5 DAYS
Published by Paul Sean at Smashwords
Copyright 2009 Paul Sean
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
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Day 1
Today started out the same as the days of recent past with me thumbing through the want ads looking for a job. I have been repeating that same routine for some time now. My wife already left for work and our 7 month old son was still asleep. Since I have been unemployed for the last 4 months it has not been easy for our family. My wife though always tries to put on a good face and not let the stress wear her down. She is a tough woman. Her job alone barely covered our expenses, thank god at least one of our cars was paid off. The other car was not paid off unfortunately. We had to sell that car and ended up taking a bit of a loss on it as well. But it was one less payment to make. The piece of crap Wall Street scum pillaged the world and here I am stuck holding the tab. At least my wife was praying for better days, I had all but given up.
Five months ago I was a computer programmer for medium size brokerage firm here in Arizona. Life was good. But then the economy crashed hard taking a whole lot out with it, including my job. The low paying jobs won’t hire me because I am over qualified and the good paying jobs are far and few between. Makes me wish I would have stayed in with the Air Force, at least I can earn some money while bombing the snot out of some shit bag at 30,000 feet.
As I was looking through the want ads, the phone rang. It was Tyler, an old Air Force buddy of mine. He asked if I was looking to make a little extra money on the side. I exclaimed “Hell, at this point there is no side. I’ve got no job so anything at this point would help me.” “Well I guess I called at the right time. We need a pilot to fly stuff for us into Mexico,” Tyler stated. My curiosity was piqued. “What kind of stuff?” I asked. “Heck that I know, I running the logistics of our operation, the boss handles the customers and goods,” he replied. “Our clients ship all sorts of manufactured goods back and forth and expect confidentiality. I know they send prototypes to manufacturing plants at some places, and the creators of those prototypes don’t want them getting out until they are ready for sale,” Tyler said. “We have a few different planes and that’s why I thought of you, I remember your versatility with flying. Our last pilot ran afoul of some FAA rules and had his license suspended so I need someone to start tomorrow. Can you help me?” “Heck yeah!” I said. Tyler then proceeded to give me the details of where to show up the next day.
I was too excited about the job offer that I forgot to ask anything about the pay, not that it mattered since it was a job. I had to call my wife right after hanging up the phone with Tyler. “Guess what babe, I got a job!” “You did, where?” replied my wife. “I will be flying for a shipping company. An Air Force buddy of mine called after his pilot had his license suspended,” I replied. “I will be flying back stuff back and forth between Mexico and here.” “What kind of stuff?” she asked with a bit of a pause. “Mostly prototype parts to manufacturers down there,” I said. “Oh, ok. I know how you love to fly. This should help us out financially as well,” she said. I told her how I start tomorrow and would need to be dropped off at the hangar. We worked out the plan for the morning where she would drop me off and take the car to drop our son off to day care just before heading to her office.
Day 2
Today started out a bit differently then the last few months. I got up early so I could get ready for the new job ahead of me. I thought to myself that it was good I kept my flying license current as this was the only thing I had going for me now.
My wife dropped me off at the hangar where Tyler told me to meet him. Before she left to take our son to daycare I kissed them all goodbye. I told her I call her when I was done so she could come pick me up. After waiting around for a couple of minutes Tyler drove up and gave me a tour of the hangar.
In the back office Tyler told me the plane I was to fly was already loaded up and gave me the flight plan. He said all the clearances have been made and that I was ready to go after the pre-flight checks were completed. The flight would take two hours to complete one way with one hour on the ground for unloading. Tyler said depending on scheduling I might have to make another quick trip upon my return. “So much for getting home on time,” I said. “Hey, it’s the nature of the business and like you said it’s a paying job,” replied Tyler. After the pre-flight checks were complete I got on board the plane and headed out. The path I was to fly was a bit of an unusual route, one that really did not go down any main corridors.
After about two hours in the sky I saw my intended destination. It was a run down factory that looked like it hadn’t been in use for a while. There were a few cars parked outside the building that I could see as I brought the plane in for a landing on the rough runway strip. The whole setup did not seem right from the get go. Just as I turned off the engine I saw a black van followed by two large trucks coming towards the plane. I exited the plane and waited from them to arrive.
The black van stopped by the plane and a few men exited. An individual who called himself Richie introduced himself to me and instructed his men to start unloading the plane. “You’re new, what happened to the other pilot?” inquired Richie. “Apparently he had some trouble with the FAA and they pulled his license” I replied. “It’s a good thing Valdero could find a replacement so quick, because my boss does not like to wait for his products” said Richie. I just looked at Richie and nodded in agreement. Valdero must be the boss Tyler was referring to.
“Are you hungry my friend?” asked Richie. “I brought my lunch with me so I should be fine” I replied. “Nonsense” said Richie “I insist you come and have lunch with me in the dining hall over there. It’s not five star restaurant mind you, but it has hot and decent food. Besides your plane will be fine here, my men will make sure nothing happens to it.” I nodded in acceptance and Richie motioned for me to go to the passenger side of his van.
It was a nice van, with a leather interior, upscale radio system, and even a TV in the back. “You like the van?” asked Richie. “Yeah, it looks pretty nice. Must have cost a fortune to customize it like this.” I replied. “Did not cost me a penny. My boss gave it to me for going the extra mile, for being the company man.” replied Richie with a smile. I just nodded and smiled as well. I remember thinking to myself I am still not sure what these guys do out here in the middle of nowhere with prototype parts. It does not involve manufacturing that is for sure. But I sure as hell don’t want to ask any questions, lest I jam myself up by asking too much. “Man this is jacked up, I did not sign up to ship mysterious product that could get me thrown into jail.” I thought to myself. Because it was starting to look as if that were exactly the case, I was flying drugs, money, guns or who knows what in order to help out the cartels. At that point I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that began to make me feel a tad nauseous.
As we were driving to the building I thought to myself about how I would tell me wife that I am flying stuff in and out of Mexico for drug dealers. She would flip out, that is for sure. Dipshit Tyler and his job offer. All these thoughts gave me a cold sweat even with the van’s AC blasting. “Just relax . . . you don’t know what is being shipped. Everything will be alright.” I tried to tell myself.
“You look like you have been walking in the Mexican desert rather than flying . . . here have a bottle of water to help cool off” Richie said as he handed me a cold bottle of water. I drank sparingly to not appear rude. I had a paranoia about the whole situation. Now that I made the delivery were they just going to whack me? Was the water poisoned? The paranoid thoughts were rushing through my mind a million miles an hour. “Man does this suck.” I thought to myself. We came to a stop at the back of the building. That back building wall was lined with a bunch of dark tinted glass windows. Richie told me to come on in.
Richie pressed a buzzer by the steel door at the back and waved up at the camera. Somebody from the inside opened the door and Richie lead us into an open area. In the middle were steel benches and table. “Have a seat my friend!” exclaimed Richie. He shouted back into the kitchen for someone to bring out some food. I continued to slowly sip my water having felt no ill effects from the drug I imagined was put into it. “Drink up my friend, its hot out there and we don’t want you dehydrated for your return flight home!” said Richie. Richie’s cell phone rang and he excused himself to take the call. A few minutes later a woman walked out of the kitchen and put plates of food in front of me and set one down for Richie across from me.
The food smelled ok. But that did not stop me from examining closely to make sure nothing was put in it that would kill me. Based on the appearance alone there was no way to tell. Richie came back in and exclaimed “Dig in my friend, don’t wait for me!” Richie sat down and we both proceeded to eat our meals. “This is one of the better meals they have prepared. It must be because you are new here and they want to impress you. But usually the food is not this good.” said Richie. “When you come back next time you will see.” said Richie. “Next time”, he said “next time”, I breathed a sigh of relief thinking that it did not appear that they were going to kill me then and there.
After lunch wrapped up we headed back to the plane where I saw some new boxes had been loaded onto the plane. “What is that stuff?” I asked Richie. “Valdero knows about it, he will make arrangements for it when you give it to him. Now get on the plane and head on out, the sooner the shipment is delivered the better.” replied Richie. “Thanks for your company at lunch.” said Richie. Richie appeared to be reaching out to shake my hand but instead slapped a wad of cash into my hand and said “That is for you my friend” with a big smile. There was a couple hundred dollars in the wad, now I knew I was up shits creek without a paddle.
On the flight back I was both scared and exhilarated at the same time. Scared shitless that I am probably carrying drugs into the states yet exhilarated at how easy the money was. But what if get busted, what if I get caught between the crosshairs of rival drug gangs? Then what? Could I walk away now knowing what I know? Or would they send me out in a body bag? Besides, those stupid fuck Wall-Streeters snort the same shit I may be delivering, so I might as well make a few bucks at what would be an early death for those fuckers and their ponzi schemes. What would my wife think? How would my son view me later on? Too many things were running through my head and nothing really made sense.
I landed and brought the plane back into the hanger. “Richie said some good things about you” Tyler said. “That’s good, because Richie can be a tad difficult if he doesn’t like you” Tyler followed up. “Here is your payment for today, its late today so come back early tomorrow to fly the other delivery” said Tyler as he handed me a check. The check was made out to my name and in the amount of $300.00. Not bad for a days pay and a few hours flying. But is it worth the price?
At home I told my wife about the flight and the money I was paid. I only mentioned the $300.00 from Tyler and not the wad of cash Richie handed me. Nor did I mention the location I delivered too as I am sure that would freak her out to no end. She seemed happy about the job, but you could tell there was still something gnawing at her about the whole deal. What she didn’t know was how much it was gnawing at me as well. That gnawing feeling kept me tossing and turning at night.
Day 3
This morning started off abruptly with our son screaming unexpectedly early in the morning. He must have had a bad dream since as did not look to be sick. 4AM was too early for me to be getting up. But I could not go back to sleep after calming our son down. I decided to go workout in the basement. While working out I replayed the events from yesterday in my mind. I wondered what exactly was I delivering and how did I stumble into this crazy scenario. Here I am trying to do things right, but instead I end up delivering illegal substances from across the border from all appearances. After working up a sweat from the exercise and over thinking things I went back upstairs to shower and have some breakfast.
My wife was awake by then and feeding our son. “Are you ok?” she asked “It doesn’t look like you slept much after the crying spell earlier.” “Just a little restless I guess” I said. “Are you okay to fly?” she inquired “I mean since you did not sleep much do you think you are rested enough to fly today?” “Yeah I should be fine after some morning coffee” I replied.
After we ate our breakfast, my wife dropped me off at the hangar. Tyler was 30 minutes late today. I had to wait outside the hanger as it was looked up and no one else was around. “Where is your boss Tyler? I asked “I haven’t had a chance to meet him yet.” “The Boss? He is off in Canada working on some deal. He should be back later this week and you can meet him then.” said Tyler.
“Hey Tyler, who did all the paperwork to get your planes clearance to fly into Mexico?” I asked. “You’re suddenly Mister Questions today,” replied Tyler “The boss, Valdero, arranges all that. I think he has some family members with connections and is able to push it through the right channels.” “Why you asking?” inquired Tyler. “Just in case someone stops me to ask questions about the plane and my cargo.” I replied. “Don’t worry about that” Tyler said with a half chuckle, “All that has been taken care of and no one should be stopping you.” That response did not make me feel any more at ease.
After that I did not ask anymore questions. Tyler told me the plane was ready and handed me the flight plan, after looking it over I got on board and took off to the intended destination. Throughout the flight I really had no feelings. Instead it was just a cold numbness; my thoughts were only about flying the plane. I arrived at my intended destination, dropped off the cargo without any fanfare and flew back to the hangar across the border just like yesterday.
Tyler handed me another check that was double the amount given yesterday. It seemed all too easy.
On the drive home with my wife and kid, my wife commented that I was awful quiet. I could barely muster a response to her comment. “Just tired . . .” was all that I could utter. “You did wake up early” she said “Why don’t you eat dinner and get to bed early so you are well rested for tomorrow.” I just nodded in agreement.
Later that evening after a quit dinner the phone rang. My wife answered the call. It was Tyler; he needed to speak to me. I was not in the mood to talk to him nor was I sure if I wanted to fly for him again. I answered the phone though . . .
“Richie said he was shorted cash!” exclaimed Tyler.
“What do you mean he was shorted cash and what does that have to do with me?” I replied.
“The fucking shipment you took yesterday was his cash, how did it get short?” said Tyler
“Heck that I know, you said they were prototypes.” I said while trying to maintain my calm in front of my family.
“Well it wasn’t, and you probably knew that! That is why you skimmed cash from Richie. Richie does not like that shit, man. Just give back the fucking cash and maybe he will let this go.” Tyler said with a bit of a panic in his voice.
I walked outside with the phone in order to talk a little more freely.
“What the fuck are you talking about skimming cash? I did not know there was cash in there and did not skim anything!” I said angrily.
“Well someone sure as hell did and Richie is pissed off now. He is on his way up here now!” said Tyler “You need to come to the hangar now before Richie comes and explain you did not take the cash.”
“How the fuck am I supposed to explain that I did not take anything from him?!?” I said “I flew the shit to him after you loaded it up, so maybe you skimmed it!”
“I did not load it” said Tyler “Either Valdero or one of his nephews loaded it up. I just counted the boxes and made sure they were all there. You need to come down to the hangar now; otherwise Richie might come looking for you at your house.”
“You little shit; did you tell him where I live?” I yelled.
“He already knows where you live; just get the fuck over here now!” Tyler shouted as he hung up.
By this point my wife was curious as to why the conversation was heated and she made it a point to ask as I came back inside. “That jerk Tyler thinks I damaged the plane today.” I replied “He needs me to come in and help fix it since they have a delivery flight they need to make tomorrow with some critical parts.” “That sounded a little more heated though than it should have been over a damaged plane” she added. “It’s the only plane they have running now and they have signed contracts to deliver the stuff tomorrow so I need to go help him get it resolved.”, “I should be back in a couple of hours” I said as I headed out the door.
The only thing I could think about is that idiot Tyler getting me involved in this mess and how I would kick shit out of him once this was resolved. He screwed up by not packing the cash himself and somehow pinned it on me. To top that off he sucked me into this illegal bullshit. If I wasn’t so desperate for a job I might have thought it through a bit more clearly before agreeing for fly shit into Mexico.
I arrived at the hangar around 10PM. Tyler was frantically tearing through boxes looking for the lost cash as if it were misplaced somewhere and was not really stolen.
“What the fuck are you doing Tyler and why did you drag me into this shit?!?” I demanded.
“You were just supposed to fly the fucking plane and not find out about the shit we were delivering.” he replied with a shaking voice “No one was to have know and no cash should have been taken!” “It must have been Sam, that dumb fucking nephew of Valdero! I knew I could not trust that asshole!”
“So if it is him, why the fuck am I here?” “Why the fuck are you accusing me?” I asked.
“You were the new cog in this scheme, Richie thinks it is you.” “He does not know Sam had any involvement in this and he is coming here to see us to get the cash back.” explained Tyler.
“But we don’t have any cash and you are the dumb shit who may have said something to Richie to make it look like I was involved” I said.
“The hell that Richie cares who is involved now, someone took his cash and he is looking at us!” said Tyler.
Just then we could see a large SUV speeding towards our direction. After coming to a stop Richie and three goons got out of the vehicle. This time there was no exchange of pleasantries.
Two of the goons started slapping around Tyler, who sounded like a whining dog taking a beating. “Hey Richie, lets take it easy here.” I said. We did not take your…”. Before I could even finish my sentence I was hit by the third goon in the stomach.
“Shut the fuck up you whining shit!” Richie said to Tyler as he kicked him while he was lying on the ground. “And you, you don’t talk unless told to talk” he said while pointing at me. Once Richie started talking the goons let up.
“Where is my money” Richie said looking at me. “We didn’t take it; I didn’t even know I was flying money to you.” I replied. “Well who did then?!?” shouted Richie. “It was Sam.” replied Tyler. “Who the fuck is Sam?” yelled Richie as he kicked Tyler again.
“Sam is Valdero’s nephew and he loaded up the plane the other day.” said Tyler. “You’re lying!” exclaimed Richie “I talked to Valdero a few minutes back and he said you loaded it up.” “I have known Valdero for 15 fucking years and he does not have any nephews you idiot!” After that statement Tyler clammed up.
“Well, where is the money?!?” yelled Richie. Tyler was not talking. Richie then nodded at one of his goons. The goon pulled out his pistol and shot Tyler in the hand. Tyler screamed out in pain.
As Tyler writhed on the ground in pain he started talking. “Yeah I took the money, we were supposed to share it” he said while pointing at me. “You fucking lying sack of shit!” I said “I never took . . .”. This time I took a hard hit on my side from one of the goons and fell to my knees gasping for air.
Tyler then continued “We were supposed to split it, but he got greedy and threatened me unless I gave it all to him.” Richie nodded again at his goon. The goon fired two shots into Tyler and then there was a silence.
Richie then looked at me and said “I don’t know if that little shit was lying or telling the truth, doesn’t matter much now.” “You have 2 days to get me the 75 grand that was swiped from the shipment you made.” he said. “I never took any money” I said. “Someone did” said Richie “and you were the last one to have seen the shipment.” “What kind of stupid ass flies shit into Mexico and does not verify the contents?” asked Richie. I had no answer as I knew I should have known better.
“You have two days to get me my money.” said Richie, “Two days! An if I don’t get the money then depending how I am feeling I may kill your wife and kid in front of you and then kill you or I may just kill you in front of your wife and kid.” said Richie “Either way get me the fucking money!”
“If you touch my family, I will . . .” before I could finish my sentence I took a hit to the head and fell to the ground. The last thing I heard was “two days…” before I blacked out.
I awoke later on to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I could not answer my phone in time as at first I had to gather my senses and try and get myself back to my feet. As I got up and looked around I saw Tyler’s body laying there in a pool of blood. I felt sick to my stomach. “How did I get myself into such a fucked up situation and what am I supposed to do now?” I thought to myself. Down on the ground next to Tyler’s body was a business card with Richie’s name and number on it.
The phone rang again. I looked down at it and it was my wife calling. I answered and my wife inquired where I was at this late hour. I paused and thought for a few seconds. “Pack your bags with things you two need for the next few days, you need to get out of town.” I said. “What? What happened, why do we need to leave for a few days?” she asked. “You’re suspicions about the job I got from Tyler were right, I got mixed into some drug running and now they think I stole their money.” I replied. “You stole money from drug dealers?!?” she gasped. “No, I didn’t steal anything!” I shouted “They think I stole it and they want me to pay it back!” “They threatened you and our son, so you need to pack your shit and get ready to leave now!” I said.
She was silent on the phone for a bit. “Where are we supposed to go, you know my mom is out of the country?” she asked.
“No going to relatives, just pack your stuff and I will arrange the transportation for you to go somewhere.” I said. “Do it fast; I’ll be home shortly to take you to the bus station.”
“What about you?” she inquired “Are you coming with us?”
I said “No, I have to take care of this here first.” and then hung up the phone.
I looked through Tyler’s wallet and found fifty bucks in cash. I’m gonna need more cash than this, I thought to myself. I went to the back of the hangar to check Tyler’s car. I rummaged through it finding only change and an unloaded .38 revolver. After grabbing the revolver I started back towards my car and drove home.
I got home and went inside and saw the suitcase my wife had packed. There were a couple of extra bags with stuff for my son. I looked at some of his toys and drifted for a moment thinking about a time where we sat and played with those toys and the stress of recent events never existed. But none of that would be happening today.
My wife came out with our son. He had been put down for the night and was crying after having been woken up early. “You’ve gone and screwed things up now, haven’t you!” she said. “What was I supposed to do?” I asked “It seemed ok at the time.” I knew though in my mind that I could not really deny what she was saying. “It does not matter now, let’s go.” I said as I walked to the door.
We loaded up in the car and took a long silent drive to the bus station. The car ride soothed my son back to sleep. I went into the station and bought them their tickets. As we went to the bus I handed my wife the wad of cash Richie had given me. “Check into a hotel and pay cash.” I said “Keep your cell phone on and I will contact you when this is over.”
“What are you going to do?” she inquired. “Whatever needs to be done to protect my family” I said. I kissed my son as they boarded the bus and went back to my car.
I sat the in the car waiting for the bus to leave. As I sat there I tried to remember the good times my wife and I had when there was none of this crazy stuff. Tried to remember about the day our son was born. It was hard though to think about that stuff though, the day’s event left a bad feeling in my mind. How things can change in the blink of an eye.
The bus left and I went home. I lay in my bed waiting for morning in hopes of getting some sleep. Anytime my eyes closed I dreamt of what just happened. The gunfire, the blood, my wife’s tensed voice, our crying son. I knew what I had to do in order to come out of this.
Day 4
I was able to sleep some, but it was not enough as I was awoke in a cold sweat after again dreaming about last night. After taking a shower and inhaling some food to keep my mind from fogging up I grabbed my .45 from the gun case in my closet and threw all the bullets I had into a bag and headed for the car.
I headed to the bank to get some cash. After inquiring from the teller about how much money I had in my account I requested a withdrawal slip and pulled it all out save a few token dollars.
Was the cash enough to pay off Richie? Hell no! Richie would not be happy if I gave him that amount of cash. So my next stop was the gun store.
I picked up a 9mm Glock “pocket” pistol and an AR-10 rifle mounted with scope that was already zeroed. In addition to those weapons I stocked up on ammo for the three weapons I now have. I blew through all the cash from the bank, money that was to have been the mortgage payment I had to pay next week. There is no need for a mortgage payment though if I don’t survive this shit. Surviving this fiasco seemed unlikely at the time. “What the heck am I doing?” is what I asked myself as I sat in my car contemplating the situation.
I drove around for thirty minutes just driving. I was not really looking at anything, just driving mindlessly, aimlessly. Maybe I was hoping I could drive off the edge of the earth and not have to deal with this anymore, maybe I was hoping this was all a dream and I would wake up and realize it. But it wasn’t a dream; I was just putting off the inevitable. “I have wasted enough time already, time to make the call” I thought to myself. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Richie’s number.
The phone rang and Richie picked up. “Do you have my cash asshole?” he asked. “How did you know it was me?” I asked. “I know a lot about you, your name, your address, how much your unemployment check is; about your wife and child.” he said “I make it a point to know about the people who work for me.” “So do you have my fucking cash?” he asked demandingly.
“I have some of it.” I said.
“I want all of it asshole, not some of it.” Richie said.
“Take what I have now, and I will get you the rest tomorrow. You said I have two days.” I replied.
“I’ll be at the hangar in two hours, be there with the cash or my next stop is at your grave!” Richie screamed as he hung up the phone.
I turned the direction of the car around and sped off to the hanger. It was going to take me 40 minutes from my location to get to the hangar and I needed some more time to set up. I could feel my gut clench up, knowing what was about to take place. I had to concentrate on breathing slowly in order to get myself to relax a bit and not have a breakdown then and there.
When I got to the hangar I approached it slowly to make sure I was not walking into a setup myself. It appeared vacant. Not taking any chances I parked my car off to the side where it would not be visible until you were right next to it. I scoped out the hangar to check for a place to hide in and could not find anything that would give me adequate cover.
Tyler’s body was still lying there, and it was starting to attract vermin. I almost got sick looking at his body just laying there.
I found a place to setup over to the side of another building away from the hangar. I loaded up the magazines and began the process of getting in place. I had a good view of everything within the hangar, including Tyler’s body. Before getting into my spot I went over to a van inside the hangar and left my cell phone in the passenger door pocket. Tyler’s cell was still on the floor next to him; I grabbed it and shut it off before putting it in my pocket.
I headed back to my spot and started to get into place when I heard the sound of a car approaching. I quickly got on the ground and observed the vehicles. There were two cars this time. Neither of them the same make as the car Richie originally brought last night.
The cars pulled up and parked next to my car. Richie got out of the back car with the rest of his men. The assholes were fifty minutes early, trying to get the jump on me. I could hear Richie saying “He is already here and that his men should go search the Hangar”. His men came out after four minutes and told Richie the hangar was empty.
“That’s his fucking car! How can he not be here if his car is here?!?” Richie demanded. Richie pulled out his cell phone and began to dial. As Richie put the phone up to his ear, I brought the scope of my rifle up to my eye.
I could hear my phone ringing from inside the van. Two of the goons approached the van with their weapons drawn and opened the door. All they found was my phone and held it up for Richie to see.
That was the last thing they did. As the shots fired off they echoed in the hangar, two down. Before Richie and his remaining men could react I fired off a few more shots and took out some more of his goons.
One of his men came charging at the barrels where I was concealed firing his automatic weapon wildly as if it were some sort of kamikaze attack. My shot hit him dead in the chest and he fell. Richie meanwhile ran behind the truck he came in. Since the idiot did not drive he did not have the keys to start his vehicle. He would have to get it off of the dead body of one of his men.
All that time I felt nothing but coldness. The sun was out at its high point and the ground was warm, but I felt numb as if I had been lying in the coldest winter snow. The fact I had just shot five people had not registered with me yet. Maybe my military training was kicking back in.
I could see Richie hiding behind his vehicle through my scope. I had a clear shot at his leg, but did not shoot. He kept shifting back and forth trying to see where the shooting was coming from. He was pinned down and did not know where to shoot at.
“I am going to kill you!” Richie yelled “You don’t know who you are messing with!”
I said nothing. Due to the nature of the buildings and the echoes it was hard to pin point where sounds came from. Richie just sat behind his vehicle, too scared to move and too stupid to figure out what to do next. I then took the shot and hit him cleanly in his lower calf. I could hear him screaming in pain.
I waited a minute and then went towards the vehicle from a concealed point with my .45 drawn. As I came up on him with my .45 aimed at his head I could see he was clutching his calf with one hand and his pistol in the other hand.
“Drop it asshole!” I ordered him. Richie took a moment to think about whether he should drop it or shoot at me. He dropped the weapon. I moved closer to him. “Who do you work for and who else knows about the missing money in your organization?” I asked him calmly. “Fuck you!” he said “I am going to . . .”. I aimed and then shot at his foot on the leg that had not been shot yet. He screamed out in pain. “We can do this the hard way if you like.” I told him. “Who do you work for and who else knows about the missing money?” I again asked.
“I work for the largest fucking cartel in Sonora and they will be coming to kill you and your family soon for stealing our money.” he uttered. Richie was trying to keep his composure as the pain seethed through his body.
“Who is the next level boss above you?” I asked, with weapon still pointed at Richie. “Valdero, you idiot.” he replied.
Richie went on “You really have no fucking clue, do you.”, “You probably didn’t even steal the money. That asshole Tyler must have done it and left you holding the bag. I guess it’s too late for you now though.”
“Where do I find Valdero?!?” I asked with a little more impatience in my voice.
“Fuck that I know, he finds me when he needs me. When I need to tell him something I call him up.” replied Richie.
I grabbed Richie’s cell phone from his coat pocket. He was not in much position to protest. The most recent calls included one to Valdero about 40 minutes ago. After reviewing the call logs I put the phone in my pocket.
“How often does Valdero switch numbers?” I asked him.
“He doesn’t, no one is going to touch him regardless of what they know.” Richie replied. “He is connected in too many places and greases enough palms to stay under the radar.”
Richie served his purpose and gave me the information I needed. I fired two shots in Richie and ended our conversation. His lifeless corpse looked up at me as if it was ready to deliver some vendetta. But today was not the day for that vendetta.
I searched through the vehicles that Richie and his crew came in. Rummaging through the vehicles I found some .45 ammunition and one thousand dollars in cash. “One grand, must be pocket change for these chumps” I said to myself as I put the cash into my pocket.
After securing my gear I walked back to Richie’s vehicles one last time and shot a couple of rounds into the gas tanks. As the gas started trickling out from the tanks I lit a flare and tossed it into the puddle of gas. I figured the fire would lead someone to the bloodbath that I left behind since the hangar was out in a remote part of town. I drove off knowing that there would be some future price to pay for this mess, but I did not want to look back in the rear view mirror and reflect on it too much.
Once I had gotten far enough away from the hangar I pulled over the side of the road and just sat there staring out at the desert. You could see the heat waves rising up above the sand and brush. It was calming in effect, one that allowed me to clear my mind of any thoughts and emotions. The calm lasted me only a few minutes though.
I pulled Richie’s phone from my pocket and dialed Valdero’s number.
“Hello” said a voice on the phone.
“Is this Valdero?” I asked.
“Who is this?” asked the voice.
“I am the new pilot for your shipping company here in Arizona.” I said “I am hoping to fly some more stuff for you.”
“Oh really?” the voice replied.
‘This is Richie’s cell phone number calling me, where is Richie?” he inquired.
“He is sunbathing in the desert.” I said.
“I see” replied the voice.
“Enough with the stupid games, this is Valdero. What the hell do you want?” he said.
“I know you double-crossed the cartel and swiped the money from the shipment.” I said. In fact I did not really know if Valdero took the money. This was my way of keeping the conversation going, what else was I going to ask him?
“You don’t know shit!” he said emphatically. “But I know a lot about you, your son ...”
Before he had a chance to finish off his sentence I interrupted “You and your stupid threats, you should come here and ask Richie about his threats.” I yelled.
“This is a waste of my time; everyone thinks you took the money. Who is going to believe some stupid ass like you?” he said as he hung up the phone.
The conversation did not get me anywhere. In fact it put me in a worse situation since now Valdero would be on the lookout for anything out of the ordinary. But I had to call in hopes something could be resolved, in the hopes I could walk away from this all and pretend like it never happened. But now I needed to find out where Valdero is to pay him that visit he was expecting. I just sat there for some time, contemplating what should I do next. I can’t just sit here doing nothing, but it seems that fate required that I sit there and think of a plan no matter how fruitless it may be.
The stress of the situation and of not having a course of action to pursue gnawed at me. I had no choice but to start my car and head back home.
It was early in the day but the events so far happened very quickly, combine that with my lack of sleep and it felt like I had been awake for weeks. Back at home I grabbed a quick bite to eat and then went to the basement office and surfed the internet to see what if anything I could find out about Valdero. I searched high and wide but could not narrow anything down concrete. “This is a waste of time!” I thought to myself.
I was frustrated to no end. Staring at a stupid computer trying to find out something about someone who is not a public figure is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I sat there staring at the ceiling for a while trying to clear my head so I could concentrate on a plan.
The silence in my head broke when I heard the back door of the house being opened. I knew I had left back door locked, the fact that it was being opened is not a good thing. I quickly crouched down into the closet with weapon drawn. From where I was hiding I had a clear view of the entryway to the office.
My heart raced as I waited in the closet. I could hear muffled creaks in the ceiling from someone walking upstairs. “How many are there, what kind of weapons do they have?” I kept thinking to myself. I was about to find out soon enough.
I heard the basement door at the top of the stairs squeak. “Here it comes” I thought to myself. I could see two figures in the distance, weapons drawn and searching. I knew they would eventually come to the room I was in. Every now and then on of them would make a fast movement of his head in one direction or another. As my hear raced I kept thinking that they were going to see me soon. “Do I shoot now or do I wait until they get closer?” I thought “Or by then would they be too close?” I was breathing heavily trying to keep a good visual on both of them.
Then I took a shot. I had my site lined up on the head of the person standing closest to the room I was in. He went down fast. The second person fired using controlled bursts in my direction. It was some sort of silenced automatic machine gun. The fact that his weapon was silenced would not do me any good as I am sure someone heard the sound of a .45 going off and the police would be soon here. If I did not end this fast, the hitman would before the cops could show up. Of course the cops would not benefit me much either if they were to stop the hitman.
The second hitman quickly made is way back into the laundry room area after firing some more rounds through the office wall. I aimed my gun at the wall that adjoined the laundry room and shot low. Three rounds went through the wall. I heard a loud groan and what sounded like someone falling into the dryer. I waited in the closet more from hesitation than any idea that is was good to sit and wait in case the hitman was ready to shoot some more.
I slowly edged out of the closet staying alongside of the wall. I could see the body of the first hitman on the floor in the middle of the hall. As I got close to the door of the laundry room door I quickly glanced in to see the hitman laying on the floor and quickly ducked back. A barrage of machine gun fire tore up the back wall. When I heard a magazine drop to the floor I went in with gun drawn and told the shooter to drop it. He failed to comply so I shot him in his hand which caused his gun to fall.
He did not say anything as I looked at him. Just laid there clutching his leg which had been shot twice. I asked him where I could find Valdero, he did not answer. I shot him once more in the same injured leg. He groaned loudly in pain but still did not say anything.
“Where can I find Valdero?” I asked again. Still no response. I shot him twice more in the other leg. His body jerked violently as he screamed out in anguish. “I have more bullets than you have body parts, so this can go on all day asshole!” I said “Where is Valdero?!?”
At that point I was getting frustrated with his lack of cooperation. I grabbed a bottle of bleach from the shelf and poured it slowly on the open wounds. He started to scream loudly as the first drops hit his legs. Finally he spoke. “Okay, okay I’ll tell you what you need to know, just stop!” he screamed.
“I am listening” I said impatiently. “Go to 450 Albemarle and see Sylvia. She knows where Valdero is.” he said. I looked at the hitman as he was panting heavily on the ground while clutching his legs. There was blood all over the place. I fired two more rounds into him to finish off his suffering and make sure no one was around to talk when the cops came.
I grabbed the automatic weapons, car keys, cash and a cell phone from the hitmen. I needed a new car to get me to where I was going, one not linked to me. After transferring the gear from my car into my new found ride I left that house. It would probably be the last time I ever saw it again.
As I drove on the freeway I could not help but thing that these hitmen get to drive in style. I guess if you are paid to kill people, one of the perks is to be able to drive a luxury car and enjoy the ride before the blood letting begins.
The big advantage in taking that car was the large cache of ammo the hitmen stored in their trunk. The ammo will come in handy for causing heavy damage and making sure my point gets across to Valdero once I find him. My next stop was to see Sylvia.
Albemarle was not too far from where I lived, but it was in a rougher part of town. Likely Sylvia was a prostitute or a drug front for Valdero. I was not sure how willing she would be to talk or if would she require some effort to get her to tell me about Valdero.
Once I arrived on Albemarle I drove around the block a few times survey the setting and see if there were any additional problems in the making. The house was unassuming. There was no heavy use of steel bars or any extra security that would indicate a drug den was somewhere on the property. The lawn was maintained, nothing fancy. The house exterior was cleaner than most of the other houses around. But then again the neighborhood in general offered ok living to those with limited means.
There was an alleyway that connected Albemarle and the street behind it. I decided to park on that street in case things did not work out as planned and I needed a safe escape. It was farther from her house but I should be able to get out quick from the back and it provided some cover.
It took me 3 minutes to walk around the block as a person normally would walk this part. But who was I kidding, there is nothing normal about walking in this part of town unless one was strung out and did not know where the fuck you were going or you worked somewhere here doing something you preferred not to talk about.
I walked up to the door and knocked. A woman opened the door and asked what I wanted. “I am looking for Sylvia, Valdero sent me,” I said. “Valdero sent you, yes, well come on in. I know what you need exactly,” she said as she led me into the house and motioned for me to have a seat. At first I was not sure if she was leading me to the couch to perform some service or give me some drugs. When she went into the drawer and pulled out a baggie I knew the answer.
“I am afraid you have the wrong impression.” I said to Sylvia. “I am not here for any drugs.”
“Well what are you here for then?” she replied.
“Where can I find Valdero?” I asked.
“So he didn’t send you, now did he?” she followed up with, “Why are you looking for him and why should I tell you?”
“I need to return a favor and as to why you should tell me, I guess that depends on what it is worth to you?” I answered.
‘Worth to me?” she snickered, “I guess it depends what kind of favor you are going to return.” “You see he supplies me with the drugs that I sell and make a living for myself. No drugs, then I might have to turn to some other things which I find more unsavory in nature.” she said.
“Of course . . . he is not so tender with his touch.” she Said “I have been approached by some competitors of his who would allow me a greater share than Valdero would.”
“I of course, could not cross him while he is still around, but I could make a better living with some of his competitors if you catch my drift.” she said.
“This favor I have to repay would allow you to talk to your competitors without any problems.” I said. It didn’t seem like Sylvia would require the extreme persuasion as some of Valdero’s other people did.
“I can tell you, but I need some cash up front to pay some bills . . . since it may be a while until I can talk with someone and setup some more business opportunities. Besides I have to wait until you or Valdero is out of the picture. I am not completely banking on some cowboy claiming he is going to take out a number three player in a large cartel.” said Sylvia.
“Cowboy? I am no cowboy, but I am ready to deliver to Valdero what he has coming. But since you asked I have $1,000.00 I can give. Do we have a deal?” I said.
“Hand over the cash player and I’ll give you the directions. Of course I’ve never personally driven there myself so it is based on what I have seen.” she said.
“What you have seen?” I asked with a bit of sarcasm in my voice.
“Yeah what I have seen, Valdero always had his men drive me down there,” she replied “It’s through some corridor where his people don’t get checked since they are greasing the right palms. So you want the directions or not?” she said.
“Here is your cash now give me your directions.” I said as I handed her the cash.
“Nothing like a nice wad of cash to make a girl feel loved, since you may be the next power player you sure I can’t offer you anything else?” she said with a wink. “You don’t look like the rough handler type.”
“Thanks for the offer but I will pass, I only get rough if the situation calls for it. I am getting the directions that I need and I will be on my way after that. I replied.
As I was heading out the door Sylvia said “Oh and when you hit the border you need to give one of the guards 789 dollars exact.”
“789 exact” I said? “Yes, 789 dollars exact. That way guards know you work for Valdero and they will allow you to pass through the crossing with no inspection.” she said.
With that I had my directions in hand and was on my way. Sylvia’s directions were exactly as she said they were, a few street names guided me at the start and then landmark descriptions the rest of the way. The descriptions were pretty detailed, but I was not sure I would be able to locate all the landmarks properly. But I had no choice at this point, find the target or watch everything I worked for disappear.
Prior to hitting the border I scraped up the last of the money I had to make sure there was the exact amount of cash I needed. Not having exact change I had to stop to get some change and to fill up on gas. I was sweating bullets by the time I reached the border gate. I was thinking that the $789 thing was probably fake and that the border guards would think I am offering a bribe and arrest me. The guard I handed the money too, told me to wait as he went inside. I contemplated gunning the engine and just running in case it was a scam and the guard was just going back for reinforcements. I waited under the scorching sun hoping I could get through this with no problems. The same guard came out and waved me on. That was it, I was through. The tough part though now lay ahead.
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