by Mike Ryan
“Who do you think it was?” Malloy asked.
“I don’t think it’s something we really have to guess on. We know who it is. We know who’s behind it. A very unfortunate and misguided woman.”
Recker arrived in the office, still talking on the phone. His phone had been blowing up all day from sources he had on the street, including Tyrell. But the topic of conversation was all the same. They were all telling him about the attempted attack on Vincent at Dr. Luke’s office. As he reached the desk, he hung up, ready to talk about the events with the team. Jones wasn’t sure if his partner had heard the news yet and was eager to discuss it. Jones dropped what he was doing as he turned toward Recker.
“It appears we have a delicate situation on our hands.”
“Murder and attempted murder are usually not all that delicate,” Recker said.
“So, you’ve heard the news I take it?”
“I’ve heard about it so often already my ears are ringing.”
“What’re we gonna do?” Haley asked.
Recker looked away as he shrugged, not really having an answer. “I didn’t know we were gonna do anything. I thought we had a vote a few days ago to stay out of this thing.”
“I guess it seems more real now.”
“Well, we all knew that, barring an agreement between those two, this day was coming.”
“It would appear that agreement did not materialize,” Jones said.
“Understatement of the year.”
“I would say the only thing for us to do is continue to monitor things, make sure it doesn’t spill out into unintended places.”
“If it does, then we’ll intervene,” Recker said. “But not before.”
Nowak was pacing around in her hotel room, acting somewhat nervously, which was uncharacteristic for her. She usually seemed much more confident. But it’d been a week since the attempted hit on Vincent and Malloy and there’d been no response in the form of retaliation. It was not what they had counted on or planned when dreaming up this scenario. Nowak and her cohorts were counting on them fighting back and exposing themselves even further, opening themselves up for bigger hits and damage upon their organization.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Nowak anxiously said, smoking a cigarette. “Why is he staying silent?”
“Maybe he’s just waiting,” Milton replied.
“Waiting for what? To get picked to pieces? To die slowly? Our contacts haven’t dug up a single thing about them planning anything? What are they doing, just crawling into a hole somewhere hoping this will blow over?”
“He does have a reputation for not rushing into things,” Teasley answered. “Could be he’s planning something big. Something that would take a while to plan.”
“Such as what? Blowing up the hotel with me in it? He wouldn’t dare be so bold.”
“Speaking of which, when do you plan on moving operations?” Milton asked. “Can’t stay in this hotel forever.”
“I’m comfortable here. I also know Vincent is not going to be so daring as to try to take me out here. There’s safety out in the open. It’s when you cross into the shadows that things happen. He’s not going to try something in full view of everybody and draw attention to himself. Me moving is probably exactly what he’s hoping for.”
“I dunno. People get murdered in hotels all the time. I don’t think it’s above him to try it.”
“Well that is why I pay for security, is it not?” Nowak asked.
“I say we keep on hitting him while we got him reeling,” Teasley said. “Let’s keep up the pressure.”
“And what exactly do you have in mind?”
“Let’s attack every building he owns. Businesses, warehouses, facilities, men, everything. Let’s hit him a couple times a day until he’s extinct or so scared he never shows his face above ground again.”
Nowak paced around the room for a minute as she thought about it. She started moving her head around, indicating that she was in support of the action. She then stopped her pacing and sat down, eventually agreeing with the move.
“Start making preparations,” Nowak said. “Draw up a plan of which buildings to hit and when. I want a precise plan. Dates, times, people involved, everything. And I want it by tomorrow.”
“I’ll get on it right away,” Teasley replied. “I’ll leave now and do some scouting. I’ll have something for you tomorrow.”
“Good.”
Teasley left the room as he embarked on his mission to scout some of Vincent’s known business locations. After he left, Nowak and Milton continued talking about the plan.
“What do you think?” Nowak asked. “Will it work?”
“I think it’s good. I know you originally wanted to try to draw him out and get him that way, but I don’t think that’s gonna fly. He’s too smart for that. He knows you’d be expecting him to retaliate. That’s why he’s not. He’s trying to wait you out. Let you get impatient and make a mistake.”
“Well then we’ll just have to make sure his mistake is in not trying.”
When Teasley made it down to the lobby, he kept his head on a swivel, as all Nowak’s men did nowadays, since they were on the lookout for any of Vincent’s faction. As he stepped through the main doors, he waited outside for a few seconds, cognizant of any cars that might be in the area. He almost expected a car to drive by, roll down its windows, and start blasting away at him. He put his hand inside his jacket and placed his fingers on his gun, thinking he may have cause to use it as he walked to his car. He was a little surprised, though not disappointed, he got to his car without incident.
Before starting his car, he pulled up the maps on his phone and plugged it into the car charger. He pulled out a small book and plugged in a couple addresses into the map app for directions. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys and put them into the ignition. Teasley took a quick look out the window to make sure nobody else was around then started the car. Almost instantly after the engine turned on, the car exploded, resulting in a massive fireball shooting up into the air. The windows on each of the cars next to it shattered from the impact. Pieces of Teasley’s car were torn off the vehicle and landed all over the parking lot. There wasn’t much left of either the car or Teasley. What was left of the car was still on fire. There were more explosives used than were actually needed, but Vincent wanted to make a powerful statement.
The blast could be heard by everyone within the hotel and probably a couple miles beyond it. As soon as they heard the massive explosion, Nowak and Milton ran to the window. They opened the blinds completely and stared out the window, their eyes instantly drawn to the burning car they immediately knew was Teasley’s. Nowak’s jaws tightened as anger started boiling inside her.
“You were wondering why there was no response yet?” Milton said. “I’d say he’s answered with a certain kind of flare.”
“I would say the game is now in full force.”
“Should we go down there and check it out?”
“Why?” Nowak asked. “There’s nothing we can do down there.”
“What do you wanna do now?”
“We’ll do as we just discussed. We’ll start hitting Vincent in spots all across the city. We’ll do it in random areas, so he won’t be able to pick out a pattern and be ready for us. We’ll have his head spinning so fast he won’t know what’s happening or where we’ll be next.”
“I’ll start working on it tonight.”
They continued staring out the window at the wreckage as they talked of their plans, observing a burgeoning crowd down below. A little to the left of the blast, Nowak saw a couple men just standing there, looking up at the hotel. Though she couldn’t see their eyes at that distance, by the positioning of their heads, she knew they were looking at her. She was a little shocked at their appearance, even though she probably shouldn’t have been. She kept her eyes fixed on the pair, wondering if there were about to be any other fireworks soon to be set off.
“
They’re here,” Nowak said.
“What?”
“Vincent and his goon. They’re here.”
Milton put his hand on the window. “What? Where?”
“To the left of the car. Just standing there. Looking at us.”
“I’ll get the boys ready,” Milton said, about ready to rush off and tell some of the others.
Nowak put her hand on his forearm to prevent him from leaving. “Don’t bother.”
“What if that was just for starters? Maybe they have more planned.”
“It’s not.”
“How do you know?”
“Because they wouldn’t still be standing there if there was more to come,” Nowak answered.
“What do you suppose they’re doing there? Just standing.”
Nowak sighed. “Sending me a message.”
“Maybe we should send one back.”
“We will. In time.”
All parties concerned stood in their respective spots for a few more minutes, continuing their staring contest. It was almost as if each side was waiting for the other to blink and step away first. With Vincent still staring up at the window, Malloy started tugging at his boss to leave the scene, figuring someone would start connecting them to the blast.
“We should probably get going,” Malloy said, grabbing his boss’ arm.
“Yeah, you’re right. I just wanted to make sure she got the message.”
“I think it’d be pretty hard to ignore.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
With his underling tugging at him, Vincent finally capitulated and stopped staring at the hotel and walked back toward their own car. Just before getting in, they stopped, Malloy wanting to get Vincent’s thoughts on what happened.
“What do you think they’ll do in response?” Malloy asked. “I’m sure they’ll have one.”
“Oh yes. They’ll have a response. You can count on that.”
“What do you think it’ll be.”
“I would suspect they’ll try to hit us again,” Vincent replied. “Make sure you put everyone on high alert.”
“Will do.”
“Every man, every building, every car, everything. Might be tomorrow. Might be in a week. But you can be sure it’ll be coming.”
“With all due respect, sir, I think you’re being too generous.”
“In what way?” Vincent asked.
“Giving them a chance like this. Instead of letting them get a chance to regroup and hit us again, we should keep after them. Take it to them while they’re on their heels.”
“A sound strategy Jimmy. We’ll take it under advisement.”
“A beautiful day, sir?”
Vincent smiled and looked up at the sky. Even though there was no sun and it was a bit of an overcast day, it didn’t much matter to him. It was perfect as far as he was concerned. “Yes, Jimmy, I’d say it was a beautiful day indeed. A very beautiful day.”
17
A few more weeks passed, with both Vincent’s and Nowak’s organizations taking shots at each other. Several men on both sides were killed, though neither launched a full-out war on the other. They were both being cautious in how they approached the situation. From Nowak’s perspective, she never wanted a full-scale battle with Vincent anyway. Her approach was more one of respect. She wanted Vincent’s respect that they could share the city without him losing much, if anything. At this point, she wasn’t interested in taking him out. Nowak wanted him to know she was as tough as he was and she wasn’t leaving without a fight. That was why she held back a little. She didn’t think an all-out war with Vincent would be good for anybody. And she wasn’t certain it was one she could win. At least, not yet. Not until she had some time to build up her organization, both in terms of men and money.
For Vincent, he didn’t consider Nowak’s organization to be much of a threat. At least not a major one. Though she showed some guts up to that point and wasn’t backing down yet, he still believed the waiting game would pay off, as it usually did. He knew she didn’t have as much power within the city as he did and couldn’t afford a long engagement. He figured time was on his side. Rushing was where men made mistakes. And he figured that would be his undoing. He also wanted to avoid a full-out war as he knew that meant he would probably lose a good amount of men and resources. War between two factions was rarely good for anybody. Everyone took casualties. Vincent was trying to avoid that if possible. He hoped that eventually Nowak would see that he wasn’t relinquishing any control or letting her set up shop within his territory and she’d pack up and leave. It would be a standstill.
For Recker and the team, not much had changed since the war between Vincent and Nowak started. They hadn’t been dragged into anything, and, so far, nobody innocent had gotten caught up in their entanglements. But they had a feeling that wouldn’t last forever. Eventually, someone who wasn’t involved in the deal would get hurt.
They’d been working on a case involving an investment banker who looked to be engaging in some fraudulent activity and Recker was ready to make his move on the guy. Jones intercepted some text messages indicating the banker, Todd Brinson, was meeting with a contact at an outdoor restaurant in the downtown area. Recker was already at the restaurant sitting by himself and eating his meal when he saw Brinson arrive.
“Looks like our guy is here,” Recker said into his com.
“Is there anyone with him yet?” Jones asked.
“Not yet.”
Jones looked at the time and saw it was five minutes to one, the scheduled meeting time. “We still have a few minutes.”
Recker kept his eyes fixed on Brinson, who took up a seat several tables in front of Recker, watching his every movement. The banker looked a bit nervous, looking in every which direction. Recker assumed he was looking for his visitor. Five minutes passed and there was still no sign of anyone. It appeared to Recker that Brinson was starting to sweat as he was dabbing his cheeks and forehead with a napkin.
“This guy’s looking really nervous,” Recker said.
“Still no sign of anyone?” Jones asked.
“Not yet.” Recker looked across the street and saw a familiar face walking across it. He kept his eyes fixed on the man as he came over to the restaurant and sat down across from Brinson. “Guys, we have an interesting situation here.”
“What’s happening? Have we finally identified the person he’s meeting? Is the other party there yet?”
“Oh yeah. He’s here.”
“Well who is it? Do we know him?”
“Gabriel Hernandez,” Recker replied.
Jones was very surprised to hear the name. “Hernandez? What is he doing there?”
“Without knowing details, and if I had to guess, I’d say maybe we know how Stefania Nowak is funding her operation.”
“Now the question is whether Mr. Brinson is a willing participant or if he’s being blackmailed or coerced somehow.”
“I’ll find that out real quick.”
“How do you plan to do that.”
“Ask him,” Recker said.
“I’m not sure that’s wise. If he is a willing participant in this endeavor, then introducing yourself and talking about it could blow the case sky high. He might clam up and we’ll never know where it leads.”
“Oh, I think we do.”
“Just because Hernandez is there does not necessarily mean it’s tied to Nowak. He could be operating independently of her on this deal.”
“With people like Vincent and Nowak, they don’t employ people who act independently of them,” Recker said. “They want people to fall in line. They won’t do something unless they’re told to.”
“Perhaps you’re right, but I’m still not sure showing yourself is the right move.”
“Guess we’ll find out.”
Jones sighed and rolled his eyes as he turned to Haley, who was sitting beside him. “Why do I even bother?”
Haley laughed. “He’s usually right.”
“Yes, but let’s not admit that too often. He’ll be even harder to live with than he is now.”
Since they were at an outdoor restaurant, Recker brought a book with him that way he could pretend to bury his head in it and partially conceal his face. He wasn’t sure if Hernandez would recognize him so Recker lifted the book up in front of his face, with his eyes just barely able to see over the edge of the book. It was enough to see what was going on, while at the same time, hoping he wouldn’t be recognized.
It wasn’t a particularly long meeting between Hernandez and Brinson. It seemed as though it was only a verbal type of meeting as Recker didn’t observe anything being passed between them. One thing he did notice was Hernandez appeared to be doing most of the talking. And it didn’t always seem that friendly as Hernandez talked somewhat animated at times to explain whatever his point was. After about fifteen minutes, they seemed to be done. Hernandez pushed his chair out and stood, giving a few last words to the banker, none of which appeared to be that pleasant either, judging from the veins popping out of the side of his neck.
“Hernandez is leaving,” Recker said.
“I urge you to proceed with caution,” Jones replied.
“Don’t I always?”
“Do I really need to respond to that?”
Recker laughed, knowing how preposterous it sounded. “Gotta hurry before Brinson leaves.”
“If you intend to do this, it might be better if you let him leave,” Haley said.
“Why?”
“What if someone still has eyes on him?”
“That’s a good point, Mike,” Jones said, hoping that would persuade him not to meet him yet. “If he is not there of his own free will, they very well could be watching him. And if they see you sitting with him, who knows what would happen after that?”
“All right, you convinced me,” Recker said.
“So, you’ll come back here to the office?”
“No, I’ll just follow Brinson as he leaves and pull him over somewhere.”
“How did I know that’s where this was headed?”
