by Matt Lincoln
“Are… you talking about your mom?” Junior balked, his voice filled with disbelief.
“Who else?” Velasquez answered venomously. “Stupid woman couldn’t even keep her fat mouth shut. I should have killed her a long time ago, her and that useless brother of mine, too.”
Honestly, even Charlie was shocked by his hateful outburst, and he wasn’t even a bleeding heart like Junior was. Even the vilest of criminals loved their mothers, usually. And his mom had gone through the trouble of nearly killing a cop for his sake.
“You’re a monster,” Junior stated point-blank, his voice dripping with disgust.
“Whatever,” Velasquez muttered. “I don’t need that dumb cow. I don’t need anyone. I built this group on my own, I’ll build it again. I’ll finish wiping out all the competition and make sure that everyone knows we’re the ones in charge.”
“So that is why you attacked the Chinese cargo ship?” Charlie asked, glad for the opportunity to interject some relevant questions. They knew enough now that they really didn’t need Velasquez’s confession, but it would help put him away for longer the more they got directly from him. “You didn’t take anything from them, so your goal was just to take them out of the picture?”
“That’s right,” Velasquez replied. “They thought they were so tough just because they’d been around for longer. They attacked my men first, said they were sending a message to stay off of their turf. Well, guess I got the last laugh there, huh?”
He grinned wickedly, and it was enough to make Charlie’s stomach churn. It was obvious that Velasquez felt no remorse about anything that he had done and that it was all for the sake of attaining more and more power.
“And this group you say you built,” Charlie continued, “how many more of there are you?”
“Hundreds,” he replied with a smirk. “Members of the Viboras are everywhere. Right under your nose, in fact. I can assure you that I won’t be here for long. My men will--”
“Oh, are you talking about that warehouse?” Junior interrupted him. “The one in the basement of the resort here on the Cayman Islands? We raided that already. I hope those weren’t the men you were counting on to come to save you.”
The smirk slipped off of his face in an instant, replaced instead by a look of shock and then anger as he realized what Junior had just said.
“That doesn’t matter!” He snarled, his teeth clacking together aggressively as he spoke. “You have no idea how many of us there are! I’ll make sure you pay for everything you’ve done. I’m going to hunt you down and kill you myself, then watch as the life drains out of your eyes. Just wait and see, you stupid pigs. I’m going to destroy you!”
He was breathing heavily by the time he finished his spiel, his face red and his shoulders heaving with the strained breaths he was taking.
“Cool,” Charlie replied stoically, pointedly replying to his outburst with as little emotion as he could before turning to his partner. “Well, I suppose that about wraps up the interrogation, don’t you think? We got our confession, and we have a mountain of evidence against him, plus all the information we’re bound to get out of the other suspects we arrested. You ready to go?”
“Yep,” Junior replied as he stood up.
Out of the corner of his eye, Charlie could see that Velasquez was steaming, his hands pressed so tightly into fists that his knuckles were turning white. It was so obvious how much he was bothered by the fact that they weren’t cowering in fear. He must be used to his own men scrambling to follow his orders the moment he brought out the threats that it was killing him to be ignored like this.
Good, Charlie thought as he stepped back out of the room with Junior in tow. Let the guy stew a little. It was the least he could suffer for everything he had done.
And besides, Charlie genuinely wasn’t afraid of him. The longer he spent in Velasquez’s presence, the more he realized how full of hot air he was. Velasquez could threaten and snarl and bluff as much as he wanted, but in the end, he was the one who was behind bars while Charlie and Junior walked free. Once he stepped out of this police station, he didn’t plan on sparing the pathetic man another thought.
36
Ethan
It had been a few hours since I’d woken up, and the beeping noise coming from the monitor next to me was beginning to grate on my nerves.
I’d been extremely confused when I’d first opened my eyes to the white walls and bright, fluorescent lights of a hospital room. Everything smelled like disinfectant, which hadn’t been pleasant, especially considering the way my head was swimming. Holm had been there when I’d woken up and had, apparently, given me a rundown of everything that had happened on board the ship. However, I’d been too drugged up at the time to really process any of what he was saying, and it wasn’t until much later, once I was more lucid, that I could really get the full story.
Apparently, though the bulletproof vest had stopped the bullet from killing me, it hadn’t been able to prevent two of my ribs from breaking. As I chased down Viper, one of the bone fragments had managed to stab its way through my lung, causing it to collapse completely. That was the reason I’d suddenly been unable to breathe after Hills and I nabbed Viper.
I shuddered at the memory of it. The sensation had been terrifying, as though I was drowning even though I was above water.
“So Hills and Chapman already interrogated him, then?” I asked as I attempted to find a more comfortable sitting position. The nurse that had come by earlier had been kind enough to bring me some extra pillows to prop myself up on, but the aching wound in my chest was making it difficult to find any position that was actually comfortable.
“Yeah,” Holm replied as he took a long sip of soda. He was sitting in a chair by the hospital bed. I’d told him he should go back to the hotel and rest, as I suspected he’d probably been there all night, but he’d insisted on staying at least until after he’d told me about everything that happened after I was shot.
“Apparently, he was acting completely crazy.” He chuckled. “Ranting and raving like a villain out of a cartoon about how they didn’t know who they were messing with or something like that.
“Wish I’d seen that,” I remarked, wincing a little as my breath hitched. It was still a little difficult just to speak or do anything that involved breathing without experiencing sudden jolts of pain. “Can’t believe I missed his interrogation.”
“I can’t believe how lucky you are,” Holm scoffed as he crossed his arms over his chest. “You got shot in the chest. Do you know how many people survive getting shot in the chest? I mean, sure, you were wearing a vest, but you punctured your lung!”
“Are you upset that I wasn’t more seriously hurt?” I asked, tossing him a confused look.
“No,” he grumbled. “It’s just not fair. If it had been me, I’d probably be dead. I’m not nearly as lucky.”
“Don’t say that,” I admonished him. “You got a piece of shrapnel stuck in your leg, and you came out of it fine, didn’t you? That was pretty lucky.”
“I guess,” he sighed. “Even your injury is more impressive. Shot in the chest versus hit with a tiny piece of metal that came flying from like a hundred feet away. That was a nice kick, by the way, very impressive.”
“Thanks,” I snorted out a laugh that quickly morphed into a cough. “Glad to know you approve.”
“You really saved all of us back there.” Holm sighed as he set his soda can on the ground, his voice suddenly serious. “Me, Chapman, and Hills. The three of us would be dead right now if it wasn’t for you, probably in pieces all over the ocean floor.”
“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Holm,” I teased. The atmosphere was getting kind of heavy, and I’d rather the mood not sour when I was already dealing with all of these injuries.
“I’m serious,” he doubled down as he turned to look at me. “We’d all be dead right now if it wasn’t for you. We didn’t even see it coming until you yelled to warn us.”
“I w
as just doing my job,” I replied, feeling a little shy at how sincere he was being. It wasn’t a lie, though. There was never any doubt in my mind about what I was doing during the battle. I did what I had to in order to keep my fellow agents safe and catch Viper.
“I wonder what was up with that gun,” I muttered to myself as I suddenly remembered the antique weapon he’d tried to shoot Hills and me with back on the deck of the boat.
“Hm?” Holm frowned at me. “What gun?”
Before I could respond, there was a knock at the door. A second later, it creaked open before either Holm or I had answered, and Chapman poked his head through.
“Hey, you’re awake!” he exclaimed as he pushed the door open the rest of the way and stepped inside. Hills stepped inside after him at a much calmer pace. “Sorry for barging in. I thought Agent Holm might be asleep since he’d been here for like two days straight. I’m glad to see that you’re up though, how are you feeling?”
“Pretty good, considering the circumstances,” I replied as Chapman and Hills came to stand beside the hospital bed.
“That’s good,” Chapman replied. “That was a pretty severe injury. It’s amazing that the extent of the damage wasn’t worse. Oh, but I’m sure you’re sick of people talking about that. Anyway, we just wanted to see how you were doing and give you an update over everything that’s happened with the case.”
“We finally finished getting everyone processed,” Hills interjected. “Forty-three men in total, not including viper, or the ones that died during the battle. Took practically all night to sort through that mess.”
“Did you find out anything useful?” I asked.
“Well, we managed to get information out of a few of them,” Hills replied. “Enough to make sure that Velasquez is definitely going to spend the rest of his life behind bars. Mostly it was all stuff we already knew.”
“We got a few more leads about the Chinese smugglers as well,” Chapman added. “We’ll be going after them next since their crimes fall within our jurisdiction. If it’s true that the ship the Viboras took out was only one part of a larger organization, then we need to look further into it.”
“More pirates and boats.” Hills frowned. “Why can’t we have a case that involves solid land?”
“Not a fan of water, huh?” I smirked at him. “No wonder you looked so upset when we had to jump after Viper.”
“I wasn’t about to let that guy get away,” Hills snorted. “And no, I’m sick of boats, to be honest. Sick of having to fight people underwater, too.”
“That wasn’t your first time fighting someone underwater?” I asked, surprised by his admission.
“Hardly.” Hills scoffed. “I don’t know why that keeps happening. Your branch is the one that’s supposed to handle crimes involving international waters, and yet it feels like I end up on a boat during every case we go on.”
“What about Japan?” Chapman turned to look at him. “I don’t think there were any boats involved in that one.
“Yeah, well, unfortunately, that was the exception,” Hills grumbled, “instead of the rule.”
“Quit whining.” Chapman rolled his eyes at him before turning back to me. “Anyway, everything’s pretty much wrapped up now. Just thought we’d let you know before we head back to the hotel. We’re glad you’re doing better. I’m not sure when you’re supposed to be getting discharged, but if you’re not out before it’s time for us to head back, we’ll come to see you again here.”
“Thanks,” I replied as the two Vegas agents said their goodbyes and turned to leave.
“Oh, yeah,” Chapman suddenly exclaimed as he turned back around and excitedly dug through his bag before pulling out a tablet. “You have to look at this thing. A couple of Coast Guard officers found it when they were doing a sweep of the ship for survivors.”
He handed me the tablet, and my eyes went wide with surprise when I saw the images displayed on it. It was the old gun that Viper had been carrying around, the same one he’d suddenly drawn in a last-ditch effort to attack us after he’d run out of ammunition.
“Isn’t it cool?” Chapman grinned as I scrolled through the photos. “The thing’s gotta be a few centuries old, right? Charlie said that Viper used it to attack you guys. What the heck was he doing lugging that thing around?”
“Playing pretend.” Hills rolled his eyes. “The guy’s a nut job. Probably got a little too into the pirate role--”
He stopped short as I gasped, unable to contain my shock as I scrolled to one photo in particular.
“What?” Chapman muttered, his voice tense with alarm. “What is it? Does something hurt? Should I call someone?”
“No,” I managed to wheeze, the gasp having sent my already weakened lungs into a coughing fit. “Holm, look at this.”
“What is it?” he asked with bewilderment as he leaned down to look at the photo over my shoulder. “What’s the--? Oh.”
“Yeah,” I breathed, still unable to believe what I was seeing.
“What?!” Chapman yelped. “Guys, this is killing me. What is it?”
“I know this crest,” I explained to him as I stroked my finger along the tablet screen, as though doing so would allow me to feel the bumps and ridges of the familiar insignia. I’d seen that crest probably a hundred times by now, so there was no way I’d mistake it. “This gun was Grendel’s.”
Epilogue
I looked up at the gathered group of kids as I pulled the story to a close. As I’d suspected, they were all looking up at me expectantly, and I couldn’t keep the grin off my face.
“And…?” Ty prompted me.
“And what?” I asked innocently. “That was it. The gun was Grendel’s. End of story.”
“No,” Ty groaned. “Not ‘end of story.’ Come on!”
“Man, that’s cold, Marston,” Hills chuckled. “Leave them hanging right at the most exciting part?
“That’s Ethan for you.” Mac shrugged. She was sitting on top of one of the outdoor tables outside the front entrance of the bar. The music show had long since started, and we’d retreated outside to continue the story since it was almost impossible to hear over the sound of the band and the crowd inside. I could still hear the music through the walls of the bar, the loud bass thumping and sending out sound waves strong enough to cause ripples in the drink I’d set on the exterior windowsill.
“That last battle sounded like a disaster,” she mused as she looked up at the stars in the sky before looking back at me. “I’m surprised you guys survived at all.”
“It wasn’t all that bad.” I shrugged as I tried to remember the finer details of the battle. “It all happened pretty fast, honestly. Probably only a few minutes in total. It just seemed a lot longer when we were in the middle of it.”
“You can’t expect things to go perfectly according to plan when you’re dealing with that much unpredictability,” Hills added. “All in all, it wasn’t a bad result. There weren’t any casualties on our side, and we managed to take most of the pirates alive as well.”
“What about that one shop-owner?” Ty suddenly spoke up. “The one who got you the coordinates for where Viper was? What was his name?”
“Gray,” I replied, my mouth twisting with displeasure as I recalled the man. “At least, that was what he was going by at the time.”
“Did you ever arrest him?” Ty asked as he nudged Mac over to sit on the table next to her, despite the fact that there were perfectly good chairs they could have both sat in right next to them. “I mean, that guy was up to some sketchy crap, right? There’s no way he wasn’t.”
“Oh yeah,” Hills muttered as he turned to look at me as well from where he was sitting at one of the other tables. “I actually forgot about that weirdo. Never really thought about him after that case. Whatever happened to him?”
“Well, at that time, we didn’t really have any valid reason to arrest him,” I answered. “Giving out information isn’t actually illegal. We had no proof that he was breaking any
laws.
“What do you mean ‘at the time’?” Mac raised an eyebrow at me, immediately latching onto the phrase. “Does that mean you ran into him again?”
“He had a lot of influence,” I replied vaguely, unsure how best to answer her question, “and a lot of reach.”
“And that favor!” Ty interjected. “Is that what happened? Did he come to collect?”
His eyes were flitting between Hills and me as though waiting for one of us to respond.
“Hey, don’t look at me,” Hills scoffed. “This is the first I heard about this.”
“Let’s just save that story for another day,” I replied before Ty could get too excited. I could spend hours delving into what ended up happening with the information broker I’d reluctantly made a deal with, and it was already getting late.
“Why am I not surprised,” Ty sighed. “You just have to leave us hanging, huh, Ethan?”
“I do,” I replied flatly. “Otherwise, how would I get you to keep coming back?”
“So, how d'you get the gun?” Jeff suddenly chimed in from where he was sitting on the ground a few steps away. He and Charlie had sat down a little earlier to play cards while they listened to the story. I had wondered if they were even listening, but it was evident now that he obviously had been. “Wasn’t it evidence? How d'you get it? And how’d Viper get it if it belonged to Grendel?”
“Those are all extremely good questions.” I chuckled as I leaned against the wall, the vibrations of the music rattling against my back. “And ones that I will answer another day.”
“Let me guess,” Ty groaned with exasperation. “That’s another long story too?”
“It is.” I grinned at him as he hung his head in defeat.
“Man, you really got these kids hanging on your every word, don’t you, Marston?” Hills remarked. “Never knew anyone would be interested in a bunch of old work stories.”
“You’d be surprised,” I replied before looking over to the kids. “Why don’t you go inside and enjoy the music? It’s too late to start another story, and judging from how packed it is in there, this band seems pretty popular.”