by David Archer
“You think it’s Garrett?” Pete asked.
“Has to be,” Chance said. “Somehow, I must have given myself away when I went to see him this morning.” He showed Pete the note. “Whoever wrote this obviously expects me to be able to figure out who it was, so there’s nobody else it could be.”
“And I think you’re right,” Pete said. “We intercepted a text message he sent to that same number, saying that he knew you had gone to Johnson’s office the other day looking for him. He was speculating that you might be working with Johnson, but he never got a reply.”
Chance nodded. “It makes sense, then,” he said. “If he thinks I'm in with Johnson, then he figures I would have some idea of where the witnesses are hidden. He obviously thinks this is the way to get me to give up that information.”
“All right, I'm with you,” Pete said. “How do you want to handle it?”
“I’ll call him and tell him I agree,” Chance said. “I’ll tell him I have the location and act like I don’t care about the witnesses, but I won’t give it to him until I have the boys back safe and sound. We set up a meeting, and once I have the boys back, then I am going to kill the bastard. After that, we can go after whoever else was involved.”
Pete glanced at Gabriella, but she didn’t flinch. She returned his gaze evenly for a second, then looked at Chance. “If they’ve hurt the boys...”
“They won’t,” he said, “not till they get what they want. And I'm not going to let them ever have the opportunity to bother us again. You know me, babe; I won’t let them get away with this.”
“I know,” she said solemnly. “Just kill them all.”
“And God can sort them out afterwards,” Josie said. When Gabriella raised her eyebrows, Josie winked. “I know Chance,” she said. “He’s not going to let anything happen to those kids.”
Chance's phone rang suddenly, and he answered it to hear a recording from the jail.
“This call is from,” said the recorded voice, and then he heard Christina's voice giving her name before it went on, “an inmate at the county jail. To accept this call, dial five. To block all future calls from this inmate, dial nine.”
“It’s Christina, calling from the jail,” he said. He punched the appropriate button, and heard Christina crying. “Christina, it's Chance,” he said, setting the phone to speaker so the others could hear. “Pete is here with me, too.”
“Chance? Chance, I'm sorry to bother you, but I just had more visitors. A couple of guys from the Marshals’ office were just here, and they were asking me about something Darrell had. Some little computer gizmo.”
Chance looked at Pete, who rolled his eyes. “What did you tell them?” Pete asked.
“I told them I didn’t know what they were talking about,” she said. “Darrell has a computer, but he takes it with him whenever he travels. I have no idea where it could be.”
“That’s good, then,” Pete said. “Don’t worry, we know how to handle this. Did they happen to ask any questions about us?”
“Well, they wanted to know why I hired private investigators. I told them Darrell was acting weird, and I wanted to find out if he was having an affair.”
“Okay. Like I said, we know how to handle this from here on out. You just relax and take it easy, and maybe this will be over pretty quickly.”
“I hope so,” he said. “I just thought I should let you know.”
Pete and Chance both assured her that she had done the right thing, and then Chance ended the call.
“Well?” Chance asked. “They seem to be stepping up their game.”
“Then it’s time we step up our own. Call Garrett, set up the meeting.”
Chance nodded and googled the number of the Marshals’ office, then dialed it instantly.
“I’d like to speak to Mr. Garrett, please,” he said a moment later. “This is Chance Reddick.” He looked at Gabriella in the eye as he spoke, and then seemed to be waiting for a few seconds. A moment later, he said, “I got your message, asshole. Let’s do this.”
“Mr. Reddick? I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you are talking about. Perhaps I could call you back in a little while, and maybe we can sort it out together?”
“Yeah, you do that,” Chance said. “And do it soon.” He cut off the call and set the phone down on the table.
“He’s playing innocent at the moment,” he said, “but that’s because we were on his official line, which is probably monitored. He said he’ll call back, so all we can do is wait.”
“Aw, geez,” Pete said, “if there’s one thing I hate more than anything, it’s waiting.”
“I don’t think we’ll have to wait very long. He claimed not to know what I was talking about, but he was too calm. He knew, all right.”
“What are we waiting for?” They all looked around to see Grandma coming into the kitchen. “Holy cow, looks like somebody had a party and forgot to invite me.”
Gabriella got up and walked to the old woman, put an arm around her and guided her to a chair at the table. “Grandma,” she said, “something’s happened. The—the people Chance and Pete are dealing with, they’ve taken my boys.”
The old woman looked confused for a second. “Taken them? Taken them where?”
“We don’t know yet, Grandma,” Chance said. “They’ve taken the boys to try to make me do something I can’t do.”
Grandma looked at him for a moment, then her face hardened. “Then the Angel of Justice will deal with them. Won’t he, Chance?”
“He will, Grandma.”
Gabriella looked from Chance to his grandmother and then back again. “Am I missing something?” she asked.
Chance looked at her and smiled. “Grandma is a firm believer in the Angels,” he said. “Especially the Angel of Justice.”
Chapter 18
They didn’t have to wait long. Chance’s phone rang again fifteen minutes later, and he answered it instantly.
“Chance Reddick,” he said.
“And I'm quite sure you know who this is,” said Garrett’s voice. “That was pretty slick, you coming to see me. Didn’t work, though, it seems a couple of my people had already spotted you watching Mr. Johnson. One of them tried to scare you off a couple days ago. Maybe you should’ve been smart enough to take the warning.”
“I don’t scare easily,” Chance said. “Let’s get down to business, shall we? I want my boys back, and I have something you want. Let’s work out the details of the trade.”
“That’s easy,” Garrett said. “You tell me where they are, and I tell you where to find your sons.”
“Oh, come on, did I really look that stupid?” Chance asked. “You bring the boys and meet me, and once they are safely away with my partner, I will give you the location you want. If I tell you where to find them now, I’ll probably never see the boys again. We’ll do this my way, or we will be doing it with the FBI involved. As long as I get my boys back, I could care less what happens to a bunch of criminals who turned on their bosses.”
“See? You got the right attitude. Under other circumstances, you could probably be useful to me. Okay, I can go along with that. Meet me at Centennial Hills Park in an hour, by the tube slides. You should probably be aware that I will have people watching my back, and they are extremely talented with a long rifle. I see any sign of the FBI or any other police, and something bad will happen to those boys, and to you and any backup you bring. I'm sure you understand, this is just business for me.”
“Well, now you made it my business. Like I said, all I want is my kids. My partner and I will come out there alone. You let him take the boys and leave, and as soon as he calls to tell me they are safely away, I will give you what you want. You try anything else, you will be the first one I shoot.”
“That’s fine,” Garrett said. “Just remember that if you shoot me, you won’t leave there alive.”
The line went dead and Chance dropped the phone into his pocket. “Let’s go,” he said to Pete.
�
��Hold the phone,” Pete said. “The way you just set this up, you might not come back all in one piece. I don’t like that idea, Chance. Let’s make a slight change to this plan. He’s expecting you to give him a location, right? So you give him one. What’s the address of that house where you found Johnson?”
“I don’t know the address, but Darrell does. Let me go and get him.” He got up and walked out the back door, jumped over the fence once again and returned five minutes later with Darrell Johnson following. “It’s 1400 Wild Turkey Lane. What have you got in mind?”
“A way to set them up,” Pete said. “If we could give them that address, let them go there expecting to find the witnesses… It would help a lot if we had any allies in law enforcement we could trust, but I wouldn’t know who to try. The kind of money these people are getting for the names on that list, it can corrupt just about anyone.”
Chance looked at him suddenly, then motioned for Pete to step away where they could talk privately. “Wait,” he said. “We know one person who might be straight enough to help us with this.”
Pete lowered his eyebrows and looked at him. “Who—oh, no, you’re not thinking of...”
“Special Agent Roberts,” Chance said. “She’s so uptight I don’t think she could be bribed.”
“Chance, think about what you’re saying.” Pete flicked his eyes toward Gabriella. “You know she’s got you in her sights. You’re talking about taking these people out Raguel style, and she would absolutely love to be around if that happened. That would give her everything she needs to put you away for life.”
“Actually, what better alibi could I have? If we bring her in on it, let her know exactly what’s really going on, she could handle setting up a trap.”
“Yeah, but Garrett won’t be stupid enough to go there himself. We still need to bring him down, somehow, and find out who’s the woman behind him. Even if she went along with this, if she ends up arresting the people he sends to that house, he’s just going to up and disappear on us.”
“Not until he gets what he wants,” Chance said. “He’ll want to get to me as badly as I want to get to him. Trust me, Pete, I’ve got this figured out. It’s gonna work, but we need to get moving. I can call her on the way and fill her in.”
“Now, hold on,” Pete said. “If you’re determined to do this, then we need to get that flash drive to her. I’ll take Josie to the office, and she can talk to Roberts. We’ll drop her off there, then you and I will head on toward the park. Okay?”
“Okay,” Chance said. “Let’s do it.”
Chance pulled Gabriella into a hug and explained that he was going to get the boys while Pete started pushing Josie’s wheelchair out to the car.
“Hey,” Johnson said. “What about me? How can I help with all this?”
“You get your ass back across that fence,” Pete said, “and do whatever you can to protect those people. If this goes south on us, you are going to have to find some way to handle it on your own.”
Johnson looked like he was going to protest, but then he just nodded. He went out the back door quickly as Chance promised his wife and his grandmother that he’d have the boys back safely in a short time and then hurried out to follow his partner.
They pushed the speed limits a bit, Pete’s Crown Victoria leading the way for Chance’s Charger as they made their way across town to the office. As soon as they pulled up, Chance grabbed the wheelchair out of the trunk and Pete set Josie in it. They hurried her inside and Chance picked up Agent Roberts’ business card from the desk and dialed her number.
“Agent Roberts? This is Chance Reddick. I need your help.”
“Now, I will admit that I never expected to hear you say those words,” she said with a chuckle. “What’s going on, Reddick?”
“You heard about Darrell Johnson’s murder last night?”
“Yes, of course,” she said. “What’s that got to do with you?”
“It’s a very long story and I have to give you the short version,” Chance said, “but Johnson was going out of his way to protect people in the witness protection program, people who are being sold out by Chuck Garrett and others in the U.S. Marshals’ office. His wife thought he was acting strangely and came to us, and she brought us a USB drive that she found in his travel bag. On that drive is a list of many of the people in the witness protection program. Some of them were reportedly murdered just recently, but the truth is that Johnson has been faking their deaths and hiding them away. I ran into him yesterday and he asked us to help, so we took steps to help him hide the witnesses. Unfortunately, Garrett figured out that we were working with him and has had my sons kidnapped. I'm on my way to get them back, now, but he’s expecting me to give up the address of where the witnesses are hiding. I'm going to give him another address, and you need to get your people there quickly so that you can take them into custody when they show up.”
“Wait a minute,” Roberts said. “Are you for real?”
“You know where our office is,” Chance said. “Our receptionist is waiting for you there, with that flash drive. She’ll show you what’s on it, but you need to move on this quickly. The address I’m sending them to is 1400 Wild Turkey Lane, it’s an empty house. And remember, these guys won’t be coming in nice. They’re showing up expecting to murder some witnesses, so your people need to be ready.”
“I'm on the way to your office now,” Roberts said. “I’ll talk to you when I get there…”
“Talk to Josie, I’ll be gone. I'm going to get my sons back, and I promise to do my best not to kill anyone.” He ended the call and dropped the phone into his pocket, then looked at Pete. “Come on, let’s go.”
“Be careful, guys,” Josie called as they headed out the door. They got into their cars and pulled away, making their way towards Centennial Park.
Making their way north across the city took a little time, but they arrived with fifteen minutes to spare. They parked in the lot and made their way toward the playground, where the tube slides would be, and Chance spotted Garrett sitting on a bench not far away from them. He and Pete approached the man cautiously, keeping their hands away from their pockets and guns.
“Well, I see you found me,” Garrett said. “Remember what I said about backup, gentlemen. I’d really hate to have to kill anybody today.”
“We’re alone,” Chance said. “Where are my sons?”
Garrett pointed toward the slides. “They’re playing. Just so you know, they think you arranged this little holiday for them. At no time were they aware that there was anything wrong, or that they might have been in any kind of danger. They think I'm a buddy of yours who was able to pull strings with the police and get them a day out of school.”
Chance looked, and both boys suddenly popped out of the two slides. They spotted him and came running, and he put a big smile on his face.
“Chance,” Tom said. “This is cool! How did you manage to set this up for us?”
“Oh, you know,” he said with a shrug. “It pays to know people.”
“I’ll say,” Andy said. “The cop that picked us up took us out for ice cream, and then Mr. Jones bought us a pizza when we were coming here. Wasn’t that cool?”
“Sure was,” Chance said. “Listen, I need to talk to Mr. Jones for a few minutes. Pete’s going to take you guys home, and I will be there in a little while.”
“Aw, do we have to leave now? We were having fun.”
“Yep. Sorry, guys, but Mom wants you at home. I don’t think she was too happy about me arranging this. Go on, now, go with Pete, and he’ll take you home. Tell Mommy I will be there in a little while.”
The boys groused a little bit more, but then followed Pete back toward his car. Chance sat on the bench beside Garrett and watched them go.
“I'm glad you are being reasonable about this,” Garrett said. “Frankly, I suspected you would be. Those are some fine boys you got there.”
“And you are still alive only because they weren’t hurt,” Chance sa
id. He turned and looked Garrett in the eye. “As soon as Pete calls to tell me they are safely out of here and not being followed, I’ll hold up my end of the bargain. Until then, you and I can sit here and enjoy the scenery.”
“I have no problem with that. I come here sometimes, when I just need a quiet place to sit and think. I find that it’s always easier to think when I'm out by myself.” He turned himself so he was facing Chance. “So, how did you end up involved in this mess? I know you said you were hired by the wife, but somewhere along the line Johnson recruited you, didn’t he?”
“Yesterday,” Chance said. “Remember I told you he pulled a gun on me? That was the truth, but when he found out who I was and why I was there, he decided to confide in me. Now, I can’t say I really have a problem with what he was trying to do, but the way I see it, most of the people who go into the witness protection program—well, they’re probably just as dirty as the people they’re testifying against. I was willing to help him out, but my boys are a lot more important to me than those people.”
“That’s being smart,” Garrett said. “A man has to know how to get his priorities straight, and family has to come first. I have always said that.”
“Yeah,” Chance said. “Me, too.”
The two of them sat quietly for a few minutes, and then Chance’s phone rang. He took it out and looked at the display, saw that it was Pete calling, and put it to his ear. “Hello?”
“Okay, buddy,” Pete said. “We’re a couple of miles away, and there’s no sign of a tail. That what you wanted to hear?”
“That’s good enough. Take the kids home, and I will talk to you later.” He ended the call and put the phone into his pocket, then turned to Garrett. “Pete says everything is cool,” he said. “Am I going to have to wonder whether you and your people are coming back after us later?”
“No,” Garrett said. “Not unless the information you give me turns out to be false.”
“It’s good. Johnson had a house, one that some real estate agent friend of his let him use. That’s where he was keeping the people he rounded up, and it’s how I found him. He told me you were the one behind all this, but that he couldn’t trust anyone else because he knows there were more people working with you.”