by Mike Ryan
“Maybe. All we can do is ask.”
Recker immediately took out his phone and made a call, hoping to get through to Vincent, though nobody answered right away. About ten minutes later, though, his call was returned.
“Mike, what can I do for you already?” Vincent asked.
“Had an idea, wanted to run it past you.”
“OK, shoot.”
“What if, whenever you have your next meeting with these guys, you let me know so I can tail them, find out where they’re operating from.”
It didn’t take Vincent long to think about it. Jones had him pegged right. “As much as I’d like to say yes, I’m afraid I can’t. They know I wouldn’t be careless enough to have someone tailing them from one of my meetings unless I put them up to it or allowed it.”
“Yeah, David pretty much said the same thing.”
“David’s a smart man.”
“Yeah, well, I won’t tell him you said so. It was just a thought.”
“Well, if you have any other thoughts that are more workable, let me know.”
“I’ll do that.”
After Recker got off the phone, Jones could see that Vincent turned him down. Recker let out a sigh and had one of those faces he got when he wished things were going better for them.
“I guess it didn’t go as well as you hoped,” Jones said.
“Said the same thing you did.”
“Well, I won’t take any glee from being correct if that makes you feel any better.”
“It doesn’t.”
“We’ll find another way. We always do.”
Recker aimlessly looked around before another thought popped into his head. “What if we tail Vincent on our own, without his permission?”
Jones’ hands froze in midair as he was about to strike them down on the keyboard, shocked by the words that just came out of his friend’s mouth. He then turned to the side, almost like he was a robot, and stared at him.
Recker noticed the strange look. “What?”
“Did I really just hear what I think I heard?”
“What?”
“Did you really just suggest that we tail Vincent?”
“Yeah. So?”
“And may I ask how well you think he would react to that if he found out?”
Recker shrugged. “We’ll roll with it.”
“Be that as it may, you know that’s not as easy a task as it sounds.”
“I know. He’s got meeting places all over the city. He could choose any one of fifty places to meet with them.”
“And probably fifty more that we don’t even know about.”
“What if we ping his phone?” Recker asked.
“We’ve been over that before. He knows we can track people that way, or at least heavily suspects it. Do you really think he’s going to allow us to do that in this instance? I’m sure the phone he talks to you on isn’t the only one he has, and it isn’t always on. One of the issues with doing business with people you might eventually have to go against… they know your tricks.”
The pair kept looking at the time, doing a sort of countdown, waiting until it got to three o’clock. They kept hoping that they’d hear something ahead of time, but it never materialized. Now, it was almost like they were at a wake. They were just waiting to hear what the damage was. Right at three o’clock, Haley called in.
“You guys hear anything yet?” Haley asked.
“That would be a negative,” Jones answered.
“Whatever they were planning, maybe it got pushed back or canceled. Could be that’s why we didn’t hear anything else.”
“I suppose it’s possible.”
Recker was not as convinced. “I don’t think pushing back or cancelling are in these guy’s vocabulary. I’m pretty sure whatever they plan, they stick to it, no matter what.”
“Well if that’s the case, we should be hearing word pretty soon,” Jones said.
Recker looked at his computer screen, sad that they weren’t able to figure out their plans. “Hopefully, they kept the destruction to a minimum.”
6
Haley had long since returned from his outing and had taken a seat on the couch, just sitting there with his hands between his knees, waiting for word of some carnage that he wasn’t even sure was coming. It was just assumed. Recker was basically doing the same thing, though he was on the computer. He wasn’t doing much, though, basically just striking a couple keys every now and then just to pass the time.
Jones was the only one who was really avoiding the doldrums of believing they missed out on something. He was checking all his usual sources, newspapers, TV, radio, online blogs, websites, everything he could to determine what, if anything, went down at three o’clock. It’d been two hours now and they still hadn’t heard anything. That would soon change, though, as Jones suddenly sat up straighter and leaned forward, getting a better look at his screen. His change in demeanor wasn’t lost on his friends, who noticed him acting differently.
“What?” Recker asked. “You find something?”
Haley got up and walked over to Jones’ chair. “The Scorpions?”
“I don’t know,” Jones answered. “It could be.”
“Well what is it?” Recker said.
Jones read off the screen, though he wished he didn’t have to. His low-key voice, which had a tint of sadness in it, gave a clue to his partners as to what his message contained.
“Approximately two hours ago, a small mom-and-pop convenience store was robbed by what authorities believe to be three men. The husband and wife, Antonio Govindo, and his wife, Rosetta, both sixty-five, were killed in the robbery, though authorities believe they did not resist and were killed unnecessarily. Law enforcement officials say security cameras confirm that the store owners seemed to comply with the robbers, who were wearing masks and cannot be identified at this time. The robbers shot the husband and wife just before fleeing the store. The amount of money is yet to be confirmed, but unofficial sources say the till did not contain more than a hundred dollars. This is a developing story and we will keep you updated as we learn more.”
After finishing reading, Jones just leaned back in his chair and stared at the screen. Haley went back to his couch and sat down. Recker put his elbows on the desk and put his hands on his head. Though there was nothing else any of them could have done, they each felt a bit responsible for the incident. Two innocent people were killed because they weren’t able to find out where the robbery was going to take place. They knew something like this would happen. Innocent people being shot and killed for no reason other than The Scorpions to announce their presence or because they felt like it.
“A hundred dollars,” Recker blurted out. “They were killed over a hundred dollars.”
“I think the money was immaterial,” Jones somberly said. “They didn’t resist. Whether it was five dollars or a thousand dollars, the result would have been the same.”
“David’s right,” Haley said. “They just wanted to kill someone. I bet they didn’t even care about the money.”
“They’re announcing their arrival,” Recker said.
“They wore masks,” Jones replied. “Tough to announce your presence when nobody knows who you are.”
“We know. And that’s enough for me.”
“What are we gonna do?” Haley asked.
“We gotta find these scumbags and find them fast,” Recker answered. “‘Cause if we don’t, Mr. and Mrs. Govindo won’t be the only innocent people getting buried.”
“What about Tyrell? Maybe he can find out something.”
“Tyrell’s been resting since getting shot,” Jones said. “Let’s not push him back into the field before he’s ready.”
“It’s all hands on deck right now, David,” Recker said. “Chris is right. We need eyes and ears on the street and there’s nobody better at that than Tyrell. He’s gotta get back out there.”
“Very well.”
Recker immediately grabbed his phone and cal
led Tyrell. The last time they spoke was a week ago, and Tyrell had said something about going down the Jersey shore for a little vacation. Hopefully, he was back as Recker would have hated to spoil his plans. But this was an urgent situation. Tyrell picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, what’s up, buddy?”
“Hey,” Recker replied. “Hope I’m not interrupting your vacation or nothing.”
“Nah, just got back yesterday, actually.”
“Have a good time?”
“Pfft, man, I feel great,” Tyrell replied. “Almost feel like a new man. I can’t tell you the last time I was down the shore. Sand, ocean, good-looking women, the salty air, almost feels like I was never shot.”
“Glad to hear it. So, you’re back in town then?”
“Yeah, like I said, got back yesterday.”
“Good. I need you.”
“What?”
“I need you.”
“Awe, c’mon, man, I just got back.”
“Well, you said you feel great,” Recker said. “You feel like a new man.”
“That was a minute ago. You can’t even let me catch a breath or something?”
“You just had a week. Did I bother you?”
“Well, no.”
“See? So now you’re back and it’s time to get back to work.”
“Jeez, man, ever hear of working your way back in slowly?”
“Not really.”
“Somehow, in your case, that don’t really surprise me. You do everything full-throttle, don’t you?”
“I try.”
“I’m gonna need you and everyone you can round up,” Recker said.
Tyrell loudly sighed into the phone. “This ain’t gonna be an easy assignment, is it?”
“Not likely.”
Tyrell sighed again. “What is it with you, huh? You just love to find trouble, don’t you?”
“I look for trouble so it doesn’t find others.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know the spiel. So, what is it this time?”
“You know The Scorpions?”
“Can you hear yourself? Do I know The Scorpions? Man, I know everyone up and down the east coast. Of course I know The Scorpions. And I take it you know them now too. So, before you get started, let me give you some advice, they’re about as ruthless and evil of a group as you can go up against. So, if you’re thinking about doing something with them, turn that light bulb off in your head and just forget about it and stick to what’s going down in this city, OK?”
“Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“They’re already in the city,” Recker answered.
“Oh, man, are you for real?”
“As real as it gets.”
“Those jokers are here?”
“Rolled in some time in the past week as far as we can tell.”
“Does Vincent know about this?”
“He does. He’s working on some kind of truce for now.”
“I would seriously suggest you do the same.”
“Can’t.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause they just killed two people today.”
“Please tell me they were some lowlifes?”
“Two people in their sixties that were just operating their store,” Recker replied.
“This ain’t gonna be pretty.”
“Nothing in this business ever is.”
“I mean, these guys don’t play around, man.”
“Neither do I.”
“Last I heard, they got like sixty men with them.”
“We count over eighty.”
Tyrell made some noises into the phone like he was going to cry. “You’re really gonna do this to me, aren’t you?”
“If you know their reputation, you know why we gotta end this before they get too settled. They’ve already killed two people. You know there will be hundreds more if we don’t stop them.”
“You do know we are not an army, right?”
“Ever hear of an army of one?” Recker asked.
“Yeah, but as badass as you are, and Chris too, unless you two can start cloning yourselves, you’re seriously outnumbered. You won’t live long enough to finish this fight.”
“Let us worry about that.”
“Your only chance of getting rid of these guys is getting Vincent on board.”
“Well he’s not, right now. So, we gotta get it started ourselves. What’s the matter, you too afraid?”
“Hell, yes, I’m afraid. And if you had any sense in that head of yours, you would be too! This isn’t some local gang or upstart organization biting off more than they can chew. These are some badass mofos.”
Recker could hear the concern in his friend’s voice, but no matter what he was saying, he knew Tyrell wouldn’t turn him down. He didn’t want animals like The Scorpions in town any more than Recker did. Tyrell was just more hesitant in getting started. He just needed that extra push that Recker so often provided.
“So, when can you get started?” Recker asked.
“Did you just hear everything that I said?”
“I did.”
“Well then you heard me say that I don’t want nothing to do with those guys. I just got healed up from being shot. I really don’t want to make it a habit. And those guys won’t have any problem in doing that, you know.”
“I know.”
“So, there you have it.”
“So, can you start on it tomorrow?”
Tyrell let out a low-pitched grunt. “You’re impossible, you know that?”
“So, I’ve been told. C’mon, Tyrell, you really want these guys in a city that you live in, that your brother lives in, your mother…”
“What are you gonna do, run down my entire family?”
“If necessary.”
“Well, forget it, all right, just forget it.”
“Tomorrow?” Recker asked again.
“Yeah, yeah, tomorrow, just stop talking.”
“OK. I’ll call you in the morning with some details.”
“Yeah, yeah, can’t wait. Goodbye.”
Recker laughed as he put the phone down.
Jones looked at him as he waited for word. “Well?”
“He’s in,” Recker replied. “Told you he was fine.”
“Sounded like you needed to do a little convincing.”
“No more than usual.”
“So, what do we do now, sit around and wait?” Haley asked.
“You know that’s not usually my style.”
“What else can we do? Unless David picks up another job, or Tyrell reports back with something, but that could take a few days at least, so what other options are there?”
Recker sat, thinking. He could think of one. As usual, it probably wouldn’t go over well with Jones. But it was an option. As Recker sat there, silently deliberating, figuring things out in his own mind, Jones periodically looked over at him, and could tell he had something going on in that brain of his. Whatever it was, Jones was sure he wouldn’t like it. Recker always got a certain look about him when he was thinking of something that seemed a little farther, a little deeper, than Jones thought they should go. This looked like one of those times. After several minutes of silence, Jones couldn’t take the quiet sounds of just his fingers hitting the keyboard and knew Recker was thinking of something. He needed to know what it was.
Jones turned his chair to face Recker. “Will you just please spit it out?”
Recker snapped out of his stare. “What? Spit what out?”
“Whatever dangerous and mind-boggling plan you have going on in that head of yours?”
“What makes you think there is one?”
Jones gave him a stern look. “Really? I think I know you well enough by now to know that you’ve got something hatching up there.”
Recker grinned. “I hate being predictable.”
“So, what is it? Just say it and get it over with.”
“Why do you always assume it’s going to be bad?”
“Because it’s you,” Jones answered. “Whenever you come up with a plan, it is almost always not the safest way to go. On the contrary, it usually always involves us moving faster than we should and is probably the most dangerous thing we can do.”
“It is not.”
“Please, don’t even try to argue that one.”
“Well… OK, I guess you got me there.”
“So, what is it?”
“In order to speed things up…”
“See?” Jones said. “I told you. You’re always in favor of moving up the timeline.”
“I’m in favor of trying to make sure innocent people don’t get hurt or killed.”
“Continue.”
“Anyway, in order to get to them faster, what’s the best way to do it?”
“Try and meet them head on,” Haley replied.
“Right.”
“Please, don’t encourage him,” Jones said.
“Let’s set up a meeting with them,” Recker said. “Let’s lay all our cards on the table.”
“You want to do what?”
“Set up a meeting.”
“You actually want to meet with these people?” Jones asked, hardly believing it.
“Yeah, why not?”
“What makes you think you’ll be alive at the end of it?”
“Well, we’ll obviously have to take some precautions.”
“Like, by not going?”
“No, there would have to be some stipulations involved,” Recker said.
“I do believe you have finally flipped your lid.”
“Makes sense,” Haley said.
“Oh, no,” Jones said, putting his head down on the table, knowing he was about to be outvoted again. It happened often.
“Think about it. If Mike meets with this Billings guy, I can go along too. They wouldn’t be expecting me. I can either tail him, following the meeting, or I can put some tracking device on his car, and we can find out where he’s going.”
Recker pointed at his partner, liking the idea more and more. “Right. Let’s be proactive about it.”
“I see a whole host of problems with this,” Jones said.
“Like what?”
“Well, you’re saying to bring backup to follow him. What if they have the same thought and do the same to you?”
