The Long Run, page 30
CHAPTER 55
Bang
Arranging a meeting with Hank Carson had been easy. Bang searched the Carson Engineering website and found a gallery of completed projects. They included photos of an office building at various stages of completion. Four people smiled for the camera in hard hats. The lone woman in the photo was the same leasing agent who denied Bang the gym lease when they met in person. Beside her stood Hank, with a haughty smirk, and lifted chin.
Bang called Carson Engineering to enquire about constructing a new gym. It would be a palace, replete with heated pools and tennis courts. And he requested to meet specifically with Henry Carson Jr, as recommended by his dear friend, la mentirosa leasing agent. The chirpy receptionist made the arrangements in a few minutes. Now Bang stood near the front door of Bangz Gym, checking his watch as he waited for Hank’s arrival. His pressed khakis and polo shirt drew a few curious glances from his regulars. That didn’t concern Bang. He glanced at the rear exit. What concerned him waited outside that door.
Hank arrived promptly at two. He pushed through the double doors with a messenger bag slung over his shoulder. He brushed past another guest while staring at his phone’s glowing screen. Bang strode forward to greet him.
“Mr. Carson. Hello. I’m Bautista Lopez.”
“Oh!” Hank said, surprised at the quick greeting. He shuffled his phone to his opposite hand and extended a handshake. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Lopez. You can call me Hank.”
“And you can call me Bang.” Bang squeezed Hank’s meaty hand and met his eyes. This needed to be a proper business meeting. At least for now.
“Sure thing, boss! So, you’re looking to upgrade?”
“Yeah. Something big and modern. You know? To draw a bigger crowd.”
“Sure. Tennis courts and pools would bring me in.” His nose wrinkled with disapproval as he surveyed the gym. Bang bristled. The proposed upgrade wasn’t entirely fiction. He wanted to draw more high-ticket clients. But he loved this gym. Though hard to maintain, with its ancient HVAC system and leaky pipes, it had the sweat and grime of hard work. The place boys became men. This would always be home. “This gonna be new build? Or do you want to give this place a facelift?”
“New build. I’m working on a location now.”
“Perfect! New build is easier.” His canines flashed when he smiled, like a wolf going in for the kill.
“Let me show you around. I want the new location to have this same feel.” Bang directed Hank around the elevated boxing ring. Two fighters squared off inside, popping their gloves and shuffling their feet on the mat.
“This is bad ass!” Hank gawped at the sparring fighters. “I’m more of an MMA fan. But, yeah, you gotta keep this.”
Bang continued the tour, displaying the speed bag and punching dummies. He explained the basics of boxing education, from understanding technique, to working the bags, to sparring, to climbing into a boxing ring. Hank absorbed every word with an expanding smirk. When they reached a torso bag—shaped like a man’s head and upper body and filled with dense foam—Hank handed his messenger bag to Bang so he could test his skills. He juked left and right to avoid phantom punches before landing an enthusiastic flurry of his own. The pop of dense polyurethane on bare knuckles made him shake his hands.
“Yeah!” Hank boasted to the torso. “You know what’s up.”
“You should take some lessons.” Judging by Hank’s zealous flurry, he knew as much about boxing as Bang knew about splitting the atom. “It’s a great workout.” Bang offered the messenger bag.
“I might.” Hank smirked and punched the air a few times before taking the bag.
Bang continued the tour until they neared the rear exit. The point of no return. He could lead Hank to the office and complete the meeting and suffer no consequences. Or he could direct Hank through the exit and what waited outside. He swallowed hard. What would Israel do in his place? That was obvious. Israel was staring down the cartel’s guns to rescue Sofia. Bang owed him that same risk.
“There’s one other thing I want to show you,” Bang said, pushing open the rear door. He held it as Hank stepped outside into the bright summer sun. He winced and slid sunglasses over his eyes. “Just around here.” Bang extended an arm towards a dumpster nearby. He clicked the door shut as Hank walked further into the alley.
“Yeah, I can see a swimming pool out here. Like for laps,” Hank said as he surveyed the area.
The alley was long and narrow, flanked by tufts of grass and weeds poking through a cracked slab. Towering mesh fencing blocked off the alley’s side. As Hank approached the dumpster, Gustavo stepped out from behind it. He was in full gangster flavor, shirtless, with a durag covering his skull. He sneered and popped his neck muscles and blocked Hank’s path. Hank staggered back in surprise.
“The fuck?” Hank blurted. Bang took position behind him. He and Gustavo had Hank penned between them and the fence. Hank swiveled to face Bang. “What’s going on?”
“We got questions, fool,” Gustavo said. “And you gonna talk.”
Hank’s gaze darted back and forth and rested on Bang. A knowing wince of the eyes. Hank was soft, but he wasn’t dumb. Bang was no friend. Hank backed towards the fence, searching for an escape. His breaths were fast now, his chest rising and falling.
“What… What questions?”
“Why’d you tell the feds on Izzy?” Gustavo said. He stepped towards Hank with fists clenched by his sides.
“What?”
“The lady fed,” Bang said. “You talked to her. Got them thinking Izzy kidnapped that girl. That he arranged it.”
“I… I… I can’t talk about that stuff. Its… Its confidential. You know?” He offered a weak grin. As if that smoothed over his culpability.
Gustavo lunged forward with an overhand right that connected with Hank’s left cheek. The smack echoed down the alley. Hank threw his arms up, too late to deflect the blow. Though his knees buckled, he remained upright.
“Bitch!” Gustavo yelled. “That’s confidential! Wanna hear another one?” He pushed in close, almost nose to nose with Hank, who offered no resistance.
“Wait! Wait! Stop!” Hank said.
The sight of the uneven fight gnawed at Bang’s guts. What was he doing? His livelihood was training fighters. That included protecting them from situations like this. He would never pit an amateur versus a brawler. Besides that, he was a respected businessman and a father. He donated to charity and coached his son’s Little League team. What the hell was he doing?
“All right!” Bang stepped forward, inserting himself between them. “Let him talk.”
Hank pressed both hands into Bang’s back and pushed him toward Gustavo. Bang stumbled forward as Hank’s footsteps raced away. Gustavo dodged colliding with Bang and pursued the fleeing Hank. Bang recovered his footing and swiveled to see Gustavo haul Hank to the concrete. They landed in a heap, with Hank on his back and Gustavo straddling his midsection. Hank threw his hands up, but they provided little help. Gustavo easily evaded the weak defense and rained blows on Hank’s head. His skull bounced off the concrete with a sickening thok thok thok.
“You’re Big Red mothafucka! I know it!”
“Stop! Stop!” Hank yelled.
“All right!” Bang yelled, sliding to his knees between them. Gustavo cocked his arm, ready to deliver another punch. Bang glared at Hank. “This don’t stop until you talk.”
Hank paused for a breath. “What do you want to know?”
“Are you Big Red?” Gustavo said. “Don’t say no, bitch! I met Centavo. Bought dope off that fool. Said he got it from Big Red. And that’s you!”
“I… I…”
Gustavo lunged forward to deal another blow despite Bang’s presence.
“OK! Yes! I’m Big Red!” Hank winced from the anticipated punch.
“Where’d you get the dope from? That was some grade A shit.”
“I can’t. I can’t.” Hank’s face flushed as he gritted his teeth. “I can’t.” Whatever secret gripped him possessed a powerful hold.
“Hey, hey hey!” Bang said, assuming a protective stance over Hank. “Look at me.” Hank gulped and stared into Bang’s eyes. His breath was ragged, and his jaw quivered. “You better tell us, or I’m gonna let this madman loose. Understand?”
“OK.” Hank’s gaze locked on Gustavo over Bang’s shoulder. “OK. My… My dad brings drugs across the border in our trucks for the cartel. They’re hidden in compartments. Centavo is the driver.”
“You sell drugs for the cartel?” Bang said.
“Bullshit!” Gustavo said. “That ain’t how they do things. I ain’t ever bought a whole brick of hash out of somebody’s trunk before.”
“You and Centavo been skimming off the top. Haven’t you?” Bang said.
Hank nodded. “Centavo has a contact in the cartel. They’ve gotten lazy with their accounting. They don’t notice a brick or two missing. So,” Hank swallowed hard, “we started with one after Centavo brought a load across the bridge. Nobody said anything, so we kept doing that every truck. Nobody ever found out.”
“What about your old man? He down with that?” Gustavo said.
“He… He doesn’t know.”
Little Henry Jr. had gone into the drug business on his own, with Centavo as his dealer. Bang shook his head. If the cartel discovered their drugs were missing, he and his dad would be buzzard food. “If they never found out, why’d they ask for you at the club?”
“Dad doesn’t want to deliver drugs anymore. Doesn’t want the risk. He told the cartel it’s too dangerous. They didn’t like that. They found out I was in Cancun. Wanted to use me as leverage against my dad. Make him keep delivering drugs.”
“But you weren’t there,” Bang said. “So, they took Sofia instead. And torched the place. Killed a bunch of people. Including your friend.”
“Damn. That’s fucked up!” Gustavo scowled.
“I didn’t know that would happen! I swear. If I had known—”
“Wait,” Bang said. “Why weren’t you there? Did you know they were coming?”
“I…” Hank inhaled and squeezed his eyes shut. “I got a call beforehand. From Centavo. His contact found out and told him. They didn’t want me to be taken.”
Bang knew their concern wasn’t born out of human kindness. He sat on his haunches and glared at Hank. “They were afraid you’d talk. Right? Tell the cartel about y’all’s little side business. And then they’d be dead too.”
“They didn’t trust your bitch ass,” Gustavo sneered.
Hank’s restless gaze switched from Bang to Gustavo and back.
“You left your girl and your friends to die,” Bang said.
“¡Hijo de puta!” Gustavo leaned inches from Hank’s face and snorted.
“No!” Hank said, straining to avoid Gustavo’s hot breath. “I didn’t know that would happen. I didn’t believe Centavo. Who the hell attacks a crowded nightclub? Right? I went outside to look around and didn’t see anyone, so I figured it was bullshit. I went across the street to buy smokes. When I came back out…” His voice rasped like a deathly rattle. “The Jeeps rolled into the parking lot. God have mercy,” he gulped. “It all happened so fast.”
“You made it out alive. To cover your ass, you pointed the finger at Izzy,” Bang said.
“You rat motherfucker,” Gustavo sneered.
Anger coursed through Bang. His fists clenched. This bastard didn’t deserve freedom. Despite his instincts screaming to let the police handle it, he wanted to extract justice from Hank one punch at a time. He shared a glance with Gustavo. Bang nodded. Gustavo grinned and cocked his arm.
“Wait! Wait!” Hank said, throwing his hands up.
“Hey!” a voice yelled behind them. Agent Dominguez had stepped out of the exit door. Her jaw dropped upon seeing them. She reached into her jacket and unclipped her 9mm. She gripped it with both hands and held it at her waist, pointed to the ground. “Stop! Everyone, face down on the ground!”
“Fuuuuck,” Gustavo groaned. He raised his hands as he moved off Hank’s midsection. He laid flat on his belly with his hands spread eagle in front of him. “Better get down, ese,” he told Bang as two more cops stepped outside. Like the agent, they drew their guns and pointed at the ground. Bang’s mouth went dry, and his blood ran cold. He laid down beside Gustavo and groaned. His life was fucked.
“They… They were attacking me!” Hank yelled, as he stood and pointed at Bang and Gustavo. “That one there, he was hitting me! And I hadn’t done—”
“Get down!” Agent Dominguez shouted as she reached their location. Her fierce gaze locked on Hank.
“What… Me? Why? I didn’t—”
“I’m not asking, Mr. Carson. Get down,” she growled.
“OK. OK.” He kneeled several feet away from Bang and laid on his stomach. “I don’t understand. I’m the victim here!”
“Hey hey hey!” Gustavo said. “This muthafucka been dealing dope, yo! So’s his old man!”
“That’s a damn lie!” Hank said. “He—”
“I don’t want to hear another word!” she yelled.
The patrolmen searched each man and cuffed their hands behind their backs before standing them against the fence.
“I want to call my dad. This is bullshit! Why am I being arrested?” Hank said.
“You’re going to see him in a few minutes,” Agent Dominguez said. Then she faced Bang and shook her head. “Why? Why did you do this?”
He’d been asking himself that question all morning. It boiled down to the same thing. “For Israel. Sofia too.”
“What do you mean about seeing my dad?” Hank said. She glared at him.
“Because I just arrested him at his office. I would have arrested you too, but you weren’t there. They told me you came here for an appointment.”
“Arrested him?” Hank blanched at the statement.
“Centavo just swore out a statement to the district attorney. He told us everything,” she smiled as she stood facing Hank. “Mr. Carson, you’re under arrest for trafficking controlled substances across state lines and racketeering. I’m sure there’s plenty more we can find. But those will do for now. These are federal charges, Mr. Carson. I hope you have good lawyers. Officer Henry will read you your rights.”
She stepped aside and allowed a patrolman to take over the arrest. She stood in front of Bang and Gustavo and rested her hands on her hips. “It goes without saying. But to make it official, you two are under arrest for assault.”
“Heh. It was worth it,” Gustavo shrugged. He grinned and showed off his gold caps.
A sour pit formed at the bottom of Bang’s stomach. He’d steered clear of law enforcement since his teenage years and built a business. He had a family. His son was everything. Weekends at the ball field. A cooler-full of Gatorades to hand out between innings. After game pizzas with the team. Was that all gone now? His hands curled into fists against the tight embrace of his handcuffs.
Agent Dominguez let out a slow exhale and stared into Bang’s eyes.
“I really wish you had waited for me do my job.”
CHAPTER 56
Agent Dominguez
A small crowd formed at the back of the gym near the rear exit. They ogled the procession of patrolmen leading Bang, Gustavo, and Hank to the waiting cruisers in front. Agent Dominguez remained in the alley, considering her next move. SAC Charles needed an update. As did the Mexico City SAC. She didn’t want anyone gunning for Israel if they found Sofia. As she strode across the alley toward her car, her phone buzzed in her pocket. It had buzzed several times since she left the interrogation room earlier. Now she had time to catch up. She lifted it from her pants pocket and swiped through her notifications.
A litany of texts and phone calls from Rosa Martinez awaited her attention. Sofia’s mom. Why was she calling? Agent Dominguez tapped one text to read the thread.
She’s out! She escaped. Call me.
Her and Israel. They got out. Call me.
They’re in danger. Send them help. Please, please call.
“What the hell?” Agent Dominguez blurted. She fumbled the phone, dropping it to the pavement. When she picked it up, a hairline crack spiderwebbed across the screen. “Shit.” It swiped open nonetheless and connected a reply phone call to Rosa. It rang once before Rosa picked up.
“Agent?”
“Tell me everything.”
Rosa launched into a rapid-fire recitation of her brief phone call with Sofia, punctuated by the occasional “Dear Jesus” and “Aye, mija.” She drew a deep breath at its conclusion, winded by her efforts.
“How are they getting to the border?” Agent Dominguez asked.
“I don’t know. The phone call ended.”
“She was on a pay phone?”
“That’s what she said. Agent. Can you help her?”
“Mrs. Martinez, as soon as I get off this call with you, I’m calling everyone. We’ll do everything at our disposal to find your daughter.”
“Then goodbye.” The call clicked dead. Agent Dominguez ignored the abrupt disconnection and phoned SAC Charles. He was a busy man, shuttling between meetings all day. She suspected her call would go to voicemail. He surprised her by picking up on the second ring.
“Agent,” he said. “I was just reading your report. Good job on flipping Mr. Ordóñez. Be sure to—”
“Sir! I’m sorry to interrupt. But this is important.”
“Go ahead.”
“Sofia Martinez escaped from her captors. And she’s with Israel. They broke out during the hurricane two days ago. They’re on the run. She called her mom and her mom called me.”
“What’s their location?”
“A truck-stop in Campeche as of four hours ago. Sofia called from a pay phone and didn’t have time to talk. But she said they’re trying to get to the border. The gangsters are after them and they don’t trust the police.”
“How are they traveling?”
“Unknown. The call ended. I think she was out of cash. Her father wired her some money an hour later.”
