‘Goddamnit Doc, and its Sheriff whilst I’m on the job.’ Johnson rubbed at his nose and sighed heavily. ‘No one else agrees with you, I was really counting on you. Look, I know you can’t stand McCall, hell, I didn’t like him much either but people could have been killed in that diner, and you want for these two to get away.’
Doc shook his head. ‘Those two were damn well polite, made it perfectly clear to everyone that McCall had it coming, said something about how we’d all be happy the son of a bitch was dead once we knew what they knew. Have you been up to his place yet?’
‘No, weather’s still too bad.’ Johnson smiled. ‘For Hispanics they sure spoke good English.’
Doc shrugged. ‘Perhaps they watch a lot of television.’
‘Damn it Doc, I’m gonna have to charge you with obstruction of justice, you know that don’t ya?’
‘Yeap.’
Johnson pushed his chair back and stood up.
Doc looked up and smiled at the sheriff. ‘Are we still going hunting on Saturday?’
‘Goddamnit,’ Johnson said and laughed. ‘I’ll swing by yours at six in the morning; just make sure you bring the beer this time.’
‘Whatever you say baby brother.’
‘Goddamnit Doc.’
Twenty minutes later and Sheriff Barry Johnson’s day got worse. The motel that the couple had stayed at had failed to take down a registration number for the vehicle they had driven.
‘What can I say sheriff, it was just too damn cold to be worrying over the little things, hell most people that stay here are visiting family in town, I didn’t think nothing of it,’ Roy, the motel’s owner had said when interviewed.
‘Descriptions, you must remember what they damn well looked like?’ Johnson said.
‘Only saw the man, never his companion. He was tall, dark haired, solid build.’
‘And that’s it?’
‘Shit Barry, I didn’t take that much notice of the man, he paid cash, was polite, I left ‘em alone.’
‘Goddamnit, and its Sheriff Johnson when I’m on duty.’
‘Uh, sure thing Sheriff, we still going hunting on Saturday?’
Johnson was drinking a cup of one day old coffee from the busted up machine in the corner of the main office when May, the department’s receptionist told him that one of his deputies may have seen the perpetrators’ vehicle that morning.
‘Well, get him in here May, don’t keep me hanging in suspense.’
May sent a dispatch out on the radio for the deputy to come on in and see the Sheriff.
Deputy King was damn glad to be in out of the cold, he’d spent the last twenty minutes on the cold stoop outside of Fran’s diner minding the crime scene. He helped himself to a coffee and went on in to see the Sheriff.
‘Well?’ Johnson asked when King was sat down opposite him.
‘Sheriff, I was coming up main street, ready to start my shift when I saw a black SUV pass me by, heading on out to the highway.’
‘What time exactly?’
‘Just about the time the shooting had occurred in the diner, a’course I din’t know there’d been a shooting at the time but I’d say right about then.’
‘Goddamnit, and you didn’t think to tell me about this sooner?’
‘You only put the word out on the radio ten minutes ago that the shooters had been staying at the motel and drove a large black SUV, minute I got that update I radioed in to May.’
Johnson nodded his head; it wasn’t his deputy’s fault.
‘No, you’re right Jimmy, what can you tell me?’
‘It was snowing heavy boss, he was driving real sedate like and din’t appear to be in no damn hurry. I couldn’t see the plates because of all the snow. Not even sure there was a passenger with him.’
‘What was the make and model?’
Jimmy shrugged. ‘Sorry sheriff, all that snow, I’d guess a Mercedes, maybe a BMW or Volvo, one of those large European imports.’
Johnson slapped at his desk, not in anger, just in frustration.
‘None of this makes any damn sense Jimmy. Who’d go to the diner the night before; giving the staff yet another opportunity to get a good look at them, and then the following morning gun down McCall and then calm as you please drive sedately away from the scene of their crime, and they left a diner full of witnesses.’ Johnson winced as he finished his coffee. ‘Damn it Jimmy, take fifty bucks from the petty-cash tin and buy us all a damn new coffee machine. None of this makes sense, but I aim to get to the bottom of it.’
‘You want me to put an APB out on what I saw?’
‘Yeah, for all the good it will do; be on look out for black SUV, shit in this weather that’s all that’ll be on the damn roads, but we may as well go through the motions. If they’re professionals they’ve probably ditched it by now, but do it anyways.’
Jimmy finished his coffee and stood up. ‘Weather’s lifting, you going to head up to McCall’s place?’
‘That’s next on the to-do list. How’s everyone that witnessed the diner shooting, any hysterics?’
Jimmy stopped at the door. ‘See sheriff that’s real weird, they’re all fine, hell, I heard the shooter left enough money for all their breakfasts, damndest thing I ever did hear.’
Jimmy left to put the APB out and Johnson rubbed at his nose. ‘Damndest thing; ain’t that the truth.’
Three days later and Johnson, Doc and Roy drank beer and waited for something to pass on the trail below. The deer-hide was warm and they were all dressed for hunting but after the last few days none of them really felt like shooting anything and truth-be-known they’d all had a few too many beers. Johnson stood up.
‘Okay guys, unload your weapons, we’re all half cut and I don’t want no accidental shootings.’
They all stripped their rifles and Doc handed out another round of beers.
The Saturday hunting trip had been a tradition since forever, it was more of an excuse to escape their wives for a few hours.
Doc brought the conversation round to the subject they’d all been skating around.
‘So, McCall was a bad person like that Englishman said?’
‘What happened to them being Hispanics on crack?’ Johnson replied with a laugh.
Doc shrugged. ‘Well?’
‘Brother the stuff we found in that demon’s basement, bad don’t begin to describe him, pure evil is what I saw, I haven’t slept a night since.’
‘What y’all find?’ Roy asked.
Johnson shook his head. ‘Hell Roy, if I told you you’d never sleep again, pictures and videos so vile it made that child pornography ring in Albuquerque look like Walt fucking Disney, the man was a goddamn one hundred percent fucking beast and I can tell you both now, as God is my witness if I’d known all this and had been in that diner I’d have damn well helped those two in shooting of McCall.’
Roy drank his beer and offered his cigarettes around. They all lit up.
‘It’s been bothering me though, shit down there, it was too organised, too complicated, gets me to thinking that its part of something bigger.’
‘You gonna get the Staties involved?’ Doc asked.
‘Probably, eventually; hell maybe, but I’m gonna do some digging, something ain’t right about the whole thing.’ Johnson took a long drag on the Marlboro and he blew smoke rings up at the timbered roof. ‘I should really give these coffin-nails up.’
‘Just be careful brother; Betty would fall apart without you by her side.’
Johnson nodded, ‘I’ll be careful but it wouldn’t be Christian of me to just let it all lie if there are others involved.’ Johnson finished his cigarette and lit another. ‘Just wish I knew where the hell to start.’
New York, USA.
Thomas McCreedy told his receptionist Martha to hold all his calls, and to clear his calendar for the rest of the day. Recent events had caused him, a once confident calm individual, to feel on edge. His associate in Europe had called him the night before with updates and the
information he’d received had not been good.
This morning he had learned of Williams’ death in Australia, and that with Nakatomi’s demise and the recent slaying of Devon McCall made it all too obvious that he had underestimated Dan Constantine’s chances. The death of Rufus had been an unexpected event, but McCreedy hadn’t foreseen Constantine going on the offensive. What kind of individual went looking for danger? He couldn’t get to grips with it, and the woman; this Chloe? What was her agenda? From what McCreedy had been able to learn with his considerable network of contacts was that they were lovers, fucking engaged by all accounts, they’d only known each other for less than a month; was the world going crazy?
Some of his dearest friends were now burning in Hell and if the man and woman had their way McCreedy would be joining them, he could feel his empire; an empire that had taken him years and billions of dollars to build begin to crumble around him. He didn’t feel fear, no, it was anger, how dare they try to take away what was his. What business was it of theirs who he killed or fucked? Constantine had survived Rufus and that should have been the end of it. Rules dictated that Dan would have been left alone. Damn that Rufus; if he hadn’t switched targets then none of this would have happened.
Already, other members of the Brotherhood had cut ties with him and the creation he had built and nurtured. His partners in South America were no longer willing to supply him; if he couldn’t keep order then they had no wish to be a part of his world.
Six members had committed suicide, and although they were mere minnows, and of no real consequence to him, he was angered that because of Dan and Chloe his brotherhood was tearing itself apart.
‘Suicide!’ McCreedy bellowed at the empty room. ‘There are only two of them!’
McCreedy began to pace the room and he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the picture windows; he’d let himself go a little over the years; too much fine living had left him thirty pounds overweight and his once blonde hair was now going to grey.
Damn them both, he thought. If they want to play then we’ll play!
McCreedy picked up the telephone and dialled a number from memory.
It was answered on the fifth ring.
‘How soon can you get to New York?’
Elk Creek, Tennessee, USA.
Dan left Chloe sleeping in the double bed and watched the sun begin to rise through the woods at the rear of the motel. It had been a long and nerve racking few days. After leaving Perfection they had headed north and then west, moving out of the storm where they found a township with a bus connection. Dan bought tickets for the next Greyhound service out of the town, which was heading to Louisiana. Dan had left Chloe at the bust station with most of their belongings before driving the Volvo out in to the country and torching it.
He’d left Chloe with clear instructions to leave if the law turned up and that they would catch up with one another later. Each had a mobile phone. The weather had been a lot milder and they were both uncomfortable in their thick coats and jeans but they’d had no opportunity to change.
Luckily Chloe had still been at the station when he walked back from the wreckage with the canvas bag containing most of their weapons slung over one shoulder.
The Greyhound bus pulled in an hour later and they climbed aboard. They had collapsed at the back, their bags on their laps and Chloe had drifted in and out of sleep for a couple of hours. Dan had kept an eye on the road, constantly checking for patrol cars.
A hundred miles later they had stopped at another town and left the bus. It had served its purpose and they quickly found a used car lot where Dan purchased a decent Ford in cash. From there he had driven for twelve solid hours and they had stopped at a small motel on the outskirts of a country town. Chloe had stripped off her jacket, sweater and vest and assessed the bruising to her chest.
‘Shit,’ she’d said as she saw the purple bruising centred between her breasts and circling outwards across both; even her nipples looked bruised.
‘It could have been a lot worse,’ Dan had said and kissed her. ‘That was too close back there in Perfection.’ Once he’d stripped his clothes off Chloe said that her bruise beat his.
They’d taken turns showering and then crashed on the bed; Chloe had been forced to wear knickers and bed shorts due to her condition and once again Chloe had told him that she was pissed she was “surfing the crimson wave”.
‘Jesus woman, are you going to be this angry every month?’ He’d asked her playfully when they were in bed.
‘Probably, I can’t help it I have a high sex drive.’
They’d talked a while longer about nothing of significance and then fallen asleep.
Nine hours later and they were back on the road and Dan had driven straight through to the rural town of Elk Creek, Tennessee. On entering the town Chloe had said, ‘I bet we don’t even see an elk.’
‘Or a creek,’ Dan had replied with a tired smile, he hadn’t driven this amount of miles for many years and had informed Chloe the first motel they found was going to be home for the next couple of days.
Dan watched the sun clear the trees and felt its late summer warmth on his face. The leaves on the trees were changing colour, from green to reds and oranges; ready to fall, he loved this time of the year, when nature was in her yearly change. He rubbed at his stubbled cheeks and looked at Chloe’s sleeping form. Dan had realised recently that they needed to bring this to an end and soon, they couldn’t keep flying around the world like a couple of international assassins. Sooner or later their luck would end and they’d both be killed and he figured they needed to take care of McCreedy and then assess their options.
He’d been working on a scheme where they could send the information they had on the Brotherhood to various newspapers, a good investigative journalist would quickly put the pieces together and Dan hoped that that would make the authorities around the world act. The Brotherhood would be weakened by all the recent killings and maybe, once McCreedy was out of the way the organisation wouldn’t hold so much sway over various politicians and police forces.
Dan didn’t want to forever be killing people, he wanted to get Chloe away from all of this so that they could hopefully live a quiet life together, he had enough money that neither of them would have to work unless they wanted to, but first they had to get rid of the main threat to their safety and that meant travelling to New York and somehow getting at McCreedy.
Dan was still pondering that when Chloe stirred on the bed, stretched and opened her eyes and smiled at him. ‘Morning sexy,’ she said and then yawned loudly.
‘Sleep well?’
‘Yeap and you?’
‘Straight through.’
Chloe sat up, the sheets falling from her breasts and Dan said, ‘I see the bruising is beginning to subside.’
Chloe checked her breasts and touched the area of bruising with her fingertips. It hardly hurt and the once distinctive purple colour was beginning to lessen; she figured another week or so and the discolouring would no longer be visible.
‘It doesn’t ache like it did yesterday, but I still can’t wear anything too revealing.’
‘That’s a pity.’
Chloe got out of bed and padded in to the bathroom. A couple of seconds later Dan heard Chloe clap through the bathroom door and he wondered what the hell she was so excited about. He heard the toilet flush and then Chloe’s head peered around the door; she had a huge grin on her face.
‘My period’s stopped!’
Dan laughed. ‘That’s good right?’
‘It’s better than good, its brilliant, means we’ll be able to fuck from tomorrow, and I can’t wait.’
‘Jesus Chloe, anyone would think you’ve won the lottery.’
‘Fuck the lottery,’ she replied grinning. ‘This is way better than winning a few quid.’
‘If you say so.’
‘I’m taking a shower and then I’m going to find something gorgeous to wear, no more jeans, no more granny knickers.’
&
nbsp; Dan shook his head as Chloe closed the bathroom door.
Dan slipped on a pair of jeans and a pullover and as he tied his shoes he said, loud enough for Chloe to hear through the closed bathroom door, ‘I’m going out for ten minutes, I’ll get us some coffee, and some breakfast, can I get you anything?’
‘No,’ Chloe replied. ‘See you in a while crocodile.’
Dan left and as he stepped out on to the street he checked their car across the lot, it was untouched. He walked down the block to the diner and ordered two large cappuccinos to go and a bag of mixed muffins. At the store next to it he bought some fruit, cookies, a 4 pack of RedBull and a carton of orange juice. As he was paying the clerk a deputy came in to the store and Dan made himself remain calm as the deputy stepped up to the counter to be served. The deputy turned to Dan.
‘Morning.’
‘Good morning officer,’ Dan replied, his voice surprisingly calm.
‘Stocking up?’
Dan smiled, ‘Yeah, we’re heading down to Florida later, need the caffeine fix.’
‘Well, take care, and if you get tired pull over and rest, I’ve attended too many accidents where the driver thought an energy drink would see them okay.’
Dan paid the cashier and gathered up his sack in one arm and lifted the cardboard carry-out with the coffees in his other hand. The officer stepped to the door and held it open for Dan.
‘Thank you; hope you have a good day.’
‘You too sir, and drive carefully.’
Dan nodded his head and walked along the pavement. He glanced over his shoulder but the deputy had gone back in to the store. Dan breathed a sigh of relief. If Chloe and he were on wanted posters they hadn’t reached this neck of the woods. The more days that passed the more he really felt that they were in the clear.
Dan managed to open their room door whilst juggling his packages and as he slipped in to the room he caught a glimpse of Chloe, with a bag disappearing back in to the bathroom, she closed the door and said, ‘I’ll be out shortly.’
‘No rush.’ Dan said and closed the door with his hip. He put the grocery sack down on the chair by the bed and the coffees and muffins he placed on the sideboard. He helped himself to one of the cappuccinos and switched on the laptop.
Rage Against The Machine: Special Edition (Dan & Chloe Book 1) Page 42