Risk it All

by Fiona Price

  "Fueron cerrados." They spoke to Shane in Spanish. “We’re closed.”

  " ¿Lo que realmente? No es hora de cerrar.” Shane responded. “What, really? It’s not closing time.”

  "Fueron cerrados." They repeated, their hands straying to their backs, presumably where they were holding guns. Shane knew that.

  "Can't even do little off the top and sides?" Shane asked, motioning to his hair with one hand and pulling out his gun with the other. He wasn't wearing any protective gear, but that wasn't an issue. They knew that Shane knew what was going on, but before they could shoot him, he shot them in the legs and disarmed them. It was three against one, but it wasn't an issue for Shane. No, not yet. He knew they were just the henchmen, and they would be the ones to take him to the boss.

  They led him down to the back room where Shane was led to a large, expansive cellar. The three men were in front of him and Shane was holding them by the backs of their shirts. Soon, Shane was face to face with the man that tried to kill Alissa.

  "Hm, back for more, Commander? You just couldn't stay away?"

  "You said I'd never find you again. I took that as a challenge." Shane explained. "I came to finish what we started."

  "You think you can take down an empire all by yourself? You have no backup, no gear. What's your plan?"

  "I hardly think this is an empire. I took down three of your men by myself, and you're operating out of a basement." Shane taunted.

  "Why me, Commander? You could have given up. Even gone after a larger cartel. Why are you here?"

  "Because this is personal. I'm not leaving until I take you down."

  "Alright, then. That's fair. I respect that about you, Commander. Why don't you go ahead and try?"

  "Don't mind if I do." The Commander responded. He knew the risks, and he knew that it was now or never. He had his one chance, and he wasn't going to blow it. Neither of their first approaches were with guns, they had to hash it out a different way. Shane was throwing punches and blocking the ones that came at him, giving the drug boss a run for his money.

  The fight had gotten increasingly violent, but Shane wasn't giving up. He wasn't going to lose to him again. Shane was losing his energy, he was losing his edge, and he was hoping that if he could finish it with one big move, it would work. He slammed his opponent against the floor, his head hitting the ground hard enough to render him unconscious. Shane shackled him and waited for him to regain consciousness.

  "Commander, why haven't you killed me yet?"

  "I don't think you deserve to die. I'm not going to kill you. I think you should spend the rest of your life in prison, though, and I'm going to see to it that it happens. I'm taking you back to the States where you'll be prosecuted. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say may be used in a court of law, and you have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you." Shane spoke, wrapping handcuffs around the boss's wrists.

  Shane marched up the stairs of the cellar and out the doors of the barber shop front. Shane stopped at a payphone and called Matt.

  "Hey, Matt, it's me. I don't have a lot of time, and I've got a criminal to put away. I wanted to let you know I'm in Guatemala and I'm getting back on the plane now. It's a cargo flight. We'll be landing at the private airstrip in a little bit. Have units ready to take him into custody. Yell at me later. I'll be home soon."

  Shane made his way back to the airstrip for the private flight that he would take home, and he wasn't going empty-handed. Shane wasn't letting a drug cartel boss go. No, not again. Luckily, it was a short flight across the Gulf of Mexico to get back to Miami, and the plane was landing. It felt too easy for Shane, he spent a large amount of time searching for him after the jungle mission and he couldn't just take the win. But, he was granted closure on a big case, and he brought justice to himself and to Alissa. He was more preparing himself for what his team would say when he landed.

  The drug boss appeared out of the cargo hold first, Shane marching behind him. The airstrip was littered with police cars, lights flashing, awaiting the arrival of a wanted criminal. He didn't have to look far to find Matt, Alissa and Scarlet standing together on the runway.

  "Shane, you're in big trouble, buddy. We're glad you're back safe, but dude, we're pissed."

  "I'm sorry, guys. I can explain it all."

  "Oh, you don't have to answer to us. You have to answer to her." Matt responded, and Vicki emerged from the shadows. She stood face to face with Shane, and she didn't care that he was dirty, sweaty and beaten up. She was going to say her piece, no matter what. The air was quiet and tense, he knew better than to speak first or interrupt her. She took a sharp breath in and slapped him across the face, the sound echoing down the runway. Everyone held their breath, shocked at Vicki's response, waiting for what would happen next.

  "Okay, Commander Cargo Pants, you can't just run off and leave me alone any time you please. You had me worried sick."

  "I'm sorry, Vicki. I didn't want to wake you up and I got the call late at night."

  "Wake me the fuck up, you have my permission! I know you didn't want me to worry, but you had me even more concerned when I woke up and you were gone. Promise me that you'll say goodbye, Shane." Vicki spoke, the pain in her voice. It then hit Shane that his mistake went a lot deeper than he had thought. There would come a time when he would say goodbye for the last time, and he understood why Vicki was so upset.

  "I promise. And again, I'm sorry." He apologized sincerely, cupping her face gently, and Vicki forgave him. She kissed his cheek and held him close before they parted to officially wrap up the case.

  "Shane, I'll buy the drinks tonight in celebration that you're back, but then we're heading out after one round so we can go home, and you can make it up to me." Vicki spoke, still upset that he disappeared without warning for two days, but more than grateful that he was back. They all had to head into the office to finish up the paperwork before they headed to the bar together.

  "Hey, can I buy you a drink?" A redhead asked as she approached Matt at the bar. He was sitting alone while Alissa had stepped away, and she took the opportunity to make the move.

  "Oh, no, I'm good but thank you." Matt declined, and Alissa sat back down next to him at the bar after her return from the bathroom.

  "My bad, I didn't realize you had a girlfriend." The girl apologized. "Have a round on me, you guys."

  "Girl-girlfriend? Girlfriend. That's something. Okay, okay." Matt stuttered, not sure what he wanted to say in response to that.

  Alissa looked at him with a questioning look, but he was deep in his drink and didn't look over at her.

  "Okay, okay, I see." she spoke, copying Matt's demeanor as the rest of their team was looking on with as many questions as she had.

  Alissa declined the round that the girl bought for them, giving her drink to Vicki and walking out of the bar to get some fresh air, and a cab home. That was a scenario that Alissa hadn't expected to encounter, and she needed some time to process.

  "What was that, dude?" Shane asked Matt after Alissa had left the bar.

  "I don't know, man." Matt answered.

  "You're spooked, Matt. All because that stranger suggested you had a girlfriend. That's not like you. Are you having second thoughts about things with Alissa?"

  "No, I don't think so, I just haven't thought of the girlfriend/boyfriend thing yet."

  "You've been seeing each other for a little while now, I think it's okay to start calling each other that. Because you can't expect to have a girlfriend and have all the perks associated with a girlfriend, and not call Alissa that. That's not fair, dude."

  "Yeah, but the labels mean something more."

  "And you're telling me that's not what you want with the girl you pined over from day one and flew to New Jersey to confess your love to, after she had lost her lady fiancée and you knew there might not even be a chance? So, now that you have her, you don't want it."

  There was silence. Shane shook his
head.

  "Yeah, I thought so. You better figure out what you want, Matt."

  Matt spent the hour thinking about it, sobering up so he could drive to Alissa's place. He didn't know what she was thinking about and he didn't know what he was going to say but he went anyway. He parked in her driveway and knocked on her door, bouncing on his toes with his hands in his pockets. It was a few moments before Alissa answered the door. She saw his car and she knew he was there, but she didn't really know if she wanted to let him in and open up that can of worms. So, she answered the door, and let him know.

  "I don't want to talk about what happened at the bar."

  "Okay." He answered, biting his lip, his whole plan blown. Alissa picked up her margarita glass from the table by the door that she set down to greet him.

  "Back with the margs, I see." He pointed out awkwardly.

  "Yeah, because you pulled me from my day off, I never got to finish it, and I barely got a round in at the bar." Matt knew that he really wasn't doing well with her.

  "I know you're probably here to talk about the bar, but if there's something else you came here for, then I'm all ears." Alissa spoke, trying to either propel the conversation or to get him off her doorstep. She really wasn't in the mood to see him, because something about the interaction at the bar really hit her hard.

  "No, I just wanted to say that I was sorry for what happened. I didn't handle it well and I wasn't expecting it to happen. I know I have some things I need to think about, but I didn't want to let it go without seeing you first."

  "Thanks for that. Whenever you want to tell me what's going on in that head of yours, you know where to find me." Alissa spoke solemnly before closing the door between them. It hurt her that she didn't know what he was thinking. She wished that he would open up to her, but she would take the risk wondering if what was in his head was worse than she expected.

  But he didn't come back. He didn't explain. He didn't tell her what he had on his mind. He told her he had things to think about, and she assumed he was still doing that. Well, she hoped. Things didn't resolve themselves and especially not when they were loaded with homicide cases that turned out to be much more than they had expected.

  They didn't know they were in over their heads until it was too late. And maybe then, it would be too late for Alissa and Matt, too.

  XI

  Matt left Alissa's house in despair. They didn't get to talk, and it was taking a toll on him. It was showing in Alissa, too, despite her hard efforts to make it seem like everything was okay. But, the whole crew had been at the bar at the time of the incident, and they all knew what had happened. There was no hiding from the truth, but nobody knew the resolution. Not even Matt or Alissa.

  Matt was sitting in Shane's office during their lunch break, everyone else had gone out to enjoy the last of the nice weather before a storm surge came in later that week. They were the only two that had stayed behind.

  "So, I take it you guys haven't talked." Shane stated.

  "Nope. I drove over to her place, she opened the door and said she didn't want to talk about it, then I accidentally insulted her and then I got the boot."

  "How did you accidentally insult her?"

  "I may have mentioned her margarita habit. I pulled her from her day off, she didn't get to finish a pitcher she had made because of it, then when she was finishing off her drink mix I asked her if she was back on the margs, and that didn't go over very well."

  "Yikes, man. Did she say anything else?"

  "Yeah, she told me that whenever I wanted to let her know what was going on in my head, that I knew where to find her."

  "So, the ball's in your court, Matt. What are you going to do about it?"

  "I don't know." He answered. "I don't want to be afraid of the commitment, but I am. It's always been an unresolved issue in every relationship that I've been in. It's not that I don't want to be with her, but I just don't know what to do. I feel like if I were to go into her office and say that I'm sorry, she'd expect me to say that of course I want her to be my girlfriend- but that's the commitment part I'm scared of."

  "I doubt she'll be fishing for what she wants you to say to her, but if the conversation heads in that direction, then risk it and just tell her you want to be with her but because of your issues you have a hard time committing. Maybe see a therapist. I think she'd value your honesty."

  "But what if that's just it, Shane?"

  "Then I guess it'll just happen that way. Do what feels right, Matt, because they're coming back now."

  Matt turned around and looked out into the quad between all their offices where they gathered around and solved their cases. She had arrived with the rest, and she was trying to have a good laugh with Vicki.

  "Once again, and I hate to say this, you're right Shane."

  "I know how much you hate admitting it, but thank you for knowing that I'm right."

  At the end of their day, Matt was finished with his paperwork long before the shift was over, but he hadn't left. He was waiting for Alissa, who was swamped with work on her part. She was trying to close a case, but the paperwork was having a slow time going through and getting filed with the right people down at City Hall. Matt was slightly spying on her from his office, trying to play it cool since he had been done for a long time. He didn't want to get up at the same time Alissa was leaving, but he wasn't great at being subtle. He took his things and exited his office, knocking on the door to hers. She looked up from her computer, realized it was him and looked him in the eyes for a long moment before inviting him in.

  "Hey, Alissa." He began. She didn't respond.

  "Listen, I'm just really sorry about what I said at the bar the other night and I want to make things better." He spoke. She paused.

  "Thank you for that. I know it was just a little thing, but it really, really hurt to hear your hesitation about me being your girlfriend. That wasn't nice to hear, and especially after what we've been through together I thought you'd feel differently." She admitted.

  "Alissa, if you want to be my girlfriend, I want you to be my girlfriend. I just have some issues that haven't been resolved, and it's holding me back."

  "Well, I want to be your girlfriend without any reservations. I hope you find answers, Matt." She answered, exiting her office and leaving Matt alone in the office. He took a moment to let it sink in, Shane was extremely right about everything. He signed and closed up shop, turning off the lights and locking the doors behind him.

  Damn.

  Shane and Vicki had been engaged for a few months, and they were almost done planning their wedding. Neither of them wanted anything huge or fantastic, so they had planned to get married in a small chapel in Miami, then rent the private room in their favorite restaurant for a dinner reception. Altogether, it was going to be less than twenty people, so it seemed like nothing could go wrong. Alissa thought at one point when they were still talking that Matt would be her date, but it wasn't so simple. Though, the bigger problem at hand was a series of homicides they were investigating during the month of the wedding.

  Their first victim was an accountant, he lived alone, was in his mid-30s, and nothing pointed to a crime of passion, or gave them any strong indications of motive. There was very little forensic evidence, and he seemed to lead a very normal life. He seemed to live by the straight and narrow, he didn't have a criminal record, and they couldn't find leads. The case was going cold by the minute.

  The second victim was a waitress, a young woman who was paying her way through college, and they also couldn't find strong evidence, motive or leads. She only had a speeding ticket on her record from a decade ago.

  A week later, the most recent victim surfaced. It was an exotic car salesman, and their only possible leads were some shady financials that turned out to be nothing. In the three cases, they were yearning for a lead, a connection, anything to propel the cases. But after three weeks, things started turning up.

  "I'm thinking it's a serial killer. I've worked enough h
omicides to detect patterns, and this just feels familiar." Matt spoke as they laid out the cases side by side.

  "But there's no calling card, no MO, nothing to connect them all to one defining cause." Shane countered. "What's the pattern, Matt."

  "I think the pattern is in the things we didn't find. Little forensic evidence, no leads, no witnesses, no motive, no suspect."

  "That's a stretch."

  "Yeah, I agree with Shane. Matt, I see where you're going with this. I think it's serial murders, but it's not from a serial killer." Alissa spoke, beginning to think she was onto something. It was helping her as she saw the cases side by side, and she had turned to the computer.

  "How so? How can we have serial victims without the killer?" Matt asked as she typed away and was switching between screens and files.

  "I think we do, though, just not in the way you'd expect. Give me a second to take a look at that." Alissa answered with her brow furrowed, deep in thought.

  "Do you see something in particular?"

  "Yeah, I'm just thinking..." She paused before concluding. "Well, in my professional opinion, these look like mob hits. After looking at it in a different way, it screams organized crime to me."

  "So, it's not a serial killer, but rather a hitman." Shane summed up.

  "Yep. And I can prove it."

  "So that's why we're not seeing a message, calling card or any other hallmarks, it's just the mob." Matt understood.

  "I know this would qualify for the Miami Police Department’s Organized Crime division, but I want to see this out." Alissa stated.

  "Me too." Shane admitted. "And we've got the right task force to do it. Let's get started. Alissa, what's the connection?"

  "The bank. Specifically, where the money was coming and going from. See, they have the same bank and this name keeps showing up. I want to cross-reference it with customers at the diner the second victim waitressed at, and the car dealership of the most recent victim."

  Sure enough, they found their connection. The name popped up on their screen: Andrei Petrovitch.