“Hi.” Steel said before smashing his fist into Brook’s face. The man stumbled backwards but before he could recover, Steel had side-kicked his left knee, bringing the man to the ground. Brooks raised the gun, only to be met by a kick to the hand, which sent the weapon skidding across the floor still with the pencil jamming the firing mechanism.
Steel stood before Brooks, who was on his knees. He held a large .45 automatic trailed on the man as he cut McCall free with his other hand. She stood up slowly, rubbing the marks the bonds had made.
“What kept you?” she said, trying to sound annoyed with him.
“Well, you know I like to make an entrance, plus the deli had a special deal on.”
She smacked him in the arm.
“So, Mr. Steel, what happens now?” said Brooks. “You know that when you tell that touching story they will put me into an asylum and I will never be convicted. Who knows? I may even be out in about five years.” The man grinned as he saw McCall’s face do the calculation.
“He is right you know,” she said, panicked by the very thought of this madman ever being on the streets again.
“Fine, we could just kill him and say it was the blond guy. Less paperwork,” Steel said coldly as he raised his weapon.
Brooks’s face dropped as he saw the massive automatic swing upwards towards his head. After studying Steel’s life he knew what the man was capable of and that was what frightened him: he was more a monster than himself. McCall shoved the weapon out of the way and gave him a scornful look, only to have him smile at her.
“There is one problem with the story, though,” Steel said as he put the handcuffs onto Brooks and put him into the chair.
McCall looked round at Steel curiously.
“What’s that?”
“It was this asshole that had the good home. Davidson went to the orphanage.”
Brooks smiled.
“Shame you can’t prove that, detective,” he replied, smirking. “As far as they know, I had a bad childhood.”
McCall looked confused. “I don’t get it. We just have to get the doc to tell his side.” Then she saw the look on both of their faces.
“The doc is next?”
Steel nodded.
“But what if...?”
Steel raised a hand. “I have left word for him to be kept safe.” She blew a sigh of relief, then her face lit up with a curious look. “So why the women?”
“Well, you know the first vic was a lawyer working on a big case?”
McCall nodded.
“Well it wasn’t just a big case, it was a very big case. It was to do with arms smuggling, and if she was to disappear before she was able to make her argument to the partners it would be swept under the carpet. But there was a problem! It had to look like an accident or better still, the work of a serial killer, so naturally when Brooks learnt of the other women and his brother’s connection, the pieces began to fit. I mean, what better way to hide a hit on someone than make it part of a triple homicide. If things went wrong his brother would be investigated, as they went to the same orphanage. Also he could ‘become’ his brother at the precinct to see what progress we were making. Brilliant, really.”
McCall sat down, her head still buzzing from the mass of information.
“So why cut up the women?” She was perched on the corner of the desk, her hands splayed out to steady her. Steel smiled and walked round the back of Brooks to ensure he didn’t have any lock picks or tricks hidden away.
“The thing about most professional killers is, they enjoy what they do. That’s bad enough, but when they are psychotic that really tips the balance.”
McCall had to agree that this was the strangest case and probably deadliest one she had experienced.
Somewhere outside sirens could be heard wailing, heralding the arrival of the cavalry. Steel smiled softly at McCall seeing her expression of relief. As they listened they could hear the welcoming cries of “CLEAR, CLEAR, ROOMS CLEAR.” Suddenly the sliding door flew open and the distinctive urban camouflage uniforms of the teams burst in, weapons held high at their shoulders.
As the Captain entered the dimly lit room with the rest of the team in close pursuit, they were met by McCall and Steel, who were waiting by the entrance.
Faces full of confusion glared at Steel as though a ghost stood before them.
“McCall, are you OK?” Brant asked, quickly looking round the room. She nodded and smiled.
“I’m fine, no there’s really no need to be concerned about me.” Steel spoke with an air of disappointment and hurt, as the Captain turned and scowled at Steel.
“Detective Steel, where the hell have you been?” Then he winked playfully at McCall. She smiled shyly then she followed Steel as they made their way towards a figure hidden in the shadows sitting on a chair. Doctor Davidson entered slowly, taking in the scene occurring around him, and then as he made his way towards Steel he froze along with everyone else as they gazed upon a familiar face. The Captain’s jaw dropped open as he switched his view between the doctor and the man in the chair.
“Steel? McCall? What the hell is this?” His index finger pointed firmly at Brooks. As the team members looked at the two men the supposed strange behavior of the doctor started to make some sort of sense; the others headed off to the other parts of the building to try and find any clues as to the identity of the people who had abducted McCall.
After two officers were assigned to watch Brooks, Steel took McCall to the waiting paramedics outside, and as she sat down a tall man put a blanket round her shoulders and proceeded to tend to her wounds. McCall looked up at Steel and smiled. Her eyes were red from the ordeal but still seemed to glint with a sense of joy.
“Are you OK?” he asked.
She shook her head in disbelief at the question, still smiling, but broader this time.
“What’s the matter? Is it something I said?” He seemed confused but then that’s what Steel liked about her: he didn’t get her; she was the mystery he would someday try to solve, but not just yet.
“Never mind, Steel,” she replied, giggling to herself.
Steel left her and made for the large room to make sure that Brooks was ready when the transport arrived. As he was just about to enter he saw the two officers coming from inside.
“Hey, why are you guys leaving? You haven’t been replaced yet?” he asked.
The two officers seemed confused. “Actually, sir, we have. Two plain-clothed detectives said they were here to pick him up and they also suggested the doctor travel with them as a precaution.”
Steel burst into the empty room then turned to the men. “When did they leave?”
One officer thought for a moment. “A couple of minutes ago,” he said, realizing what had happened.
Steel rushed out of the building to try and catch any vehicle that was leaving the site, but was only greeted by a confused-looking Captain Brant.
“What’s wrong?” The Captain looked calm, but his calmness would be short lived.
“Well, your guards just handed over the prisoner and the Doc over to a pair of detectives.”
Brant exploded with rage, heading for the door to read the riot act until Steel stopped him.
“What’s done is done, Captain, you can kill them later. First we’ve got to get those guys back.”
Brant calmed slightly but made a mental note to put the men on traffic duty for a long time.
Tooms walked up, while Tony was still keeping guard over McCall. “Steel, man, we thought you were toast!” and with a friendly handshake Tooms noticed the mood. “Hey, what’s up?”
The Captain almost seemed unable to reply.
“Well, our prisoner and the Doc are gone, someone took them.” Steel told him. Now Tooms realized the cause of the somber mood.
“So, we find them and bring them back.” Tooms suggested.
Steel and the Captain turned to him and gave him a sobering look.
“You don’t get it,” Steel explained. “Firstl
y these men are twins, together, not a good thing, especially when one of them has made a dammed good job of impersonating the other.” Steel sat down next to McCall and looked up at the group in front of him. “Secondly the killer will probably have his brother committed instead of himself if he can. That’s my guess, anyway.”
Steel knew they would be long gone by now so chasing them would be futile, plus, he had no idea which direction they went.
“I’ll notify public transport and get his picture out just in case they skip,” said the Captain. “Plus I’ll send word to the border control.”
It was something, but Steel just shook his head and looked at the floor.
“What’s up?” asked Alan Brant, just before Tony made off.
“I don’t think he will leave,” Steel looked up at the Captain. “If anything he will try and take over his brother’s life as a cover.”
“But?” asked McCall, knowing all too well what the look on his face stood for.
“We messed it up. I still think he will go ahead and commit him, even take over his brother’s life, but he won’t do it in the city.”
Tony nodded and shot off, knowing how urgent it was to put both the Doc and his brother’s names down as fugitives.
There was a buzz on Steel’s cell phone and he reached into his small biker-style jacket and he looked down at the display. “Oh, that’s not good,” he said, putting it back into his pocket.
“What’s wrong? Bad news?” McCall felt like making a joke but it didn’t seem to be the time.
Steel stood up and straightened his clothing. “The big case that our first vic was working on, it was an arms trafficking case. The reason she was working late was to put her case together to show it to the board. Apparently it was big and could hurt a lot of people—big people.”
“Sounds like a motive to me.” The Captain popped a mint into his mouth, as McCall’s face dropped in realization.
“An arms deal?” she asked. Everyone looked puzzled at her sudden outburst.
“What now?” asked Tooms. He had had a long week and this case was the most confusing one he had ever experienced or would ever want to experience in the future.
“Brooks kept on asking me how much we knew, he also said to the blond mercenary from the bridge that they were good to go.” Sam McCall explained, her face brightening as the case at last was becoming clearer.
“So they kill the two others to cover up their actual intended kill: Karen,” Tony’s mind was working on the fresh data. “But that doesn’t give us any idea where they will be.” He was a good cop, but he needed data, something to work with. Now he had the few missing pieces for the puzzle and therefore he was happy.
“One of the addresses for the drop-offs was near where my dad was killed, did anyone check it?” McCall said.
The Captain looked at the map. “We had two officers take that but we haven’t heard anything back as of yet. Do you think they will be there?” he asked, unable to know how McCall would handle going back to the place where her father had died.
“Yes. If not they’ll be somewhere nearby anyway. At least it’s a start,” the Captain had to agree.
Tony came around the corner and put his cell phone into his pocket. “We are good to go on every way out of the city.”
The Captain nodded, instructing: “OK, you four head up to that address, the teams will meet you there. You stay until they are ready, understood?” He didn’t look directly at Steel, but Steel had known that last comment was for him, and he smiled to himself.
“If it’s OK I have to stop off, get a couple of things first,” Steel said, and with that the four of them took off in McCall’s car.
“Where to?” McCall asked, looking at Steel in the rearview mirror.
“Head up town, I have a place.” Steel replied. She nodded and pressed her foot on the gas. With a screech of tires, they took off. Tooms didn’t know where they were going but he knew they need a little more firepower than the weapons on them—they needed an army. Luckily, they had one and as he dropped off to sleep in the back of McCall’s car, the words his friend had said days before came flooding back to him:
“What I do know is, if you’re in the shit this is the man to have at your back.”
Tooms felt some reassurance from that thought, but he knew tonight would get bloody.
SIXTY
As McCall drove the street lights seemed to blur into one, and the sky above was a strange watercolor mix of blues and purples. The sun was setting, but this evening was not blessed by its normal fiery display. However, she did not take any notice of the scenery: McCall was transfixed on getting to that hotel and ending the crisis.
She looked in the rearview mirror and saw that Steel had fallen into a deep sleep, and she smiled. Just seeing Steel like that made him seem just a little more normal to her. The man had had so much shit thrown at him lately she was surprised that he could sleep so soundly.
Tooms, who was riding next to her, looked behind and saw that Steel had wedged himself into the corner while Tony was happily doing something on his cell phone; he turned back and pulled out his weapon. Sliding out the magazine he pushed down on the top round to check the pressure of the spring inside to be sure that there’s be no loading problems. Happy that his clip was full and working, he reinserted the magazine and returned the weapon to its holster under his arm. “I radioed through,” Tooms told them. “The Doc is in custody, they found a car with him tied up in the trunk on the freeway, but no sign of Brooks or the two goons.”
McCall didn’t seem surprised at the news.
“Do we know what to expect when we get there?” asked Tony, who was now checking his back-up weapon. The baby Glock was ready to go, and replacing it back into his leg holster he felt a little better.She shook her head. “No not really, but I can guarantee one thing—”
Tooms turned slowly to look at her.”—We are going to ruin somebody’s day!” And with that she put her foot down on the gas and sped off with purpose.
SIXTY-ONE
It was a bright summer’s day with a light breeze that made the trees sway, and birds chased each other across a cloudless sky. In the grounds of an English grand mansion a party was in progress. Friends and family laughed and joked amongst themselves, children ran round playing, all dressed up in clothes their parents had forced them to wear.
The grounds were large with a long lawn in which a marquee had been erected to house the tables and chairs for guests to be seated later in the evening. Next to it wooden panelled flooring lay to serve as a dance floor, and above hung a string of lights in a cross pattern, held aloft by four large pillars. The grounds were enclosed by a wooded area as though a piece had been cut out of the woodland and the lawn placed into the gap.
Wading through the guests, waiting staff hurried carrying trays of drinks or canapés.
At the back entrance of the mansion lay a large gravelled area enclosed by a balcony of stone that stretched round from both sides of the house, only broken by the white stone steps. Music blared from two large speakers that stood close to the rear doors; on the floor trailed a cable to a microphone and stand—this stood beside a large stone vase that was part of the magnificent stone balustrades.Two men stood on the graveled area talking. One of them was tall and broad shouldered, and his thick black hair was starting to grey at the sides. The other man stood a few inches smaller and his build was slimmer than the others, his blond hair was cut neatly, and while the taller man had a beard this man was clean shaven. Both wore tuxedos as did the other male guests, and the ladies all wore new-looking cocktail dresses .
The smaller man gave the other a friendly pat on the left arm and hurried down the steps to a party of people who were deep in conversation. The tall man picked up the microphone and turned to the DJ, who was hidden behind a makeshift booth at the far end of the gravel courtyard. He tapped it, sending a loud screech through the speakers, making everyone wince. He smiled like a naughty schoolboy.
“So
rry, sorry!” His British accent was playful. “Hello everyone, my wife and I would like to thank you all for coming this afternoon, we are here to celebrate two things; firstly the latest blow to the gun trafficking this morning, when the special unit made a bust that was estimated to be valued at around four million pounds”
There was an explosion of noise as everyone cheered and clapped.
“But also, more importantly, the safe return of our son.” He raised his glass to the crowd but his eyes were transfixed on a beautiful woman. She stood elegantly, wearing a white dress, her dark shoulder-length hair crowned by a diamond tiara. She smiled at him, her eyes full of pride and happiness. Next to her stood their son Thomas, who was a dark haired twelve-year-old who had his father’s looks, and their daughter, a pretty thing no more than ten years old but looking like a reflection of her mother: they were even clad in the same style of dress. It was a little joke that they liked to play on the lord. The young Miss Sophie smiled at her mother and squeezed her hand, and Helen Steel looked down at her daughter and winked.
A waiter walked up to the man at the microphone and whispered something into his ear, causing him to smile.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it would appear the problem with holding a surprise party is that one never knows when the guest of honor will arrive. So seems the case, it appears.”
The crowd laughed as the embarrassed host grinned and shrugged apologetically.
“However, I don’t think he would mind if we started without him, what do you say?” Again, he raised his glass.
“I couldn’t agree more, Lord Steel,” said a voice from behind.
A tall blond-haired man approached. His large solid form was packed into a black uniform, and his greased-back hair glistened in the afternoon sun.
“Who are you, and what do you want here? This is a private party,” said the lord, and the mercenary smiled and walked up to him.
Rise of a Phoenix: Rise of a Phoenix Page 23