The Import, page 19
part #1 of Matthew Riker Series
Riker grimaced. He didn’t like what he was hearing, but it all tracked with what he’d seen so far. There was one more person he needed to ask about. “Tell me about Helen’s role.”
Carter shook his head. “Man, she’s a cold one. Her job is human resources, so to speak. Once the people are brought into New York, she gains their trust and keeps them under control until they are sold off. She facilitates that too.”
A chill ran through Riker. He thought back to the way she’d rested her head on his shoulder in the back of the semi-trailer. He supposed she’d been working as hard to manipulate him as she did with her victims.
“There’s a little girl,” Riker said. “Li.”
Carter nodded. “Oh yeah. That’s the big job. The one Weaver and Helen have been working to set up for months.”
“Why? What’s so special about that girl?”
“I don’t know. They kept the details a secret, but I know they have a client who’s willing to pay very handsomely for that kid. I’m talking seven figures.”
Riker pushed down the sick feeling in his stomach at the thought of Li being sold off to some “client.” “They said you helped Helen pick out the house in North Carolina. I assume that means you also tipped off this Glen Paddock that Helen would be there.”
Carter nodded. “I’d been in touch with Paddock for a while, but hadn’t provided him anything useful enough to earn his protection. He somehow caught wind of this Li situation and told me to find out what I could. Turns out, I found out a lot.”
“Tell me,” Riker said.
“Helen picked the little girl up in Miami. The plan was for her to drive her to this house in North Carolina where she would meet the client and trade the girl for the cash. Easy peasy.”
“Did Helen go to Miami alone?”
“No. She took four guys with her.”
Riker grimaced. The guys must have been killed before he got involved. “And you told Paddock about the rendezvous?”
Carter nodded.
It was all starting to make sense to Riker. That was why Paddock’s guys had taken Helen back to her rental house after grabbing her at the hotel. They’d probably kept Helen alive in case the client would only do business with her.
“Listen man, I don’t even know your name,” Carter said. “But I’m trusting you to keep your word. Please protect my family.”
“It’s Riker,” he said, holding out his hand. “And I promise to do everything I can to keep them safe.”
They shook, and Carter seemed to relax a little.
“I’m glad it was you standing over my bed when I woke up and not Hendricks. That guy is scary.”
The burn on Riker’s arm itched as if in response to Hendricks’ name. “I take it you can still get in touch with Paddock?”
Carter nodded. “He’s more secretive than Weaver. He gives me a new number each time. But I can get in touch with him.”
“Good. Then for now, I just need two things from you. Give me your wife’s address, and tell me where you think they are keeping Li.”
31
RIKER STOOD under the shadows of a tree half a block away from the address Carter had given him. The neighborhood was in Queens, and it felt more suburban than any part of the city Riker had seen so far. The glow of streetlights revealed mist drifting to the ground. He watched the house for any signs of movement, but the windows remained dark.
He thought of Li and hoped that they weren’t moving her while he spent time on an unrelated task. It crossed his mind to tell Carter that his family was safe without helping them, but he had given his word. Now he was here in front of their house. He thought about knocking on the door and having a conversation with Jill, Carter’s ex, but he realized that he needed to deliver a message that she couldn’t ignore. There was no time to come back again or spend hours convincing her to flee.
Riker hopped the fence and went to the back of the house. A light by the garage door illuminated the yard, which was mostly made up of dead patches of grass. He didn’t see any sign of a dog. Before he picked the lock to the back door, Riker peeked in the window off the kitchen. The room was empty but he saw the magnetic strips of a home security system.
Riker checked a window on the side of the attached garage. Just as he suspected there was no sensor. He took off his hoodie and pressed it against the glass. He gave it a quick hit with his elbow. The cloth muffled the sound of the glass breaking and also protected him from any shards of glass as he climbed inside. He quickly found a panel in the ceiling that gave him access to the attic. He climbed onto the car and hoisted himself into the attic. After crawling around for a few minutes, he found the interior access point. He dropped into a hallway, bypassing the alarm.
Riker went to the master bedroom at the end of the hall. His stomach churned at the thought of what he was about to do, but he needed to be sure Jill would get the message. He quickly opened the door and saw Jill sleeping alone in the bed. He crept over and bent down next to her.
In a single, quick motion, he put one hand over her mouth and pointed his gun at her face with the other. Her eyes shot open, and she stared up at the gun and the big man pointing it at her. She tried to scream, but Riker put the weight of his body into the hand on her mouth. She made a small muffled noise and hit his wrist with her hands.
“Shut up and don’t move if you want to keep your son alive,” Riker spoke in a cold whisper.
She looked at the gun and stopped struggling. Her eyes darted to Riker in the dimly lit room.
“Jill, I’m not here to kill you, but men are coming here to do just that. Your ex, Steve, messed up bad. His mistakes are going to cost you and your son your lives.” Riker paused so she could take in his words.
Her eyes were filled with fear and anger. She tried to speak, but Riker’s hand still covered her mouth. He felt her spit on his palm.
“You know that your ex was into some bad stuff. I didn’t want to deliver this message, but I need you to hear me. You and your son will die if you don’t get out of town right now. I don’t mean in the morning, or after you have a chance to figure things out. I mean you leave now and don’t tell anyone where you are going. Nod if you understand what I’m saying.”
She did her best to nod.
“Good. Do you believe me that you are in mortal danger?”
A tear escaped from the corner of her eye and she looked at the gun in her face. She nodded again.
“I’m going to take my hand away from your mouth. Can you stay calm if I do?” Riker wiggled the gun menacingly.
She nodded again. He slowly moved his hand away from her mouth.
“What did Steve do?” she asked in a whisper.
“He crossed the wrong guys in a big way. They want him dead and they are going to use you to find him. They are not going to want any loose ends. They will kill all three of you. The more you know, the worse it will be for you. Just get your son and go somewhere where no one will look.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m the guy trying to get Steve out of this mess. I promised him that I would make sure you are safe. I’ve dealt with the guys who are coming for you. Trust me, you don’t want them to find you. Sorry to deliver the message in such an intrusive way, but I couldn’t risk you not taking it seriously.”
She rubbed her jaw and stared at Riker. “Fuck you. I hope they kill Carter.”
“Fair enough. They probably will. They will torture you and your son if they think it will help find him.”
Jill turned pale. Understanding dawned in her eyes, and she looked at the floor.
Riker left the house in silence. While he was leaving through the front door, lights turned on inside of the home. He hid in the shadows of an alley across from the house. He watched for fifteen minutes and then the garage opened and Jill drove off. Carter’s family was as safe as they could be. It was time to move onto the next part of the plan.
Carter had told Riker about an office that most of Weaver’s operations ran through. It was the home base for Hendricks and Brennan. It was also where most of the people they trafficked were kept. Riker realized that he needed a car. Getting there by bus would be okay, but escaping with a girl would have to involve a car.
Jill’s neighborhood was filled with old shitty cars, and he quickly found one that would work. He grabbed a late 80s Ford Escort. It was easy to steal and one of the most unassuming cars on the road.
He reached the address that Carter had given him just after midnight. The streets were wet from the steady drizzle. Riker drove by the front of the building. It was an old four-story brick building. The lights in the third and fourth floors shined out onto the street below. Several cars were parked in front. One of them was Hendricks’ Audi.
Riker turned the corner at the end of the block and parked the car. He went down an alley behind the buildings across the street from his target. He climbed the fire escape on the back side of the building. The top landing of the fire escape was fifteen feet below the roof.
Riker stood on the metal railing next to the building. The metal was cold and slick from the rain. He put one hand on the cold stone of the structure for balance. The edge of the roof was a foot higher than he could reach while standing on the railing. He looked down and saw the alley forty feet below him. Riker dried his hands on his clothes. He focused on the ledge of the building and jumped.
His hands caught the top of the ledge and he pulled himself up as hard as he could the second they made contact. He kept his momentum going and pressed himself up. He bent his waist over the edge and swung one leg over. The second leg followed, and Riker found himself standing on top of the roof.
He crouched while moving across the roof. He doubted that anyone was watching the top of this building, but fortune favors the cautious. He looked over the ledge on the other side of the roof.
From his vantage point, he could see into the rooms of the fourth floor of Weaver’s building. As he expected, Hendricks was there. Riker smiled when he saw white bandages wrapped around the top of Hendricks’ head. Riker’s arm somehow felt better when he saw that the top of Hendricks’ head was worse off.
Hendricks was in an office with Brennan. The two were having a conversation that looked civil to Riker. He counted six other men in the building. Riker stayed low and watched for any sign of Helen and Li.
After an hour he was soaked from the mist and had to concentrate to keep from shaking. There had been no sign of anyone coming or going into the building. Riker didn’t see Helen, Weaver, or Dobbs. None of the men held their weapons at the ready and all of them seemed relaxed. Riker was fairly sure that Li was somewhere else.
Hendricks got a call and had a brief conversation. Riker couldn’t tell much about the call from his position. After he hung up, Hendricks grabbed two other guys and went out of sight. A moment later the three walked out of the front door and got into Hendricks’ car.
Brennan stayed in the office and made a phone call of his own. A little after one thirty in the morning Brennan shut off the light to his office. When he did, Riker moved back over to the fire escape. He hung and dropped back onto the top landing. He sprinted down the escape and back to the car. He kept the lights off as he turned around to the street Weaver’s building was on. He made it just in time to see Brennan get into his car.
Riker followed him, staying a few blocks back. Brennan's car was a new Dodge Challenger. The oval tail lights stood out and made it easy for Riker to stay with him. Even at two in the morning, there was enough traffic in the city for Riker to stay out of sight.
Brennan pulled up in front of a brick row home. He got out and went inside.
Riker parked his car a block away. On the walk to the building, he replayed the time he had spent with Brennan in his head. He was ninety percent sure that he was making the right play. As long as he was correct, the odds of saving Li were going to go way up. If he was wrong, he would probably die.
He climbed the steps to the front door and rang the bell. He took a few steps back and held his hands at his sides, palms open and facing the door. Brennan checked the peephole and the door swung open.
Brennan held his pistol with two hands. He kept it trained on Riker’s head. Riker stayed perfectly still with his arms away from his sides. He looked Brennan straight in the eyes.
“Holy shit, you must be crazy,” Brennan said, holding the gun on Riker.
“At the moment, I’m just cold. Can I come inside before I freeze to death?”
Brennan looked confused. He just stood there with the gun pointed at Riker.
“Seriously, I’m soaked. Besides, I would like to get inside before anyone sees me here, or notices you holding a person at gunpoint.”
“What makes you think I’m not going to shoot you right here?”
Riker slowly raised his hands above his head. He walked slowly towards Brennan. Brennan walked backward keeping his distance from Riker.
“Because cops aren’t supposed to shoot unarmed men,” Riker responded. “Now can I put my arms down so we can talk?”
32
BRENNAN STARED at Riker for a long moment, his eyes cold, gun still trained on his chest. “Is that supposed to be some kind of joke?”
“No. I suspected it five minutes after we met, but I knew for sure by the time we searched Carter’s apartment.”
They stared at each other for a solid ten seconds, neither saying anything. Finally, Brennan seemed to deflate. He lowered the weapon. “Get the hell in here.”
Riker stepped inside and took in the apartment. It was smallish, but nice. As Riker had expected, there was an air of blandness to it. There were no family pictures on the wall. No mementos. Not even a bowling trophy. Brennan had clearly lived here for a while, but he’d never made the place his own.
Brennan eased the door shut and turned to face Riker.
“It’s up to you how we play this,” Riker said. “If you want, we can do the thing where you deny it, tell me I didn’t see what I saw. But that would be a waste of time for both of us, don’t you think?”
Brennan moved past Riker, saying nothing. He went to the couch and sank into it.
“You did a hell of a number on Weaver’s people at the warehouse. Two men dead. Hendricks spent the night in the hospital.”
“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.”
“How’d you know? About me, I mean.”
“There were quite a few clues at Carter’s place. The way you held your weapon. The way you cleared the room. It was professional. You’ve had training.”
“Could be I was in the military,” Brennan said.
“I don’t think so. Hendricks was explaining military terms to you, and if you were ex-military, he probably would have been busting your balls, making sure I knew whatever division you served in wasn’t as cool as his.”
“Seems like a stretch.”
“When we went into Carter’s apartment, I saw you touch your shoulder. Then you got a look on your face like you’d been caught peeking in your hot neighbor’s window, and you ran your hand through your hair to cover up the move. You were reaching for your call radio, weren’t you? Old habits die hard.”
“Big assumption.”
“Maybe. And I wouldn’t be making it if it wasn’t for that.” He pointed at Brennan’s forearm.
“The Holy Mother? So all Catholics are cops now?”
“No. But the Virgin Mary’s torso isn’t usually shaped just like the NYPD crest. You got the cover-up tattoo when you went undercover, didn’t you?”
Brennan said nothing for a long time. Then he uttered a single word. “Shit.”
Riker watched the other man carefully. An undercover operative who is found out has only two real options. Either they try to get the person who knows the truth on their side, or they try to eliminate them. Riker doubted an NYPD cop would kill him to protect his cover, but on the other hand, it seemed Brennan had been embedded with Weaver’s crew for quite some time. To him, it probably felt as if his world was falling apart. Desperate people did desperate things. It was possible he’d try to make a move. Riker’s best bet to keep Brennan’s mind from taking him in that dangerous direction was to connect with him.
“Listen to me,” Riker said. “I know a little something about being embedded with the enemy.”
“That so?”
“I’m not going to go into details, but let’s just say I’ve spent some time in hostile territory, pretending to be something I’m not.”
Brennan shifted in his seat, the shock on his face shifting into another emotion Riker couldn’t quite identify.
“Let me ask you something, Riker. Back in this mysterious past of yours, what was the longest you were ever embedding with the enemy?”
For a moment, Riker’s mind flashed back there, and he could almost smell the rain forest and hear the motors of the skiffs that had carried him and the others up and down the river. And he couldn’t help thinking about how it all ended—in blood and fire, with most of the village burned to the ground.
“Four months,” he said.
“Yeah? And that four months. Did it feel long?”
“Longest four months of my life,” Riker said, meeting Brennan’s hard gaze. In truth, it had felt endless, a hellish existence where he was under constant stress that he hadn’t been sure he’d ever escape.
Brennan leaned forward. The anger was clear in his voice when he spoke again. “I’ve been undercover with Weaver for over two years.”
“Two years?” Riker’s own anger was rising now. “How the hell do you stand by for two years, watching as Weaver and his people traffic women and children, trading them like fucking baseball cards to the scum of the earth? What do you do when they get a new shipment of terrified women? Do you file a report while they get turned out? Is there a special form where you mark down how many kids got stolen this week?”
“Don’t you get self-righteous with me, Riker. You think I didn’t want to put an end to this? You think I haven’t wanted to put a bullet through Weaver’s head a hundred times while my bosses kept telling me they need more evidence? That the DA’s office needs me to hold my position just a little longer while they finish building their case?”
