by Mike Ryan
“Maybe they’re saving everyone for the main floor,” Tyrell said. “Have one big, huge firefight.”
“Maybe,” Recker replied, thinking it was entirely possible.
Once they got to the third floor, they stopped again for a minute as they waited for another visitor. This time it proved to be the right decision. Recker and Haley stayed put as Tyrell moved ahead of them with Malloy.
“Using us as bait?” Malloy asked.
“Got a problem with it?” Recker said.
Malloy laughed, though he coughed at the same time. “No, not really. I’d probably do the same to you.”
Once Tyrell and Malloy passed the door and started going down the steps, the door flew open. Two more men appeared in the doorway, guns in their hands as they took aim at Tyrell and Malloy. They didn’t even take notice of Recker and Haley to the left of them, waiting higher up on the stairs. As the men showed themselves, Recker and Haley instantly fired on them before the men were able to do the same to their friends. Both intruders went down immediately with head shots, dead long before they even hit the ground. After hearing the shots, Tyrell and Malloy turned around to see the damage that had been done.
“Guess we should say thanks?” Malloy asked.
“Save it for when we get out of here,” Recker answered.
Recker and Haley then took the lead again, doing the same waiting game on the second floor. There wasn’t any activity this time. They waited a few more minutes before traveling down to the first floor. They stood just behind the door that opened up to the first floor.
“By my count there should be six left,” Recker said.
“Assuming that guy was telling you the truth,” Malloy replied.
“I got a feeling as soon as we open that door we’re gonna be ducking,” Haley said.
“Good possibility,” Recker said.
Recker knew there was a good chance that as soon as the door opened, a barrage of bullets would be heading in their direction. With two men having a hard time moving, he wasn’t sure they’d be able to maneuver out of the way in time. Then he figured out another plan.
“You guys stay out of the way and against the wall,” Recker said.
“What are you gonna do?” Tyrell asked.
“Experiment.”
“This ain’t science class you know.”
“If they’re out there waiting for us, as we assume they are, there’s no way we’re all gonna get through that door without getting hit.”
“So, what do you have in mind?” Malloy asked.
“You guys stay here. Cover my tail. If anyone comes down that stairway to sneak up behind me, you know what to do.”
“You’re gonna take out the rest of them?” Tyrell asked.
Recker smiled. “Why not? There’s only six of them. The odds are in my favor.”
Tyrell started laughing. “That’s what I love about you, man, never a doubt in your mind who’s coming out on top.”
After putting Haley against the wall, Recker got down and swung the door wide open. As soon as it opened, several rounds of automatic gunfire were heard. All four men inside the stairwell ducked down as the bullets glanced off the walls around them. Recker started making his way to the door again when he was stopped by Haley grabbing his arm.
“I can go out there with you,” Haley said.
“What are you gonna do?” Recker asked. “Hop over the bullets.”
“I can still crawl. I’m not out of the fight.”
Recker thought for a minute before realizing he could probably use the help. Crawling out the door was probably the only way they were making their way inside unscathed anyway.
“All right. You take the left and I’ll take the right,” Recker said.
Recker and Haley got down on the ground and opened the door, hearing another round of gunfire headed for them. They crawled out the door, each of them going in a different direction. As the door closed behind them, Tyrell wondered if he’d wind up seeing them alive again.
“Think I should go out there and help them?”
“Tyrell, gun play has never exactly been your specialty.”
“Yeah, well, desperate times call for desperate measures. Isn’t that how the saying goes?”
“If I were you I’d stay right here,” Malloy said. “Besides, they’re not expecting you out there. They might shoot you by accident.”
Tyrell then thought back to earlier in the night when Recker almost shot him coming out of the fifth floor door. “Yeah. You might be right about that.”
It was dark inside the building, but there were pockets of light coming in through the windows, thanks to a bright full moon. Recker was crawling along the floor as quietly as possible, trying not to give his position away. He came across some small, broken pieces of concrete and took a handful of it. He then turned on his side and threw it across the room, hoping for a reaction from their opponents. He got the desired result. Upon hearing the noise of the concrete hitting the floor, the men opened fire at that spot, giving their position away. Recker then jumped to his knees and fired at what he could make out as faint outlines of the men’s bodies. Within a few seconds he heard the sounds of bodies violently thumping down on the ground.
As Recker hurriedly scurried along the floor to get out of the line of fire, since he blew his own cover, the men turned in his direction to fire. As they started firing, Haley crawled along the other side and had a few of them in his sights. With his wound, he wasn’t as quick to get to his feet or knees, so he continued to lay on his stomach as he took aim. He fired several rounds at the outline of the men, getting the same result Recker did. Within a few seconds, they heard the bodies of two more men hitting the ground.
As Recker continued crawling, he suddenly saw the leg of a man in black pants almost directly beside his head. He knew he was in a lot of trouble and quickly turned over and fired up at the man, just as the other man fired at him. The bullets fired at Recker hit the ground in the spot he was before he rolled over. Recker’s shots landed in the man’s midsection, causing the man to fall on top of Recker. Another man came racing over to the shots and started shooting at Recker, though the bullets wound up lodging into the body of his dead friend that shielded Recker from the lead. Recker then aimed his gun up at the man, though it was hard to do so with the weight of a two-hundred-pound man on top of him. Suddenly, though, a few more shots rang out and the man fell to his knees, blood pouring out the holes in his chest. That gave Recker a much easier target as he fired a few more rounds, finishing the man off. Once the man slumped to the ground, Recker looked past him and saw Haley slithering on the ground. They gave each other a salute as Recker got to his feet.
Recker took a quick look around and saw no one else hiding in the shadows. He then walked around the floor to make sure there was nobody else there. Once he knew they were alone, he went back to Haley and got him on his feet again. He then went to the stairway and knocked on the door to let them know it was him, that way nobody had an itchy trigger finger and shot him by accident. Once he got a confirmation, he opened the door.
“We’re good to go,” Recker said.
“Good thing you announced yourself,” Tyrell said. “I was about to return the favor for that little incident you pulled upstairs.”
“You’ll have to wait for your revenge another time.”
“I guess I can let it go this time.”
“So, you guys wanna get out of here or are you starting to feel at home?” Recker asked.
“It is starting to grow on me a little.”
“As much as I like the banter, you think we can do it after I get these slugs out of me?” Malloy asked.
“You wanna go to the hospital or does Vincent have a guy?”
“Just call Vincent. He’ll set it up. Might as well take your guy there too.”
Tyrell picked Vincent up and the four of them headed out of the building.
“You guys sure know how to party,” Tyrell said.
“
What do you mean?” Recker asked. “This was just a regular night for us.”
9
Recker and Vincent were sitting in the waiting room as they waited for the doctor to come out. After leaving the abandoned building, Recker called Vincent and explained the situation. Vincent had him go to a doctor that was on his payroll. Tyrell helped get the wounded men there, then took off as soon as the doctor started checking them out. While they were waiting, Recker called Jones and explained everything that happened up to that point. Dr. Luke was a licensed doctor and had his own practice, but he also did some work off the books and behind closed doors for extra money. He was a very skilled doctor and had done work for Vincent’s organization many times over the years. As long as the money was there, Dr. Luke could be trusted to keep whatever private work he was doing silent.
“Seems like a pretty good setup for an underground doctor,” Recker said, looking around the room. “Not the usual stuff you’d find like no lighting and bars on the windows and things like that.”
Vincent laughed. “That’s because he’s not some hack who happens to hatchet people up on the side. This is his work. He’s a good doctor. We’ve used him many times over the years.”
“Saves on your insurance deductibles I’m sure.”
Vincent smiled. “Not really my main objective in coming here. Secrecy is a much more valuable commodity.”
“So, what are you gonna do if you lose your right-hand man in there?” Recker asked.
“It’s not something I have to worry about right now. Jimmy will pull through. Thank you for helping him through it. We’re lucky you were there.”
“Why did you only send him? Kind of dicey, don’t you think?”
“At the time we thought stealth was the best option. Figured with a meeting like that, it was better to send one man. We weren’t looking to get into a gunfight. Our only goal was getting as much information as possible.”
“How’d that work out for you?”
“Well, we did get some information out of it. We know the meeting was a sham and there is a specific new threat trying to take over the city,” Vincent said. “It must be someone with a high profile who has experience in these types of things.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Only someone who knows what he’s doing and done this type of stuff before would have the patience to sit back and wait, operate in the shadows. People who are new at this overstep their boundaries, they get too eager, make mistakes. They can’t wait to project themselves and show everyone who they are. Can’t wait to make a name for themselves. That’s how I know this person, whoever he is, has power behind them.”
“You’re worried about him,” Recker said. “I can tell.”
“I worry about things I cannot see. That’s why I need to get to the bottom of this quickly, so I can prepare countermeasures.”
“Out of curiosity, would you be willing to concede control over certain parts of the city to prevent a large scale conflict?”
“You mean would I give up part of my territory and hand it over to whoever this person is? To avoid a war?”
“Yeah.”
“An interesting question to ponder to be sure,” Vincent replied. “One I couldn’t possibly answer at this time. Not until all the particulars are known.”
“Just a thought.”
“Well since we’re dealing in hypotheticals, I’m sure this isn’t the scenario you had in mind for me meeting the new member of your squad.”
Recker shrugged. “I knew it would happen at some point. I didn’t have any preconceived ideas about how. With what we do, I figured it would probably be some time that wasn’t very convenient.”
After being in the doctor’s care for a couple of hours, he finally came out of his little operating room, which was divided into a couple sections in case he had several patients. As he walked out, Recker and Vincent both rose from their chairs, anxious to hear the news about their friends.
“So, what’s the prognosis?” Recker asked.
“Well, I’ll start with your guy first,” the doctor replied. “He’s in relatively good shape. Bullet didn’t hit any major organs or anything, just muscle tissue. He won’t be able to walk around on his own yet, so he’ll probably have to use some crutches for a week or two.”
“And after that? Long ranging effects?”
“Will probably take around six weeks to heal I would say. He’ll still have to do some physical rehab for a while to get his strength back. Probably won’t be able to run any marathons and walk uphill or things like that, but he should get back to almost where he was before. Might have some numbness occasionally, but if he does some rehab, shouldn’t have too bad of a long-term issue.”
“Good to know. Thanks.”
“Just keep him out of firefights for a little while.”
“Do my best.”
Dr. Luke then turned his attention to Vincent. “As for Malloy, it looks like he’ll pull through. The bleeding’s stopped, he’s stable, he’ll have to stay here a few more days though so I can keep an eye on him, just in case.”
“OK. Long-term prognosis?” Vincent asked.
“We’re probably looking at a few months’ worth of recovery time. He’s not getting back in the saddle in a few weeks. It’ll take some time.”
“But he should get back to where he was?”
“In time, yes. But he can’t push it too soon or he’ll rip everything open again. I know he’s your go-to guy, but if you want him to get back to a hundred percent, he needs time.”
“Well then, we’ll have to give it to him.” Vincent put his hand on Dr. Luke’s arm. “Thank you, Doctor. You’ll receive a payment in the next few days.”
“No rush,” Luke replied. “I know you’re good for it. I better get back in there.”
“When will they be able to leave?” Recker asked.
“Haley should be able to leave tomorrow. I want him to stay overnight for observation, make sure infection doesn’t set in. As for Malloy, he’ll have to stay a few days since his injury was a little more severe.”
Dr. Luke then left the room to tend to his patients again, leaving Recker and Vincent alone.
“You gonna be able to survive a few months without your top guy by your side?” Recker asked.
Vincent smiled, realizing the question was somewhat tongue in cheek. “He’s not the only member of my organization I trust or employ you know.”
“But he does draw the top assignments. Especially with an emerging threat on your hands. You gonna be able to handle it?”
“Why such concern?” Vincent asked. “Are you throwing your hat in the ring to replace him? Finally taking my employment offer? If so, I might be able to arrange it.”
“No, I think I’m still good.”
“No need to worry about me. I’ll make do with what I have.”
Recker smiled. “I wasn’t worried.”
“Do you need a lift out of here?”
“No, Tyrell walked and took a bus after he left so I still have the car.”
The two men parted company, with Recker going straight back to the office, where Jones was nervously waiting. Even though Recker had previously told him Haley’s wound wasn’t life-threatening, Jones was still anxious to hear the results. Having any of them shot was an altering dynamic that would affect them all. Jones was waiting by the window when he saw Recker pull in then went to the door to let him inside.
“Not used to having a doorman,” Recker said as he walked in.
“How’s Chris?”
“He’ll be fine. On crutches for a week or so, then rehab after that. It’ll probably be a good four to six weeks until he’s fully healed again.”
“No lingering issues?” Jones asked.
“Probably not. Nothing serious, anyway. Maybe some numbness or weakness every now and then, but he should be able to make a full recovery.”
Jones closed his eyes and sighed, pleased to hear the news. “Thank heavens for that.” Recker we
nt over to the counter to get a cup of coffee as Jones walked around him and sat down at the desk. “Certainly was a hairy situation we got involved in.”
Recker took a sip of his coffee, not seeming too bothered or affected by the events. In fact, he seemed rather calm to Jones considering Haley was being tended to by a doctor at the moment. “Sure was.”
“You don’t seem very upset about what happened.”
“What’s to get upset about? It’s the work we do, the risks we take. If it turned out differently, my mood would probably be dramatically different. But Chris will be fine. Malloy made it. The only people who turned up dead was the other guys. No use in getting all choked up over it.”
“I think perhaps we should excuse ourselves from this arrangement we have with Vincent,” Jones said. “At least over this issue he currently is involved in.”
“Why?”
“Because there is no doubt this is becoming a turf war. Something we do not need to concern ourselves with. This person challenging Vincent appears to be very dangerous and I highly doubt will be going away soon. We must be cautious. And, if I might add, if it becomes known you’re helping Vincent, and killing them, it will put you directly in their crosshairs. I’m not sure that is an additional enemy we need to make at the current time.”
“Maybe. But we’re already involved. We already gave Vincent our word.”
Jones had thoughts about giving more of an argument against continuing to help, but then thought better of it. He knew he would only be wasting his breath. Recker would never go for pulling out of the deal at this point, especially after what happened to Haley. Instead of talking about the case, Jones diverted the discussion elsewhere.
“I suppose this will affect your vacation plans now.”