A Perilous Pursuit

by Diane Gilmore

  Craig shrugged. “I can’t think of anyone.”

  “Who are they?” he repeated through the intercom.

  “Sir, I must have your name,” he heard her call distantly to the visitors.

  As soon as he heard the voice, Craig froze. He knew who it was without having to hear the name.

  “Just tell Monsieur Phillips that an old friend is here to see him,” came the response over the intercom. Pierre Montagne. Craig’s fears were confirmed.

  Bruce looked at Craig. “Do you know this guy?”

  Craig nodded mutely, a thousand questions suddenly swirling in his head. His solace at thinking he could simply walk out on a major drug pin and get away with it evaporated in an instant. How could he have been so naive to think he could hide from Robert Cabrera forever? How did Montagne find him, and what could he possibly want?

  Bruce’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Well, I can tell by the look on your face he’s not welcome. I’ll have him removed.”

  “No,” Craig said quickly. “I want to see him.”

  “Craig, you don’t have to see anyone you don’t want to,” Bruce reminded him.

  “Let him in,” Craig said. “And leave us alone for a minute, will you?”

  Bruce spoke into the intercom. “Send them in now.” He turned to Craig. “I’m not leaving until I find out what is going on.”

  Before Craig could protest, Pierre Montagne strolled into the room, flanked by two brawny men Craig had never seen before. One was a dark, beefy Latino, while the other was American, a big blond with muscles that strained against the pullover designer shirt he wore. Pierre closed the door and leaned against it, still holding the knob behind him with an air of superiority.

  He didn’t acknowledge Bruce, but directed his attention to Craig. “So, our worker has done well for himself, no?”

  “What are you doing here?” Craig demanded, getting down to business. “How did you find me?”

  Pierre gave a low chuckle. “We have our ways of getting what we want, or have you forgotten, mon ami? Besides, are we that much in a hurry to discuss my business with you today? Your success has made you forget your old friends.”

  “Just who the hell are you?” Bruce demanded, rising from behind his desk.

  “He’s a friend, just a friend,” Craig said quickly, attempting to calm Bruce. He didn’t bother to introduce them. “It’s all right, Bruce, really.”

  Bruce turned to Pierre. “Well, quit the small-talk and get to the point.”

  Pierre’s expression hardened at Bruce. He looked back to Craig. “Mon ami, we need to speak alone.”

  “No, you don’t,” Bruce snapped. “This is my office, and whatever you have to say can be said in front of me. Say your piece and get out. We don’t have time for any nonsense.”

  His insulting attitude toward the visitors was clearly deliberate. One of Pierre’s heavily built companions took a step toward Bruce.

  “Pierre, get him to back off,” Craig said quickly.

  Bruce reached for the telephone on his desk to call security, but the other burly stranger pulled a shiny 9-mm Colt from a leather shoulder holster as soon as Bruce picked up the receiver.

  Bruce froze, phone in hand. The stranger then pulled an ominous black silencer from his coat pocket and began slowly screwing it to the threaded barrel of the gun.

  “I wouldn’t call anyone,” Pierre said to Bruce. “Things could get messy for you on your way home from work.”

  Bruce put the phone down. “Put that thing away,” he said, his voice strained to maintain calm. “It’s dangerous.”

  “It’s only dangerous to you,” Pierre replied calmly.

  Pierre nodded to the stranger who put the weapon away. He swept his eyes over Bruce contemptuously for a moment before retreating.

  Bruce’s face paled. He raised his hands in front of him. “All right. Whatever Craig’s done, we’ll do what’s necessary to rectify the situation.”

  “I want to speak with Monsieur Phillips,” Pierre repeated. “Now leave us.”

  “Bruce, just leave us alone for a few minutes, all right?” Craig asked. “Nothing will happen, I promise.”

  “I would listen to him,” Pierre broke in. “We don’t take no for an answer very well, anyway.”

  “Go on, Bruce,” Craig urged. “Do as he says. Just leave us alone. I’ll be all right. We’ll be finished here in a few minutes.”

  Bruce looked Pierre over cautiously before walking out of the office.

  As soon as the door closed, Craig faced Pierre.

  “Just what in the bloody hell was that all about?” he demanded, his anger exploding. “Have you gone stark raving mad? What do you think you’re doing, coming in here in broad daylight with your people, causing trouble!”

  “Quiet, Phillips,” Pierre replied firmly. “I have my reasons for finding you. The Man wants to see you.”

  Craig quirked his eyebrow questioningly. “Cabrera? What does he want with me?”

  Pierre shrugged. “I have no idea.” Then his expression tightened. “Frankly, I would have seen you wasted after you left us without notice.”

  Craig gave an involuntary shudder. He knew that was exactly Cabrera’s remedy for getting even with those who pissed him off.

  “He wants you to come right away,” Pierre continued.

  “Where?”

  “Culiacan.”

  Craig looked at him curiously. “And where is that?”

  “Mexico.”

  “Cabrera’s in Mexico?”

  “Yes and he wants to see you, right away.”

  Craig laughed. “Was I that irreplaceable?”

  Pierre’s eyes turned to granite. “This isn’t a joking matter, Phillips. I don’t know exactly what his plans are, but I assure you, he is absolutely serious in his intentions.”

  Craig pushed himself away from the wall, but made no move toward Pierre.

  “First, I couldn’t go now without drawing attention even if I wanted to, and second, I have no interest in his line of work anymore. I moved on, I didn’t sell him out to anybody, and I have a new life and career now. I can’t help him.”

  “He won’t like your answer,” Pierre countered. He paused. “Would you like him to expose your past activities to the American press? They would have a field day with such information.”

  “Would they?” Craig countered, unintimidated at Pierre’s playing the ‘cop card.’ “And I suppose they would have an equally good time digging up the dirt on him as well. I think the American drug enforcement authorities would show some real interest in what I know about him.”

  “Revealing anything of the sort would not be a good move for you, Phillips,” Pierre warned.

  Craig shrugged. “Anyway, I can’t help him with whatever he’s up to. I’ve broken away from him, and I intend to keep it that way.”

  “Is that your final answer?”

  “It is.”

  “You are very bold, mon ami,” Pierre said as he walked slowly to the door. “In this business such boldness can be fatal.”

  “Don’t threaten me, Pierre. I did nothing to set him off and you know it. I don’t know what has changed in all these months, but I just can’t help him now.”

  Pierre shrugged. “You are a big man now. I only hope you know what you are doing.” He then opened the door, and the three men walked out.

  Craig leaned back against the wall, his pulse pounding in his ears. For all his bravado shown to Pierre, deep down he was terrified. Cabrera was now on his side of the world and had somehow tracked him down. What could possibly be going down that he would want Craig back in on the action? Maybe he should have listened more to what Pierre had to say before giving his answer so soon. What would be the consequences of turning Cabr
era down like he did? He almost didn’t want to know. The walls of Bruce’s office suddenly seem to close in on him like a trap. ‘A trap for a rat’, as Cabrera used to say. And he knew what the Organization did to rats. His stomach began to churn at the thought.

  A minute later Bruce returned. He sat down behind his desk and looked at Craig squarely, but Craig could see what he was quite shaken over what happened earlier.

  “Well, are you going to tell me just what the hell went on in here, or are you going to just leave it to my imagination before I get my head blown off by some thugs on the freeway tonight?” he asked, his anger rising.

  “It was nothing, really.”

  “Nothing?!” Bruce’s temper unleashed at full tilt. “Three thugs find their way into my company and barge into my own office, threatening to blow my balls off and you call that nothing? Level with me, Craig. What have you gotten yourself into?”

  “They were just people I knew back in England,” Craig stammered. “I was into gambling with a group of them and I owed them money, that’s all.”

  “And you’re telling me that these men came halfway across the world to collect on a gambling debt?” Bruce demanded. “Come on, Craig, I didn’t just step off a banana boat. I’m a lawyer, remember? I am very familiar with the types of people I just saw. What are you into? Drugs?”

  Craig didn’t answer him, but the look on his face confirmed Bruce’s suspicions.

  Bruce angrily slammed his fist on the desk. “I knew it!” He rose angrily from his chair to pace around the room.

  Craig’s temper began to rise. “I told you I can handle those people. You needn’t worry about your precious commodity being tampered with, Mr. Lawyer. Besides, this entire situation doesn’t concern you.”

  Bruce whirled around. “It concerns me when my daughter gets involved with a drug dealer who just happens to have some talent,” he retorted.

  “I am not a bloody drug dealer!” Craig responded.

  “What then? Courier? A mule?”

  Craig paused. “You could say that.”

  “You know, you could’ve let me know earlier about your past so I’d be better prepared for this,” Bruce growled. “Talk about bad timing!”

  “Well, I didn’t exactly invite them here for tea,” Craig snapped.

  “Fine, they showed up uninvited,” Bruce shot back. “That makes it all right? And what do you expect me to do about it? Just give my blessing to this riffraff traipsing around here that could take my company down, or worse, get us all killed? I got a taste of illegal activity in my law firm once a long time ago, and I almost got disbarred for my partner’s crimes. I’m not about to let it happen again!”

  “Oh keep your wig on,” Craig retorted. “That will not happen, I assure you!”

  “I can’t calm down when you put my daughter’s life in jeopardy!”

  They stared each other down for a long moment. Then Craig collapsed into a chair, spent. He ran his fingers through his hair while he cast his eyes downward. He slowly looked back at Bruce.

  “I’m not in that line of work, Bruce, at least not anymore,” he said quietly. “I left all that behind in England, or at least I thought I did. You’ve got to believe that.”

  Bruce sank into his chair. “I do, son,” he said. “Tell me what’s going on. I want to help you.”

  Craig then filled Bruce in, unburdening himself of the events of his drug connections from the beginning. Bruce listened silently, neither condoning nor condemning Craig’s involvement in the trafficking racket.

  “I’m sorry this part of my life had to re-surface,” Craig concluded his story wearily. “I never thought I’d see any of those people again.”

  “Boy were you naive, kid,” Bruce said, shaking his head. “Didn’t you ever think that your past could come back around to sting you again? You knew the kind of people you were working with.”

  “I figured when they realized I didn’t cause them any trouble after I left England, they’d just go on without me.”

  “Trouble like that doesn’t just go back into the swamp where they came from. So, what did they want?”

  “To do a job for them, I presume.”

  “What kind of job?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “When?”

  Craig shrugged. “Haven’t a clue.”

  “Okay,” Bruce paused, seeming to weigh what he’d just heard in his mind. “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  “Must be some kind of special delivery if this dealer sent his men all the way out here to find you to do it.”

  “I didn’t ask for details,” Craig replied. “Pierre told me he wanted to see me, and I told him I couldn’t do it. I just don’t want anything to do with them anymore.”

  “And they left, just like that?”

  “I can only hope they have.”

  Craig tried to sound convincing to alleviate Bruce’s concerns, but deep inside even he had trouble believing his own narrative. He knew in the drug business, there are no do-overs and no professional courtesies. Leaving Cabrera the way he did might turn out to be the biggest mistake of his life, and he now regretted how he handled the meeting with Pierre. His nerves began to rattle as he realized his stubbornness to be more diplomatic with Pierre might cost him in some way, even his life.

  Bruce fell silent, staring off, as if having a discussion with himself in his mind. After a minute, he came back to reality, shaking his head. “If these people are who you say they are, then they may not leave town,” he advised. “They came too far to let that happen.”

  Craig fought to keep his demeanor cool as panic began to grip him inside. “So what do we do, then?”

  “We’ll make sure you aren’t left alone for any period of time, at least while you think they’re still around,” Bruce suggested. “In fact, why don’t you stay up at my house? I have enough security around there to hold off an army.”

  Craig smiled. “Good idea. And thanks for everything.”

  Bruce put a friendly hand on Craig’s shoulder as they turned to leave.

  “Does Taylor know about this?” he asked.

  “She doesn’t know anything,” Craig said. “I’ve kept all of that a secret from her, and I intend to keep it that way.”

  “You care a great deal about my daughter, don’t you?”

  “More than anyone can know,” Craig replied, “and I’ll do anything to keep her respect. And yours.”

  “You already have,” Bruce said with a smile. “Come on, let’s go see my daughter. And with any luck, those hoodlums will get tired of the chase and leave town.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Craig, have you heard from Shaun lately?” Taylor asked a few days later as they dined at the Fairchild home with Bruce.

  “Shaun? No,” Craig said casually. “The only time he makes any effort to call me is when he’s in trouble!”

  “I’m serious,” Taylor persisted over their chuckles. “Remember last weekend when the band was here for dinner and Shaun left shortly after? He said he was going to drive by Susan’s to see if she wanted to go out with him to some of the clubs around town. I saw her today and she said she hasn’t seen him.”

  “Maybe he found something more interesting to occupy his time with, that’s all,” Craig replied. “He’ll turn up eventually.”

  “I just think it’s unusual that he wouldn’t show up or call her. You know he’s rather fond of Susan.”

  “That’s true,” Craig agreed, “but he could have gone somewhere else and then spent the night at Steve’s. He just got that new sports car of his. It would be just like him to spend the entire night cruising the motorways in it.”

  Taylor shook her head. “Maybe. But it’s not like him to drop out of sight like this. Besides, I called Steve this afternoon
, and he hasn’t seen Shaun, either.”

  Bruce put down his fork. “She may have a point there.”

  Did she have a point? Craig thought, as uneasiness began to creep in. Shaun wasn’t the stay-at-home type, always going places and in the middle of the action. It wasn’t unusual for him to go off on a tear somewhere and then resurface later, wondering why anyone would worry about him. No, Shaun was all right, he told himself. He was probably hanging out in a studio somewhere, practicing riffs and drinking with friends. Wasn’t he?

  “Don’t worry about Shaun,” Craig said, trying to sound convincing, even to himself. “He’s drawn to things like a moth to a flame, but he never disappears for long. He’ll turn up, I promise you. He’s probably out teasing the police cars.”

  “If you say so,” Taylor said hesitantly.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Craig offered. “If he doesn’t come around by tomorrow, then I’ll start worrying about him. Until then, don’t worry that beautiful head of yours about it, okay?”

  Taylor smiled as he squeezed her hand. “You know him best, I suppose.”

  “He’ll show up soon,” Craig said, “and when he does, I’ll kick his head in for making you worry.”

  “Then it will be my turn right after you!” Bruce quipped.

  They were having brandy by the pool when it came.

  Teresa came out to the terrace. “There is a call for you, Mr. Phillips.”

  “For me?” Craig asked. “Who is it?”

  “He would not say,” Teresa replied. “He said it was personal and you would know who it is.”

  Craig glanced quickly at Bruce.

  “Take it out here,” Taylor offered, gesturing toward the patio telephone.

  “No, I’ll go inside,” Craig said, getting up. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  Craig walked into the den, closing the door securely behind him. He picked up the phone.

  “Hello?”

  “Phillips,” came the raspy voice he dreaded.