by Mike Ryan
“A reliable source?”
“That we cannot say with much certainty. It’s a little iffy at this point. But it’s a lead we can’t turn down.”
“I agree.”
“So he’ll be awaiting a female agent to meet him. I only told him one agent would be meeting him just in case things aren’t what they seem. I want Cain in a sniper position in case things go sour. That way this guy doesn’t suspect we have an extra man there,” Conlin explained.
“What’s his name?”
“Joseph Cardullo. Not much on him. Small time operator. Be careful with him. If he’s got something useful then agree to transfer funds however he agrees.”
“And if he’s playing us?” Lawson asked.
“Then have Cain take him out. We don’t have time for games with these people.”
“What’s the address?”
“I’ll email it to you with the file on this guy.”
As soon as Lawson’s call ended she informed Cain of the latest developments. The email came in a minute later. She downloaded Cardullo’s file and studied his picture and criminal accomplishments. She took the computer and sat next to Cain so he could look at the information with her. As Cain read the man’s file he knew it was likely he’d have to use his gun. Cardullo had a violent past. Cain felt it was unlikely he was someone who was interested in sharing information.
“It’s most likely a trap,” Cain stated.
“Why do you think so?”
“Robbery, murder, attempted murder, guns, drugs…hardly seems the informant type. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Lawson sighed. “I guess so. Unless he knows how valuable this is and just wants the money.”
“How would he know how valuable it is unless he’s connected to it somehow?”
“Well aren’t you a Debbie Downer,” Lawson said.
“I didn’t say he couldn’t be useful in some way. I’m just doubting he’s going to tell us anything of substance. Unless it comes from beating it out of him.”
“Looks like the meeting’s at a clothing warehouse.”
“What is it with bad guys and warehouses? Can’t they ever find someplace else for these meetings?” Cain joked.
Three more uneventful hours until they got to France. Cain’s mind took him to that warehouse where he envisioned twenty different scenarios of how the events would unfold. Over ninety percent of them ended with him putting a bullet in the target. As they circled over the airport and started their approach toward the runway, Cain wanted to make sure Lawson’s mind was right.
“You all right with this?” Cain asked.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Meeting with an unsavory character and this isn’t your usual cup of tea.”
“This isn’t my first time in the field, Matt. You should know that,” she responded.
“I know. But the reason for that is circling that brain of yours I think.”
“What’s that mean?”
“We’re here because of Eric. You have a very personal connection. It’s not like we’re here for some agent you don’t know,” Cain explained.
“I’m here to do my job. Nothing else.”
“And if this guy tells you that Eric’s dead?”
The question brought back a deadly stare from Lawson. Cain raised his eyebrows in an I told you so manner in response.
“My point exactly,” he told her.
“What point is that?”
“Eric may be dead. He may be alive. We don’t know. But when we’re in that warehouse you need to be focused on the man in front of you and not worrying about Eric. Make sure you’re focusing.”
“I will.”
“I don’t want to lose both of you.”
“Aww…you care about me,” Lawson teased.
“Oh stop. You already know I do. Can I ask another question?”
“I suppose so.”
“Do you still love him?”
Lawson paused before answering. “I really don’t know. Why?”
“Just wondering.”
“Why? What are you, some love expert now?”
“I dunno…maybe. Thought maybe I could give you a few tips and pointers. Maybe a little bit of advice,” Cain teased.
“From you?”
“Yeah. You know, since my love life has gone so well I thought I could impart my wisdom upon you a little.”
The two of them shared a laugh as the jet touched down on the runway. As soon as they exited the plane there was a car waiting for them. Cain sent Heather a text message to let her know he got to France safely. He didn’t think there was a need to worry her about the hiccup he had since it didn’t turn out to be anything serious. As long as he was there in one piece that was all she really needed to know since he didn’t want to worry her any more than she already was. As they drove to the rendezvous location, Cain checked his weapons to make sure they were working properly.
“We have about an hour,” Lawson mentioned.
“How long will it take for us to get there?”
“I think about half an hour.”
“Should be enough time for me to find a good spot,” Cain said.
“If things start going bad do you want me to give you some type of signal?”
“No need. If things start to go bad…I’ll know.”
“Just the same, how bout if I run my left forearm over my forehead?” she asked.
“If if makes you feel better.”
They made better time than they thought they would, arriving at the warehouse in only twenty minutes. Just before they got there, they pulled over to let Cain out. He put his guns in a duffel bag and walked to the warehouse on foot just in case Cardullo, or if he had any men with him already waiting at the spot, wouldn’t spot Cain and give away the element of surprise that they were counting on. Cain would find another way into the warehouse and set up shop wherever he felt appropriate and would be able to cover as much as he could. After Cain exited the car, Lawson continued on to the warehouse, sitting in front of the building for a few minutes. She waited about ten minutes, looking for any sign of activity inside the warehouse. She started walking towards the door when she heard it unlock and slightly open. She stopped as she waited to see an outline of someone standing there. She felt a sigh of relief when she saw half of Cain’s face emerging from the shadows.
“C’mon,” Cain told her. “Place is clean. Nobody else here yet.”
Lawson quickly ducked inside, closing the door behind her.
“How’d you get in?” she asked.
“Window. As you can see there’s a second floor,” Cain said, pointing to it. “I’ll be right up there. Gives me a pretty good vantage point of the middle of the floor and the door.”
“What if he brings friends?”
“I’ll worry about them. If shooting starts you just take cover behind some of those boxes over there.”
It appeared to be some kind of clothing warehouse. Not a huge place but it had two floors. The second floor had no offices or rooms. It was mostly just a narrow walkway that had boxes lined up around it. The first floor had the offices around the sides but the main floor had clothes on racks and boxes that were ready to be shipped out. There were a few pallets that were highly stacked and some boxes were just piled up in different sections on the floor, waiting for their invoices to be ready.
Cain noticed Lawson kept turning her head around. He wasn’t sure what she was looking at but also noticed she was fidgeting with her hands a lot. Then she started rubbing her arms up and down as if she was cold.
“Nervous?” Cain asked.
“Uhh no.”
“Look nervous.”
“I’m not,” she told him.
“Seem nervous.”
“Well I’m not.”
“OK,” Cain said. “But you’re acting nervous.”
“OK. Fine. I’m nervous.”
“Relax. Nothing to be nervous about.”
Lawson rolled her eyes. “Easy for y
ou to say.”
“You got me here with you. What could go wrong?” Cain asked.
“You really want me to answer that question?”
Cain grinned then left her alone as he made his way back up to the second floor. He settled on a spot off to the side and piled up a few boxes next to each other to try and conceal his gun. He left a slight opening that he could fit his rifle through. He hoped they stayed in the same area otherwise the boxes would constrict his movement and he’d have to relocate. He looked through the scope of his rifle and simulated how far he could move it within the confines of the boxes. He laid on the floor to see if it was a better look but the metal railing blocked his rifle. He would’ve had to prop it up over the railing and he thought it could possibly give away his position. He decided just to kneel on his right knee as they felt the most comfortable.
Twenty five minutes elapsed until Lawson saw the headlights of a car pull up before turning off. She looked at the time and if it was Cardullo, he was fifteen minutes early. Maybe he had ideas of doing to them what they already had set up, she thought. It didn’t take long for her visitors to introduce themselves as they immediately went to the warehouse. She saw the handle of the door jiggle and then the clanging sound of the keys as the door unlocked. Four men walked in. Lawson recognized one of them as Cardullo from the photo that was sent to her. He was rougher looking than the picture had indicated as he had a newfound scar just under his left eye. Made him look a little tougher.
“I see you have your own key to the place,” Lawson greeted.
“I know the owners,” Cardullo smiled, looking his counterpart over. “How did you get in?”
“Girl can’t tell her secrets, can she?”
“You’re early.”
“So are you.”
“I always like to be punctual when meeting with a lady friend.”
“So thoughtful,” Lawson said as she looked at his friends. “I didn’t realize you were bringing company. I thought this was going to be a one on one meeting.”
“Don’t worry about them. They’re like my bodyguards. They follow me everywhere.”
“Bodyguards huh? Are you so hated that you need them?”
“Dangerous line of work that we’re in.”
Lawson faked a smile as she noticed the guns Cardullo’s men were carrying with them.
“Did you bring anyone with you?” Cardullo asked as he looked around.
“Do you see anyone?”
“So what’s your name?”
“Bond.”
Cardullo laughed at her sense of humor. “Funny. I like that. What say you and me have a few private moments in one of those offices over there?”
“What do you say we get on with what we’re here for and get down to business?”
“I’d love to get down into your business.”
“You don’t have anything for me, do you?” Lawson asked.
“Now just hold on there sweetie. I didn’t say that. Calm down. Just trying to have a little fun first.”
“Information first. Fun later.”
“All right. I can dig it,” Cardullo said, nodding to his men to spread out and check the area.
Lawson noticed they were moving. “Where are they going?”
“Not that I don’t trust you but I just wanna make sure that we’re by ourselves here.”
Lawson wiped her forehead with her left forearm, hoping that Cain would see the signal. Unfortunately for her, Cardullo noticed the signal too. He quickly lunged at her, taking her by surprise as he took hold of her, putting his arm around her neck as he stood behind her.
“What was that?” Cardullo asked. “Some kind of signal to somebody?”
“Just hot in here,” Lawson replied, trying to pull his arm off of her to no avail.
“Crap,” Cain whispered as he saw what was going down.
Cain set the rifle on the floor as he removed a handgun from his pants, readying himself for a visitor. He stayed low to keep himself covered from view on the first floor. He heard the sound of footsteps walking up the metal stairs. Cain put both hands on his gun as he took aim at the top of the steps, waiting for the outline of whoever was coming. As soon as the main stepped into his crosshairs, Cain fired his gun. Three booming shots rang out in quick succession, all landing in the chest and midsection of the oncoming man. He fell backwards and landed a couple of steps down from the top one. Everyone on the main floor flinched when they heard the shots.
“You do have someone here!” Cardullo angrily yelled.
“You thought I’d be dumb enough to trust you?” Lawson replied.
“I don’t care what Proulx said, I’m killing you as soon as we take care of your friend up there.”
“Where is he?”
“Shut up!”
Cain quickly went back to his rifle to see if he could line up a shot of Cardullo to free Lawson from his grasp. As soon as he looked through the scope his vision started getting blurry. He closed his eyes for a moment and shook his head to try and shake it loose. He looked back through the scope and the image of Cardullo and Lawson became doubled. He sighed in anger and wiped his eyes, hoping his problems wouldn’t cost Lawson her life. As he was wiping his eyes he heard someone running toward him. One of Cardullo’s men had snuck up the other side of the steps. As soon as Cain opened his eyes more fully he saw a blur of a fist reigning down on his head. The blow knocked Cain completely over. The man pulled out his gun to shoot Cain as he laid there. Out of instinct, Cain rolled over as much as he could, though between the boxes and the wall he was only able to roll halfway. The bullet went into the floor as Cain kicked out the legs of the man standing over top of him. Both men stood up and exchanged punches. Both men were now visible to Cardullo.
While he was still holding Lawson with his left arm, Cardullo steadied his right hand as he took aim at Cain. He fired a round that went through one of the boxes near Cain. He fired another bullet that whizzed past Cain’s head, lodging into the wall. Cain continued struggling with the other man for another minute as they continued exchanging face and body shots. If Cain were perfectly healthy, the man probably wouldn’t have lasted more than a few seconds as Cain was a much better fighter. But in his confused state, Cain would’ve had problems with just about anybody. The punches he felt hitting his head felt like cinderblocks smashing against his temple. After a few more minutes of struggling, Cain was finally able to get the upper hand on his opponent. Cain staggered him, knocking the man to his knees after kicking him in the stomach. Cain maneuvered himself behind him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Cain spun around and tossed the man over the railing. It wasn’t a huge drop, only about twenty feet or so, but the man landed on the back of his neck, breaking it and dying instantly. Cardullo fired another shot at Cain that once again missed as Cain took cover behind some boxes. Cardullo backed up with Lawson as he waited for his other guy to get Cain lined up. Cain knew there was still one more guy out there but he had no idea where he was.
Cain crawled over to his rifle and tried one more time to get a look at Cardullo. He felt his head to see if he was bleeding anywhere and where his stitches were to see if any had come out. Luckily and miraculously they were still in place. His vision was still a little blurry and he was hesitant on taking a shot just in case he hit Lawson by mistake. He squinted his eyes, trying to concentrate and force himself into seeing normally. After a few more seconds his vision returned. Most of Cardullo’s body was blocked by Lawson as he was using most of her for cover. His right shoulder was exposed and part of his head. Cain knew a better shot might not materialize and figured he had to work with what was presented to him. He steadied himself and pulled the trigger. A second later Cardullo screamed in pain as his right shoulder felt like it was almost torn from his body. Cardullo was knocked back slightly from the impact of the blast and loosed his grip on Lawson’s neck. It was just enough for Lawson to get away as she headed for the boxes Cain told her to go to. As Cardullo was holding his shoulder an
d trying to right himself, the lack of a human shield was perfect for Cain to finish off his target. Cardullo started to move for some cover but was stopped in his path by a bullet that entered into the middle of his chest. He dropped to his knees, the life slowly draining out of his body. Cain hurried up his demise by firing one more round into his chest, only a centimeter away from the other opening. The second shot knocked Cardullo flat onto his back for his final resting spot.
Cain, careful as to not expose his head too much for fear of getting it shot off his shoulders, looked through the scope of his rifle to spot the location of the last man. After coming up empty, he lowered the rifle to his side and peered over the side of the railing. He saw no movements and he didn’t hear any sounds. He didn’t want to call out to Lawson and expose her position to the guy in case he didn’t know where she was. Cain knew he couldn’t stay in his position and wait the guy out. If he was by himself he might’ve been able to. But with Lawson there he didn’t think he had the luxury. As long as Lawson and the other guy were on the first floor there was a danger that he’d find her before Cain found him. He took the strap of the rifle and put it over his shoulder, letting the rifle fall to his back. He took out his handgun and started moving down the steps. Cain noticed when the men came in that none of them had rifles so at least he knew he wasn’t going to get picked off on the way down. Cain made sure he didn’t make a peep as he made his way down the steps.