by Mike Ryan
Recker stopped walking around and looked at him. “Why?”
“It just seems too convenient.”
“Breaks like these do happen sometimes. And in just these ways. Could be that Jerrick called a meeting, one of his guys is feeling the walls closing in and wants to get out. The way to do that is to set Jerrick up.”
Jones didn’t think that was likely. “But if that’s the case, why not go to Vincent directly? Why not go to him and say, I want to switch sides? I want to come on board with you because Jerrick’s on a sinking ship. Then he could serve Jerrick up on a silver platter.”
Recker rubbed his face and nodded. It was a good point. “Yeah.”
“I think the points we’ve raised are good ones. I just can’t see the meeting getting slipped to an outside source accidentally. It just doesn’t seem likely.”
Recker continued bobbing his head around. He was increasingly falling to that point of view. “No, it doesn’t.”
“I think that settles it then, doesn’t it?” Phillips said. “We sit on it?”
Jones looked at his partners. “I think that’s the right move here.”
Recker still wanted to wait on Malloy. “Let’s just wait to see what Vincent says.”
“Why should that change anything?” Phillips asked.
“Who said it would?”
“Then what do we need to wait for?”
Recker looked over at Jones again. He didn’t really have a good answer for the new guy. After thinking on it a few more seconds, he looked at each member of the group. “We’re sitting on it then?”
Jones and Phillips both nodded. Haley, though, kept his head still. Recker noticed his lack of enthusiasm either way.
“What do you say, Chris?”
“It’s a tough one. If… if we send Vincent’s men over there, and it’s a trap, and something happens, where does that leave us? We’re the ones that sent them over there.”
“That’s their own doing,” Phillips said. “Got nothing to do with us.”
“Jerrick is as much of our problem as he is theirs. I feel like if they roll on it, at least one of us should roll on it with them. Just seems like the right thing for me.”
“Even if it’s a trap?”
Haley nodded. “Even if it’s a trap. If we’re both fighting the same enemy, we should both take the same risks.”
“Things will never be equal, though,” Jones said.
“No, and I’m not saying they have to be. I’m just saying in this instance, we get the tip, we then give it to them, then all of a sudden we say we’re out ’cause it seems too dangerous? But it’s OK if your men get killed? Seems a little disingenuous to me.”
“They don’t have to roll on it either,” Phillips said.
“I understand what Chris is saying,” Recker said.
“So if they go, you propose that one of us goes with them?” Jones asked.
Haley nodded. “Yeah. Just as a courtesy.”
“Then the question becomes who would go?”
Haley shook his head. “There’s no question about it. It’d have to be me.”
“Why?”
“Mike’s leaving in two days, can’t be him. Mia would kill the both of us if something happened to you now. I’m pretty sure Vincent doesn’t want Phillips anywhere near him or his men right now. And it can’t be David. That leaves one man left.”
Recker shook his head. “No. If anyone’s going, it should be me. I couldn’t let you go out there not knowing if I was sending you into a trap.”
“It’s the only way to play it.”
“If you go, I go. And that’s the way it is.”
“If you get blown up two days before leaving, Mia will not be happy.”
Recker grinned. “It would kind of upset me too.”
“Let’s just see what Vincent has to say before we start making any plans here,” Jones said.
They didn’t have long to wait and wonder. It only took about five minutes before Recker’s phone rang again.
“So what’s the verdict?” Recker asked.
“Looks like we’re a go,” Malloy answered.
“Really? Even with the possibilities?”
“Vincent knows the risks. Maybe even expects them. But he says it’s an opportunity that can’t be passed up. We just have to keep our eyes open. Who’s he got leading the charge?”
“Who else?”
“You?”
“The one and only.”
“Looks like you got me and Chris on board.”
“One more time for old time’s sake before you head off into the sunset?”
Recker laughed. “We’ll see.”
“Meet you there in thirty?”
“We’ll be there.”
When Recker got off the phone, Haley was already picking out his weapons. He already deciphered from the conversation that they were going. Recker soon joined him in grabbing his weapons.
“This is crazy,” Phillips said, not believing the two were actually going. “You’ll both get killed.”
“Always possible,” Recker replied.
“You two are out of your mind.”
Jones looked at the two of them, concerned about what they might be walking into. He knew trying to talk them out of it was out of the question, so he didn’t bother making that plea. But he did hope their fears did not come to fruition. After Recker and Haley finished getting their gear, they bid their partners goodbye, walking past them on the way to the door.
“Please be careful,” Jones said. “Keep your eyes open.”
“We’re on it,” Recker replied, closing the door behind them.
“Why are those two so crazy?” Phillips asked.
“It’s a sense of honor that they have,” Jones answered.
Phillips raised an eyebrow. “Still sounds crazy if you ask me.”
“It may well be.”
By the time Recker and Haley got to the building in question, Malloy and his team were already there waiting. They met up down the street to try to formulate a plan.
“How many men you got with you?” Recker asked.
“Eight.”
“So eleven of us in total. Should be enough if they’re really in there.”
“Any sight of them so far?” Haley asked.
Malloy shook his head. “Not yet. We got here about five minutes ago. I got guys keeping eyes on the building already. No activity yet.”
“So they’re probably inside already.”
“Unless they’re not coming,” Recker said.
“Yeah.”
“So I figure it this way; I’ll send in four of my guys first. Then we’ll go in after that. Then I’ll have the last four come in behind us, keeping an eye on our backs.”
Recker nodded. It sounded good to him. “All right, let’s roll.”
As they started jogging over to the building, Malloy told his team to start going in. The first four men quickly entered the building. They already started sweeping the first floor as Recker, Haley, and Malloy got there. Even though the meeting was supposed to take place on the fifth floor, they couldn’t just bypass the other floors. With their luck, that’s where someone would be waiting for them, waiting to mow them down.
As Vincent’s men started on the second floor, the last four men entered the building, making sure nobody snuck up behind anyone. So far the coast was clear. A few minutes later the second floor was cleared. Then the third floor.
“Running out of floors here,” Recker said.
“Maybe it really is legit,” Malloy said.
“We’re about to find out.”
The fourth floor was cleared. Vincent’s men then got to the fifth floor. Almost as soon as they entered, they were met with gunfire. Several of Jerrick’s men were standing there waiting for them. One of VIncent’s men immediately hit the ground, dead on impact.
“There it is,” Recker said.
“Let’s join the party,” Malloy replied.
Recker, Haley, and Mallo
y soon joined the others on the fifth floor. Within a few minutes, Jerrick’s men started dropping. As far as they could tell, there were at least three of them. They couldn’t tell if Jerrick was among them, though.
Recker was getting a bad feeling about everything. It just didn’t seem right. “This seem kind of light to you?”
“In what way?” Haley asked.
Recker shrugged. “Only three of them.”
Haley looked out onto the floor. “Looks like two now.”
“Yeah. Kind of my point. Pretty light meeting.”
“Maybe that’s how they always keep it.”
“Maybe. Just seems they’d have guards or something. Just in case.”
Haley looked onto the floor again, thinking about it. They didn’t even have to fire. The rest of Vincent’s men were taking care of that. Recker and Haley were staying behind the wall, tucked down onto the staircase, away from the action.
“Well if this was a trap it’s a pretty poor one,” Haley said.
“Unless this is just part of it.”
Haley looked down at the steps below. There was no one there. “Unless they’re hoping to come up behind us too and trap us in between?”
Recker nodded. He then tapped Malloy on the shoulder and relayed their concerns.
Malloy radioed the men below him. “Hey, is anybody coming up behind us?”
He immediately got a reply. “All quiet down here.”
“Keep your eyes open.”
Recker still thought something else must have been going on. There had to be. This was too easy. A few seconds later, the remaining member of Jerrick’s team finally hit the ground. Everyone went onto the floor and started looking around. They checked the dead bodies to make sure Jerrick wasn’t among them. He wasn’t. They also looked around for any other men waiting around. They didn’t see any.
Recker was still sure something else was in play. He happened to glance at the exit sign that was overtop of the door that led into the stairway. He thought he detected a wire sticking out of it, but he wasn’t sure. He went over to it to get a closer look. He stood to the side of it and took a few steps back. Now he knew exactly what it was.
“Bomb!” Recker yelled. “Off the floor!”
“What?!” Malloy replied.
“Explosive!” Recker pointed up to the sign and immediately went through the door. Everyone else soon followed and started zooming down the steps. As they encountered the rest of Vincent’s men on the ground floor, Recker yelled out to them and waved. “Bomb! Move!”
The first of Vincent’s men exited the building, quickly getting shot several times. The rest of the group stopped in their tracks. Recker looked out a window. He saw a group of men standing out there. They were armed.
“This was the plan,” Recker said.
“We can’t stand here, that’s for sure,” Malloy said, looking up. “No telling when that bomb’s going off.”
“Maybe it’s a dud,” Haley said. “Maybe they just wanted us running out of this building so fast that we wouldn’t care what we were running into and that’s how they’d get us?”
“Well, we can’t really take the chance that that thing’s a dud.”
“Back door,” Malloy said.
Malloy led the group through the rest of the floor, eventually coming up on the back door. Recker looked out a window first before anyone made the mistake of going through the door again.
“They’re out there too,” Recker said.
“We’re gonna have to chance it,” Malloy said. “There’s nine of us. How many they got?”
Recker tried to count. “Six or seven, maybe. Then the same probably out front.”
“We can’t stay here.”
“If that thing was gonna go off, don’t you think it would’ve happened already?” Haley asked.
“Not if they thought those guys up there were gonna keep us busy a few more minutes.”
“Or if they’re just keeping us in here long enough for it to go off,” Recker said.
“And that’s if there’s only one,” Malloy said. “Who’s to say they haven’t got the whole building rigged?”
“Possible.”
“We gotta move.”
Recker nodded and sighed. “Yeah.”
“Now’s as good a time as any. I’ll lead the way.”
Malloy threw open the door and charged out, the rest of his men quickly following him. Recker and Haley were the last ones out. The group was instantly met with gunfire from Jerrick’s men. The two sides exchanged fire, with one of Vincent’s men going down first. Seconds later, one of the bombs went off, the explosion rocking the area, sending everyone flying onto the ground, a few being lifted off their feet and thrown into the air. Then two more explosions went off, much of the building crumbling to the ground in pieces.
Recker was a little shook up from his head hitting the ground. As he got up on his hands and knees, he heard more gunfire not too far away. He shook his head, quickly getting his wits together again. He located his gun nearby, then grabbed it, joining the rest of the battle. A couple more men went down on both sides.
A few more minutes went by and the bullets were flying furiously in both directions. Then it suddenly stopped, as if someone commanded it on cue. People were scattered all over, no one was really sure where anyone was. There was an uneasy silence filling the air, as there often was after an intense battle.
Everyone started looking around, trying to locate a friendly face. Recker only saw two of Vincent’s men at first. There were a few cars nearby and then he saw Malloy poking his head over top one of them.
“You seen Chris?” Recker asked.
Malloy shook his head. Recker turned his head and body in every direction, hoping to find his friend just standing there somewhere. He didn’t see him anywhere, though.
“Chris?!”
Recker started moving about the area, hoping his friend would turn up somewhere. There were several dead bodies on the ground that he passed, but luckily Haley was not among them.
“Chris?”
Then, he saw someone trying to pull themselves up from behind another car. Recker looked in closer. It was Haley. Recker ran over to him, seeing him struggle to pull himself up. Recker grabbed his arm and helped him to his feet. There was blood trickling down the side of his face, coming from the left side of his temple. Recker looked the rest of him over. He didn’t see blood coming from anywhere else or any bullet holes.
“You all right?”
Haley scrunched the left side of his face, as if he had trouble seeing out of his eye. “A little bit of a headache.”
Recker smiled and patted him on the back of the shoulder. “Had me worried for a second.”
“Think a piece of debris from the building hit me.”
Recker looked at the wound more closely. “I think you’ll get by without a hospital trip.”
“Good. Wouldn’t go, anyway.”
Recker started walking, keeping his hand on Haley’s arm to make sure he was stable. Malloy saw them and rushed over to them.
“Looks like we’re all clear. Nobody in front anymore.”
“They hightailed it,” Recker said.
Malloy looked at Haley, making sure he was OK. “Looks like you’ll live.”
Haley laughed. “Yeah.”
Recker looked past Malloy and only saw three of his men standing there. “That all you got left?”
Malloy turned around and looked at them, then turned back to Recker. “That’s it.”
“Costly.”
“We knew it might be. On the bright side, we did take out more of their men.”
“At a price.”
“We knew what we might be walking into,” Malloy said. “We all knew the risk.”
Recker nodded. “Yeah.”
“Kind of surprised at Jerrick though.”
“Why’s that?”
“That crazy fool was going to blow up his own men.”
Recker looked back at what was l
eft of the building. “Well, I assume he knew they’d be dead by the time that happened. Or he gave them some type of escape plan or exit strategy and told them to be out of the building by a certain time or something.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“I have a feeling things will quiet down for a while now.”
“Think so?”
Recker nodded. “Yeah. He’s still reeling. But he wanted to take a shot. This was it. Maybe it worked out for him, but probably not as well as he wanted. Now he’s gotta regroup. You probably won’t hear anything regarding him for another month or two. He’ll be quiet until he’s added some men to his arsenal.”
“Yeah, probably so. Maybe you’ll be back before then.”
“Maybe.”
“Well, we need to get out of here before the cops roll along.”
“Yeah.”
“Hell of a way to go out for you, huh?” Malloy said with a smile.
Recker returned the smile. “Always go out with a blast.”
21
Recker held Mia’s hand tightly as they stood just outside the office. She looked at him, seeing a slightly terrified look on his face, not that he would ever admit it. It wasn’t a look she’d seen often from him. But he was now about to enter unchartered territory for the first time. Up until now, he always knew what was coming next. Even after the CIA tried to take him out in London and he had to lie low for a while, he didn’t know exactly what he was going to do, but he knew Agent 17 was in his crosshairs. He always had a mission. Until now. Now there was no mission. Now it was just him and Mia flying off to some beautiful paradise with no known time or place when they would be returning. If they’d be returning. She knew it wasn’t easy for him, even if it was what he thought he wanted or needed. He was leaving behind the only home he ever thought he had, a job, friends that he cared for, friends that were like family, without knowing if he’d ever be back.
Mia squeezed his hand in return. “Are you ready?”
Recker looked at her and smiled, then gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Yeah.”
“Are you sure?”
Recker took a few deep breaths. “Yeah.”
“We can take a few more minutes if you want a little more time.”
“No. Now’s as good as ever. Besides, we gotta be at the airport in an hour. We don’t have time to dawdle.”