One of the Wicked: A Mick Callahan Novel

by Harry Shannon

  "Looks like you have the upper hand." I slid out, but kept the car door between my body and the building. "Fortunately, I took a few precautions of my own."

  Several seconds passed before Nicky answered. "And those would be?"

  "Don't worry, Nicky, I have what you want."

  "Please approach the lobby. We'll talk when you get here."

  I closed the phone partway again, dropped it into the pocket of my jeans and walked across the asphalt. I kept my arms away from my body, palms forward. When I reached the bottom of the front steps, Cowboy stepped out of the shadows holding a silenced 9mm casually, barrel down. "Howdy, Callahan. You bored yet?"

  "Eric." I stopped, lifted my shirt, turned around. "I'm not armed."

  "I believe you, but I'll still have to pat you down." He set the gun down on the pavement, closed the distance and checked me out. He examined the disc and took a quick look at my cell phone, noticed it was slightly open, but put both back in my pocket without comment. He backed up, retrieved his weapon. "Let's go."

  Cowboy followed me inside but stayed a few yards behind. The lobby was bright with light, green with tall ferns and moist from two fish ponds fed by waterfalls located on each side. Gold-plated elevators drew my eye to the far center. This time I noticed the see-through swimming pools located on the floor above, and one above that, probably going all the way to the top. The mix of water and light added to the always swirling colors. It was a stunning, if gaudy design.

  Little Nicky exited from the elevators, dressed in slacks and a silk shirt open to his hairy chest. The thug called Clyde was with him, but remained behind to hold the door open. There was no one else in the lobby. I crossed the loud carpet in silence, my stomach tight with anticipation. I had forgotten how big Little Nicky was. We met in the middle of the room.

  "We can go in there," Nicky said. He slapped me on the back. I almost fell down. He led me past the deserted reception desk, through wooden doors and into a spacious office complex hidden behind the plants. Cowboy waited outside.

  "What's this, the hotel office?"

  "Hotel and casino," Nicky replied. "The mainframe is here." He gestured. One of the computers had an oversized monitor showing a screen saver with rapidly shifting colored tubes. "You know, I really don't understand why you came alone, Mick. I'm not going to harm your friends, so long as you brought me the goods."

  "I'd rather be safe than sorry." I took the disc out of my pocket. Nicky sat down and popped it in the machine. I remained standing. "You're going to see it's been tampered with. Call that my insurance policy."

  Nicky lowered his head. "I am so disappointed to hear that." One big leg lashed out and the foot caught me in the stomach. I doubled over and dropped to my knees, out of air and hurting. The bastard kicked like a mule on loco weed. "Explain this to me immediately."

  I couldn't talk yet, waved my palm for time. Caught my breath again and explained, "There's a worm in the file, and now it's in your computer system. When Mary Kate and I are out of here, I'll give you the password to dissolve it."

  I made it to my feet, slowly rubbed my stomach. My vision had turned red. I wanted to stay calm, but my stepfather, Danny, was crouching in the back of my mind, gibbering, you gonna let him get away with that? Shit, the bigger they are the harder they fall. . . .

  Nicky glowered, then began to chuckle. "You know, I don't even need to kill you, Callahan. You already have trouble coming at you from every direction at this point, the police and the mob. Soon my colleagues in Europe will also want to exact revenge."

  I cocked my head. "You want to repeat that last part again?"

  "Eric!"

  Cowboy came into the room with his gun raised. Clyde was right behind, and he had MK with him. She was gagged and her hands were bound with plastic cop ties. She'd been beaten. Her lips were swollen and her left eye was closed and blue. Clyde pushed Mary Kate toward me. I caught my sister and held her up. Now Cowboy and Clyde were all business. They spread out to either side of the office doorway to keep me covered. The rage was building, partly in response to the fear. My heart was thudding and my muscles felt engorged.

  Nicky stepped away from the computer. "If I let you walk, you won't last a week. The cops want you for questioning, but our men on the inside will make sure you never make it out of the jail. You see, I just issued an executive order on behalf of Big Paul, who has, shall we say, taken an extended leave of absence. It's a hit on you and all your friends. The reward is two million, five hundred thousand a head."

  Something worked behind Clyde's dim eyes. He wanted that money. I looked over at Cowboy, couldn't read him. Nicky stepped closer to me, but was too smart to give me an opening. "And as for my colleagues, once you have given me the password, I will tell them you ran off with the disc and intend to sell it on the open market. They would rather have the information destroyed than used against them, I can assure you. They will find and kill you all, Mr. Callahan, sooner or later. I would enjoy hearing about that."

  "So let us go."

  Nicky sighed. "Unfortunately, Ms. Hernandez is not here. Left to your own devices, and with her assistance, you are intelligent enough to approach the US government. And that I cannot allow. Now, give me the password."

  "No."

  Nicky produced a small handgun. He aimed it at Mary Kate's leg. "I will ask you one more time, and then I will shoot your sister in the foot, then ask you one more time before I wound the other foot. I will follow with her hands, elbows, and so on."

  Mary Kate trembled against me. I gently undid her gag. "The password is Mandel's name backwards, plus the number one."

  Nicky backed up, made sure Cowboy and Clyde were covering me and sat down at the computer. He typed for a moment. Satisfied, he rolled the chair back and got to his feet. "Kill them."

  Cowboy motioned with his gun. "Sorry, bro, nothing personal. Let's take it outside, shall we? It's such a nice night."

  "I want Hernandez hunted down, too," Nicky said. "She can't have gone far. Make sure you pick her up."

  Cowboy nodded. "Will do. Clyde, watch the girl." He backed away from me, gripped his weapon in both hands and followed me, targeting dead center. All very professional. Clyde moved closer to Mary Kate. He wasn't as competent, but then she was too confused and hurt to pose much of a threat.

  I stopped in the doorway to stare at Nicky. "By the way, don't sleep," I said, smiling. "And don't ever turn your back on anyone."

  His eye twitched. "Excuse me?"

  Clyde did as I'd hoped. He pushed Mary Kate past me and into the lobby. I knew Cowboy expected me to make a move soon. All I could do was hope he wasn't a great shot. Not much of a hope. I risked a look his way. Cowboy shook his head. "I wouldn't, if I were you."

  I smiled again. "You're not me." I raised my voice. "Jerry? Do it."

  A fire alarm blared directly overhead. Cowboy jumped back and looked up just as the overhead sprinklers came on, drenching us all. I could see Mary Kate through the open wooden door. She thrilled me by giving Clyde an elbow to the throat. His gun went flying into the ferns. Clyde went purple and sat down hard. I hit Cowboy low. The gun went off twice near my ear, but it was silenced, so the noise was not too bad. We sailed over the top of a desk covered with charts and blueprints and smashed into the carpet with me on top. We fought for the gun. My skin crawled because I knew Nicky was right behind us, looking for a shot. I rolled under Cowboy just in time. Nicky fired and Cowboy's eyes went wide. He said, "Ah, shit," and went limp.

  I yanked his weapon away and fired back, driving Little Nicky further into the office. I had a gun and for once was glad of it. The air was thick with water and it was difficult to see. I slid out from under Cowboy, checked him quickly. He'd taken a round in the lower back, but it was to one side and mostly a flesh wound. He stared up at me dully, but oddly without rancor. I made sure he had no backup pistol and then went after Nicky. Two muzzle flashes drove me back to the wooden doors. I took the cell out of my pocket. The modified screen stayed da
rk, even though it was on and connected.

  "Jerry, turn everything off."

  The alarm stopped, the water dried up, and the room went black. I edged back out into the lobby, clothes soaked, shoes squeaking. "Not the lights. Leave them on."

  After a moment, the room brightened up. They were over by the fish pond. Clyde was still clutching his neck, while Mary Kate covered him with his own gun. One eye was still closed, but the other radiated hostility.

  "You okay?"

  MK nodded. "I've got your new nickname," she said. "From now on, I'm going to call you Hero."

  "If I live, I'll deserve it. Stay here, I'm going after Nicky. If he gets away, this will never be over."

  I went back into the office. Stayed low by one of the desks. Cowboy was still flat, clutching a dark red stain low and to the side. I whispered, "Jerry, is there a back door out of the mainframe office?"

  "Negative, not now. There are two fire doors, but I just locked them tight."

  "Way to go. You have the cops on the way?"

  "ETA twelve minutes, maybe sooner if the Highway Patrol can get loose from a big pileup on the 15."

  "Okay. Here we go. Wish me luck."

  I risked a peek over the desk. A huge sliver of wood nicked my cheek as Nicky fired again. That little gun can't hold many more bullets, Daddy Danny said from his little corner of my mind. Make him use them . . . and then shove it up his ass.

  I fired back and ran along bent over, using the row of desks as cover. Nicky fired again and then again. I squatted near a long row of cubicles. "Jerry, the lights at the far east quadrant of the mainframe office? Shut them down." A moment later, all of the lights behind and around me went dark. Nicky, on the other hand, was illuminated. I could see his shadow on the wall near the fire door. I squinted, fired, trying to angle a ricochet off the metal door. Nicky yelped and fired back from reflex. That's when I heard the click I'd been waiting for. He was out of ammunition.

  I left the gun and cell phone on the carpet and ran like hell down the row of desks. When Nicky raised his head I was sliding over the top of one and slammed into him at chest level. The force of that blow drove him back into the metal fire door and the locked bar struck him right in the kidneys. Nicky moaned in my ear. I grunted in satisfaction and began tearing at his face with my nails. I think he expected me to fight fair, try to punch him, but I wanted to rip his eyes out. I bit down on his nose and blood spurted. Nicky got his hands up enough to shove me away. This time it was my turn to take one in the lower back. The desk caught it and knocked the wind out of me.

  Little Nicky towered above, nose bloody and eyes wild. He slammed a fist into my skull with enough force to make the world spin—and also maybe break a bone or two in his right hand. This man wasn't used to street brawling. I saw his look of anguished surprise, grabbed that fist in both my hands and slammed it down onto the wooden desk. Then I hit his nose again with the flat of my palm. His eyes filled with tears. Nicky may as well have been blind. I let him have it, kicked down into the side of his knee until he dropped to the carpet. Kicked him in the head and sent him over into a metal trash can. Kicked him in the bloody face once he was down. Again. Then I stopped because I knew I'd kill him if I didn't control myself.

  "Mick?"

  I looked up to see Darlene in the doorway. She had a bead on Clyde. Mary Kate was at the fountain, throwing cold water on her face.

  "Hey," she said, "you about wrapped up in there?"

  It was over. I walked back to the cell phone and just then someone burst into the lobby shouting. Darlene said something about being on the job. A cop drew down on me, and I finally made out the words.

  "Freeze, motherfucker! Police!"

  "Easy." I raised my arms. "I'm not armed. The main guy you want is over there on the carpet."

  "Stand where you are or we will shoot you down."

  Salt-and-pepper cops, one black and one white. They were the small-town variety; young and scared, therefore doubly dangerous. I kept my hands up and waited. I checked on the whereabouts of my cell phone. It was still a few yards away but that was close enough. I could see Mary Kate in the doorway, standing with Darlene. They waved. A second pair of cops had disarmed the two women and cuffed Clyde. There was no sign of Cowboy, and that bothered me.

  "Careful," I called. "There's another one."

  "Shut up and stand still." The black cop reached Little Nicky and bent over. He jumped back. "Christ, that's Big Paul's number-two guy."

  "Damn."

  "Oh, man."

  "Okay. What the fuck should we do now?"

  The white cop thought furiously. He called to the two in the lobby. "Rick, Eddie, listen up. Take the cuffs off that dude and get out of here."

  "Say what?" A young cop with glasses stood in the doorway.

  "Just do it."

  "Okay, okay, but then what about the women?"

  "Not your problem."

  "Guys," I said, "don't do this."

  The white cop jogged to my gun and the cell, thought the phone was off and left it on the carpet. He kept me covered and brought the 9mm back. Checked to see if there were any rounds left, tossed the gun to the black cop. "Give that to Nicky. We're going to retreat four miles and come back fresh, after they've worked things out. Believe me you don't want any part of this shit."

  Nicky was on his feet, but bent over slightly. Blood was dripping from his shattered nose. He fixed me with a predator's glare and picked up the gun. I knew I was a dead man. Nicky raised the weapon. The black cop caught his arm. "No offense, but wait until we're out of here, okay? We're doing you a solid, so give us some slack."

  "For God's sake," Darlene shouted, "you're cops. You can't just turn us over to these people and leave!"

  Nicky nodded to the local lawmen, forced a smile. "Go. We'll make this worth your while."

  The cops covered me as they backed out the door. Nicky smiled through flattened lips. Clyde had Darlene and Mary Kate covered again. Oh, man. We were seriously screwed. To top matters off, the cops made it out of the casino even faster than they had arrived. No time to think.

  "Nice trick," Nicky said. He stumbled toward me, the gun centered on my chest. "Your cell phone, I assume?"

  I didn't answer. "I don't suppose you'd want to put that gun down and settle this like men."

  Nicky sneered. "That is a tempting thought, my friend, but I am more interested in winning than playing fair. Prepare. I am going to kill your woman and your sister in front of you, one at a time, and then shoot you in the head."

  I heard a BANG from the lobby. Nicky and I turned at the same time. Clyde was sliding down the doorjamb with part of his face missing. Darlene was scrambling for his gun. Mary Kate was screaming. I ducked again and took off. Nicky knew he was low on ammunition. He followed me, but was reluctant to waste fire and end up having to get physical with me again.

  A man's voice, unfamiliar: "Back up, back the fuck up."

  What the hell is this, an Elk's Club convention? I came to the end of the row. Cowboy was not where I'd left him. There was a trail of blood smeared across the carpet. It led into some potted plants near the doorway. I risked a look over the top of the desk. Mary Kate's ex-boyfriend, Ed Talbot, stood four feet from the doorway. He was amped up, waving a .357 around like a kid in a rap video. Talbot had shot Clyde and was now ordering Darlene to stay back. I looked back over my shoulder. Nicky would be on me in no time. If I ran for cover, I'd be on top of Cowboy. If I stayed here, Nicky would blow me away. If I stood up, Talbot might do it for him.

  "I'm coming out."

  I got up slowly, arms high. Talbot spun around and for a second I thought I was toast. He was definitely on crystal meth, pasty faced, twitching and jerking and grinning like a sagging Halloween pumpkin. "We want the money and the dope, man. The money and the dope, okay? Just give us the money and the dope and we're square."

  Mary Kate was pacing around, hugging herself, exhausted and also clearly embarrassed. I could read her body language from h
alf a room away. "Ed, not these two. They're our friends. Just look out for the big guy."

  Talbot blinked wildly. The gun swung to and fro. "Big guy?"

  Oh, shit, he didn't even notice Nicky. It finally registered that MK must have said something to Talbot. I'd been double-crossed by my own sister. They'd made plans along the way, intending to score both the money and the drugs. Mary Kate would have rationalized it, justified things in her mind. After all, Mick only wants that disc. Why not call Ed and grab a hundred and fifty grand in cash and some premium dope to unload? Leave town and get a new start somewhere?

  "Ed," my sister said urgently. "Give my brother the gun. Hand it to Mick. Trust me on this."

  I shook my head sadly. "MK?"

  She looked away. "I'm sorry, Hero. Guess I'm just a fuckup."

  By now I could feel Nicky behind me. He was low on ammo, but this new guy was armed and just as capable of killing us, thus temporarily posing a bigger threat. I started to bring my hands down and move closer. Ed Talbot whirled and aimed at me. The floor seemed to drop away. A .357 has a damned big barrel when you're looking right down it.

  "Ed," I said as calmly as possible, "you'd best let me walk over there."

  Mary Kate stopped pacing. Her eyes narrowed. Something came over her. She charged Ed from behind, ignored the gun and attacked, kicking and screaming. Ed, enraged, fired once into the floor by accident. The noise seemed to startle him sober. He caught himself and brought the gun up. My sister froze and fell backwards onto the floor. Ed snarled, aimed. He was clearly going to shoot MK first, then me. . . .

  Nicky arrived, and reacted without thinking. He fired. The shot took Ed in the throat. Talbot dropped like a stone, grunting and wheezing. Blood went up and to the side in a fountain and the now slippery .357 skidded right towards me. I scrambled for the gun, ignoring the gore and the man now dying maybe five feet away. Meanwhile, Darlene was making a move for Clyde's weapon. Nicky fired again, just missing her, and she skidded away on her butt. MK went flat and covered her ears. She couldn't stop staring at what was left of Ed Talbot. She began to scream. Darlene rolled behind the fish pond for cover. Meanwhile, the pool of blood on the floor steadily widened.