by Don Easton
“It’s Damien,” whispered Jack.
“Christ! How did he get your number?” “I gave it to him.”
Danny was taken aback. “You’re not meeting him alone. It could be a trap.”
“It’s not a trap. But you’ll keep your trap shut and do as I say.”
Danny’s heart quickened and the blood vessels in his face revealed his anger. “We’re partners. You think you’re being macho meeting him alone? Think he’ll respect you more? That’s not the way to —”
“It has nothing to do with that. It’s a personal matter. One I hope to resolve soon. Maybe you should just stay in the office.”
Danny paused and then said, “Personal matter?”
Jack didn’t respond.
“Damn it, okay. I’ll wait in the car. At least I’ll be closer if you need help.”
It was late in the afternoon when Jack met Damien and they went for a stroll around the small park that faced the Burrard Inlet.
Jack was blunt and to the point. “What the fuck is going on? I knock off a few of your labs and someone tries to kill me!”
Damien let out a snort and said, “Why do so many of you cops feel you have to lard on the tough talk?”
Jack pointed an accusing finger at Damien and said, “I know who was getting rich from those labs!”
Damien smiled briefly and then said, “I understand your thought process. It’s logical. There may even be a certain degree of verisimilitude to what you say, but I assure you that I had nothing to do with trying to kill you and don’t know who did. You owe me a favour, remember?”
Jack eyed him suspiciously and said, “I haven’t forgotten. I’ve still got your get-out-of-jail-free card tucked in my wallet.”
“Good. Then think about it. I can’t collect if you’re dead.”
Jack nodded. “Okay. I just wanted to hear it from you.”
“Now you have,” replied Damien.
“Speaking of favours, Bishop’s body was identified.”
“Really? I hear that swimming pools can be dangerous. Are you warm?”
“A little heat. Probably just routine. I think I’m okay now. Made sure I was clean before meeting you.”
Damien snorted, then said, “Good. Glad you got a taste of it. I deal with that all the time. Bugging too.”
“Don’t think I have to worry about that. They would need grounds. But contacting you is a concern.”
“The BlackBerry I’m using now is safe,” replied Damien. “Doesn’t hurt to be cautious, though.”
“If you know nothing about whoever tried to kill me, I guess there is no reason for me to contact you.” Jack eyed Damien carefully and said, “Unless I catch you doing something illegal and can rid my wallet of your card.”
Damien smiled and said, “Good luck. Nailing me isn’t going to happen. As far as some of the bros go, think about this. Speed labs are easy to replace — that’s if we were in that business. Whacking you isn’t a consideration.”
Jack received another message on his BlackBerry. It was the code name for Lance, followed by 911. Lance had never used the code before. Someone’s life is in danger! Someone worth saving...
chapter seven
Jack and Danny drove into an underground parking garage and Lance scrambled into the back seat.
“You got a high-level rat!” said Lance, panting as he spoke.
“Tell us something we don’t know,” replied Danny. “Someone tipped off a couple of those speed labs.”
“Not the narc! High level. This one has access to your intelligence reports.”
Jack felt the back of his neck tingle. “Details,” he asked. “Who? How did you find out?”
“Remember I told you that Whiskey Jake and I had to meet Damien this morning after he met with Leitch?”
Jack nodded.
“Damien showed us a secret RCMP Intelligence report. It was dated yesterday! It was all about the Indos. Laid everything out.”
“The Indos?” said Danny.
“What if it had been about the club? I’d be dead right now!”
“Lance, you’re forgetting something,” said Jack quietly.
“What’s that?”
“I said I would always protect you. Bishop wasn’t the first guy your club corrupted. He won’t be the last. Any reports I write are designed to protect you. I write them as if Damien is already reading them. I don’t trust our judicial system not to order them released to some defence lawyer. Trust me on this. Besides, the team working on the Indos has nothing to do with us. At least, not at the moment.”
Lance let out a deep breath and sat quietly.
“You okay now?” asked Jack.
“Yeah ... I’m okay.”
“What can you tell us about the report?”
“Lots of names, addresses, and stuff. Some in boxes with lines going to circles. Damien refers to the leak as The Mole. I think it came via Leitch because he just got it. I read it a couple of hours ago but was with Whiskey Jake and I couldn’t call you until now.”
“Where is the report now?” asked Jack.
“Damien kept it, but I think he might hand it off to Pussy Paul for safekeeping. That’s not all the meeting was about. Damien is setting up our corporate guidelines. He laid it all out. I suggest you make notes or you won’t remember.”
Jack glanced at Danny and gave a slight nod of his head. Danny removed his notebook and pen.
1) Lance and Whiskey Jake to be project leaders responsible for overall day-to-day operations.
2) Union control, especially at the ports and airport, to be handled by Brutus.
3) Elite mobile hit squad for Western Canada to be formed and run by Rellik, who also has president status. They will be their own chapter unto themselves with no official clubhouse.
“Rellik?” asked Jack.
“Yeah,” replied Lance. “Got that nickname because he’s dyslexic.”
Lance continued and Danny kept writing.
4) Surveillance and wiretap to be done/overseen by Sparks. Top priority is the Vietnamese.
“The Vietnamese,” said Danny. “I thought Damien was interested in the Indos!”
“You guys are doing a pretty good job on the Indos for us. If we go to war and the Indos form an alliance with the Vietnamese, then Damien wants to be prepared.”
5) Strikers to recruit mules in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan — U.S. border may be easier for smuggling there.
6) Pussy Paul to continue handling strip clubs and prostitution and is in charge of intelligence. Actively recruits people with no records to get jobs with the police, judiciary, Motor Vehicle Branch, telephone companies, etc. Handling of police and judiciary sources will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Important ones will always have a go-between so they won’t be caught dealing with any club members.
“How are they recruited?” asked Danny.
“The usual. Sex, money, blackmail, gambling debts, intimidation — whatever works.”
“Intimidation?” commented Danny.
“Yeah. Some coppers are intimidated so they kind of suck up to us. We start them off by being friendly and maybe getting them to do small favours. You know, dropping some chicken-shit ticket or something. Takes time, but then we work our way up to more serious matters. Pussy Paul recruited The Mole, but I don’t know what was used as incentive.”
Danny put the cap on his pen, but Lance said, “Don’t put your pen away yet. I got some more leaks to warn you about, but I don’t know their names. All being handled through Pussy Paul somehow.”
7) One Supreme Court judge — financial incentive.
8) One RCMP narc — unknown recruitment method.
9) A secretary with VPD — thinks she’s in love.
10) Close to turning a VPD detective working Vice — sexual inducement.
“That pretty well wraps it up for now,” said Lance.
“What about drugs? Who looks after that?” asked Danny.
“We try to keep that down to individual cells as much
as possible. That way if a couple are busted they won’t be able to link it to the rest of the club. There is some overlapping. Big projects like the ships coming in ... well, that’s treated a little different.”
“How so?” asked Jack.
“All the chapters in Canada are invested in those, but smaller amounts are divided into smaller groups. Naturally, we are all brothers and stand behind each other. If someone is having a problem with distribution or competition, the club name in itself is usually enough to see that we get our way. If our name is not enough, then anyone who is needed will step in to do whatever needs to be done.”
“Like Rellik,” said Jack.
“Exactly. So what do ya think? Enough to keep ya busy for a while?”
“Not enough to keep us busy. Just food for thought,” replied Jack.
“This won’t keep you busy?”
“We’ll try to identify them, but I don’t see a lot that we can do without risking you getting burned.”
Lance nodded and said, “Appreciate that. I would-n’t have known this stuff if I hadn’t just made president. You start a witch hunt and Damien would put it together in two seconds.”
“You think you’ll be going to war with the Indos soon?” asked Jack.
“Damien says it’s inevitable, but with two more ships arriving in the next couple of weeks, he doesn’t want the war to start any time soon.”
Danny gestured to the last four entries in his notebook and asked, “Does Pussy Paul handle these sources direct?”
Lance glanced at the notes and said, “Naw, he would stay insulated. Most of the communication would go through someone else. Usually someone of the opposite sex, but these days, who knows.”
After some further discussion about union affiliation for targeted interests and overseas expansion, Lance opened the door to get out but stopped and said, “Oh yeah, almost forgot to tell ya. There’s something else.” He waited until Danny retrieved his notebook again.
11) Damien to handle public relations in the event of any bad press on the club. Might also arrange some charity drive as a result of the bad press from the labs being taken down.
Jack and Danny arrived back at the office and Jack said, “Take out your notebook, I want you to make another entry.”
“Sure,” said Danny, pulling out his notebook. “Okay, what?”
“Source advises he might be able to set up Lance and Damien but is concerned about being identified.”
Danny grinned when he understood Jack’s comment. If his notebook ever fell into the wrong hands or was ordered revealed by some judge, then the bad guys would think Whiskey Jake was the informant.
Moments later, Jack and Danny told Louie what they had learned.
“I think the report on the Indos came from Dick Molen,” said Jack. “The Mole ... Molen. Think about it. The report is fresh, and two days ago Molen asked me how I knew about the speed labs.”
“What did you say?” asked Danny.
“I told him it was through surveillance. He volunteered to assist. I thought it strange then because I hardly know the guy, but I passed it off as someone else wanting to help.”
“What can we do about him?” asked Danny. “If we do anything, we risk burning our friend.”
“First let’s confirm it’s Molen,” said Louie. “If it is, he will slowly have to be neutralized. All reports to him will have to be sanitized. I’ll speak to Isaac. If it’s him, then down the road we could have him transferred someplace — like Highway Patrol on Baffin Island.”
“This will have to be handled with extreme care,” said Jack. “Our friend’s life depends upon it.”
“I fully understand. We could start by submitting a false report and see where it ends up. Something juicy to demand immediate action.”
“I like that idea,” said Jack. “Maybe indicate the Indos are about to do a hit next week. Speculate that it might be on the bikers. A day or so later, follow it up with another report to indicate that the hit is on some low-level trafficker behind on his debts.”
“Good,” said Louie. “I don’t want to scare anyone into starting a war.”
“That would get messy,” said Jack. “Satans Wrath has generally learned to be precise, but the Indos have a flair for drive-by shootings. Innocent people could get killed.”
Louie reached for his phone and said, “I’ll try and meet with Isaac now. Tomorrow is Friday. If Isaac agrees, we could provide Molen with the fake report first thing Monday morning.”
“Good enough,” said Jack, “except I have a funeral to go to tomorrow.”
Louie understood. “No worries. I’ll look after it.”
“There’s always worries,” replied Jack. “Our friend is in a hell of a position.”
“Yeah, a great position for us,” said Danny.
“See if you feel that way when he starts fulfilling the responsibilities associated with his position,” replied Jack.
Louie gestured for them to be quiet as he spoke with Isaac. He hung up and said, “All of us have an immediate audience. Wants to hear a shortened version now, with a written report to follow.”
Jack sat forward in the stuffed leather chair and quickly provided Isaac with the organizational structure and history of Satans Wrath.
Isaac listened carefully to Jack’s words. “They have their own hit squad, surveillance teams, and intelligence unit ... which is highly funded,” Jack added.
A flicker of Isaac’s eyes told Jack that his point had been heard. He then continued, “For their intelligence unit, corruption and knowledge of the enemy is the name of the game. They are actively targeting transportation systems. Currently, they have some influence over the unions, particularly at the docks, and are working on the airports, railways, and trucking firms. They’re also expanding elsewhere.”
“Such as?” asked Isaac.
“Anything to do with import and export. Downtown Vancouver is the western terminus for CN and CP Rail. We have Canada’s largest deep-sea ports and are the gateway to the Orient. Deep-sea freighters exchange products from all over the world here. With Seattle just spitting distance away, large amounts of goods are shipped back and forth by truck and rail.”
“These fellows certainly aren’t sluggish when it comes to expansion,” commented Isaac.
“There’s more,” said Jack. “The Trans-Canada Highway and U.S. Interstate Highway system are also vital links. Vancouver airport is continually expanding to provide international air cargo and passenger transportation across the Pacific and to Europe. Feelers have already been put out with the Russian mafia for potential partnerships. On the home front, they’ve set their sights on politicians. Control of the unions helps with that, since politicians don’t like strikes.”
Leitch sipped on his Starbucks cappuccino and listened carefully as Ray passed on the instructions from The Boss. The anonymous note to RCMP Homicide would be sent immediately. Leitch was all too familiar with police investigative techniques. No prints. Leave no DNA under the seal. Use common bond paper.
“So you see,” said Ray, “the mistaken hit is no longer a mistake. It has worked in our favour. Who would have guessed that such a minor error would cause a policeman to grieve? You would think he would have been pleased that it was not him. It’s really quite extraordinary how the police react in this country.”
Leitch politely nodded his head in agreement, but his thoughts were still on delivering the message.
“I must admit, The Boss has come up with an excellent idea. We will make it look intentional. Murdered simply because he had the same name. Ensure that the police realize that no harm will befall Officer Taggart. Soon, it will be someone he works with or perhaps a friend or loved one. He will become a pariah. Let it be warning to any other officer who is energetic regarding organized crime that they may expect the same.”
“Organized crime is so general,” said Leitch, “that they won’t —”
“Precisely! They won’t know who to blame. Is it Satans Wrath? T
he Indos, Russians, Vietnamese — who? I think it is quite entertaining, really. Who cares if they do blame any of those groups? It won’t really affect us. The Boss is right. Why turn Taggart into a hero?”
“This will cause quite a stir,” said Leitch.
“Fear: it is the first step in making the law ineffective. The judiciary already appears indifferent. Why, as a policeman, would you want to risk your life or that of your loved ones? They will be both afraid and demoralized.”
Leitch thought about it. The police will concentrate on criminals at the bottom end, who will flourish as a consequence. Legal aid will pay well!
“Are you listening?” asked Ray.
Leitch put his dream on hold and quickly looked up and nodded.
“Naturally,” continued Ray, “we will follow up quickly by disposing of someone connected with Taggart. With his feelings of sympathy for the widow, I bet the chap shows up at the funeral tomorrow.”
chapter eight
There were only a few days left in April. The leaves had been out on most of the trees for a month and the Japanese plum trees were in full bloom. Despite an unusual surge of cold weather, it was a beautiful, sunny morning. Too nice, thought Jack, to be put in a coffin at the age of thirty-two and lowered into the ground. He felt Natasha put her arm around him and he did the same with her.
The church had been crowded, mostly with people who had read about the incident and felt a need to show compassion.
The news media made up the rest of the crowd. He saw Holly clutching Jenny to her side. They look so all alone...
He thought of Charlie in intensive care. Maybe just as well. To see him sitting here ... in a wheelchair at his father’s grave ... I couldn’t handle it.
As the casket was lowered deeper into the earth, he heard Susan sob and instinctively put his other arm around her shoulders, but felt Danny’s arm and withdrew his own. He glanced down at Tiffany, who was clinging to her mother’s leg. Susan was holding Jimmy close to her breast and Jack knew Tiffany felt left out. He nudged her and held out two fingers. It made him feel better when she latched on.