by Gary Starta
Diggs yelled from the backseat. “No, Geoffrey. Listen to her demands.”
“I see you’re on a first name basis with your partner. How cute. Well, at least you’ve got some brains. Tell your partner to back away from his car about fifty yards. If he doesn’t I’ll blow your brains all over the upholstery right here and now. It’s your call.”
Diggs relayed the request. McAllister reluctantly paced the requested distance frequently turning his head to make sure Diggs’ abductor wasn’t drawing a bead on him.
“You know Samantha. If you kill either one of us, you’ll never get what you want. Nobody wants to make a deal with a cop killer.”
“How do you know what I want?”
“Why else on earth would you bring us all the way out to the boondocks?”
The woman scuttled out the front seat and opened the back door. She motioned for Diggs to exit. Once Diggs was out the car, the ski-masked abductor grabbed Diggs about the neck. Her free arm kept a gun trained on the agent.
“Why don’t you take off your mask, Samantha?” Geoffrey taunted.
“What and give you a chance to fire your weapon. I don’t think so. Now shut up and listen. I’m calling the shots. If you want your partner back you’ll bring Mayor Schroeder and a news crew from all the major Boston stations. You’ve got one hour to set it up. The Mayor will give a live press conference and admit his affair with Eva Davies. He will then give his resignation. The clock is ticking, so I suggest you start dialing. I’ll be waiting with Agent Diggs in there.” She pointed to a white structure that stood about four stories high. Openings at each level revealed a winding staircase. At the top of the staircase sat a huge telescope. McAllister dialed Carter’s number first.
Stanford easily identified the building as the Bear Hills Observatory. “Well, I see I’ve got my delay, Agent. Jill and I should arrive before the camera crews. I suspect the Mayor will be flown in by helicopter. It’s imperative you follow the kidnapper’s demands to the letter at all times. I do not want to raise any suspicions on behalf of our perp. I know it’s your investigation Agent, but if you trust me I know I can get Agent Diggs out of this alive.”
“Understood, Carter. This is going to make one hell of a press conference.”
“That it should.”
Twenty minutes later, Carter and Jill took position behind some pine trees towards the back of the observatory.
“So good, so far,” Carter whispered to Jill. “They haven’t seen us.”
The masked woman faced away from Carter, keeping her eyes trained on McAllister.
Minutes later, news crews arrived and began mounting stands for cameras and lights.
“Very good,” Kristin Collacio shouted to McAllister from the observatory’s third floor, still wearing her mask. But where’s our grand master?”
“Don’t worry. Mayor Schroeder is en-route. You can expect his full cooperation.”
Kristin nodded, inching her gun a bit closer to Diggs’ throat.
“I hope so for your sake, lover boy,” she mumbled. It took all of Diggs’ resolve not to fight back. But she realized the futility when she noticed her abductor was wearing knee high leather boots. Any kick to her shin or instep would only result in minimal damage. And if she couldn’t take out her abductor completely, she would run the risk of getting McAllister killed. Diggs bit her lower lip, realizing the best she could do was wait for the Mayor and pray for the smallest distraction.
* * *
The Mayor’s copter touched down at Middlesex Fells Park. A police escort signaled his arrival at the observatory. Kristin ordered the camera crew to televise his speech in front of the observatory. She hoped she and Diggs might provide a nice backdrop for the home viewing audience. Two officers led the Mayor to a makeshift podium, erected just in front of the observatory tower as instructed. Kristen had demanded no more than two officers accompany Schroeder. The officers backed away as soon as Kristin began waving her gun.
A producer gave the Mayor a silent countdown and a red light beamed. Blinding lights dilated Schroeder’s eyes.
“Fellow Bostonians, I…we…are here today to talk about something I am not proud of. I first would like to apologize with heartfelt sincerity to my wife. I have been engaged in sexual relations with another woman for the past few months.”
Kristin shouted from above. “Identify her, Mayor.”
“I have fallen in love with a celebrity. You all know her from the movies. Her name is Eva Davies.” The murmuring of stagehands erupted in the background.
“Silence them!” Kristin fired a warning shot into the woods.
“Please, everyone do as she says. I should never have let her blackmail me in the first place. The woman up there in the tower, well, she fears I am going to make another mistake. She fears that I will let organized crime build on land I swore to protect as open space. Well, let me tell you fellow Bostonians, I will not let the Commonwealth down, especially on this our blessed anniversary year.”
“Shut him off, now!” Kristin yelled. The producers began mumbling again. “I thought he was giving her what she wants, an apology, a uniformed officer said to McAllister. McAllister responded in a whisper. “That’s not Samantha Baxter up there.”
The officer’s face turned white as a sheet. He could only wonder why the Mayor was not told this.
Mayor Schroeder continued, despite Kristin’s protests. “In fact I’d also like to give my heartfelt apology to Eva Davies. Eva, I love you and I should never have let them blackmail me. I also apologize to you, Samantha. I know this is no longer about my affair. You can be rest assured the land your parents cherished will remain green for generations to come. Well, I’ll tell you…” A shot rang out in the background, but this time it was not a warning volley. A huge divot of grass exploded just to the right of the Mayor’s podium.
“I tell all Bostonians.” The Mayor continued, his voice now rising to a shout. “I won’t resign. I won’t resign…I tell you!”
Carter whispered to Jill. “Now’s our chance.”
Carter took aim at Kristin’s right leg. The shot exploded into her thigh with surgical precision. The distraction gave Diggs enough time to break out of the headlock. As she did, Carter spied another gunman about twenty yards to his right from the corner of his eye. Blam! A shot from behind Carter rang out. It dug into the gunman’s left shoulder sending him sprawling to the ground. But Carter did not take the time to thank Jill. From his left, another gunmen appeared, he was taking aim not on Carter or Jill, but on the observatory where Diggs made an easy target. Carter listened to instinct. He shouted a verbal warning to Diggs.
The agent jabbed her abductor in the chest with her elbow. The gun now fell free, bouncing along the observatory’s concrete floor. Diggs lunged forward and fell to her knees. She knew the gun was in danger of bouncing down the spiral staircase. She stopped it just in a hand’s length away from the stairway. With both hands still bound, Diggs managed to retrieve the gun. In one swooping motion, she trained it on the attacker standing directly behind the observatory and fired. The bullet caught the sniper square in the chest. He went down on his back. Still on her knees, Diggs breathed a quick sigh of relief. For a second, she thought she had taken out her friend, Detective Carter. As police and McAllister began to converge towards the Mayor’s podium, another round of gunfire startled them from behind.
Carter cursed. “It’s an ambush all right.”
Jill began to scoot up behind Carter to give him cover. She knew Carter was headed for the observatory to aid Diggs. In the tower, Diggs and Kristin were engaged in a wrestling match. Kristin had managed to stand despite her wound. She whacked Diggs hard in the face, sending the agent sprawling to the floor. Diggs held on to the weapon with all her might. Blood began to drip off her face.
At the front of the observatory, McAllister and two uniforms had taken cover on the ground. S
hots whizzed by them, leaving huge indentations in the observatory’s wall.
McAllister shouted to the officers. “They must have a Howitzer or something! One of us has to reach the Mayor.” Before McAllister could finish his orders, the twenty-something red haired uniform leaped into action. He propelled himself to his feet as quick as a cat and then literally threw all his body weight in the direction of the podium. His landing knocked the podium over; it fell right onto Mayor Schroeder. Schroeder struggled to get up, ignoring the officer’s pleas to remain down. Shots continued to whiz by them. The news crews scrambled into the woods, abandoning their coveted telecast in favor of survival. McAllister knew whoever was firing would soon close the distance. With no one firing upon them, the gunmen could easily just walk right up and pick them off one by one like ducks in a shooting gallery.
Carter began to climb the backside of the observatory. He could distinctly hear Diggs and her abductor struggling two stories above them despite the gunfire.
As Carter began to swing his body over the ledge, a shot rang out from behind. He yelled. A bullet had lodged itself in his right thigh. He could hear Diggs shouting. “Protect the Mayor! Protect the Mayor!”
Back on the ground, the fallen gunman began to twitch. He began to stagger to his feet, obviously unaware Jill still lay in wait just ten yards behind him. Jill thought the bastard must be wearing a Kevlar Vest. He raised his gun to take aim a second time on Carter. As he did, three shots in simultaneous succession tore into his skull. Blood and brains splattered all over trees and leaves. Jill stood there for a moment as if frozen in time, her gun still smoking. This had been her first kill.
Back on the observatory’s third floor, Diggs took a kick to her face. It sent her sprawling towards the staircase. Kristin filled with rage, chose to ignore her chance to confiscate her weapon. Instead she kicked Diggs in the shoulder blades. The agent began to tumble down the winding staircase.
Back at the podium, the Mayor still struggled for his footing. Whoever was firing upon him was closing the distance just like McAllister feared. A rain of bullets took out the red haired uniform, three cameras and two light stands.
Schroeder did not want to die on his back. He had a good idea the blackmailers were specifically taking aim on him. The woman in the observatory couldn’t have been Samantha Baxter. She would not have reacted so violently just when he was about to apologize to her. Schroeder knew the mob was coming for him. He figured he had little chance to come out of this alive. He wanted to rip one of these bastard’s throats out before he succumbed to death. He had to take revenge upon them. They were taking his new love interest, Eva Davies, away from him.
Carter staggered to his knees. From his vantage point, he could see two gunmen striding towards the Mayor and the fallen officer. McAllister and the other uniform were out of sight, probably scrabbling for cover along the perimeter of the building. The gunmen continued strolling along at a leisurely pace like two deer hunters out for a Saturday afternoon shoot. Carter trained his weapon on the man to his left and fired. The bullet caught the gunman square in his right shoulder, forcing him to drop his weapon. His buddy did not turn to help him. Instead, he began firing at the tower, pelting it with bullets, closing the distance between him and the Mayor.
Diggs was just about to go careening down the stairs. That’s when her gun went off. She wasn’t sure if she actually aimed or if the weapon had gone off by itself. But no matter, it’s the result that counts most. The bullet tore into Kristin’s throat. One minute her ski masked head lolled aimlessly about her shoulders, the next it came descending down the stairs like a runaway bowling ball after the fallen agent. The head of Kristin Collacio finally came to a rest at the bottom of the stairway―in Diggs’ lap.
Carter took refuge behind a ledge. Bullets sprayed about the observatory like a July 4th firework’s display. Ricochet shots pinged about the first floor with reckless abandon. Carter ignored his own safety. Realizing Jill was still vulnerable at ground level, he poked his head over the ledge and fired. His shot missed the gunman entirely. Carter could clearly see the bastard from his vantage point. He was dressed like a soldier, clad in drab green army fatigues with his face painted brown and green. Carter poised to fire again but this time his gun jammed. He fell backwards as another spray of fire pelted the observatory.
The Mayor stumbled towards the gunman, shouting obscenities.
From a distance, Schroeder could hear Agent McAllister yelling. “No, don’t. Get back on the ground!”
A torrid rain of fire ripped through the Mayor’s body. What had once been his lungs and intestines were now scattered pieces of raw meat. They hung against the observatory’s façade, suspended grotesquely, like they were part of some macabre museum.
Just as the gunman began to gloat, a shot rang out from his left. McAllister, now running away from the observatory, continued firing round after round into him. Blood splayed off his arms, neck and legs. The Kevlar Vest would not save this green and brown bastard today.
* * *
Two hours later, crime scene investigators began to scour through the carnage. All the gunmen, including the identified masked woman were dead. EMT’s tended to Diggs and Carter. The detective had only suffered a flesh wound. Wrapped in bandages, Carter motioned for McAllister and Diggs to join him before an ambulance carted him off.
“We got out of this, didn’t we?” Carter’s voice croaked like a frog.
Diggs smiled. “Yes, we did, but we wouldn’t have gotten out of this if it weren’t for you. I’m sorry my theory almost got us all killed. I can’t begin to say how sorry I am for the Mayor.”
Carter croaked again. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, Agent Diggs. When you work as a team, you’ve always got backup.”
Diggs smiled softly and squeezed his hand.
“Get better Detective Carter. Maybe we’ll work together as a team once again.”
Carter waved goodbye. Jill came rushing to his side. The agents observed them in silence. EMT’s lifted Carter into a van with Jill in tow.
McAllister spoke first. “You know if I trusted my gut, I’d say those two are in love.”
“Sort of reminds me of us, once upon a time.”
McAllister took Diggs’ hand. He peered into her beautiful sapphire blue eyes, not seeing one bruise or laceration about her person.
“Don’t worry, Geoffrey.”
Puzzle lines filled his face. “Don’t worry about what?”
“Don’t worry that my pride will ever put us or anyone in the line of danger again.”
“Don’t think like that. You have to be yourself, Agent.”
Diggs gripped Geoffrey’s hand tighter.
“Who knows, Cat? Maybe one day you’ll acquire a psychic gift like our barkeeper friend. You’ll solve all your cases with visions.”
Geoffrey paused for effect, holding his hands out before him like a medium channeling spirits.
“Yes. Yes, Geoffrey. I do have a vision come to think of it.”
“What’s it telling you?”
“It’s telling me you’ll never call me Cat again, if you know what’s good for you.”
The agents shared a laugh and limped towards a waiting rescue van.
Chapter Twenty
She had all the evidence. The Boston papers used words like ‘allege’ and ‘speculate.’ Yet, she can see right through their rhetoric. It’s all there, in black and white. The Lamperti crime family killed the one man she could have truly fallen in love with, Mayor Art Schroeder. Getting into character, actress Eva Davies dons a blond wig, dark sunglasses and a sheer, lacy see through dress. She will make them pay. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in this case―a man for a man.
Two hours pass. She waits patiently in the parking garage, braving the foul smell of exhaust fumes and oppressive heat. She could wait forever, if that’s what it would take to co
mplete her mission. Today, Eva is no longer the pampered actress. She has transformed herself. Eva Davies ceased to exist when the sun came up. She became Marlene Baylor, the bad assed chick from the hit movie “Neon Bullets,” the instant she lifted her ass from her Egyptian cotton bed set.
Eva Davies had played Marlene Baylor some years ago. She had won an Emmy doing it. Nobody knew how to even the score better than Marlene Baylor. In fact, the Baylor character had experienced a similar ordeal. She had killed the ‘family’ man who whacked her boyfriend. If Marlene could do it, Eva reasoned she could too. It was all a simple game of subtraction. A roll of the dice, a spin of the dial, the draw of the card–no matter the method, the end result would be the same, because no matter what you called the game―the rules were universal. Someone would now have to be removed from the game board of life. It was only fair. They had taken a key player from her. So now, someone would be taken from them. There was nothing really emotional about it. Just tit for tat. Or so the players told themselves. In a few hours, the head of the most powerful crime family would be reduced to tears, sniveling in a corner, crying his eyes out like a child sent to bed without supper, wondering if ‘family’ business was indeed just business.
She had seen his photo in the papers. He was the large man who’d sat in Dr. Holt’s waiting room, never smiling, head always buried in a newspaper. From a side angle, he reminded her of Robert De Niro.
She heard the glass door swing shut. The large man had entered the parking garage. Eva Davies, lost in the role of a character, approached the man, feigning car trouble.
“Sure, I’ll help you doll.” He leered at her.
She could smell lust all over him. His only idea of help would be to help her out of her skimpy dress.
She explained her cell phone was dead. She rummaged for it in her purse to no avail. “See, my boyfriend always tells me to charge it. But dummy me, I forget―and now I can’t even find the friggin’ thing. Don’cha just hate technology?”