High Velocity

by Mike Ryan

  “So, you’re the new guy, huh?” Malloy asked with a smile.

  “So they tell me,” Haley replied.

  “At least we met with a bang.”

  Recker thought about leaving the two without much ammunition, then looked over at the dead men. He rushed over to them and pilfered their guns, as well as any ammunition he could find. He brought the weapons over to Haley, setting them down in front of him.

  “It’s not a lot but you’re better off than you were,” Recker said.

  “It’ll do.”

  Recker then looked at Malloy, who was in quite a bit of discomfort. “When were you supposed to check in with Vincent?”

  “No set time. It’ll probably be another hour before he starts getting fidgety if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “Well, I’m gonna have to try to get a hold of him anyway. I don’t know how far they’re jamming the signal for.”

  “Might not be that far,” Haley said. “They jam it too far away from this building, where other people are having problems, it might lead to complaints and someone looking into it. Probably something they don’t want.”

  “Could be.”

  “If someone heard the shots, police might be on the way too.”

  “I kind of doubt it,” Recker replied. “I think you’d be hearing sirens by now if they were. This isn’t a residential neighborhood. It’s late at night, business area that’s mostly deserted, I don’t think there’s many people around to report it. Probably why they picked this spot.”

  “You should probably get going.”

  “Sure you’ll be all right?”

  “As sure as I can be.”

  “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Haley was positioned so he had a good angle to see the door, so he could see whoever was coming in. As he watched Recker leave, he hoped he wasn’t seeing him for the last time.

  “You know, if he gets shot or doesn’t make it out of this building, we’re as good as dead,” Malloy said.

  “Figured that was the case anyway.”

  “So, how’d you get dragged into this thing, anyway?”

  “I don’t see how that’s really a concern right now considering our predicament,” Haley said.

  “What difference does it make? You guys were former CIA, weren’t you?”

  “Even if we were I couldn’t confirm it.”

  “I always had a feeling that was it. Either that or you were former military. Or even both.”

  “Hate to disappoint you, but we’re not gonna sit here discussing my past.”

  “As mysterious as your friend,” Malloy said with a cough.

  “Just the way it is.”

  “So, did you know Recker from your previous life or did you get recruited blind?”

  Haley kept his eyes and guns focused on the door, ready for another round of action. “Already told you, I’m not gonna talk about it.”

  Recker slowed down as he got to each level, almost expecting someone to jump out at him as he passed the door to each floor. As he passed a couple of floors, he worried about getting trapped. He envisioned a scenario where he passed a floor, only to have someone come out behind him, while at the same time, someone else jumping out from a floor he’d yet gotten to. That way they’d corner him in the stairway. He hurriedly ran down the steps hoping to avoid further conflict, even though he figured that was unlikely to happen. As soon as he passed the sixth floor level, the door swung open, revealing a figure in the doorway. Recker jumped back, startled, and immediately began firing. The man getting shot at instantly dropped to the ground, the bullets flying over his head as he covered up. Recker took a few more steps toward the man, a little puzzled he wasn’t being shot at himself. When the bullets stopped coming at him, the man uncovered his head and looked at Recker.

  “What the hell, man?” Tyrell asked. “You always shoot at your friends?”

  A look of relief and horror came over Recker’s face at the same time. He was relieved it wasn’t an unfriendly person trying to kill him, but he was upset he almost killed his friend. He was a little quick on the trigger expecting someone else. Recker rushed over to him and helped him to his feet.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Recker asked.

  “Well I thought I’d come over and give you a hand. Had I known you’d almost kill me I would’ve stayed snug in my bed.”

  Recker tapped him on the arm. “Sorry about that. I assumed you were someone else.”

  “Obviously,” Tyrell replied, brushing himself off. “Who’d you think I was?”

  “Well there’s six dead bodies up on the tenth floor that tried to ambush us. I kind of assumed you were one of them.”

  “Well I’m not.”

  “So I see.”

  “Where’s your partner? Leave him behind?”

  “Kind of. He’s still up there. Took a couple in the leg and had trouble walking,” Recker answered. “Malloy’s up there too. Took one in the stomach. He’s bad and needs help soon or he won’t make it.”

  “Man, that’s rough. I had a feeling something wasn’t right here. That’s why I came over. The more I thought about it, it just didn’t seem right to me. Thought I’d come here and give you a hand if you needed it.”

  “I could use all the help I can get right now. How’d you get in here? Anyone else downstairs?”

  “Nah, man, I just came through a back window and started looking around.”

  “And you didn’t see anyone else?”

  “Only some mice.”

  “So that means there isn’t anyone else or they let you come up so as not to tip me off.”

  With Tyrell now there, Recker hesitated for a minute before pushing on. Now there was two of them, he wondered if they should go back up and get the others. One could help Haley while the other helped Malloy. At least now he knew there was nobody else between the sixth and tenth floors. He knew he could get them at least that far without any further battles.

  “If we go back and get them, Malloy might not make it if we’re not careful,” Recker said.

  “Last I checked the elevator ain’t working,” Tyrell replied. “Even if Vincent’s men come, it’s gonna be a while and they’re gonna have to carry him down these same stairs anyway.”

  “But at least they could try to get him out on a stretcher to minimize the damage.”

  “Six of one, half dozen of the other. When you get Vincent here, who’s to say he won’t bleed out? Which means all your planning goes to waste anyway. And who knows, maybe we get out of here safely and they storm the building and take out Haley. Just my opinion, man, but I think you’re taking a greater chance leaving them up there. But like I said, just my opinion. I’ll go with whatever you decide.”

  Recker thought about it a few more seconds and wound up coming to the same conclusion. He couldn’t escape the nagging feeling something bad was going to happen to his partner and Vincent’s right-hand man if he left the building with the two of them up on the tenth floor by themselves. Now with Tyrell there, he didn’t have to leave one of them behind.

  “Let’s go get them,” Recker said.

  They rushed back up the steps until they came to the tenth floor. Recker slowly opened the door, knowing Haley was going to have a gun pointed at him.

  “Chris, it’s me,” Recker said, hoping to avoid having to duck a bullet.

  “Come on in.”

  Recker and Tyrell walked through the door, stepping over the dead bodies. Haley immediately noticed Tyrell walking behind Recker, surprised he was there. It was even more of a surprise Recker had returned so soon. Haley assumed that meant there was a bigger problem somewhere downstairs.

  “Fancy meeting you here,” Haley told Tyrell. “Welcome to the party.”

  “Well I didn’t get an invitation, so I just figured I’d crash it.”

  “So, what’s going on?”

  “We’re clear down to the sixth floor,” Recker said. “So, we can at least get you to that point without a
problem. Well, other than you guys moving around.”

  “I’ve been meaning to work on my hopping skills anyway,” Haley replied.

  “We don’t know if there’s anyone else here so keep your gun available in case we get jumped somewhere along the line.”

  “Ready, willing, and able.”

  Recker and Tyrell then went over to Malloy. They both reached down and gently picked him up and got him to his feet.

  “You gonna be able to make it?” Recker asked.

  “Won’t be winning any races but I’ll make it,” Malloy replied.

  Tyrell helped Malloy walk over to the door, though very slowly, as Recker went over to Haley and put his arm around him. They hobbled out the door, making sure they didn’t go too far ahead and leave Tyrell and Malloy behind without being able to protect them. Both injured men grimaced and groaned as they went down the steps, the pain radiating throughout their bodies.

  “Just be ready as we pass by these floors in case somebody jumps out at us,” Recker said.

  “I hate surprises,” Tyrell replied.

  They continued moving slowly, taking a lot of time to go down the steps. After they got to each floor, they paused for a few seconds to give the injured men a little time to catch their breath. As they continued descending the steps, they were about halfway between the sixth and seventh floors when Recker suddenly stopped.

  “What’s wrong?” Haley asked.

  “I heard something.”

  “What was it?”

  “Sounded like someone walking up the steps,” Recker said, looking over the railing as far down as he could see.

  “Anything?”

  “No.”

  “Sure you heard it?”

  “Positive,” Recker answered.

  “Maybe it’s friendly,” Tyrell said.

  “Only problem with that is the only friendly people we know is right here.”

  “Unless it’s Jones or Vincent,” Haley said.

  “I think that’s wishful thinking. Kind of soon for either of them to show up.”

  “What do you wanna do?”

  “Keep going. No point in stopping now.”

  They passed the sixth floor without incident and stopped again once they got to the fifth. They had concerns about going any further.

  “One thing’s for sure, they gotta know we’re here,” Haley said. “Moving quietly, we’re not. Not with me hopping all the way.”

  Recker knew he was right but wasn’t sure how they could combat that. After a minute, he thought he’d come up with something. He had to hope that it would work.

  “All right, if someone else is here, let’s make them think we ducked out somewhere,” Recker said.

  “How we gonna make them think that?” Tyrell asked.

  “By making a lot of noise.”

  Recker banged his gun against the metal railing so the clanging noise would be heard echoing down the stairwell several levels below them.

  “Let’s get in! Let’s get in!” Recker shouted, making sure his voice was loud enough to be heard by anyone else.

  Recker put his finger up to his mouth to make sure the others didn’t say a word. He pointed back to the stairs they came from as he and Tyrell sat Haley and Malloy down, away from the door that led into the fifth floor. They stayed in position, almost paralyzed, waiting for someone else to come. They stayed silent as Recker stuck his head out, listening for the slightest of sounds to indicate someone was coming. A few seconds later he heard what sounded like footsteps shuffling up the stairs. He turned his head around to look at the others and stuck two fingers in the air to indicate two men were coming.

  Recker then opened the door, making sure it hit the wall to give off another noise that could be heard. He wanted the men to have no questions about which door they ducked into. Recker then readied himself and stuck his gun out in front of him, ready to fire. He took a few steps back up the steps to give himself a higher vantage point once he saw the two men come into view. The sounds of the footsteps were growing louder and closer. Within a few seconds, it seemed as if the men approaching were almost on top of them. Recker tightened his grip on his gun, then loosened it as he relaxed his fingers.

  A few seconds later the two men arrived, each holding a gun. Recker stayed back for a moment, silent and out of sight. He didn’t recognize either of them. He knew they weren’t Vincent’s men. Recker was familiar with the faces of everyone in Vincent’s organization, at least the ones Vincent didn’t mind being identified. Vincent always figured it was best if Recker knew the names and faces of most of the men he employed, outside of his informants and contacts, that way, if Recker ever ran into one of them on a job, he would be less likely to kill them. One of the men slowly opened the door and took a peek inside, without going in yet. Recker stepped fully out into the stairway to greet them.

  “Looking for me?” Recker asked.

  The two men turned their heads and instantly swung around, guns pointed at him. Recker already had the drop on them though and beat them to the punch. He hit them with one shot each, then tagged them with another as they both dropped to the ground. Not sure if they were dead, Recker hurried down the steps and grabbed their guns. One of them was dead, but Recker could see the other was still breathing, though he wasn’t moving very much. It didn’t look like the man was very alert so Recker tapped his cheek a few times to wake him up more.

  “Hey, who hired you?” Recker asked. “Why are you here?”

  The man mustered up enough energy to spit some saliva out of his mouth. “Screw you.”

  Recker didn’t take offense and didn’t even get mad at the man’s belligerence. He simply tapped his face a couple more times. “Who sent you? Who’d you come here for?”

  “You’re not getting out of this building, man.”

  Recker was starting to lose his patience, knowing he didn’t have a lot of time to sit there and play games and dance around the truth. “Looks like you’re bleeding pretty bad there. But it’s possible you might be able to make it. I can give you two options. You can give me some answers and I’ll leave you here breathing and maybe you can make it to a doctor in time. If continuing to live doesn’t interest you then I can put a few more bullets in you and put you out of your misery.”

  The man puffed out his lips, not believing anything he was hearing. “Don’t be stupid. I’m not an idiot. We both know you’re gonna kill me no matter what. You’re not letting me leave here.”

  “Listen, I don’t know you from a hole in the ground. I got nothing against you. Other than the fact you’re here trying to kill me. But men like us, we should have some type of honesty amongst each other, don’t you think? I give you my word.”

  The man took a deep breath, though it hurt to do so. He still wasn’t sure he could believe Recker, but he figured he might as well choose the alternative where he at least had a shot at living.

  “Who’s the head man?” Recker asked.

  “Don’t know. All I know’s who hired me.”

  “Who was that?”

  “Guy named Hernandez.”

  “Gabriel Hernandez?”

  The man nodded, trying to conserve his energy by not talking when he didn’t have to.

  “Why? What were you here to do?” Recker asked.

  “They let word slip out on the street about some meeting here tonight. They wanted Vincent’s crew to get word about it and come down here.”

  “So they could be ambushed?”

  The man nodded again. “Yeah.”

  “How many men are here with you?”

  “Uhh, I dunno, about fifteen I think.”

  Recker immediately looked at Haley. “Eight more to go.” Recker then turned his attention back to the injured man. “Where are the rest of the men waiting?”

  “I’m not sure. Different spots.”

  “So why this play against Vincent?” Recker asked. “What do they want out of it?”

  “Gabe said they were looking to take some territory o
ff him. Let him know that a new power was in town.”

  “They wanna take him out completely?”

  “Not sure. I don’t know all the details. I’m not that high on the totem pole. I think they just wanna get their foot in the door to start with and go from there.”

  “And you don’t know who’s looking to take it over?”

  “I’ve only dealt with Hernandez so far.”

  “Maybe he’s the head guy.”

  The man shook his head. “No. He mentioned something about getting orders from someone. Never mentioned who though.”

  “Why aren’t cell phones working?”

  “They got a jammer down on the first floor.”

  Recker had all the information he needed. Staying any longer was risking someone else coming up on them before they were ready. “All right. Thanks.”

  “You gonna kill me now?”

  “A deal’s a deal. Hope you never come into my sights again though.”

  The man laughed. “Yeah. Me too.”

  Recker went back to Haley and put his arm around him as they started descending the steps again. Tyrell was right behind them with Malloy. Suddenly, another shot rang out. Recker swiftly turned, ready to fire, assuming it was the injured man with a concealed weapon or something. But he was wrong. Malloy still had a gun in his hand, and as he passed the injured man’s body, unloaded a couple of shots into him, finally finishing the man off. Though he was badly injured himself, Malloy was never out of a fight, even if he could barely walk. Recker locked eyes on him and gave him a puzzled look, wondering what he was doing. Malloy wasn’t going to feel badly about it though, no matter what kind of looks Recker threw his way. Malloy had a different code of ethics.

  “What? I didn’t promise him anything,” Malloy said. “Besides, he just tried to kill us. He don’t deserve to leave this building alive. We’d wind up seeing him again. If not today, then tomorrow, or next month. I just made things easier for later.”

  Recker wasn’t really pleased about Malloy shooting him, mostly because Recker gave the man his word. But he really couldn’t dispute Malloy’s logic about possibly seeing the man again if he left the building. There was a good chance of it. So, with that being said, and with other things more pressing, Recker wasn’t going to harp on it. They kept moving. Once they got to the fourth floor, they stopped, expecting to run into some more company. They stayed still for a few minutes as they waited, but eventually moved on after nobody appeared.