The Devil's Elixir

19

Villaverde’s directions were flawless, and it wasn’t long before I reached the huge marine terminal complex and spotted the gate to the bonded warehouse.

“I’m here,” I told him, still on my BlackBerry’s speakerphone.

“Okay, you’re all set.”

There were few cars around and zero pedestrians, which was what I was hoping for. I put my turn signal on early intentionally in order to see how the goons in the maroon sedan would react. They receded in my mirror as they slowed right down to give me some space to let a container truck pass before I could turn in to the storage facility’s entrance, which was across the street from us. As I did, I watched them pull up to the far curb and stop.

It looked like they were going to wait for me. Which meant they needed me to lead them to something. It had to be Michelle. They were definitely still after her.

As I waited for the truck to pass, I scanned the facility’s outer perimeter. There was an eight-foot-high chain-link fence around its frontage that wouldn’t be too hard to climb over. I pulled up to the gatehouse and rolled my window down as the security guard lumbered out to meet me. I knew his name was Terry since, moments earlier, I’d listened in to Villaverde on the phone with him. Terry was in his fifties and wasn’t the fittest or the most nimble guy I’d ever seen—the term mammoth did spring to mind—and it was just as well I hadn’t been counting on his being my wingman during my planned sneak and grab.

“Terry, right?” I showed him my creds, both as a matter of procedure and for the benefit of the watchful eyes up the street. I saw his expression go a bit jittery and quickly added, “Keep your eyes on me and act natural, okay? Just make like you’re asking me what this is all about before you let me in.”

“Okay.” His eyes were throbbing with tension and he was visibly having a tough time resisting taking a peek over the roof of the LaCrosse to check out the bad guys.

“Stay with me, Terry,” I reminded him, slow and calm. “Just keep your focus on me and answer my questions without looking their way.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Okay, um—so, what do you want to know?” An Oscar was definitely not in Terry’s future.

I gave the place a quick sweep and settled on a warehouse to my right. I indicated it with a discreet nod. “I need to leave my car behind that building over there so it’ll be out of sight while I go over the fence and sneak up on the guys who were following me. Okay?”

He took a second to calm his nerves, then said, “Sure thing.”

I figured this was enough of a show for my stalkers. “Good.” I flicked a glance at the holstered automatic almost buried under his paunch. “I’m assuming you know how to use that.”

He grinned, and his hand dropped down to give its grip a small pat. “You bet your ass.”

The bet your ass was a bit too gung-ho for my liking, but better that than having him go all wobbly-kneed on me if things went sour. “Well, backup’s on its way, so don’t you go and play hero or anything. Just stay sharp, all right?”

His jowls sagged with disappointment at that, and he gave me a glum, “I hear you.”

“And don’t look at them when you let me in.”

Terry nodded again and stepped back to roll the barrier aside for me. I gave him a small nod back as I drove in.

“I’m in,” I told Villaverde.

I pulled in behind the warehouse and continued all the way down to its far end, where I parked alongside its wall.

Villaverde’s voice came back. “I’ve got a Harbor Police black-and-white about three minutes out and another on the way.”

I picked up the phone and killed the speaker function as I got out of the car. “Keep them back and tell them not to approach until I say so,” I insisted firmly. “Make sure they understand that, David. I don’t want my guys to bolt and I don’t want this to turn into the OK Corral either. These guys like to shoot stuff up.”

“Copy that. And keep the line open.”

“Will do.”

I had to move fast.

I took off my jacket and chucked it into the car, then pulled out my gun, chambered a round, and flicked the safety off before slipping it back into its holster. Then I set off.

I trotted down the back of the warehouse until I reached its corner, making sure I couldn’t be seen from the street. There was some tall grass growing at the base of the wire fence that provided a small measure of cover. I’d seen my guys pull up on the other side of the street, but this wasn’t the kind of street people parked on and I didn’t think they’d still be there.

I peered out and surveyed the area.

I couldn’t see them at first—then I spotted them. They were parked in the small lot of a marine supplies store, almost directly across from me. The spots were slightly angled, herringbone-style, and the sedan was nose-forward facing toward Terry’s gatehouse—which meant I needed to move farther down the fence before climbing over it if I didn’t want to be scaling it almost in direct view of my goons.

There was a second warehouse sitting behind the one I was hugging. I nipped back along the wall and away from the street, made sure the goons weren’t looking my way, then sprinted across the gap between the two buildings, staying low. I kept running all the way down until I reached the far corner of the second building, took a cautionary peek behind it, then went around and kept going until I was crouched close to the fence again. I figured there were now a couple of hundred feet between me and them. It was enough.

As another truck rolled by outside, I crept up to the fence and gave it a little tug to test its rigidity. It was solid, and the diamond shapes formed by the crossed wires were just wide enough to accommodate the tips of my shoes. I stayed low and waited for another truck to trundle by, then I got something even better—a big eighteen-wheeler coming out of the bonded warehouse facility itself. I reckoned it would snare my goons’ attention, and I tensed up, ready to move—and as the truck rumbled past, I took three big strides and leapt onto the gate. I was up it in four quick moves and launched myself over it, landing hard on the sidewalk in a low crouch before scurrying for cover behind the slow-moving truck and rushing across the street in its dusty wake.

I dove behind a parked car about a dozen cars down from the maroon sedan and paused there to catch my breath, then I peeked out. I could see the guy in the passenger seat, in profile. He was looking dead ahead, toward the gate. I pulled out my gun and darted out, hugging the cars and ducking from one to another in quick, stealthy bursts. I tried to minimize the risk of being spotted by timing my moves to coincide with trucks rolling past, knowing the eyes in the maroon sedan would be distracted by them when they weren’t otherwise fixated on the gate, waiting for me to reappear.

I paused about five cars away, where I got a decent view of the guy riding shotgun. He had a shaved head with what appeared to be a flame-like tattoo pattern running along its side, above his ear, and was wearing metal-framed shades. He was just sitting there, smoking in silence with his elbow on the windowsill and his gaze locked on the warehouse’s entrance. Although I hadn’t seen the tattoo under the cap he wore at the hotel, I recognized him now—he was one of the three hard-asses who’d come up in the elevator, the guy I’d slammed into in the lobby.

I couldn’t really see the other guy’s face.

My entire body tightened up in anticipation and I nipped out again. With my gun hand leading the way, I tucked in behind the car that was parked closest to theirs. There was an empty spot between them. I crouched low, steeled myself with a couple of deep inhales, and, with another truck passing, I scurried fast and silent around the back of the car and sprang up alongside the sedan’s passenger side with my gun barrel about four feet away from Flamehead’s cheek.

“Hands on the roof where I can see ’em. Both of you, right now.”

They both flinched and spun around to face me, stone-faced behind their shades.

“Do it.”

To press my point, I flicked my gun to the left and aimed it just inches from Flamehead’s elaborate skull and let off a quick round into the rear window as a warning, blowing up the tempered glass and showering them with its granules.

I swung the gun right back into Flamehead’s face.

“Okay, okay,” he grumbled as both his hands shot up and reached for the top of the window frame.

I saw a stir deeper in the car as the driver twisted around, his face locked with angry resolve as his right hand dived for something—the grip of a gun sticking out by his waist. I didn’t have time to shout out another warning and just took my shot.

The guy let out a loud yelp and screamed out “Fuuuck!” as his left hand flew up to the bloodied hole in his shoulder that my round had punched.

“You fucking nuts, man?” Flamehead moaned, his eyes flicking from his groaning friend to me and back.

“I’m not screwing around,” I yelled back. “Now give me those hands and get out of the fucking car.”

I watched intently as the passenger door swung open and Flamehead climbed out of the car, slowly, with his arms up. He was wearing a black Windbreaker over a dark T-shirt, baggy jeans, and a bulky pair of work boots. I couldn’t tell if he was carrying or not.

“You got a weapon?” I asked, bending down a bit so I could keep an eye on the guy behind the wheel.

“Yeah,” Flamehead grunted. “Belt holster.”

“Two fingers. Easy. On the ground.”

He nodded grudgingly, then pulled an automatic out and set it down by his feet.

“Now kick it under the car. Gently.”

He did so.

“Okay. I want both hands on the roof and your legs spread,” I ordered him, then turned my attention to the driver. “You, out.”

I took a few steps back and edged around the front of the car so I could keep an eye on the driver. I held my Browning in my right hand while my left hand fished out my phone.

“I’ve got them,” I told Villaverde. “Send in the troops.”

The driver was cursing and groaning his way out of the car. He was shorter and stockier than Flamehead and sported a soul patch—a smidgen of beard beneath his lower lip—and long, straight hair that he wore tied back. He rounded the door to face me and looked mad as hell as he scowled at me before spitting at the ground.

I held his glare and told him, “Easy, tiger. I think one hole’s enough for today, what do you say?” I nodded at the gun on his belt. “Two fingers. You know the drill.”

He spat again, then did it.

“Kick it under the car,” I told him. “And I don’t mean all the way to the human torch there.”

He bent down and did as directed—and that’s when Terry decided to make his appearance.

“Ho-ly shit, buddy, you okay?”

My eyes flicked across to track his booming, breathless voice, and I caught a glimpse of him waddling across the wide street with his gun out, his face all sweaty, his fleshy jowls rippling with the ebb and flow of each heavy step—

—and that split-second diversion was enough for the two goons to try to make their break.

They bolted almost simultaneously, like they were joined by some freaky mind-meld, the two of them charging at me while unleashing demonic yells. Flamehead reached me first, coming at me from the left, but I managed to deflect his first punch with my left arm and pound him with a flat strike from my gun hand that landed flat across his nose and upper lip and sent him staggering sideways all rubber-kneed, but the move had left my right side exposed and Soulpatch was on me in a flash, tackling me around the waist and shoving me down to the ground. The Browning and the BlackBerry tumbled out of my hand as I hit the asphalt hard and I lost sight of them, my attention focused on Soulpatch’s left arm, which was flying down for a hammer punch. I caught it with my forearm and swung his arm away before jabbing his bloodied shoulder with my left fist, causing him to wail out in pain—then Terry shouted, “Stop!”

I saw Soulpatch look up and swung my head sideways and caught sight of Terry standing there, about twenty feet away, with his face all scrunched in concentration and his gun out in a two-handed stance, and he yelled again, “I’m warning you!”

I heard Flamehead blurt, “Fuck this,” and flicked my head to my left to see him run off—then Soulpatch sprang off me and onto his feet and tore off after him.

Terry yelled, “Stop!”

And just then, just as I was shouting “Don’t!” he squeezed the trigger, once, twice, then again, three quick, loud bursts that whipped through the air between us.

“Nooo!” I barked as I pushed to my feet, my eyes rocketing away from Terry to look down the road where I saw Flamehead stumble and hit the asphalt like he was a toy that had his power switch flicked off.

I yelled out to Terry, “Stop firing!” my arms out wide and my hands splayed open. His face flooded with confusion, then he nodded, and I added, “Call nine-one-one and get an ambulance down here,” jabbing an angry finger at the fallen man in the middle of the road, then I turned away from him and scanned the ground for my Browning and my phone. I glimpsed the phone with its back off and its battery scattered by an adjacent car, decided they could wait, and tore my eyes across to focus on recovering my gun, which was lying by some weeds at the edge of the sidewalk.

I scooped it up and ran down the street.

Soulpatch had veered off to the right, and I caught sight of him weaving through some parked cars in an adjacent lot as I got to Flamehead, who was just sprawled on the ground, wheezing with labored breathing and barely moving. With all his dark clothing, I couldn’t see where he’d been hit at first, then I saw it, a small hole in his Windbreaker by the base of his right shoulder blade.

I glanced across and saw Soulpatch disappearing behind more cars, and decided I needed to lock him down fast.

Terry was making his way over, his step slow and deflated. I yelled out to him, “Stay with this guy till the ambulance shows up and send the uniforms after me.”

He nodded. “You got it.” And I was off.

I snaked through more parked cars and hurtled into the next lot, past another messy boatyard and a meat warehouse, but I couldn’t see him anymore. The bastard was moving fast, even though he was wounded. I’d only hit him in the shoulder, in an area I knew didn’t have major arteries that would make him bleed out nor, obviously, any vital organs. I knew my slug wasn’t going to slow him down too much, although from the puff of car seat stuffing I’d seen when I’d shot him, I knew the bullet had been a through-and-through, which meant he had two holes in him and he’d be losing blood from both.

I swung my gaze right and left, searching for any sign of him as a cold, hollow space grew in my gut. All around me, I could see a mess of low-rise structures that housed shipping- and auto-related businesses with big yards of scattered equipment and lots of places to hide—or lots of cars to jack. I advanced again, keeping to the same direction I’d seen him heading in, but with each aimless step, the hollow feeling grew like a black hole and consumed my insides with the doomed realization that the bastard was probably gone.