Bad Cop

by Linda Verji

  “Are you crazy?” Shane’s irate voice thundered through the line. “You can’t do this. Turn your car around right now. This isn’t the way to help Jasmine.”

  Lucas ignored the admonishment and asked, “Did you trace the number or find anything in the video?”

  “No, the number was a burner and forensics are still working on the video,” Shane retorted shortly. He added, “Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t!”

  Lucas asked, “Are you tracking me?”

  “What do you think?” Shane retorted. “Of course I am. And I know that you’re at Walcott’s club right now. Get out of there. Don’t do anything stupid.”

  Lucas asked, “Are you close by?”

  “Why do you ask?” his partner retorted. “So you can make sure I don’t stop you?”

  “No,” Lucas answered but didn’t explain. “I need you to stay outside the gates. Don’t follow me in. Once you and I stop talking don’t hang up. I won’t hang up either. Don’t speak. Don’t cough. Don’t even breathe.”

  “What?” Shane sounded confused. “Why?”

  Lucas ignored his questions and asked, “Do you have any uniforms with you?”

  “Yale and Martin are with me so don’t even think of doing something stupid.”

  “Send Yale and Martin in instead while you’re outside,” Lucas ordered.

  “Gallo, what are you planning here?” Shane sounded confused. “And why should I send Yale and Martin ahead?”

  “Because they’ll need to arrest me.”

  “What?” Shane’s swift intake of breath echoed over the line. “Why?”

  “I’m about to kill a man.”

  “What the hell?” Panic strummed in Shane’s voice. “Gallo! Lucas! You can’t. St-”

  “Shane! Shut up,” Lucas ordered sharply, “and just do what I said. Trust me.”

  Surprisingly, Shane shut up. Lucas thrust the still connected phone into his pocket. He stepped out of the car and slammed his door closed. The slam of the door was enough to draw Michael and his companions’ eyes to Lucas. Michael and Jonas’s eyes immediately widened and they took a step back. The driver seemed to sense his boss’s fear because he turned quickly to face Lucas.

  When Lucas started to stride towards them, the driver moved to meet him.

  “Hey,” the driver started when he was within talking-distance. “Who are you? You can’t be here.”

  “Get out of my way,” Lucas growled.

  “Hey-” The driver’s arms rose as if he was preparing to bodily block Lucas from moving closer. “Get out of here or-”

  The man never got to finish his sentence.

  Lucas cocked his elbow and slammed his fist into the driver’s jaw with a satisfying crunch. The driver groaned and tried to punch Lucas too. Lucas easily ducked the punch then kicked out, catching the man in his stomach. The driver staggered backwards then fell knees-first to the ground. Lucas finished him off with a kick to the side of his body that sent him spilling on his side.

  Lucas wanted to keep kicking the man if only to ease some of the rage and fear bubbling dangerously beneath his hard expression. However, he still had three more people to deal with. He turned cold eyes to Michael, Jonas and August.

  The moment Michael saw that his man was down, he started walking backward slowly. Jonas was smarter and faster; he turned tail and ran straight back into the club, leaving his father behind. August was braver. His eyes cold and unreadable behind his glasses, he started towards Lucas.

  August threw the first punch. Lucas easily evaded it. However, when Lucas tried to punch August, the man caught his arm and dragged him forward. If it wasn’t for Lucas’s quick instincts, August’s next punch would’ve caught him dead in the face. Lucas ducked then drove his fist straight into August’s stomach. It was like the man didn’t feel the punch. His expression didn’t change, and he didn’t even stagger.

  August lack of expression was disconcerting enough that Lucas lost focus for a second. That second was enough time for August to kick him in the leg. With a groan, Lucas fell to the ground. Fortunately, his military training kicked in and he tripped August bringing him down too.

  Now the two men were on the ground, punching and grappling for dominance. It was obvious that August had some martial arts training judging by his expert punches and the way he targeted Lucas’s pressure points. But Lucas had just as much training and had more reason to win this fight. Somehow, he ended up on top of August, punching him. One precise strike to the neck and August was out cold. He lay unconscious on the tarmac.

  Lucas stood and turned to Michael.

  Michael must’ve been expecting August to take Lucas down because he still hadn’t run yet. However, once he saw that August was no longer a barrier to Lucas, he turned as if to go back into the club.

  “Stop,” Lucas called out coldly.

  The man kept walking.

  Lucas pulled out his gun. “Stop or I’ll shoot.”

  Michael immediately stopped moving. When he snuck a look backwards and found that Lucas was indeed pointing a gun at him, he winced. “Fuck!”

  Lucas moved closer to the man, his gun still pointed at him and his expression stony.

  “Fine. Fine. Fine.” Michael lifted both his hands and turned with a sigh. “Okay. Okay. Okay.”

  Instead of walking right up to Michael, Lucas stopped beside Michael’s car, “Where’s Jasmine?”

  “Who?” Michael tried to act like he didn’t know who Lucas was talking about.

  “Where’s Jasmine?” Lucas repeated. His gun still pointed at Michael, he peered into the car as if to search for her. While in there, he slipped his hand into his pocket, took out his phone and quickly slid it in the small space between the seat and the body of the car. He came out. “Where’s Jasmine?”

  Michael had taken advantage of Lucas checking the car to take a few steps closer as if to attack Lucas. Unfortunately for him, he moved too slowly. When Lucas raised his gun again, its muzzle was just an arm’s length away from the man’s forehead.

  Fear flashed in Michael’s eyes and he swallowed hard. “Okay, I get it. Relax, relax. Calm down. I’ll answer any questions you want.”

  Lucas could hear the sirens coming towards them but he kept his eyes on his enemy. “Where is Jasmine?”

  “Jasmine who?” Michael tried to hedge. But when Lucas’s eyes narrowed dangerously, he took a startled step back and chuckled nervously. “Oh, are you talking about that Jasmine? The one who came with you to talk to me the first time we met?”

  The sirens were getting louder.

  “Now that you remember her,” Lucas asked, “where is she?”

  Michael shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  Lucas cocked his gun.

  Fresh fear flashed in Michael’s eyes. “I swear I don’t know.”

  Lucas pulled the trigger.

  CHAPTER 26

  The sound of a gunshot ringing filled the air. But Michael’s yell was even louder.

  “Jesus!” Michael jumped backwards. “Fuck.”

  Lucky for him, Lucas had only shot at his feet and not at his head like he wanted.

  “The first one’s a warning.” Lucas met the man’s eyes coldly. “I won’t miss the second time. Where is she?”

  Fortunately for Michael, he didn’t have to endure any more questions or gunshots because right then the police cars sped in. The next few minutes flew by in a blur. One moment Lucas was pointing his gun at Michael Walcott and the next, Yale and Martin were rushing out of their cars, pointing their guns at him and demanding that he put down his. Lucas didn’t make a fuss. After all, he’d already done what he needed today.

  He silently allowed his colleagues to take his gun then cuff him.

  “How can a police officer pull a gun on a civilian?” Michael complained loudly. His face was red with anger and his jowls shook as he pronounced, “Is this what we’re paying you taxes for?”

  “I’m so sorry, sir,” Officer Martin apologized as Y
ale led the cuffed Lucas to the squad car. “Gallo was just a little out of his mind. This won’t happen again.”

  “I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.” Michael swore, “I’ll sue you all. I’ll make sure he rots in jail.”

  “I’m so sorry. So so sorry,” Martin apologized repeatedly, but his voice faded once Lucas was in the car.

  Lucas had been handcuffed once before and even after all these years it still felt uncomfortable as hell. He winced and shrugged his shoulders to ease the discomfort caused by the unfamiliar position of having his hands behind his back.

  “Don’t worry.” Yale, who was seated in the front, turned to watch Lucas through the grill. “I’ll take them off once we’re out here.”

  “Is Shane waiting outside?” Lucas asked.

  “Yeah.” Yale nodded. “He told us that you were running some kind of operation and we were supposed to pretend to arrest you.”

  Good man! Lucas smiled. Trust his partner to have his back even when he didn’t quite know what was going on.

  Martin offered Michael a few more empty apologies before he also got into the car. Soon they were zooming past the gates. It barely took them five minutes to get to Shane. His car was parked by the road and he was leaning back against the automobile, obviously waiting for them. When he saw the police car, Shane immediately straightened to his full height. Once Yale brought the squad car to a stop, Shane opened the back door and gestured for Lucas to get out.

  The partners didn’t speak until the uniforms uncuffed Lucas, got back into their cars and left.

  “What was all that about?” Shane asked once they were alone. “Do you know how you scared me? I thought for sure you’d murder Walcott.”

  “That wouldn’t get me Jasmine’s location.” Lucas met his partner’s eyes. “Where’s your phone? You didn’t hang up, did you?”

  “Of course not,” Shane assured him. “The phone’s in the car where there’s no sound.”

  “Good man.” Lucas patted the back of his partner’s head.

  “Why did you want to-” Shane stopped speaking when Lucas shushed him.

  Careful not to make any unnecessary noise, Lucas opened the passenger side door and got into the car. He immediately spotted Shane’s phone. It was on the driver’s seat, still running. Lucas picked it then waited for Shane to get into the car and close his door before putting it on speaker.

  “I’m going to kill him.” Michael’s voice immediately came blasting in. He sounded even angrier than before. “How dare he touch me? Does he know who I am? I’m going to kill him. Go right now and kill him.”

  “We can’t, sir.” August, who it seemed had woken from his ‘nap’, added, “Not yet.”

  “Why not?” Michael harangued.

  “Dad, haven’t there been enough killings?” Jonas piped in.

  “Shut up and play your video games,” Michael immediately shut him down. The older man’s question was obviously directed to August as he asked, “You’ve still got more of those pills you used on Teddy, right? Use them on that fucking cop. Make it look like a suicide.”

  “The police are already suspicious of us,” August said in an oddly soothing voice. “If we do it now, they’ll keep harassing us. We can arrange it later. Maybe get someone to shoot him and make it look like a robbery gone wrong.”

  “We can do that?” Michael sounded impressed.

  “Yes,” August assured him. “But not now.”

  Lucas should’ve been shocked that he was listening to two people discussing his murder, but he wasn’t. He was more interested in what they had to say about Jasmine. And he wasn’t disappointed.

  “What about his whore?” Michael asked. “Are you sure she’s in a safe place?”

  “Very safe,” August assured the older man. “They won’t find her.”

  “Did you really have to kidnap her?” Jonas whined.

  “This is how the world works,” Michael said. “You’ll understand when you grow up.”

  Wasn’t the kid twenty-four or something? Lucas and Shane traded disbelieving looks.

  “I don’t trust those two mugs you have watching her,” Michael said, obviously for August’s benefits. “You’ll have to go there and check on her yourself.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Go now,” Walcott ordered. “Get out.”

  “Yes sir,” August said. A moment later, the two detectives heard the sound of a door being opened then closed.

  “Dad, I need my own car,” Jonas said. “I don’t like driving around with you and August. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Well-” Walcott started.

  Lucas didn’t wait to hear the rest of what Michael had to say. They’d gotten the information they needed anyway. He hung up.

  Lucas turned to his partner. “Tell me you have someone on August.”

  “I have someone on August.” Shane snatched his phone from Lucas and dialed a number. “Yo, you’re still watching August Wells, right.” He paused to hear the person on the other end of the line then nodded. “Okay. Stay on him.”

  “Is he moving?” Lucas asked once his partner got off the phone.

  “He’s moving.” Shane started the car. “Let’s go.”

  * * *

  THE SOUND OF two men arguing woke Jasmine up.

  At first she didn’t know what was going on. Why was there a strange cottony taste in her mouth? Why was her head throbbing as if a marching band was practicing in it? Why was she lying on her side? How come the pungent smell of urine seemed to eclipse every breath she took? Why couldn’t she stretch her arms or her legs?

  Her eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes only to find herself facing a dirty wall. Frowning, she tried to turn only to discover both her hands and legs seemed stuck together.

  What the hell? She peered down and her breath immediately caught. Why were her wrists bound together? What had happened to her? The last thing she remembered was being in the bathroom then….

  The memories came rushing in. The salon, the ladies’ room, the man dressed like a woman… She’d been kidnapped.

  Oh my God. A fist immediately tightened around her lungs, squeezing all the air out as the realization struck her. She’d been kidnapped. She’s really been kidnapped.

  Twenty-nine years without so much as being pick-pocketed, yet within the last month she’d been threatened, attacked in an alley, nearly raped… now kidnapped? What next? Was she going to be sold as a slave? Or would it be death this time? Oh, Jesus. The thought was enough to send fear trickling down her spine.

  “Just give me an hour with her.” A man’s voice cut into Jasmine’s thoughts. It sounded like the man was close by but not in the same room as Jasmine.

  “No,” another man responded firmly.

  It took a bit of maneuvering and wriggling around but Jasmine managed to turn only to find herself staring at a door. Still, the walls and the door were thin enough that she could hear the men on the other side.

  “Forty-five minutes then,” the first man said. A pause then he added, “Forty then. Only forty.”

  “No,” Man Two said. “Do you want August to kill us?”

  Jasmine’s eyes widened at the mention of August Wells. Wasn’t he Michael Walcott’s secretary? Was he the one who’d ordered her kidnapping? Seemed so, and no doubt it was under Michael’s orders. That despicable old bastard.

  Jasmine wasn’t even surprised that Michael was involved in all this. This was just the kind of thing a monster like him would do. Still, the thought that he was behind all this was enough to send fresh fear through her.

  “He won’t kill us,” Man One scoffed. “Why would he kill us?”

  “Why would he kill us? Are you even thinking straight?” Man Two sounded shocked. “Don’t you know how he is? He doesn’t like it when people don’t follow his orders.”

  “See that’s the thing,” Man One said. “You weren’t listening to his orders like I was.”

  Whatever orders those were Jasmine knew that they c
ouldn’t be good for her. She needed to get out of here. She looked down at her hands and breathed a sigh of relief. The zip-tie looked like the one Lucas had taught her to get out of.

  “His orders were to keep her alive,” Man One continued. “He didn’t say we couldn’t touch her a little.”

  Man Two tried, “Yeah but-”

  “Thirty minutes then,” Man One coaxed. “I just want a little short. Liz broke up with me and I’m on a drought, man. Hungry as fuck. Twenty five minutes with the bitch then. Maybe even twenty will be enough.”

  Jasmine didn’t need to be a genius to figure out what drought the man was talking about or what he needed twenty minutes for. She needed to get out of here. She turned until she was lying on her back, formed her hands into a fist with her knuckled pressed together then raised her bound hands above her head. Sharply, she brought her hands down, making sure to pull her elbows apart as she did so. The zip-tie’s lock broke.

  Her hands were free.

  “Twenty minutes cool?” Man One said.

  Man Two didn’t reply. It was enough to chill Jasmine because that meant he was thinking about it.

  She tried to break the zip-tie binding her ankles together in the same way as she’d done with her hands but it didn’t work. She should’ve asked Lucas to teach her that too. Still, she would hop out of here if that’s what it took to save herself. She trained her gaze on the door. Obviously, she couldn’t escape through it. Her kidnappers were on the other side and it would be like running straight into the fire.

  Her gaze swept around the room and she wriggled around some more until she could see the window right above her. Could that work? No. Even from her seated position, she could see that window was barred. The only way she was using it was if she could slice herself.

  Damn it!

  “Okay.” Man Two’s voice echoed from the other side of the door. “But fifteen minutes only and you can’t leave any marks.”

  Oh God! Jasmine didn’t know how to react. So she did the first thing that came to mind. She lay back on her side facing the wall, hid her hands between her knees so they wouldn’t know that she’d broken out then closed her eyes and started praying.