by Easton, Don
Jack gripped the pencil. The eraser butted against the palm of his hand while the pencil protruded from between the middle of his fingers.
Carlos reeled back in horror as Jack slammed the point of the pencil upwards through his neck under his jaw. His intent was to penetrate the brain but Carlos twisted his head. Instead, the pencil skewered his esophagus and snapped in half, leaving the jagged end protruding from his throat. He tried to scream but instead his voice became an ugly wheezing sound as his body demanded air.
Jack was barely conscious of the man in the front seat raising his gun toward his head while he grasped Carlos with both hands around the back of his neck, pulling him down on top of him.
Carlos gurgled and tried to push himself upright, but Jack had partially wriggled down between the seats and held on tight. Carlos grabbed at his own throat, trying to remove the pencil.
Jack twisted and turned. For a few brief seconds, he felt fingers trying to pry his arm free from the back of Carlos’s neck while the two men screamed at each other in the front seat.
Laura waited for the sound of gunfire before leaving the shelter of her doorway and running toward the Mercedes. She was thankful that Ramirez had given her a Glock 9mm for protection and reached for it in her purse as she raced forward. She knew it wouldn’t penetrate the car, but if a door opened she might have a chance.
A few scatterings of citizens on the street ran past her, going in the opposite direction to escape the din of terror that unleashed itself at the far end. One man appeared in front of her and she gasped as she recognized his face. The stringy red hair ... chipped front tooth. Her brain tried to react to what she thought was impossible. Rellik raised his hand and she saw the gun pointed at her face — point blank range!
Her training took over as she instinctively crouched and started to raise her own weapon. Over the noise of a multitude of automatic weapons firing and people screaming, her brain heard him yell, “Fuckin’ bitch!” and she saw the muzzle flash from his pistol.
Rellik grinned. Good shot. Right through the centre of the forehead!
Jack hung onto Carlos’s neck with one arm while his other hand reached around Carlos’s waistband. His fingers touched the leather holster and he frantically grabbed for the weapon and felt his fingers wrap around it. Got it! ... Wait ... No! It’s a cellphone! He was just packing a second cellphone!
Jack was conscious of the man in the front seat opening his door. A second later, the door by Jack’s head opened. He tilted his head and looked up just as the man took aim at the top of his skull. In a futile effort, Jack released Carlos and tried to grab at the gun. The man stepped back slightly, and it gave Carlos the opportunity to push himself upright, exposing Jack from the chest up as he lay pinned between the seats.
Jack had heard that you never hear the sound of the shot that takes out your brain. It’s not true. I hear it ... sticky pieces of skull and brain splattering down my chest ... Carlos pushing himself backwards to safety ... blackness...
He heard the sound of a second shot, then stared numbly upwards as the light returned.
“Jesus fuck!” yelled Damien. “Don’t just lie there!” he screamed, while dragging the corpse off Jack’s face with one hand, holding the pistol in his other hand.
Jack wriggled out of the car backwards onto the ground. He saw the driver slumped over in the front seat and the car window awash in blood behind him. In the back seat, Carlos stared at him in terror with the broken pencil protruding from his neck. He took his hand from his throat and made a gesture to reach for the door handle. He knew it was hopeless. He was right.
Damien’s third shot sent another wave of blood over the rear passenger window.
Laura saw the smile on Rellik’s face when he fired. Her ears were ringing as the pistol exploded a round just above her head. She immediately fired two bullets from her own gun into his chest cavity.
Rellik’s mouth gaped open in surprise and he fell backwards. Laura heard the sound of another body fall behind her and she turned to look.
Oh man! He missed me and took out a citizen!
Then she saw the gun in the man’s hand, and the realization of what had happened took over. She looked back at Rellik, then quickly knelt down beside him.
He looked at her and his voice gurgled as he spoke.
“Why’d you fuckin’ shoot me, bitch?”
“I thought you called me a fuckin’ bitch and shot at me!” cried Laura.
“I said Duck, bitch! You ducked and...” Rellik’s body convulsed and spewed blood from his lungs. Seconds later, he died without speaking another word.
Jack, followed by Damien, ran up the street and found Laura counting aloud while pumping a man’s chest with her hands and then pausing to blow air into his lungs.
“This is Rellik!” Jack exclaimed. “What is he doing here?”
“You’re alive!” said Laura, returning to pump on Rellik’s chest.
“Yeah, still above ground,” replied Jack, looking at Damien for an answer.
“Carlos ... you kill ’im?” asked Laura. She glanced at Jack, while still pumping on Rellik’s chest.
“Pencil snapped in his throat. Damien finished him off,” said Jack, while placing two fingers over the carotid artery in Rellik’s neck. “He’s dead, Laura. What the hell are you doing?” He looked at Damien and asked, “What is he doing here?”
“You didn’t really think I would trust the Feds to protect me down here, did you? I had Rellik and two of his crew tag along for protection.”
Laura continued to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation until Jack said, “Laura! Will you cut this out! He’s dead! We will be too if we stay out here in the middle of the street!”
Laura looked dazed as she slowly sat upright before picking the 9mm up from where she had dropped it in the dirt.
“I sent Rellik to protect you,” said Damien. “Didn’t know you had a piece. This other guy, he kill Rellik and then you shoot him?”
Laura shook her head. “I thought Rellik was shooting at me. I didn’t know this other guy was behind me. I ... I didn’t know....” Her voice trailed off and she stared down at Rellik.
“Yeah?” replied Damien. “Well, shit happens. Honest mistake. Rellik wasn’t exactly one of my favourites, anyway. Guess we don’t have to worry about him climbing any more trees.”
“Where are your other two guys?” demanded Jack, looking around.
“They helped me take out the four guys outside of Carlos’s Mercedes. I told them to take off after I waxed Carlos.”
“You shouldn’t have brought them here! Damn it, Damien!”
“Yeah, right. And if they weren’t here, you both would be dead!”
Jack, Laura, and Damien hardly spoke as Ramirez gave them a ride back to his place. Once there, he gave them jogging suits to wear and took their bloodied clothes to be burned.
Ramirez told them that nine men who worked for Carlos managed to escape Palmira in a van. He said they did not arrive back in Buga.
It was almost four o’clock when Jack, Laura, and Damien arrived back at their hotel and hurried to their rooms before Jean-Louie and the narcs could see their jogging suits.
Jack waited a few minutes for Jean-Louie to return, then called his room.
“Went really well,” said Jack. “Some details still have to be worked out, but we can head home now.”
“Long night. Was starting to worry.”
“Partied hearty. Helped gain his trust. Right now we’re all beat. I’m going to grab three hours of shut-eye, then meet you at seven. We want to catch the morning flight back to Vancouver.”
Jack then knocked on Laura’s door. She came out in the hall and quietly closed the door behind her. They gave each other a hug before walking down the hallway.
“Think I could round up a drink if you want one,” Jack said. “It’s just that if you feel like talking, we can’t do it in our rooms.”
Laura shook her head and said, “One drink would-n’t be e
nough and forty-seven would be too many. Glad you’re here, though.”
“How do you feel?”
Laura didn’t respond.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know. Right now I just feel numb. I just killed a guy for saving my life. How do you think I should feel?”
“Numb. Same as I feel.”
“I should have ordered him to drop it. I just ... I was so freaked out with what was going on ... then to see his face. The guy I figured for the epitome of evil. I double-tapped him without thinking. I should have known that he wouldn’t have missed me at that range. My presumptions got him killed!”
“Rellik didn’t save your life. Damien did. Rellik was just a soldier following orders. The fact that he was ordered to save you doesn’t make him a good guy. He acts without conscience. He could have just as easily been told to torture you. Knowing his personality, he likely would have preferred that.”
“I thought of that, but I still fired without weighing all the evidence. He even told me to duck! I was so convinced about him being evil that I didn’t listen. What if he had been a good guy and I did that?”
“He wasn’t.”
“But me thinking he was...”
“We don’t live in a courtroom. We don’t have the luxury of taking months or years to decide whether or not a decision is right. Out here, it’s survival. You reacted how you should have.”
“It’s the consequence of my prejudgement that is eating at me. It made me react...”
“Consequences! Tell me about it! Everything I’ve done lately brings about a consequence I hadn’t planned on. I guess there are things we have to accept. Things we can’t control. There are always consequences. You shooting Rellik was a consequence of the type of guy he was. In a way, he got himself killed. At least, his lifestyle did. It wasn’t Mother Teresa running toward you!”
They walked for a little while longer, both lost in the silence of their own thoughts. Eventually they returned and stopped outside of Laura’s door.
“Thanks, Jack,” she said. “I’ll be okay. Just need time to sort things out.”
“You sure?”
Laura nodded and said, “You’re a good friend. Goodnight.”
“A good friend?”
Laura smiled and said, “Yeah. This time you’re helping me bury a body ... if only in my mind.” She then hugged Jack. He kissed her on the forehead and returned to his own room.
It was six-thirty in the morning when Jack was summoned to Jean-Louie’s room.
As soon as he entered, Jean-Louie waved a copy of El País in front of him and yelled, “What is this?”
“A newspaper,” replied Jack.
“What it says,” snarled Jean-Louie, holding up the headlines reading CARLOS — MORTE!
“I don’t know,” replied Jack. “Haven’t seen it and I don’t read Spanish.”
“I’ll explain the grisly details,” said Jean-Louie. “Sit down!”
Jack took a seat and listened.
“Norte del Valle,” Jean-Louie started, then paused and said, “Early this morning, on a road outside of Buga, travellers were shocked to discover the bodies of nine men piled in a pyramid on the road.”
“Wow!” said Jack. “People really play it rough down here!”
Jean-Louie stared briefly at Jack, then said, “I’m an old-school operator too, remember? Skip the concerned part and go straight to denial.”
Jack stared ahead, his face frozen.
“I’ll continue,” said Jean-Louie. “This pyramid of bodies was only half the size of another pyramid discovered on the outskirts of Palmira. A naked man was laid face-down at the top of that pyramid. He had a broomstick protruding from his buttocks with a green beret dangling from the end. Later it was discovered that this was the notorious...” Jean-Louie paused to look at Jack and said, “The hell with it! You know who it was!” he said, flinging the newspaper down. He glared at Jack and asked, “Any comment?”
“No.”
“The paper said that in both incidents the police were unable to find anyone who heard or saw anything ... but Ramirez is being linked as someone who has a previous history with Carlos.”
Jack nodded quietly.
“For the record, were you with Ramirez all last night at the party?”
“He left for a little while. We thought he was picking up some more guests.”
“A little while?”
“Might have been longer. Maybe a couple of hours. Everyone was partying and having fun.”
“Good.” Almost believable, Jean-Louie thought. “What are you thinking?” asked Jack.
“I’m thinking the three of you should grab your bags and get the hell out of here!”
chapter forty
It was eleven-thirty at night when the plane touched down on the Vancouver runway. It was an hour later when Jack and Laura cleared Customs. Damien was already gone.
Jack expected to get a taxi, but a familiar voice in the terminal stopped him.
“Hey, cowboy. How ya doing? How’s your new sidekick?” asked Danny as he approached, carrying a shopping bag.
“What are you doing here?” asked Jack.
“Talked to Natasha. Heard you were coming in. Thought I’d like to pick up a friend ... if you still want to call me that.”
Jack looked at him, too surprised and too tired to respond.
“I know I’ve been an ass,” added Danny.
Jack put his suitcase down and embraced Danny. “I always think of you as a friend,” he said. “A good friend.”
“Thanks,” said Danny, stepping back while wiping his eyes. “Your trip ... did it have anything to do with...” He paused a moment and looked nervously around before whispering, “The guys who ... tried to drown Jimmy?”
“Yes,” said Jack.
“How did it go?”
“Total success,” said Laura.
Danny closed his eyes and whispered, “Thank you.”
“We’ll talk about it over a beer,” said Jack. “Just not tonight. We need to get home.”
Danny nodded that he understood but looked glum as they made their way to the parking lot.
“What’s wrong?” asked Jack.
“I should have been there,” he mumbled.
Jack shook his head and said, “No, you should have been with Susan.”
“You really believe that?”
“Beyond any doubt. Laura is my partner, but if you want to come back to Intelligence, we could maybe find another spot for you.”
“Hell, no!” said Danny. “I want to be your friend ... not your partner!” He looked at Laura and added, “You’ve got no idea what working with him is like!”
Laura laughed and said, “I think I’ve got a pretty good idea!”
Danny smiled. “Yeah, if your trip was a total success, then I guess you do.” He passed the shopping bag to Jack and said, “This is for you.”
“For me?”
“Yeah, well, you know what they say,” mumbled Danny. “Beware of geeks bearing gifts.”
Laura unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside. Elvis rushed toward her, but before he could speak, she flipped a penny toward him. He caught it, then looked at it and smiled.
“How?” asked Laura.
Elvis shrugged and said, “Didn’t you ever have any good friends when you were on Drug Section?”
“Yes, I had friends.”
“Now, on Intelligence ... isn’t Jack a friend of yours?”
“Yes, I consider him a good friend. Get on with it,” said Laura quietly.
“Did it ever occur to you that I might have a good friend in the section I work in?”
“Not really. I wouldn’t trust any of them.”
Elvis paused until he saw the grin on Laura’s face. He embraced her and felt her warm kisses on his neck. After a moment he said, “Come on. I’ll unpack your bags while you put your feet up.”
Laura looked at Elvis and said, “Do you know the difference between being a fr
iend and being a good friend?”
“Sure,” replied Elvis. “A friend bails you out of jail. A good friend is sitting beside you saying, ‘Boy! Wasn’t that fun!’”
Laura laughed.
Elvis studied her face carefully and then said, “With Jack ... does that hit it pretty close to the mark?” Before Laura could respond, he said, “Never mind. House rule. We don’t discuss work.”
Their next kiss was more passionate.
Natasha was in the shower but heard Jack yell that he was home. She quickly shut off the water and wrapped a towel around herself. She then saw Jack standing in the doorway. He was wearing a white cowboy hat.
Natasha kissed him warmly on the lips, then stepped back but kept her arms wrapped loosely around his waist.
“Something new for your wardrobe?” she asked, looking at his hat.
“Present from Danny,” he replied.
Natasha smiled and said, “Good. He told me.” She then let the towel fall from her body. “Ride ’em cowboy!”
epilogue
In July 2005, Jean-Louie received three pictures of Damien from the Colombian police. They were found during a search of Carlos’s home and given to Jean-Louie as a matter of courtesy. The pictures were not mentioned in his report to Assistant Commissioner Isaac, which simply stated that continual physical and electronic surveil-lance of the Canadian investigative team did not reveal any irregularities. Further investigation of the Ramirez cartel was not recommended at this time due to unrest in the area and an inability to provide adequate protection.
In August 2005, Satans Wrath held a memorial service on an acreage owned by one of the club members. Rellik’s ashes were dumped inside his motorcycle helmet and buried. His colours were hung with distinction inside the east-end chapter clubhouse. Only a few members of the club were ever aware of how their fallen comrade had died.
In September 2005, a woman discovered a large amount of cash inside a duffle bag on the seat of her car. She turned it over to the police, who, when it went unclaimed, transferred the million dollars in Canadian hundreds to the woman’s bank account. The police told her that part of a torn twenty-dollar bill had also been found in the bag. She retained it as a souvenir.