hand, then delivered another blow with his weapon, this time striking the side of the man’s face.
While in most circumstances, Recker would’ve put a few bullets in the man by now, ending his miserable existence, he couldn’t afford to have the shot be heard. Instead, he walloped the man a few more times in the face until he was knocked unconscious. As he stepped over the laid-out man, Haley came flying down the steps, hearing some type of commotion. Once he saw the man lying there, he then shot Recker a look.
“The welcoming committee,” Recker said.
“Did he give you a proper welcome?”
“No, but I gave him one.”
The two of them proceeded down the rest of the steps, keeping an eye out for anybody else on the way. Nobody else was on the stairwell, though, and they got down to the first floor unimpeded. They looked through a small oval piece of glass on the door that led to the first floor, seeing several men shooting their weapons. They had a direct view of the other side of the room, where the elevator was located. Recker, seeing the light on the elevator indicate it was passing the second floor, put two fingers in the air to signal to his partner where it was at the moment. Recker kept his hand in the air, putting up his index finger as soon as the elevator landed on the first floor.
Both men got their weapons ready, holding their rifles out in front of them, ready to barge through the door. The elevator dinged, causing alarm and confusion from the men on the floor. The men inside started yelling and pointing, assuming they were about to have company, as they knew none of their men would be using the elevator. The gunfire had come to a sudden stop as everyone’s attention was drawn to the elevator, just as Haley hoped it would.
Before opening the door and announcing their presence, Recker put his arm out and pointed to his right, indicating that all their targets were on the right-hand side once they entered the room. Several of the men inside had advanced toward the elevator in order to check it out.
“It’s empty!” one of the men shouted.
“What do you mean it’s empty?!”
The man threw his arms up, unsure what else he could say. “It’s empty.”
“It didn’t just start itself!”
“What do you want me to tell ya? It’s empty.”
“Somebody go check upstairs and see if we got company!” the leader of the group ordered. “Somebody might be playing games with us.”
Recker nodded at Haley, letting him know he was about to go. He threw open the door, and he and Haley burst through it.
“No games here,” Recker said, getting an eye on all his targets.
Surprised at the sight of them, knowing exactly who Recker and Haley were, the men were caught off guard. Recker and Haley wasted no time in firing their weapons. They immediately mowed down four men directly in front of them, including the man who checked the elevator, as well as the leader of the group. Though they’d gotten the jump on them, Recker and Haley knew they couldn’t just stand there in the open, as there still seemed to be four or five men left, hiding behind some crates and boxes.
Recker looked behind them as he continued firing, noticing Malloy crouching down behind a crate, right up against the wall. Malloy waved at him, motioning for them to join him at his spot. Recker tapped Haley to follow him as the two men retreated to the back of the room. Haley kept firing as Recker got the rundown on what had happened so far.
“Nice to see you could make it,” Malloy said.
“I’ll send you a bill in the mail for our services.”
Malloy laughed, his mood getting much better at finally seeing some backup arrive. “It’s a bill I’d gladly pay.”
“So, what happened?”
A few shots ripped into the wall behind them, cutting their conversation short.
“Shoot first, talk later,” Malloy said.
Recker and Malloy joined Haley in firing towards the remaining men. After a few minutes, it appeared neither side was gaining an advantage, and likely wouldn’t unless one side decided to take a chance in moving forward. Considering the lack of objects to hide behind, no one decided it was worth the risk. There was an opening along the far wall, closer to where their would-be victims were, and the men decided it was safer to leave the premises and live to fight another day, instead of putting themselves in further danger by continuing to fight.
To give themselves a better chance at escaping safely, the men fired a barrage of bullets, not really caring if they hit Recker and company, but just hoping it would cause them to duck for cover, that way they wouldn’t get shot as they ran. Their plan worked, as Recker, Haley, and Malloy ducked to avoid being shot, the men ran through the opening, which led to a small receptionist area and the front door. Malloy was too tired from the battle to pursue them any further, though Recker and Malloy both ran after the men, hoping to pick one or two more of them off before they left. Unsuccessful in their attempts, after they observed the men fleeing in an unmarked white van, Recker and Haley came back to the room all the fighting had occurred in.
Malloy was just leaning up against the wall, checking his weapon, and putting the last clip he had into his pistol. Recker and Haley looked around at all the damage, counting eight dead bodies on the floor. Three of them they recognized as men of Vincent’s crew. The other five were from Nowak’s bunch, four of whom Recker and Haley gunned down. Malloy also looked down at his fallen comrades and sighed, upset at losing them. They were good men, loyal, could be counted on, and never backed down from a fight. He considered them friends.
“So, what happened?” Recker asked.
“Got a tip.”
“Anonymous?”
“Yeah,” Malloy said with a laugh, though not finding it amusing. “Said they knew a place that Nowak was doing business in. Said she was using it as storage for her drug stash.”
“So, you guys came down here to check it out?”
“Yeah. We sat on it for a couple hours, didn’t see anyone coming or going, and it didn’t look like the place was being used.”
“So, you came in to investigate?”
Malloy nodded. “Everything was cool at first. Checked every floor, didn’t find anything. Chalked it up to a bad tip. Once we were done looking everything over, we were just about to leave, then a bunch of men came out of nowhere. Started chopping us up. Nothing else we could do. We were backed up, cut off, couldn’t escape anywhere. Figured best thing I could do at that point was call you.”
“I know the feeling.”
“What do you mean?”
“Few days ago, they tried the same thing with us,” Recker answered. “They bought some old warehousing property down in South Philly. We sat on it for a few days, then saw some activity, so I went in.”
“They were waiting for you?”
“Yep. Chris had to barrel in there and bail me out.”
“Seems to be a pattern,” Malloy said.
“Yeah. A good one too. They’re good at sneaking around and ambushing people.”
“Too good.”
“Either that or we’re getting sloppy at falling for it.”
“Probably a little of both.”
“Might be right about that,” Recker said.
Malloy let his eyes return to his fallen friends on the floor. “Hate to just leave these guys here.”
“Nothing else you can do for them.”
“Yeah, guess you’re right.”
“Best you can do for them now is claim their bodies when they hit the morgue, give them a good fun
eral.”
“What are we gonna do about Nowak?” Malloy asked. “She’s becoming a real pain in the ass.”
“I dunno. Maybe it’s time we gave her a taste of her own medicine.”
18
Recker and Haley had spent most of the morning double checking the known places Nowak was known to have frequented. The Bowman’s factory was now a crime scene and inhabited by the police and detectives investigating, the warehouse facility in South Philadelphia didn’t seem to be occupied, and they had run out of leads. They had
no sooner stepped foot in the office when Recker’s phone rang, Vincent on the other end of the line.
“Yeah?” Recker said.
“First of all, I’d like to thank you for helping Jimmy out last night. It’s quite likely without your interference that he would no longer be with us.”
Recker didn’t particularly care about being thanked. The only thing he did care about was getting rid of Nowak once and for all. “You can thank me when this is over.”
“In regard to that, Jimmy mentioned you said something about turning the tables on her, giving her a taste of her own medicine.”
“Yeah, but it was just a thought,” Recker said. “Doesn’t much matter if we don’t know where she is.”
“Once we do, I would suggest that we no longer do anything independently of each other. It’s obvious what they’re trying to do. The next time either of us get any type of lead or tip on their whereabouts, I suggest we act on it together. Together we’re stronger.”
“Yeah, I would agree with that.”
“Do you have any other leads at the moment?”
“Not right now,” Recker said with a sigh. “We just took a drive past the last two locations we both got ambushed at and there’s nothing there.”
“It seems they’re stepping up their plans. Things are starting to happen much quicker now. I would think it won’t be too long before they enact the next stage of their production.”
“Might be right about that.”
As they continued discussing plans, Haley went over to the desk and sat next to Jones. Seeing what he was working on, Haley jumped right in to help. After a few minutes, Haley suddenly stopped, an idea coming into his head. Looking at the computer screen, though not focusing on it, he put his hands up and started moving them around as if he was talking to someone. Jones noticed the gyrations and froze his hands above the keyboard, just as he was about to come down on it and turned his head to look at him. Jones continued looking at him for a moment, wondering why Haley was acting so strangely. Haley kept going with his hand motions, but now was also moving his lips, whispering something, though not loud enough for Jones to actually make out what he was saying. After a few more minutes, Jones couldn’t remain silent any longer. He was too curious to let Haley continue.
