Race

by Mobashar Qureshi

  “I know it was a mistake,” I said raising my hands as if these things happened all the time. “You saw me snooping around and you thought I was going to steal something. So you…kind of…bumped into me.” I winked at him. He didn’t wink back. “So it’s no problem. I won’t charge you with assault—if you’re worried about it.” He didn’t look too worried to me.

  He stared silently.

  “I’m Officer Jon—R before E—Rupret of the Toronto Police Service.”

  In a blink of a second a hand shot out, grabbed my throat, and pulled me closer.

  The grip was immense. Blood rushed to my head and my eyes bulged out.

  He brought my face closer and I could feel hot air come out of his large nostrils.

  I tried to say something, but I needed air to do so, which was now suddenly in short supply.

  I grabbed his wrist but I couldn’t even circle it with my fingers.

  I was about to kick him in his privates when I heard a voice.

  His fingers released my neck and I flopped on my bum.

  I knew sucking air quickly would be hazardous so I closed my mouth and inhaled slowly through my nose.

  My neck was raw. I would need more makeup to cover that, too.

  I looked up and nearly lost my breath. Again.

  ***

  Laura, with her red hair, was standing beside the big guy, who I was now going to charge with assault and even attempted murder. She had a smile on her face.

  “Laura, wh—what are you doing here?” I asked.

  “I should ask you the same question,” she answered.

  “I’m here for the tea,” I said, collecting myself. “What about you?”

  She smiled the smile I had earlier found endearing. Right now it felt intimidating.

  I managed to get up.

  “Shouldn’t you be in the States?” I said.

  “You don’t get it, do you?”

  “Of course, I get it.” Get what? I narrowed my eyes.

  She laughed, rolling her head back. “You have no idea.”

  “I have many ideas, but I can’t discuss any of them with you...at this moment.” I looked around.

  She motioned to the big man, who moved toward me.

  I moved back but hit what felt like a metal door.

  Feeling cornered, I pulled on the handle and fell back into darkness.

  I looked around and everything was black.

  Someone switched on the lights.

  “Better?” she said.

  There were several machines, all covered with blue plastic, at one end of the basement. Equipment—the science lab kind—was scattered everywhere.

  “This looks like a clan lab,” I said, turning to them.

  Then it hit me.

  “You,” I pointed. “You’re making Nex.” It suddenly dawned on me that I had infiltrated RACE. Something else dawned on me.

  “You’re part of RACE?” I said to Laura.

  She smiled, “Good. We are finally making progress. Kong, tie him up on that chair.”

  The big guy moved toward me. I doubled back and planted myself on the chair. If this gigantic bone-crushing-type-of-guy wanted to tie me up, who was I to protest? I placed my hands behind my back and smiled.

  He looked disappointed. He was looking forward to roughing me up. I wasn’t going to give him any satisfaction. I may be a wimp, but I was a partially damaged wimp.

  He bound my wrists.

  She walked over and leaned down. I could smell her perfume.

  Was that Elizabeth Taylor’s Black Pearls?

  “I liked you,” she said. “But you had to follow us and then enter our establishment.”

  “You’re name isn’t Laura Spencer, is it?” I said.

  She shook her head.

  “You never had a sister in Toronto, did you?”

  “Everything was a lie, Officer Rupret.”

  I had opened up to her. I couldn’t believe I had told her about Nigeria and my grandfather. I felt used.

  “Don’t feel bad,” she said. “At least you didn’t burn in your house.”

  What?

  “Why didn’t I?” I said.

  “Think. You’re part of the police.”

  Yes, I was part of the finest police force in the country, and at this moment I was damn proud of it. “I have seen where you produce Nex. Why don’t you give up? You won’t get away.”

  “Yes, you have seen everything.” She looked at Kong. “But you won’t get away. Alive.”

  Up until then I had had the feeling that I was not in any life-threatening danger. But suddenly I was feeling differently. I had to do something.

  “Half the police department is outside,” I bluffed.

  “No, they are not.”

  “Yes, and I’m wired. You’re being recorded.”

  “Really?” She ripped my shirt open—the buttons flew everywhere. “You’re lying.”

  “Code red. Code red. Abort mission,” I mouthed to my armpit. “Officer down. Officer down.”

  “Oh, shut up,” she said and slapped me. Hard.

  That would leave a mark.

  “Don’t you understand,” she said, getting agitated. “The police will not come to help you.”

  “Why is that?” I said.

  She said nothing.

  Then it hit me. “The mole,” I said slowly.

  Her face betrayed nothing.

  “Yes,” I laughed. “You wouldn’t think I would know. Would you?”

  She licked her lips.

  “You thought I wouldn’t find out who your mole was?” I said. “But I did. I put two-and-two together.”

  “You know?” she finally said.

  “I know.” I was proud of myself. Seeing her squirm like that made my chest inflate. It deflated immediately when I caught sight of Kong.

  She said, “I didn’t think you were—”

  “—Clever or intelligent enough,” I said.

  “Bright was the word I was looking for. I didn’t think you were bright enough.”

  “Well I did. Your mole was part of Operation Anti-RACE so that he could spy for you. He fed you information so you could be a step ahead of us. Whenever possible he misguided us. But he didn’t misguide me. I was onto him from the beginning. The way he talked. The way he walked. It wasn’t normal.” She listened attentively. “Then the incident with Officer Barnes at the House of Jam—” I stopped. I turned to Kong. The bald head Barnes was talking about. Kong was the one who’d hurt Barnes. I wasn’t about to start pointing fingers at anyone, seeing as I was immobile. I just ground my teeth and continued. “The missing camera tape was my first indication.”

  “What camera tape?” she said.

  She was testing me.

  “The missing camera tape from the House of Jam. So he doesn’t tell you everything, does he?”

  “Only what is necessary,” she half responded.

  “He had insisted Joey stay with me after he had run away from you.” This part was difficult for me but I wanted it off my chest. “He insisted Joey stay with me. You! You kept me away so that your goons could get to him. Isn’t that right?”

  Her eyes betrayed her.

  Anger rose in me. “He was just a kid.”

  “He was a stupid kid,” she said.

  My whole body was energized with rage. I roared and with all my might tried to break free of the restraints on my wrists. As I did so the rope cut deeper into my skin. The pain was immense and soon all my energy faded. My shoulders slumped and I lowered my head. This would have worked in the movies.

  “The money,” I finally said.

  “What?” she said.

  I lifted my head. “The money he gives his wife at night. Why would someone do that if they weren’t hiding something?”

  “He’s married?” she said confused.

  “Oh, so you don’t know?”

  “He only tells me what is necessary.”

  “Well, let me tell you. He also has children. You didn’t kn
ow that either?”

  “I was not aware,” she said, clearly taken aback. “He doesn’t seem like the fatherly type.”

  “You also wouldn’t know anything about his mansion, would you?”

  “Mansion? I thought he lived in a condo.”

  “He has a tiny little mansion in Forest Hill.” I was working on the make-the-partners-enemy-ploy. After I was done she was going to hate Beadsworth. She was then going to free me and help me stop the production of Nex just to get back at Beadsworth. Well, maybe not exactly like that, but I was working on it.

  There was a sound in the back. She turned. I tilted to get a better view. There were footsteps coming down. All three was of us waited anxiously. At least, I did.

  Once I saw the shoes, I relaxed.

  “Speak of the devil,” I said.

  TWENTY-NINE

  Beadsworth came down with his hands in his pockets and a grim look on his face. Behind him was a man with blond hair.

  “Hey, Phil,” I said. It’s always better to refer to your enemy by his first name; gives them less credibility. “Tell her about your mansion.”

  Beadsworth shot me a look.

  I didn’t care. “Also, the money you give to you wife at night. You know, in brown and white envelopes.”

  Beadsworth said, “Officer Rupret, please be silent.”

  I wasn’t going to stay silent. “Tell her about your children.”

  “Officer Rupret. You don’t realize—”

  “—No! You don’t realize. Playing everyone like a fool so you could get rich. You did it just for money, didn’t you?” I was visibly upset.

  Laura looked at me, then at Beadsworth, and then at me again. She then started to laugh.

  Villains! They were all crackers.

  When she was done she said to me, “You’re not as bright as I gave you credit for.”

  What was she talking about?

  “You think he is the informant?” she said, pointing to Beadsworth.

  Then I saw the gun, wedged in Beadsworth’s back by the blond man. Beadsworth’s head was bowed low—in defeat.

  “Where did you find him?” Laura said.

  The blond man answered, “He was snooping around the back.”

  “A big mistake, Detective Beadsworth,” Laura said. “Tie him up.”

  ***

  Beadsworth was tied up—wrists and ankles—and placed ten feet behind me. We sat in silence. Our captors had left us. They had probably gone off to some meeting to decide our fates. I didn’t care. I was wrong about so many things. It hurt.

  I was glad Beadsworth was behind me. I couldn’t face him. Here I was, ready to tell everything I knew about him, to the one person who had deceived me.

  I heard footsteps and saw Laura emerge from behind the metal door. Right behind her was the owner of the shop.

  “This is not good,” he said nervously. “We can’t have police officers here. We have customers upstairs.”

  “Get rid of them,” she said.

  “They are police officers,” he said.

  “Not them. The customers.”

  “That might be—“

  “Tell them you have a gas leak and the building must be evacuated. Give them a voucher for a free drink. Just get them out.”

  He didn’t look happy.

  She said, “We are so close. We keep them here for a few days until—” she stopped when she realized I was eavesdropping. “Kong will watch over them.”

  I cringed.

  When they were leaving, I said, “I never liked the wallpaper. The color was ugly.”

  The-so-called-owner turned to me, then gingerly walked away.

  ***

  It was quiet again. The metal door was shut tight to prevent the outside world from hearing our screams. I was prepared to scream.

  At least they didn’t shut the lights off and left us in darkness.

  I could hear Beadsworth breathing in the back. Ever since he was bound, he had not said a word.

  I didn’t know what to say. But I wanted to say something.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  No response. Only breathing.

  “I was wrong, okay?” I said. “I thought you were the mole.”

  “And how did you deduce that, Officer Rupret?” he finally said.

  “You were acting strange. It was a mistake. I’m sorry, man.” I tried twisting my head but could only manage up to a certain extent. “How did you know I was here?” I said.

  “I’ve been following you,” came the answer from behind.

  “Following me? For how long?”

  “Since yesterday.”

  “You were behind me when I was trailing the Lincoln?” I asked.

  “Yes. Three cars back. I saw you park and disappear behind the tea shop. I waited, but when you didn’t come out I decided to take a look. That’s when the blond gentleman pulled a gun on me.”

  “But why follow me?”

  “So you wouldn’t do anything perilous.”

  “Like this.”

  “Yes.” There was silence again.

  “I need some answers,” I said.

  “You are entitled to them.” There was a brief pause. I think he was sorting out his thoughts. Then he began. “As you may or may not know, it was Sergeant Aldrich who had instigated the investigation into the drug squad.”

  I didn’t know that.

  “What you also may not know is that Sergeant Aldrich was once part of that very same drug squad.”

  I didn’t know that either. But why investigate your own team?

  “I will not go into the details of the misappropriation in the fink fund but I will say that there were certain officers who were not following all the rules. These officers were noted for bribery, money laundering, assault and various other offenses. Sergeant Aldrich was not, by any means, part of those corrupt officers. No. While in the drug squad, Sergeant Aldrich was clean. But, eventually he became depressed by the legal system; drug dealers and pushers were receiving insignificant penalties.”

  “How do you know all of this?” I said.

  “Detective David Longfoot.”

  “Who?”

  “You met him in Scarborough while on our stake-out.”

  I remembered. He and Beadsworth had had a private chat in Beadsworth’s car while I was forced to go for a walk.

  Beadsworth said, “One night, when Detective Longfoot was undercover, he stumbled upon this group—”

  “RACE,” I spoke in.

  “Actually, Officer Rupret, the name RACE never existed until…” he trailed off.

  “Until what?” I asked.

  “Until Sergeant Aldrich invented it.”

  I was taken aback. “So Aldrich gave RACE the name RACE?”

  “Precisely.”

  Wow. “So this Radical Association of Criminal Ethnicities—”

  “Invented.”

  “And the stock market bullshit about Nex—”

  “Invented.”

  Beadsworth continued. “Once Detective Longfoot realized this group was onto something big, he contacted his supervisor, Sergeant Aldrich. The information provided to Sergeant Aldrich stated RACE—we shall still call it that—was working on this new drug, which was going to be bigger than Ecstasy. Sergeant Aldrich saw an opportunity. I believe it was then that he made contact with RACE.

  “He would provide RACE with information and in return they would give him a piece of, as they say, the action.”

  I was partially correct. It was about money.

  “Detective Longfoot was told to suspend his investigation into the group, but he felt this could one day pose a real threat, so he continued privately. Seeing that RACE might be exposed, Sergeant Aldrich involved Internal Affairs, citing improprieties in the squad. The RCMP then launched a full-blown inquiry into the now-missing fink fund. Some drug squad officers were re-assigned and others were suspended.

  “Detective Longfoot was suspended with pay pending the inquiry. Prior to this he
had sent a report directly to the chief, highlighting the seriousness of this new group. She in turn ordered that a team look into this. Sergeant Aldrich volunteered to head this new team along with Detective Garnett.”

  “Hold on,” I said. Something didn’t make sense. “Why put Aldrich in charge of a team that would investigate a group he was part of?”

  “At the time, Detective Longfoot was not aware of his involvement. Even the chief does not know.”

  “Then who knows?”

  “Five individuals: Detective Longfoot, Detective Garnett, Detective Nemdharry, and you and I.”

  “So that’s why we weren’t allowed to talk to any members of the drug squad?” I said more to myself than him.

  “Precisely,” he said. “Detective Longfoot and I go back many years. He suspected something and informed me of this. I then volunteered to be part of Operation Anti-RACE.”

  “So you could keep an eye on the team.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then why bring me in?”

  He went silent.

  “Why involve me in Operation Anti-RACE?”

  Again silence.

  I twisted, straining my neck. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Officer Rupret,” he said. “You were brought in to…complicate our investigation.”

  “Complicate?”

  “Yes.”

  “You mean screw up? Right?” I snapped.

  “Sergeant Aldrich had no intentions of this operation being successful. It was only a façade. Set up to please the chief. That was why you were brought in. Sergeant Aldrich remembers well what had transpired between you—then a parking enforcement officer—and the drug squad.”

  “It was a mistake,” I said, as always explaining my actions from that night.

  “An error in judgment. Yes. Sergeant Aldrich thought you to be a loose canon. Naïve and incompetent, if you pardon my saying, perfect to nullify this investigation.” There was fidgeting. “But I had insisted you be put under my supervision—”

  “I’m under no one’s supervision,” I retorted.

  “You made that quite clear.”

  There was silence again. I couldn’t believe I was brought in to jeopardize the operation. Here I was thinking Aldrich only wanted me because I was young, handsome and creative.