by Don Easton
“A little,” she admitted.
“What I suggested … no, not suggested, what I said to Sy was all hypothetical, of course. Simply musing about different ways to dispose of people. I don’t believe for a minute that he would actually do it.”
“Of course not … for the record. Act surprised, show concern —”
“Deny, deny, deny,” said Jack, finishing her sentence.
Chapter Thirty-One
It was five o’clock in the morning before Jack and Laura finished their paperwork at the office and an hour later before they each made it home to their own beds. About the time Jack was climbing into bed, Cocktail was slurping coffee out of a Styrofoam cup as he sat in a car in Kitsilano Beach Park overlooking English Bay in the heart of Vancouver.
Cocktail was waiting to meet Balvinder, one of the prominent leaders in The Brotherhood. He was told to gain Balvinder’s trust and bait the trap. He knew his orders came from the upper echelon of Satans Wrath. Appraise who is stronger and set up the losers to die.
Prospective members of Satans Wrath had arranged the meeting to ensure security from both the police and the warring factions of The Brotherhood. One prospect sat nearby on a park bench. He was a giant of a man with a short, cropped beard that did little to hide the multiple scars on his face. Cocktail knew he went by the nickname of “Hamburger” and it wasn’t because of his ugly face. Hamburger liked to fight. His nickname came from what other people’s faces looked like when he was done with them. Other prospects also roamed the area on foot and in vehicles.
Cocktail didn’t have to wait long. One of the prospects pulled up and dropped off Balvinder, who ambled over and got in beside Cocktail.
“Well, Balv, how’s it going?” asked Cocktail. “I understand some of your boys tried to take out Sy a couple of nights ago?”
“Yeah, they should have got him. Sy was so drunk he fell over in the house before he left the party. Came with some guy by the name of Jay and a broad. Jay was driving and was obviously sober. My guys said that when the shooting started he drove like a professional demolition derby driver. Sy was lucky. His time will come.”
“I need to be kept informed.”
“Why?”
“Think of who brought you to meet me. It’s them who asked.”
Balvinder glanced over at the biker who had brought him and saw Hamburger scowling at him from the park bench. “Mother of god,” breathed Balvinder under his breath.
“It’s not a good idea to make these guys angry,” continued Cocktail. “You know we do business with Sy’s, Mongo’s, and Munch’s guys too. What you’re doing is attracting police attention. If it keeps up, Satans Wrath will cut business with you guys because it could reflect police attention on them.”
“What are you saying? Quit the war? Ain’t gonna happen. It’s already started and there are too many of Sy’s people who keep moving into areas they don’t belong. That’s why we picked him first.”
“Conflicts happen. That’s life and the bikers know that, but don’t expect much business from my end if you guys keep dragging this out.”
“So what are you saying?” asked Balvinder.
“I work for them,” said Cocktail, while giving a sweep of his hand in Hamburger’s direction. “What I’m saying is if we want the money to keep rolling in, you better end it pretty quick, one way or the other. I’m going to be telling Sy the same thing. He’ll pass on what I tell him to Munch and Mongo. I want you to pass this on to Fateh, Quang, and Rashard.”
“So which is it? Does Satans Wrath want us to make peace or have an all-out war and get it over with?”
“Let’s say they won’t be doing business with people they don’t respect. If they think you are weak, you will soon be cut out of the action.”
“My gang is not fucking weak.”
“I know. Yours isn’t. That is why I’m talking to you. Trust me, my friend. I shouldn’t say this, because Satans Wrath want me to treat everyone equal, but out of all the others, you’re the one I respect the most.”
“Glad to hear that.”
“But I need to know what is going on. If you’re doing something to help bring things to an end, then it would help if I could explain that to the bikers. Even with Fateh and Quang who are your allies today, things change in time.”
“Tell me about it. We formed The Brotherhood in the first place so we could get along. That didn’t last long.”
“If there is an all-out war, there will still be survivors. Satans Wrath will want the survivors to sit down and split up what turf belongs to whom. After that, if someone starts raising shit and brings police attention on everyone, they will have more than the police to deal with.” Cocktail, paused, pointing a finger at Hamburger and adding, “You want to take guys like him on?”
“No … and what you’re saying makes sense. But how do you decide who gets what turf?”
“Eventually there will be a meeting and I’ll be the referee. Besides, what is the worst that could happen? If you all disagree, you end up no different. But it could work. In the meantime, if you have something happening that we need to talk about, go through the regular channels and the bikers will arrange for us to meet. Everything is to come my way. Satans Wrath is looking to do business with someone who is solid and strong. Let’s make sure that person is you and the people who are on your side.”
“I’m all for that.”
“The sooner it is over with, the sooner we can all get back to making money. Real money. Especially if some of the … uh, less respected gangs, are not around to demand pieces of the pie.”
“I understand,” said Balvinder. His white teeth flashed a smile against his dark skin and he said, “I’ll tell Fateh and Quang. They might listen to me. As far as Rashard goes, maybe you should talk to him.”
“I thought you were winning Rashard over to your side?”
“Not yet. That fuckin’ Jamaican is still not claimin’ allegiance with anyone. He’s gonna have to decide pretty quick, but right now, I don’t trust him.”
“I’ll talk with him. As far as what happened two nights ago, you know there will be retaliation. Things could get hot.”
Balvinder’s teeth flashed again as he gave a short burst of laughter.
“What’s so funny?”
“They already tried,” replied Balvinder. “It’s not on the news yet. Weasel was one of my guys who tried to take Sy out two nights ago. Sy recognized him and somehow found out where he was staying. A couple of hours ago Sy and a bunch of his guys snuck over to try and shoot him. Well guess what?”
“What?” asked Cocktail.
Balvinder laughed again and said, “The fuckin’ pigs were on to them. Busted their asses! From what I hear, they damn near got Sy, too. He barely escaped and lost most of his heavy-duty guns and a lot of his top guys.”
“How do you know if it’s not on the news? Did Weasel see it happen?”
“Weasel never even got out of bed. We got someone on the inside. Sy’s not even home yet, but he called what guys he has left and is whimpering like a fuckin’ baby. The pigs did a real number on his outfit. I should send them a thank-you card. Now it’s just Mongo and Munch we gotta take care of. In fact, with what happened, I bet the fuckin’ Jamaican will join up with us.”
“Interesting,” mused Cocktail.
* * *
Sy was on his way home after leaving Roach and Bagger’s house when he got a message on his BlackBerry. He recognized the coded message and sighed as he changed direction and drove off to meet his contact from Satans Wrath.
An hour later, Sy entered an office at Wet Willy’s Car Wash while his car was slowly dragged through the wash cycle inside the building. Cocktail was the only other person in the office and sat behind a desk as Sy took a seat in front of him.
“How’s it going?” asked Cocktail. “Heard someone took a shot at you a couple nights ago?”
“Yeah, I figured you would have heard,” mumbled Sy. “Fuckin’ lucky I happened to have
a friend with me who knows how to drive.”
“Oh? Who is that?”
“A guy by the name of Jay. He lives in the apartment above mine.”
“You never mentioned him before.”
“He’s Rodine’s cousin and moved here recently from back east. He’s a smart fucker and knows the game real well.”
“Our game?”
“Naw, he’s not interested in dope. Hot property is his thing.”
“What? Boosting items from stores?”
“No, not what you’re thinking. Jay is rich, has class, and is well-connected. Docks … railway … trucking lines. This guy ain’t small-time. Has got a real looker for a lady. Calls her Princess. Jay is rich. I’m thinking of asking him to partner up with me, but I don’t know if he will. He likes to be independent.”
“I have to tell you, Satans Wrath are really getting pissed off with all this chickenshit drive-by shooting crap.”
“It doesn’t seem chickenshit when you’re the one being shot at.”
Cocktail chuckled and said, “No, I guess not. The point is, it is attracting police attention and affecting the profit margin. Satans Wrath want to do business with someone they respect. Someone who knows how to make money. I’ve been hinting that you’re the guy. With all our action, your mattress must be stuffed.”
“I’m doin’ all right.”
“All right?”
Sy couldn’t resist the urge to brag. “Close to a million hidden away.” Sy saw that Cocktail was impressed. So I lied a little. What the fuck, I’m halfway there.
“Got it in a safe spot I trust,” said Cocktail.
“For sure. Some place where the cops won’t find it.”
“Good. Your new friend sounds interesting. Are you serious about asking him to partner up with you?”
“Things haven’t been going well, especially after tonight.”
“So I heard.”
Sy’s face darkened as he glanced out the office door at Hamburger standing in the hallway. “Yeah, I figured you had. Bad news travels fast.”
“That it does. Sorry for how it turned out tonight. I’m also really glad they missed you the other night.”
“Yeah?”
“Keep that to yourself. I’m supposed to be impartial. Satans Wrath want the war to end. In the next couple of days they’re planning to orchestrate a truce. It will be decided then who gets what territory.”
“So I’ll get to sit down with the honchos from Satans Wrath?” asked Sy.
“Not directly,” replied Cocktail. “They still look at you guys as amateurs. Hopefully if things go as planned, that will soon change. They’re looking to see who the smart leaders are and who is best suited to be making money. Certain guys might get selected to run additional enterprises and make more money. For now, I’m to treat everyone equal because they want me to referee the meeting.”
“What about security?”
“The bikers will look after it. I might be the referee, but everyone knows who I’ll be representing. If anyone does something stupid, they’re dead.”
“Gotcha.”
“I really shouldn’t say this, so keep it to yourself. Out of all the others, you’re the one I respect the most. I want you to do well at the meeting.”
Sy’s face brightened. “Thanks. I really appreciate that.”
“It would be a good idea if you kept me informed of what you’re up to. Go through the bikers to arrange a meet, if need be, but I’m the point man. If you’re making any moves it will help if I know so I can convince the bikers that you’re not some dunderhead flailing around.”
Sy nodded and said, “Thanks, Cocktail. I could use all the friends I could get. A good reason I should take on someone smart like Jay. He is one cool dude. Knows how to get rid of people to make it look like an accident. It would be good if he joined up with me.”
“Bet your guys who got busted last night won’t be in jail long.”
“I talked with Basil Westmount. He expects he’ll get them out this afternoon. Problem is, they’ll be heat bags with the cops at a time when I need ’em most. That’s if none of them squealed.”
“Think any of them would?”
“Fuckin’ Roach and Bagger did. Don’t know what the cops had on them. As far as last night goes, well, I know Brewski would never turn.”
“What? Roach and —”
“Yeah, those two. Don’t worry about it. They’ve already been taken care of.”
* * *
Cocktail waited until Sy left before speaking to Hamburger.
“Pass it on to your boss that I know who the losing side is going to be. The police arrested a bunch of Sy’s guys last night and wiped out his top people. The ones who are left are pointing fingers at each other. They took out two of their own a couple of hours ago.”
“I’ll pass it on,” replied Hamburger.
“I realize that the, uh, selected individuals for the final … shall we say, execution of this plan is up to you guys, but I think the choice is obvious. With that in mind, I gave Sy the bullshit line about getting everyone together for a truce talk.”
“Think he went for it?”
“Like a hungry gull after a school bag-lunch.”
“I’m sure we’ll be in touch soon, but in the mean time, carry on business as usual.”
“One other thing. Sy has a new friend he is thinking of partnering up with. Don’t know anything about the guy or who might be backing him. He lives in the apartment above Sy with his girlfriend. They go by the names of Jay and Princess. Might be a good idea for you guys to check them out.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Balvinder’s meeting with Fateh that afternoon did not go as smoothly as he had hoped.
“Fuck runnin’ stuff past Cocktail,” said Fateh vehemently. “How the fuck do you know he won’t pass it on to the other side?”
“He won’t,” replied Balvinder. “If he was doin’ that, he could have had me killed this morning. Satans Wrath don’t give a shit about which side wins as long as they’re not caught in the middle. I spoke with Quang about an hour ago. He thinks the three of us should come up with a game plan.”
“I don’t need fuckin’ Quang’s help to kill anyone.”
“It is better if we coordinate things under a united front. If we don’t resolve it quick, Cocktail says the fuckin’ gravy train we’ve all been riding is going to come to a halt.”
“Satans Wrath would cut off the chemicals?” asked Fateh.
Balvinder nodded.
“That would cost them money, too.”
Balvinder shook his head and said, “Man, the bikers got lots of other action. They deal coke by the ton and got labs right across the country. They can afford to put our labs on hold, but we can’t. Besides, where else could we get chemicals that cheap? Even if they didn’t kill us, their prices would put us out of business. If our people quit making money … pretty soon they won’t be our people.”
Fateh thought about it for a moment and replied, “Okay, when it comes to keepin’ our pipeline for chemicals coming, I agree. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to be running to them if I decide to pop somebody. When there is opportunity, you grab it. If you had told me where Sy was partying the other night, he would already be dead.”
“My guys tried.”
Fateh smiled and said, “Yeah, I heard. With little girlie guns. Like I said, you should have called me. I’d have introduced Sy to Big Bertha.”
Balvinder was surprised. “It came through? You got it?”
“Yup. Had it smuggled across the border last week. Fifty-calibre. Fuckin’ bullets bigger than your thumb. Capable of bringing down an airplane. Got it mounted in the back of a van. All we gotta do is pull up alongside, slide open the side door and blow anything we want into fuckin’ smithereens. There wouldn’t be enough scrap metal left of a vehicle to make a paperweight.”
“Un-fuckin’ believeable! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Just did. You still got someone
close to Sy?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t want to risk Big Bertha hanging around Sy’s apartment. The heat is obviously on him and I’m not taking a chance of the cops grabbing it. Next time you pinpoint when he’ll be someplace else, give me a call.”
“There’s Mongo and Munch to consider, as well.”
“We can deal with them after … that’s if there is any fight left in them. It was Sy’s people who invaded our turf. That is who should get the message first on not to fuck with us. The bikers want this war over? Fine! Consider it fuckin’ over when Big Bertha opens up.”
* * *
Late that afternoon, Jack returned to Sy’s apartment and the two men did their usual walk down the hall.
Sy looked at Jack and said, “Roach and Bagger … done.”
Jack ignored the comment and said, “That was a hell of a night last night. We were lucky to escape. Sorry you lost so many of your guys.”
“You tried to warn me. I should have listened. Everyone from the van, including Brewski, got let out a few minutes ago. The guns were stashed in a duffle bag. Our lawyer says it will be hard for the cops to prove who they belong to. The two YDUs in the Mustang are still being held.”
Jack didn’t respond until they had walked farther. “Something else on your mind?” he asked.
Sy coughed and said, “I know things don’t exactly look like they’re going well for me, but I think it is going to pick up.”
“That’s good.”
“Remember I once told you I knew a guy by the name of Cocktail?”
“Yes,” said Jack. He felt his chest tighten and realized he was holding his breath.
“I met with him this morning.”
“You’re a busy guy. Thought you’d be a little tired after last night.”
“Sometimes I don’t get a choice. Certain people call and ya gotta go.”
“Certain people like Cocktail?”
“Certain people like Satans Wrath. They acted as my chauffeurs. You know about them, eh?”
“Who doesn’t?” replied Jack. “Is Cocktail one of them?”
“No, but he works for them. Cocktail helps me. He supplies the chemicals and the training for the labs we run. I’ve been making a lot of money. Still am.”