Street Justice (29 page)

“Well, I haven’t been sleeping well. Did you know I just started this because I liked to party a bit and couldn’t find a job? All I wanted to do was get a nice quiet job in an IT department, like I was trained for in the Army.”

Johnny was taking a sip of his beer and nearly choked when he laughed. “The Army didn’t train you to be in IT, the Army trained you to kill people.”

Russ protested, “No I was trained as an IT administrator at Fort Benning--”

Johnny cut him off, “Over the last few years, how much IT-ing have you been doing and how much killing have you been doing?”

Russ paused, but for only a moment, “I did work in the field, but I have the training, and only did what I did because I had to, my country needed me.”

“Your country needed you.” Johnny sounded disappointed, “You buy that? More like the politicians needed you. That’s why I have no problem doing what I do, both then and now. The politicians need the spectacle to keep the masses in line, to keep them polarized. There is always a war on something, against something, for something. Otherwise the populace might wake up and realize those in power are only serving themselves. Well if they are going to serve themselves, I might as well serve myself.”

Resolutely Russ replied, “No, I served my country and in exchange, they gave me skills I can use to be a productive member of society.”

“You’re a funny man Russ. How are those skills coming in handy now? Are employers banging down your door? Or did the Army lure you with promises and now couldn’t care less about you, now that you have served your purpose.”

Russ opened his mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again and closed it again. Johnny took a slow sip of his beer letting Russ take his time. Finally Russ said, “So who are you getting to join you?”

“Anyone we can, we’re not the only ones out here who need to make money,” Johnny said.

“Anyone? So you don’t have guys lined up?”

“We do have guys lined up, guys who want the job but we need to vet them since I don’t know them all personally,” Johnny said.

“So, mercenaries?” Russ clarified.

“That’s a name for them, but then we’d be mercenaries too and I don’t know about you, but I don’t consider myself a mercenary. I consider myself an American, a veteran who needs a job.”

Russ scowled. “Mmm.” Russ’ tone contained disdain and condemnation.

“OK church lady, I gotta go. Condemn me all you want but keep spending the cash we hand over,” Johnny said, swallowing the last of his beer. He stood then reached down and grabbed the sack.

“Hey, before you go, something has made me curious. Why haven’t the guys you took the corner from come back? Where’d they go?”

“You don’t want to know,” Johnny said.

Russ knew he was right. He had a suspicion and he wanted to leave it at that. To let himself believe that his darkest fears were just that, fears. But as much as he wanted not to know, he knew sticking his head in the sand was not an acceptable solution for him. He had always wanted all the information, even the bad stuff, because he knew it would always fall to him to fix things. On occasion he envied those who could sit back and let others solve the problems. But he knew in most situations he was either the best person to solve the problem or, more often than not, the only person who would solve the problem.

“Yeah, I do,” Russ said resolutely.

“Really, Russ, do you? Really?”

“Yes,” Russ’ voice carried an edge he usually reserved for giving orders to new recruits.

Johnny sat back down and leaned well across the table. He hissed, “We killed them. We killed them all. We used all the US government taught us and killed them. We couldn’t have them coming back on us, so we killed them. Got it? We killed them.”

Russ laughed a humorless laugh and leveled his gaze on Johnny. Johnny stared back. The two men sat locked in each other’s eyes for more than a minute. Finally Johnny broke the gaze and chuckled. “You’re cute when you’re angry. Listen, I am going to go now, go make us both some more money. You still like that don’t you? Of course you do.” Johnny stood back up, grabbed the backpack and left without looking back. Russ let him go then ordered another beer and two shots.

Brad entered the book-lined study. Carl sat in a high backed chair reading “The Leadership Challenge” by Kouzes and Posner. Brad waited for a moment then asked, “You wanted to talk with me?”

“Yes,” Carl said, “I want you to have Charles and a couple of the other minions follow the hitters from the corner. I want to know where they go, what they do, et cetera.”

“Sir, don’t you think we’ve lost enough guys?”

“No Brad, I didn’t say I wanted them to engage them, just to follow, from a distance. Charles and his boys are from the street, they should be able to blend in and follow these guys without being seen. Let’s understand where they are coming from and where they are going. If nothing else maybe we can figure out who their supplier is.”

“Okay, sir. I’ll get on this.”

“Thank you, that is all.” Carl went back to his reading.

              Steve arrived at FBI headquarters at nine the next morning. As he approached Adrian’s desk he saw a small cluster of people surrounding it. They broke up as Steve got closer and scurried to other cubicles and down hallways. Steve said, “What? Do I smell?”

              Adrian made an exaggerated sniff and said, “Yes, but that’s not why they all left.”

              “Oh really, then why’d they all leave? And better yet, what were they doing here in the first place?”

              “Those my dear man are our support team,” Adrian beamed, looking around as if looking for them.

              “What do you mean?”

              “Well it seems our new ally Carl came through. This morning I had a message to come see Sam. When I did, James was there--all smiles and sunshine--telling me there is something to our case and he wants to make sure we have everything we need. He starts assigning me people like tic-tacs. I’m not sure where he is getting his authority from but I am not questioning.”

              “Excellent, so what is the plan?”

              “Well, I have them out tracking the new crew. We need to identify how many there are, where they go, what they do, how they operate and anything else we can get on them.”

              “And we need it fast, before anyone changes their mind. See why I like being a contractor here rather than a fully-fledged FBI guy?”

              “Didn’t you apply to be a full time FBI guy only we turned you down?”

              “Only because I was too awesome. I’d make you guys look bad,” Steve smiled, “So what do we do?”
              “I was thinking about that, let’s approach this from a different angle, let’s go street up. Let’s find some users and see if they know anything.”

              “Where are we going to find users? I mean I’m not saying I don’t know people who use, I’m just saying what are the chances they get supplied from that corner. And how do I ask them that?”

              “Then let’s go watch the corner and roll up on someone who just left it,” Adrian said, seeming to pout as Steve was not overly supportive of his idea.

              Steve proceeded as if he did not notice Adrian’s attitude, “Yeah, some guy we pull over is going to be a great source of information.”

              “We can hold it over him, tell us or we’ll bust you, sort of thing,” Adrian said defiantly.

              “Listen, I like most of your ideas, but I don’t think this one is going to work.”

              “OK, fine do you have any other bright ideas?”

              “Not really, but I tell you what, I’ll reach out to Sarah, see if she has anything for us. Maybe the SPD has a CI or something that can help us out.”

              Adrian seemed somewhat placated, “It’s something. You try your avenue, I’ll try mine.”

              “Fair enough, want to take bets on who is more productive?”

              “You would bet on our job, what we are supposed to be doing?”

              “Yeah, you’re right, if I had your idea I wouldn’t bet either.”

              Adrian’s face turned red, “Fine, but I get the agents out in the field helping us too. They are FBI guys and that makes them part of my team because as you pointed out, you’re not FBI.”

              Steve smiled, “Fair enough, and the stakes?”

              Adrian thought for a moment, then smiled, “OK, I win, you have to run a sprint triathlon with me.” Adrian was an avid triathlete, Steve spent his time building and working on his cars.

              Steve smiled back, “Fair enough, and if you lose, you have to go drinking with me, and I don’t mean sit there while I drink, I mean drink what I drink.”

              Adrian make a sick face when he thought about it but said, “Okay, you’re on.” He collected his jacket and a note pad and headed out the door. Steve smiled and headed out to the Seattle Justice Center.

              Steve met Sarah in her office. He gave her a quick rundown of the situation, most likely more than she needed and more than he should have revealed but Steve knew he could trust her and it was helpful to lay it all out to someone with a fresh perspective. She listened intently, nodding occasionally but not interrupting. Sarah had the ability to pull the conversation out of someone without saying a word.

              When he was done Sarah said, “Well, let me make a call.” She picked up the phone and dialed a number. After a short pause she said, “Harry, how are things?... Excellent. Hey, did I hear this morning some guy walked in off the street and started telling you all about a large drug connection? ... uh huh … I think I have a guy who can help you out. If you have a minute come on up to my office … great, see you in a couple.”

              Sarah set down the phone and smiled back at Steve. “It might be your lucky day. One of our drug guys came in this morning and had a guy off the street trying to tell him all about a huge drug connection. It all sounded a bit fantastic and it seems this guy has some holes, so we weren’t sure if he was crazy or the real deal, but on first blush, what this guy is saying meshes exactly with what you’re saying. He has parts you don’t have and you have parts he doesn’t have but the bits that fit together seem to fit together well.” Just then they heard a knock at the door. “Come in,” Sarah said.

              A trim, muscular man in his early thirties with a pompadour stepped into Sarah’s office. His charcoal suit fit him in every way without a pucker or pull. His light gray shirt matched his eyes and his bright white teeth matched the starched white of his collar. He nodded to Steve as he entered then said to Sarah, “Hey there Sarah.”

              “Harry, good to see you again. This is Steve,” She indicated to Steve, “He’s, well, an old friend and to tell you the truth I’m not sure who exactly he works for now other than ‘Us.’” Harry seemed unfazed by the comment and shook Steve’s hand. Sarah continued, “Steve, this is Harry Connick, not the singer but you should hear him on karaoke night sometime.”

              Steve laughed and replied, “What? Harry Connick Jr. didn’t quit singing and become a Seattle police officer? I was sure the pay alone would attract him.”

              “Okay, you found me out, I’m trying to keep a low profile lest people commit crimes just to get my autograph,” Harry smiled.

              “Please sit,” Sarah said, “Now Steve just told me a story I thought you might want to hear. Oh, and while you’re listening Harry, please know, Steve does not care who gets the collar. He’s not stepping in to take anything over and take credit. He only cares about the results.”  Harry looked at Steve who nodded in affirmation.

              Harry proceeded, “Well, we had a guy show up this morning and say he wanted to talk to someone in vice about drug dealing. At first we figured he was a concerned citizen telling us he saw a drug deal or he thinks the high schooler across the street is dealing, or something like that, we get it all the time. I was up on rotation and thought I got the short straw, having to listen to this guy complain rather than be out in the field doing real work.

              “But the more I listened to this guy, the more I realized he wasn’t just complaining nor was he some crackpot. This guy is a decorated veteran who came home from the war and basically slid into the drug trade. Now he’s neck deep and wants out. He knows this has gone too far, that there will be consequences but knows coming clean to us was the right thing to do.”

              “So where is he?” Steve asked.

              “Downstairs. We were on a break when Sarah called. He’s having lunch. He’s been so cooperative, and this bust is going to be so nice, I thought the least I could do is by him a sandwich,” Harry replied.

              “Mind if I join you for the afternoon. I am not looking at this from the same avenue you are, I’m trying to go upstream, I want the supplier. I’d like to ask a few questions to that end,” Steve said.

              “Not at all. I’ll be honest, it’ll be nice to have someone else in the room with me. Everyone has been trying to get in. Now that everyone knows what this guy has got everyone wants to help me so they can get their name on the bust. But I ain’t lettin’ any of those leeches in on my bust. They didn’t want to help me when I was just listening to some guy complain. “

              “I got ya,” Steve said. He turned to Sarah, “Darling, it seems it is time for me to go, but I owe you for this.”

              “It was mostly random luck and timing,” Sarah played it down.

              “And yet when I’m around you we also seem to catch the breaks, you must be my good luck charm,” Steve smiled. He walked around the desk and gave her a big hug and then said to Harry, “Lay on, MacDuff.”

              Harry nodded his head and exited Sarah’s office. Steve looked back at Sarah, gave her a wink and said “Adrian’s gonna have such a hangover.”

              “What?”

              “Oh, nothing,” Steve said and followed Harry down the hall toward the elevators. Two stories down, they entered an interrogation room and Steve saw a large, fit man eating a turkey sub. Steve assumed this was their man. The large man nodded at Steve and Harry and continued to eat.

Harry indicated to a seat for Steve and said, “I’m going to get a cup of coffee, want one?”

“Of course,” Steve said with a smile.

Harry looked over at the soldier who nodded, continuing to chew. Harry left, Steve pulled out his smartphone and looked through some emails. He didn’t have anything new in his folders but he did not want to try small talk with the big man. The big man continued to focus on his sandwich. A couple of minutes later Harry returned with three large coffees in a cardboard holder. The spot for the fourth cup was filled with sugars and creamers.

Harry set the holder down and said “I didn’t know how either of you took it so I just brought a bunch of stuff.” Harry grabbed the closest cup and put in one sugar and a creamer. Steve took his and added nothing. The large man set down his sub and proceeded to put four creamers and six sugars in his  coffee.

He let out a laugh and said, “I imagine I should enjoy good coffee and real cream while I can. I don’t imagine they have either in the Pen.” He took a big swallow and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

Harry said to Steve, “Steve, this is Russ. Formerly an Army Ranger, did multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has been telling me quite the story so far this morning.”

Steve shook Russ’ hand. “So can you give me a quick re-cap?”

“Sure I can. The highlights are, when I got back to the States I tried to find a job but no one wanted to hire me. They all talk about honoring our heroes but I guess honoring doesn’t mean giving me a chance. Anyway, I was partying and running out of money, when a dealer I had been introduced to needed some help. I helped a bit, including putting him in contact with a supply I got connected to when I was in Afghanistan. The money was nice and I think of drugs as basically a victimless crime. Sure, some people overdo them, but they do it to themselves.

“But then things took a turn. Our supplier was increasing our supply way past what we asked for. Local guys were getting hot that we were eating into their market, so we needed help. We hired a crazy crew I knew in the Army and now they have taken everything over and are killing people. I am not quite sure how it got this out of hand but when we’re killing folks, even drug dealers, we are no longer victimless and I don’t know how to get out. I need help.”

Russ’ face had an earnest look Steve knew he could not be faking. He looked like a child asking for help with a complex task. “Yeah, we can help you though I can’t make any commitments to how much your cooperation will or won’t help with your own legal issues. I’ll want more details later but let’s figure out our general next steps.”

“OK, fair enough,” Russ gave a thin smile, “One of the guys we asked to come in and help has been killed in the scuffle, so as I understand it, they need more men. They plan on getting mercenaries, people they can get references for. My thought would be, we find someone willing to go in as a mercenary and take them down from the inside.”

“I like it, simple,” Steve nodded his head.

“Yeah, but where are we going to find someone dumb enough to get into bed with these guys?” Harry asked.

“Oh, I might know a guy,” Steve offered, then added, “By the way Adrian, I believe this means I won our bet.”

“Ugh,” was all Adrian could say.

Sam and Adrian stared at Steve in Sam’s office. “Let me get this straight, you want to pose as a mercenary and infiltrate these guys on the fly, with no background other than this Russ guys’ word and with no time to study them?” Sam asked.

“Yup, that’s about the gist of it,” Steve said back with more confidence than he felt. He knew there was usually weeks and months of surveillance before the FBI ever even considered sending in a mole. But he also knew they did not have time to wait. The crew was killing people and hiring now. If they waited there was no knowing how many more people would die before they needed more help.

“My first instinct is to say no,” Sam said.

“But isn’t this why we have Steve? Isn’t this part of the reason we keep him a contractor? To do the things are don’t want anyone else to do?”