by Mike Ryan
“Lucky guess?”
“Hardly.”
A few minutes later, Brinson finally got up from his table and started walking along the street. Recker quickly paid for his meal and took off after him, staying far enough behind at first to see what the man was up to. As he walked, Recker kept looking all around to see if he could spot another tail on Brinson, but he didn’t notice anything. After another ten minutes of walking, Recker finally sped up, ready to pull him to the side. Recker waited until they got to the right building until he finally caught up with him, wanting to make sure they went into a building where they could have some privacy to talk. Once they finally passed in front of the bookstore, Recker nudged Brinson to the side with his shoulder. Recker kept pushing him to the door with his body without much of a problem. When Brinson turned around to object to how he was being treated, Recker threw open the door and shoved him inside.
“What is going on?” Brinson asked.
Recker didn’t answer and instead looked back toward the street through the window. “You know if anybody’s watching you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Anyone following you?”
“I’m not in the habit of being followed.”
“Yeah, well, there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” Recker said.
“What is this all about?”
Recker looked around the bookstore and saw a couple of chairs by a shelf in the corner of the store. “That’ll work well. Over there.” He pointed.
“I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what this is all about.”
Recker grabbed him by the arm and forcefully shoved him to the spot he wanted him to go. Luckily Brinson was not as big or as strong as Recker, so he wasn’t able to put up much opposition to his demands. When they finally got to the corner, Recker pushed him toward one of the chairs.
“Here. Sit down.”
“I’m not…”
Recker interrupted him before he could object. “I said sit,” he forcefully said. “Then I’ll tell you what this is all about.”
Brinson took a deep breath, then figured he should comply with the man’s wishes. Since he wasn’t hurt yet, he could only assume the man didn’t have intentions of harming him somehow. Especially in a bookstore. Brinson didn’t know where he went wrong, but somewhere along the way, he figured he must have took a wrong turn in his life. First dealing with Nowak and Hernandez, now with this guy in front of him, who he also assumed wanted him for some illegal or immoral reason. Brinson sat, waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for the man to tell him what he wanted, which was sure to be something he didn’t want to do.
“Well?” Brinson asked.
“Well, what?”
“Well, what do you want? Let’s get on with it.”
“I’d like to know what you were doing with Gabriel Hernandez back there at the restaurant?” Recker asked.
“Having lunch. That’s what most people do at a restaurant, right?”
“Most people. Except I noticed neither of you had any.”
“Decided we weren’t hungry,” Brinson said.
“Listen, if you’re in trouble, maybe I can help you. If you’re knee deep in something you shouldn’t be of your own accord, then maybe I can help soften the blow, so you don’t get hurt as bad. Either way, it’s your choice. But either way, you’re gonna tell me what I wanna know.”
“Why should I tell you anything?”
Recker reached inside his jacket and pulled out a wallet with a badge and ID card. “Detective Mike Scarborough.”
Brinson got a weird look on his face. He looked both scared and relieved at the same time. Recker had trouble reading him. He couldn’t be sure what Brinson was feeling at the moment.
“I really wanted to go to the police, but I just couldn’t,” Brinson said.
Recker was a little surprised he just blurted it out but was happy considering it saved them both a lot of time and aggravation of him trying to coerce the information out of him. “What’s going on?”
“Couple weeks ago, I got a call out of the blue from some woman named Stephanie. She said she was interested in trying to raise some capital for a new business she was starting and asked for a meeting with me.”
“And you did?”
“Yeah. Everything seemed fine. Met one or two times after that, then I learned what she was really after. She wanted me to falsify records and documents from some of my other clients and siphon the funds into an offshore account in her name.”
“And you agreed?” Recker asked, sure there must have been more to the story.
“I had to. She...”
“She’s got something on you, doesn’t she?”
Brinson looked down and shamefully nodded. “Yes.”
“What?”
“I had an indiscretion a couple weeks ago.”
“What kind of indiscretion?” Recker asked.
“Look, I’m married. I have a beautiful wife, a son, a daughter, and I love them very much.”
Recker closed his eyes and sighed, knowing full well where this was going. “And?”
“One night I stopped at the bar for some drinks with a couple buddies of mine. Towards the end when everyone started leaving, this woman approached me and started talking. At first, I didn’t think much of it but after a while, and a few more drinks, she started really coming on to me, like really aggressive.”
“And you couldn’t say no?”
Brinson looked like he was fighting back tears as he shook his head, not able to say anything at first. “I swear I didn’t want to, but she was just...”
“Yeah, I know, it was all her,” Recker said, not really finding much sympathy for the man. Though he was reasonably sure Nowak had set the meeting up and planted the woman, it still took two to tango.
“I just… wasn’t strong enough to say no.”
“And you two went to some shady motel or something I take it?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Let me guess, a couple days after that meeting with this Stephanie woman, you started getting some compromising photos?” Recker said.
“How’d you know?”
“You’re not the first sucker to fall for that trick.”
“They said if I didn’t help them they’d send the pictures to my wife and ruin me,” Brinson replied. “She’d divorce me, take the kids, the house, everything. I couldn’t let that happen.”
“Ever think of just being honest and telling your wife everything that happened?”
Brinson just shrugged, not sure what else to say.
“Never know. She might’ve just surprised you and believed your story. Maybe she would’ve hung with you. You know that whole marriage thing, for better or worse, in tough times and all that jazz.”
“I didn’t want to take chances.”
“So, what have you done with them so far?” Recker asked.
“Well, not much really. I told them it would take some time for all that. If I rushed things and made mistakes, somebody would catch on fast.”
“So, you haven’t actually sent any money to them?”
“Not yet, no,” Brinson answered. “That’s what the meeting at the restaurant was about. He was upset it was taking this long and wanted to me to hurry it up. Said if I hadn’t sent the first payment through within the next five days, then my wife would get the first set of pictures.”
Recker sat there for a minute, thinking of their next move.
“What do I do?” Brinson asked.
“You’ll go back to your office and undo everything you’ve done so far.”
“But the pictures.”
“Unless you want a long prison sentence, that’s exactly what you’re gonna do. I’ll take care of Hernandez and his boss.”
“But, my wife?”
“I’ll visit your wife and tell her someone’s trying to blackmail you with fake pictures,” Recker said. “I’ll tell her you’re cooperating with us and that as a result of t
hat, someone may try to get back at you with photoshopped pictures. That should satisfy her.”
Brinson took a huge sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. You just make sure you undo anything.”
“What do you want me to do after that?”
“Nothing. After that, you keep going on with your job like nothing else is happening.”
“But Hernandez… he’s gonna contact me again,” Brinson said. “What am I gonna tell him?”
“You tell him it’ll be a couple days. That should be enough time for us to get to work on them. I’ll be in touch with you to see if there’s any further contact.”
“OK. Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
Recker nodded at him as Brinson got up and left. Recker continued sitting there for a few minutes, trying to take everything in. He had the com on the whole time, so Jones and Haley could hear everything said.
“Well, what do you guys think?” Recker asked.
“I would say Nowak is going to give us problems,” Haley replied.
Jones was silent for a moment, trying to collect his own thoughts. “I would tend to agree.”
“I think we can all agree on one thing,” Recker said. “If she sticks around, she’s definitely gonna wind up giving us more problems than Vincent.”
“I’m afraid you might be right about that.”
“What do you wanna do now?” Haley asked.
“Right now, I’ll go talk to Brinson’s wife like I said I would. After that, I dunno. Try to stop this mess somehow.”
“Might be a taller order than it seems.”
“I know. I’ve also got a feeling it won’t be so easy.”
18
Recker had just finished talking to Mrs. Brinson and was walking back to his car, as he reached the door and was about to unlock it, he felt an object jam into the small of his back.
“I wouldn’t reach for anything if I was you,” a voice said. “In case you were wondering, I’m not using my finger.”
Recker slowly raised his arms into the air. “I know the barrel of a gun when I feel it.”
“Good. Do as you’re told and maybe you’ll live through this.”
“Maybe?”
The man took a few steps back so Recker could turn around and face him. As he did, the man smiled at him. “Maybe not.”
“Can I put my hands down now, Mr. Hernandez?”
“Just so you know, I don’t have the only gun pointed at you, in case you had some funny ideas.”
“I never have funny ideas,” Recker said. “Cute ones sometimes, but never funny.”
“Smart guy.”
“Mildly intelligent.”
“All right, you can cut the jokes now,” Hernandez said. He then did a pat down on Recker and removed both his guns, sticking them in his own belt. “OK. You can put your arms down now.”
Before doing so, Recker stuck his finger in his ear, pretending to scratch it. He was actually turning his com on to let the others know what was happening. Then he put his hands down and looked around to see who else was out there. He couldn’t see anyone at first, but that didn’t mean nobody was there. He could’ve tried to give Hernandez a problem right then and there but decided to let it play out and see where the situation was headed.
“Your boss know you’re out here on the street playing with guns?” Recker asked.
“There you go with the jokes again.”
“Want me to keep going?”
“No, I want you to shut your mouth.”
A few seconds later, another car pulled up alongside them, ready to take them away. Recker resisted getting in at first. Hernandez pushed his gun further into Recker’s back to give him some encouragement.
“I really shouldn’t leave my car behind,” Recker said.
“In.”
“You do realize if my car’s left here, eventually somebody’s gonna come looking for it.”
“So what? We’ll be long gone by then. Get in.”
Recker complied with the man’s orders and got into the back seat, Hernandez sitting next to him, continuing to jab his gun into Recker’s ribs. Just to make sure he didn’t try anything funny, there was another man on the opposite side of Recker, along with a man in the front passenger seat.
“Looks like we got a full house in here,” Recker said. “Where we heading?”
“You’ll know when we get there,” Hernandez replied.
“Well, can you at least tell me what this is about?”
“You know.”
“I do? See that’s the thing, I really don’t. Maybe you could explain it to me?”
“You just had to go meddling into the Brinson thing, didn’t you?” Hernandez asked.
“Well that’s kind of my nature.”
“I saw you talking to him in the bookstore. Considering you’re now talking to his wife, we can only assume you somehow put the brakes on our deal.”
“You know what they say about assuming.”
“You know what they also say about meddling in someone else’s business. It can get you killed.”
“That a fact?”
“So that where we going?” Recker asked. “Dumping me in a river? Concrete slab? In a ditch?”
“Not just yet. Ms. Nowak would like to have another chat with you first.”
“Oh, I look forward to it.”
Once Recker had pushed his com on, Jones and Haley had been listening to everything in the office. Their cars had tracking devices on them, in case of a situation where it wasn’t known where they were so they could be located, which was why Recker was pushing to use his car. But it really didn’t matter. Their com devices were also equipped with a GPS chip inside, so Jones was able to pull up his location on the computer. Now the only question was how to get him out.
“I’m gonna have to go,” Haley said.
He was eager to get back out in the field. It’d been four weeks since he’d been shot in the leg and he was no longer on crutches. He actually felt pretty good. He was only walking with a slight limp at this point, hardly even noticeable. The biggest question was how he’d move if he got into a jam. If he had to twist, turn, and run, would his injury worsen? But Haley wasn’t thinking about that now. His only concern was helping his friend out of a tough spot. Judging by Jones’ lack of response, he could tell he wasn’t that keen on the idea.
“There’s no one else,” Haley said.
“We could call Vincent.”
“Malloy’s still out of action. He’s the only one in his bunch I know is tough enough to handle this. And with Vincent still looking to take Nowak out, he may say it’s worth getting Mike caught in the crossfire if it means taking out the rest of her group at the same time.”
Jones looked at him and nodded, reluctantly agreeing with his view. “I suppose that is true.”
“Look, I know you don’t wanna put me out there again before I’m ready… but I am. They said six weeks and it’s only been four, but I feel fine. I’ve been working out extra, I’m moving OK, there’s nothing to hold me back. It’s not like I’m going out there on crutches again. It’s gotta be me.”
Jones nodded again, knowing they didn’t have much time to debate it. “You should get going. I’ll let you know which way they go.”
Haley rushed out the door and got into his car, driving towards Recker’s last known position. As he was driving, Jones contacted him to tell him if the car that had Recker turned on a different street. Only a few minutes after Haley had left, the dot signifying Recker’s position had stopped.
“Oh dear,” Jones mumbled, knowing it was a bad sign they stopped already. He was hoping it wouldn’t be for a little while to give Haley a chance to catch up to them. Jones hopped onto another computer to plug the coordinates in then called Haley to let him know.
“Chris, looks like Mike’s now stationary.”
“Where?” Haley asked.
“Address comes back to a factory on the outskirts of the city. I’m
looking up now whether it’s still in use.”
“How far away?”
“You’ve probably got another twenty minutes or so to go.”
“I’ll step on it.”
Hernandez had just gotten Recker out of the car and they approached the abandoned food factory. It had only recently gone out of business, with Nowak acquiring the property only two months ago.
“Oh, no thanks fellas, I’m pretty full. I ate earlier,” Recker said.
“Let’s go,” Hernandez said, giving him a push in the back.
Recker and his four bodyguards went inside as they waited for Nowak to show up. Once inside, one of the men found a chair for Recker to sit in. Then they tied him to it with a rope.
“Not very hospitable of you guys,” Recker said.
Hernandez sighed, getting tired of Recker’s smart aleck mouth. He wanted this assignment to be done with. “Do you ever get tired of the jokes?”
“No, not really. Why? Do you?” Recker could tell he was getting on the man’s nerves and only hoped he could keep it up. He figured the more annoyed he got, the less focused he would be when the time came to kill him, which would make it an easier task.
About five minutes passed before Nowak finally appeared, surrounded by three more of her men. Absent was Milton. Hernandez came over to the door to greet her before she got within range of Recker.
“He give you any trouble?” Nowak asked.
“None at all.”
“Strange. What about his partner?”
“No sign of him,” Hernandez answered.
Nowak instructed the three men she came in with to wait outside, just in case Recker’s partner showed up. She remembered what she was told from the hotel, about someone having a laser pointed at Milton, so she knew Recker had one. The fact he came so easily was another thing that alarmed her. Nowak then walked over to him, standing just in front of him.
“You look a little overdressed for a place like this,” Recker said, observing her expensive-looking black dress. It looked like she was dressed for a gala or a fancy dinner party.
“I like to dress up for important people.”
“Let me know when he gets here.”
Nowak smiled. “You know it doesn’t have to be like this.”
