Trigger Pull

by Mike Ryan

“Then why are you calling me and breaking my stones?”

  “I guess because it’s fun.”

  “So glad I’m here for your amusement,” Recker said.

  “All kidding aside, you’re usually here by now, is everything all right?”

  “Everything’s fine.”

  “Because you’re usually here around eight-ish. And it’s now after nine.”

  “I’m aware of the time. I learned to tell it a long time ago.”

  “Just checking to make sure you didn’t run into some type of problem on the way in.”

  “No, I just haven’t left yet. I’m coming though.”

  “Oh. Is Mia there with you?”

  “She does live here you know.”

  “Well I wasn’t sure if she was at work yet.”

  “No, she’s got a mid-shift.”

  “Say no more,” Jones said, beginning to understand why he wasn’t there yet. “Sorry to interrupt you two love birds. Just try to conserve some energy. Remember, you were talking to Jerome later.”

  “Nothing’s going on here.”

  “Uhh, I don’t need to hear any details.”

  “David…”

  “Just get in when you’re ready.”

  “David…”

  Jones hung up, not wanting to interrupt the couple any longer in case they were busy. Recker shook his head as he put the phone back in his pocket.

  “Everything OK?” Mia asked.

  Whenever Jones called with an important task, Recker usually got a certain look on his face, and his mannerisms changed. She could always tell when something was up. But he didn’t display any of those characteristics this time.

  “Yeah, just David being a smartass.”

  “David?” Mia said, her face indicating that she didn’t believe it.

  “Yeah, he does have his moments. Not many of them, but he has a few.”

  Mia then threw her arms around Recker’s neck. “Guess you have to go soon?”

  Recker sighed, not really wanting to, but knowing he had to get moving at some point. “Yeah, I guess I should, huh?”

  “Have anything extremely dangerous going on today?” Mia asked, still concerned about Recker’s mental state, and throwing himself into a bad situation.

  Recker smirked. “Nothing too dangerous. Not extremely anyway.”

  “Just promise me you’ll be very careful if something comes up.”

  “I will.”

  “And don’t second guess yourself, thinking about the nightmares you’ve been having. They’re not real. They don’t indicate anything.” Recker smiled and nodded. Mia then planted another kiss on his lips. “And please wear your vest.”

  20

  Recker and Haley were waiting outside Jerome’s house, the same as they did the last time they were there. They’d been waiting for over an hour, getting there early to make sure that nobody else was staking out the place either. And they wanted to wait for nightfall to try and conceal their meeting under the cover of darkness. They wound up waiting a little longer than they had planned, not seeing a sign of Jerome for over two hours. Once they did, and they knew they were alone in waiting for the informant, they got out of their car to approach him.

  Just like the last time they talked to Jerome, Recker went by the front gate to wait, while Haley walked down the street so he could then cross over and come up behind him. Once Jerome got closer to his house, he saw the outline of a man waiting by his home again. Due to the darkness, he couldn’t yet tell who it was. But he always erred on the side of caution. And Jerome’s first inclination was always to run. Well, a light jog or walking quickly in his case due to his leg. But in any event, his mind was just telling him to get away. Far away.

  Jerome got to the corner of the street and turned, going down the side street. Recker and Haley quickly pursued him, with him finally stopping once he got to the back of the supermarket. Just like last time.

  “Well this seems familiar,” Recker said, noticing the pattern.

  “Oh, it’s you guys again,” Jerome said, finally recognizing his pursuers.

  “You might wanna think up a new exit strategy for when you want to elude someone,” Haley said.

  “Yeah, I’ll have to work on that. What do you guys want? If it’s about Tyrell again, man, I already talked to him, him and I are cool.”

  “It’s not about Tyrell,” Recker said.

  “Then what’s it about?” Jerome asked, starting to look nervous about their intentions.

  “We’re here for you.”

  “Awe, c’mon, man, I already told you guys it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t trying to hurt you guys, really, I wasn’t. They duped me into all that.”

  “Relax, we’re not here to work you over.”

  “You’re not?”

  “No. We just want your help. And considering everything that’s happened we figured you might wanna help us too.”

  “Like what’d you have in mind?”

  “We want you to get in contact with the same man you did before.”

  “Huh?” Jerome said, scratching his head, looking confused.

  “You may have gotten back into Tyrell’s good graces, but you haven’t gotten back into ours. And if you want us to forget your role in everything that’s happened, then we want you to do a few things for us.”

  Jerome looked uncomfortable, getting the feeling he was being railroaded. But he also didn’t want to be in the bad graces of The Silencer. And he also felt that he probably owed them one for getting suckered the way he did by Nowak’s crew.

  “OK. Say I’m on board, what exactly you want me to do?” Jerome asked.

  “I’ll give you specifics later,” Recker said. “For now, I just wanna know that you’re willing to play ball.”

  Jerome looked around and started nodding his head. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m on the team. As long as I don’t have to go deep undercover or nothing. Playing secret agent ain’t for me.”

  “All we’ll want you to do is make a couple phone calls, maybe meet with him again, the same way you did before. Nothing different.”

  “All right then, yeah, yeah, you can count me in.”

  “Good. We’ll be in touch.”

  “When?”

  “Probably tomorrow,” Recker replied. “Maybe the next day. You’ll hear from us.”

  Recker and Haley then turned around and started walking away, Jerome watching them as they left. “Yeah, that’s what I’m afraid of.”

  Once Recker and Haley got back to the car, they started talking about their plans.

  “OK, so we got him on board,” Haley said. “Now what?”

  Recker turned the engine on and started driving. “I dunno. This is your plan, remember?”

  “That doesn’t mean I have to do all the thinking.”

  “Whatever we do, whatever we come up with, has to be compelling enough to get Nowak’s crew off their duff to check it out. And whatever it is, has to be something we can stick with for a few days in case they don’t check it out at first, or they just do a scouting mission to make sure it’s legit.”

  “What would be big enough to make them check it out?” Haley asked, more talking out loud to himself and thinking than actually wanting an answer.

  “Our office,” Recker said.

  “What?”

  “What’s bigger than our office and where we work out of? Our base of operations. Who wouldn’t want to know that?”

  “We can’t give that up.”

  “I’m not saying we give up our actual office. We find some place that we can use as a dummy, put some desks and computers in there, make it look legit.”

  Haley got a grin on his face, liking the idea, thinking it could work. They drove back to the office to talk to Jones about it and get his input. Though he was initially unsure of the plan, Recker and Haley eventually started to sway him to their line of thinking.

  “Even if we do this,” Jones said. “We’d have to rent or buy something in a very short amount of time and that
will positively raise red flags in their book.”

  “Could you do some of your computer mumbo-jumbo to change the records and sale dates and things like that?” Recker asked.

  “Perhaps, but then I also have to change real estate listings and any website that has ever mentioned the property and make sure the dates align.”

  “But you could do that, right?”

  “Yes. In theory, I could. Yes.”

  “So, there you go.”

  “Even if I were to agree with this plan, there are some things worth mentioning.”

  “Always are,” Recker said.

  “First off, even if this works and draws them to this fake building of ours, Nowak herself is unlikely to attend any festivities. In fact, I downright guarantee it.”

  “So do I.”

  “Well then what’s the point?”

  “The point is to get them back on their heels. They’ve been dishing things out for a while now. It’s time for them to take it.”

  “Even besides that,” Haley said, jumping in to the conversation. “Anything involving us, they’re going to send their best people. I mean their absolute best. That means Milton, and Jackson, and Martinez, and whoever else they got at the top of their list. She’s not sending Joe Schmoe and the rest of the slobs to take us out. She’s sending her best.”

  “He’s right,” Recker said. “And if we can take out her top tier, that gives us a significant advantage and puts her on the defensive. She’s gonna have to be a lot more careful from here on out if she doesn’t have her best guys anymore.”

  “Fine,” Jones said. “Even if I agree to all that and say you guys are correct, which you probably are, there’s still the rather tall task of identifying a place to set this trap of yours. That’s not exactly going to be easy.”

  “No, you’re right. It’s got to be a perfect spot. And preferably away from people in case things get out of hand quickly.”

  “And that will take more time to find something than you probably want it to.”

  Recker threw his hands up. “What else can we do? It takes what it takes.”

  Haley then tapped Recker on the arm a couple times with the back of his hand. “What if it doesn’t?”

  “Huh? Wanna explain that?”

  “Vincent.”

  “What about him?”

  “Didn’t he say the next time we do something we should do it together?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Well this is it,” Haley said. “Think about it. Vincent’s already got control of dozens, if not hundreds of properties all over the city. He might already have something we can use. We can get set up quickly.”

  “But Nowak’s been hitting his properties over the past few weeks and months,” Jones said.

  “I’m sure she doesn’t know them all. I would bet Vincent’s got some that aren’t well-known.”

  Jones looked to Recker for a response. “Yeah, that might work,” Recker said.

  “Would he agree to it?” Jones asked.

  “If he really wants to get rid of her he will.”

  “What do you think?” Haley asked.

  “Let’s give it a try,” Recker replied.

  Recker immediately called Vincent and requested a meeting. He couldn’t get through to the crime lord, but tried his right-hand man, Jimmy, and he set something up for the following morning.

  “If he agrees to this,” Jones said. “What would be the ideal spot?”

  “Preferably something off the beaten path,” Recker answered. “A long winding road down a wooded area would be nice. Something fenced and gated, or something that makes them go through a certain area, that way we wouldn’t have to guard against multiple entrance points. That reminds me, whatever we get, might be a good idea if you could set up a bunch of cameras, that way we can see what we’re dealing with.”

  “You mean on the perimeter?”

  “Yeah. And concealed. That way we could see how many men they’re bringing.”

  “Actually, what I could do is set up main cameras, in plain view, assuming they would take those out, but still having concealed ones. Not having anything visible would be a warning sign to them that something is fishy.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Let’s just hope that Vincent actually has something in mind,” Haley said.

  “Oh, he has something,” Recker said.

  “How can you be so sure?” Jones asked.

  “Because it’s Vincent. If there’s one thing you can always count on him for… it’s to be prepared for just about anything. And you know he’s got something up his sleeve for a situation like this. You just know it.”

  21

  The following morning, Recker and Haley forewent their morning trip to the office, instead heading straight to the diner for their meeting with Vincent. Considering everything that was at stake, and the face they were going to have to work together anyway, Haley was joining Recker for the meeting this time. Plus, they’d all seen Haley before anyway, so it wasn’t like they were revealing a new face. It just didn’t matter at this point in trying to conceal him.

  They were about ten minutes ahead of schedule for their nine o’clock meeting. Vincent and his crew were already there, like they usually were. Recker and Haley got out of the car and started walking towards the diner.

  “No matter how early you get here, you can always count on Vincent getting here first,” Recker said. “I think I’ve only ever beaten him here one time before.”

  “Maybe he really likes the eggs.”

  Both men got a chuckle out of it as they reached the door, the burly man in front stopping them. Recker was surprised since he usually had a free pass by now.

  “You’re good,” the man said, looking at Recker. “He’s a no-go.”

  “He’s with me,” Recker said.

  “Orders are orders, man. Just doing what I’m told.”

  Just then, the front glass door to the restaurant swung open, Malloy standing there. He’d been watching the men approach and saw that Haley got denied entrance.

  “It’s all right,” Malloy said. “Let them both through, it’s OK.”

  The guard stepped aside, letting Haley in as well. He was always under orders not to let anyone else come in besides Recker. Haley by now was in the same graces, but considering he never came to these meetings, he was never really in the thought process for getting a pass. As the two silencers stepped inside, Malloy smiled and greeted each of them with a handshake. He then looked at Haley, surprised to see him.

  “Hey, what are you doing out in the day time?” Malloy said. “I thought sunlight was supposed to kill guys like you?”

  Haley chuckled, putting his hand on his chest. “Thought I felt a sharp pain there.”

  “Seriously though, it’s kind of a shock to see you here.”

  “I thought I’d include him today,” Recker said. “You know, kind of like my succession plan. That way if I ever get killed, he’ll know the routine.”

  “What are you talking about?” Malloy asked. “You’ve moved into legendary status. Legends never die. They move on sometimes, but they never die.”

  Recker laughed. “Yeah, I guess we’ll see about that one.”

  Recker and Haley went down to the table where Vincent was sitting. He was already eating as the two men sat down across from him. He put his fork down, stunned to see Haley’s presence.

  “May I interest you in something?” Vincent asked.

  “Nothing for me, thanks,” Recker said.

  “Yeah, I’ll have something,” Haley said, not getting the memo that he wasn’t supposed to eat.

  He drew a look from both men, both of whom were surprised that he was ordering something. Vincent smiled at Haley as he looked at the menu before glancing at Recker.

  “You must not have informed him of your usual routine,” Vincent said.

  “I’ll have to work on it next time,” Recker replied.

  “What?” Haley asked, looking at both men. “I’m hu
ngry. I didn’t have breakfast this morning.”

  Recker let out a laugh, looking down at the table and rubbing the back of his neck.

  “You can tell he must be a single man,” Vincent said, a waitress coming over and taking Haley’s order.

  “Do you have a stake in this place?” Recker asked.

  Vincent smiled, amused by the question. “No, I do not.”

  “Oh. Just wondering.”

  “I assume by the question that you’re referring to an ownership interest?”

  “What else would there be?” Recker asked with a smile.

  “Extortion, protection,” Haley said, blurting it right out without a care.

  “What do you think?” Vincent asked.

  “You already said you didn’t,” Recker said. “I believe you. I was just asking the question.”

  “You think I would engage in a protection racket?”

  “Why not?” Haley asked. “You wouldn’t be the first.”

  Vincent waved him off, though he wasn’t offended or upset by the questioning. “That’s a sucker’s game. Especially at a restaurant.”

  “Why?” Recker asked.

  Vincent laughed. “Because you never make enemies of the people who prepare your food. They have access to the poison.”

  Recker and Haley laughed as well, joining their host in his amusement.

  “What, you think I have to have a personal interest in a place to eat there?” Vincent asked.

  “No, just wondering why you always pick this place for breakfast,” Recker replied.

  “It has good food,” Vincent said, putting a forkful in his mouth. “You would know if you ever joined me in eating.”

  “I’ve joined you a few times.”

  “I believe those times have been well in the past.”

  “Cheaper to eat in,” Recker said.

  “Well, I can’t really argue there. Probably a more pleasant environment as well,” Vincent said, referring to Recker’s better half.

  “I won’t argue there either.”

  “So, what brings the honor of your partner’s presence this morning?”

  Recker shrugged. “I don’t know. Didn’t have anything else to do?”

  “Slow day?”

  “I dunno. You’ve met him before. You already know who he is. Guess there really wasn’t any point in trying to hide it or pretend he doesn’t exist.”