by NM Facile
Ty swept the room, noting two Latino guys standing off to one side, watching him. Ty assumed they were the ones bringing the shipment in. A third man with a gun was standing in front of him. His arms were crossed at rest, but it was a rest that could easily be broken. He eyed Ty up and down, and made him turn around. Ty was a little pissed that he had to do that.
“That’s unnecessary. T. J. wouldn’t try to pull anything on us.” Ty looked into the eyes of the man he had thought was his mentor. A man he truly believed cared for him. It took only a second for it to hit him; he had been groomed for this. He was never going to climb the ladder in the restaurant, he was being trained for a far different job.
“Mr. Raylyanu?”
“I’ve had my eye on you a long time. I’ve known since the first few days I spent with you at school that you would be perfect for this, a true prodigy. You not only had a head for numbers, you also had a great business sense.”
Anger burned through Ty. He had regretted ever quitting the restaurant and losing the help Vasile had promised him.
“Was all that talk about helping me though college just bullshit?”
“No, I planned to help you. You were everything I ever wanted in a son.”
“Then why did Karl have me working under him?”
“I had to see how you would react. I couldn’t take the chance of telling you upfront. Then you got yourself messed up with that girl. I had given up on you, afraid you had become just another junkie. I hoped the jail time would clean you up and get your head back on straight, and I was right.”
Ty’s jaw tightened, and his hands clenched. “You were the one who set me up?”
“I had no choice. Your priorities were changing. I had to do something or I would lose you. It worked just as I thought it would.”
“How did you know I would come back?” Ty was seething. He had thought he was the one doing the playing, not the one being played.
Vasile laughed. “You couldn’t stay away the first time, when you found out what you were delivering for Karl. The money was too alluring for you. I knew it would be. What else did you have?”
“I could have had a life.”
“You can still have one. Marry that girl of yours if you want, just make sure she doesn’t interfere in your business.”
Ty didn’t have time to respond to Vasile before the door was shoved open, and Dylan was pushed in, stumbling over his own feet.
“I found this lurking outside, boss. What do you want done?”
Ty looked to the door and groaned. This was just what he needed. What the fuck was that kid thinking?
“Ty! Ty, tell them I’m here with you, man. You have to tell ‘em I’m here with you.” Dylan tried to act the part of a hardened gangbanger, but his eyes were worried.
“Ty, do you know…” Vasile was interrupted by the guard in the room. He whispered a message to Vasile and they both turned wide-eyed to Ty and Dylan.
Vasile took a step towards Dylan. “Did you bring the cops with you?” Before Ty could get to him, Vasile had taken a hard swing at Dylan’s face. The kid swayed, but didn’t go down. He faced his attacker with blood on his chin and defiance in his eyes.
Dylan spit out the blood and answered, “Hell no.”
Ty couldn’t let Dylan take the fall for this. He stepped closer to the kid, just as all hell broke loose. This was not how this night was supposed to go down. The DEA surrounded the building with a SWAT team. Threats were being shouted from both sides. Ty kept his focus on Dylan. He didn’t know what the hell that kid was playing at, but he had landed himself balls-deep in the middle of a very real drug bust. None of them were safe. They wouldn’t know that Dylan was innocent. Ty had to get him out of there.
There was more movement from outside, and in the confusion, a gun went off. Ty stepped in front of Dylan, seconds before the pain ripped into his chest. He pulled the boy down with him before a second shot rang out. He fought the pain as he tried to keep his body in front of Dylan’s. His only thought was keeping the kid safe. In a whirl of activity, the SWAT team was in and shots were being volleyed. There were shouts and movement, but Ty was slowly slipping under. It was growing blurrier. It was all over within minutes. He could see Dylan. The kid was safe.
“Ty! Fuck! Ty! Ty! He needs help! Someone help him!” Dylan was screaming, his face contorted in fear.
Ty felt himself slipping. He thought of Mary. He hadn’t told her he loved her. She needed to know.
“Tell Mary,” Ty’s voice was weak, so he tried harder. “Tell her. Tell her I’m sorry. Tell her I love her.”
Ty closed his eyes. He heard Dylan calling to him, telling him he could tell her himself, crying again for help. He succumbed to the pain, and just concentrated on breathing, as he envisioned Mary standing before the carousel, dressed in lace with the smile of an angel upon her lips.
Chapter 18 - Pieces
Fate was a curious thing. On the flight, Mary had stared blankly at her feet as she contemplated fate and the events of the day ahead. She had prepared herself for the possibility that her mother might not make it through, biting back the anger, and refusing to waste time with regrets about not being there sooner. Instead, she had prayed. She had prayed that her mother would be all right, that a donor would appear, and she had even added prayers for the donor’s family. Someone had been listening to those prayers.
J. P. had sent a friend to meet her at the airport with the news: at some point while she was in the air, a life had been lost, allowing her mom’s to be saved. Mary was to come straight to the hospital to see her mother before she was prepped for the transplant.
A few hours later, Mary sat in the waiting room, waiting for the operation to be over. She shook her head; it was all too much. She rubbed the back of her neck, wishing she had grabbed some Tylenol from her small travel bag before J. P.’s friend had taken her luggage to Jen’s house. There were a few other things in that bag, like a toothbrush, that would have been nice to have after the hours spent waiting. Without the bag, she had only the clothes on her back, a few bucks in her pocket, and a dead cell phone.
She thought about the last few minutes she had spent with her mom before she went into surgery. J. P. had been in the room, too, but the tension had been more than Jen could handle and she had asked him to leave. Mary still held J. P. in contempt. If he hadn’t used, her mother wouldn’t be here in the hospital now. J. P. had kissed Jen, and told her that he would see her soon. Mary could see the pain and worry in his eyes. She knew he loved her mother, but she wasn’t ready to forgive him.
When he had gone, Jen motioned Mary closer to her. Mary sat on the bed beside her, and took her hand.
“Baby, you need to ease up on J. P. This is eating him up inside. He feels enough guilt every time he looks at me. You don’t need to add to it.” Her blue eyes were determined as she continued, “He never meant any harm. In fact, when I found out about the steroids and he realized how important it was to me that he stop, he stopped. We didn’t know then that the damage had already been done.” Mary looked away from her stubbornly. Jen turned Mary’s chin so that she could see her face.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you can stop now. He is doing everything he can for me. The man has been a saint. He came with me to every doctor’s appointment, he adjusted to a whole new meal plan for me, he takes care of everything around the house and he hasn’t left my side through all of this. I love him for it, and I need the two of you to get along now,” she pleaded, causing Mary to ache.
She was torn between the knowledge that everything Jen said was true, and her own need to blame someone.
“But, Mom, he…” Jen stopped her again.
“It doesn’t matter, Mary. Sometimes past mistakes can seem unforgivable to an outsider. When you truly love someone, you can overlook just about anything. It doesn’t matter to me who J. P. used to be. What’s more important is the man he is now, with me.”
When the nurse had come in to say that it was time, Mar
y had kissed her mother, hoping beyond all hope that she would be okay.
In the waiting room, Mary watched J. P. and reflected on what her mother had said. He’d caused her so much pain. It doesn’t matter who he used to be; it’s the man he is now. Did those words apply to Ty, too? Did it matter who he once was? She knew the kind of man he could be. When he was with her he was nothing but wonderful, everything she could ever want in a man: kind, gentle, respectful. But he was also a liar. How could she look past that?
The doctor finally came out with some positive news. Jen was in the ICU, and was recovering as expected. Mary and J. P. were given a few minutes to see her. She was still unconscious, and all the tubes and medical equipment were frightening. It looked like a ghost of Mary’s mom laying there. The stress of the day overwhelmed Mary, and with the first sob, J. P. brought his arm around her, pulling her to his side.
“It’s gonna be okay, Mary girl. She’s out and everything will be better.” He stroked her hair as she sobbed against him, unable to reply.
The doctor motioned them out into the hallway. She rubbed Mary’s arm and spoke with empathy, “It looks much worse than it really is. She is doing very well. She will be awake in a little while. We can’t remove most of those tubes until tomorrow, but she will be able to hear you. The breathing tube will need to stay in, and she will be heavily medicated and need to sleep.”
“Thank you, Doctor, I can’t even begin to tell you how much.” J. P. reached out to shake her hand.
“For now, the two of you need to get something to eat and, if at all possible, some rest. When you’re done, come back and you can stay in the room with her.”
Mary smiled gratefully. “Thank you, Doctor.”
It was late, and neither really wanted cafeteria food, so J. P. offered to get something light from a nearby sandwich shop. Mary didn’t want to leave the hospital, and yet she couldn’t sit still, so she went to find the bank of computers that was open for public use in one of the other waiting areas. She hadn’t been able to call Faith without her cell phone, but she could email her an update.
She logged into her account to find more than a dozen messages in her inbox. She opened the one from Faith, marked, ‘URGENT! MUST READ NOW!’
Mary, I can’t get you on your phone and no one answers at your mom’s, either. You need to call me NOW! --Faith
A second message followed, this time with a link. She read Faith’s frantic message and clicked the link. It opened a page from the Star Tribune.
Four dead, two injured, and several more arrested in one of the biggest heroin ring busts the state has seen. Officials aren’t releasing many details tonight. We have learned that none of the three casualties were law officers. At this time, all that is known is that this was a major ring that had been under federal scrutiny for some time. Today’s arrests were made in several locations around the Metro Area with the shootings taking place at the “choke point.” It is believed that all deaths occurred at the same location.
Mary’s blood ran cold. Four dead. She jumped away from the computer. She had to find a phone.
J. P. was rounding one of the corners with their sandwiches, looking for her. He stopped in his tracks when he saw her come running, seeing his own worst fears in her face.
“Mary, what’s wrong? Is Jen…is it?” His face went pale.
“No, not Mom. Mom is the same. I just need your phone.” He handed it over to her hesitantly.
“Thanks. Go back and check on Mom. I just…” she took a deep breath, “I just need to call Faith.” J. P. made no move to leave her. “Please, I’ll just be a few moments.”
She returned to the computers and quickly dialed Ty’s number. The call went directly to voicemail. It couldn’t be him. This was all some big misunderstanding. Ty was probably at work and not picking up. She’d call Faith to see if she knew anything, then she would check Dee’s.
“Is it Ty?” Mary didn’t even wait for a greeting.
“I don’t know!” Faith took a big breath and shared everything she knew, “Jack called as I was getting home from work, and asked me if I had seen the news yet. I turned it on and…I just don’t know, Mary!” Faith was near hysterics herself.
“Call Jack back! Hell, call Nikki! Just, just…” Mary felt the panic growing as the words stuck in her throat.
“I will. I will. Oh, Mary. It can’t be him.”
“Call this number back. This is J. P.’s phone, mine is dead…”
“Don’t worry. I’ll call. Did you check at Dee’s?”
“No. I will now.”
“Mary, your mom? How’s your mom?” Faith asked.
Mary let out a sigh, and her voice was raw with emotion, “In ICU. Everything went fine but she’s not awake yet.”
“Just go and be with her. I’ll find him. I promise I’ll find him.”
Mary ended the call, but didn’t return to the ICU waiting area. She looked at the screen in front of her. The Tribune page was still up. She read it again, looking for a clue that might ease her fears. When she didn’t find anything, she tried a Google search. She opened the first link on the page for a local Minneapolis TV station. The video wouldn’t load, but there was an article on the page:
“Four dead, two wounded, and twenty-three arrested Wednesday night in the largest heroin bust in Twin Cities’ history. The bust ended a multi-year investigation into a heroin ring with ties to a Mexican drug cartel. The investigation was a joint effort between the Minneapolis PD, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and a Chicago task force. The arrests occurred at multiple locations in the Metro area. The shootings were all at the same location.
After a brief exchange of fire, the Minneapolis PD, with help from the DEA, took down the heads of the largest distribution chain in the area, according to Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. Mark Davis. The DEA seized 67 pounds of heroin worth about $5 million, another $300 thousand in cash, several weapons and vehicles from the various locations.
“This was a huge gain for our community. The heroin we’re seeing here has a purity level not seen in other places. We’re talking 70-90% pure. Most street level heroin is 30-50% pure. With heroin this pure comes a rise in overdoses. Taking this off the street will save hundreds,” Davis said.
At this point, only the names of the casualties have been released: Vasile Raylyanu, one of the owners of the restaurant chain Raylyanus’, is among the victims. Mr. Raylyanu’s connection with the ring is unclear. Other casualties include convicted drug offenders, Ty Jaden and…”
Mary stopped reading. It had to be a mistake. Ty couldn’t have been there; he couldn’t be dead. He had just left her a voicemail that morning. He had to be at Dee’s.
Mary found the number for Dee’s, but nobody could give her any information. She was told that Sandra was at the hospital with Dylan. Dylan was in the hospital? What in the hell was going on back home?
The stillness of the room was broken by the vibrating cell phone next to the mouse.
“Faith,” Mary choked on the greeting. The gravity of the article was sinking in, and the hesitation in Faith’s reply only solidified it.
“Mary…” Faith started, but the words failed her.
A thousand miles away, Mary could feel Faith’s remorse. It wasn’t her fault. She had been right; Ty was trouble.
“Faith, I know. You don’t have to say it. I saw his name…” Mary sniffed, as the tears spilled from her eyes. She pressed her lips together in an attempt to hold back the sob that was building in her throat.
“Where did you see it?”
“It was posted a few minutes ago on the KSTP page.” Both girls fell silent, knowing that if they had both heard the same thing, the chance of them being wrong was unlikely.
Faith broke in first, “Jack called around. He has a contact on the police force who finally told him.” She paused, “Dylan was there. He wasn’t killed, but he’s wounded. Jack didn’t know anything else.”
“Dylan?
Oh God, why was Dylan there?”
Faith didn’t have an answer. There were no answers. The silence across the phone was broken only by the sniffles from both ends.
Mary struggled to pull herself together. She was going to have to hang up the phone, go back into her mother’s room and be strong. She wished Faith was there with her, because she didn’t know how she was going to get through it alone.
“Just call me…” Mary paused to compose herself. “Just call me as soon as you hear something.”
“Mary, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Mary ended the call and sat, trembling, phone in hand. How could she go out there? What else would she have to face that night? Ty was gone. The thought echoed through her mind, leaving her numb.
When Mary didn’t return, J. P. set out to find her. His heart went out to her when he saw her standing at the end of the hall, just outside another waiting room. Her pale skin and red eyes spoke volumes about the pain she must be going through. He knew she had been worried and stressed, they all had been, and Mary looked like she was at her breaking point.
He called her name softly a couple of times before she finally looked at him. “Mary, it’s going to be all right. Your mom is going to be fine.” She stared right through him, lost in her own inner horror. He reached for her hand, “Come here, sweetheart. It’s going to be fine. We can go in there now and stay with your mom for the rest of the night.” He wrapped his arm around her and led her down the hall, unaware of the extent of the emotions ripping through her.