Brian and team had an emergency meeting late at night; it was way past ten, when all of them met. ‘We’ve received a tip-off that something big was going to go down at the University. We went down there to investigate but found nothing. This does not mean that it was a wild-goose chase. Something did not feel right to us, as all of us left. We will need to follow-up on that for the next three days. There has also been intel coming in that Snake has been injured, and that’s why, we’ve not been able to find him. Liam has been singing and we’ve also allowed him the use of a cell phone. The DA has agreed to show him leniency, and also drop all charges if he leads us to Snake. It will be considered a ‘Paid debt back to society,’ kind of thing. We have received a little bit of valuable information that is definitely worth pursuing. He has given us an address; now this is the place that Snake frequents and is his regular watering hole. Pardon the pun, it wasn't intended.’ The rest of the team that had rather grim looks on their faces had now begun to break into little smiles. Any humor, however weak was accepted at this hour.
‘We are going to raid this place tonight, splitting-up into two teams - Andrea and team enter from the front, while the rest of us will guard the rear.’
With that the team began to prepare for the raid that was to take place shortly. It was becoming frustrating for them to keep chasing an enemy that was always hiding in the dark. All their efforts had been fruitless, and it was all just becoming smoke and mirrors. This was beginning to tell on the team, with their moral suffering an all-time low. Finally they might have received a positive lead that would actually translate into something more results-oriented.
It was a popular nightclub in the city, populated mostly by rich kids. It was the place to be seen; the kind of place that a celebrity was most likely to be found at. Brian and team had the necessary warrants to search the place, and they were going to land on the club like a pile of bricks. Andrea and team entered from the front, while Brian and the others were guarding from the rear. It was time for a showdown - walking-in and going up to the DJs’ console, she ordered him to shut the music down. Holding her gun up in the air ‘Turn the lights on, everybody stay where you at.’ With this Greg began walking around showing the sketch of Marcus to members of the staff working the club tonight. ‘Know this guy,’ he was yelling in their faces. ‘Is he here tonight?’ No one was forthcoming and the staff kept avoiding looking into his eyes. When he showed the sketch to the hip pole-dancers standing around, one of them looked at him but very quickly turned away. ‘Take her in,’ he ordered. Brian and team had now entered the premises - with the guests now being flanked on both ends by the police. Andrea had already entered the managers’ room and was talking to him, showing him the sketch. ‘Do you know him?’ ‘Yeah, looks familiar but I can’t say for certain.’ ‘Look very closely,’ she commanded in a stern voice. ‘Yeah he likes to party in the VIP room, if it is in fact the same guy, we’re talking about.’ ‘Tell me what he does here?’ ‘He comes in with all these beautiful chicks, and has a favorite VIP room, always pays in cash.’ ‘When did you last see him?’ ‘I don’t know, maybe two, three days ago.’ ‘Where can I find him?’ ‘Like I’ve already told you before, he always pays in cash and maintains a very low profile; no one knows who this guy is.’ ‘I hope for your sake, you’re telling the truth. He’s wanted for murder and you don’t want to be ousted as someone who’s been harboring a fugitive. We can shut this place down, if I find you’ve been lying.’ ‘We have a duty to protect the privacy of our patrons, and that’s all I know. He had all these young beautiful women hanging onto him. Throws his money around like water, that’s all I know. If you need to know more, of which there isn't very much, you would need to speak to the club’s lawyers.’
Andrea got up and left promising to come back every night until the fugitive was apprehended. Greg had taken the pole-dancer into custody, as the teams were now heading back to the PD. Brian, Andrea, and Greg sat with her in interrogation, while the rest watched either through the one-way-glass or on the monitor.
‘What’s your name? Greg was asking her. ‘Bambee,’ she replied, ‘With a double E.’ ‘Listen honey; give me your real name.’ ‘Crystal Cox.’ Greg found that very amusing, but restrained himself from showing it. ‘The guy you see in the sketch, what's his name?’ ‘I don't know,’ she replied reluctantly. ‘All three of us in this room, know you’re lying,’ which was true because Bambee was a simple girl, and found it very difficult to keep a secret. That’s how Greg has picked-up in her eyes that she knew who the person in the sketch was, and was now not able to hide that knowledge for much longer. ‘I can’t talk unless you offer me witness protection. I know he’s a very bad man, and does many bad things.’ ‘How do you know?’ ‘Witness Protection.’ ‘That comes later if and when this case goes to trial.’ ‘But I am scared you picked me up in front of everyone.’ ‘Do you have an address? Where do you stay?’ Greg continued questioning, realizing his mistake. At this point Brian stepped in and gave them a solution. We will swing-by your home, prove that it is your place, after which we’ll drop you back at the club. You can come into the station tomorrow morning and continue. He was aware that this could be dangerous and if she was willing to talk, then this was something worth protecting. ‘We will also offer you a security detail to and from the club,’ Bambee was fine with that.
They drove her to the apartment and realized that this flat actually housed three girls, and was also being paid for by the club, which in-turn meant that she was from out of town. ‘Do you have a visa to work in the US,’ Brian asked, realizing that she was actually a foreigner that had been in the country for many years. Brian and Greg figured that she must have come in years ago and stayed on illegally. So there was much more than witness protection that she was after. After dropping her back at the club Greg said ‘Maybe we should dangle a carrot in front of her.’ Let’s first see what she has to say first,’ Brian replied.
Once she was back at the club, her girlfriends wanted to know what the cops wanted. ‘They thought I knew this guy, but they were wrong. They said I was weak and that’s why they wanted to torture me and force me to say something… I did not tell them anything and they dropped me back.’ The manager called her into his room - ‘What did they want?’ ‘They wanted to know about that guy in the photo.’ ‘And what did you tell them.’ ‘I told them I don’t know him… never seen him here before.’ ‘Good girl, you know we don’t like talking to the pigs about our customers’ right.’ ‘Yes, I know.’ With that she was sent out to continue dancing. This was not going to go any further, because neither Snake nor Marcus was around. This was definitely not the kind of place that Snake would enjoy, this was more a Marcus’ type of place and he was a regular here, everyone knew him, but no one was willing to talk to the cops. Cops were always trouble for places like this, and all the staff had been instructed to keep the cops off their back, and to never let the cops come near the club. ‘They are bastards,’ the manager was heard saying. ‘Not a word to the cops, I hope we are all clear about this,’ he shouted. With that the club went back to normal and the party had resumed.
22. Thrill
The next morning Crystal found herself sitting in interrogation. She had begun answering questions from Brian and Andrea. ‘He’s a very evil man,’ she said. ‘Always wanting to hurt and abuse people. An evil abusive animal, filthy pig… he had this urge you know… always trying to choke-out the girls. I don’t know, he tried to kill me that night. He fucked me and didn't even pay for our time together. I won’t say anything more…’ ‘Why?’ Andrea asked. ‘I need to get something for all my cooperation.’ ‘We know you’re on an expired visa.’ ‘Yeah… that, about that, legalize me, and you’ve got my full cooperation.’ ‘You are aware, we could bring ICE in and you’d be on the next plane back to your home country,’ Brian advised. ‘Do that and your best hope is gone,’ she said while pouting her lips. ‘This was one sexy creature,’ Brian was forced to admit to himself. ‘What man worth his sa
lt wouldn't want to boink this fucking sexy bitch? Snake was one lucky bastard.’ Brian had to get a handle on his wild thoughts and especially his eyes, as his gaze kept wandering to her cleavage and just didn't want to leave.
‘That would depend on what you have to offer, the best we can do is to put in a good word for you,’ Andrea was suggesting. ‘I’ll work with you if you promise to work with me.’ The team watching was now really getting impatient with all of her posturing and their boss’ rambling. He needed to remember that people could see what he was up to. This realization was what made him come back to the moment and the appending business at hand. ‘We’ll work with you depending on what you’ve got for us.’ he blurted out, drawing an aggravated look from Andrea. ‘Fine, I’ll take that,’ she said. ‘I don’t know his name but I do know his secret lair. That’s where he takes the girls.’ ‘Give us the address?’ Brian asked. ‘I don’t know the address, she purred at him.’ The warmth between them had definitely started to heat up. ‘I can take you there,’ she offered. ‘Okay, let’s go,’ he said.
With that Crystal, Greg, and Brian left to check the place out. Andrea and the rest of the team stayed back to look after business at the PD. They reached a posh apartment complex with restricted entry. ‘What’s the number of his apartment?’ Greg asked. ‘Apartment 3A.’ They drove up to security and were stopped, flashing the police badge, brought the guard out to talk to them. ‘We have some questions about one of the tenants.’ Greg was speaking with the guard. ‘Sorry sir…’ the guard replied. ‘We are not allowed to speak about any of the residence here. You would need to contact management. The manager will be in, an hour from now.’ Getting out of the car, Greg walked up to the guard. ‘We will speak with him when he gets in, but off the record, I would like any information you might have.’ ‘I am not supposed to do that, I hope you understand.’ ‘I sure do, but we are here representing law enforcement and this is urgent.’ ‘I’ll do my best.’ ‘Who lives in apartment 3A?’ ‘Not too sure, we call him John, but as far as I know, he hasn't been-in for the last couple of days.’ ‘We’ll be back in an hour,’ Brian cut in. ‘Come on Greg, let’s circle back in an hour.’
He called Andrea on the phone and asked her to prepare a search warrant for apartment 3A. Andrea and Jackie were to meet them at the apartment complex in an hour and needed to be prepared for anything. There was no time to lose as this might be a very productive deal that the team had chanced upon. Brian and Greg were waiting with Crystal, when Brian lit-up a cigarette, inviting a longing look from her. He offered her one without saying a word and helped her light-up. She teasingly blew the first puff almost into Brian’s face. The tension between them was growing, and he was wondering how much longer he was going to be able to keep his hands off her. The other two women in his life rolled up in a police car and the team were now fully prepared for action. The manager had arrived and was waiting for them at the entrance.
‘You know all of our residents are rich and powerful people, who’re very concerned about their privacy. We really don’t want cops running all over the place. I don’t mean to be rude, but we don’t want to scare away any of our people. There are also rich older couples who are living here. We are very concerned, with this interest the police have in our complex.’ ‘We have a search warrant,’ Brian said very bluntly, effectively cutting off the manager. ‘Whose name is the apartment registered in?’ Andrea questioned. ‘Come into my office please, and I will let you know.’ The team followed the old manager back into his office and he switched on a computer. The machine seemed to be as old as him and was making all kinds of noises as it was starting up.
After what seemed like ages, he looked up and was ready to offer a name. ‘The name’s John,’ he said, ‘John Doe.’ Brian felt like reaching out and strangling the manager. ‘That is so stupid,’ Andrea said. That’s police talk for ‘Unknown Male Person.’ What kind of ID, did this John Doe use?’ ‘We have a copy of his Social Security if you need. ‘We’ll take it,’ Brian said, ‘Not like it’s going to lead anywhere. We can pass it on to SSA.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Andrea continued, ‘But this leaves us with no other choice but to search his apartment. ‘Let’s go, old man, open it up for us or we’ll need to ask Greg over here to do the job for us. ‘No no, there’s no need to go breaking down doors, I have a spare set of keys here and you can have it. Just please hand it back to me, once you’re done.’
With that the team split to search 3A, opening the doors revealed a plush apartment with expensive furniture and colored lights everywhere. Clearly this was a place that had been used for parties and orgies. The bedroom had a huge master bed with cameras fitted to the ceiling. This pervert liked to tape and record his sex romps. There was also a liquor cabinet with some pretty expensive booze and wines. What the place was definitely lacking was the presence of any personalized electronic gadgets, no computers, no phones, not even a broadband connection. ‘Is this the place,’ he asked Crystal. ‘Yes,’ she whimpered back. ‘Don’t touch anything,’ Brian ordered. ‘Let’s sweep this place clean and see what prints get picked up. Call in forensics and let them do their thing.’
Unknown to the team after every night of debauchery, there was someone who would come in and wipe the place down clean. They were not going to find much here, the sheets had been washed and bleached; the thick leather couches had been worked on too. They might find a few prints that would lead them to a few local girls but nothing more. This was something that been well thought-out and had also been anticipated. The cameras were not on and not a single recording could be found. Snake must have known of his brother’s weakness and had been working behind the scenes to keep the place spotless. He was far too cunning to let his younger siblings’ lustful weak nature do the both of them in.
***
News of the raid on the nightclub had reached the press and they were talking about a new lead that had been found; one which the police were using to track down the ‘Cop Killer.’ He had earned the moniker ‘Cop Killer,’ after beheading the chief. The cops had been successfully led to believe that Marcus was indeed ‘Snake.’ As for now, I was the only one who knew the truth. The cops were searching for the wrong guy, and the mystery surrounding this individual was getting even deeper and murkier. The press was still hitting the city with the tag ‘Serial Killer City.’ It looked like that name was not going to go anywhere, and now Serial Killer City had a new killer. How much more was this city going to be able to take, if the cops didn't get to him soon enough? The press had been hounding Acting Chief Ellen for a statement, but she was not prepared to talk to them about an active ongoing investigation. I was sure that this had to do with Marcus and someone had tipped them off. The cops were getting closer and this was really playing into my plans.
I was aware that Liam was in police custody as news of his arrest had broken all over the airwaves and the internet. So I guessed that he been snitching, singing about his former boss. This was not good and I hope they didn’t get to him before I did. Snake had been scared-off and was now recuperating in hospital, at least I hoped that they had been able to hold him there - it was highly doubtful though. It was just a matter of time before both brothers met and realized that they had the cops and another killer hot on their heels. They might decide to make a run for it and start their operations elsewhere or leave the country with all the bounty they had already collected, through their business operations.
Marcus had got himself out of hospital only later the next afternoon and had headed straight back to his house. On reaching his home, he went to his laptop to check and see if everything was in place. He was more than satisfied, I had cleaned the data, deleting anything that led to Snake but left everything behind that pointed to him. It would have taken a through in-depth search to find that there were many files missing. The video of the chief and the mayor I had deleted after making a copy for my own personal records. Marcus was not in possession of a cell phone and needed to restock his fridge. For which, a
trip to the store was needed; he would get himself a burner and call his brother. He needed to update his brother, there was a lot that needed attention and he could hardly wait. He went shopping and returned with food and a new phone. He dialed his brothers’ number. Snake was not available at the moment, and was actually fast asleep in a hospital bed. He had needed surgery to save his life as the wound had started bleeding again; things had taken a turn for the worse a little later. He was recuperating and his cell phone had been switched off; as he had been advised complete bed rest. Marcus was getting desperate and more anxious with each passing minute. He felt that he didn't have much time left and needed desperately the protection of his brother. His brother though, for the moment was not reachable and was incommunicado.
He left a few text messages and then went to lightly rest in bed. He was just out of hospital and was beginning to feel the fatigue of admission. He needed to relax for a bit, but as soon as his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light. The painkillers he had taken were still doing their rounds within his system.
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