Page 31 of Bazooka
Chapter 4
Making Up is Hard to Do
Bazooka
Spending the night in the car and listening to Adam Markland’s snoring wasn’t on my agenda, but it was what happened. The entire Mendoza setup was a bust. The guy disappeared before we reached the airport because he was as slippery as an eel. Shortly after, he resurfaced at the nearby gas station, so we followed him there, but we were too late. Chief Bibb pulled a few strings, and we got air support. The helicopter followed Mendoza’s car until it reached the tunnel. When the car didn’t show up on the other side, we went there, only to find the car abandoned. After we checked the map and all the surrounding roads, we concluded he probably headed west. Adam and I drove toward the only exit on the west side, hoping we would get lucky. We parked in the nearby woods, and after a while, Adam fell asleep, while I kept my eyes on the road. Mendoza never showed up, so in the morning we returned to the station, where we had a meeting with the team.
I thought my day couldn’t get any worse, but I was wrong, and I realized it as soon as I left the station. I headed toward my car, wondering how Luz was doing. I would have sent someone to check in on him, but the entire station was on high alert because of Mendoza. I was opening the car door when someone called my name.
“Detective Bradley?”
I turned around only to see a man dressed in uniform approaching me. A general, based on the four-star insignia he wore. He was a man in his sixties with gray hair and steely blue eyes that missed nothing.
“Yes?” I said, wondering who he was because I’d never seen him before in my life.
“I would like a word with you, Detective Bradley,” he said in a way that told me he was used to giving orders. “In private.”
His brusque tone bothered me, and he didn’t introduce himself. On purpose—I was sure of it.
“What about?” I said in the same tone of voice. “And why should I?”
“It’s a matter of urgency,” he replied, only to add in a softer voice. “Please.”
Please was more acceptable than his earlier approach, so I agreed. I was also exhausted because I didn’t get any sleep last night, and I wanted to get this thing over with.
We sat down on the terrace of a nearby cafe and ordered coffee, which I desperately needed. Finally, he introduced himself.
“My name is General James Jakub Zablonsky,” he said, stirring the sugar in his coffee. “And I’m very grateful that you agreed to talk to me.”
His last name sounded familiar.
“I would also like to thank you for taking care of Mikolaj,” he continued.
I glanced at him, only to do a double-take.
Fuck.
No way.
“My son,” he added.
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.
“You probably know him as Luz, but he was born as Mikolaj Lucius Zablonsky.”
No wonder the general’s last name sounded familiar when he said it. I was almost ashamed I hadn’t picked up on it earlier, although, in my defense, I barely got any sleep in the lastseventy-two hours. Fucking hell! Luz was a general’s son. If you told me he was Jason Vorhees’ son, I would sooner believe it.
“My son and I are estranged, Detective Bradley. Through no fault of his own… I’m the one to blame. Mikolaj left home years ago, but before that, he’d lived with us on the military base. He has two brothers who are very different from him. They don’t get along with Mikolaj because… well, you know how he is.”
The dots magically connected in my head.
“I don’t see anything wrong with him,” I said coolly, when I wanted to say something much, much ruder.
“Me neither,” General Zablonsky said, clearing his throat. “I mean, not anymore, or at least not as I used to. The thing is… I’m a Catholic and an army man, Detective. The way Mikolaj turned out… I couldn’t accept it for the longest time. No one in the family could. I made mistakes, and Luz doesn’t want to forgive me because… well, he’s not the forgiving type. But his mother misses him, and I swore to her that—”
“I don’t understand,” I interrupted him. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“I’m aware of what happened to Mikolaj,” General Zablonsky replied. “The attack on him and everything else that followed. I have connections in the police force and health system… city government, too. I had people watching him, but they lost track of him months ago.”
