by Mike Ryan
“And what’s that?”
“You have a truce with him. I’m assuming he trusts you.”
“Yes, I suppose so.”
“We can use that trust to lure him into a trap, and I can finally exterminate him like the rat that he is.”
Butch rubbed his chin. He obviously wasn’t as enthusiastic about the idea. “I don’t know.”
“You hesitate like you two are friends. Like you hang out together on the weekends at the bowling alley.”
“It’s nothing like that. But I do… I consider myself a man of my word. I gave him my word I would never turn on him. That I was only interested in getting rid of Ames. If I go back on my word… then what?”
“Then he’ll be dead. You’ll never have to think or worry about it again. And then you can move on and move atop your rightful place in charge of whatever city you desire. What do you say?”
Butch folded his arms in front of his chest and sighed. “I don’t know. I’d like to think I’m not the kind of guy who stabs people in the back.”
“You’re a leader, Butch. It’s time to act like one. And sometimes that means doing unpleasant or dirty tasks if the situation requires it. If you want to be that top dog, do what needs to be done.”
Butch took a deep breath, then cleared his throat. He looked down and nodded. “OK.”
“What about it?” Mallette asked.
Butch stuck his hand out. “I’d say we have a deal.”
6
Jacobs jumped off his couch and sprinted to the door. Whoever was knocking on it sure seemed like they were trying to put their fist through it. He told Gunner to be quiet before he even started barking, while Tiffany sat on the couch, her face full of worry about who it might be. Once Jacobs looked through the peephole, his body relaxed, and he gave Tiffany a sigh of relief.
Jacobs opened the door, letting it swing all the way back. He stretched his arms out to his sides.
“Well?” Jacobs said. “I assume you’ve got a good reason for showing up here unannounced and banging my door down?”
“What do you mean unannounced, man?” Franks replied. “And what do you mean, banging down the door? It wasn’t that hard. It was a forceful knock.”
“Forceful knock? Aren’t you the one who told me to make sure nothing happened to this place? And here you are almost destroying the door.”
“Now someone’s getting all melodramatic. Is that the right word?”
Jacobs shrugged, not really caring. “I don’t know.”
“I think it is. Maybe… well, whatever. It don’t really matter now.”
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean, what am I doing here?”
“It’s a pretty straightforward question, you know. Most people can answer it without asking what it means.”
“I know what it means! I’m just asking why… uh… what are we talking about?”
“Why you’re here?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Usually you tell me when you’re coming, that way I can expect you, so I don’t shoot through the door at someone knocking unexpectedly.”
“What do you mean, unexpected?”
“Do you have some kind of comprehension problem?”
“No, why?”
Jacobs sighed, closed his eyes, and tilted his head up. “Why do you do this to me?”
“What?”
“I think what Brett means, is he’s wondering why you didn’t text or call first,” Tiffany said.
“What are you talking about? I did text.”
Jacobs shook his head. “No, you didn’t.”
“Sure I did. Check your phone.”
“My phone’s been in my pocket. Hasn’t gone off.”
“Bet it has.”
Jacobs reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He quickly checked his messages, and upon not seeing one from Franks, turned his phone around to show him. “See? No messages.”
Franks pointed to Tiffany. “Well, then I text her.”
She grabbed her phone from off the table and checked it. She shook her head, as well. “Nope. No text here either.”
Franks looked perplexed and scratched his forehead. “Well, that don’t make sense.”
“Just par for the course,” Jacobs cracked.
“I know I texted somebody.”
“Maybe you’re just delusional.”
Franks put his hands on his hips as he thought about it. “I know I texted somebody. Who was it?”
“Maybe you should just check your phone and find out? Wouldn’t that be easier?”
Franks nodded. “Maybe.” He reached into his pocket and removed his phone. “Now let’s see here.” After a few seconds, he let out a laugh. “Ha!”
Jacobs looked over at Tiffany, wondering if he might have missed something. “Something humorous?”
Franks took his eyes off his phone and smiled at him. “Ha! Yeah.” He wiped his eyes. “It’s too much, man, it’s too much.”
“What is?”
“It turns out I thought I was texting you, and I sent the message to somebody else.” He slapped the side of his leg. “That’s a hoot, isn’t it?”
Jacobs didn’t find it as funny as his friend did, but he still couldn’t help but crack a smile at his ineptitude. He looked at Tiffany and shook his head.
“Turns out I sent the message to a dude I know named Jake!” Franks continued laughing. “Awe, man, it’s too much. Just too much. Sometimes I don’t know what to do with myself.”
Jacobs raised an eyebrow. “Believe me, I’ve had the same thoughts for years.”
“You don’t know what to do with yourself either?”
Jacobs opened his mouth to reply, but then closed it, thinking better of it and not engaging him further. He just wanted to end the conversation as soon as possible, like he usually did.
“Do you know this Jake well?” Tiffany asked.
“Uh, yeah, you know, he’s a contact of mine.”
Now that he was thinking of it, it actually gave Jacobs some worry. “I hope whatever you texted this guy wasn’t something personal, private, or something I need to be concerned about.”
“Oh, no, man, I was just letting him, I mean you, well, him, I guess… anyways, whoever, I was just letting you know I was coming over, that’s all.”
“Well, consider the message received.”
They all stood around looking at each other for a few moments, each waiting for one of the others to say something.
Finally, Jacobs did. “You gonna get to it?”
“To what?”
“What you came over here for?”
“Oh, that. Didn’t I tell you?”
“No.”
“Oh. Well, I got a message from Butch. It said he wanted to talk to you.”
“OK? What about?”
“I dunno, man, he didn’t say. Just said it was important, wanted to know if you could meet as soon as possible.”
Jacobs took a few steps to think about it. “Call him back and find out what he wants.”
“Something wrong?”
Jacobs shrugged. “I don’t know. I just like to know what a meeting’s about before I go there. I don’t like surprises.”
“I’ll call him right now, then.” Franks hit the buttons on his phone and dialed Butch’s number. Butch picked up right away. “Butch. My man. What’s happening?”
“Did you pass the message to our friend? Will he be there?”
“Well, that’s the thing, man, he kind of wants to know what this little shindig’s about first.”
“I don’t like to conduct business over the phone. You know I like to do it in person.”
“He just wants a heads up, that’s all.”
“Is he there right now?”
“Uh, yeah, he’s standing here.”
“Can you put him on?”
“Yeah, hold your muffins a sec.”
Franks held the phone out. Jacobs looked at it, seeming as if he was a
little hesitant in taking it. Finally, he did, though.
“Yeah?”
“Brett. Nice to talk to you again.”
Even though they had worked together on a few things, mostly Butch coming to Jacobs’ rescue in fending off Ames, Jacobs still didn’t like to act like they were friends. They had a common enemy as far as he was concerned. That was all there was to it. And he didn’t really like it when others tried to act all chummy with him. He knew it was fake. There was obviously something Butch wanted, since meeting with each other happened so infrequently.
“Yeah. So what’s up? What about this meeting?”
“Wilson Ames is back in town,” Butch replied.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that.”
“I’ve got a line on him. If we work together quickly on this, we can take him out before he’s got a chance to regroup.”
“What kind of line?”
“He’s setting up shop at the old Dexters building. You know it?”
“Yeah, I’m familiar with it.”
“He’s using that as a base right now. Trying to keep things low key until he’s ready to strike again.”
“You sure it’s him?”
“Positive. I’ve had my contacts check, double check, and triple check. There’s no doubt.”
“Well, if you know he’s there, what do you need me for?”
“A chance to get in on it,” Butch answered. “That way you can see for yourself what goes down. Then you won’t have to wonder about him anymore. You’ll see with your own two eyes that he’s dead. He’s not coming back from the grave again this time. I thought you’d appreciate that better than just me telling you he’s gone.”
Jacobs was silent, unsure if it was really necessary for him to be there for that. Considering he knew that Butch and Ames were enemies, he doubted Butch would lie and say Ames was dead if he really wasn’t.
Butch wasn’t alone on his end. Mallette was standing next to him, trying to listen to every word, coaching Butch on what to say. Mallette was motioning for Butch to keep pushing. He needed Jacobs to show up.
“Brett, after the things we’ve been through, I would think you’d want to be there at that moment. It should be a giant relief off your back. After all, my men did save you once or twice when you asked. Now it is my turn to ask you. I would really like you to be there in our moment of glory.”
Jacobs cleared his throat. He didn’t want to sound ungrateful, because Butch’s men did help save him, and helped Tiffany. “Yeah, OK. I’ll be there.”
“Great. We’re going to do the hit at one p.m. tomorrow.”
“What if he’s not there?”
“He’ll be there. My sources have told me he’s been there for a week. Hasn’t left the place. He’s doing everything there. People are coming to see him. He’ll be there. I guarantee it.”
“OK. I guess I’ll see you there.”
“You do not have to worry about bringing weapons or your dog or anything. My men will do the heavy lifting. I just want you to be there and witness it. You can even bring Eddie if you like.”
Jacobs pushed his eyebrows together, thinking it was an odd request. He chalked it up to Butch being overexcited, though.
“Yeah, we’ll see.”
“OK, then. Tomorrow at one.”
Jacobs hung up, then tossed the phone back to Franks.
“Well?” Franks asked.
“Says they’ve got Ames marked. Want me to be there to see it.”
“Hallelujah! When?”
“Tomorrow. One o’clock.”
“Well, that is good news. Looks like Mr. Ames is gonna have a short stay back in town, don’t it?”
Jacobs looked over at Tiffany, expecting her to look relieved. She didn’t, though. He was a little surprised to see she still had the same look of worry she usually had about these things.
“What’s wrong?” Jacobs asked. “Everything could be over after tomorrow.”
“Not everything.”
Jacobs instantly thought of Mallette. “Oh. Yeah. Well, at least half our worries would be gone.”
“Would they?”
Jacobs walked over to her and sat down next to her. “What do you mean? What’s the matter?”
Tiffany shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t want to sound like an old worrywart.”
“You don’t. What’s bothering you, though?”
“I don’t know, I just don’t like you taking the word of one gangster over another.”
“What?”
“I don’t know, I’m not even making sense, I guess.”
“I think what she’s trying to say is that she don’t trust the dude,” Franks said. “Is that it?”
Tiffany smiled. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“I wouldn’t necessarily trust him in normal circumstances either,” Jacobs said. “But he has helped us before. And Ames is his enemy too. It’s not like they’re conspiring to set me up or something.”
“I know. And maybe we never would’ve gotten out of that building without his help, but I still don’t like you just agreeing to go somewhere because he says so.”
“What would you want me to do?”
“Not go? I mean, does he really need you?”
Jacobs stared into her eyes for a few moments and tried to give her a warm smile. His thoughts immediately went back to his conversation with Butch, though. The whole thing did strike him as odd. Odd that he called, odd that he asked him to come with no weapons, odd that he didn’t want Gunner there, odd that he asked for Franks, and odd that Butch even wanted him there at all. The whole thing was strange.
But what was he going to do about it? That was the question.
Butch got off the phone and immediately glanced at Mallette. “It’s done. He’ll be there.”
An evil-looking grin appeared on Mallette’s face. “Excellent. This is the beginning of a wonderful partnership between us.”
Butch let out a smile as well as they shook hands. “I agree.”
“What about Franks? I always had a feeling he was involved with Jacobs somehow. Will he bring him?”
“He didn’t say. I didn’t want to press him on it and make him suspicious.”
“No, you did good. It doesn’t matter, anyway. Franks is small potatoes. We can get him anytime, even if he doesn’t show up. Finally, I’ll have my revenge on Brett Jacobs.”
The two finished up their conversation, then Mallette went outside, followed by his men. They had questions about what was going on. Once inside their car, they pressed him on it.
Selby was the first to speak. “Boss, I know Jacobs is always big on your mind and all, but I thought you said you’d deal with him last? You said Ames was the bigger target.”
“That was before I knew Butch had a way in with him,” Mallette replied. “I didn’t want to spend weeks or months trying to find him and lose our way with Ames. But if Jacobs is out there and able to be served up on a silver platter for us, we’d be fools not to take it.”
“What about Franks or the dog? What if he brings them?”
Mallette waved him off. “Ah. Franks is insignificant. As for the dog, well, he’ll get buried next to his owner.”
“I’ve heard that dog gives a lot of problems,” Reed said.
Mallette waved him off too. “Nonsense. It’s of no matter. Even if Jacobs does bring the dog, it won’t do him any good. Because between Butch’s men and us, Jacobs hasn’t got a chance.” Mallette let out a laugh. “Brett Jacobs is walking into a trap. And by this time tomorrow… he’ll be dead.”
7
Jacobs had just finished putting on his vest and adjusted it so it fit better. He had a gun strapped to each of his legs, the pockets of his vest filled with ammo, and he looked as if he was going to a shooting match. He came out of the bedroom, where he saw Franks and Tiffany sitting on the couch next to each other.
Tiffany briefly glanced at him, gave him a bit of a frown, then looked at the floor. The look she gave wasn’t lost on Jacobs. He walke
d over to her and grabbed her hand.
“What’s wrong?”
She looked up at him. “For someone who says he didn’t expect trouble, you’re sure looking like you are.”
“I just want to be cautious.”
“She’s right, man,” Franks said. “You look like you’re expecting trouble.”
Jacobs shrugged. “Just want to be prepared. That’s all.”
“No, you ain’t. I can tell. Something’s bugging you.”
Jacobs shot him an annoyed look. He didn’t really want Franks to continue talking about it and make Tiffany even more worried than she already was. Not that it really mattered much. Nothing they could say would make her more concerned than she already was. She believed that Jacobs was stepping into a potential powder keg.
Jacobs knelt down in front of her, keeping hold of her hand. “I promise everything will be fine.”
“Why do you need to go?”
“I think it’s a good idea to stay on good terms with the guy so I don’t wind up having to battle him like the others.”
“Do you really think that would happen just because you didn’t show up?”
Jacobs sighed. “I don’t know. But I do want to make sure that Ames is someone we don’t have to worry about anymore. And I don’t want to take anyone’s word for it.”
“Brett…”
Jacobs brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. “I promise… if I get there and anything doesn’t seem right, I’ll just leave.”
“You’re taking Gunner, right?”
“Well, I wasn’t planning on…”
“Brett, please. I would feel a lot better if Gunner was with you. At least then I’d know you had someone out there watching your back.”
The corner of Jacobs’ lip curled up, forming the beginnings of a smile. He wasn’t going to argue about it. If it really made her feel better, he’d take Gunner with him. “OK. I’ll take him.”
Tiffany would have felt a lot better if Jacobs didn’t go at all, but at least it was something.
“What about me?” Franks asked.
Jacobs looked at him strangely. “What about you?”
“You want me to go too?”