Chapter 15 #2
“I’ve got it.” I nod to him as I slip the device into my purse beside my gun. “Don’t forget to round up our officer and have him escort you.”
“I’m on it,” he reassures me. “Let’s go, Van. Remember that I’m going to be calling you Constance for the rest of the day and try not to make it weird.”
“Oh, I’m going to make it extremely weird.” Van grins at him. “But I’ll do my part, don’t worry. Let’s go.”
I watch them load up into the Expedition we used yesterday and wave at them as they depart. Tony and I wait for a few minutes before he turns to me and asks, “You need me to remind our friend Jacob to act right, or you think he’s okay?”
“He’s been keeping his head down in the back of the Explorer, so I think he’s fine. Call up to the security gate for me and see if the officer followed Trenton.”
“I got you,” Tony says as he pulls out his cell phone and makes the call. He talks to the guard on duty and then nods to me. “You’re good. Cop left following Trenton and Van,” he confirms.
“All right. Wish me luck,” I tell Tony as I walk around to the front of the Explorer. “Jamie will let you know how it goes. Van has my cell phone, and I don’t want to use the burner to call the house, so you won’t hear from me until I’m back later.”
“Just take care of yourself, Constance.” Tony waves to me. “I’ll let Jamie and Chris know you’re on the way. They’ll be waiting over at the park when you arrive. If you see anything that freaks you on the way, just call them. You got Jamie’s burner number, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it. Goodbye, Tony.” I wave to him as I climb into the driver’s seat of the Explorer.
As I pull the door closed and settle into the silence, broken only by the gasping breaths of my prisoner in the back, an anxious chill runs through me.
I crank up the Explorer and take a deep breath.
I’ve got to be steady. I started this to get revenge for my father.
I’m going to finish it so Maximo and I can finally have a life together free from these violent lunatics.
The thought of the Volkovs as violent lunatics brings a grim smile to my lips as I consider my plan for the day.
“Let’s show them how it’s done,” I whisper as I drop the Explorer into gear and begin driving down the winding garden path to the gate.
The Volkovs are the ones who insisted on this escalation.
I intend to be the one to finish it.
When I arrive at the old Wal-Mart building in White Plains, it’s still twenty minutes until ten.
I circle the block looking for the white van, and when I don’t immediately see it, I pull up to the curb and parallel park between two other vehicles.
I have a clear view down the entire street, so I settle in to wait for Irina to arrive.
I’ve been keeping an eye on my prisoner in the rear of the Explorer. He’s shifted around a few times; I assume in an attempt to find a comfortable spot. Once I’ve parked his head appears above the rear seat. “Are we there?” he demands.
“Almost,” I reply. “We’ll see your mother soon enough.”
“You might trade me for the Bianchi kid, but that’s not going to settle this. You know that, don’t you? We’re never going to let this go. We will hurt you.”
“Then maybe I should put a bullet in your fucking head right now and then shoot your mother as soon as she pulls up,” I reply.
“Do you want to survive today or do you want to keep running your mouth?” I glance into the rear-view mirror and see him blanch in pain as he struggles against the handcuffs.
“I’m just warning you. If you think you’re going to get a truce, you’re a dumb bitch about to have a rude awakening. You’re in over your head, and it’s obvious you don’t realize who you’ve been fucking with.”
I can feel the sneer on my lips as I start to retort, but I swallow it when I see the white van from yesterday appear at the other end of the block.
I lean my seat back to make myself less visible, even though I doubt I could be seen through the window tint.
The van circles the block, much like I did, before pulling to the curb directly in front of the old Wal-Mart.
I reach for the burner phone and call Irina’s number.
This time, she picks up on the first ring.
“I’m here,” she says before making an odd hissing sound.
I glance over at the van and see a plume of smoke appear from the driver’s-side window, and I realize it’s just the sound of her dragging on a cigarette.
“I see you,” I confirm. “Now, you’re going to drive over to Delfino Park. Once you’re there, you’re going to throw open the doors of that van so I can see that it’s just you and Gregory.”
“Mom!” Jacob suddenly roars from behind me. “She’s driving a black Ford Explorer. Shoot this crazy bitch and get me out of here!”
“Shut the fuck up!” I snap at him. “You can hear that I’ve got your son alive and well,” I continue in a calmer voice into the phone.
“I don’t know where Delfino Park is,” Irina starts to protest.
“Look it up on your phone or you can listen to me shoot your son,” I interrupt her. “Start driving,” I add before I disconnect the call.
I can see her cursing as she taps on her phone. After only a moment, the van jerks away from the curb, and she does a wide U-turn as she begins heading towards the park. I give her time to get down the road and into traffic while I watch for anything suspicious, then pull out to follow her.
So far, it appears that she’s on her own.
I don’t let myself get too optimistic though, as the Bratva, and particularly Irina, have been setting ambushes for Maximo and me all along.
I pat my purse lying beside me on the center console to reassure myself, and tail along several car lengths behind her as we make our way to the park.
Once she pulls into the first entrance, I drive by and circle back to give her time to park and get the doors open as I instructed.
When I pull into the parking lot, I see the van parked at the far end, the rear doors thrown wide open, and Gregory Bianchi sitting at the rear with Irina beside him.
He doesn’t look any worse for wear, but his face is a mask of fear as he casts glances at the woman standing beside him.
I pull in and park my Explorer several spots behind the van.
There’s a grassy ditch and another lane of spaces separating us.
Irina’s eyes lock onto me, even though I’m sure she can’t actually see me through the tint at this distance.
I dig the burner phone out of my purse along with the detonator and then call Irina for the last time.
I see her answer the phone and watch her mouth moving as she says, “I assume that’s you across the lot?”
“I’m going to open the rear door, and Jacob is going to come to you. Send Gregory over to me,” I instruct her as I reach over and push the button to automatically open the hatch. “Did you hear me?” I call to the rear of the Explorer. “Get out there and go to your mother.”
“I’m going, but you’ll see me again, you murderous cunt,” Jacob hisses as he thrashes his way out of the back of the Explorer and gets his feet under him. “This isn’t over, you hear me?”
He’s still running his mouth as he walks past my window.
I’m glad I left him handcuffed as even in his crippled state I wouldn’t trust him not to try something against myself or the Bianchi boy.
For his part, Gregory glances at Irina once Jacob starts walking over, and at her nod, he jumps and races over towards my Explorer.
I roll down my window so that I can talk to him, intending to ask him to raise his shirt and let me check him for any surprises, like the one I sent with Jacob.
That thought is chased out of my head, however, when Jacob reaches Irina and jumps into the back of the van just as she pulls a pistol from behind her back and levels it at me.
“Get down!” I scream at Gregory as I duck behind the dashboard. Bullets shatter the windshield in front of me as I twist the key on the detonator that I had ready at hand. A red LED lights up the button, and I slam my thumb down on it, then release it, again and again.
I didn’t need to keep pressing. As soon as I release it the first time the van in front of me explodes, sending Irina Volkov sprawling as she’s peppered with shrapnel.
As I look over the dash, I see a mushroom-shaped fireball ascend into the sky as the van is immolated in flames.
I reach a trembling hand over to the handle and open my door, trying to see if Gregory is okay.
I see the young man cowering in the grassy ditch just in front of the Explorer.
“Get up! Come on!” I yell at him, just as I hear the screeching of brakes behind me.
I turn towards the sound and see an old green pickup truck has pulled up behind my Explorer.
There are two men inside, and as the driver begins to get out, I can see he’s holding a gun.
I leave the door open and run around the front of the Explorer to grab Gregory just as a gunshot rings out behind me. “What do we do?” Gregory gasps at me as I pull him down.
“I don’t…” I start to say when a black Expedition that I recognize immediately roars across the parking lot and slams into the open driver door of the green truck, pinning the man shooting at us. I can hear him scream as more gunshots ring out, and I realize Jamie and Chris have come to my rescue.
“Move!” I order Gregory. I pull him around to the driver side of the Explorer and open the rear passenger door, shoving him into the backseat.
I slam the door and see Chris through the open passenger window of the Expedition behind me.
He’s wearing a ski mask, but I recognize his voice when he calls out to me.
“You guys all right?” he yells.
“We’re fine, get out of here!” I wave him off.
“What about her?” he asks, waving with his pistol behind me.
“Just go!” I repeat as I climb back into the driver’s seat.
The Explorer is still running, and I see what Chris was referring to when I spot Irina crawling across the parking lot, trying to reach the gun that had flown from her hand in the explosion.
Blood is blossoming all over the back of her pants and jacket from dozens of wounds, but she’s still moving, and in an instant, I make a decision.
This will be the last time I encounter this bitch. This ends right here.
I drop the Explorer into drive and bounce across the grassy ditch, then angle the wheels and run her over. I can hear her scream as the SUV thumps once, then twice across her. I come to a squealing stop, drop the Explorer into reverse, and back over her again. THUMP, THUMP.
I pull back far enough to get a good look at her body, twisted and mangled, then drop back into drive and accelerate over her one more time for good measure, making sure to angle the tires for her head.
Jamie and Chris have already pulled out of the parking lot, and I weave my way out into the street behind them. I glance into the rear-view mirror and see people running from around the park towards the commotion, but no one was close enough to get a good look at what happened.
“Who are you? Do you work for my dad?” Gregory gasps at me as he gets situated in the back seat and fastens his seat belt.
“I’m your rescue. Now hush,” I admonish him as I dig Maximo’s phone out of my purse, then scroll through his contacts while trying to concentrate on getting back to the highway. I find Jamie’s contact information that he had given me earlier, then type the numbers into the burner phone.
“Jamie? It’s Constance,” I tell him as soon as he picks up. “Thanks for the help back there.”
“It was good that you had us on standby,” he replies. “Your ride is pretty fucked up; those bullet holes are going to make it noticeable.”
“I’m going back to the estate now with Gregory. I’ll park it in the garage until I can make some sort of arrangements to get rid of it…”
“Don’t worry,” Jamie interrupts me. “I got a guy that does auto glass. He delivers things for me while going around town doing repairs. I’ll get him out to fix the glass, then once it’s presentable, we’ll get the Explorer to the junkyard and dispose of it.
You just park it and I’ll make the calls. Sound good?”
“Yeah, sure. Thanks again, Jamie.”
“It’s not a problem. You did all the cooking, Constance, the least I can do is the dishes, you know? Now, I’m going to call Tony and have him ready to go when you get back. He’ll get Gregory back to his father. Is the kid all right?”
I glance back at the young man who is shivering in the seat behind me. “You okay, Gregory? You’re not hurt, are you?”
“I don’t think so,” he replies before I see a tear race down his face. “I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. What…what is all this about? What’s going on?”
“Your father will explain everything. We’re going to get you home soon, okay?”
“Okay.” He exhales a heavy sigh of relief. “Okay. Thank you, whoever you are, for saving me.”
I don’t tell him that the rescue was never my priority, just a means to an end. He’s safe, and that’s all that matters to him. “He’s fine,” I tell Jamie. “Just shook up. So am I.”
“I’ll bet you are. My hands are shaking so bad I’m surprised I’m driving straight,” Jamie admits. “Just get back to the estate safe, and we’ll go from there. You did good, Constance,” he adds before disconnecting the call.
I can’t help the grim smile that spreads across my face as I drop the burner back into my purse. I feel like I should be nauseous or disgusted at what I’ve done. But I’m not.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever been prouder in my life.