by Ty Patterson
There was a long line of commercial establishments next to the joint. A deli, a 99-cent mart, a saloon, several others. Hidalgo had done up the front of the bar to distinguish it from the otherwise drab-looking stores on the street.
A red carpet extended from its entrance. Suited heavies and doormen to greet patrons. Large, darkened windows, the muted sound of throbbing music.
Meghan drove to the rear street, which was quieter. A restaurant that didn’t look like it saw much traffic. Lines of cars parked on both sides as far as the eye could see, and residences.
The rear of the bar was cut away from the street, a small backyard leading to yet another set of dark windows. The sidewalk and the yard were separated by a waist-level concrete wall. The back side had a delivery entrance, which, too, was busy.
She found parking in front of an empty house, and the sisters headed back to the Blue River.
They showed NYPD IDs that the commissioner had provided, and on entering the establishment realized why it was popular. There was live jazz, and a wall-mounted program promised well-known local acts later.
They went to the bar and ordered drinks while they checked out the crowd. A mix of college kids and office workers, a few families. Well-spaced tables, and the menu boasted several choices.
‘Hidalgo owns it?’ Meghan sipped her drink and gave a cold stare to the man who smiled at her.
‘Nope. An entertainment company does.’ Beth sent a message to Mark and pocketed her phone. ‘You should date, you know. It’s good to have someone in your life.’
‘I date,’ Meghan objected.
‘Yeah,’ her sister sniffed. ‘You give casual a new definition. You should —’
‘We aren’t here to discuss my love life. Zeb?’
Beth showed her cell to Meghan, a green dot centered in the map of the Bronx. ‘He’s in position.’
All of them had GPS tags in their clothing and shoes. Werner tracked those and alerted them of any unusual activity.
‘He’s got a cell?’
‘Disposable. He’ll let us know when he needs to.’
‘How many entrances?’ Meghan pointed her drink in the general direction of the tables. Another man down the bar took that as an invitation and started moving towards them. Her glacial look stopped him and he turned away, flushing.
‘Three. The main one through which we entered.’ Beth sniggered at the byplay. ‘A VIP one at the side, and the one for deliveries at the rear.’
Meghan checked out the bar again. A hallway to the right of the bar led to the restrooms; however, there was another passage to the right.
They finished their drinks and drifted to that hallway. They turned a corner and entered a large games room. A pool table, giant screens showing various sporting events, another bar, men and women lounging on couches.
Beth pointed to a discreet corridor off the end of the room. Several doors opened on to it; outside one stood a heavy.
‘Jackpot,’ Beth whispered. ‘I think.’
The man stiffened when they approached him.
‘NYPD,’ Meghan said authoritatively, flashing her credentials.
‘You’ll have to wait,’ the heavy growled.
‘The NYPD waits for no one.’ She shouldered past him and barged through the door.
She and Beth spread out on entering the room, taking in the scene swiftly.
Six men at a table, half-full glasses next to them. Cigar smoke in the air. A thick-set man, Hidalgo, his laugh dying at their entrance.
Meghan smiled, grabbed a chair and squeezed between two men, opposite the fence, and sat down.
‘We’d like to play, too.’
Chapter Eighteen
There was a split-second of silence, and then the room exploded. Several men rose, their chairs falling behind them. The heavy rushed inside the room.
Hidalgo didn’t react. He had a thin smile, a light in his eyes. He waited till his men were done shouting.
‘I don’t think they’re here to kill us.’ He dismissed the bodyguard and nodded at his men. They looked uncertainly at him and filed out of the room when he raised his eyebrows.
‘I wasn’t expecting you,’ he said, puffing on his cigar, a man confident in his environment.
‘Obviously,’ Meghan drawled. ‘Why were you having us followed?’
‘I wasn’t —’
‘Hidalgo,’ she said wearily, ‘you don’t look like a stupid man. You are the largest fence in the Bronx, the fourth or fifth largest in the city, depending on who’s counting. The cops have tried to arrest you several times, but they have never been able to gather evidence. So, you are smart. Apply those smarts. If we’re here, we know you were behind it.’
Hidalgo puffed. Sipped deep from his glass and sighed. ‘Maker’s Mark, best American bourbon. Tried it?’
‘We don’t drink whiskey.’
‘It was just business. Those men weren’t supposed to hurt you.’
‘They didn’t. What kind of business?’
‘I can’t tell you. You know how it is. But I can tell you this: I wasn’t directly involved.’
What does that mean? Meghan considered his words, thinking of their implications.
‘Someone else asked you to?’ she guessed.
‘Ah, you’re smart, too,’ Hidalgo nodded approvingly.
‘Who?’
The fence spread his hands. ‘Can’t tell you.’
‘Felix, you’re just a petty criminal,’ she said insolently. ‘Don’t hold yourself up to high standards. Why don’t you save yourself a heap of trouble?’
‘Criminal?’ Hidalgo laughed. ‘I run a distribution business. The cops have checked it, several times, and found it satisfactory.’
Meghan couldn’t help smiling at his chutzpah. I think I could like this dude. Shame he’s a fence.
‘We aren’t the cops, however.’ Beth walked over to the bar in the far corner and inspected the bottles. She poured wine into two glasses and handed one to her sister. ‘I’m sure you checked us out before you called Fairchild. We aren’t ordinary security consultants.’
‘You have a good reputation,’ Hidalgo admitted, amused at the way they helped themselves.
‘We can do things that the law can’t. Like disrupt your distribution business.’
‘That’s a threat?’
‘Yeah.’
‘I don’t like threats.’
‘We don’t like people who have us followed.’
‘What’s in it for me?’
‘You have a warehouse on the East River. That’s one of your largest ones, right?’
Werner had confirmed the links to the warehouse and the fence. In addition, it had identified three others, in different parts of the city.
Hidalgo blinked, the cigar forgotten. ‘How do you know that?’
‘It’s our job to know. In half an hour, it’ll blow up. The fire services will find that it was arson. But the cops won’t investigate too hard. After all, you’re a criminal. They’ll figure you had it coming.’
The fence yelled at his men, who came bursting into the room. He fired instructions at them in Spanish and, when they had left, took a larger puff.
‘You shouldn’t have done that.’ Beth brought out her cell. She touched the screen, turned it around so Hidalgo could see it and showed him a countdown clock. ‘I’ll blow it up right now.’
‘You’re bluffing,’ the criminal blustered.
‘Why don’t we find out?’ her thumb hovered over her phone.
‘Wait!’ Another yell, at which his men entered again. Another round of instructions that didn’t register on them. ‘Call them off, you fools,’ Hidalgo shrieked.
His heavies left the room to follow his commands.
‘Tomorrow, the warehouse in Queens will go up. The day after —’
‘I’ll kill you,’ Hidalgo threatened.
‘Possible,’ Beth acknowledged, ‘but there are two things you need to consider.’ A finger shot out from her palm. ‘One, we aren’
t that easy to kill. Many people have tried, and while we’re still around, they aren’t.’ Another finger extended. ‘If you do manage, you’ll have to deal with our partners.’
‘Partners?’
‘You must have seen the names on our firm’s website. Our partners. I’m recording this call. It’s getting stored in our servers. Our friends know where we are, who we are with, and what we’re talking about. Believe me, you don’t want to deal with them.’
Hidalgo emptied his glass and wiped his lips. His eyes turned calculating, his face returning to its normal color.
‘His name is Nikolai.’
‘Who is he? Nikolai what?’
‘Just Nikolai. I used to move stuff for him five years back.’
‘What kind of stuff?’
‘Turn off that counter,’ he demanded.
She obliged.
‘Stop recording.’
She killed it.
‘Your cell?’ he asked Meghan.
‘It’s turned off,’ she replied and showed it to him. ‘This is Beth’s show.’
‘Weapons,’ Hidalgo said when he was satisfied. ‘I used to move military assault rifles for him. He imported them, I stored them in my warehouses and shipped them to wherever he needed them.’
‘Why did he come to you?’ Meghan took over the questioning.
‘I have a reputation … in some circles. I run the best network in the country.’
‘You’re nationwide?’
‘Yes,’ Hidalgo boasted. ‘The cops don’t know that. It won’t do them any good even if you tell them.’
‘Tell us about Nikolai.’
‘There’s nothing much to tell. I met him only once. Dark night. Rain. We met at my warehouse. He was wearing a coat and a hat. Never saw his face properly. It was white, pale. That much I know.’
‘How did you know it was him?’
He looked at her pityingly. ‘We have protocols. Pass phrases. Certain things to be done and said before a meeting. He cleared all that. Plus, he brought the money.’
‘Why did he stop working with you?’
Hidalgo raised his hands helplessly. ‘I don’t know. I don’t ask my clients why.’
‘How did he approach you this time?’
Hidalgo reached into his jacket, stopped when two Glocks appeared. ‘My phone,’ he said.
‘Carefully,’ Meghan warned.
He brought out his cell and fiddled with it. ‘You aren’t the only ones who record,’ he said and pressed a button.
‘Hidalgo, it’s me.’
‘Nikolai?’
‘Yes. How are you, my friend?’ the voice asked disinterestedly.
Male voice, Meghan noted. Bland. She and Beth had come across enough accents for her to place it.
Russian or East European. Beth had placed it too, going by her expression.
The pleasantries didn’t last long.
‘I need to have two women followed,’ the voice stated.
‘Nikolai, I don’t do that kind of work.’
‘You will, for me. I have paid an advance. Check your account.’
‘Who are these women?’
‘Beth Petersen and Meghan Petersen. They have an office on Columbus Avenue.’
‘Follow them from when?’
‘Tomorrow.’
‘For how long?’
‘I’ll tell you.’
‘You’ll call again?’
‘Yes.’
‘Nikolai, following isn’t —’
The call ended.
‘He hung up on me.’
‘That call —’
‘Two nights back.’
We were followed yesterday, Meghan mused. We went to Fairchild this morning.
‘Has he called?’
‘No.’
‘What will you tell him when he calls?’
‘The truth. That you found out about your tails. But he won’t call.’
‘Why not?’
Hidalgo eyed them slyly, ‘You don’t know, do you? It happened just before you entered this room.’
‘What happened?’
‘Fairchild’s men have filed a report with the cops. Nikolai has people everywhere. Even in the NYPD. He’ll know at once that those two were following you. He won’t call. He’ll distance himself.’
‘If he does, you’ll let us know.’ Beth said. It wasn’t a request.
‘No. Next thing, you’ll want to tap my phone. Our transaction ends here.’
They stared at him. He looked back.
There are other ways to find out if he calls, Meghan thought. Beth took her cue from her sister’s lowered shoulder and didn’t push it.
‘That number, let me make a note of it,’ the younger sister asked.
Hidalgo read it back for her. ‘It won’t do you much good. In our world, we use —’
‘We know how your world operates.’
‘What else do you know of him?’
‘Nothing more than what I told you.’
‘The account he pays from?’
‘You’ll have to come back with a warrant,’ Hidalgo said, his face hardening. ‘And even then, it won’t help you. He’ll have several accounts. Some will be set up just for a few days for specific transactions.’
‘We can still blow up your warehouse.’
‘Go ahead. I fear Nikolai more than you.’
Meghan looked at him sharply.
‘Yes,’ the fence nodded. ‘He’s the most dangerous man I have ever known.’
‘You have seen him kill?’
‘No. I haven’t seen him with a weapon. But I am a good judge of people. Nikolai is cold-blooded, ruthless, and the smartest man I know. We have a network. Very few have heard of him, but those who have, agree with me.’
‘Where is he based?’
‘Good luck with that,’ Hidalgo laughed scornfully. ‘Nikolai is not in this country. We are done.’
‘Why didn’t you use your own men? Why go to Fairchild?’
‘For following you?’ the fence snorted. ‘My men have better things to do. Fairchild has PIs on retainer. Easier to use them.’
‘It would also distance you to an extent.’
‘It didn’t work, did it? You’re here.’
Meghan tossed him her card. ‘Call us if you hear from Nikolai.’
The fence didn’t reach for it and it fluttered to the floor. He rose and hustled them out of the room. ‘Where are the explosives?’
Beth smiled sweetly at him.
‘There aren’t any. We played you.’
Chapter Nineteen
‘He’s right.’ Beth checked her phone when Meghan nosed the vehicle out of Blue River’s driveway. ‘Ketchum and Kowalski have reported us to the cops. I have several missed calls from Chang.’
‘Uh-huh,’ Meghan grunted, her mind still on Hidalgo’s revelations.
‘What will we tell them?’
‘Who?’
‘Pizaka and Chang. Are you paying attention?’
‘Oh, them. We’ll tell them the truth.’
The two cops were in their cruiser when the sisters arrived at their office.
Beth tapped their window and woke Chang up. ‘New York’s finest, sleeping on the job.’
‘We clocked off a couple of hours back,’ the officer said as he got out and stretched. ‘Who have you been badgering today? We tried your cells and when you didn’t answer, figured you were busy being your annoying selves.’
‘You don’t think much of us, do you?’ Meghan led them to the elevator.
‘Well,’ Chang replied, ‘I wouldn’t say that. You put down some badasses, and we get credit for that. That’s a plus for sure.’
Chang and Pizaka were good friends despite the former’s words and the latter’s aloof attitude. It had taken a while for the sisters to warm up to Pizaka, but once they got to know him, they’d accepted him.
‘Where were you?’ the smartly dressed cop asked as they entered the office. He still had his shades on and his shoes glea
med despite the late hour. There could be a TV crew in the twins’ office. One never knew. A good cop was always prepared.
‘We met Hidalgo,’ Beth replied and chuckled when Chang’s mouth turned into an O.
They brought the cops up to speed over coffee and cookies.
‘Nikolai.’ Chang scratched his head. ‘We haven’t heard of him, have we?’ He looked at his partner, who shook his head.
‘Neither have we. But it’s not an uncommon name. Nothing about this case makes any sense.’ Beth kicked her shoes off in disgust and wiggled her toes. ‘But at least we have a name and a number for him. What about those heavies in the parking lot?’
‘Nothing on them,’ Chang said, shaking his head mournfully. ‘Low-level heavies usually have rap sheets. None of those involved in these attempts have one. Baffling.’
‘What about other agencies?’
‘We’re waiting for a response. None of them had anything on the previous hitters.’
‘What Hidalgo said about Nikolai having informers …’
‘Possible,’ Chang confessed. ‘We’ll inform the commissioner. He might bring in the IAB, but there isn’t much to go on.’
The IAB, Internal Affairs Bureau, was tasked with protecting the NYPD’s integrity. Chang’s right, Meghan thought. We don’t even have Nikolai’s full name.
‘What about Ketchum and Kowalski?’ she asked.
‘We have taken your statement.’ Chang waved a blank page on his notepad. ‘If you pay them off for damages, this will disappear. I think that’s best. It’s their ego that’s hurt.’
Meghan considered it and then nodded. She didn’t like settling with the PIs, but Chang was right. We did assault them. In any case, we have a fund for such contingencies.
‘We’ll run that number for you,’ Chang offered, poised to note it down.
‘We’ll do that ourselves, but can you look into arms dealers, going back five years?’
‘The NYPD exists to serve the Petersen sisters,’ Chang said in mock sarcasm.
‘Zeb?’ Pizaka broke his silence.
Beth couldn’t help giggling. ‘He’s enjoying Angie Konstantin’s company.’
Zeb would have smiled reluctantly if he had heard Beth’s description. He was in the living room of the Woodhaven house, which had finally fallen quiet after Angie had disappeared into her room.