Dazzled and Dazed

by Carson Mackenzie

  “Damn, that made my own neck hurt from just watching the jar of the hit,” Cal said.

  “Dude, that blow would make you forget about the pain in your neck. You know the man’s ears are ringing,” Reed said. Then we watched Aristov land a solid to the boxer ribs. The flinch from the man proved that shit had stung.

  I looked over at Jet, and he was focused and watching every move Aristov made. I wasn’t sure if he even heard me and others talking around him.

  The boxer’s moves started to falter and he missed more and more blocks. Four minutes in and the fight turned into nothing but Aristov battering the boxer with blow after blow to his ribs as the other man tried to block. Aristov rotated from punches to kicks, and the boxer was only blocking one out of four. I saw a couple men step between the parked cars, and their heads moved as though they were talking. They could have been verbally trying to get the men to stop, but from the looks of it, the boxer nor Aristov acknowledged the men in any way. The boxer had taken so many kicks to his body in such a short time, I was surprised the man still stood.

  “The boxer is done. He’s on his way down,” Jet said as Bo Aristov spun with a roundhouse that landed so hard on the boxer’s side, that if there had been sound—the thud would have been heard loud and clear.

  The boxer bent to the side, and as Aristov’s foot hit the ground, he faced the man. A second couldn’t have gone by before the boxer hit the ground, bounced, and the video cut off.

  “The news reported the boxer died of internal bleeding from the blows to his torso. The Russian coroner’s report listed the same but also indicated if the boxer hadn’t bled out, he would have died anyway from the cracked skull that had occurred with the head shots. The brain had moved, which already had several hematomas forming. The man’s kidneys had been bruised to the point the organs had shut down prior to his death and contained blood. One lung was collapsed from a broken rib and the other was filling with blood every time the man took a breath. There was a notation at the bottom of the report that stated even if medical personnel had been on scene to offer medical on the spot, the man would have still died from the damage his body had sustained,” Mace said.

  “They didn’t imprison Aristov for killing him?” Fin asked, and Mace shook his head.

  “At first, he was arrested, but after an investigation, he was released, and the case closed as a misfortunate death due to an argument between the two,” Mace said and shrugged.

  “Have they never heard of manslaughter? ‘Cause if they’d watched that video, it was exactly what took place there. The man was literally beaten to death,” I said.

  “Not when the fight was between two of the country’s popular sports figures,” Cal said.

  “Come on, we see that shit in the U.S. Pro players getting arrested on gun charges, domestic abuse, drugs, DWIs, dog fighting, the list goes on. Hell, even if they get jail time, they walk out and go right back to work. There are different rules for them versus the average person,” Falon said.

  “Shit is fucked up, that’s for sure,” Reese said.

  “So back on track. What do you think, Jet?” Tony asked.

  “Other than I don’t plan to be his next beat down. Well, he’s got some moves. He also has some tells. Being a big man causes you to shift weight to keep your balance for the roundhouse. Aristov is left-handed because when he made that move, he shifted his footing to allow his right leg to hold his weight so he could use his stronger left leg. Not saying the fight will be a breeze, but I should be able to hold my own and adjust to any surprises they bring,” Jet said at the same time Harm walked in.

  “Good to hear because the call just came. One hour we meet in the movie complex’s side parking lot at the Bay Plaza Shopping Mall. Same rules. They will meet us, we ride with them, and they bring us back to the vehicle after,” Harm said.

  “Sounds like I arrived just in time,” Briggs said as he walked in.

  “Color me impressed that you were able to get away from Reilly and Anthony,” Ranger said, and I laughed at the look that crossed Thad’s face.

  “Yeah, well, I am a professional,” Thad said and smiled. “And I might have said something about the agents who were there could use the extra help since they haven’t been with the agencies that long.”

  “You threw your own comrades under the bus?” I asked, and Thad shrugged his shoulders.

  “I’ve learned from my time with these families that you use what is at your disposal. So, no one answer if Larue calls. His men were collateral damage,” Thad laughed and pulled out a chair and sat.

  Fin chuckled, “Maybe not a bad idea you’re getting transferred after this is wrapped up.”

  We discussed why Thad had come in and he informed us that his boss, Nixon Williams, wanted him to shadow the meet, but not engage. He was only to monitor who picked up and dropped off Jet and Harm. He was to snap some photos of them, so they could run through facial recognition software. They wanted to know every player when the shit hit the fan and Bogdan was taken down. They didn’t want anyone in the organization to be missed in the sweep.

  “Link is live. Fight scheduled in one and a half hours from now. They’re doing something different this time. Betting is to start in one hour twenty minutes, and they are allowing bets to run the whole ten-minute timeframe before the fight starts,” Reese said.

  “Okay, give me five to change and Harm and I can get to the mall ahead of them. It will also give Thad time to get into a good position for his photo session,” Jet said and stood and grabbed his bag. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Hang on to this for me.” I took the phone and laid it on the table next to the keys to his truck that I tossed there when we’d walked in.

  “Beer will be cold and waiting for you, man,” I said, and we bumped fists.

  “I’ll hold you to that,” Jet said and threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

  Each one of the men said words of encouragement to Jet. When Mel stepped up, she punched his arm, then leaned in and whispered so low we couldn’t hear what she said. Jet nodded though, then he and Harm walked out with Thad behind them.

  Jet would dress in the locker room in the gym before they made the drive. If traffic wasn’t bad, in fifteen minutes, they would arrive at their destination to wait for their escort.

  “Round three with these bastards under two hours,” Fin said.

  “No shit. I’m sick and tired of feeling like we’re always one step behind them. 8.3.0. having their little power struggle with Miguel and Dekcaris sitting in Rikers. And since there haven't been any kids coming up dead or injured, that definitely places those bastards into that part of the fighting ring. But they weren’t in charge. Still, don’t understand the link to the gang and the association with the Russian. Seems like some harsh shit to earn drug money? And Bogdan is a little out there, but still... Can’t see drugs as the reason for it. What the ‘F’ are we missing?” Ranger said and shook his head.

  “It’s like dominos. It only takes the tilt of one to start the chain reaction of the other pieces, then they fall into place,” Cal said.

  “Well, it would be nice to find that one piece,” I said. I pulled my phone out and texted Brit.

  Me: Hey, babe. How’s it going? Missing you.

  I debated telling her the fight would be starting soon and decided against it. She was safe, and hopefully, by the time she was done, it would be over.

  “Damn, you are a goner,” Cal said and sat beside me. “Happy for you, bro.”

  “Thanks. You’re next, Cal,” I said and snickered when Cal groaned.

  “Gonna find out what we are made of living in that house with her,” Mace said from across the table. The man never looked up from the computer in front of him as his fingers tapped on the keys.

  “No shit,” Cal said.

  “Make sure you stock up on lotion. Pants and a chapped dick do not mix,” Falon said, and Mel punched his arm. “That is spousal abuse, woman!”

  “Whate
ver. I would be exonerated of all charges as soon you opened your mouth in the courtroom,” Mel said, and Cal and I chuckled.

  “They’ve reached the lot at the movie complex,” Reese said, and after a few taps on the keyboard, the GPS tracking came up on the TV. Then the screen split into three individual ones. One showed a clock counting down time, the second had the GPS signal from Harm’s SUV, and the third should have been a snowy screen where the fight would show once it was live. Instead, we had an actual visual of the parking lot at the movie complex.

  “Well, good to see that Thad’s in place,” Ranger said.

  “Yeah, I was able to hack into the cam on his dashboard,” Mace said as he looked up briefly before going back to what he was doing.

  “Going to share what you’re working so hard on?” I asked, and Mace glanced over the computer screen.

  “I’ve been reading through the digital footprints of the live feed for each fight. Looking for anything similar.”

  “And?” I asked, and the others stopped talking to listen to Mace.

  “Cal analyzed the first couple of streams and pointed out the differences in the strands. After I knew what to look for, I picked out the differences, then set up an algorithm with the variables. It is running through the differences—”

  “Christ, could you guys dumb that shit down for the ones here that don’t eat and breath computers,” Ranger said, and the others nodded.

  “Let me give it a try, Mace. And if I fumble you can correct me.” Mace nodded and bent back over his laptop while I leaned forwarded and rested my elbows on the table. “We know they have the capability to keep us from tapping into the signal for the feed. It would be equivalent to placing a bubble over something, the bubble protects, and everything aimed at it bounces off instead of entering. Mace has found a way in. They’re skipping their signals off towers and mixing it up so no one is able to get a solid lock. Mace isn’t following them. Instead, he is waiting for them to come to him. He has attached to one of the towers they are using to bounce off. The algorithm is reading the pings to the tower and it ignores them as it waits for the one strand that was set up for it to monitor.

  “When it comes through the tower, it will attach Mace’s strand and ghost the other strand, then it will follow the sequence it is using and as the strand works its way back to the warehouse—it will go through their protective bubble with Mace’s on its back. Once inside the bubble, they won’t even know we are there because they aren’t monitoring the inside—they are only interested in keeping everything out. With no monitoring, Mace will be able to move freely inside, bring sound and picture from any cameras in the building. They don’t even have to have the units on. Mace can turn them on and off at his command. He will even have the capability to record for future references,” I said and leaned back in my chair.

  “First, that is the most I have ever heard you say in one sitting, Sean. Second, well...the talent you men have with computers is wasted. Security hell, you fuckers should open a digital investigation branch off Security Specialists because agencies would pay top dollar for your services in tracking info. Impressive,” Ranger said and shook his head.

  I looked at Mace, Reese, Falon, and Cal. Hell, even Reed knew his way around computer data and programming. Ranger’s suggestion had merit, but that was something to think about at a later date.

  Thad’s camera showed Jet and Harm sitting in the truck. Harm’s head was moving as he watched the area and Jet’s head was leaned back on the headrest. This time around there was no chatting with them. The routine the Russian’s used had never deviated. If Jet and Harm needed assistance, it was as close as a phone call. Taking the chance of following them once they were picked up wasn’t worth the tail getting noticed and forcing them to cause harm or death of whoever was in their possession at the time. They’d proved over and over they had no problem doing it.

  Television shows make it look so easy when in reality, every step has to be taken to ensure the takedown of the bad people involved doesn’t get tossed out of the courts on a small overlooked detail.

  Plus, to ensure the complete takedown of an organization, it had to have the head removed—because with the brain gone, the arms and legs would be left, but unable to function in any capacity.

  “Betting lines are now open,” Reese said. I looked up at the big screen and the clock for betting was on the screen now and counting down. Once it hit zero, the betting would be done, and the fight would start.

  On another of the split screens, a vehicle pulled up beside Harm’s, its windows tinted so dark there wasn’t even a shadow of anyone inside. The vehicle sat running, and the passenger door opened. The man who got out was the same one from Mel’s fight. We watched as he waved his hand toward the inside of the backseat as he opened the door and held on to it.

  “Well, same man, so that’s validation the Russians control at least this part of the underground fighting. The gang probably is no more than a farm system for the fights,” Fin said.

  “Yeah, he’s been the pick-up man for each fight we’ve been involved in. I don’t even need sound to know he is Russian,” Tony said.

  “He isn’t bothering to cover his face, so I hope Thad’s clicking away,” I said as we watched Jet and Harm get out. Jet handed his bag over and the man rifled through it before tossing inside. Jet and Harm got in the backseat, and the man closed the door, and then got back into his passenger side. They were underway no sooner than the man closed his door.

  “Have you placed the bet on Jet yet?” I asked, and Reese nodded.

  Everything was in place, now we just had to wait for the camera inside the fighting area to come online. If Mace’s program worked, we’d hear and see more than just the fight. We’d see what else they had going on in the warehouse.

  Time seemed to drag. As we waited, Michael, Bry, and Petal walked in and took seats. It had already been a long day, and it wasn’t even partially over. Until Jet showed on the screen, there’d be no relaxing. Anything could happen between the pick-up and the warehouse.

  “Good, I haven’t missed the fight.” I turned my head to the doorway when I heard the voice. The man was supposed to be at his house with the women.

  “What the fuck are you doing here, Dad? Has something happened at the house?” Fin asked.

  My dad walked in and looked toward the screen, which showed five minutes left to bet, then he looked at Fin. “Nothing has happened at the house. And you might want to remember who you are talking to, boy. You’re not too old for me to turn over my knee.” My brothers and I snickered at Fin’s reprimand, because yeah, even as grown men when your sibling gets in trouble and you don’t, you laugh. Well...until the parent focuses on you. Our dad’s eyes turned to us and he asked, “Something funny?” The echoed ‘no sir’ from each of us had the other men grinning. “Didn’t think so,” our dad said and walked to the empty seat beside Mel, smiled at her, then he sat.

  “Please tell me Anthony is not downstairs and on his way up?” Ranger said and looked toward the doorway as if he expected to see his father-in-law-to-be walk in.

  Dad waved his hand. “No. We knew both of us slipping out would draw attention, so we did rock, paper, scissors, and I won. He stayed and caused a diversion so I could slip away,” Dad finished just as Ranger’s phone rang.

  Ranger answered his phone with ‘he is here,’ and Brigg’s yelling could be heard through the phone. I shook my head. Evidently, the FBI and DEA agents figured out my dad had escaped. Ranger hung up and looked at my dad.

  “Briggs said one of the agents called him because you came up missing. You do know they are there to protect everyone in that house because we have no clue how far these assholes will go. So far, they’ve shown us that taking a life, no matter the age of that life, means nothing to them. With that said, you put yourself at risk coming here without any protection and without anyone knowing you were coming,” Ranger said and rubbed his hand down his face.

  “Dad, do we want to know what
you used as a diversion?” I asked, and he looked me and smiled. Before he could answer, Ranger continued.

  “It would seem, Anthony said he thought the DEA wasn’t given their fair share of recognition when they showed time and time again they were the better agency. Judge Sanders, who I might add is retiring from the bench, and with his association with these families, it is a good idea. He argued with Anthony that the FBI was known to be above all the agencies in their jobs. All done in front of the agents. So, of course, with the ongoing rivalry between the two agencies, the agents started arguing over who was better. While they argued Reilly slipped out unnoticed. And before you ask, the women were in on it. By the way, Tony, when the agents questioned Anthony on where Reilly was, Sonia informed them that if they upset your dad, she would taser them.” Ranger held up his hand and shook his head to stop us from asking questions or commenting.

  “Please let me finish. I haven’t even gotten to the good part.” My dad laughed, and I groaned along with several others in the room. “One of the agents informed Sonia that she was breaking the law because she wasn’t allowed to be in possession of a taser, and if she didn’t produce it, he would search her person. THAT set Maria into attorney mode, and she told the agent that if he even attempted to search her mother—he would be placed on medical leave with the agency because he would have to have the taser surgically removed from his ass. I think I may need my own backup through the months of her pregnancy because I’m kinda scared of her right now,” Ranger said and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “Dad, seriously?” Bry asked and shook his head.

  “I’m here because I consider Jet one of my boys just like the rest of you.” My dad waved his hand to include the other men in the room. “Doesn’t matter that my blood doesn’t run through your veins—you are mine. I would do anything to protect what is mine.” It was quiet for a moment when my dad finished speaking. When I looked across the table Petal and Mel had tears in their eyes. As one of the man’s sons, how could I argue? He’d always supported each of us in anything we did whether in physical form or like now, watching Jet fight on the TV with the rest of us.