by Johnny Asa
“Is it always this crowded?” I asked, glancing at Mary Ann as she parked way in the back between a huge black Dodge Charger and a white Subaru Forrester.
“Yes, but I called ahead, so hopefully our name got put down.” She waved off her statement. “It’ll be fine. I know a guy.” She smiled at me and touched my arm. “Wow, I’ve always wanted to say that.”
I laughed. Couldn’t help it.
As we made our way through the parking lot and pushed through the door, I saw Ren tucked back in a corner booth by himself. He was one of those thin guys that always reminded me of a spider. His oversized T-shirt hung on his scarecrow frame like a bad joke.
As we approached, he looked up from his mountain of pancakes and smiled at me before running a hand through his slicked-back black hair. Then he seemed to remember himself and hopped to his feet.
“A pleasure,” he said, reaching out and taking Mary Ann’s hand. He brushed his lips across it before releasing her and shoving his hand toward me. “You, less so.”
“Thanks for coming, Ren,” I said, taking his hand and shaking it. He squeezed, but not hard. No, it was a firm, confident shake that let me know he had nothing to prove.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Billy.” He nodded to the laptop as he slid back into the booth. “That the laptop?”
“Yeah,” I said, handing it over to him before following Mary into the booth. “Can you make it sing?”
“Like a goddamned canary,” Ren said, taking the laptop from me. He flipped it open, grabbed the screwdriver off his ear, and unscrewed the case. A second later, the laptop’s guts were strewn across the table, and he had part of it hooked up to another computer he’d pulled from his backpack.
“You two need a minute, or are you ready to order?” the red-headed twenty-something waitress asked before popping her gum. As I turned toward her, I realized I’d not bothered to look at a menu. My mouth fell open as I tried to think of what to do when Mary Ann saved the day.
“Two iced teas, and two specials,” she said, and the waitress nodded.
“You want house sauce?” the waitress asked, scribbling it on her pad.
“Of course,” Mary Ann said, nodding. “Why else would we come here?”
“Fair enough,” the waitress replied, shrugging. “Be back in a bit with your drinks.” She shot us a smile that fractured at the edges as she looked over Ren, who was too busy fiddling with the disemboweled laptop to notice.
“Thanks,” I said, and as she walked away, I turned to Mary Ann. “What’s the special?”
“Chicken fried steak, hash browns, bacon, and three fried eggs.” As she spoke, my mouth actually watered. It was crazy because I was starving, but then again, my body was beaten to hell. I definitely needed some calories, even if my gut wanted to argue the point a bit.
“That sounds kind of amazing,” I replied as Ren looked up with a huge grin on his face.
“Boomshakalaka!” he said, smacking the table with one hand. “I’m in. Their security is amateur hour.”
“That was fast,” I said, scratching my cheek. “So I’m trying to find my dad, anything about that in there?”
Ren got quiet for a minute before slowly shaking his head. “Nothing like that. This all seems fairly mundane. There’s talk of a ship coming in, but nothing else… interesting.” He shrugged. “Lots of email and stuff. Could take a while to go through.”
“Why’s the ship seem interesting?” I asked as the waitress set down our drinks before hurrying off.
“The Hard Tide? Only cause there’s a few emails about it.” He stopped and moved back to his main machine and typed something in. “Oh. That’s why.”
“What?” I said before taking a sip of the iced tea. I hadn’t realized how thirsty I was, and now that I had taken a sip, I realized I could down the whole thing without trying.
“It’s probably loaded with drugs.” Ren looked at me as if begging me to ask him to elaborate.
“Why is that?” I asked even though part of me didn’t care. I already knew they were bad guys, but at the same time, knowing more about my enemy, might make it easier to beat them and find my dad.
“It’s just a pattern. A lot of these numbers look bogus. You can tell from the pattern of the way the transactions work. Humans always seem like they’re doing stuff randomly, but most often, they don’t actually do things randomly.” He waved off the comment. “I could explain it, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter. My point is that I’m almost one hundred percent certain these guys are mega drug dealers, and that means they’ll have tough security.”
“How’s that help us? Do you know what security they’ll have?” I asked, rolling it over in my brain. Sure, they might be tough, but at the end of the day, they were working for money.
“Security? Not really, but that boat, the Hard Tide? It comes in tonight. Like midnight tonight, and will be gone in the morning.” He spun his laptop around to show me the docking records he’d pulled up.
“Who owns it?” I asked, rubbing my chin. The Hard Tide wasn’t my dad, but I was willing to bet it’d definitely have something on it the Scorpions would be willing to trade for him.
“A shell corporation called Cooper Investments.” Ren shrugged and began tapping at his computer. “Okay, that’s a shell corporation owned by another company.” He bit his lip and began tapping away, his eyes focused with concentration. “All right, I’ve got an address for a dude named Elliott Cline. Not sure who he is, but I’d go talk to him. I’ll text you the address.” Ren pulled out his phone. “I’m willing to bet he knows exactly who has your dad. I’ll keep working on this and see if I can find anything. After that, I’m gonna send this to my buddy in the FBI narcotics division. It’ll be like Christmas for him.”
“Okay. Well, that gives us a starting point.” I stopped, about to ask him why he’d suggested Elliott Cline when the name struck me like a brick. Was that the guy Jack had spoken with on the phone? I was willing to bet it was, and even better, he’d probably know where my dad was since Tom worked for him. If not, I was going to bet he knew who would.
18
“If someone comes out here, just shoot them,” I said, trying to smile as I spoke so as to not frighten Mary Ann. Part of me wanted her to be scared though. It’d make her more cautious. We were half a block away from the Blazing Realty building, which had rented office space to one, Elliott Cline. While I wasn’t absolutely sure it was him, Ren rarely steered me wrong, and never on purpose.
“I’m not sure I could do that again…” she mumbled, looking at the Beretta we’d taken from the gunman. Part of me had wanted to dump it, but I figured the guy would have gone to enough trouble to keep it off the grid, and she needed a weapon.
“I hate to say this, but it gets easier.” I nodded to the gun. “Just don’t get hurt. I’ll be back as soon as I can,” I said, and she nodded.
“Be careful, Billy.” She swallowed hard and picked up the gun, cradling it in her hands before hiding it in her purse.
“I will,” I said before adjusting my UPD cap and putting the big cardboard box under my arm. Then I walked down the block toward Blazing Realty doing my best delivery boy impression.
A moment later, I was stepping into the air-conditioned building and walking toward the pretty little thing busily avoiding everyone inside as she looked at the mess of papers strewn across her desk.
“Hello,” I said, flashing my best million dollar smile at her as I dropped the box onto her desk. “I’ve got a package for Elliott Cline in suite twelve.” I glanced at my clipboard. “It’s on floor three, I believe.”
“You’re not the usual guy,” she said, looking up at me before glancing at the box. “Where’s James?”
“We swapped shifts. He needed to go to the doctors or help a doctor, or something.” I shrugged as I offered her the clipboard. “I’m really late, you think you could help me out and take this up?”
She raised an eyebrow at me as she signed for the package. “I
suppose I could…” She trailed off as she saw the “please deliver to occupant” notice. “Actually, you’ll have to deliver this one yourself.” She tapped the notice, her cheeks flushing. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, sighing like I was lifting the weight of the world as I grabbed the box, and made to go toward the elevator. “Guess it’s only a few more minutes till quitting time. Man, I can practically taste those half-priced wings.”
She shook her head at me as I thumbed the up button for the elevator and waited. A moment later, it dinged, and I stepped inside. As the elevator lifted, I let out a sigh. I hadn’t known what to expect by way of resistance. So far, so good, but that could change any moment.
The elevator dinged a moment later, and the doors opened to reveal the hallway toward floor three. Like on the first floor, there was a lady sitting at a receptionist’s desk. A sign behind her read Cline Import and Export in flowing green script. The rest of the floor was closed off behind a wall with a large unmarked door.
“Can I help you?” the brunette receptionist asked as I strode forward and put the box down on her desk.
“Just got a delivery for Mr. Cline in suite twelve.” I nodded toward the door. “Do you want me to take it to him?” I asked, offering her the clipboard.
“No,” she said flatly before taking the clipboard and scribbling her name on the line. “I’ll take it.”
“Um… I would love to let you, but I really need to take it there.” I pointed at the notice.
“That won’t be possible,” she said, reaching for the package.
“Oh, it’s no problem,” I said, swiping it off the desk and moving past her toward the door. Before she could stop me, I twisted the knob, thanked God it opened, and shouldered my way inside.
“Sir!” she cried, but I was already through. I made my way forward, ignoring all the people in the room. Most of them looked like regular guys in suits, but there were a couple bigger folks. The kinds of guys who looked like they chewed iron and spat nails.
“Sir!” the receptionist repeated as I strode forward in my UPD greens like I ran the place.
“Yes?” I replied, glancing over my shoulder as I reached into my pocket.
“Nancy, is this guy doing something wrong?” a big palooka to my left said as I moved toward suite twelve. It was just a few meters away and was clearly bigger than the rest of the offices. The name Cline was stenciled across the burnished glass door. While the rest of the office was made of similarly opaque glass, I could tell there was someone inside standing over the desk.
“I’m just delivering a package,” I said as Nancy practically broke out into a run, her high heels clomping on the tile floor.
“Just wait a second,” Nancy practically shrieked, and this time more people turned to see what was going on as the big guy started coming toward me, hands curled into fists.
“Okay, okay,” I said, stopping and holding out the box. “What’s the big deal?” Nancy stared at me for a second, her mouth half open as I took another slow step toward the office and lifted the box. “You need to call ahead and let him know he needs to sign for this or something?”
“Yes, exactly,” Nancy said, regaining control of the situation, and as she spoke, the room settled. “But since you’re here already, I guess I’ll just do it manually.” She huffed out an annoyed breath and marched past me toward the office. Then she knocked lightly on the door.
“Yes?” asked the voice from within. The same one I’d spoken with on the phone. “What is it?”
Nancy pushed the door open a crack and stuck her mousy head inside. “Sorry, sir, but there’s a UPD guy here. He’s insisting you need to sign for this package personally.”
Cline was silent for a moment before running a hand through his hair. “You know this is exactly what I pay you to deal with, right?” he said before sighing. “Fine, whatever. Send him in.”
Nancy glared at me as she nodded. “Come in, Mr.…?”
“Conner,” I said, shrugging.
“Well, hurry up, Mr. Conner,” the guy inside said. “I haven’t got all day.”
“Sorry, sir,” I said and made my way forward. I was so close to Elliott, I could practically taste it. Nancy stepped out of the way and allowed me inside before disappearing as the door swung shut behind me.
I reached up and adjusted my green UPD cap before moving toward Elliott. I didn’t know why I was worried. The white-haired guy barely looked up at me before going back to his computer.
“So what’s so important?” the guy asked as I handed him the clipboard.
“You know how protocol is,” I said with a shrug as he took the clipboard.
“Say, aren’t these usually electronic?” he asked, glancing up at me as I reached into the holster hidden behind my back and pulled my Glock free. His eyes went wide as I pointed it at his face. Then they narrowed. “You’re making a big mistake.”
“You’re going to tell me where my dad is,” I said, moving around the desk so I had his entire body within view.
“You must be Mr. Ryder. I should have known.” He nodded once and put his hands flat on his thighs. He was wearing a black suit that probably cost more than I made in a month.
“So where is he?” I asked, taking care to keep enough distance between us so he couldn’t easily knock my gun away.
“Probably spilling his guts to Jimmy.” Elliott shrugged. “He took something that isn’t his, and the owner wants it back.”
The urge to wring his neck until his eyes popped out of his skull filled me, but that wouldn’t help me. No, I had to stick to the plan and get information.
“And where do I find Jimmy?” I growled, making sure to keep the gun sighted on his smug face.
“You don’t find Jimmy. He finds you.” The guy smiled, and without thinking, I smacked him with the gun. His head snapped sideways, but he stifled a cry. When he looked back at me, his lip was busted open. He touched it casually with his index finger.
“I’m not going to ask again, Elliott.”
“That’s going to cost you, Mr. Ryder,” Elliott said, staring at his finger. His lips twitched into the barest smile. “Fine, it’s your funeral.” He reached out and pulled a pen from the cup on his desk and wrote down an address on a slip of paper. He slid it across the desk.
“Thanks,” I said, nodding to him as I picked it up. A quick glance told me it was across town, but not much else.
“You’re welcome,” he said and then moved to turn back to his desk as I pocketed the address. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have some work to do.”
“Gonna let me out of here just like that?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Do you know how hard it is to get blood out of the grout in the floor?” He waved off the statement. “Of course you don’t. So yes, walk out, Mr. Ryder. I’ll catch up with you later.” His eyes glinted with hidden steel. “Count on that.”
His words probably should have worried me, but at the moment, I had a lead. I couldn’t focus on this guy. In the grand scheme of things, what he wanted probably wouldn’t matter much anyway.
“Fair enough,” I said, turning and walking away. I hadn’t gotten what I’d wanted, but I had another lead.
I hit the office door, but Elliott was already ignoring me as he focused on his computer, but that was fine, I had a person to find and an address.
As I made my way back toward the elevator, Nancy glanced at me. “I’m glad you weren’t up to anything untoward,” she said, giving me an apologetic smile.
I nodded to her as the package I’d left in Elliott’s office exploded, blowing his office out across the street below.
19
As I made my way down the stairs, chaos, confusion, and fire consumed the building. I tried to ignore my heart pounding in my chest. The homemade charge I’d planted in Elliott’s office had worked like a charm, flinging the son of a gun’s body out into the fresh air several stories up, but causing little other collateral damage.
That di
dn’t mean I wanted to stick around and let people put together the pieces. As fire alarms blared in my ears, I hustled out of the stairwell, shouldering open the door and stepping into the throng of other people desperately trying to flee the building. While I was fairly sure the fire sprinklers had already put out the blaze, part of me worried about the people who worked here anyway.
I wasn’t sure how many people here actually worked for the Scorpions, but I couldn’t think about that now. The look in Elliott’s eyes as he told me we’d meet up later was burned into my brain. Those were the eyes of a predator, and what’s more, he’d caught my scent. We’d both known it.
Killing him had been the right call because if I’d learned one thing dealing with insurgents, it was that the easiest way to win was to cut the head off the snake. Then the rest of it would flail uselessly. So far, I’d cut off two heads, and while I wasn’t sure how many were left, I knew it couldn’t be many.
Besides, I had another name and an address. The illustrious Jimmy. I’d find him and break him. Only, I’d have to be more careful because they might be expecting me.
As I broke through the lobby doors with the crowd, I spun on my heel and headed toward my meeting place with Mary Ann. The sounds of police sirens filled my ears, and as I glanced toward the sound, I saw the cars streaking toward the building, gumballs flashing.
Adrenaline surged through my veins, and I had to fight the urge to run. If I did that, someone might chase me, and that was the last thing I needed. Instead, I tucked my hands into the pockets of my green UPD shorts and tried to look as nonchalant as possible.
As I came to the corner, I turned and glanced around to see if anyone had followed me. No one had.
I sucked in a breath and tried to calm myself as I pulled off my cap and ran a hand through my sweaty hair. Part of me was surprised the bomb had worked, what with it having been jury-rigged and all, but it looked like when it came to bombs, Ren knew a thing or two.
I moved down the street, my sneakers pounding on the sidewalk as I rolled over my plan in my head. First thing was first, I needed to find out about this Jimmy.