“Yeah, I know.” Ben climbed onto the stationary bike, checked the settings, and after choosing the easiest one, slowly pushed the pedal using his injured leg. The pain started after the first full rotation but he was damned if he was going to do only half rotations the way Zach had said—or stop with Zach standing there watching him. Closing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he kept going.
“Enough,” Zach said from beside him, startling him. “You’re sweating like a horse after a hard run and you’re pale as a fucking ghost.”
“I’m fine,” Ben protested.
“Like hell you are. This was a bad idea. I should have known you’d push yourself too hard.”
“It won’t do any good if I don’t.”
“It won’t do any good if you end up back in the hospital, either. Go sit down.” He pointed to a bench in the middle of the room.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” Ben said angrily. Then, taking a deep breath, he apologized and got off the bike. His knee felt like it was on fire, but he managed to hobble to the bench.
“Put your foot up on it,” Zach said. When Ben did, Zach sat facing him and gently began to massage his leg, avoiding putting pressure on the knee. “Does this help?”
“Yeah, it does.” Ben managed a grin. “Think you can do this when we’re in the middle of a job without either of us getting shot in the process?”
Zach shook his head. “Highly unlikely. Maybe after, if we’ve been running or climbing.”
“If it doesn’t give out on me first and one of you has to carry me the rest of the way.”
“That, Ben, is why we’re doing this.” Zach swept his arm around.
“I know. Give me a few minutes and I’ll try again, and this time I promise I won’t push myself too hard.”
“Good.”
It took most of the morning, but by the end Ben was able to ride the bike for a full five minutes without feeling like he was going to pass out.
“Tomorrow, the leg presses,” he told Zach, wiping the sweat off his face.
“Your choice. Right now, go shower. You know the racehorse I mentioned, you smell like one, now.”
“Gee, thanks,” Ben replied, even though he knew it was the truth since he could smell himself.
Going into the locker room, he stripped then stepped into one of the showers, turning the water on as hot as he could bear it. By the time it began to cool, his knee had stopped aching. Getting dressed in his street clothes, he tied his hair back, balled up his workout clothes, putting them in the plastic bag he’d used to carry them, and went back into the gym.
“I was beginning to wonder if you’d drowned,” Zach said.
“In a shower?”
“It could happen, maybe. Ready to get out of here?”
“Yep. Do you mind stopping for something to eat? I’m buying.”
“That’s an offer I won’t refuse.”
When they left the building, Zach suggested a restaurant in the next block. “The exercise must have done some good,” he said as they walked. “You’re barely limping.”
Ben realized he was right. “Then I’m definitely coming back every day until Durand sends us off on another job.”
He did, with Zach driving him there, although Ben protested he was quite capable of taking the bus. Zach’s reply was, “I need to keep an eye on you to be certain you don’t overdo it.”
By the fourth day, Ben realized he was beginning to think of Zach as more than one of the team and a friend. He saw him as a man who interested him, although he would never let him know. He’d probably think I wanted to use him to find out what having sex with a man was all about, since he knows I’ve never done it. Even if he was willing to show me, that’s all it would be in his mind—teaching me so that, if I ever met someone, I wouldn’t come across as completely naïve. Still, he wished there could be something more than friendship between them.
Chapter 6
The team’s next job came a week after they’d returned to the city.
Ben and Zach were the first to arrive at Durand’s office, other than the two men already seated in the client chairs beside his desk. When they settled on the sofa, Durand said, “As soon as Hayley and Ez are here we’ll get started.”
They showed up moments later, taking the two chairs by the sofa.
Durand introduced everyone and then said, “Mr. Allan and Mr. Grant own trucking companies. Over the past month hijackers have hit Mr. Allan’s trucks twice and Mr. Grant’s three times. Each hijacking occurred after the drivers were pulled over by vehicles with flashing lights that they presumed were highway patrol. In each case, the trucks were carrying electronics worth millions.”
“I have a question before you go any further,” Ez said. “Why isn’t the FBI involved?”
“Because the trucks didn’t cross state lines,” Mr. Grant replied. “In the case of my trucks, they were thirty to forty miles from the distribution center when they were stopped by the hijackers.”
“The same for mine,” Mr. Allan said. “There were three men, armed and wearing ski masks. It was late at night so traffic was sparse. They forced the drivers out of the trucks, hogtied them, and left them in the trees beside the highway.”
“That happened to your drivers, too?” Ez asked Mr. Grant.
“Yes,” he replied tightly. “Only with the last hijacking they took it a step further because the driver tried to fight back. He was badly beaten, shot, and left for dead. If a passing car hadn’t seen him, he would have died.”
“Surely you’ve reported this to the highway patrol or the police,” Hayley said.
“Of course,” Mr. Grant replied sourly. “But because there were no clues that could lead them to the perpetrators, they say their hands are tied. That’s why we’re here.”
Zach had the feeling he’d have added “Lazy bastards,” if it hadn’t been politically incorrect. “Is there a pattern to when they hit?” he asked.
“It’s always during the week, Tuesday through Thursday between eleven and one, along a relatively deserted stretch of highway. Once they’ve dealt with the driver, they leave with the truck, driving it off the highway onto a side road. At that point they separate the tractor from the trailer, attach their own tractor, and drive away, leaving ours behind. Presumably, that was so they couldn’t be tracked using the equipment installed in the cabs.”
Ben asked, “Don’t you have electronic trackers in the trailers?”
“We do,” Mr. Allan replied. “The hijackers found and removed them, leaving them in the tractor.” He scowled. “I think they were thumbing their noses at us.”
Resisting smiling, Zach agreed. “They only go after electronics?”
“So far, yes.”
“Do your drivers always travel alone?”
“In our case,” Mr. Grant replied, “it depends on the length of the trip. If they’re going across country, we send them out in pairs. If it’s an instate delivery, we only use one driver.”
“And so far, you said, those are the only ones they’ve hit.” Zach got nods from both men. “All right, it seems to me they’re smart enough to avoid going after semis bound out of state in order to avoid the possibility the FBI will become involved. Also, it’s easier to subdue one man than it would be two.”
“I’d agree,” Mr. Grant replied.
“One of them is undoubtedly watching the distribution centers,” Ez said. “Unless they have a man inside.”
“I would hope all the employees are well vetted,” Mr. Allan retorted.
“The hijackers appear to be very organized,” Ez replied. “I’m sure they’d make certain whoever they placed on the inside would pass any inspection. Speaking of which, as far as you know, are yours the only two companies that have been hit?”
Mr. Grant nodded. “By these men? Yes. We have a network that keeps track of any hijackings so that everyone’s aware when one happens and how. No one else has reported ones that match their modus operandi, I guess you’d call it.” He looked at
each of the team, one by one, and then Durand. “Can you stop them before they end up killing one of our drivers?”
“We’ll certainly try,” Durand replied. “Once my team comes up with a plan of action, I’ll be in touch to let you know what it is.”
“If you need our help with anything, anything at all, let us know,” Mr. Grant said with a glance at Mr. Allan, who nodded in agreement.
“We will,” Durand told them before thanking them for coming to his office and then ushering them out. When he returned, he asked, “What do you think?”
“We’ll have to come up with something that works,” Zach replied with a dry smile. “That’s not going to happen in the next five minutes.”
“I’m aware of that. As soon as you have, you’re to run it by me, as always.” Durand handed Zach a file. “This has all the pertinent information.”
“Of course. Right now, I suggest the four of us go down to my office and brainstorm.”
* * * *
“The first thing we have to do,” Ez said when the team was seated around Zach’s desk, “is figure out how the hijackers choose which truck to target.”
“Inside information,” Zach replied. “That’s why I said they have to have a man working at the distributions centers.”
“Hang on. One thing we didn’t ask,” Hayley said. “Are they different centers or the same one? They didn’t say.”
Zach checked the file Durand had given him. “Same center.”
“That makes things easier,” Ez said. “Still, I don’t think we want to waste one of us by putting us inside, especially since we don’t know that they’ve got a man working there.”
“How would we find out who it was, if they did?” Hayley said.
“Exactly. If I were to make a bet, they’d feel the same about wasting manpower that way. It would be easier to watch the center, see what was being loaded on a truck, and move on it if it’s full of electronics,” Zach said.
“Their schedule is interesting,” Ben said. “Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday between eleven P.M. and one A.M. It makes me wonder if that’s the only time all the hijackers are available.”
“Something to consider,” Zach replied. “The first thing we need to do is recon the distribution center to see if there is someplace where they could watch the trucks being loaded without anyone being aware that’s what they’re doing.”
“Why just Allan’s and Grant’s trucks?” Hayley wondered.
“Disgruntled ex-employee, luck of the draw, they have less security, any or all of the above?” Ez replied.
“Whatever the reason, it makes our job easier,” Zach said. “Once we find vantage points they might be using, we’ll keep them under surveillance. It won’t be all three of them so we can’t do anything there, but we can follow whoever it is.”
“Presuming it’s not a fourth man whose only job is to alert them to which truck to hit,” Ben pointed out.
“Yeah,” Zach agreed. “We can trace the call if that’s the case, so we know where they’ll be waiting.”
“Wouldn’t they have to have access to what routes the trucks take?” Hayley asked.
“Any decent hacker could find that information,” Zach told her.
“Duh.” She smacked her head.
“Careful, you’ll hurt your hand,” Ez said with a grin.
“Are you saying I’m hard-headed?”
“If the shoe fits…” He ducked when she tossed a pencil at him.
“Children…” Zach said, chuckling.
“But, Daddy he…” Hayley put her hand over her mouth to smother a laugh.
“Getting back to business,” Ben said. He felt a bit like a spoilsport, but he had questions that needed answering. “After we find out which truck they’re going to target, if we do, then what?”
“A good question,” Zach replied.
“I take the driver’s place,” Ez said. “Before you think I’m crazy, I spent the summer after my senior year in college driving a big rig with my dad who was a professional.”
Hayley frowned. “That was years ago, Ez.”
“I’m aware of that,” Ez replied, seeming a bit nonplused by her comment. “It doesn’t mean I don’t remember enough of the basics to get the truck on the road, heading in the right direction. We’ll need both Mr. Grant and Mr. Allan to pass the word to their drivers about what I’ll be doing, because we don’t know whose truck will be targeted.”
“It’ll have to happen once the truck is out of view of the distribution center or the guy running surveillance will see what you’re doing,” Ben said. “I know, that’s a no-duh, but I thought I should point it out anyway.”
“Of course. We have to plan everything down to the last detail, no matter how trivial it seems,” Zach replied.
“What if whoever’s cluing them in is another driver?” Hayley asked. “It might explain why they only strike Tuesday through Thursday; if those are the days he works.”
Zach shook his head. “Possible but unlikely since, in my book, that would make it a disgruntled employee and both Grant’s and Allan’s trucks have been hit.”
“And?” she protested. “Smoke screen. Or he worked for both of them at one time or another and has a grudge against both companies.”
“I’m not buying it. It’s too obvious.”
“Ask them to run a check anyway, to see if they come up with anyone who has worked for both of them,” she retorted.
“Remember, no detail is too trivial, to quote you.” Ben gave Zach a brief smile.
Zach nodded, looked up the numbers for both men, and called to ask them to check. They said they would, and then get back to him when they had an answer. “Which could be in an hour, or a week from now,” Zach said when he’d ended the call to Mr. Grant.
“Frankly, I think we should forget about Ez taking the driver’s place,” Ben said. “We know the trailers have tracking devices. Grant and Allan said as much. There’s undoubtedly one in the tractor as well, which is why the hijackers use their own once they’ve gotten their hands on the rig. We make use of that one to follow the truck from a safe distance. If the hijackers hold true to form, they’ll pull it over. As soon as we know it’s stopping on the highway, not at a weigh station or truck stop, we move in.”
“That would work,” Ez agreed after a moment’s thought. “We still need to figure out if whoever’s choosing the trucks works at the center or is watching from somewhere outside it.”
“We have two days to find out,” Zach said. “So we better hope Grant and Allan get back to me soon. Let me call them to see whose GPS systems they use for their tracking devices so we can link to them.”
“Maybe you should just keep the line open?” Hayley suggested, grinning. “It’ll save your dialing finger.”
Zach rolled his eyes and made the calls. “Two different companies,” he told the others when he finished. “They’ll talk to them to get me the permissions I need to download the monitoring systems to my phone.”
“It might be time to check out the center,” Ez said.
“Might as well,” Zach agreed. “We can’t do anything more as far as planning goes until I hear back from Grant and Allan.”
“Let’s take Hayley’s car,” Ez said. “It’s nondescript, and since we’ll probably use either my van or Zach’s jeep for the job, we don’t want anyone remembering them because we used them while doing recon.”
Nobody objected, so they left the building, went to where she had parked in the lot next door, and headed out.
* * * *
“Not a hell of a lot of places to set up surveillance,” Zach said as they cruised past the distribution center. It was comprised of two large buildings, each one with dozens of loading bays. There was a broad expanse of pavement between them and the road. A train track ran behind them with a rough area of grass between it and an eight-lane highway. The distribution center had a parking lot that separated it from a two-story warehouse belonging to a national hardware company.
> Across the road there was a warehouse, also with loading bays, a fast-food place, a diner, and behind the diner—
“That would work, if we can get up to the roof,” Ez said, pointing to a six-story office building. “If we can, so can their watcher, presuming we’re right about how they’re picking trucks to target.”
“Might as well find out,” Zach agreed. “Go around to the street behind it, Hayley.”
She did, pulling into the parking lot next to the building.
“We hit the jackpot,” Zach said, gesturing to a fire escape going up the side of the building “We’ll come back after dark to check out the roof.”
“And hope it’s not in use,” Ez said.
“Or that it is. It would prove we’re right.”
Ez snorted. “And if today was Tuesday, scare the hell out of their surveillance guy, which will blow our catching them sky-high.”
“You do have a point, unfortunately. I don’t think Durand would be okay with our torturing him to find out who else is involved.”
“No shit,” Ben said. “At least I hope he wouldn’t.”
“Don’t worry,” Hayley replied, patting his arm. “We may do a lot of things to stop a criminal but that’s not one of them. No way, no how.”
* * * *
Zach and Ez borrowed Hayley’s car for the same reason the team had used it earlier in the day—it was nondescript.
Before that happened, however, things got tense between Ben and Zach.
It started when Zach announced that only he and Ez would be doing the recon.
“Don’t baby me, Zach,” Ben snarled, because he was certain that’s exactly what he was doing.
“Excuse me,” Zach replied in surprise.
“Baby me. You don’t think I can make it up and down the fire escape because of this.” Ben smacked his bad leg.
“Ease it back a notch, Ben. We don’t want to call attention to what we’re doing. If all of us went—”
“You didn’t even consider taking me instead of him,” Ben broke in. “I could be more of a handicap than a help. Got it. I’ll just hang out with Hayley until you get back and we can discuss the plight of the…the dodo.”
A Second Chance Page 7