Page 112 of Eyes in the Shadows

“That’s what I thought. It’s a lot of guns, Jay. What’re they worth to you?”

“What do you want?”Rossi growls.

McCloskey pauses, perhaps reveling in the moment.“You’re a smart guy, you can recognize an opportunity, right? Well, I want in—this operation you’re running with the mayor? I’m part of it now. You and Anderson are gonna make me the Chief. I know you’re the logistics guy and he’s got the contacts. But I’ll be the law, and we can split the profit as equal partners.”

There’s silence on the other end, as Rossi marinates in his own anger. So, McCloskey tries to reason with him.“Think about it—how much easier would your life be with the Chief of Police protecting you? Protecting us.”

“Fine. We’ll make it happen. Now, where are you?”

McCloskey laughs, a cruel but gleeful sound.“No, no, no. Why would I give up my leverage like that, Jay? Make it happen, then I’ll tell you.”

“It’s going to take some time to—”

“Not my problem.”

“Those guns are—”

“What’s that sound? The sound of Pete Harris retiring early and Mayor Anderson asking me to be the new Chief of Police?”McCloskey lets it hang, and when Rossi says nothing, he finishes with,“Make it happen, Jay.”

I sit back in my chair as McCloskey hangs up.Fuck.McCloskey’s officially a complication. I didn’t know that tosser had it in him. I really thought he was going to prove to be the mayor’s man, not throw us a third option and try to ransom the weapons back to Rossi, which makes Dimitri’s bait for the mayor a moot fucking point. We need the mayor to find them here. I need the mayor to find them here.

“Erm… Did you all hear that?” I ask, a little dumbfounded.

“Yeah,”Mac sounds as stunned as I feel.

I rub my eyes. “This is why I hate when the plan is reacting to the decisions of other people,” I grumble. “How are we going to get Rossi here if McCloskey isn’t going to give up his location?”

“We pivot,”Mac says, predictably.“He dies tonight. Dimitri moves forward to lay the trap for the mayor. I’ll go to his safe house and take my shot; you guys handle the mayor and McCloskey.”

I curse as the cop’s head pokes out of the back of the trailer and he looks around, like he’s making sure he’s still alone. “I think he’s probably going to try to move the truck, or come back with something to move the crates. He won’t just leave it here, now that it’s his leverage to get what he wants if he thinks Dimitri will come for it.”

“Then handle him,”Dimitri replies simply.“I will be there in 30 minutes—40 if there are complications. Send me the documentation we discussed.”

I tap my earpiece to effectively mute myself and take a few seconds for an angry reaction. Once I’m under control, I get back on the line and shoot off the email to Dimitri. With a sigh, I pull the burner phone out of my pocket, and send off the text to the FBI tip line. I really hate having my hands tied like this.

I creep inside using the much more silent and well-oiled back door. I can see the torch waving around inside the back of the truck, and hear McCloskey’s delighted noises, like he’s a kid on Christmas. Likely, he’s deciding what he wants to keep for himself. Because he’s blithely unaware, he doesn’t hear me as I move towards the opening at the back of the truck. Only the right door is hanging open, so I use the left to shield me while I get ready.

“Hands up,” I say, shining my high-powered torch into his face.

From his position bent over a box, McCloskey freezes and spins slowly, squinting against my light, then lifting his hands as he spots the gun. He’s still got his cell phone in his grasp. I’ll be needing that so he doesn’t call for help.

“Phone,” I say. “Kick it over.”

He looks up at the cell in his hands, gauging his move. I know he has his weapon tucked in his holster, but I don’t care too much about that. As long as he doesn’t…

He throws the phone at me, and goes for his gun. The phone clatters noisily on the ground and I duck to the right, under the door, coming around the other side of it. I push it with all my might. It swings closed, the sound of metal against metal resounding in the cavernous room, and he bangs into it just as I get the latch in place, locking him inside.

“Fuck!” he screams. “Let me the fuck out of here! I’m the Chief of Police!”

I laugh. “Not yet!”

“Who the fuck are you? What do you want? I’ve got money!”

I leave him yelling and cursing in the truck as I walk back towards the van. When I get back in front of the screen and see McCloskey’s car in one of the frames, I curse again. I've got to get rid of that so no one sees. He’s still got his keys with him, but I’ve got an internet connection and several kinds of tools available to me. Time to learn how to hotwire a car…

40

Dimitri

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