BULLETS (28 page)

He was bruised and aching and also fairly certain that he’d been Tased at some point in the afternoon. He had that specific metallic taste in his mouth that comes from that and it would also account for why he’d been out for so long.

He could hear men arguing in the car, one of them was Javier. He couldn’t make out what was being said, however. He wiggled his arms, getting his circulation going again. He felt for his phone. It was gone. He did a quick mental evaluation of the situation. It didn’t take long. The short version, he was fucked.

That was, ironically enough, also the long version of the situation, too. Slick took a deep breath, centered and calmed himself. He’d prepared for this moment for a long time, his eventual death, and wanted to be ready.

For some reason he couldn’t get the image of Pedro’s pregnant girlfriend out of his mind. Her face floated before him like a ghost. Slick was certain he’d seen her before.

The car finally came to a stop and the voices inside climbed out. They were still arguing. Slick heard another vehicle pull up. And another. He counted at least eight voices, maybe more.

“Turn the lights off, we don’t want her to know we’re here,” Del said. “Not yet.”

“She’s probably in bed, old people go to bed early around these parts.”

Slick didn’t recognize that voice. He knew Brower and Collins, Javier and Del, but there were at least four others. He listened as the men waited and smoked.

“Where’s the nig?” said one of them.

“Hey,” Javier said. “Stow that shit.”

“What?”

“I don’t want to hear any of your racist bullshit, understand? Keep it to yourself.”

“Agent, we’re pretty far off the reservation, and the FBI ain’t calling the shots here, last I checked.” Some of the other men giggled.

“You keep it up,” Javier said, “and I’ll put my fist so far down your throat that I’ll be able to yank your brains out of your ass. Is that completely clear, deputy?”

Everyone got silent and still until Del spoke up.

“Easy boys, Agent Rivera is right, let’s act professionally here. Our man’s in the trunk, pull him out and we’ll get this show on the road.”

The lid opened and hands reached inside, lifted Slick out of the trunk. They dumped him on the ground face first into sand and dirt and shined their flashlights on him. Slick spit and cleared his throat. Rolled to up to a kneeling position, testing how much play he had in his hands. He didn’t have much at all.

Del stood before him, smiling. Behind him, Brower, Collins and a couple of other deputies. Javier stood nearby. In the distance behind the men, Slick recognized the Carlson ranch, all tucked in for the night.

“Why are we here?” Slick asked.

“Well, I must admit, I’ve got a touch of OCD,” Del said. “I came up with this perfect solution for getting rid of both you and Ted, I mean it was a thing of beauty. It really was. And had Camilla Leon been able to control her urges, it would have worked.”

“Hey,” Javier said. “You don’t talk about her.”

“My apologies. Just telling it like it is, Agent Rivera. But I hear you.” Del kneeled down next to Slick. “See, Slick, I don’t like to waste a good idea, and that one was as good as they get. It itches at me, bothers me so much that mere chance fucked up a perfect plan. So I’m going to use it again. Doris Carlson has been particularly stubborn, she was all set to sell and now she’s said she won’t sell the farm under any circumstances. So you’re going to break in and kill her.”

“Oh, I am? And why would I do that?”

“Because you’re a killer, that’s what you do. We’ll make the story stick, trust me. And you’ll be shot dead on your way out. You’ll have powder burns on your hands, fingerprints on the weapon, and you’ll be shot dead exiting the scene of the crime—it’ll be a slam dunk. We’ll blame the Ted murder on you as well, we’ll say that you forced Camilla to lie for your alibi, so on, so forth. It’ll take a bit of finesse, but that is what I do, I finesse situations. I’ll have a federal officer and a district attorney telling folks what to believe and they will believe it. I don’t know if you realize this, but black people aren’t trusted a whole lot in Arizona.”

“I have noticed that, yeah. And not just in Arizona.”

“Yeah, white folks tend to think the worst of your people, it’s a shame, it really is.”

“A damn shame. Well, okay, what are we waiting for? Give me the gun and let me go cap her sorry ass.”

Del laughed. “I like this guy, I really do. In spite of himself. Sorry, Slick, you’re not getting a firearm. One of these fellows will take care of the soon-to-be-departed Doris Carlson and then Javier here will take care of you immediately afterward. Both Brower and Collins wanted to do it, but Javier, seems he’s got a bit of a bone to pick with you.”

“I’ve got one of my own to pick with him. Where’s Camilla?”

“She’s somewhere safe, not to worry. George is taking good care of her.” Del rose to his feet. “Okay, boys, stand him up and let’s get this show on the road.”

Collins and another deputy grabbed Slick under his arms and yanked. Slick resisted at first. They pulled harder and Slick pushed into it, butting his head into the deputy’s chin. He kneed Collins but was stopped with a punch to the kidneys from Javier. Javier hit him again and they bent him face first over the hood of the police car.

“Country, career and Camilla, I thought those were your big three, Javier. That was all bullshit then? You’re all about the dollars after all, I guess, and fuck everyone else, including Camilla,” Slick said. “Right?”

“Shut up. This is for her own good, you’re a fucking professional killer.”

“And now so are you. The only difference is who we work for. I work for myself. I ain’t all about the money like you. You’re taking orders from this fucking asshole.”

Javier bent Slick’s bound hands up high behind his back until Slick grunted.

“Nobody orders me to do shit.”

“We have a huge investment in Agent Rivera,” Del said. “He’s going places. He’s a much better political prospect than Ted could ever be. Ted couldn’t control himself, couldn’t rein in his natural biases. Javier is a lot smarter. He’ll be the first Hispanic director of Homeland Security, maybe even president. The sky’s the limit, especially after he resolves this whole situation here. A career like that takes money and connections and now he has both. We’ll all be taking orders from him someday.”

Slick felt someone place a gun in his hand. He resisted but they made sure he gripped it tight.

“Put your finger in there or I’ll break it,” Brower said. He and Collins forced his index finger into the trigger guard.

“They’re going to kill her, Javier, they have to.”

“Shut up,” the fed said. “She’ll be fine.”

“No need to kill her,” Del said. “It’ll all be explained. You’re a professional killer, we’ve already put together a portfolio to explain it all. You’re the one who really killed Roger Carlson and set Pedro up. You were hired to do so by a company that will soon go under. I’ve got a bunch of shell companies set up solely for that purpose. You used Camilla for cover once you got busted by Ted. You lied to and seduced her. And you came here to the Carlson place to finish business, but Agent Rivera was on to you and stopped you, although sadly just a touch too late. It’s a very compelling story.”

“Clear, fire in the hole,” Brower said.

They forced the weapon in Slick’s hand to fire three times. The shots echoed out over the desert. They removed the pistol from his hand, spun Slick around. Collins handed the weapon to Brower, who wore plastic gloves.

“She’ll never believe it. She knows too much and she won’t stop digging,” Slick said.

“She won’t be able to dig too much, George will regretfully have to ask for her resignation. I mean she did consort and sleep with a known murderer, that just can’t be done. But she’ll go into private practice and be fine. Okay, Brower, Mrs. Carlson next.”

Brower nodded to Del and disappeared into the darkness, two deputies behind him, heading for the ranch house. Slick blinked, because Del’s comment about George triggered something in his mind. He just remembered where he’d seen that girl before.

“Javier, they have to kill her. She won’t stop, you know she won’t.”

“She’ll stop. I’ll make her believe it.”

Slick switched to Spanish. “
It’s too late, she knows who the girl is.
”

“
What girl?
” Javier replied in kind.

“
She knows who Pedro’s girl is,
” Slick replied, his Spanish just barely good enough to be understood by the agent.

“
So what
?”

“What’s he saying?” Del asked.

“
She knows the girl. That girl is her boss’s daughter. She found video that shows the girl’s face and recognized her. She sent it to me. It’s on my phone,
” Slick said, thankful that he finally remembered. He’d seen her face in the picture on Camilla’s mantel and in the pictures in George Hanson’s office. The girl was his oldest daughter. “
You can see it for yourself. She’ll never believe that story because she knows the girl.
”

“Agent Rivera, what is he saying?”

Javier didn’t answer, just stared at Slick.

“
They have to kill her now, because she knows too much. She knows the only reason that Pedro was chosen was because he was involved with George Hanson’s daughter. Pedro got her pregnant. They’re lying to you, they have to kill her now, if they haven’t already. I bet they killed Father Jose, too. They’re going to kill her, Javier. I don’t care what happens to me, I care about her. Where is she?
” Slick asked.

“Javier, what is he saying about George?”

“What happened to Father Jose?” Javier asked. “He wasn’t supposed to be harmed, that was the deal.”

In the distance, Brower pounded on the front door of the Carlson house.

“He wasn’t, he’s upstate with some contacts of mine, like we discussed—”

“He’s lying, Javier,” Slick said. “Look at him, listen to him, you’ve done this long enough to know when someone’s lying. He just lied to you, right there.”

“Come on, Javier, this man will say anything right now to save his life—”

“Where’s Camilla?” Javier asked.

“I told you, she’s with George—”

“Get her on the phone. Now.”

“Javier, that might be difficult, because—”

Javier pointed his weapon at Del. “You have five seconds.”

Collins and the remaining deputies pulled their weapons and aimed at the agent.

“Javier. Calm down. She’s fine.”

“Four seconds.”

“Oh shit, he’s lying,” Slick said, reading Del’s face. “Goddamn it. Shit! Motherfucker. I am going to KILL you for this. You motherfucker!” Slick pushed forward until a deputy shoved him back against the car. “You killed her already!”

“It is true?” Javier said, his face tight with fear.

“Lower the gun and we’ll discuss it.”

“We’ll discuss it now. Three seconds.”

In the distance, Brower kicked open the door of the Carlson house.

“Two seconds.”

“Javier, there are … certain … unavoidable realities that we have to face in an endeavor such as this. Certain sacrifices we all have to make. I was going to tell you—”

“No. No … no, you didn’t—”

“Javier—”

Javier shot Del where he stood. The deputies opened up on him and he ducked out of the way, swung his pistol around at one of the deputies and fired back at him.

Slick lashed a foot out at a deputy who had the drop on Javier, catching the man with a kick right to the joint of the knee, breaking it. The man screamed and went down. Javier shot him. The rest of the deputies dropped their flashlights and scattered, firing wildly at Javier as he shot back at them.

Slick rolled back over the hood of the car behind him, landing on the ground on the opposite side. He sat down on his ass, scooted his hands under his butt and over his legs and feet. Now his cuffed hands were in front.

He crouched down as bullets flew overhead. A deputy ran around, his flashlight bobbing up and down. Slick leaped on him, dropping his cuffed hands over the man’s throat. He turned his body and twisted. The man’s neck broke. Collins popped up from behind a car and fired at Slick. Slick twisted the dead man’s body around, shielding himself from the shots, which thudded into the corpse.

Slick brought his hands back off of the dead man and rolled forward as shots whistled close by him. He kept rolling right to the firing deputy. Slick came to his feet when he got close and elbowed Collins on the chin. He brought his cuffed hands down on the weapon. He knocked it out of the deputy’s hands and it disappeared into the darkness.

Collins batted Slick away with a backhand. Slick went down again and bounced right back up. Collins stalked him, his fists high and his shoulders bunched up tight. He swiped at Slick with a big, meaty paw. Slick ducked under it and rolled again, this time staying on his back. He got his knee behind the plastic cuff ties binding his wrists and pushed. The plastic ties snapped and his hands were now free. He rolled again just as Collins tried to stomp on him. Slick got to his feet and squared off with the big man.

Shots echoed as Javier cursed somewhere in the darkness.

Collins swiped at Slick again. Slick blocked this one with his forearm and it stung, numbing the entire arm. Slick countered with a head butt right on the big man’s nose. Blood spurted. Slick followed that with a vicious Muay Thai kick to the inside of the deputy’s knee. It cracked and Collins went down on one knee.

Slick unloaded a barrage of punches and kicks and the big man just covered up and absorbed them. He grabbed Slick’s leg and tackled him. Slick allowed himself to fall backward and got one leg up and over the deputy’s shoulder, trapping one of the arms inside and cinching a jiu-jitsu triangle choke, Slick’s legs now locked tight and cutting off the blood supply. The bigger man fought it, got to his feet and picked Slick’s whole body up.

He slammed Slick’s body down hard on the ground, trying to shake loose of the chokehold. Slick just hung on tight, grabbing the deputy’s outsized head and pulling on it. Collins picked him up and slammed him again. And again. Slick gritted his teeth and hung on. Finally Collins went to his knees and then fell over on his side, slowly losing consciousness.