The Shut Mouth Society (47 page)

“
We have Branger!” Harding yelled.

“
And we have our orders. Next comes a bazooka. Throw your weapons across the floor so we can hear them!”

“
Think they’re bluffing?” Evarts asked, but Harding didn’t answer.

Evarts ran to the recliner and lifted Baldwin to his chest. If they retreated to the bathroom, maybe help could still arrive in time.

Harding saw what he was doing and yelled toward the outer door, “Give us a second.”

“
No! Now!”

Damn. Evarts wondered how long it had been since they had first knocked on the door. He tried to glance at his watch as he carried Baldwin to the bathroom, but his wrist was wrapped around behind her. Time had stretched out so much that it seemed like they had been in the house forever. Evarts heard a gun clatter across the floor, and at first he thought Harding had surrendered. A glance showed him that he had thrown only the empty .45.

“
I only heard one gun!” someone yelled.

Evarts unceremoniously threw Baldwin on the floor of the bathroom and ran back to the door to tap Harding on the shoulder. Harding immediately shot another three-round burst and grabbed Branger by his shirt, dragging him into the bathroom. Evarts leaped in just behind him and slammed the door. They each took a breath before they heard an outrageous explosion. No bluff.

Evarts heard someone shout “fuck” and realized that it came from him. Harding opened the door to rubble, smoke, and flying debris. Stumbling over pieces of wall and fractured furniture, Harding charged toward an upturned mattress. As soon as he hit the ground, he fired a single shot.

Evarts thought he was conserving ammunition until Harding turned around with an expression that told him he was dry. Damn, damn, damn. All they had left was the automatic in his hand. No target was in sight, so he ejected the magazine, made a quick inspection, and slammed it back into the butt. Seven shots. He handed the gun to Harding and started rummaging around for additional weapons. Branger must have another gun squirreled away somewhere.

Gunfire. Lots of it. Evarts frantically increased the pace of his search. He threw over a nightstand and the drawer fell out to reveal another automatic. Then he heard the bark of a .45 much closer than the other gunfire. Harding was shooting. Evarts leaped back to what was left of the doorway and plopped behind the mattress with Harding. Without an instant of hesitation, he fired at the legs of one of the attackers, because his body armor and faceplates made a killing shot all but impossible.

Just then, the firing became unbelievably more intense, and the charging men fell spasmodically to the floor. After a moment, Evarts saw that his own assault team had arrived and taken positions in the outer hallway. Branger’s men had been caught in a wicked crossfire.

It was over.

Chapter 60

Only the firefight was over. The next hour was chaotic. The team secured the house and confirmed that no neighbor had raised the alarm with the police. The only audible gunfire occurred in the basement, which had been soundproofed because of the shooting range. The team quickly gathered up the bodies and hauled them to a storage area. The wounded received first aid in a barracks area next to the range.

Evarts carried Baldwin to an upstairs guestroom and laid her carefully on a bed. She remained in a drugged stupor, but her pulse seemed almost normal. He checked the bullet wound to her leg and discovered that someone had attended to it properly. He groaned audibly when he saw puncture marks on her arm. He hoped they had used only morphine to deaden the pain in her leg. Even so, she would probably have some trouble with withdrawal.

Unfortunately, he had other things to tend to, so he let her lie in the bed, keeping the lights on in case she regained some consciousness. This time he wanted her to sleep off the drugs naturally.

When he descended the stairs, he found Harding and Matthews waiting for him in the kitchen.

“
Any coffee?” he asked, rubbing his ears.

“
Brewing. How is she?”

“
Out. We have work here, so I think we should let her rest.” Both men just looked sympathetic in response. “What have they found?”

“
An office with a secured computer,” Matthews said. “That will take time. We also found a vault in the basement, but Branger won’t give us the combination.” He looked uncomfortable. “He insists on seeing you. I think he’s got another card.”

“
Where’d you put him?”

“
In the library. Tied up and under guard.”

Evarts thought a minute. “Let him stew. I want a cup of coffee first.”

“
He acts as if it’s urgent.”

“
He thinks he holds an ace, but unless I’m mistaken, it’s a deuce. That coffee ready yet?”

Harding poured him a large mug of black coffee and then poured another for himself.

After an appreciative swallow, Evarts said, “Thanks.” When Harding just shrugged, Evarts added, “I meant for the help here today.”

“
I know.” He looked uneasy.

“
What is it?”

“
We lost someone.”

“
Who?”

“
Gary.”

“
Shit.”

“
We all volunteered,” Matthews offered.

Evarts turned his back to them and leaned against the island counter. After a few seconds, he muttered, “This isn’t the way he should’ve died.”

“
No, it’s not. But it’s Branger’s fault, not yours.”

“
Did he have a wife?”

“
No. But a bevy of NASCAR groupies will be grief stricken.” Evarts felt a hand on his shoulder. “Gary insisted on being a part of this, and I’m told he handled his part expertly.” Harding paused. “He saved our lives. He’s the one that charged the basement.”

“
That’s supposed to make me feel better?”

“
No … but I thought you should know.”

Evarts drained the coffee mug before turning around and facing his friends. “We’ve got to do the rest of this right so people know he died a hero.”

“
What do you want us to do?”

“
Rick, break into that computer but be careful. If I know Branger, he left worms in there that can be tripped with the slightest mistake. Don’t underestimate the sophistication of these people.” Matthews left immediately. “Steve, take control of the interrogations. Focus on drug connections. We need proof that these people were criminals. Next, try to get the hierarchy of the union. Since they only meet here quarterly, they’re probably scattered all over the country.”

“
Which country?”

“
Good point. Get some Mexican connections so we can justify our actions to the State Department. Push hard but keep it clean. At least for now. Work the wounded first and promise relief from their pain if they cooperate.”

“
Gotcha. What are you going to do?”

“
Get the combination to that vault.”

Chapter 61

“
Hello, Chet,” Evarts said as he entered the library. With all the planning activity in the last two days, he hadn’t had time to meet face to face with all of his old comrades. “I see you’ve made our guest of honor comfortable.”

Branger sat in a brown leather club chair with his hands and feet bound. He held a glass of water with both hands, and as Evarts approached, leaned over awkwardly so he could set the glass on a side table. “Tell this hireling to leave,” Branger ordered. “You won’t want him to hear what I’m about to tell you.”

“
This hireling, as you call him, just beat the snot out of your crew, so treat him with a little respect.”

“
I won’t talk in front of this
boy
. Tell him to leave us.”

Chet showed no reaction to Branger’s racial slur, so Evarts tried to suppress his own irritation. When Evarts had planned clandestine missions, the army had allowed him to pick his own team, and Chet’s name had always been at the top of his list. On two separate occasions, his life had depended on this black man’s courage and wits.

Remaining outwardly calm, Evarts said, “Chet, can I borrow your cell phone?”

Chet reached into his pocket with his left hand while keeping his gun aimed at Branger with his right. Chet flipped his cell phone over to Evarts, who caught it with a smooth motion. He punched in a number and waited for an answer. When he heard a voice say hello, Evarts said, “Detective Standish, this is Greg.”

“
Yes, Commander,” he heard her reply.

“
Have you arrested Lieutenant Clark, and are my parents under protective custody?”

“
Yes, sir. To both.” She gave a brief recap of what had transpired on the West Coast that day.

“
Excellent. I’ll talk to you again in a bit.” Evarts snapped the phone shut. “Now, what did you want to tell me, Mr. Branger?”

No smirk this time. In fact, the look of paralyzed dismay
confirmed for Evarts that he had been right. Branger had left his parents alone so they would be available to use as hostages if all else failed. The examination of the calendar for the entire Santa Barbara Police Force had revealed that Clark had been the mole inside the department for the Rock Burglar. After his interrogation, Clark had turned state’s evidence, and a combined task force of three police departments had made seven arrests and captured the entire gang. Evarts guessed that Branger hadn’t needed to apply much pressure to further corrupt an already dirty cop. Fortunately, Evarts had figured out a few days ago that his parents’ safety posed a personal risk if he ever managed to get close to the union. He had delayed Clark’s arrest until the raid had been set so that Branger wouldn’t be forewarned.

“
If you have nothing else on your mind, Mr. Branger, I would appreciate it if you would give me the combination to your vault.”

He gave Evarts and Chet a disdainful look. “I seem to have a lapse of memory.”

Evarts pulled the leather ottoman out of Branger’s reach and sat down. He stared at him for about twenty seconds before speaking. “Mr. Branger, you’re a smart man. You’ve climbed to the top of one of the most powerful organizations on earth and—”

“
Soon to be
the
most powerful.”

“
No, you’re wrong about that. Let me explain why. You’re sitting here under the presumption that there will be no hard evidence against you and that with your hundreds of millions of dollars—”

“
Billions.”

“
That with your
billions
of dollars you can buy your way out of this mess. Let me explain why you can’t. First, we assume that you planted worms deep inside your computer system that will erase all the data if we try to break through your security network. You know we’re army intelligence. We penetrate these systems for a living. Right now, I have the best hacker on the face of the planet working on your computer. It may take him days, maybe even weeks, but he’ll penetrate whatever safeguards you’ve put in place.”

Branger looked smug. “He’ll never get in.”

“
I should also mention that he’s a black man.”

Branger actually roiled with laughter, and only the binds seemed to keep him from bouncing out of the club chair. When he finally caught his breath, he said, “I can’t imagine how you got this far. One of those cretins will fry my system and turn the records into gibberish. You’re so naïve; I can’t believe I’m tied up in my own library.”

“
Chet, could you hand me your gun? I’d like you to check with Rick on his progress.” Evarts kept eye contact with Branger. “Feel free to tell Rick what our gracious host just said about him.”

“
With pleasure.”

Just before Chet left the room, Evarts threw over his shoulder, “Chet, not too much levity. We have some serious work ahead of us.”

He heard the door close and then Chet’s laughter as he walked down the hall. Evarts just stared at Branger until the man finally asked, “What makes you so sure that boy can unlock my computer?”

“
When he worked in army intelligence, the National Security Agency kept borrowing him. Now that he’s out of the service, he works as a contractor for them. He does what they call destructive testing. Whenever they think they’ve got an airtight system, they call him in.” Evarts smiled. “He has an unusual contract. He gets paid only if he breaks into their new system, and he hasn’t missed a fat paycheck yet.”

A look of concern flitted across Branger face, but he erased it almost immediately. “I’ll bet you a thousand dollars he can’t break into my computer.”

“
You sure you want to make that wager? You’re already betting your entire future.”

“
I’d bet my life against the intelligence of a nig—” He gave a half smile. “Excuse me, a black man any day.”

“
This is the day.” Evarts smiled. “Now, let’s talk about the vault. I assume you’ve booby-trapped it with incendiary explosives. A series of false combinations or an attempted forced entry will cause a firestorm to envelop the interior of the vault and destroy everything inside.” He let it sink in that he had anticipated the move. “I presume you’re aware that fire requires oxygen. We’ve already discovered the air vent, and we’ve ordered equipment that will suck the air out and create a vacuum.” Branger tried to maintain a poker face but his hands tightened in a tell. Evarts had guessed correctly. “We do this for a living. It may take us days to bypass your computer security, but we’ll have that vault open tonight.”