Drive (17 page)

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” he hissed.

“To help Fish, where else?!” said Jordan, trying to push past him.

“No! You’re going to find a place to hide and stay the fuck out of sight until I come back for you or…”

“Or what?”

“Just stay out of sight,” he repeated and took off.

There was a brief moment where Jordan considered ignoring Sawyer’s orders all together, but in the end she had to agree that there was nothing to gain from all of them getting caught. She searched the dark surroundings for a suitable place to hide and quickly settled on the one place she felt would be safe.

              Jordan could see straight into the main living room from where she was crouched behind the built in barbeque out on the terrace. Sawyer had left the sliding door cracked open upon entering so she could hear everything that was being said.

             
“It was you, you filthy rat! First you break a truce that took years to establish by attacking the Espositos and then you kill my only son!” Gino Mancini shouted. His gun was drawn and pointed at Sawyer while the other two men had a hold of Fish. From behind one of the bedroom doors, Jet’s furious snarling could be heard as she repeatedly scraped her claws along the door in and attempt to free herself.

             
Sawyer hadn’t tried to defend himself, but rather had chosen to approach the old man in surrender with his hands in the air and his gun tucked away safely out of sight.

             
“Gabriel left me no choice. He kidnapped a friend of mine and then brutalized her repeatedly while she was tied to a chair. There are rules Gino. Sacred rules that should never be broken and when they are…”

             
Gino studied Sawyer, screwing up his eyes and displaying his skepticism. He had suspected a long time ago that Gabriel had a violent streak in him that measured far beyond anything even he had ever witnessed, but even his father hadn’t expected Gabriel and his boys to abandon every shred of humanity they might have still possessed in order to tie up a woman and repeatedly punch her in the face, especially when she had no way to fight back and defend herself. 

             
“You’re lying,” he said.

             
Sawyer shook his head. “You know I’m not, Gino.” In the time Sawyer had spent with the old man, he had gotten to know him well enough to know that there were certain things he never tolerated within his organization. It didn’t matter where they landed on the food chain in the Mancini family, if word got to the boss that they had laid a hand on their woman or, God forbid - a child – they could expect there to be heavy consequences. Best case scenario, they were gonna get a beatin’ themselves. Worst case…well, there was a reason mobster’s had so many idioms for murder. Gino had killed more men in cold blood than any other target Sawyer had ever worked, but he had never laid a finger on a woman or child. People had speculated that it was due to the fact that he himself had been raised by a drunk who had made a hobby of beating up his wife and children, but no one knew for sure. The only thing that mattered were the rules, and when it came to Gino, rule number one was you don’t mess with the innocent. Gino was many things, but he was not a bully. In a strange and inexplicable way, he was one of the most honorable men Sawyer had ever met. It was the very thing that had begun to cause a conflict within him as time drew nearer to take Gino down.

             
His old boss’s face went blank as the color slowly began to drain from his skin. He lowered his weapon and took a seat on the nearest sofa.

             
“Your friend…she’s alive?” he finally asked.

             
Sawyer nodded, but didn’t elaborate.

             
“Why? Why did you start this war?” Gino continued, his tired eyes showing the despair of an old man grasping for understanding.

             
“I didn’t. Gabriel found out that you were passing him by and grooming me to take over…guess he didn’t like the idea much.”

             
It was all the explanation Gino needed. He nodded at the two men restraining Fish and they released him. The old man was about to get up when Sawyer opened his mouth again, “There’s more.” He knew the next sentence out of his mouth would probably get him killed, but he owed it to Gino to tell him the truth. “I’m not who you think I am – ”

             
“You’re a cop.”

             
Stunned, Sawyer stood there temporarily speechless. So, Gino Mancini continued, “Yes, I’ve known for some time now. I don’t know, maybe I should have killed you right then and there the moment I found out. Thing is, knowing what you were didn’t change
who
you were to me. And maybe I thought that feeling was mutual.”

             
“It is,” said Sawyer.

             
“Good,” said Gino. “Then I still have
one
son.” He stood up from his seat and began to move toward the door. “I need to go and call a meeting with Joey Esposito. This battle has already cost us enough.”

             
Sawyer fell into step behind him. “Let me go with you, let me explain.”

             
“No. You’ve done enough…and you have your own battles left to fight. Battles I can’t help you with.” Sawyer knew he was referring to Mortison.

             
“I truly am sorry,” said Sawyer as he watched the old man go.

             
Gino sighed. “So am I.”

              The door had barely closed behind Gino and his men when Jordan came flying in from the balcony.

             
“I told you to wait until I came back to get you!” Sawyer scolded.

             
“No, you said to wait for you – or…which really left things open for interpretation,” said Jordan.

             
“Yeah well, it would have been nice if I had had time to hide,” Fish chimed in after letting Jet out of the room she had been locked in. “Wasn’t exactly pleasant waking up to the sound of screaming, I can tell you that much.”

             
“Oh,” said Jordan. “I assumed the screaming was you.”

             
Fish shot her a dirty look. “No, that was the stupid git who walked in on me having a good sleep and found Jet lying on the foot of the bed.”

             
Jordan grinned. “Kinda wish I could have seen that.”

             
“Can we focus on something a little bit more pertinent than people’s completely acceptable fear of wild animals that could kill you, like maybe the part where we’re all still alive!” Sawyer broke in, frustrated with how nonchalant the other two were being given their current circumstances.

             
“Sorry, you’re right. We are incredibly lucky. I mean, your little sit down with Gino could have gone so much differently…” Jordan’s words trailed off as she thought back on the conversation that had just taken place between Sawyer and his old boss.

             
“And we’re not out of the woods yet. Even if the Esposito’s lose interest in us, Mortison will make sure that the cops don’t. By now, I’m sure he’s got warrants out for Fish and I and he won’t stop until he eliminates each and every one of us. It’s the only way he’ll get away with what he’s done.”

             
“I don’t understand why no one else knows you’re a cop, mate. I mean, if the mobsters know, shouldn’t your peers?”

             
Sawyer dropped down into the sofa, tired from not having slept in days and growing increasingly more exhausted as he thought about everything that still lay ahead of them.

             
“There are plenty of people who knew I was a cop. But, I’ve been undercover for two years. During that entire time, Gary was my only contact to the police force. That means that he has had ample time and opportunity to damage my reputation and I never would have known about it. My guess is he told them I went rogue, switched teams. For all I know, my badge doesn’t mean squat anymore. It certainly won’t keep any of us out of jail.” Sawyer gave a sideways glance in Jordan’s direction. Now was as good a time as any to make the break. “Which is why you need to leave.”

             
Jordan was sure she had misunderstood. “What?”

             
“You need to leave Jordan. I mean it. You’ve got a clean slate. The world already thinks Jordan Hall is dead and I’ll see to it that Mortison believes it to.”

             
“You can’t be serious.”

             
“Why not? This was our arrangement all along wasn’t it? You would get me to where I need to go and when you had the chance to break free, you’d take it. Well, here’s your chance.”

             
Jordan was near tears. “What if I don’t want to break free? What if I want to stay?”

             
Sawyer shook his head. “You can’t.”

             
“Why not? Because it’s too dangerous? Screw that! I can ha – ”

             
“Because I don’t want you to!” Sawyer was staring her square in the eyes. His expression had turned the same stone cold she had seen before. Whatever warmth or care Jordan had seen in his face before was now completely gone.

Tears were falling freely down her face, but she didn’t care.

“Go to hell,” she whispered. She wasted no time in gathering her things and storming from the penthouse without so much as looking back to say goodbye.

***

“Bit harsh, don’t you think?” Fish said, trying to break the awkward silence left behind now that it was only him and Sawyer.

“Had to be done.”

Fish stood by quietly and watched as Sawyer dragged himself from the sofa and into another room. A moment later he heard the door slam and knew he had seen the last of him, at least until morning.

***

Jordan went as far as the lobby before she stopped. Sawyer’s words had crushed her, but she knew why he had said them. Regardless of his motivations, she wasn’t about to stay where she wasn’t wanted. But she wasn’t about to leave either. Whether Sawyer wanted to admit it or not, Jordan could help him.

She had seen from Gabriel’s balcony that the building across the street was undergoing some major renovations and seemed to be empty while under construction. It would be as good a place as any to spend the night.

Jordan chose a unit across from the one Sawyer and Fish were staying in, granting her good visual of the penthouse whenever someone turned on a light. With no expectations of sleep, Jordan did her best to get comfortable on a stack of plywood, wrapped up in her hoody while she kept watch, waiting for Sawyer and Fish to make their next move. The hours seemed to drag on as Jordan stared out into the night, her mind wandering from one dead end to the next in search of a solution.  With no way of knowing the span of Mortison’s reach within the law enforcement community, it was nearly impossible to determine who could be trusted and who couldn’t. Repeatedly, Jordan found her thoughts circling back around to Travis. She knew in no uncertain terms that he would do whatever she asked, partners or not, he would always have her back. Only involving Travis was not an option. Not considering how much he had to lose. Jordan would never be able to live with herself if something happened to him, or worse, his family.

It was dawn when Jordan finally had the epiphany that would save them all. Eager to avoid any run-ins with the construction crew, Jordan quickly got ready and took off, making sure to leave the place behind the same way she had found it the night before. She went about her business as casually as she could and made her way back to the parking garage across the street. After carefully examining her choices, Jordan settled on a Camaro with a blood orange paint job. It took a few tries of trying to remember how Sawyer had done it, but eventually, she was able to get inside where she went about trying to get it started. It was surprisingly easier than getting past the locked doors had been. Once she was up and running, she sunk down into the seat as far as she could while still maintaining Fish’s Jeep within her view. Next, she waited.

Barely an hour went by before Jordan saw Fish and Sawyer walking up with Jet. They moved cautiously through the dimly lit parking garage, taking their surroundings into account as they went. It escaped both of them that Jordan was sitting just a few feet away, watching their every step. She was only planning on following them briefly. She just needed to stay on them long enough to figure out how they intended to approach the Mortison dilemma so she could properly proceed with her own course of action to bring down the man who had attempted to hand both her and Sawyer over to their doom while getting Fish caught in the crossfire.

Staying two or three cars behind at all times, Jordan tracked the Jeep until she saw it pull off into a parking garage a few blocks down from the one they had just left. Jordan sat outside in the Camaro and kept watch. She knew it was only a matter of time. Soon enough, Sawyer and Fish would pull out onto the main drag again cruising in a completely new ride.

A few minutes later, an older Dodge Durango in a hunter green came rushing out again. It had to be from the early 2000’s given that it still had the original shape. Jordan had wanted one about as bad as anyone could want a car, but at the time she hadn’t had the money. She remembered vividly how her dreams had been crushed in 2004 when Dodge revealed the new Durango. Never again would she look at it the same way after what they had done to it, turning it into something a minivan that had a one night stand with a pick up might have birthed. Now, she felt a twinge of jealousy as she spotted Sawyer in the driver’s seat. At the same time she couldn’t help but wonder why he had chosen a vehicle that old. Of course, then she caught sight of Jet’s tail poking ever so slightly out of the cracked back window and remembered.

From there, Sawyer and Fish seemed to be headed to the police station. Jordan had expected as much. One way or another Sawyer was going to have a showdown with Mortison and chances were only one of them would walk away alive. Jordan suspected they’d spend the day trailing him while Fish did his part and attempted to find some sort of a virtual paper trail left behind from Sawyer’s dealings with Mortison. They wouldn’t be easy to find. In all likelihood, Sawyer had used disposable cellphones and other means of untraceable communication to avoid precisely such a trail. How ironic it seemed now that the very link that could have gotten Sawyer killed every day of the last two years would now be the only thing that could save them all.

Satisfied with her findings, Jordan pulled off into traffic and left the guys behind. She had a lot to get done and not a lot of time to do it in. She knew that the Camaro she was driving in would be reported stolen eventually, in fact, she was counting on it, and she needed to be ready when it happened. In the meantime, she needed to stay below the radar which meant speeding and erratic driving were not an option. So, Jordan never strayed from the general flow of traffic as she inched her way toward her destination, grinding her teeth in frustration the entire time.

Shift change had already taken place when Jordan pulled up at her old station. She could see a few stragglers still lingering around waiting for a job to come in, but most of the paramedics working that day seemed to be out on calls already. Not wanting to attract any attention yet, Jordan slowly rolled on until she was just beyond the building’s parking lot.  Then she went back on foot, careful not to come face to face with anyone that might recognize her. There were only a handful of ambulances parked in the depot and they were parked near the end of the otherwise empty lot. Jordan covered the open ground as quickly as she could, anxious to gain concealment from hiding between the large busses.

Jordan’s car boosting skills were already improving and she managed to pop the lock after only two tries this time. Not that she was after the rig itself, no, she was after what as in it. Within just a few seconds she had swept the interior clean of the supplies she wanted, including some basic first aid items to treat the swelling on her face and most importantly, the mobile radio. It took some doing to detach it from where it was mounted, but it had to be done. The radio was a vital piece of the puzzle and she’d need it to make everything else fit.

With everything stuffed securely into a small navy blue backpack she had found in the stolen Camaro, Jordan moved away from the ambulance and away from the exposure that came from being out in the
open . There was one more thing she needed and she knew exactly where she would find it. Ducking behind cars as she went, Jordan searched the employee parking lot for a little blue Jetta. It belonged to a guy named Blake. It was common knowledge around the Station that Blake kept his phone in the glove compartment of his car to avoid having to answer it while he was at work. Not that it kept his girlfriend Jennifer from tracking him down via the mainline in the house, but at least he was free of her whenever he was out on a call. Jordan hadn’t ever understood her obsessive need to call him every five minutes until a group of them went out for drinks one night after work and she saw Blake in action. That boy didn’t need a leash, he needed a shock collar. After that night, Jordan was all too happy to pursue Blake with the phone anytime his girlfriend was on the line.

When Jordan found the Jetta, she was ecstatic to find that Blake had left the window cracked.

“Dumbass,” she mumbled as she reached her arm down into the car to unlock the door. Shortly after, she popped open the glove compartment and retrieved his phone. It wasn’t even ten am and he already had twenty-seven missed calls.

Jordan shoved the phone into her backpack along with everything else and hurried back to the Camaro. She immediately got back onto the road. Jordan wasn’t about to screw up a perfect robbery by wasting time on her getaway.

While she was driving, Jordan kept her left hand on the wheel and used the right one to get into her bag of goodies. After some fumbling around, she managed to pull out the radio and turn it on. It wasn’t until she heard the constant chatter of the operators conversing with everyone about the different calls coming in, that Jordan realized how much she had missed the comforts of something so familiar.  Enjoying the murmur of voices, she turned it up another notch to help her tune in to what was going on. There was really only one voice she was interested in hearing and she knew she would recognize it the instant it came on the line.