An Element of Risk

by Don Easton

  “You got it. So I can’t be absolutely certain Borman was behind it, but by the way he was grinning at us, I’m 99.9 percent sure.”

  “And one of the attackers yelled something about grabbing the kid?”

  “Yes.”

  Jack felt his stomach churn. “The poor prosecutor. She must be sick.”

  “Ana supports the theory that it was meant to scare her — or maybe prefers to think that. If it was, they picked the wrong person. If anything, it made her angry. She was back in court moments later acting as if nothing happened.”

  Will probably break down when she sees her kid.

  “So what do you think?” Roger asked.

  “Ana sounds like a gutsy lady,” Jack replied.

  “You’ve got that right.”

  “If you’re so sure it was the Death Heads, or possibly the United Front, why are you calling me? Isn’t VPD handling it?”

  “They are, but it’d be appreciated if you’d help us out.”

  “The street gangs are your headache, not mine.”

  “I know, but both gangs get their dope from dealers who put out for Satans Wrath.”

  “So?”

  “Your unit has been responsible for a lot of high-level busts involving those guys lately. My guess is you have someone talking to you from the inside. If you do, these punks might listen if they were to get a lecture on etiquette from the big boys.”

  Jack was silent as he thought about how to respond. Roger was someone he trusted, but admitting he had a high-level informant in Satans Wrath was not to his liking.

  “I know you’ve never met Ana,” Roger prompted, “but there’s something you should know. When she got the news, she asked Pete and me who we’d call if it’d happened to our families — and she wasn’t simply meaning the name of a good investigator. This lady’s been around. She’s sharp. She knows the game.”

  Looking for someone who isn’t afraid to bend the rules or get a message across the hard way.

  “I take it you’re telling me I could trust her to keep her mouth shut,” Jack said.

  “Yes. She’s a straight arrow and would readily toss out a court case or reject a warrant application if anything was amiss — but this is different.”

  “It’s family,” Jack said.

  “For sure.”

  “You seem anxious to help her,” Jack noted.

  “I’ve known her a long time. Most prosecutors would’ve burned out, but not her. She stays at it, slugging away day after day. The truth be known, I look at her like she’s my kid sister, but don’t tell her that. She thinks of herself as being pretty independent.”

  “Until this happened.”

  “Yup.” Roger paused. “That was a game changer.”

  “And you really do trust her?”

  “Pete and I wouldn’t have tossed out your name if we didn’t trust her.”

  “You already told her you’d call me?”

  “Yeah.”

  Jack took a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he came to a decision. “Okay … I do have someone on the inside, but it could be placing him at high risk to do what you want.”

  “I see.” Roger paused, perhaps to reflect on what Jack had said. “Okay, I understand.” His tone was polite, but sounded dismal. “Thanks for listening.”

  “I didn’t say no,” Jack replied. “I’ll talk to my friend and see what he says. Maybe we can help you, but I’m not making any promises at this point.”

  Roger’s tone lifted. “That’d be great. That’s all I’m asking.”

  Oh, good. I thought maybe you wanted Borman dead.

  When Jack ended the call he told Laura what had happened.

  Her eyes flashed with anger. “Think our friend could help?” she asked.

  “Let’s find out.”

  * * *

  It was early afternoon when Jack and Laura, each with open umbrellas to ward off the rain, walked through Pine Valley Cemetery on the outskirts of Vancouver.

  Lance Morgan had arrived ahead of them and was standing at the usual spot, which was beyond a knoll where you could not be seen by passing cars. He peered out from under his own umbrella as they approached.

  Jack fully appreciated the risk that Lance was taking by being their informant — particularly being the president of the Westside chapter of Satans Wrath in Vancouver. If the club found out, his death would be slow and painful. Added to that, Lance was married and had four grown children and a grandchild. Being an informant would place them at risk if he ever tried to enter the witness protection program. Past history verified that the club wouldn’t hesitate to kill one or more of his relatives out of spite.

  Jack and Lance had a long history together. Years prior, when Lance was a regular member in the club, Jack had obtained enough evidence to charge him and two other bikers with attempted murder.

  At that time Jack offered Lance immunity to become his informant. Lance initially refused, but Jack played hardball. He told Lance that he’d arrest the other two, then ask for a reduced sentence on Lance and keep him in protective custody to make it look like he’d made a deal. Out of fear for the safety of his family, Lance decided to co-operate. In time, Jack had decided that Lance had repaid his debt and let him go.

  A few months ago, Jack obtained evidence on Lance again. By then he’d become the Westside chapter president. Jack’s evidence was also strong enough to convict Jake Yevdokymenko, or “Whiskey Jake” as he was known, who was the president of the Eastside chapter.

  Jack had discovered that the two men owned a company registered in the Cayman Islands. Legal documents that he obtained proved that Lance and Whiskey Jake were laundering drug money from Canada and the U.S. The documents also revealed that each of them had five million in U.S. dollars stashed in those accounts.

  Jack wasn’t certain if Whiskey Jake would inform, but he believed Lance would because of their prior history together. He approached Lance and told him that in exchange for becoming an informant again, he’d be able to keep his money and that Whiskey Jake wouldn’t know that their money laundering scheme had been discovered.

  Jack also promised not to have Lance extradited to the U.S., where he’d likely spend the rest of his life behind bars. This time Lance found it easier to inform and readily accepted the offer. At that point, Jack let him know that he’d recorded their conversation and threatened to divulge the recording if Lance tried to move his money or renege on their deal. Lance wasn’t happy about the recording, but understood the reason.

  “Hey, Laura,” Lance said cheerily as they approached. “We gotta stop meeting like this. My wife’s getting suspicious.”

  “So’s my husband,” Laura replied, “and he’s a policeman who carries a gun.”

  Lance grinned, then became serious when he caught the grim look on Jack’s face. “What’s up?”

  Jack told Lance what had happened to the prosecutor, along with the reasons they believed Borman was behind it.

  Lance shook his head and looked disgusted. “Fucking Christ. I can’t believe how stupid they are. Makes me wonder if any of them are capable of thinking more than a minute ahead, let alone figure out what will happen to them down the road because of the way they carry on.”

  “How’d you feel about ordering someone from your club to approach them over it?” Jack asked. “These guys need to be taught the rules.”

  “Or the heat could come down hard on everyone,” Laura added.

  Lance took a deep breath and exhaled, “What you say makes sense, but to approach them on something like this means I’d have to discuss it with Whiskey Jake first.”

  “He’s your equal,” Jack noted.

  “I know. It’s not that I’d need his permission, but doing something like that could affect the future of everyone.”

  “Meaning that the Death Heads, if it was them, could be stupid enough to ignore your guidance and force you to take things further,” Jack said.

  “Yup … exactly.” Lance shook his head again. “I k
new they were stupid, but I’d no idea how stupid. Whiskey Jake and I’ve often talked about how they keep trading bullets and doing stupid shit. We’ve been okay with it because it takes the heat off us.” He paused and appeared to think about it.

  “The problem is that for me to appear to switch my way of thinking and suggest we tell them to smarten up will raise eyebrows.”

  “Then don’t chance it,” Jack said. “You know better than us what you can get away with and what you can’t.”

  Lance’s brow furrowed. “The thing is … if they do whack the prosecutor or her kid, you’ll probably want me to stick my nose into it then.”

  “If the investigation into that stalled, I would ask you to help,” Jack agreed. “It’s not something we’d want to let slide past.”

  “Sticking my nose in then would draw more attention. The heat would be all over those guys and, if anything, we’d shut down business with them for a while and keep our distance. If I were to have someone approach them then, it would really seem odd. Especially if it involved asking questions about exactly who it was that did the hit.”

  “So what’re you thinking?” Laura asked.

  Lance paused to make a decision. “I’ll talk to Whiskey Jake. I doubt he’ll agree … but like you said, I’m a chapter president the same as him. We don’t have a national president at the moment to give the deciding vote, so I could still get away with ordering it to be done.”

  “Another problem is how you’d know about it,” Jack noted. “There’s been no news release. I was told that the prosecutor didn’t even want the judge to know.”

  “That’s not a problem,” Lance replied. “I’ll tell Whiskey Jake that I heard what happened through the grapevine. He wouldn’t question that.”

  “Grapevine?” Laura questioned.

  “One of my guy’s sisters works in the cafeteria at the courthouse. Whiskey Jake knows that and would presume that’s how I found out. I’ll tell him that if these idiots start going after prosecutors, it’ll give the cops justification to get a bunch more manpower. I’ll say that although it’ll keep the cops busy temporarily, with extra manpower the street gangs would soon be behind bars. Not only would that have an adverse effect on our income because of all the dope they deal, but then the cops would use all that extra manpower to come after us.”

  “Actually it sounds pretty logical,” Laura commented.

  “I think it’s logical enough for me to get away with it,” said Lance.

  “As long as you’re comfortable with it,” Jack added.

  “I am. I’ll get on it right away.”

  “Thanks. Call me and let me know.”

  Lance nodded, then eyed Jack intently. “How heavy should I tell my guys to be with Borman?”

  “If it was only meant to scare her, give him a warning. If it was something else they had in mind … give him more than a warning.”

  “How much more?”

  “Whatever you think is necessary to ensure it never happens again.”

  Chapter Four

  It was two days later when Jack strolled out of his bedroom and went downstairs to the kitchen. He was surprised to see both his sons already at the breakfast table. Usually it took more prodding to get them up.

  They both appeared to be fidgeting while concentrating hard on their cereal bowls in an effort not to make eye contact with him. He glanced at Natasha as she poured him a cup of coffee and saw her smile.

  Ah yes, it’s April Fools’ Day.…

  He slid back his chair and pretended not to notice the whoopee cushion as he sat down, then did his best to look embarrassed at the loud noise of what sounded like a gaseous explosion. “Excuse me! I’m sorry!” he exclaimed.

  Mike and Steve squirmed in their chairs as they tried unsuccessfully to suppress their giggles.

  “Must have been something I ate,” he suggested.

  That comment brought on a few more splutters as his boys tried not to laugh.

  Jack hid his smile.

  Great to see everyone so happy. It’s how a family should be.

  Then his phone vibrated. Lance. It was a harsh reminder of who he was and what he did for a living. He excused himself from the table and answered.

  “I talked to Whiskey Jake and wanted to let you know it went about as I expected,” Lance said.

  “As you expected?”

  “He gave me a puzzled look when I brought it up, like it wasn’t any of our business.”

  “Puzzled … or suspicious?”

  “Both go together in our world. I gave him the reason we discussed, about how it could potentially affect us all. He still disagreed about warning them, but in the end we agreed to disagree.”

  “So? When?”

  “Already done. I told you I’d get on it immediately. A few of my guys paid Borman a visit last night. He admitted it was his idea and said they only intended to scare her. He said it won’t happen again.”

  “How was his attitude? Did your guys believe him?”

  “Yeah, they believe him. He got the message loud and clear. They slapped him around a bit when he first admitted it, although it probably wasn’t necessary. I’m told he was scared shitless. He said he’d put the word out to his guys, which I’m sure he will.”

  “Where’d this take place?”

  “At his house,” Lance replied. “Well, actually they went out to his garage behind the house in case you guys had his house wired.”

  “Was he alone?”

  “A couple of his guys were there, but they didn’t interfere.”

  “Good.”

  “Well … sort of good.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m told that Borman’s not all that respected by his guys. Being slapped around probably didn’t help his rep’ either, but I’d told my guys to ensure they got the point across.”

  “Sounds like the point was made.”

  “It was, and I think that prosecutor will be okay, but tell her to keep her eyes open. At least until the heat from the trial dies down. These idiots are totally undisciplined. I wouldn’t put it past one of them to toss a rock through her window or something without Borman knowing.”

  “If that did happen and you found out, what would be the consequences?”

  “We’d hold Borman accountable. If he, uh, disposed of the problem on his own, then everything would be okay. If he didn’t, then he’d either be in traction for the rest of his life or end up in the place where you and I meet.”

  Except he’d be looking up at the grass in the cemetery.

  “Okay, thanks for sticking your neck out.”

  “Hey, if it gives me one more step to get you off my back, I’m more than happy.”

  “It does, but you’ve got a long way to go yet.”

  “I know.”

  “Take care. I’ll pass the message along that he’s been warned.”

  After ending the call, Jack immediately phoned Roger.

  After the initial greeting, Roger asked, “What’s up? Early in the day to be calling.”

  “I figured your prosecutor would want to hear this sooner rather than later.” Jack then told him about the meeting Satans Wrath had with Borman.

  “Man, what a relief,” Roger said once he heard the news. “I knew you were the guy for the job.”

  “Hopefully there won’t be any more problems, but give her my number and tell her to call me direct if she has any further concerns or sees anything suspicious.”

  “Will do. VPD are making extra patrols past her house, as well as her mother’s house.”

  “How long can they afford the personnel and time to do that?”

  “They said they’d keep it up until a couple weeks past the trial.”

  “That’s good of them.” He glanced at his family at the kitchen table. “Listen, my coffee’s getting cold, so have a good day.”

  Jack retrieved his coffee mug from the kitchen table and put it in the microwave. Before it was reheated, he received a call from Ana t
hanking him.

  “No problem, but stay vigilant just the same,” Jack warned.

  “Roger mentioned we might still get a rock through our window. That I can handle.”

  I can see why Roger admires her.…

  “Call me immediately if anything like that happens.”

  “I will. Thank you.”

  Jack then wished her luck with the trial and said goodbye.

  “So nice we can have these family times together,” Natasha said facetiously when he put his phone back in his pocket.

  “Sorry, Nat’.”

  “Push the bread down in the toaster and I’ll forgive you.”

  Jack pushed the button on the toaster and then returned to the table. When he sat down the noise caused his sons to howl with laughter.

  “What the?” he exclaimed, jumping up from his chair before pretending to find the whoopee cushion.

  * * *

  When Jack arrived at work he submitted an intelligence report outlining the incident with the prosecutor and identifying Borman as the person who gave the orders. His report stated that his informant said that Satans Wrath used their influence to tell Borman to stop any further intimidation tactics against Crown prosecutors because of the ramifications it could have on other criminal ventures. He also noted there remained some concern that vandalism or some such threat could still take place due to the lack of respect Borman had with his followers.

  Jack then entered Rose’s office and dropped the report in her in-basket.

  “Hang on a sec,” Rose said. “Have a seat.”

  He sat, and raised an eyebrow.

  “I want to talk to you about the upcoming sergeant’s position. I’m optimistic that you’ll get it and Laura will move into your position.”

  “It’s nice to be optimistic,” he replied. “I take it that you’re one of those … the glass is half full types?”

  “What are you? The half-empty type?”

  “No, I just say either way it’s beer and slam it back.”

  Rose smiled, then became serious. “You’re both well overdue for promotion.”

  “I wouldn’t turn it down,” he admitted.

  “The thing is, space is tight and we’re also getting two new constables. How about you and I share this office and we squeeze the two constables in with Laura?”