The Black Chip

by Gary Land

  Noly had no rules.

  Chapter 30

  It was a cliché. A mob-connected gangster that owned a meatpacking plant. In this case, it was true. Noly sat in the parking lot of the Wagner Meat Company on a quiet Sunday morning. Apparently, Wagner’s strength didn’t lie in his ability to creatively name a company.

  The building was located several blocks west of McCarran International Airport. Probably received and shipped meat products all over the world. The best way to conceal illegal activity was inside a real business. Wagner most likely made a nice profit from selling steaks, ribs, and hamburger, while simultaneously engaging in illegal smuggling and other crimes.

  Noly sat in front of the entrance after driving the circumference of the building. Three stories of metal and concrete. Dozens of windows on all sides, mostly closed, but some were swung open to ventilate the upper floors. Access to the roof on the south and east side by means of a metal ladder. Three loading docs at the rear of the building--all locked down. An eighteen-wheeler backed into bay one--also locked down.

  The engine idled in Noly’s car as the air-conditioning pumped cold air onto his face. He thought about Sarah and Kacy. They had spent three nights with these bastards, but he would put an end to it now. He prepared himself mentally. He thought he was done with this type of life, but he was wrong. Sometimes trouble finds you--no matter how much you try to avoid it.

  Noly and Wagner had scheduled the meet for nine o’clock. If Wagner was surprised at how fast Noly got the chip he didn’t say anything. Noly glanced at his watch. Four more minutes. He assumed they were watching him. Had been since he first drove onto the lot.

  He used the remaining time to think of the tactical situation. If he were Wagner, he’d have maybe a dozen men with him--five to cover the exterior and seven for the interior. Wagner was paranoid, and he was afraid of Noly--he wouldn’t take any chances. He’d cover all four sides of the building plus the roof. When Noly drove around the lot to get his bearings, he hadn’t noticed any men, but he knew they were there.

  It was time. Noly stepped out of the Escalade, and walked towards the entrance. No mercy.

  #

  Finnegan’s radio clicked and Wagner’s voice said, “He’s coming in--bring them out and get into position.”

  Sarah looked down at Kacy, who smiled back at her mother--everything was going to be okay now--Noly was here.

  Both Sarah and Kacy had belts tied around their necks, notched tight. A man named Julio held on to Sarah’s “leash” and Finnegan held on to Kacy.

  “If either of you say or do anything without my permission, I’ll cut your finger off,” Finnegan threatened.

  Kacy started to laugh--it sounded like something she might hear on a TV movie--but she caught herself in time.

  #

  Woody stood with half a dozen men just out of sight of the Wagner Meat Company. He watched Noly through high-powered binoculars as he walked into the meat plant.

  Woody keyed his radio. “Here we come.”

  Five and a half minutes later, Woody and his men secured the exterior of the building.

  #

  Wagner had acquired a used Bell 407 Helicopter from a “client,” who was down on his luck. He was also dead.

  The 407 is a popular model with TV news reporters, film companies and various police agencies. In fact, the helicopter’s original owner had been the Channel Nine Newswatch team.

  Wagner had the three forward facing seats in the cabin removed, so he could move merchandise around. And in Wagner’s world, merchandise meant anything from electronic equipment to dead bodies.

  “Bring her in,” Wagner said.

  The pilot keyed the radio and acknowledged Wagner’s call. The Bell lifted off the tarmac at McCarran, and turned west towards the meat plant.

  #

  Two men holding Glock 22’s met Noly inside the door. Noly put his hands up and let them frisk him. Satisfied, the men led him through double-doors and a layer of vertical, plastic sheeting, into a cold warehouse.

  Noly’s earpiece came alive and he heard Woody say, “Here we come.”

  Wagner stood near the center of the room. As Noly walked towards him, he scanned the area. The warehouse looked like a distribution plant of some sort, although there was no meat visible--not so much as a sausage. He did see cutting machines, roll tables, and dozens of pallets, stacked several feet high. He caught sight of movement behind the pallets; more than one person, Noly thought. Sarah and Kacy. They were there--he could feel them.

  Noly towered over Wagner, who smiled and nodded his head.

  “Boots, once again, sorry for the situation, but these things happen.”

  “If you say so. Where are Sarah and Kacy?”

  “In a moment,” Wagner said. “Tofer, stand next to Mr. Butowski--you two, pointing at the two who had frisked Noly, over here, next to me.”

  Noly’s earpiece came alive. “Noly, we have an incoming helicopter--Bell 407--heading our way. I radioed Nellis for one of ours--keep them busy for ten minutes.”

  #

  Kacy could see Noly through the slats in the pallets and the fear she had been living with vanished. She knew she was safe with Noly here.

  She inched her way to the end of the pallets, and peeked around the edge. Her heart beat like a hummingbird, as she expectantly waited for “it” to happen. It was like watching Santa Claus scurry down the fireplace with a bag of presents. Her breathing came in short gasps. She was almost panting. She wanted it to happen. She couldn’t stand up to these men by herself, and she wanted--needed--Noly to do it for her.

  #

  “Boots--did you hear me?” Wagner asked.

  Noly scratched at his ear. “Sorry.”

  “I said, show me the chip.”

  Noly reached into his pocket, and showed the chip to Wagner. A greedy hunger shone on Wagner’s face as he held his hand out. Noly flipped it to him. Wagner caught it and deftly removed the false bottom.

  “Joey really did it--I gotta hand it to him. He showed me the chip when he had it made, told me what he had planned.”

  Noly realized that Joey never intended to give Wagner the real data. He would show Wagner the first chip with the real account info then palm off the second chip.

  “I got you what you wanted. Now where are they?” Noly shouted.

  Wagner hesitated, thinking. Then he called out. “Finnegan, bring them out.”

  Noly turned towards the pallets. Sarah stepped out from the left of one group of pallets, while Kacy stepped out from the right. Sarah looked scared and tired. Kacy--Kacy smiled at Noly like this horror was almost over. It broke his heart.

  And then he noticed the belts around their necks. His hands balled into fists, and his jaw muscles went into overdrive. He said one word.

  “Woody.”

  Then Noly looked at Wagner.

  “You made a mistake, Wagner.”

  Wagner was afraid to ask, but he did anyway.

  “What?”

  “You let me walk in the door.”

  #

  Kacy stepped around the pallet and looked at Noly’s eyes. She saw him look at Sarah, relief sketched in his face. Then he turned and looked at her, and she had to smile at him. It was almost over. Then she saw anger turn his face dark. She didn’t understand why, but then felt Finnegan tugging at the belt around her neck, and knew Noly had seen it.

  Kacy had heard the expression “time stands still,” but she had never experienced it before. Now, she watched, with mouth open, as time slowed to a crawl. She saw Noly turn to the man on his left, grab his head, twist his neck--she could actually hear the snap--pull a gun out of thin air, shoot a man standing next to Wagner, swing the gun around, shoot Julio, then stick the gun under Wagner’s chin.

  It seemed to Kacy like it all had happened in a blink of her eye, and she saw every detail. Time resumed to normal. She didn’t realize she was holding her breath, but then let it out in a rush.

  Kacy’s eyes swept the wareh
ouse. Even though three men were dead, Kacy couldn’t help but smile--they were bad guys after all. Finnegan was a coward--he was hiding behind her, or Noly would have shot him too.

  It was then that Kacy decided she was wrong--Noly wasn’t Santa Claus, he was Batman. And he was going to save her--again. She made a mental note: must save Noly sometime.

  #

  Woody and his men burst through the door. They quickly secured the warehouse, handcuffed Wagner’s men, and awaited further orders from Noly. Woody had made it clear to his men that Noly was in charge of this operation.

  Noly held Wagner by the back of the collar and pushed the gun into his flabby chin. He wanted to pull the trigger. He pushed Wagner’s head forward, and they both knew what was about to happen. Wagner had gambled and lost.

  Sarah screamed as if the world was coming to an end. All eyes turned toward her. They watched her fall to her knees, put her hands up and wail an unearthly sound that froze everyone in place.

  Noly looked at Sarah, and then quickly turned his gaze towards Kacy. She was turning blue. Her mouth was open, but she couldn’t breathe.

  “Kacy!” Noly never felt such anguish. It was torture watching her suffer.

  Finnegan pulled the belt tight across her throat, choking off her air supply, and digging into her carotid artery. She would pass out soon. Her hands desperately pulled at the belt, but she couldn’t get her fingers between it and her neck.

  Finnegan released the pressure on her neck, and Kacy gasped for several breaths. Her fingers dug inside the belt, but Finnegan slapped them away. In the silence that followed, Woody heard the thumping sound of the approaching Bell 407.

  “Now that I have everyone’s attention,” Finnegan started, “I want the big guy to let Wagner go...or Kacy will die before you ever get to me.”

  Noly immediately threw the gun aside and pushed Wagner forward. He stumbled, caught himself, and walked towards Finnegan. Noly and Woody watched as Finnegan, Kacy, and Wagner slowly backed out of the warehouse.

  Sarah pulled the belt off her own neck and ran to Noly.

  “Don’t let him take her,” she cried.

  Noly held her in his arms. “I have to--he’ll kill her, Sarah. He will. Believe it.”

  Sarah pushed herself out of his arms, and ran towards Kacy. Noly caught her in two strides and held her back.

  “You can’t let them,” she said. Tears streamed down her face. She pounded her fists against Noly’s chest.

  “I’ll get her back--I promise.”

  “Oh, god...Kacy.” Sarah watched her daughter back out of the warehouse, and then she was gone.

  Noly and Woody ran after Finnegan to keep him in sight. Woody yelled to his aide, Sergeant Diaz. “Find out where my goddamn Huey is.”

  Chapter 31

  Finnegan threw Kacy over his shoulder and ran towards the helicopter. Wagner ran two steps behind. They climbed into the cabin and the two men sat in the rearward facing seats. Finnegan dumped Kacy on the floor and let her fend for herself. There was no seatbelt for her and nothing to hold onto. As the helicopter lifted off, she bounced around the cabin and almost slipped out the opening.

  Kacy watched the ground slip away as the copter gained altitude. She saw her mom and Noly come running out of the warehouse and chase after her, but they were too late. At least her mom was safe. Kacy felt happy about that, and about seeing Noly. Wherever they were taking her now, Noly would find her. He would rescue her. She didn’t mind waiting.

  Noly skidded to a halt in the parking lot, and spun around to face Woody. Woody had a radio in his hand.

  “It’s five minutes out. I’m sorry, Noly.”

  Noly got on his cell and called Collins. He quickly told him what had happened, and asked for help in tracking the helicopter. Collins screamed at him for thirty seconds for not including him, but then put out a BOLO to all his patrols. The Be On the Lookout included Wagner, Finnegan, and the Bell 407.

  #

  Wagner punched a number into his cell phone, told the voice on the other end to find Mandy, and waited for her to pick up.

  “Mandy, meet me at the V-store in ten minutes,” Wagner yelled over the noise of the rotor blades. He put a finger to his ear so he could hear her. “I don’t give a shit, Mandy. Get over there.”

  The V-store is a retail front for a porno mail-order distribution business that Wagner ran. Located half-way between Vegas and Henderson, the store itself is less than six hundred square feet. Attached to it though is a two-story warehouse that is over sixty thousand square feet.

  After Wagner bought the place, he added a subterranean level--without benefit of any building permits--and a tunnel that connected to a utility road used by the Nevada Department of Transportation to service an underpass on the I-515 corridor.

  The Bell 407 landed in a parking lot for DOT employees, deserted now because it was Sunday. It was two blocks from the tunnel entrance; two blocks that they would have to walk. Finnegan held tight to Kacy as they made the trek to the underpass. Cars sped by overhead on the highway, less so on the surface street. There were no other pedestrians. Wagner was definitely no fool, selecting this site for its relative isolation. Even during a weekday, the DOT site was in constant flux, so a helicopter landing nearby might raise a few eyebrows, but it would just be an interesting side note to a harried workers day.

  Wagner, Finnegan, and Kacy entered a locked, corrugated metal building, which really was just a glorified tool shed. Wagner used a key. He moved swiftly to the rear of the shed, pushed a large, red tool cabinet to the side, and removed a lock holding a metal plate in place.

  They made their way down a metal ladder into the reinforced tunnel. It ran level for several hundred feet then sloped down at a sharp angle for the last thirty feet. Kacy followed obediently down the dimly lit corridor, but she began to wonder why. Shouldn’t she be fighting back? Shouldn’t she be making it more difficult for them? Noly wouldn’t give them such an easy time.

  Wagner intended to empty his safe, gather some personal papers, and get the hell out of Dodge. He had to get some place safe and think this through. He had planned to kill Noly at the warehouse, because it was the only way to save his world. He wouldn’t have let Sarah or Kacy live either. Of course, all that was moot now. How could this have deteriorated so much, so fast? It was a house of cards. And Finnegan had pulled out the bottom card when he killed Jennifer Thomas. Wagner needed to kill him soon. He was dangerous and out of control. He was obsessed with Kacy.

  They entered the basement through a metal door connecting the tunnel to the room. The basement had one set of stairs leading up to the first floor. Various pipes ran along the ceiling, some running down through the floor. A sink stood in one corner, a mop and bucket sitting off to the side, and boxes filled with shipping supplies--bubble wrap, tape, Styrofoam peanuts. Stack after stack of unassembled shipping boxes sat on the floor.

  Kacy glanced around the room. Maybe she could find a weapon--something, she wasn’t sure what. They weren’t paying attention to her; she was just one of the group now. She softly giggled to herself, not really sure why. It just seemed so preposterous to her. She was tagging along with a group of criminals, just hanging out.

  She wandered over to a small table that held packing tape, fast food wrappers, and an old Big Gulp soft drink. She pushed the drink aside so she could sit down. That’s when she saw the box cutter.

  “Keep her down here. I don’t want any of the warehouse crew to get any ideas, and I need to make a phone call or two,” Wagner said.

  The door to the upper floor opened and a man dressed in jeans and a t-shirt started down the steps. “Mr. Wagner, Mandy’s upstairs, in your office.”

  “Good. Rider, you stay down here with Finnegan. Keep an eye on the girl.” Wagner trotted up the stairs.

  “Um, sure thing, boss,” Rider said.

  Kacy slipped the box cutter into her back pocket and slid off the table. Finnegan and Rider were both near the stairs. She was close to the tunn
el door. She could open it and run back to the highway before they could react. She knew she was fast. Didn’t she always come in first or second in gym class when they did track?

  Kacy bolted for the door. She got it open and started running up the slope, stumbled, then got her footing. She was on level ground now and had just put it into overdrive when she felt herself falling. Someone had tackled her from behind. As she went down, she wondered how they had caught her so quickly. Her arms instinctively flew out in front of her face to block her fall. She didn’t struggle. What was the point?

  Finnegan flipped her over on her back as if he was flipping pancakes. His face was inches away from hers. “You don’t know how close you are to the end of your safe and predictable little world. I promised Wagner I’d leave you alone--for now.” He stroked her hair. Kacy closed her eyes and turned her face away.

  “Soon. When the time comes, I’m going to enjoy killing you.” Finnegan said.

  He marched her back into the basement and stood her against the wall near the stairs.

  “Don’t move from this spot,” Finnegan said. “Rider, watch her. I’m going to check on Wagner.”

  Finnegan started up the stairs. When he reached the top, he looked back down at Kacy. His hand was on the knob ready to turn it when he heard several voices on the other side of the door discussing the bondage video that had just come in.

  “Help!” Kacy screamed.