Bullet Trap

by Mike Ryan

  Recker leaned in closer to get a better look. “And why is that significant?”

  “Because there are no houses down this stretch of road. It’s all business, manufacturing, warehouses, things of that nature. And, it eventually leads to a dead end. There’s nowhere to turn other than those businesses.”

  “So if he’s on that street, he’s got some business to attend to.”

  “I think that’s a safe bet.”

  “So what’s on that street?”

  “Well, it is a long road, so it is not going to be a short list. But hopefully we can whittle it down.”

  Recker sat down. “Print out the list and we can start working through it.”

  Jones printed out the list of businesses, and they began running down all the pertinent information. They looked at the addresses and who the owners were first. When that didn’t lead to any obvious link to Ronnie Slater, or the Scorpions in general, they had to start refining their search further.

  “Maybe it’s not about the actual place,” Recker said. “Maybe it’s an individual. Someone that works in one of these places.”

  Jones wasn’t sure, though. “What would Slater be doing visiting some worker in a warehouse who’s making twelve dollars an hour driving a forklift or loading a truck?”

  Recker put his hand over his mouth as he looked over his list. “I don’t know. It’s there somewhere. It’s gotta be. He’s not just out there sightseeing. He’s got a reason.”

  “Yes, but what?”

  Recker shook his head as he continued to think. “It’s gotta be about the location. You’re right, he’s not visiting some guy driving a truck. He’s got a specific reason, a specific purpose, for going down that street. One of these places isn’t what they appear to be.”

  “Well, it could be the place is exactly what it appears to be. Maybe he’s talking business with an owner of one of these businesses.”

  “Yeah, could be. But none of them have any obvious ties to him.”

  “You don’t necessarily need a connection to talk business,” Jones said. “You just need a mutually beneficial deal that makes you both money.”

  Recker nodded, agreeing with his point. “Yeah. But what’s the deal?”

  “Well, I think we’re unlikely to find out from here.”

  “You’re right. I’m gonna call Tyrell, get him on it. Maybe he’s heard of some type of deal involving someone in that area. Maybe he just didn’t know the names of the players.”

  Jones thought that was a good idea. “Perhaps call Vincent as well.”

  Recker pulled his head back, surprised at the suggestion. It was a rare occasion that Jones actually suggested including Vincent in their plans. “Really?”

  “I know, I know. I usually say to keep our distance unless it’s absolutely necessary. But I believe in this case… it’s absolutely necessary.”

  22

  Three more days had passed since they found Slater’s picture through the traffic cameras. They were a little dismayed that nothing else had been learned since then. Slater’s picture hadn’t turned up anyplace else. There were no hits involving a credit card, or social security number, and there was no chatter that Tyrell could find, or Vincent either, for that matter. And they both used every source that they had available.

  If one thing could be said about Slater, he seemed to know how to keep a low profile. Recker and Jones, though, were still digging for information. They hadn’t left the office much. In Jones’ case, he hadn’t left at all. Recker only left to eat dinner with Mia, and to sleep. Other than that, they were trying everything they could to find the remnants of the Scorpions.

  “Why’s this guy so secretive?” Recker asked.

  Jones thought it was an odd comment. “Why wouldn’t he be? Maybe he doesn’t want to end up like his former buddies?”

  “Yeah, but, I mean, the rest of them weren’t like this. They were very outspoken, in your face, they didn’t care if you knew they were coming, or where they were at all. They were big, tough, almost wanted a fight. This guy’s almost the complete opposite.”

  “Well, it says a couple things to me.”

  “Which are?”

  “One, he’s actually learned a lesson from our past encounters with them. He’s learned from their mistakes and is not repeating them.”

  “Yeah, I guess I could buy that.”

  “Or two, maybe he’s forced to act this way.”

  “Forced?”

  “The old Scorpions had eighty, ninety people in their heyday, if I’m not correct. They could afford to act a certain way. They had the numbers and strength to back it up. Perhaps Mr. Slater does not.”

  “So you’re thinking he’s operating with a ragtag crew and is piecing things together?”

  “It is a thought. And if that actually is the case, things have certainly gotten even worse for him in that regard. He lost several of his men at your hands at the apartment. He’s lost several more at Nate’s hands over his encounters. It could be he’s got no choice but to quiet things down, hope it blows over.”

  “Yeah, I could see that too.”

  “Or, I guess the third option could be a combination of the first two.”

  None of them were really options that Recker wanted to hear. He wanted them to be brash and show themselves. At least that meant it would head to a conclusion soon enough. But this way, if Slater dropped off the map altogether, it could be weeks or months before they found him again. Or if he went away for a while to recruit new members to replace the ones he’d just lost.

  Recker snapped his fingers, as if he’d just figured something out. “Maybe that’s what he’s doing there.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Recruiting new members. You said it. He’s hurting for men. He’s lost… how many now? Six, seven, eight? If he’s already operating with low numbers, he’s probably hurting pretty good for help.”

  Jones nodded, buying that explanation. “That would fit, but we haven’t heard any word to that effect. I would think word would have gotten out by now that he’s on a hiring spree, don’t you think?”

  “Maybe. Or maybe he’s not doing a wide search and throwing it out there for everyone to know. Maybe he’s being selective and narrowing in on certain people.”

  “We’ve got a lot of questions and theories. Not many answers, though.”

  “Maybe it’s time we get some.”

  “And how might we do that?”

  Recker shrugged. “What do you usually do when you go fishing?”

  “I don’t fish.”

  “Use some bait.”

  “I guess the next obvious question would be… what’s the bait?”

  “Not what,” Recker replied. “Who?”

  “I think Mia’s been used enough as bait, don’t you?”

  “Really? Of course I’m not talking about Mia. Me. I’m the bait.”

  “And just what exactly did you have in mind?”

  “I’ll start poking around that street, start talking to some people, ask some questions, eventually it’ll get back to Slater…”

  “And he’ll stay far away.”

  “What? No. I’ll make myself visible, I’ll make myself a target, and…”

  “And eventually you’ll be lying next to Chris in the hospital. No. It’s a terrible idea. And what do you think Mia would say to taking a risk like that?”

  “Nothing. Because I wouldn’t tell her.”

  “There’s nothing to tell. You’re not doing it.”

  “David.”

  “No. Especially not now. You’ve got no backup out there, no one to watch over you, too many things that can go wrong. No. We’ll find another way.”

  “Which is?”

  “I don’t know. But I’m still not convinced you being there would bring him out, anyway. If he’s shorthanded like we think, he may not think he’s got enough firepower to try and take you out. It may just make him recoil.”

  Recker wiped his eyes. “Yeah, maybe.”
>
  “And for all you know, he might have already passed your picture out to everyone on that street, asking them to shoot you on sight.”

  “I don’t think my picture is widely circulated.”

  Jones scoffed. “I beg to differ.”

  “Well, not that much.”

  Jones folded his arms, and turned his hand into a fist, then putting it on his chin as he thought. He thought he might have another solution. “I’ve got another idea. Similar to yours, but better.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  Just before Jones was able to say anything, Recker’s phone rang. He looked at it and saw it was Tyrell. He put his hand up to Jones.

  “Hold that thought. Maybe Ty’s got something.” Recker answered his phone. “Hey. What’s up?”

  “Hey, I think I might have it.”

  “What?”

  “What Slater’s been doing.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “I just got word from one of my sources that Slater’s been hitting the area hard in the last week, that street in particular.”

  “For what?”

  “He is recruiting big time. The word I got is that he’s got maybe eight or ten men left and that’s it. My guy said Slater is hot right now.”

  “In what way?”

  “In the way that he’s wanting to ramp things up in a hurry. And you can capitalize that. Hot as in yesterday.”

  “That kind of confirms what we were just kicking around,” Recker said. “We were thinking the same thing.”

  “Well now you got it from the horse’s mouth. Ain’t no doubt about it. It is happening.”

  “Hear anything about which places in particular he’s hitting and why?”

  “Place called Rico’s Trucking.”

  “Why? Some funny stuff going on there?”

  “Nah, nothing like that that I can tell. As far as I know, it’s a legit business. They do a lot of long haul trucking, got warehouse facilities, things like that. But I haven’t heard anything negative about the place.”

  “Then what’s Slater doing there?”

  “They’re very pro ex-con. From what I’ve been told, the owner did some time way back in the day for a few years, and he wants to give guys getting out of the joint a place to work.”

  “Seems admirable.”

  “Yeah. Now, that’s all well and good, and some of them guys are using it as a second chance and doing good with it. But we both know there’s a few that aren’t gonna make it. And those are the guys Slater’s targeting. The guys in between, or the ones who really don’t wanna do what it’s gonna take.”

  “How many of those can there really be?”

  “Uh, it’s a pretty big company, man. Have you taken a closer look at it?”

  “We did a little background on it.”

  “They’ve got a few hundred employees, over fifty trucks, people working in the warehouse, they’re not small.”

  “Yeah, but how many of those got a record?” Recker asked.

  “It’s more than you think. My guy told me they got at least a hundred ex-cons working there. Now, whether he was estimating or exaggerating the numbers a little, I don’t know. But that’s what he put the number at.”

  “So even if there are four or five who might be persuaded, that is still probably worthwhile for him.”

  “Anything that ramps his numbers up, he’s gonna do it.”

  “Has he successfully recruited from there before?”

  “I was told this was the first week he’s been there. He’s trying to lay the groundwork first, plant some seeds, and hope something develops.”

  “How close is he so far?”

  “Tough to say. My guy is close to the situation there, so he knows what’s going down, but doesn’t know how close Slater is to actually getting these guys.”

  “How about when Slater’s going back? Any specific day?”

  “Nah, don’t know about that either. If he’s going at it hard, though, you can bet that it’s probably gonna be soon. Once you start recruiting, you don’t give them that much time to think about it. The more time goes by, the more interest declines. So I would assume it’s gonna be within the next day or two, three tops.”

  “That’s probably a good bet.”

  “All right, man, that’s all I really got for you. I’ll keep digging if you want, see if I can find out anything extra.”

  “Yeah, you do that. Thanks.”

  “You got it. I’ll call you if I hear anything.”

  After Recker hung up, he slid his phone down on the desk. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back, thinking about what to do. He barely heard Jones clear his throat, hoping to get his friend’s attention.

  “Ahem.”

  Recker then glanced over at him. “Oh. Sorry.”

  “I assume Tyrell had something judging by your conversation?”

  “It’s like we figured. Slater’s doing a recruitment push at Rico’s Trucking.”

  Jones immediately went to one of their printouts. “Rico’s Trucking. We looked at them, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah, but there wasn’t anything that stood out.”

  “The owner was a former convict, if I recall.”

  “He was.”

  “Turned his life around as far as I can tell. Has he been hiding something?”

  Recker shook his head. “No, it’s not him. Apparently he hires a lot of ex-cons, trying to give them a second chance.”

  “Very admirable.”

  “Yeah. It also means not all of them will make it. If Slater can pick up a few, he can add to his team.”

  “Well, I guess we’ll just have to make sure we don’t allow him to do that then, won’t we?”

  Recker raised an eyebrow. “And how do you think we’re going to do that?”

  “Well, it’s like I was saying before Tyrell called. Now it’s better, though, because now we can target a specific place.”

  “Better in what way?”

  “I was going to suggest possibly sending someone else in there, much in the same way that you were going to do.”

  “Someone undercover, you mean.”

  “Yes.”

  “Who do we have that could do that?”

  “I was thinking of Nathan.”

  “That’s kind of outside the scope of his job responsibilities, isn’t it?”

  “Perhaps so. All we could do is ask him and see what he says.”

  “Yeah, but Slater knows him too now. Besides, I’m not sure we need to do that now, anyway. We know where Slater’s hitting. We just have to wait for him.”

  “But what if Slater himself doesn’t return? What if he just went the first time or two to lay the groundwork, then he sends one of his minions over to collect the rewards? We don’t know who those people are, so they could slip in and out right under our noses.”

  Recker sighed. The opportunity to find Slater was now. He didn’t want to take a chance on missing him. “We need to take advantage of this. We know where he or his men are going to be, probably sometime in the next couple of days. We can’t blow it.”

  “We won’t. We have several options on the table. Now it’s just a matter of choosing the best one.”

  “Yeah, but which one? That’s the question.”

  “Who says we have to pick just one?”

  “Well, actually, you just did.”

  “Forget that,” Jones said. “Why not put all of our cards on the table?”

  “Which cards are they?”

  “Let’s check in with Nate, let’s talk with Vincent, let’s put everything we have in play. Then, depending on what transpires, we pull the right card for it. And then we pounce.”

  Recker nodded, seemingly on board with the idea. “And then we pounce.”

  23

  Recker and Jones walked into the hotel room, seeing Mia and Thrower playing chess on the coffee table.

  “Who’s winning?” Recker asked.

  Mia gave him an angry glance. “Do you real
ly need to ask?”

  Recker grinned. “No, I guess not.”

  “I didn’t know you played chess,” Jones said.

  “I don’t,” Mia replied. “It’s playing me.”

  “Oh. Say no more.”

  Recker put his hand over his mouth, laughing to himself. He looked at Jones, then the both of them went over to the couch and sat down. They watched the game for another couple of minutes, until Thrower finally won.

  “I hate this game,” Mia said.

  Thrower smiled. “You just need a little more practice. You’re pretty good for a beginner. You just need to play more.”

  “That’s the nice way of saying I stink.”

  “You don’t stink. You’re actually not too bad.”

  Mia was about to respond, then looked at her boyfriend. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

  Recker looked like he was taken off guard by the question. He glanced at Jones and cleared his throat. “What do you mean? I live here.”

  “No, I mean right now. With him.” She pointed at Jones.

  “Uh… is he not allowed over?”

  Mia looked at the time. “It’s the middle of the day, and you’re both just sitting there. You guys don’t just do that. Not unless something’s up.”

  Thrower was putting the chess pieces away, not looking at any of them. “I’m pretty sure they’re here for me.”

  Mia snapped her head around toward him. “Why would they be here for you?”

  Thrower shrugged. “I dunno. Ask them.”

  “Why are you here for him?”

  Recker and Jones looked at each of them, not sure who was going to start. Finally, Recker did.

  “What makes you think we’re here for you?”

  “It’s like Mia said. It’s the middle of the day, you come in and sit down, not doing anything, it’s pretty obvious you got something on your mind.”

  Recker was impressed. “And do you know what that something is?”

  “I’ve got a guess.”

  “Let’s see how good you are.”

  “Well, I figure you’re either here to put Mia in a dangerous situation as bait to lure those guys out, which I have a feeling isn’t going through your mind at all. Or… you want my help with something.”