Enemy in Blue

by Derek Blass

  “No, I don't even know where it is. Roman won't tell me.”

  “That's smart,” Raul said. “Do you know what he plans on doing with it...if he has it?”

  “I don't, but let me tell you the rest of the story so you really understand how serious this is,” Carmen said.

  “It gets more serious than this?” Raul quipped with a slight smile until he saw the expression on both women's faces. “Perdon.”

  “Shortly after the incident, Roman and his partner, Alvin Williams, were coming back to Williams' home when they noticed that other police officers were already there. When they rushed into the home, they found two of the other officers who were at the murder attacking Alicia.”

  “They were questioning me to try to figure out where the video was,” Alicia added. Raul nodded.

  “It was more than just questioning,” Carmen chastised. “In the ensuing exchange, Alicia's husband killed one of the police officers but also died.” At this point tears had built up so much in Alicia's eyes that they began to pour out. Her shoulders heaved and Carmen reached over to hold her tight. Alicia cried into her shoulder. Raul got up and came back with several tissues.

  “At that point, Roman basically told us to pack up and get out of the country to be safe. I didn't tell him we were going to come here. He probably assumed it though.”

  “You said there were two policía at Ms. Alicia's house...what happened to the other?” Raul asked.

  “I don't know what happened to the other officer,” Carmen answered. “Do you?” she asked turning to Alicia.

  “I barely saw him run out—I was more concerned about Alvin.”

  “This other officer that got away, he may still be after Roman?”

  “Yes,” Carmen answered. “But, it's not just that officer. In fact, he isn't the greatest danger. There's another one that's a menace. I never trusted him, Raul. His name is Shaver. He's pretty much loathed in the community because despite leading a vicious attack on a young man about fifteen years ago, he was allowed to stay on the force. Shaver is the one Roman needs to watch out for.”

  Raul stood up, “Quieres algo de tomar?” he asked Carmen. She shook her head no. “You, Alicia, do you want something to drink?”

  “Yes, thank you. I'll take a water.” Alicia turned to Carmen. “We aren't just here to hide out, are we?”

  “No,” Carmen answered.

  “So, why are we here? We could have stayed at a hotel.”

  “First off, this place is the safest place for us. Second, we are going to need Raul.”

  “For what?”

  Carmen paused and tried to analyze Alicia's commitment to exposing this incident. She just wasn't ready, Carmen thought. Carmen, on the other hand, almost as if telepathically connected to Martinez, was ready to do what she could to expose the contents of the drive. Alicia was too entrenched in the regime to flip around one hundred and eighty degrees. Carmen decided to dodge the question instead.

  “Raul,” she called, “Why don't you come over here and tell Alicia the story of Che Guevara?”

  * * * *

  The phone rang like a siren and all of the men ran to the room where Martinez was waking up.

  “Hello?” he strained. After a pause he said, “Yes, there are others here.” Martinez set the phone down on the bed and turned the speaker phone on. A man on the other end of the line said, “Go ahead...introduce yourselves.”

  Enraged, Cruz blurted out, “We don't need to fucking know each other—just give Sandra back!”

  “Slow down, stallion,” the man said. “If you cooperate, this little beauty will be returned to you with, perhaps, a scratch or two. But I extend my invitation again, introduce yourselves.”

  The men hesitated and looked at Martinez, who nodded at them.

  “Cruz Marquez.”

  “Diego and Alfonso Archuleta.”

  “And Martinez, I certainly don't need you to introduce yourself.” The other men looked at Martinez.

  “You know this guy?” Diego pressed.

  “I do.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Allow me,” the man said. “I am the Chief of Police for your beloved little city. What I have for you is a very, very simple proposition. The video for the girl. If that transaction does not take place within six hours, your friend here will lose a digit for every fifteen minutes of delay. I have an...acquaintance...who will be more than happy to take Sandy apart, piece by precious piece.”

  “You fucking hurt her at all and I'll kill you!!” Cruz screamed.

  “Watch your tone, my brown friend,” the Chief admonished. “People have been hurt for less than disrespectful language. In any event, the last thing I want is Sandy in fifty pieces. The acquaintance, on the other hand...” the Chief mused. “The bottom line is for you all to use logic. I want the video, not your doll. She is meaningless to me otherwise. Comply, cooperate and she will be fine. Don't, and she will be the first in a long line of victims to your collective stubbornness, or stupidity, whichever would drive you to ignore my direction. Oh, and Martinez? Don't think we'll leave your precious wife out of this.”

  “I don't have a clue what you're talking about Chief.”

  “Sure you don't. I'll call you all back in exactly one hour, and as for Sandra...does she like to go by Sandra or Sandy, Mr. Marquez? It's a difficult enough situation without being called by the wrong name!”

  “Fuck you,” Cruz said.

  “Haven't really learned your lesson yet, huh? I'll see you soon enough. One hour gentlemen. Ciao!” The Chief hung up and Martinez's phone emitted an empty dial tone for a few seconds as they sat around in silence.

  “What the hell are we gonna do?” Cruz asked.

  “Give the video to the Chief in exchange for Sandra,” Diego said.

  “Ain't gonna happen,” Martinez said coolly. The other men looked at him in astonishment.

  “What do you mean ain't gonna happen?” Diego asked incredulously. “Listen, we have to get Sandra back.”

  “Doesn't mean that anyone is getting this video. I'm about to be very blunt with you guys—one more life lost to ensure this video gets publicized isn't a problem for me. I don't even know why you all got involved. But, you have and now it looks like you all may pay for that shit.” Martinez shifted his weight where he sat and grimaced.

  “Timeout, there's an easy solution,” Cruz began, “we make a copy.”

  “That's not gonna happen either Cruz. I'm not opening this safe for anything other than it's final recipient,” Martinez responded.

  “And who the fuck may that be?!” Cruz yelled.

  “You're pretty wound up...probably 'bout time to settle down,” Martinez said.

  “Sandra's being held captive and is about to get tortured! I don't know how anyone expects me to be calm right now!”

  “I understand what you're feeling Cruz, and you have to believe me, I'm angry too. My best friend was killed over this video. I narrowly escaped death over this video. Believe me, I understand.” Cruz looked at Martinez, judging his sincerity.

  “We can't let this happen to her Martinez,” Cruz pled.

  “Who said we're gonna let anything happen? I'm still a cop and it's not in me to let innocent people die. I know the Chief. His weakness is his ego. We've got to try to exploit that to get Sandra back. He wants the video for Sandra. I'm gonna give him a bullet instead of the video,” Martinez said. This made Cruz feel a little bit better.

  “I'm interested to know one thing,” Diego said. “What do you plan on doing with that video?”

  “Publicize it...make sure as many people are impacted by it as possible. How'm I gonna do that? Not sure yet. It's a good reason to get Sandra back though—she may be able to help.”

  * * * *

  Shaver wheeled over to an elevator at the end of the hall. Ending up in the doctor's office had been a coup because he had a full lap of medical supplies and the journal. He hit the button for the first floor. The old elevator groaned as it started
moving up. It reached the first floor with a thump and the rickety, metal doors slid open.

  The upstairs portion of the doctor's home was welcoming—a perfect front. Shaver rolled over to a phone and called for a cab.

  His mind raced with what his next step would be. The list in his hands could guarantee the Chief's demise. He knew he couldn't trust that bastard for shit. In fact, he was surprised one of the Chief's henchmen hadn't been around to kill him since he had failed to recover the video. That thing was more important now more than ever—to preserve his hide and to avoid spending the rest of his life in an eight- by-four-foot cell.

  Shaver wheeled around the doctor's home. He found a set of locked drawers in a cabinet in the master bedroom. Shaver pulled the set of keys out of his shirt pocket and tested the drawers. Finally, the right key slipped in and Shaver pulled a drawer open.

  “Nice, the doctor that keeps on giving,” Shaver said as he looked at a variety of handguns. He noted that one of them was his beloved Colt. The next drawer contained boxes of ammunition. “Too good to be true.” He heard a horn beep outside and quickly gathered his ever-growing bundle of supplies. As Shaver wheeled his way outside, he decided that his next step was to get that video back. Maybe the Chief would cut him some slack if he did that, especially with what Shaver had on him now.

  * * * *

  The Chief and Tyler knocked on the doctor's front door. They backed their car up to the garage door and were getting antsy the longer the doctor didn't answer. The Chief knew that sometimes the doctor holed-up downstairs, engrossed in his sick experiments, so he tested the door knob. It surprised him a bit that the door opened freely. Tyler pulled his gun out.

  “You stay here with the girl, I'm going inside to see what the hell's going on. I'll open the garage door too so we can get her inside,” the Chief said, drawing his own gun. The Chief raised his gun and moved into the doctor's home. He scanned left and right as he stepped through the threshold. Everything appeared to be in order, except for one thing. The elevator was open and on the first floor at the far side of the home. Doctor couldn't be downstairs then.

  The Chief moved from room to room until he got to the doctor's bedroom. This was the only sign of disorder. Two drawers were open. The top drawer was lined with red, crushed velvet and had indentations resembling handguns. The drawer underneath it had some boxes of ammunition. It didn't appear that anyone was around on this level.

  “What made you run out of here so fast, Doc?” the Chief wondered. He moved back through the kitchen, into the garage and hit a button to open it. Tyler backed the car in and got out.

  “Where's the doctor?” Tyler asked.

  “Hell if I know. I haven't gone down to the basement level yet.”

  “What? Well I'm sure he's down there.”

  “Don't be so sure. The elevator is up here on the main floor. Shaver is a crafty bastard. I don't like the feel of this.”

  “No way. Shaver just about died in that accident.”

  “Don't underestimate him or his will to stay alive and serve up some revenge. Get the girl inside, I'm going to the basement.” The Chief moved back into the house and stepped onto the elevator. He held his gun up at eye level. His body temperature started to rise. This was not his strong suit. Wreaking havoc from behind a desk was a much different way of getting his hands dirty. The elevator bounced to a stop and its doors opened, revealing a poorly lit corridor with doors on each side. All of the doors were open, including one that had an electronic keypad.

  “Doctor?” the Chief called. Beads of sweat were now gathered enough to roll down the Chief's face. He wiped them off with his forearm and pressed his back against the wall opposite the first room. As he slid in front of the room it became apparent no one was in there. Medical supplies were scattered on the floor though, and the preserved head of a woman sat on a desk in the middle of the room.

  The Chief performed the same maneuver as he checked the other rooms. When he slid in front of the last room he couldn't believe what he saw. The doctor was sprawled on the ground in a pool of his own blood. The side of his face swollen and deformed. A hanging stand for an IV bag was lying next to the doctor. He went to the room with the electronic keypad. This room had the most signs of rummaging. Papers and journals were strewn about on the floor. As the Chief sorted through journals, sweat began to collect even faster on his face.

  “Goddammit!!” he screamed and raced back towards the elevator. He got to the first floor and went straight to the kitchen.

  “What the hell's wrong?” Tyler called out.

  The Chief grabbed a glass and filled it with water. “The doctor's dead.”

  “Shaver?”

  “Gone.”

  “Holy shit. He should be fucking dead!”

  The Chief looked at Sandra who was half-in and half-out of consciousness. “I told you not to underestimate him. He's a tough son of a bitch.”

  “What now?”

  “Nothing changed, Tyler. We still need to get that video back.” The Chief's phone rang and Tyler watched him as he turned his back and spoke in a low voice.

  “Who was that?” Tyler asked after the Chief hung up.

  “Never mind who it was,” the Chief answered. “What matters is the message.”

  “Well, what was the message?”

  “Get ready for an attack.”

  * * * *

  Martinez held a black gun out to Cruz, “You ever handled one of these before?”

  “Can't say I have,” Cruz answered.

  “It's a Glock 22. You can't use a heavy finger on this puppy, so be mindful of that.”

  Cruz held the short, black gun in his hand.

  “Pretty lightweight,” he said.

  “It's a great gun. Easy to aim, most of us use them.”

  “What's that you got?” Cruz asked Martinez.

  “That's a SIG 226,” Diego chimed in.

  “You know guns?” Martinez asked.

  “Sure. You don't fight your whole life without knowing guns,” Diego answered. “I've got a few myself,” he said as he pulled open a safe, which happened to be a war chest. There were at least ten guns in the six foot high safe, ranging from rifles to shotguns to handguns.

  “Christ. Prepared for battle, huh Diego?”

  “Whatever it takes.” He handed two guns to Alfonso and took one for himself.

  “So—what's the plan with all this firepower?” Cruz asked Martinez.

  “Pretty basic. We ambush the Chief and his sidekick when we go to hand off the video.”

  “You don't think he'll be expecting that?”

  “Maybe, but one thing about the Chief is that he's a total pussy in direct combat. He's a master at all those psychological games. In person, I'm not worried about him.”

  “What about the other guy that's helping him out? The sidekick,” Cruz asked.

  “I don't know much about him. We've heard rumors before of the people the Chief uses, but it's such a wide network that it's hard to pin anyone down. He literally has people everywhere.”

  “Entrenched,” Alfonso grunted.

  “Yeah, you can say that,” Martinez answered. Cruz stood in the middle of the room as the other men packed gear and ammunition into a black duffel bag. “I'll be right back,” Martinez said while he walked out of the room.

  “Gonna hit the head,” Diego said, following Martinez. The room that Martinez went to was right next to the bathroom. He dialed his wife's phone number and connected after a few rings.

  “Carmen?” he asked in a hushed voice.

  “Roman! Why has it taken you so long to call me?!”

  “Some crazy stuff has been going on baby. This is the earliest I could call you.”

  “Are you okay?” she asked with some panic in her voice.

  “Yeah, baby—just a little banged up.”

  “What happened?? When are you coming down here?”

  “Did you go to your brother's in Mexico?” he asked.

  “You sure y
ou want to know exactly where I am?”

  “I guess that's a yes. Tell Raul I said hello...and thanks. How's Alicia?”

  “Oh, she's hanging in there. She has periodic bouts of crying, to be expected. How are you dealing?”

  “Haven't had much of a chance to think about anything. It's been tough not seeing you in awhile.”

  “I know, honey,” she answered.

  “Carmen, I need to tell you something then I gotta get going.”

  “Okay...” she said hesitantly.

  “It's...it's about to get ugly. I want you to know that I love you with all my heart.”

  “What?!” Carmen cried out. “Why the hell are you talking like this? I'm coming back up there right now. You aren't gonna pull any crazy shit on me and get killed, Roman!”

  “You aren't going anywhere,” Martinez answered calmly. “I need you to stay down there until this is over.” Carmen stayed silent on the other end of the phone. “I promise I'll be just fine, Carmen. I love you.”

  After a moment she responded, “I love you too, Roman. Please, please be safe.” He could hear the frustration in her voice.

  “Will do...bye,” Martinez said. He went back toward the living room and bumped into Diego coming out of the bathroom. Diego flashed him an odd look which Martinez wrote off quickly, too quickly.

  T W E N T Y-F I V E

  __________________________________________________

  Tyler and the Chief went around the doctor's house securing doors and windows. Their plan was to create a single, defensible point of entry into the home. Sandra had recovered a good amount of her energy and was spitting venomous comments at the men when they walked anywhere near her.

  “What the hell are you two cowards getting ready for?” she asked.

  “Put the gag back in her mouth Tyler, this is getting ridiculous. I'm about to kill her and that would be a mistake right now,” the Chief said. Tyler walked over to Sandra and pulled the cloth up that was hanging around her neck. He put the cloth in between her teeth and tightened the knot. She focused a piercing stare at him.

  Feeling generous, the Chief added, “To respond to your question, we are getting ready for your friend, or boyfriend or whatever he is, and Martinez to come storming in here and try to rescue you.” The Chief turned to Tyler, “You can call them now, by the way. Let them know where this place is and tell them to be here in exactly one hour.” Tyler went to another room in the house to get his phone. “You see,” the Chief started after concentrating on Sandra again, “a little bird has told me that your friend and Martinez don't intend to give the video up. It's such a shame because this really could be an expeditious transaction.” With that, the Chief spun around and took the elevator down to the basement.