by Mike Ryan
“Well?” Simmons wondered.
“I’ll agree to your conditions,” Recker said. “On one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I need to hear that they’re still alive.”
“What? Don’t you trust me?”
“Not really.”
“I wouldn’t try to pull a fast one on you. I know you’d just come after me if I did,” Simmons replied.
“I want to hear them,” Recker persisted.
“Fine.”
Simmons looked at Mia and put the phone up to her ear for her to talk to her friend.
“Say something,” Simmons told her.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for putting you through this,” Mia sobbed.
“It’s all right. It’s OK. I’m gonna get you out of there,” Recker replied. “Does this guy know my name?”
“No, no.”
“OK, good. Are you and David OK?”
Mia sniffled but kept herself together. “Yeah. Yeah, we’re OK.”
“All right, that’s enough of that,” Simmons interjected. “Everyone’s OK for now.”
“All right. Let them go and you have my word I won’t come after you.”
“Well, I’m not exactly that trusting of you either.”
“What do you mean by that?” Recker asked.
“I’m not gonna just let both of them go and then hope you’ll live up to the deal. I’ll let one of them go now. The other I’ll take with me until I’m out of the city. Once I’m out, I’ll put them on a train or a bus back here.”
“That’s not what I just agreed to.”
“Well I’m changing the deal.”
“I’m not comfortable with that,” Recker objected.
“Either that’s the deal or I can just put a couple bullets in their heads right now and take my chances.”
“If you do that, I will hunt you down until the ends of the earth. There is no place you can hide from me.”
“I release one now and the other I’ll send back,” Simmons insisted. “Or else.”
Recker just shook his head, not liking the new terms. He wasn’t in much of a position to bargain though. Agreeing was his only option. “Fine. Release the girl.”
Clifford just laughed. “Yeah, I knew you’d say that. No chance. She comes with me.”
“Why?”
“Cause she’s better company,” he teased.
“Fine,” Recker said, getting angrier by the minute.
There was no way Recker was just going to let Simmons take Mia out of the city and hope that he was a man of his word and send her back. Recker was going to find him before he got out of the city limits.
“So we have a deal?” Simmons asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll leave your man Jones here tied up for you. And just in case you decide that since I won’t be here with him that you can just come after me first, I’m gonna make sure that’s not a wise move.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Recker wondered.
“I’ve planted an explosive in the room that he’s in. If he’s still sitting there in an hour…well then, I guess he’s gonna go boom,” Simmons said with a laugh.
“You’re bluffing.”
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. You really can’t afford to find out though, can you?”
“You’ve got one hour to get your friend out of here or else this building will explode,” Simmons warned.
“You gotta give me the address.”
“It’s a vacant office building on Knights. You find it.”
Simmons then hung up and Recker shouted an expletive as he tossed the phone down on the front seat beside him. He obviously couldn’t get there in an hour. He had two options at that point. Tyrell or Vincent. Since he was part of Vincent’s crew, Recker figured he might’ve had an idea of what building he was talking about. He quickly picked his phone back up and dialed Vincent’s number.
“What’s up?” Malloy answered.
“Is Vincent there?”
Malloy immediately handed the phone over to his boss. “What can I do for you, Mike?”
“I just got a call from Simmons,” Recker revealed.
“Oh?”
“He’s holding them in a vacant office building somewhere on Knights. Have any idea where he’s talking about?”
Vincent thought for a second and seemed to think he might have known where Simmons was. “Yeah, I might have an idea. There’s a couple places there that could fit the bill.”
“There’s complications.”
“There usually are,” Vincent replied.
“He agreed to let the two people go if I agreed to let him out of the city,” Recker told him.
“And your reply?”
“I didn’t have much choice but to agree. But he’s taking the girl with him and said when he’s out of the city he’ll send her back.”
“And you don’t believe him?”
“I’m skeptical.”
“As well you should be.”
“The guy, he’s leaving there for me. But he said if I’m not there in an hour, the room he’s in is gonna explode. He said he planted an explosive that’ll go off in one hour,” Recker explained.
“And you obviously won’t be able to get there in time to save him,” Vincent stated.
“Yeah.”
“Say no more. We’ll take it from here.”
“Are you sure?”
“No need for you to worry about it anymore. It’s my problem now. Your two victims will be safe and sound and Joe’s not going to take anyone out of the city.”
“What are you gonna do?” Recker wondered.
“That’s for me to figure out. Enjoy your drive back, no need to rush and risk getting pulled over by state police or anything,” Vincent said with a smile. “I’ll only call you if there’s an unforeseen problem. If you don’t hear from me, assume everything’s gone well.”
“Uhh…all right.
“Call me when you get back in town and we’ll arrange a meeting.”
“OK. I’ll do that. Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Recker wasn’t sure how to feel anymore. Part of him felt like he should be relieved that Vincent assured him that he’d take over the situation from there and make sure everyone was unharmed. But part of him was still a little nervous and anxious as he was basically putting his trust, and the lives of Jones and Mia, in the hands of a crime lord. And even though Vincent had proved trustworthy in all their dealings up to that point and never gave Recker reason to doubt anything he ever told him, he was still the head of a criminal organization. No matter what, Recker was still going to worry until he saw that his two friends were safe. Or at the least heard their voices.
Vincent handed the phone back to Malloy and started to discuss their plans moving forward. Vincent was not about to let Joe Simmons out of the city. Hearing what Simmons’s intentions were only affirmed to Vincent that he was making the right decision in helping Recker. If Simmons really was threatening to blow up the building one of his prisoners was in, and he was intent on taking the girl out of town with him, it was an indication to Vincent that the man was becoming unhinged. That was a lot of carnage and destruction, along with heat from law enforcement, that he wasn’t authorized to unleash.
“Joe’s become unglued,” Vincent said. “He’s threatening to take the girl out of town and blow up a building with the other guy he took if Recker’s not there in an hour.”
“So what do you wanna do?” Malloy asked.
“We won’t let this drag on any longer. Call him and find out where he is. We’ll come to him.”
Malloy nodded and started dialing Simmons’s number. Every time they had tried to call him previously, the call just went to his voicemail. Now they knew he was avoiding their calls and since he just called Recker, they knew his phone had to be on. Malloy kept trying but to no avail. Simmons just wasn’t picking up. Vincent nodded and put his hand up for Malloy to
stop trying, indicating it was OK. Vincent got out his own phone and started dialing Simmons’s number. It was rare for Vincent to call any of his own men personally. It was usually Malloy that acted as the intermediary. All of Vincent’s men were programmed that if he called them personally, it was extremely important and they needed to pick up the phone immediately or else there would be consequences for them ignoring his call. After the third ring, Simmons finally picked up his phone, mostly out of fear of what would happen to him if he didn’t answer his boss’ call.
“Joe, we’ve been trying to call you for a while now,” Vincent told him.
“Sorry boss, I was just in the middle of a few things.”
“Oh? Anything I need to know about?”
“No, no. Nothing important. Just trying to square some things away. Did you need me for something?” Simmons worriedly asked.
“Well, as a matter of fact, that brings me to why I called,” Vincent calmly stated. “I’ve heard some rumblings that are terribly concerning to me.”
“What’s that?”
“I’ve been told that right now you’re holding two people against their will inside a vacant office building on Knights Road. Is that correct?”
“Umm…,” Simmons stumbled, not wanting to lie to his leader in fear of what would happen if he did. But he also didn’t want to admit the truth and have to explain himself.
“You don’t have to say anything. I already know where you’re at and who’s with you.”
Simmons took a big gulp, afraid of what he was going to hear next.
“I’ve also heard that you’re responsible for the killing of some female doctor that was found in the trunk of a car by the airport a few months back. Is that correct?” Vincent asked.
“Mr. Vincent, I can explain.”
“I don’t want explanations, Joe. I also don’t want apologies. It’s too late for both of those things.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Mr. Vincent, The Silencer’s on my trail, I’m just trying to somehow stay ahead of him,” Simmons said.
“The Silencer, huh?”
“Yes sir.”
“What are your plans right now?” Vincent asked.
Even though Vincent already knew the situation, he was trying to play coy to get Simmons’s guard down. If Simmons suspected that Vincent was also gunning for him, he’d leave town in a split second. Of course, Vincent believed he could track him down if need be, but it’d take a lot more work than planned and more effort than what he thought was necessary. It’d be much easier to bring Simmons in if he believed that Vincent was on his side. Simmons then explained the situation to his boss, telling him about his plans, his deal with Recker, even the explosive that he had planted.
“I’ll tell you what, Joe. I want you to stay put and don’t do anything for right now,” Vincent told him.
Simmons stuttered at first, nervous about staying there with Recker on the way. “But I, uhh, I…I don’t know if I can handle him on my own.”
“Just listen to what I tell you and you’ll be fine. I’m going to send Jimmy and some other boys with him to your location. We’ll set a trap for The Silencer when he gets there and we’ll take him out for you. That way you never have to worry about him again and you don’t have to think about leaving town.”
“Mr. Vincent, thank you. Thank you. I appreciate your help,” Simmons replied.
“No problem, Joe. I just wish you would’ve come to me sooner and we wouldn’t have had to go through all this trouble. We’ll take care of you though, don’t worry.”
“Should I get rid of these people first?”
“No. You keep them right where they are. We’ll use them as part of the trap. Just keep them unharmed for now,” Vincent answered.
“OK. No problem. When should Jimmy get here?”
“Give him about twenty or thirty minutes.”
Simmons then proceeded to give Vincent his location, though the crime boss already had a good idea that that’s where he was. Still, it avoided any possibilities of errors and lost time. As soon as Vincent got off the phone, he gave Malloy the address and told him to grab a few of his men so they could leave right away. After his conversation with his boss, Simmons was now feeling pretty confident. Even with Recker’s reputation, he didn’t think he could match up with all of Vincent’s crew just waiting there for him. Simmons then went back into the room where Mia was.
“Looks like a change of plans, sweetheart,” he said.
“What?”
“I was originally going to take you with me as an insurance policy but it looks like that won’t be necessary.”
“Why not? What are you gonna do?” Mia asked.
“I just talked to my boss. He instructed me to stay here and we’ll deal with your friend in the appropriate manner.”
“You’re setting a trap for him?” she worriedly asked.
Simmons just grinned, happy at the change of plans.
“But you made a deal,” Mia told him.
“Sometimes things don’t work out the way you planned. Just sit tight for a while and it’ll all be over soon.”
Simmons then took out a white rag and shoved it in Mia’s mouth, wrapping a piece of string around the back of her head to prevent her from talking and warning Recker when he arrived. Once he secured her and made sure she wasn’t going anywhere, he left the room to check on his other prisoner. Mia started squirming, struggling to break free of her restraints. She tried wriggling lose, kicking her legs in the air, frantically wanting to get out from her ropes. After a few minutes she knew it was no use. She was locked in tight. Her heart sank as she thought about what Recker was about to walk into. They were being used to get to him. Though she hoped against all hope that Recker could somehow survive and fight his way through whatever obstacles he was up against, she knew it’d be tough sledding for him.
Simmons then went into the other room where Jones was sitting. The professor was sitting quietly and still, knowing that Recker was already somehow on the case. Since he told Recker he’d check in after the meeting, he figured alarm bells were going off once he never contacted him. That and the fact that Mia wasn’t answering her phone either, Jones knew that he was either on the way or getting someone there in his place. Jones had a calm expression on his face and Simmons noticed that his prisoner didn’t look worried. Unlike Mia, who Simmons could tell was a little upset and worried about what was happening, Jones didn’t seem to have the same attitude.
“You seem awfully calm considering what’s going on,” Simmons stated.
“Worrying isn’t going to change or alter whatever happens here,” Jones replied.
“That’s a very good attitude you have there. You know, in my original plan, I was thinking about putting a bomb in here. Maybe The Silencer would get to you in time, maybe he wouldn’t. But there was a very good chance that you might’ve exploded.”
“And that plan has changed?”
“I’ve got some friends coming. There’s no need for me to be cute or play games. We’re gonna have a little surprise waiting for your friend when he gets here,” Simmons replied.
“You’re going to ambush him?” Jones asked.
“That’s what the boss wants.”
“Boss? So you’re not a lone wolf then. Who is your employer?”
“You think I’m dumb enough to tell you that?”
Jones shrugged. “I don’t see the harm in it. I’m obviously not escaping from here to tell anyone. And if you succeed in your plan, then after you kill The Silencer, I’m quitecertain you’ll turn the tables on Ms. Hendricks and me so we can join him. And if you’re not successful than it won’t matter because you’ll be dead.”
Simmons laughed, amused that his prisoner thought there was a chance The Silencer would kill them all. “There’s no chance of that happening.”
“Well if you’re so sure of your plan then you won’t mind explaining it to me. At least give me the satisfaction of having the knowledge of what’s ab
out to happen before I go to the grave,” Jones told him.
“I work for a man named Vincent.”
“Vincent?”
“Yeah. You know him?”
“Well, by reputation only. What’s he got to do with this?”
“He says he wants to have a little welcoming party for you friend when he gets here,” Simmons said.
“And when is all this going to go down?”
“Your friend has less than an hour.”
“And he said he’s coming?” Jones wondered.
“Oh, he’ll be here. And we’ll be waiting.”
Finished with their conversation, Simmons left the room to wait for his friends. Jones knew something was up. He obviously was aware that Recker couldn’t get there in less than an hour. So he figured that if Recker said he could, then he must’ve had something planned. Could that plan involve Vincent? Although Jones was a little worried that if Simmons was Vincent’s man, perhaps he reconsidered his relationship with Recker. Could be he’d decide that Recker was no longer worth keeping around. With less than an hour to go, at least his mind wouldn’t have long to think about it. Whatever was going to happen, would happen soon enough.
Chapter 8
Simmons rushed over to the front of the building and looked out a window. He thought he heard someone moving out there along with some muffled voices. He worried that Recker might’ve gotten there a little earlier than expected and before the reinforcements from Vincent arrived. Simmons looked a little to the right, past the front door, and saw a couple of familiar faces. Malloy was leading the pack. It was exactly thirty minutes since Simmons’s conversation with his boss and he was sweating it out the whole time until his back up came. He hurried over to the door and unlocked it, opening it for the rest of the crew to come in. Malloy led the way, followed by four others who, judging by the scowls on their faces, didn’t look too enthusiastic about being there.