“This is the quickest way to travel, Eddie. A car can’t make it there and back in the time you got. Sammy Wong is our courier. We sometimes move around the city this way. It’s discreet and fast,” said Anthony.
“Not to mention dangerous,” I said.
“Relax, will ya? These guys are pros. Just do what they tell you and you’ll be fine.”
I squeezed the helmet over my head, climbed onto the back of the last motorcycle, and tapped the driver on the shoulder.
“It’s my first time riding a motorcycle,” I shouted.
“Me too,” said the driver.
Everyone laughed apart from me.
“My name’s Eddie. Don’t kill me,” I said.
“I’m Tao. No promises, man.”
I wrapped my hands tightly around Tao’s waist. He gunned the engine, and we burst down the loading bay ramp and turned right into the alley.
The alley was maybe four hundred feet long, but we seemed to cover that distance in around three seconds as I felt my stomach slam into my back and I heard myself screaming into my helmet.
Anthony’s bike took point, and I wondered when it was going to brake as it rapidly approached the end of the alley. It didn’t slow down at all. The bike continued to accelerate toward the main street. I didn’t have to wonder what the driver was doing for very long. Instead of braking, the bike sped up, skipped through the traffic lanes, and disappeared into the early-morning shadows of the alley on the other side of the street.
“Holy shit,” I said.
The street ahead looked busy; cars and bicycles darted from left to right across our intended path and beyond them, right to left. I heard Tao’s excited scream as our bike fired out of the alley like a four-hundred-pound missile straight into four lanes of New York traffic. The bike weaved and braked and accelerated as the traffic swirled around us from both sides.
I shut my eyes and prayed to God I made it through this.
My chest pushed into Tao’s back as he hit the brakes hard, and my nose filled with the smell of the brake discs smoking with the effort. I opened my eyes and saw a black Ford Taurus skidding toward us from the left, its driver thumping the horn in panic. We were about to be T-boned.
“Lean back,” I heard Tao shout, and our helmets crashed together. My back burned with pain as I used every muscle I had to force my torso backward against our terrible momentum. Then I realized what Tao was trying to do—he let go of one brake, the back brake, and the motorcycle tipped forward onto the front wheel. Tao leaned to his right and the whole bike spun around ninety degrees before the back wheel smacked into the side of the Taurus, stopping the bike dead and keeping us upright and alive.
The back wheel rebounded off the side of the Ford and was already spinning with vicious acceleration as it hit the street and we shot forward, spun around the Taurus in a cloud of tire smoke, and were then quickly swallowed by the thick shadows of the alley.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
From Wong’s loading bay, it took only nine minutes of hell for us to pass the courthouse. The bikes must have hit upward of one hundred miles an hour at times. We powered through the streets and ducked into the alleys, avoiding both traffic cameras and the cops.
Anthony’s bike slowed up ahead as we reached our destination—Severn Towers, a new apartment building only a few blocks from the courthouse. We pulled up beside a blue Transit van in the underground parking lot. I must have been holding on too tightly. I felt as though somebody had worked on my thighs with a blow torch as I struggled to get my legs to move enough to let me get off the bike.
Twenty-seven minutes left until I had to meet the Russians outside Jimmy’s restaurant.
“We’ll wait around the corner,” said Tao as the bikes moved quietly out of the lot. Even for a workday, the lot looked particularly empty with only a half dozen cars dotted around the basement. I called Jimmy from my disposable cell.
“We’re here. What’s the exact location?”
“Give me a sec. Okay, Albie says the best his guy can do is tell you the current location of the cell phone. That’s Severn Towers. The GPS isn’t too good when the cell phone is way above ground level. Best guess is that the phone is more than five floors up.”
“Jimmy, this building is pretty big, maybe thirty stories. I’m going to need more.”
“You’ll have to wait for the guys to call in from Sheepshead Bay. I’ll call you as soon as I have a solid.”
He hung up.
A tall, wolf-lean man in a black T-shirt and black pants got out of the blue van and shook Anthony’s hand. He then offered a hand to Frankie, who merely nodded. The man nodded back. He kept his hair in a military buzz cut. Veins stood out on his thick arms, and I guessed he could snap a thick neck pretty easily.
“What took you so long? The Lizard’s been waiting,” said the man.
Anthony laughed and introduced me.
“Eddie, this here is the Lizard. It’s his show now.”
I shook hands with him. He had a grip like a boa constrictor. Despite his heavily muscled physique, he moved gracefully, almost like a dancer.
“We got access all the way up to the twenty-fifth floor. After that, we’re in difficulty. The stairs only go up to a barred steel gate on the twenty-fifth. The gate is key-code entry only. The elevator over here is also key-coded for the top floors. If your daughter is up there, then we can’t do anything without that code. If I blow the door, they’ll hear it and they could kill her. Just pray she’s on one of the lower floors. Frankie, there’s an art gallery across the street. You think you can get on the roof and give the Lizard some eyes on this place?” said Lizard, and I smiled as he referred to himself again in third person.
“Sure,” said Frankie.
The Lizard handed Frankie a pair of binoculars and a cell phone.
“Conference call is marked on the phone. I’ll put you on speaker. Be quick, Frankie,” said the Lizard as Frankie jogged out of the lot and across the street.
Anthony dumped his bag on the ground, unzipped it, and removed a twelve-gauge sawed-off shotgun and a box of shells.
“You don’t need to go in there, you know. We can handle it,” he said.
“I’m coming with you,” I said. “Give me a piece.”
“Bad idea,” said the Lizard as he opened the back doors of the van and unlocked a steel box that lay on the floor. He removed an assault rifle from the box and began checking it. The weapon was short and black with the magazine protruding from the shoulder stock.
“That looks new,” I said.
“Oh, it’s new,” said the Lizard, nodding and smiling.
I moved around the van so I could talk to Anthony quietly.
“Who is this guy?” I said.
“He’s an ex-marine. His cousin worked for Jimmy. When the Lizard came back from Iraq and started looking for work, his cousin set up a meeting. Believe me. This guy we can trust. He’s a one-man army. If anybody can get your little girl out of that apartment, it’s Billy over here.”
“Billy,” I repeated. “So how come he’s called the Lizard? And how come Frankie wouldn’t go near him?”
Anthony slipped red shells into the sawed-off and hung his head for a moment.
“Truth is, lot of the guys are afraid of him. Billy likes lizards. He’s got a big tattoo of a lizard on his back, and he keeps all sorts of snakes and shit at his house in Queens; he’s even got a pair of Komodo dragons in his yard. But that ain’t the only reason. When we need something from a guy who won’t give it up, we call the Lizard. You know how some of those reptile things shed their skin when they grow bigger? Well, that’s Billy’s specialty. If the guy won’t talk, Billy starts peeling the guy like a friggin’ banana and then he feeds the skin to his pets—scares the shit out of everybody. Personally, I like him. I just make sure I stay the hell away from his freakin’ house in Queens.”
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
A vibration came from the Lizard’s phone. He answered and put the call o
n speaker, but I didn’t listen. Jimmy was calling me.
“We got the address from one of the guys in the warehouse,” said Jimmy. “It’s the top floor. Penthouse. You’re in the right place. Don’t worry. Those guys in the Bay didn’t get a chance to call anybody, and they won’t be making any calls anytime soon. My guys will clean up real good. Professional. So even if the Russians do go back to that warehouse, they won’t know their guys got creamed in there. You better head back here soon. You only got twenty minutes before you meet the Russians. I’ll be waiting outside Wong’s for you, bub,” he said, then hung up.
My legs gave way, and I fell to my knees. Amy was on the top floor, behind the security gate that we couldn’t bypass. I swore and clenched my fists. My hand felt wet. I’d opened up the cut on my palm.
“She’s in the penthouse,” I said.
“Frankie? Did you get that? Penthouse,” said the Lizard.
Frankie’s voice came over the speaker:
“Got it. I’m looking at it right now. Blinds are open in the living room. I got four guys in the apartment. Two on the couch to the right of the front door, one in the kitchen, and one lyin’ on a chair with a newspaper. There’s a rifle leaning against the left-hand wall. I see a girl in the kitchen, she’s blond, maybe thirties. She’s tossing a butterfly knife around. I don’t see nobody else. There are three bedrooms on the right. Two of ’em got their doors open; one bedroom door is closed. Bathroom looks like it’s just off the kitchen. That’s it. I don’t see no little girl.”
My heart sank, nothing was going my way. I just wanted to know she was still alive.
“She must be in one of the bedrooms. There’s a rifle there. Why would they have heavy artillery in an apartment? Amy told you a woman was looking after her, Elanya. That has to be the chick with the knife,” said Anthony.
I stood and nodded in agreement. This had to be the place. I was so close to getting her back. I just wanted it to be over, then I could hold her and lock her up in a safe so that nobody else could ever take her again.
“Frankie, it’s the Lizard. You see anything else in the apartment? We could use a little help with the door. You don’t see a note pinned anywhere with a code?”
“Lemme look.”
We looked at each other silently.
“No, nothin’ pinned up.”
“What else can you see, Frankie?” I asked.
“Pictures on the wall—some kind of modern art. Not really my taste. The furniture looks modern, too, kind of uncomfortable-lookin’, leather, white. There’s a stack of pizza boxes on the kitchen table—looks like the broad ain’t the cookin’ type. TV is on…”
“What’s the name on the boxes? Can you make it out?” I said.
“Sure. It’s Big Joe’s Pizza. They ain’t far from here. I hear they do a good slice.”
“Are all the boxes from Big Joe’s?” I asked.
“Yeah, ’bout six of ’em.”
“They must be ordering out,” I said.
I took out my phone and said, “Frankie, can you make out the number for Big Joe’s?”
I dialed as Frankie called out the telephone number. They picked up after the third ring.
“Big Joe’s Pizza, can I take your order?”
“Hi. I need a delivery to the penthouse in Severn Towers, my usual. But look, I need it in a half hour this time. You guys were late yesterday.”
“Sorry about that. Who’s calling?”
“It’s Elanya’s boyfriend. I think your guy forgot the code or something on the last delivery. I had to go down in the elevator in my shorts to let him in. I’ll let it go this once, but just read me out the code you’re giving your delivery guy. I’m not running down in my bare ass this time.”
“I’m real sorry, sir. Please tell Elanya we won’t let it happen again. I’m just checking your details here … Okay, we’ve got 4789 here. Is that right?”
“That’s it. Thanks, man.”
“That’ll be thirty-nine fifty, sir. Be with you in twenty minutes.”
“Don’t rush it, kid,” I said and hung up.
The Lizard smiled, slapped a fresh magazine into a Glock, stuffed the handgun into his pants, and slung the automatic rifle over his shoulder.
“The Lizard likes you, Mr. Flynn,” said the Lizard.
“Let’s go,” I said.
Anthony patted me on the back. “Eddie, you’re not coming. You don’t have time. Tao’s waiting around the corner.”
“I’ve got time—”
The Lizard interrupted. “Even if you do have time, there’s no guarantee your daughter is up there. If she’s not there and you don’t make it back … we’ve blown it and they’ll kill her. Besides, the Lizard don’t need you, Eddie. If you see her in the apartment and make a move, you might get caught in the crossfire. Or worse, Amy might get shot. Don’t worry. If she’s there, we’ll take her back to Jimmy’s.”
He held out a hand. I took it. He was right. I had to let them do this alone. There was too much risk; I had to go back.
“Don’t let anything happen to her. Get Jimmy to text me when you’ve got her.”
Turning, I punched the panel of the blue van and ran out of the lot toward Tao.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Tao pulled up in Wong’s loading bay. Jimmy kicked off the wall, flicked away his cigarette, and checked his cell phone.
“Nothin’ yet,” he said.
Six minutes left.
“Text me when you know. I’ve got to go meet them.”
“They’ll get her back, Eddie. I’m sure of it. I’ll text you; then you run, and we’ll take care of you.”
My shoulders sagged. I closed my eyes and shook my head. “It’s not as simple as that, Jimmy.”
“Why not? We get Amy. You get the hell out of there and call the cops. What’s complicated?”
“No. I still can’t trust the cops or the FBI or anyone else but you and Harry. And besides, I’ve no proof of anything at the moment. Even if I found a straight cop or a straight fed, they wouldn’t believe me. I’ve got to finish this.”
“Why? If you want to finish it, we can open up the Lizard’s rifle on the limo as soon as it turns the corner. They won’t stand a chance.”
“True, but that’s only a few of them, and we would be doing that in full view of the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, and whoever else you got parked outside your door. And if Amy isn’t in that apartment, then we may never find her. I can’t risk it. Besides, I don’t have the full picture yet. I’m not really sure what they have planned, but I know that everyone in that court building is at risk, including Harry. Think about it; the two vans parked in the courthouse basement, the suitcase Gregor put in the van, the fake detonator I lifted from Arturas, the inside man in courthouse security—something’s going down and I have to figure it out. Tony G will bring me Mario’s photographs this morning; that’s a start. I’ll figure it out somehow. I have to. The Russians know where I live. They know where my family lives. They know what school my daughter goes to. They know everything about me.”
The story Arturas told me about tracking down a former Soviet in Brazil played over and over again in my mind.
“Jimmy, these guys can reach me anywhere. If I run—they find me and they kill my family. You know as well as I do that I can’t run. I have to finish it.”
For a second I was sitting with my dad on the tall stools in the back of McGonagall’s Bar, where we had made our little agreement.
“So, this is the deal. I teach you my tricks; you learn how to handle yourself right. I know you’re gonna try to use one of the scams for real someday. Remember what I told you—you get in a tight spot, keep it together. If that doesn’t work, you run, like I told you. If you can’t run—you fight and you put your man down, hard.”
My father’s Saint Christopher medal felt heavy around my neck. It was the only personal item that he’d brought with him from Dublin when he first came to the States. I knew what he would do. He would fight—he would
do whatever it took to protect his family. This wasn’t about revenge. It was about survival. If I didn’t finish this, Amy would never be safe again.
“Eddie, don’t do it. There has to be another way,” said Jimmy.
Two minutes of my hour left and I began bouncing on the soles of my feet, ready to take off.
“I’ve been over this in my head a thousand times. There’s no other way. I’m going to find out what’s going on and then, if I have enough, I’ll take it to the feds. People who double-cross the Russian mob don’t walk away. Unless I put them down permanently, all I’ve done is put a price on my head and made sure every high-ticket hit man in the world will be looking for me and my family for the rest of our lives. Either I finish it or it finishes me. Text me as soon as you have her. Give her this.”
Handing my engraved pen to Jimmy, I said, “Tell her she asked her mom to buy it for me for Father’s Day. I don’t want her worrying about your men; I want her to know that she’s with family, that I sent you guys to get her.”
“Sure thing, bub,” said Jimmy.
I turned and sprinted for the restaurant, my shoes slipping on the asphalt, my breath almost gone through stress and fatigue. The pain in my back and neck felt like it had melted into lead, weighing me down, making me slow. I pushed the pain aside. If I didn’t make it back to the restaurant in time, Arturas would call Elanya. If she didn’t answer, he would go looking for her. I needed an edge. I needed the Bratva to believe they still held all the cards. Tearing around the corner at full speed, I pumped my arms and prayed that I would make it in time.
I pulled up fast, just as a PD patrol car sped past me, sirens blaring.
A white limo came into view.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
The rear passenger door opened, and I folded myself into the dark leather.
“Where did you come from?” said Arturas.
It took me some time to catch my breath before I could answer.
“Around back. I had to move quickly and do a circuit of the block to make sure I wasn’t tailed. I’m clean, but I had to make sure—even the feds aren’t stupid enough to fall for two distractions in one day. I know it was a lot of money, but it was worth it. Tony Geraldo is our man now, and you guys just bought a lot of grace from the Italians.”
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