by Mike Ryan
They continued staring at each other for a little while. Then Jerrick finally broke the tension with a small laugh. “You’re trying to provoke me. I get it. I get it. Ain’t gonna work.”
“You know, I really don’t know what you hoped to accomplish with all this. You tried to take me out by surprise… didn’t work. You tried to take Mia, didn’t work. You’ve now blown your cover by revealing yourself to Vincent so you can’t even take out his crew by surprise either. I really don’t understand what you’re doing here. It really makes no sense.”
“I’m not afraid of you. I’m not afraid of Vincent. There’s where most people who come up against either of you fail. They’re afraid. They have to operate in secrecy because they feel that’s the only way they can win. Well I’m not like that. These last few months I’ve been here strictly to build up my organization. To get us up to the numbers we need to be. Then we can start taking back what’s rightfully ours. What Jeremiah began to build. I’m gonna finish it for him.”
“You’ll get buried right next to him.”
“You want a war, Vincent wants a war, we’ll give it to you both. I’m not here to play games. We’re here to win.”
Recker sighed, knowing the conversation was only going to continue to go one way. “Listen, you wanna wage war on me, fine. You wanna take out Vincent, that’s his business. Fine. I can handle that. You won’t be the first to take me on and lose, and you won’t be the last either. But leave it at that. Don’t be targeting innocent people that have nothing to do with it.”
Jerrick grinned. “Ahh, you mean the pretty nurse, don’t you? What’s the matter, afraid you can’t protect her? The big bad Silencer can protect everyone in the city but can’t protect his own girlfriend?”
“I’m just telling you… lay off.”
“And I’m just telling you… everything’s on the table. I ain’t got no standards that I won’t cross, lines I won’t go over. Everything’s fair game in this business.”
“I guess we’ve said everything we’ve got to say then.” Recker slowly stood up.
“Yeah. I guess we have. We’ll be seeing more of each other. But then again, maybe we won’t.”
Recker looked at Tyrell and motioned for him to come over. “C’mon, Tyrell, we’re leaving.”
Tyrell walked over to him and stood behind him.
Jerrick pointed at him. “You’re on borrowed time too. When he goes, you’re going with him.”
“We’ll see about that,” Tyrell said.
“Yes, we will. You’ve been at this a long time, playing multiple sides of the fence. You’re with him, with Vincent, Jeremiah, and every other person that’s come in here. Well not no more. You’re probably one of the reasons people like him and Vincent got to where they are. You’ll snitch on anybody for a dollar.”
Tyrell shook his head. “That’s not true. I’d snitch on you for nothin’.”
“I think we’re done here,” Recker said. “First one of you that goes through that door after us is gonna get your head blown off.”
Jerrick smiled, not looking worried. “You ain’t gotta worry about that today. Today’s your hall pass. Today you got a freebie. Tomorrow, though… tomorrow’s a different story. Tomorrow we’re coming gunning for you.”
“You better come with both barrels then. Because I’m gonna have a double barrel pointing straight at you.”
“I guess we’ll see which one of us comes out standing.”
“Yeah. I guess we will.”
14
After leaving the hotel, Recker took Tyrell back to his house. Haley followed them just to make sure they didn’t run into trouble. Recker and Tyrell stood just outside his house as they discussed the situation.
“You’re gonna have to be really careful from now on,” Recker said. “They know who you are, where to find you, and what you’re doing.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll do what I always do.”
“Just watch yourself.”
Tyrell nodded. “Thanks for coming for me.”
“Wasn’t even a question.”
“What do you think that was about?”
“Huh?”
“Back there. I mean, why go through all that? Why expose himself like that? He didn’t have to. He could’ve continued operating in the shadows. Or he could’ve killed the both of us in that hotel. Why let us go if he’s planning on killing us, anyway.”
“I was thinking about that on the drive over here,” Recker said. “I think he feels it’s just the next logical progression. Operating in the shadows has worked to a point. Then when he tried to do take me out, and take Mia out, they both failed. Now he’s got no other options. He knows we’re watching at the hospital, so the surprise factor is gone. He has no idea where I am, so that’s not an option either. In order to keep a target on us, he’s gotta go public, knowing that we’re gonna be out there looking for him too. I guess he figures at some point we’re going to expose ourselves. And he hopes to capitalize on it when we do.”
“I guess I can understand that. But why all that jazz with taking me to the hotel? He could’ve finished us.”
“I think he knew if anything started, I was taking him out as well. I didn’t let them take my guns before I went in, so he knew I was armed. If there was any funny business, he was only a few feet away from me. He’d be the first one I killed if someone did something stupid.”
“Yeah, I guess that explains it too.” Tyrell shook his head, trying to understand everything that had been going on. “Just a lot to process right now.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“How’d they find you when they took that shot at you on the street?”
“I dunno. My guess is that they had followed Mia to the apartment and then followed us downtown. Then they saw us walking and took their shot.”
“Yeah, but who was the target? You or her?”
Recker looked away and shook his head. “I don’t know. It honestly could’ve been either of us. I assumed it was me, but hearing what he said about wanting me to feel loss, it could’ve been her too.”
“Seems like we got a big security problem now. He knows where your girl works. He knows where I live. He’s got access to you.”
Recker sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Yeah, we’re gonna have to see what we can do to change that.”
“We might not see them, but you can bet your ass they’re gonna be watching. Me and her.”
“I know.”
“And they’re gonna hope one of us screws up and leads them back to you.”
“We’re just gonna have to be extra careful. Might be good if me and you don’t meet for a while. At least until this simmers down a little to where we can be sure there’s nobody watching.”
“Yeah, I agree. What’s the deal with Sadko then? Jerrick just using him for, what?”
“I assume he wanted someone who was familiar with the inside of Vincent’s organization. Someone who could provide him with some answers. He needed someone to get a glimpse of how Vincent operates, what he does, how he thinks. That’s something that Jeremiah never had.”
“I still think he blew his chance here, man. He could’ve really opened up a big one on Vincent by catching him by surprise. He should’ve taken it.”
“I think he really just wanted to take me out first. Maybe with Sadko, he figures he’s got an inside line on Vincent anyway that he can use anytime.”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Recker continued thinking, a new thought playing in his head over and over again. And it was one he couldn’t shake. “Unless…”
“Unless what?”
“Unless it wasn’t a surprise.”
“What do you mean?”
“Maybe the reason he wasn’t trying to take Vincent by surprise was because he knew he couldn’t.”
“Why couldn’t he?”
“It’s not a surprise if your opponent already knows you’re coming.”
Tyrell raised his eyebrows. “You think Vincent
already knows about all this?”
Recker shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just throwing things out there. But now that I’m thinking about it more clearly, maybe it makes sense. Now that I’m thinking about it, at no time has Vincent seemed that upset about one of his men up and leaving his organization. He’s kind of taken it in stride.”
“If one of his men left, he’d want to know why. He’d want to know where they were going, and what their plans were after they left.”
“Yeah. He wouldn’t just let them go and give them a fruit basket as a parting gift. He’d want to know and make sure they weren’t coming back to bite him later on.”
“So maybe he has known this entire time,” Tyrell said.
“I think it’s possible.”
As they continued talking, Recker’s eyes glanced down the street at a parked car. He was careful not to keep his head looking directly at it. Instead, he turned his head back to Tyrell, while still keeping the car in the corner of his vision to look at it.
“What?” Tyrell asked, noticing Recker’s distraction.
“Just act cool like nothing’s wrong.”
“Is there?”
“Not sure. There’s a green sedan parked down the street.”
“So? There’s cars here every day.”
“This one’s got two men inside.”
“So? They might live there, you know. Maybe they’re smoking a joint. Maybe they’re just talking. Maybe they’re waiting for a lady friend to do a little back seat party?”
“Maybe. I just wanna make sure that we’re not being watched now. We could’ve been followed here. Or maybe they were already waiting here for when you got back.”
Tyrell was now coming around to his friend’s way of thinking. “Uh, I don’t know how to tell you this, but I think you might be right on that car.”
“Why?”
“Because I think I spot another one down there.”
Recker was careful not to turn around and look and give it away that they were on to them. “What’s it look like?”
“Uh, blue four-door, two men inside. One of them just lit a cigarette.”
Recker casually touched his earpiece. “Chris, you hearing this?”
“I’m on it,” Haley replied.
A few seconds later, they noticed Haley’s car driving down the street. He was driving slow, though still not making it obvious he was trying to check out the occupants of both cars. Once he drove off the street, he reported back with his findings.
“Mike, looks like the problem’s confirmed.”
“How so?”
“Saw a gun in both cars.”
“You sure?”
“In the first one, there was a gun on the lap of the driver. Just sitting there.”
“And the other?”
“Looked like the passenger had it in his hand. He tried to duck it down to the side of him as I drove by to conceal it.”
“Maybe they’re cops,” Tyrell said.
“Since when did cops stake you out?” Recker asked.
“First time for everything.”
“So what do you wanna do?”
“Me? What do you want me to do?”
“Well it’s your house. Your neighborhood. Your street. I figured you should get some say about what goes on.”
“I ain’t killing all them dudes.”
“I didn’t say you did. I just asked what you wanna do.”
“Well what are the options?”
“One, we kill them.”
“Didn’t I just say that?”
“Or, we leave them alone. Let them stay and watch.”
“And hope I mess up.”
“Well there’s a good countermeasure to that.”
“Yeah? What is it?”
Recker smiled. “Don’t mess up.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“You know, even the best ones stumble from time to time.”
“So you’re saying you’re in favor of taking them out then?”
“That’s not what I’m saying. What if you kill these dudes and Jerrick thinks it was me?”
“He won’t.”
“What if he does?”
“He won’t.”
“How do you know?”
“Because he won’t. He’ll know it was me. That’s just a given.”
“What if this brings down more heat on me?”
“Shouldn’t.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because dead bodies usually increase the police presence in that area for the few days and weeks after that. Might actually help you get loose a little.”
“That’s only temporary.”
Recker shrugged. “Only other thing you can do is move.”
“What good will that do? If Jerrick’s been here for five months, he’s probably already started putting men out all over the place. Some of them might even be hanging out in places I tend to visit. He knew I was at that pool hall when he took me. Even if I move, he might still know where I am.”
“Possible.”
“You’re not giving me a lot of options here.”
“Sure I am. Just no good ones.”
“Well, what do you think?”
“I say take them out. Jerrick’s a threat. Anytime you can take out four men of that threat and whittle their forces down, that’s a win in my book. You take them whenever you can get it.”
“You were planning on doing that all along, weren’t you? Regardless of what I said.”
“Yeah. Because it’s also possible they’re just here to try and kill me. If they thought the hotel was too risky in getting Jerrick shot, he might have wanted to wait until I was here to do it. That way he stays nice and safe and snuggly.”
“Then what’d you ask what I thought for?”
Recker shrugged again. “Figured I’d be nice and give you a say. You do live here.”
“And what if I said to leave them alone?”
“I just would’ve done what I wanted, anyway.”
Tyrell rolled his eyes and sighed. “You’re impossible sometimes, you know that?”
“If only I had a dollar for every time I’d heard that.”
“Yeah, you’d have more money than Bill Gates by now, wouldn’t ya?”
Recker smiled. “Probably.”
“How long you gonna wait?”
“No time like the present. Chris, you ready to do this thing?”
“Ready when you are. How you wanna play it?”
“Well I can’t just walk over to one of them. They’ll get antsy as soon as I get near them. Gonna have to make it look like I left and then sneak back up on them.”
“We can try to time it.”
“They’re not looking for you so you can probably stay in your car. Give me a few minutes. I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”
“Roger that.”
“Well, I’m getting inside before all the shooting starts,” Tyrell said.
“Probably a good idea.”
“Call me if you need me. But not tonight.”
Recker went back to his car and got inside, quickly driving off. He really wasn’t sure if the men in the cars were going to follow him, though. If they did, he’d have to come up with a new plan. They didn’t though. They stayed in their spots without moving an inch. After Recker turned off the street, he found another spot to park and quickly jumped out. He put his hand on his gun, though he didn’t remove it yet. At that time of night, he didn’t have to worry too much about onlookers, though there was always the possibility of a police cruiser coming by.
“Chris, starting my approach now.”
“What if they recognize you walking?”
“I’m hoping they’re not that observant as to what I was wearing.”
Recker walked down the sidewalk toward the car, a dozen other cars lined up in back and in front of it. He wiped his hand on the side of his pants to get the sweat off of it before placing it back on his gun. When he was a couple of cars away, he let
Haley know he was close.
“Chris, head up now.”
“On the way.”
Recker slowed down his pace a little until he saw the lights of Haley’s car come zooming up the street. He then walked more swiftly to the car, putting his face down to make sure no one in the car could recognize him if they spotted him in the side mirror. Haley’s car came to a sudden stop right next to the car that he had targeted. The occupants of the car immediately looked over at him and knew something was up. They scrambled for their weapons, but Haley immediately opened fire, shattering pieces of glass as the bullets ripped through the window until they found their final resting spots within the men’s bodies.
As soon as the shots were heard, the other men closer to Recker, jumped out of their cars, ready to join the fight. Recker immediately raised his weapon and fired two shots at the passenger, drilling him in the back. The driver turned around, just barely long enough to see Recker’s face before he too dropped to the ground. Recker didn’t have to check on their status. He knew they were dead.
“Let’s get out of here,” Recker said.
Haley continued driving down the street, at first speeding off to make sure no one saw him, not that it would have really mattered if they copied his fake license plate, but once he was off the street, he drove at a normal pace once again. Recker ran back to his car as well, quickly jumping in and driving away.
“Looks like mission accomplished,” Haley said.
“Yeah, for now.”
“Wonder if that’ll start something.”
“Oh, it’ll start something,” Recker said. “It’s just a question of what.”
15
Recker was waiting for his guest to arrive, passing the time by walking along the Delaware River. It was a cool day, and slightly windy, but this was where Vincent wanted to meet. It was Recker who requested the meeting, but he had a feeling Vincent wanted to get a few things off his chest as well. He waited about twenty minutes before Vincent finally showed up. The crime boss came walking down the path, Malloy closely following behind him. There were quite a few more men that set up a distance away from each other, almost like it was a presidential guard, making sure no one interrupted.