American Criminal

by Shawn William Davis

  What if laundering money isn’t the only reason Devlin is associating with Salducci?

  Given their reputation, it was highly probable that the Strike Team’s relationship with the Mob was more complex than simply laundering money and selling drugs. Ray guessed they might also be acting as enforcers to eliminate competition. Maybe they were even using legitimate busts to take out Salducci’s competition. With them, anything was possible. They were willing to send one of their own away for up to twenty years when they thought he might turn them in.

  The twenty-something females stood from their seats and picked up their purses. One of them tossed a dollar on the bar-top as they walked away, giggling. Ray scooped up the dollar without thinking and placed it in the tip box.

  He couldn’t believe his old partner was here - at his place of work. Why was he meeting with Salducci? Why was Big Frank escorting him to the upper office? There must be more to the Strike Team’s relationship with the Mob than just laundering and holding their money.

  An hour went by and there was still no sign of Devlin returning from his meeting with Salducci. Ray made sure to use his peripheral vision to keep an eye on the doorway to the stairwell at all times. Alicia returned to the bar and asked him if he wanted to eat at the restaurant again for their break. Ray was distant and distracted. He had a hard time concentrating on a conversation with Alicia when his old partner was upstairs having a conversation with the Mob Boss.

  “Ray, are you okay?” Alicia asked. “You seemed a lot more relaxed yesterday.”

  “Sorry, Alicia, I have a lot on my mind today.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?”

  Burnside saw two figures emerge from the doorway to the stairwell. He turned away from Alicia to watch Devlin and Big Frank cut across the bar area toward the restaurant. Ray’s face went pale and he had a sickening feeling in his stomach as he watched his old partner walk away.

  “Ray, this is what I’m talking about,” Alicia said, nudging him, playfully. “You seem distracted like you’re not even here.”

  “I’m not, really,” Ray said, forcing a crooked smile. “My mind is miles away. Don’t worry – I can still do the job.”

  “I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about you.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Burnside said, forcing another smile. “Trust me, you don’t want to get involved with my problems.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. You’re an enigmatic guy; you’re like a mystery waiting to be solved,” Alicia said, smiling and touching his shoulder. “My Mother always told me I would get into trouble because of my fascination with ‘bad boys.’”

  “Well, I’m certainly that,” Ray said. “But you should listen to your mother.”

  At that moment, Ray was distracted by Big Frank moving toward him from across the bar area. Frank made eye contact with Ray and motioned for him to come out from behind the bar. Ray excused himself from the conversation with Alicia and met Frank by one of the tables.

  “The Boss needs to see you. Right now,” Frank said, pointing toward the doorway to the stairwell.

  “Sure, no problem,” Ray said, trying to calm his racing mind.

  Is it a coincidence Salducci wants to meet with me after meeting with my old cop partner?

  “Don’t make him wait,” Frank added, gruffly, as Ray appeared to hesitate.

  “Don’t worry, I won’t,” Burnside said, forcing a casual smile as he turned away from Frank and headed for the stairwell.

  Ray’s heart hammered in his chest and sweat developed on his palms as he climbed the stairwell. He felt his stomach drop as if he was ascending a roller coaster track. He entered the receptionist’s lobby and forced a smile for the bleach blonde at the desk.

  “How’s it going?” Ray asked.

  “Fine,” the receptionist said without making eye contact as she filed her nails. “Don’t make him wait. He’s in one of his moods.”

  Great. Just what I need; Salducci all riled up, Burnside thought.

  He passed the receptionist’s desk and approached the closed door to the inner office. He knocked twice.

  “Come in!” a gruff voice barked from inside.

  Ray entered and found Salducci pacing in front of the window as he gazed out at the dance floor.

  “Sit,” Salducci commanded without making eye contact.

  The Boss continued pacing as Ray sat down in the uncomfortable chair in front of the big executive desk and waited. Salducci muttered something unintelligible as he walked back and forth. His face appeared more pale and drawn than before. He reminded Ray of a desperate, starving, dangerous wolf. His shoulders were hunched and his head was thrust out in front of him as if he was stalking prey. Finally, Salducci turned, focused his glinting eyes on Ray, and stalked over to his chair. The Boss loomed above Ray like the silhouetted statue of a wolf-demon.

  “I need you to do a job for me tonight. Are you up for it?” Salducci asked, glaring down at Ray like a rabid dog.

  “Sure, whatever you need,” Ray said.

  “Good,” the Boss muttered and turned away abruptly.

  Salducci took long strides toward an unobtrusive brown closet door tucked away in the corner that Ray hadn’t noticed before. He entered a code in an adjacent security panel. The door clicked open and Salducci flicked on an interior light in a large closet. Ray couldn’t see what was contained within, but he knew it wasn’t clothing. Clothes didn’t gleam like metal.

  Salducci exited the closet with the handle of a black metal case clenched tightly in a white-knuckled hand. He slammed the door shut with his free hand. The mob boss approached Ray and dropped the metal briefcase at his feet. Without saying another word, Salducci returned to the executive chair behind his desk and collapsed into it.

  Ray watched him fumble in one of the drawers for what seemed like an awkward amount of time and then take out a pack of cigarettes with an expensive-looking gold lighter. Salducci lit the cigarette with a slightly trembling hand and didn’t offer one to Ray.

  Salducci closed his eyes as he inhaled the smoke like a drowning man inhaling his first breath of life-giving air. He sucked in the smoke, held it there for several seconds, and blew it out in a thin gray stream. His piercing gray eyes focused on Ray like the luminous eyes of a night predator.

  “I’m going to need a hundred percent from you tonight. This job is too important to fuck up.” Salducci paused and took another drag from his cigarette. Ray didn’t know if he expected him to respond or not. Instead, Salducci continued glaring at Ray like a wolf-pack leader sizing up its meal. “The problem is that we need a fucking cop whacked. Not only is he fucking with our operation, but he’s fucking with our connections in the police department. No matter how many of his Internal Affairs guys meet with unfortunate accidents, this fucking lieutenant won’t let up. He’s a god-damned ex-Marine who served in the first Gulf War and he doesn’t give up easily.” Salducci paused to take another drag from his cigarette. He spun around in his chair to face the window. Ray could only see a spot of slick black hair above the chair-back.

  He wants me to kill a cop? Burnside thought, trying to adjust to the news. He didn’t have a problem killing bad guys. But a cop? One of his former brothers?

  “It has to be done,” Salducci said as smoke drifted around the chair-back like a haze. “Try to do it as low-profile if possible, but I’m authorizing you to go all-out if necessary. This ex-Marine is a paranoid fuck. After we took out two of his Internal Affairs guys, he bought himself a fully armored Hummer from a contact in the military. The fucker even had bulletproof windows installed. We made the deaths of the Internal Affairs guys look like accidents – we ran them off the road. But with this guy, we need to do something that makes a statement. You have to take him out at his house with his family sleeping upstairs. Do you have a problem with that?”

  “Not at all,” Ray said after a brief hesitation. His pulse raced as his brain throbbed with panic.

  How the fuck am I going
to be able to kill a cop? And a real cop to boot – not a corrupt piece of shit like Jones.

  Salducci spun around in the chair and faced Burnside again. He snuffed out his smoldering cigarette butt in a gold ashtray on the desk as if he was squashing a small animal.

  “This fucking Marine, he doesn’t get it. We think he whacked one of our guys last night. The fucking balls on this guy! One of our cops gets his neck snapped in front of his own house. It was done with military precision. Who else but that sick Marine fuck could have done it?”

  Adrenaline pulsed through Ray’s system as he flashed back to Jones’s murder. He tried to remain calm.

  “No, he’s got to go. There’s no way around it,” Salducci said, standing from the chair and pacing over to the window. “It goes against protocol, but he’s killing our own now and it’s got to be done. I’m sending you out tonight with four of our best guys. They’ll tell you what to do. They don’t even know they’re being sent yet. I had to feel you out first – make sure you’re up for the job.” Salducci approached Burnside, loomed above him, and glared down.

  “Do you have a problem killing a cop?” Salducci asked, eyes gleaming.

  “Not at all,” Burnside said, maintaining a calm expression on the exterior while inside his mind crackled and flashed with intersecting bolts of panic lightning.

  “Okay, that’s all I need to know. The fucker is working the three-to-eleven shift tonight, so we do it tonight. We can’t knock him off the road because of that fucking Hummer, but we can get him at his house. You have to keep working in the Club for the rest of the night as if all we talked about here in this office was sports statistics. Don’t let on to anybody that I gave you an assignment. Take the briefcase and stash it in Alicia’s office. Finish out your shift with her and then start your next shift as a bouncer. Around ten-thirty my guys will come and get you. Don’t forget to bring the case. Sound good?”

  “Absolutely,” Burnside said, trying to steel himself with resolve.

  I have to do what I have to do to survive.

  “Go back to the bar and act like nothing’s happened. Got it?”

  “Got it.”

  “Then get the fuck out of here.”

  Chapter 57

  Breakdown

  Ray felt dizzy as he placed the briefcase in Alicia’s office and returned to the bar.

  “You look terrible,” Alicia said, upon noticing his pale complexion. “Was the meeting that bad?”

  “It wasn’t good,” Burnside said, absently, as he gazed across the bar area toward the busy restaurant. He became mesmerized by the customers talking and eating at the tables. If only he could be one of them: an ordinary person with the usual worries of a family and a mortgage. His eyes focused on a gleaming jewel necklace on an older woman’s neck, as if hypnotized by its brightness.

  “Ray, you look like you could use a break,” Alicia said, placing her hand gently on his shoulder.

  Ray stepped back as if startled by Alicia’s touch. He turned toward her, slowly as if coming out of a daze.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Ray asked.

  “I said, it looks like you could use a break. As soon as Karl gets here at four, we’ll take off.” She glanced at her watch. “That’s only fifteen minutes from now.”

  “Sounds good,” Burnside said, as he imagined Salducci pacing back and forth in his office like an impatient gray wolf.

  Ray served some customers and the other bartender, Karl, arrived a short time later.

  “Karl, we’re taking break,” Alicia said. “Do you have it covered?”

  “Sure, it looks like most of the action is in the restaurant,” Karl said. “As long as you’re back by five, I should be okay.”

  “Thanks, Karl,” Alicia said, taking Ray by the hand and leading him out from behind the bar.

  “Alicia, before we go, I need you to lock your office door,” Ray said. “There are important materials stored in the briefcase that Salducci gave to me.”

  “Sure, anything for you, Ray” Alicia said, beaming a smile at him as she closed the office door and locked it. “Now can we go?” she asked, playfully, taking him by the hand and leading him across the bar area.

  Ray tried to relax as he let himself be led away. Apparently, the bet had been placed and there was nothing to do now but let it ride. Alicia led him by the hand through the bar area, restaurant, front doors, and onto the street.

  “Hey, I thought we were going to eat in the restaurant?” Ray asked.

  “I have a better idea,” Alicia said, winking at him.

  Alicia continued to hold his hand as she led him toward the parking garage. She didn’t disengage her hand from his until they reached her car - a black 2010 Infiniti - on level 2.

  “Where are we going?” Ray asked.

  “My place. I’m going to grill us some steaks.”

  Burnside raised his eyebrows.

  Her place?

  Alicia pressed her remote, a beep sounded from the car, and she motioned for Ray to get in. He opened the passenger door and slid into the seat. Alicia opened the driver’s side door, got behind the wheel, and started the engine.

  “I only live five minutes away. I have a nice grill on my balcony that will cook steaks in twenty minutes. We should have plenty of time.”

  Burnside was still trying to adjust to the news that he was going to her apartment. He was too stunned to think clearly, so he just went with the flow. They descended the ramp and pulled onto the street.

  Alicia was right about the ride only being five minutes. At ten past four, they arrived in the parking lot outside Alicia’s condo. Alicia parked in her reserved space, exited the car, and circled around to Ray’s side. She gently took his hand again and led him to the front glass doors. She swiped a card key across a scanner and the door clicked open. As she led him into the building, Ray was still too stunned to speak. He followed her across the lobby to the elevator; she pressed the “up” button. The doors opened and they boarded. Alicia still held his hand. She glanced at him, slyly, as they ascended.

  “Relax, big guy,” she said, smiling. “You look like you’re being led to your execution rather than a steak dinner.”

  “Sorry, Alicia, I’m still trying to adapt to the unexpected detour to your apartment,” Ray said, flashing her - what he hoped - was a casual smile.

  “Don’t worry about the detour. I’ll take care of everything,” Alicia said, as the elevator stopped on the sixth floor.

  “All right, fair enough,” Ray said.

  When the doors opened, they left the elevator and Alicia led him down the hall to apartment 602. She keyed in and they entered a spacious living room with a champagne-colored carpet, black leather couches, and a large, flat-screen TV in the corner. A sliding glass door led outside to a balcony where Ray saw a grill with a black cover over it. A spacious dining area adjacent to the living room contained a gleaming mahogany table with a fan circulating air above it. An antique cabinet in the corner contained tiny gleaming crystal shapes on multiple tiers of glass. Ray focused his eyes on the crystals and realized they were tiny animals. Beyond the Dining Area was a small kitchen on the other side of a short marble countertop. A hallway next to the kitchen led to other rooms deeper in the apartment.

  “Nice place,” Ray said. “I like your crystal animals.”

  “You don’t miss a trick,” Alicia said, smiling. “I’ll go fire up the grill.”

  “Alicia slid one of the sliding glass doors open and stepped onto the balcony. She pulled the cover off the grill and opened the top. She adjusted a dial on the propane tank on the side and pressed a button, which caused flames to leap up. After making some adjustments, she returned to the living room and closed the sliding glass door.

  “Why don’t you have a seat and make yourself at home while I get the steaks ready,” Alicia said as she noticed Ray standing awkwardly in the no-man’s-land between the dining room and living room, studying the Classical paintings on the walls. Ray sat down
on the right side of the soft black leather couch and tried to relax.

  “What do you want to drink?” Alicia asked from the kitchen as she rummaged around in the refrigerator.

  “A water would be fine,” Ray said, feeling that his throat was as dry as sand.

  “We also have beer and wine,” Alicia said.

  “Sorry, I don’t drink on duty,” Ray said.

  “Oh, I see, a real company man,” Alicia quipped.

  Alicia entered the living room carrying a crystal glass with clear liquid in it and a plate with two large, defrosted steaks. Alicia flashed Ray a sultry smile as she handed the ice water to him.

  “Thank you,” he said, taking the water.

  Ray admired the contours of Alicia’s voluptuous body as she crossed the living room. The supple movements of her hips and ass were exquisite. She opened the slider, stepped onto the balcony, and placed the steaks on the grill with a pair of tongs. After, she shut the grill cover and returned to the living room. Retrieving a glass of wine from the kitchen, Alicia returned to the leather couch. Ray was slightly disconcerted as she sat down so close to him that her left leg was touching his right. He was trying to adapt to the situation, which seemed to be improving by the moment.

  “To new friends,” Alicia said, raising her wine glass in a toast.

  Ray smiled as he clinked his glass of ice water against her glass.

  “Are you sure you want to be friends with a gangster?” he asked.

  “I thought you weren’t a typical gangster,” Alicia said.

  “I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t at least warn you that I’m bad news.”

  “I told you, Ray. I like bad boys. Besides, I sense something different about you. My intuition tells me you’re not really a bad person.”