Chapter 34 Stiff
STIFF
“You seriously don't care if we gun the fucker down?” I raise a questioning eyebrow at Detective Chen who's behind cover with me, waiting for Dillard to show up.
Out of an abundance of caution, Hellfire decided to share what we found out about Dillard to her after all, but not until she was here.
From the fury when he told her, I think she suffers traitors about as much as we do, which is not at all.
“Yes, of course I do, but I’m not an idiot.
I know you wouldn’t have set this up if you were going to let him live, and I’m not going to lose sleep over pond scum like him.
Honestly, it’s less paperwork. You’re saving the city money.
” Her voice is cold and even. She's a fucking hunter. I can appreciate that.
“Very pragmatic.”
Her lips twitch only for a moment. “Undercover work is always a little risky, especially long term assignments. In order to do their job well, they need to operate independently, but people aren’t built to lead false lives for years at a time.
The sides always bleed into each other. I suspect he's been rogue for a while, and it’s going to take some time to pull on the threads and find how much he's involved in.
Either way, he's a cop killer, so I really don't care if he turns up a casualty in this investigation.”
Lash chuckles. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
“You started on my bad side,” she says, stone-faced.
Here at the top floor of the parking garage we arranged to meet at, the wind cuts through like it's made of glass shards.
It's well away from both the clubhouse and the police station, as close to neutral ground as possible.
Tons of pillars and barriers to hide behind, which we're making full use of.
We have the spiral stairs that'll take us down to the first floor damn quick, where our bikes and Detective Chen's car are parked just out of sight.
Only Grimm's out in the open, just past the top of the ramp and looking bored as fuck.
“He's late,” Hellfire grumbles. “I don't fucking like this.”
Jackal checks his watch. “We got him by balls. I'll be real surprised if he doesn't show.”
As if in response, a car turns into the first floor and my ear piece crackles with Sinner's voice, “Gray car just turned in and coming up. No visible passengers.” The engine noise echoes off the concrete as it starts winding its way up the floors. With every turn, the tires squeal a little.
It's showtime.
“Get ready,” I say to Grimm. He nods. The rest of us check our guns.
The top floor is almost empty, other than a couple of old junkers missing their plates and with red parking tickets under their windshield wipers.
Guessing they're to be hauled out of here after someone abandoned them.
Plenty of cars at the bottom, but no one drives all the way up if they don't have to.
Gives us space, and time to mince that fucker and still get the hell out before any cavalry comes.
At least that's the fucking theory. With Sinner keeping an eye on the entrance, and Priest and Riot up on two different buildings keeping an eye on the area, this should hopefully go real smooth.
The car's coming up onto the floor below, slowing down now.
All we need to do is hold our breaths and try not to make a peep until we're sure everything is how it should be.
If I was Dillard, I wouldn't be coming up here without a backup plan, so it’s more likely a question of how this is going to get fucked up, not if.
I pull my gun. Not gonna let anything go wrong here.
The car pulls around the last turn, coming to a stop right in front of Grimm. I squint at it. Is it riding low?
The door opens and a man steps out, stopping behind the door like he's using it for cover. He sure as fuck isn't Dillard. What the hell's going on here?
“Who the fuck are you?” Grimm growls at him.
The man smirks, and I'm liking this less and fucking less. “Did you think Ezra was dumb enough to believe you? He told me to say good luck convincing the cops that they should trust you over him. Oh, and, 'Fuck you,' I think his exact words were.”
“What’s the plan then?” Grimm shifts, making sure his gun arm is ready to draw. “Gonna kill me? Like it or not, the footage is real, and someone’s going to believe it. Even if you kill me, it’ll leak.”
“Police incoming! Get ready!” Sinner's warning is loud in all our ears. Fuck.
There's a click at the back of the car, then the trunk pops up like a shield, just as the cop drops to take cover behind the car door.
Two—no three cops in uniform roll out of the back of the car.
They take position behind the trunk lid, aiming iron at Grimm.
“Put your gun down real slow on the ground.
You're under arrest for the murder of Detective Ross Smith.”
“The fuck?” I'm almost surprised they don't collapse under Grimm's angry stare. “I didn't kill him and I can fucking prove it.”
Sirens start below, blaring as the first cop car pulls into the first floor. Beside me, Chen is swearing up a storm under her breath.
“Four cars now. No, five. Get the fuck outta there.” Sinner's voice cuts through the noise. Sirens ring through the whole fucking garage like church bells.
Chen pops up from beside me. “Put your guns down. I’m Detective Adrienne Chen.” She holds up her badge. “You’re interfering with an ongoing investigation. You’re operating under incomplete information. The men you’re trying to arrest are working with me.”
“Don't bother,” Grimm growls. “They’d rather shoot first and apologize later.”
One by one, the rest of us get up, guns out. We outnumber them for now, but not by the time the cars get up here. “Any advice, detective? I’d rather not go out guns blazing, but I will if I have to.” Jackal growls.
“She's been compromised,” snaps the guy behind the shield. “Detective Chen, surrender now!”
“What the ever-loving fuck are you on, Jensen?” pours out of her with so much vitriol it could make Hellfire blush. “I don’t know where you’re getting your information, but I'll have you knocked right down to beat cop, you incompetent fuck!”
Jesus.
“I said surrender!” Jensen yells back. “We’ll use force if we have to.”
For all his bluster, the other cops don’t look sure who they should be listening to. Their guns are lowered, and they are looking back and forth between Jensen and Chen. One of them is on the phone.
“Fuck,” Lash snaps. “This is a waste of our fucking time.” He's not scared. Just fucking annoyed.
“Let's get the fuck outta here.” Hellfire sounds disgusted with the whole thing, and I don't fucking blame him. “Grimm! We're leaving. Jackal, Stiff! Cover him.”
Me and Jackal keep our guns trained on Jensen, whose face is bright red, and he looks like he’s about to lose his shit. I think he's hoping we shoot first. What's he thinking? We're a bunch of fucking animals?
“Jensen, stand down.” Chen isn't done with him. “Whatever Dillard has told you, this is my investigation.”
More cars are coming up, stopping on the lower levels and spilling out cops that are drawing weapons. Even if no one here is looking for trouble, it only takes one nervous shot to kick off a whole fucking war. With the way things are, we need to get the hell out ASAP.
Hellfire and Lash look down the spiral stairwell that leads to the first floor. “They're coming up,” Hellfire shouts.
Fuck.
Jensen spins in the direction of Hellfire’s shout and fires.