by Matt Lincoln
Yeah, actually, Rosa signed as we reached a red light. That makes perfect sense to me. Everything he’s laid out is completely viable, and I think Xavier is right about it. We can’t be the only ones wanting to expose the Judge and stop her Task Force from working both sides of the drug cartels. I have to believe that if she gave you that notebook, then she wanted you to do something about it. Otherwise, what’s the point?
I thought about this all the rest of the drive, and I knew that I was either going to have to trust Detective Musik and accept that she was on our side, or I’d have to discount everything she’d done for me. That included suspecting me of the deaths of the three thugs that tried to kill me in the alley, seeing me with a weapon that was a possible match to those deaths, and also letting me go at the lab and covering for me. She also hadn’t pursued Caris’s death and my involvement in it. The evidence was clear, and I only had to acknowledge it. Detective Cecily Musik as an ally, and we could use as many of those as we could get.
“Xavier?” I called out. “Would you mind calling up George and just letting him know that we might be needing his services tonight? Hopefully, nothing goes too terribly off the rails, but I’d just like to be prepared if we could.” It was then that I decided to ask the dreaded question about our absent team member. “And on that note, any word from Doc, anyone?” I knew that I hadn’t gotten anything from him.
Rosa immediately squirmed in the passenger seat, and Xavier and I both saw it. She’d been caught, and she knew it. So, reluctantly, she signed at us at our final red light. I don’t know what this means, but he did ask me to look into schools here in Miami, private ones that offered boarding. And then he indicated that he’d need to find a place near one of them. But I swear, that’s all he said. I asked a lot of questions, but he hasn’t told me any more since. She looked guilty at me, in particular. However, he didn’t want me to bother you with this. That’s why he’s been avoiding texting you, or emailing you, or calling you. He didn’t want to burden you, Header. He said that he knew you had a lot going on.
That was about all that I could take. I just shook my head as I pulled into the condo parking lot. “I’m sorry that I asked. We’re tabling this until after the dock business. You all got it? And then, we’re handling this one way or another. But right now, we need mission focus. One hundred percent. Understood?” I got two nods, and that was good enough for me. “Okay then, let’s do this.”
31
Jake
Xavier was holding the red notebook in his hands, almost like it was a holy relic of some sort, and if he just believed enough, the information he wanted so badly would appear to him on the pages. I didn’t tease him about it, though, as I probably would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes.
He was reading notes, flipping back and forth through the pages at a frantic rate as I drove, and Rosa and LaShawn sat in the back seat of my Mercedes. Between the four of us, we had loaded up the trunk area and anywhere that we could find space with weapons, medical gear, ammo, and other random bits and pieces of equipment and clothing. The dress code that I’d informally suggested was dark pants, dark long sleeve tops, and caps, masks, head coverings, or whatever to keep us covert and protected.
The only thing I couldn’t provide for or plan extensively for was the possible chemical exposure we all might face. While George had not mentioned any exposure concerns for skin contact or anything like that with this drug, there was no telling what other substances there might be.
So, we’d packed up what could for burns, allergic reactions, and various other things for the regular gunshot wounds, cuts, breaks, and scrapes we were bound to receive. I wanted to be optimistic but pragmatic. I think I accomplished that with Rosa’s guidance.
Xavier was still checking his facts and figures as he finally spoke up about where to go once we hit the docks. “This seems a little on the nose, but I say that we scout the warehouse districts first. There are two locations here that are mentioned and haven’t been crossed out or marked off.”
“Sounds good to me.” Sometimes things were obvious for a reason, I speculated.
“Hey, Xavier, which part of the district? South or East of the avenues?” LaShawn asked from his position in the back seat. “Because if it's East, you can forget about that one. There’s nothing there now but workshops and expensive manufacturers. If they were trying to hide a chemical lab in a place like that, the retail mobs would sniff it out and skin them alive. If you want sneaky and confidential, try the South address first.”
I didn’t even bother checking with Xavier. I respected a man that knew his city, so I followed LaShawn’s advice on this one. It was dark, and traffic was all pretty much going the opposite way of us when I cruised us down into the narrow and less maintained lanes of the docks. The buildings rose high, straight, and imposing on either side of us. It was not helping the nerves.
There were security motion sensor lights and cameras on nearly every door, and most of those were grated with metal bars and screens, padlocked, and chained. There wasn’t much life out here. I drove slowly as our four pairs of eyes scanned everything that we could. For a city that was full of nighttime life and activities as Miami was known for, this was eerie to be a part of.
We had the windows all rolled down, listening for something to tip us off as to movement or human interaction with the surroundings. I could smell the damp brick, wood, and plaster of the warehouses, some in certain states of decay and all with a touch of mold, sea salt, and gasoline or petroleum about them.
The walls and structures were not cared for and had been used for decades without attention to the outsides. The paint was stripped away, and windows were grimy and covered in years’ worth of cobwebs and dust. I thought that they looked abandoned, and that we were wasting our time, but then every once in a while, one place would stand out.
There’d be a well-lit path around the perimeter or coming from the windows inside. A vehicle would be parked down an alleyway, right next to a side door for easy access into the building. Those are the ones I slowed way down for so that we could all get a better look.
Xavier would always check his notebook and usually say something to dismiss it. However, I drove us to a particular area that had several used and active buildings open tonight. Rosa tapped Xavier and me on the shoulders to get our attention.
Xavier turned to translate, as I was driving, though very sluggishly. “She says that we might want to stop, pull off, and do some footwork around here. There’s a lot more activity than we’ve seen previously, and if nothing else, we might smell or hear something.”
“Not a bad idea, Rosa.” I maneuvered the Mercedes to a very small and heavily potholed parking lot.
Once I parked and turned off the automobile, we all got out and scouted for getting any undue notice or attention in the area. I spoke barely above a whisper from that point on. “We should pair up and cover one building at a time. LaShawn, I want you with me. Rosa? You and Xavier want the left or the right of the street?”
She gestured to the left, so we took the right. I double-checked the Ruger at my back-waistband and shifted the shoulder gear to make it more comfortable. I had a knife, lots of extra ammo, some quick seal bandages, and whatever else I could stuff in the pouches before it became cumbersome. LaShawn had come prepared with his own kit and gear, most of it tied and strapped above his biceps and thighs. He already had his Springfield Armory XD-M ready to go. I grinned at that. He wasn’t taking any chances tonight.
I took point as he covered my advancing on the first building. I wanted to avoid all lights and cameras, so I took my time scanning the path and walkways before moving forward. This one wasn’t so bad. They didn’t have a high level of security for us to be mindful of.
As we got closer, though, I could smell a pungent, vinegary aroma that made my eyes water. I passed a mailbox set deep into the brick wall and read the address for organic cleaning products and supplies. It could have been a cover, as they wouldn’t
be advertising designer drugs out in the open.
The windows on the ground floor were steamed from the inside which made it hard to see more. There was an overhead light over the door which was probably locked, anyway. I slunk along in the shadows, still looking for a clear view of the inside of the building, just to rule it out.
We went from building to building, covering a few blocks while still trying to keep a line of sight with Rosa and Xavier in case either pair found a lead. The night was not a bright one, with some cloud cover rolling in. I could smell the threat of a storm coming in from the water, but it was miles out for now.
I heard a thud over to my left, and I happened to glance at where Rosa and Xavier were supposed to be. I saw her in the middle of a struggle with another woman, both of them trying to gain the upper advantage in the hand-to-hand contest. I rushed forward, drawing my weapon, when I heard a gun go off and saw Xavier stumbling out of the shadows from the hidden side of the building they had been inspecting.
Knowing that any element of surprise was gone now, I called out to him.
“Xavier? Are you alright?” My eyes scanned over his body, paying close attention to the chest for any signs of blood or another kind of wound. I didn’t see any in this low-light, and he was wearing dark clothing to make identifying injuries hard.
I rushed forward to him. Rosa ended her fight with a punch to the woman’s face. Her hand went to her own side, but I couldn’t tell for what reason just yet. LaShawn had moved to cover her from the rear and protect her back. My focus was entirely on Xavier, who was bracing himself against the side of the building.
“Where are you hit?” I questioned as I made my way up to him and checked behind his position. I didn’t see anyone or anything coming our way. So, I stopped to look him over.
Xavier was shaking, but he was able to communicate with me. “Back at the door. I shot a guy. Then I heard a bunch of people, so I came back to find you all. I think that this is the place.” That was probably not meant to be a funny comment, but it struck me as kind of amusing, considering.
I raised my Ruger and eased myself down against the wall, using the shadows for cover. “Stay here. I’ll check it out.”
I glanced back to see Rosa and LaShawn taking the body of the woman she’d beaten and moving it to an area a few buildings away. Xavier was still backed up against the building wall and trying to gather his nerves or thoughts.
I left him and slowly moved toward what I could see was an open door a few feet down from me. Dull light filtered outside and disappeared everywhere except on the pavement. I saw blood pooling around a man lying on the pavement, half concealed in the dark parts of this alleyway. This was the guy Xavier had gotten. I stopped to listen, to smell, to find anything to let me know what was coming or what was still inside. My stress at the unknown was rising, and my thoughts strayed continuously to my team. Already, this was becoming dangerous for us all.
Behind me, though, I heard more contact and a blinding flash of light that was going to get a lot of attention. I turned to see my team and LaShawn all covering their eyes, turning from the epicenter of where I assumed the flash had come from. My eyes caught a small mound about the size of a golf ball laying on the asphalt, and it started to flash in a strobing fashion.
I turned quickly, but it was going to take a moment or two to let my eyes readjust. That’s when I heard some grunts behind me. I had a pretty good feeling about what that would mean and be leading to. I knew I had my weapon ready for whatever I was going to find when I turned around.
But before that could happen, the open door on the side of the building that I’d been working toward filled with a couple of dark shadows. My vision was still a little compromised by the strobed effect behind me from when I’d been looking directly at it. But I knew now that there were multiple targets in the field surrounding us, so I had to act fast.
I steadied my aim, blinking a few times to make sure that my eyes were reading the targets correctly. In those few seconds of time, I heard a gunshot ahead of me. I didn’t feel anything hitting me, so I considered myself quite lucky. I took my shot and heard a female voice cry out. Through my slowly returning normal line of vision, I saw the woman fall away to my right, and her larger companion come charging at me.
We crashed into one another, but I had braced myself and was prepared to roll to the side. Once full contact was made, he smashed into my left side, and I forced myself around toward his back. I then punched him in the lower spine as hard as I could.
The guy flailed and fell to one knee. I then bashed my weapon into the back of his skull to knock him out and get one more target out of the attack. I heard another gunshot behind me, so turning, I saw the woman I’d first fired at down on the pavement but aiming at me still. I moved quickly on her, using the Ruger to deal the damage I needed across her jaw to take her out as well.
I grabbed their guns and stashed them into my waistband after clearing the chambers and enacting the safeties. I headed back to the front of the building to see how LaShawn and the team were doing. I found Xavier on his right knee with a bleeding arm. Rosa was not holding onto her side anymore, but I could see that she’d been doing her best work against four armed people. All of them were on the ground, in various states of unconsciousness.
Only one of them was moving, a guy holding his leg up to his chest and crying in pain. Of the other three, one was sprawled out on her back, one was slumped up against the wall of the building, and the last was groaning as he lay crumpled in a heap at LaShawn’s feet. I smiled seeing this, feeling good about our chances of ending this mission tonight. “Not bad. Everyone okay except for Xavier there?” I nodded my head at him.
“I’m okay. I just got the wind knocked out of me, is all. Rosa,” Xavier gestured with his hurt arm toward her. It was apparent that it was far more than that, but I let him have his say. “Would you mind helping me, please?” She walked over and knelt beside him, quickly wiping away the blood just enough to apply a bandage wrap on his lower arm, under the elbow.
“LaShawn? How are you holding up over there?” From where I was, I couldn’t see anything amiss on his dark clothing, but that was to be expected. He shook his head at me and breathed a few times deeply.
“I’m good. Just been a while since I’d done anything like that.” Once his breathing returned to a calm pace, I nodded and addressed them.
“There’s an open door where I was. I say that we head in from there and see what we can find. Agreed?” I scanned each face to see their accord in the matter. “We’ve obviously lost the element of surprise, so let’s just go and get it done.” I nodded back over to LaShawn briefly. “You want to call your lady-friend detective? Or do you want to leave her out of this one tonight?” I wasn’t sure which one I’d prefer at this point.
“There may have been a call put in at some time. Maybe.” His tone was coy, and LaShawn was smirking at me. I only nodded my head and returned the gesture. I motioned back behind me from where I’d come, and together, with an injured Xavier, we four hid in the shadows until we reached the still-open door.
32
Jake
I led the team up to the open doorway, hoping to take as much of the danger of being shot off of the team. I peered in and did a quick scan inside once I saw no more shadows or bodies heading our way. Inside the dimly lit room, I could see a partitioned off area, with no idea what was behind it. I didn’t like that much of the unknown.
To the left of that, I saw a few delivery vans parked in front of the closed garage roll-up doors. They were not running, and the back doors on the vans were closed. I hadn’t seen any targets or other kinds of movement within my line of sight. I pulled myself back rapidly, took a breath, and then took another quick scan, this time to the right of the partitions.
Now I could see a set of stairs leading to the second and probably the third floors. The staircase was wooden and sturdy, but from where I was, it didn’t look like it got much use. Now I wished that I’d pa
id more attention to the higher floors when I’d been outside of this building.
I couldn’t recall if I’d seen any light from them or not. It was too hazardous to stop and ask the team now, or to step back and look, risking exposure to check above me. Nope, I was just going to have to worry about that when it came to it.
Other than that, the space looked open and empty. I didn’t see any crates or workspaces, nothing to imply that people were using the area for a low-density drug manufacturing location. I got a sudden twitch of fear that this wasn’t the place, after all. Maybe these guard types had been here to protect something else entirely. I knew that there was only one way to find out. We had to go in and see for ourselves.
I looked back at LaShawn and my team to simple sign, point, and mouth to them my plan to go in and look for actual evidence. Xavier was closest to LaShawn, so he leaned in and up to whisper this to him.
Rosa carefully mouthed back. ‘Who do you want to follow you?’
No one right now, I replied. I need you to cover us. There’s a pair of garage doors and the front door we already know about. There might be another exit that we don’t see yet. Just be aware. She nodded and scanned around before I tried to enter the building.
I listened closely one more time before I stepped forward and into the room. I needed to know what was behind those partitions. I had to make sure that we had the correct spot that the Yabut were using for their designer drug lab. Once I was positive that this was the place, I was prepared to take the whole place down and everyone involved with it.
The smooth cement floors were swept clean, I noticed. Someone required that this place stay neat. That was a good sign that this really was the place we had been looking for. The deeper in I got, the more I could smell something foreign and mildly pharmaceutically inclined, like the sterile scent of a hospital or a doctor’s office without the heavy air fresheners or cleaning products. It was hard to explain, but I knew that this was worth further exploring.