by Mike Ryan
“Why?” Haley asked.
“Uhh… it’s just lately, I’ve been having these dreams, nightmares about Mike getting killed doing various things. Sometimes it’s even been you, David, and even me.”
“You have, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve been having dreams like this?” Haley was getting the feeling that she was actually speaking for someone else and just changing the names around.
“Is that surprising?”
“A little. I would have thought Mike would have mentioned it before now.”
“You know how he is. Stubborn. Doesn’t like to admit problems.”
“Kind of like some other people I know,” Haley said, looking over at her.
“So, what do you think this dream problem of mine is?”
“Is it really giving you a lot of problems?”
“Yeah, sometimes. I mean it’s almost like every night now. Sometimes he… I wake up sweating and it’s just disturbing sometimes.”
“What does Mike say?”
“Oh. Uhh, he just tries to play it off like they’re just dreams, nothing more.”
“Maybe that’s all it is,” Haley said.
“But one of the dreams was Mike getting killed in an alley late at night and now…”
“Mia, I don’t believe that having a dream is a precursor to something becoming a reality. I think it’s more along the lines of something really being on a person’s brain, stressing them out, worrying them constantly, and then while they’re sleeping, they can’t shut that part of their mind off, so what’s been bothering them becomes a dream.”
“I guess that makes sense.”
“At least that’s how I rationalize it. Don’t know if that’s technically correct or not, but that’s how I see it.”
“But what if he becomes more hesitant because of them? Afraid that they might come true.”
“Why would he become hesitant over your dreams? Especially if he doesn’t know the details.”
“Oh,” Mia said, embarrassed that she’d even suggest it. “You’re right. That’s silly of me to even think it.”
Haley thought about pressing her further on it, maybe even getting her to admit that it was actually Recker who was having the nightmares, but he thought better of it. It wasn’t his position to drag the truth out of her if she or Recker wasn’t ready to divulge it. He already knew Mia was covering for Recker anyway, so it didn’t really change anything.
Once they got to the office and parked, Mia jumped out of the car and sprinted toward the back of the laundromat building. Haley couldn’t even keep up with her. She then dashed up the steps and tried to enter the office, but it was locked. She started banging on the door, getting Jones’ attention, and having him come over to unlock it.
“You didn’t have to…”
Mia wasn’t particularly interested in anything Jones had to say at the moment and raced past him as soon as the door opened.
Jones watched her rush across the room until she got to Recker on the couch. “Well, come in,” Jones said, stretching his arms out to mimic welcoming her. He then wondered where Haley was and looked down, seeing him walk up the steps. “I see you didn’t have much luck in calming her down on the way over.”
Haley laughed. “Are you kidding? I thought she was going to get her cape out and fly over here.”
“I certainly wouldn’t put it past her.”
As they were talking, Mia was embracing Recker, thankful that he was still in one piece. While she was giving him affection, Jones and Haley came up behind her.
“As you can see, just like we told you, all is well and good,” Jones said.
“Having a concussion and a gash on your head is not well and good,” Mia replied.
She started digging through her bag and took out some medical supplies that she needed to fix Recker up. As she started working on him, Jones and Haley sat down at the desk to get out of the way.
“Does he need stitches?” Haley asked.
“Yeah,” Mia answered.
Luckily, she spent time in the emergency room, where she was able to practice some of the things that she hoped she’d never have to put into use again. After putting five stitches in the back of Recker’s head, she put a bandage on it. She then started to examine him to see if he had a concussion. After running some tests, flicking the lights on and off, examining his eyes, Mia was almost certain that he did indeed have a concussion. The lights bothered him, his memory was hazy, his speech was a little slurred, he had a massive headache, there was a slight ringing in his ears, he was tired, and he appeared to be dazed. All the signs were there.
“So, what do you think?” Jones asked. “Does he have a concussion.”
“Oh, yeah,” Mia replied.
“You’re certain?”
“Well I can’t say a hundred percent since the only way to officially diagnose it is lab tests or a scan, but he’s got every symptom so I’m ninety-nine percent confident that he does have one.”
“So, what is your prognosis?”
“He needs rest. That’s it. There’s no pill or medicine that will make it go away. He just needs to rest.”
“For how long?”
Mia sighed. “Tough to say. There’s no way of telling for sure. He just needs to go home and rest. Could be a day or two. Could be a week or two. Every concussion is different, and everyone reacts to them differently. It also could depend on how many previous concussions he’s had as they usually get worse the more you have.”
“Well, that’s not good,” Haley said.
“Yeah, and I have a sneaky suspicion that, considering who we’re talking about, this isn’t his first one.”
“It’d be a miracle if it was,” Jones replied.
“Yeah. So, right now, he just needs to go home and rest for a few days.”
“And what if he wakes up tomorrow and says he’s ready to go?”
“David?”
Jones put his hands up, not wanting to get into a fight with her. “I’m not arguing with you. He can take as much time as he needs. I’m just saying… we all know him. And he’s going to try to come back probably sooner than he’s actually ready.”
“I will take care of that.”
“How do you propose to manage that? How are you going to keep him there? Put him in handcuffs?”
A wicked smile came over Mia’s face. “That’s a pleasant thought, isn’t it?”
“I… I don’t want to know. Forget I said anything.”
“Uhh, should he be doing that?” Haley asked, pointing at Recker falling asleep on the couch.
“Yeah, why not?” Mia said.
“I thought you were supposed to stay awake for a while after a concussion? Is that not true?”
“Oh, no, that’s a myth. The concern used to be that if you slept you might slip into a coma or that you wouldn’t wake up. But now sleep is actually encouraged and can help in the healing process. Some people find it hard to sleep after a concussion, so it’s actually a good sign that he can. I’ll just have to keep an eye on him, periodically check on him, ask him questions, things like that.”
“I have a feeling this might be a while,” Jones said.
“Like I said, tough to say. He could be back in two days, good as new, no signs or symptoms at all. Or we could be here a week from now and he might still be suffering from light issues or dizziness. It’s just impossible to say.”
“Whatever the case, looks like we’ll be flying short for a few days at the least,” Haley said.
“It would appear so,” Jones said, more concerned for his friend’s health and well-being than he was at being shorthanded.
“How are we going to keep him at bay?”
“Well he can’t stay here,” Mia said. “You guys are working, it’s hectic, things are happening, lights are on, it’s gonna be hard for him to rest here. Plus, he’ll want to jump right back into things if he sees you guys. I’m gonna have to take him home.”
“Y
ou want me to help you get him to the apartment?” Haley asked.
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Sure.”
“The bigger question is going to be keeping him there,” Jones said.
“I’ll take care of it,” Mia replied. “I’ve got a few vacation days I can use, I hardly ever use sick time, plus I was off for the next three days anyway. So, I can take the next week off if I have to. It’s not a problem for me.”
“He’s very fortunate to have you in his life. He got lucky when he found you.”
Mia smiled. “I know. Make sure you keep reminding him of it.”
7
It’d been three days since Recker’s incident in the alley behind the jewelry store. And he spent most of it either lying in bed or sleeping. Though most of the other symptoms had subsided or gone away completely, the one that remained was fatigue. He just felt very tired most of the time. Mia didn’t leave his side the entire time. Both Jones and Haley dropped in to see how Recker was doing and if either he or Mia needed anything. But there was nothing they could do… nothing except wait.
Luckily the three days Recker was away so far had proved to be relatively quiet. No major incidents happened, and nothing seemed to be on the horizon. At least not that Haley could see. Jones had something different in mind. In what was kind of a departure for him, he actually was seeking out trouble. Specifically, he was looking for the men who robbed the jewelry store and shot Recker. He was trying to be proactive, considering they had a light workload at the moment, and he figured the men would eventually strike again, still putting them on their radar. Jones figured they might as well find them now and preempt any other plans the men had.
Haley walked into the office after getting a quick lunch and saw that Jones had someone’s face plastered all over a couple of the computer screens. He instantly knew what he was doing. He recognized the man on the screen as the man he’d shot and killed. The one that was standing over Recker and about to do him in before Haley got there and intervened.
“What’s that?” Haley asked, walking over to the desk, finishing off the last bit of his sandwich.
Jones turned his head around to look back at him for a second before continuing on with his work. “Oh, this is something I’ve been working on for the last few days.”
“That’s the guy I killed in the alley.”
“Yes, I know.”
“How’d you know?”
“Police records,” Jones answered. “Just followed the trail. There was only one dead body recovered behind the jewelry store. It’s not that hard once you know how. Just follow the trail.”
“Why you looking this guy up?”
“We’re in the business of stopping dangerous people from taking over this city. I would say they qualify.”
“Is this because of what they did or what they did to Mike?” Haley asked.
Jones looked at him again. If it’d been anyone else, he might have gotten peeved, thinking that his integrity was being questioned. But considering who it was coming from, it didn’t really bother him.
“It’s a fair question I suppose,” Jones said. “Maybe a little of both. But I think primarily it’s because they’re obviously a dangerous group that has little regret for killing anyone that stands in their way.”
Haley finally took a seat next to his friend to get a better look at the information he was pulling up. “You got anything yet?”
“I’ve got quite a bit actually. I’ve been working on it for a couple days now.”
“What do you have?”
“I’ve got a list of the most likely suspects,” Jones said, handing him a piece of paper with the names. “I cross referenced everyone with whom he was suspected of having any type of relationship, then whittled it down to these eight names.”
“There weren’t eight guys there though.”
“I know. There was six I believe you mentioned?”
“That I can remember. Everything happened so fast. Maybe there was eight, I don’t know.”
“In any case, these eight men are all dangerous regardless if they were involved or not, and I suspect most of them were.”
“Is there any connection to Nowak?”
“Not that I can tell.”
“Nothing?” Haley asked, almost seeming disappointed.
“I have not uncovered one thing in any of their backgrounds that indicates they’ve ever known or met with Nowak. Now, that doesn’t mean they haven’t. It just means I have not discovered it yet.”
“I see.”
“So, for now, any conspiracy theories about Nowak being involved or setting this up… we’ll have to put them aside. So far this is lining up as just a robbery. Nothing more than that.”
“What about the police? They on their trail yet?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Jones replied. “Oh, they’ve checked on these names as well, but they’ve been unable at this point to locate any of them.”
“They’re lying low now. They’re not gonna come up for air anytime soon.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”
“You got something?”
“A woman. Sherri Bradshaw. She’s a waitress at a restaurant downtown.”
“What about her?”
“She’s had an on-again-off-again relationship with Brad Kirby for several years now. I suspect Kirby to be the leader of this gang.”
“I’m sure the cops have checked her out as well.”
“They have. Unfortunately, Ms. Bradshaw has not checked in at work for the last week and hasn’t been seen at her apartment in that time frame either. So, they have no idea where she is.”
“Let me take a guess,” Haley said. “You do.”
Jones looked over at him and grinned, as if there were no need to verbally confirm it.
“So, how’d you find her?”
“The same way a lot of people get found,” Jones said. “She stupidly checked into one of her social media accounts that I had taps on. From there I was able to triangulate her position and get her IP address.”
“Even so, that doesn’t mean she’s with Kirby or any of the other ones.”
“No, it does not. But it does mean there’s a good chance. That’s why you’ll need to check it out.”
“What about Kirby? Any way to trace him?”
“No,” Jones said with a sigh. “He seems to be too smart to be sucked in by social media sites. He also doesn’t have a traceable phone. Must be sticking with the prepaid options.”
“So, where’s Bradshaw at?”
Jones handed him a piece of paper with the address already written down. “Northeast. Mayfair. It’s a row home that’s not registered to any of the other names on the list.”
“Who’s it belong to?”
“A Jessie Mendoza. It’s not yet clear if she has a relationship to these guys or if they’re just renting the place from her.”
“Could be just a rental,” Haley said.
“Possible. In any case, you probably should get over there and stake the place out to see what we’re dealing with.”
“And when I do?”
Jones wasn’t sure. He certainly wasn’t eager to send Haley into a house with six or eight men ready to shoot it out with him. He didn’t want to take a chance on losing Haley after narrowly averting disaster with Recker.
“I don’t know,” Jones said. “Let’s figure out the next step after we confirm that these people are actually there.”
“How close should I get?”
“Let’s use our heads about this. This isn’t a situation where we need to go in both guns blazing. All we need to do is get these guys off the street. If we find them all to be at this location, maybe an anonymous phone call to the police would be in order. Let them swarm in and raid them.”
“You know Mike’s gonna wanna get his hands on them.”
“Yes, well, luckily, we’re not in a position right now where we have to worry about his need for revenge, do we? Let’s just see what’s going
on first and worry about the rest later.”
Haley agreed and left soon after that, driving the half hour on Route 13 to get to his destination. Once he got there, the residence in question was a remarkably unremarkable building. Nothing different, strange, or unusual about it. It appeared to be well kept, no outward signs that would indicate a gang of violent thieves lived there. Haley parked a little down the street, about five or six houses away from the Mendoza residence. He leaned back in his seat, getting the feeling he was going to have a long night.
The next several hours went by without a single peep of activity. No one came in or out. No one walked by. Haley didn’t even see a curtain in a window move as if someone was looking out. As the night wore on, he was beginning to question whether anyone was even there at all. After a couple hours of darkness, Haley called Jones to make sure they had the right place.
“You sure about this?” Haley asked.
“Positive.”
“‘Cause I haven’t seen anything that makes me believe anyone’s in there, let alone the people we’re looking for.”
“Just be patient,” Jones said. “You know as well as I do that these stakeouts sometimes take a lot of time.”
“I hate these. Mike’s better at these than I am.”
“Yes, it’s somewhat strange to be honest. Under most circumstances, he’s the more impatient one, yet when it comes to stakeouts, he’s generally more patient than you. Quite odd.”
“Tell me about it. How much longer should I give it here?”
“I would say several more hours at least. And if no one shows up then we’ll do it again tomorrow.”
“Ugh. Maybe Mike’s starting to rub off on me, preferring action instead of waiting around.”
“There’s a sobering thought,” Jones said. “Let’s not mention those words again. Having two of you exactly the same might be enough to drive me to start drinking.”
8
Haley stayed on the house now associated with Kirby and his thugs, watching the house until two o’clock in the morning. After getting no signs of life inside, Haley went home to get a few hours of sleep, figuring he’d get an early start in the morning. He forewent his usual trek to the office, instead going back to the Mendoza house, hoping he’d get some action earlier in the day. He let Jones know what he was doing so he didn’t worry about him not showing up at the office.