Chapter Seven
Thursday morning it was actually chilly out. At seven in the morning, the temperature had not even got to forty degrees yet. However, the good news was that everyone showed up. As Mac and I pulled into the dock just before Mary Alice Park at Lake Lanier, everyone was already there. Toni, Sam, and even James was there.
“You tell James we would be here this morning?” I asked before we got out of the truck.
“Yep, was that not okay?”
“Sure, just strange,” I said.
“We’ll see,” he said. He stepped out of the truck to greet everyone.
It was funny to see everyone with jackets on and the lake behind them. I walked over to them and wished them all a good morning. I turned to James. “You going to be alright out there with us?”
Without changing his facial expression he said, “Black people are not really all scared of water.”
I closed my eyes for a long couple of seconds. “That is not what I meant.” Now that I had the attention of the whole group. “I just wanted to make sure you were not worried about us, maybe throwing you over into the lake.” I could see Mac beside Toni shaking his head.
James never changed his expression, then after what felt like forever he started laughing with Mac to follow, which was disturbing in itself. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Mac told me how you are probably the only person in the world he has ever met that really does see a person’s color.”
“Very nice.” Everyone was laughing now. “Well, that’s what I got everyone together for. We can leave now.”
We backed the boat into the water and loaded everyone on. The boat was not anything special. Just a pontoon boat, we had another for speed, but today was not a day for that. We just traveled around to try to relax and enjoy each other’s company. It turned out to be a good day. We got out of the water around two so we could go eat and everyone had plans for the evening. Especially Mac and myself.
We finished up at a restaurant close by. The parking lot was large enough to handle trailers. I was not paying attention to much, but for some reason thought to look at the tires on the trailer and noticed that one of them was low on air, nothing terrible, but it needed attention. I walked over to get a closer look, after all the night before we pissed off a bad guy from all accounts. I looked all around and didn’t see any reason for the air to be low, so I looked around a little more to make sure it wasn’t something else. Being too paranoid never hurts.
Without noticing him there, Sam had leaned over and asked, “Is everything okay?”
Him saying that brought back a silly memory, I stood up straight and said, “The tire is low and I don’t see why.” I knew he would try to figure it out himself. He leaned down a little more this time. Mac never misses anything. Although Sam is a little taller than we are, he was so skinny no one ever thought about his weight as a problem. Mac walked over slowly, grabbed him, and picked him up so his head was at the tire and his feet were at almost a forty-five degree angle. Being the silly group we were, Sam didn’t miss a step. He started blowing at the tire so I got to his feet and took one of his feet in each hand and started opening and closing them like an old fashion bellow. Now we were all in sync, as I closed his legs, he blew out and when I opened them, he sucked in. Laughter broke out from not only our group, but also anyone in eye site distance.
Then something even weirder happened. There was a car not too far from us and all of the sudden the tires screeched and then it slammed into a dumpster close by. It was an older woman, well older than we were. We stopped acting stupid and started to go over to make sure she was all right, I guess that scared her more because she looked down and put the car in another gear and the tires screeched again, and then she was gone.
We all stood there in amazement and then looked at each other and started laughing. Then I had a thought. “What do you think she thought we were doing?”
Mac stopped smiling, “I don’t know, but I bet it’s nothing good. We should probably leave.”
Everyone ran for their cars and left. Laughing the whole time, we ran. Mac and I didn’t stop laughing until we got down the street to a gas station. I pulled in, Mac said. “What are you doing?”
“Well, after all that, the tire still needs air.”
“Oh yeah, Sam is useless.”
I didn’t notice, but Toni was right behind us. By the time, I did see her, she was at the door on the passenger side, which is where Mac was. I said, “I got the tire.”
When I was done, I sat back in the truck and Mac said, “Do you mind if I go with her? Will you be alright to handle the boat?”
“Don’t even think about it. Go, I’ll meet you at the office later.”
He jumped out of the truck like a school kid, “Thanks. Later.”
Toni stopped him from leaving just yet and she turned to me. “I wanted to thank you for today, it was a great day. You have no idea how much I needed it.” She reached in to shake my hand.
As I took hers, I said, “Not a problem, I am glad you had a good time. Hope we can do it again, maybe without the car crashes next time.” She laughed as they left.
I drove off to drop the boat off at the storage unit and then home to hopefully sleep before we headed out for our adventure tonight. I figured Marshall would either try something or not, you never knew with guys like that. I thought I might try to find out. I did a search for hospitals in the area of the club. I wanted to see if Freddy was in one of them. He was hurt bad enough to maybe still be in a room looking at some dull colors. For him to have been out for that long he would have probably a concussion at least.
I was right, the third hospital I called had Freddy there. Made me feel a little better about Marshall; at least he felt bad enough to take him to the hospital. On the other hand, it could just be that Freddy is good at what he does and good help is hard to find. I thought about going to the hospital, but didn’t think it would be productive to face Freddy before going to see if we could get any results tonight. I know that Marshall would probably have done nothing we asked. After all, he probably had not heard of us before last night and why would he be scared of someone he doesn’t know. If he was half as good as they say, he would produce nothing and threats would not be any good. You never know what someone might do. I did what anybody in my position would do; I decided to lay on my bed and think.
Two hours later, I finished my thinking, got off the bed and got in the shower. When I got dressed this time, I put on my bulletproof vest under my shirt. Put a jacket on top of that with my gun on just under the jacket. I was carrying a Sig Sauer P229 Two Tone 9mm this year. Just to make myself feel better, I put my Smith and Wesson Bodyguard 380 in the holster on my ankle. I wasn’t leaving it in the truck this time. I hope that there will not be any resistance like last time, but probably would not get that lucky again.
I left my house and was at the office by six that evening, thank goodness I put the jacket on. It was only thirty-five degrees out. Mac was there when I pulled up and he was all smiles. “Aren’t you the little school girl tonight,” I said. “There must be something going on with this one. But isn’t she a little bit young for you to start acting like this?”
“Yeah, I was going to just have some fun with her, which I am, but this one is different,” he said.
I just stared at him for a time. He noticed. “What?” I kept staring. “I’m not giving out details. If that is what you waiting for, not about this one.”
“Man, you are just wrong, how can I live through you if you don’t fill in the blanks?” I said. “Okay, how about sex, yes or no?”
“No, and that’s it.”
I smiled, “Wow, is something wrong?” I asked.
“No!”
“Seriously, that’s it?”
He started his Suburban, it was more comfortable than mine. He headed to West Atlanta. “Look, I really like this girl. I don’t want to jinx it. She’s everything you could hope for. Funny, smart, man she is smart. Great look
ing, driven; she’s working very hard to pay for this on her own. I have never met someone so intent to do something on her own.”
I looked over at him, “You offer to help?”
“No, I offered to pay for the whole thing,” he said.
I just closed my eyes. Took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Don’t worry, she wouldn’t take it,” he said. “I know you’re thinking I should know better than this and I do. I just wanted to see if she would jump at it and I know that saying no right off is a play in itself, but I had to throw it out there to see if I get a bite.”
“Okay, just be careful please. Money and relationships don’t usually work well. Except for ours, maybe,” I said. “Hey, what happened to James? I thought he would be our tail for a while?”
“He has been there for a while now. Poor guy thinks I didn’t notice him behind us, all this time.”
“Well, if things go wrong at least we’ll have an FBI agent to back us up,” I said.
“Or arrest us,” Mac said.
“Nice, I didn’t think about that.” I thought for a second. “Oh well, I’m not stopping because he’s watching.”
Mac stepped out as I expected he would. When we got to the door, Stegosaurus was there again. He didn’t look happy to see us, but also seemed worried. “Um, you guys are not welcome here. You will have to leave.”
I handed him my phone, “You should probably call an ambulance.”
“Why?”
Mac gave him a right hook to his midsection and then an uppercut to the jaw. He fell over like a log. I left the phone there with him. “I told you,” I said as we walked in. I heard a car door open. Probably James. Nothing I can do about that. Mac just kept moving also.
Inside, another large guy started to come at us. “Gee, you think they are mass producing these guys? I guess it’s my turn.” I stepped in front of him. He squared up to me. Put his hands up, a righty. He jabbed at me with his left, I slipped it and rolled under to his right. As he started to throw his right, I was already on his side and his motion left him open. I gave him a hard left hook to his ribs on the right. You could hear the air leaving his lungs. Then, while he was bent over, I gave him a love tap to the jaw with my right and he was down.
We pushed forward through what was now a doorway, since they had not the chance to fix the door we removed with Freddy last night. Back at the office door Mac never stopped moving, just kicked it in and went through. There was Marshall again with another girl under his desk. I looked at Mac.
“We even made an appointment this time and he still has someone down there,” Mac said. “Honey, will you come out from there. We don’t want you to get hurt.”
She leaned back and looked at Marshall. He nodded. She stood up and never looking up, walked out the door that was off its hinges once again. I noticed where the priorities were. I said, “I guess he wasn’t expected to be bothered with all the muscle he had out there.” I turned to him, “Sorry, maybe you should spend less money on looks and pay attention on what they can do.”
He looked up, “That might be something we can agree on.” While he fixed his pants he stood up, “So you guys were serious about coming back tonight. Please sit and let’s talk for a minute before you keep destroying my place.” He sat. I sat across from him, but Mac just stood there. He looked up at him, “You don't know how to sit?”
Mac didn’t even acknowledge him talking. Marshall looked back at me. “Your friend okay; does he hear everything?”
“And then some,” I said.
“So why doesn’t he sit,” he asked.
“It’s easier to respond while you’re standing,” I said.
“Respond to what?”
“Anything.” Marshall had leaned in so his hands were under the desk. “Like you reaching for that gun under there. I were you I would put my hands on the desk,” I said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Marshall, we have been doing this for some time now. We pay attention, which is something you need to work on,” I said.
“Man, you are starting to talk in riddles. Did I miss something?”
“Look at him,” I said as I nodded to Mac, who had silently taken his gun out and had it pointed at Marshall’s head. When Marshall met Mac’s eyes, he pulled the hammer back on his Kimber Ultra carry forty-five.
Marshall’s eye got wide, “Man, when did you come up with that.”
“See, this is what I mean. Paying attention is pretty important,” I said.
“You guys are pretty good; how much to get you to work for me?”
I closed my eyes, knowing Mac would not respond well. Mac took a large step over to Marshall and at the same time reached behind him for another gun, which I didn’t know he was carrying. It was a Desert Eagle 50 Caliber, nickel-plated. It is an astonishing looking gun just sitting on a table. However, Marshall was now looking down the barrel of it. When Mac got to his head, he pulled that hammer back. The sound filled the room, which had gone silent with Marshall holding his breath. He took a second to compose himself. “Sorry I didn’t mean to insult you guys.”
I let out an audible sign. “Maybe you misunderstand why we are here. We are looking for the sister of a brother we fought with. He asked us for help. Do you know what that means?” I am waiting for him to look at me, but all he could manage was to move his eyes in my direction. Being in his spot probably all I could do also.
“I think I get it now, you guys are a little tougher than I was hoping. However, I am not sure you understand I do not know anything about what you people are after. I have never seen that girl before. Yeah, I run a strip club, but that is a long way off from sex trafficking,” Marshall said.
“Mac, take a deep breath,” I said while looking at Marshall who raised his eyebrows. He has lost all that tough guy composure with the fifty caliber in his face. “You see now I am willing to work with you here because it might be easier than explaining why you are dead, but please do not mistake something easier with weakness. We are willing to do what is needed to bring her home, including killing you right now. If you think we have rules standing in our way, you are wrong. You have information that will help us find her, so right now you are an asset. I promise you we will find her without you if need be. Something else we have learned is when you put pressure in the right place, people start to forget the lies they are supposed to remember. Letting little details slip here and there. Now I hope you have something else for us. I don’t really want blood on my new shirt.” Mac moved the gun to his neck. “Not so close, the gun powder may seal the artery.” Mac moved the gun back a couple of inches.”
“What the hell are you guys doing? Are you nuts, do you know who I am?”
“Well, you see shooting you in the head will just kill you, but this way you might live long enough to enjoy the pain not only from the gun shot but also the from the noise the gun makes that close to your ear,” I said.
“You guys are not going to shoot me. You are all full of sh….”
The noise was worse than I expect. The tremendous sound vibrated throughout the office and I actually got dizzy for a second. Marshall on the other hand was in a state. He had forgotten about all the weapons pointed at him. He had both hands on his ear screaming in pain. It was very unpleasant to hear, the cost of the business we were in. After a few seconds the gunshot had left the room, but the screaming remained. Then there were footsteps running in the hall. I stood up and pointed my gun at the doorway. James came running in. “You guys okay?”
Never moving from his spot, Mac said, “We’re fine, but you should probably leave before we commit a felony in your presence.”
That statement got Marshall’s attention. Because he started moving in his seat, jumping up and down without getting up. Then he started screaming, “Please help me! He just shot my ear off.” He was yelling so loud we almost could not hear him.
James stepped over, looked at his ear. “Your ear is still there, but there is a little blood.” He stepped
back turned to Mac and looked him in the eye from less than a foot. Then turned back to Marshall. “You might think about helping these guys. I’ve seen that look before, he’ll kill you and not lose a seconds sleep over it.” Then he started for the door. “I’ll be outside if you need me, Mac.”
“No, wait. You can't leave me like this.” Marshall was still screaming.
James just kept walking.
I turned back to Marshall, “You know he works for the FBI.” I turned to Mac, “What does it say about a guy that an FBI agent will walk away from him when he might get murdered?”
“That I can pull the trigger and I get a pass,” Mac said. He gave Marshall a toothy grin.
Marshall was still whimpering about his ear, but listening to us. His whimpering was almost automatic. I was sick of it. You could never tell with Mac. In situations like this, he never gave anything away. I learned a long time ago to never play poker with him.
I took a breath in, “Okay, I’m done here. I’m sick of the whining. Shoot him so we can go. We can find other fish to fry.”
“Fine with me,” Mac said, and then pulled the hammer back.
Marshall’s eye got wide, “No, wait!” He took in a couple of breaths.
Mac put the hammer back down, it’s scarier when that gun gets cocked.
“I’m just a middle man. All I do is get the girls, collect my fee, and get more when they ask.” It wasn’t the best news but it was better than his whimpering.
I sat down. “Keep talking.”
“Man, if I give you who, you might as well kill me yourself.”
“We can do that if you like.” He looked at me for a time.
“Fine, but I don’t know any names.” Mac pulled the hammer back again. I held my hand up. Marshall looked over at him, but kept talking to me, “But I can tell you what I know.”
Mac was getting frustrated, “Then do that!!”
“Okay.” He drug out the last syllable. “Geez,” He turned back to me. “So they call me and give me an idea of what they are looking for and I send Freddy out to schools to get them.”
“What number do they call from?” I asked.
“I don’t know. They FedEx me a box with a phone in it and the next day I get a call. I never pay attention to what number the call is coming from,” Marshall said.
“How do you get paid?” I asked.
“They pay when we drop off the girl.”
He was trying my patience. I took another deep breath in, “Where do you drop them off? How much do you get? Is it always the same place? Who is there to give you the money?” I breathed out.
He looked at me with his head tilted, “Which question do you want me to answer?”
“Are you stupid?” Mac yelled, “All of them tell us everything you know. Everything!!”
“Man, I’m in a lot of pain here, can you get me something?” He whined.
I reached down for my Smith and Wesson. Got up, walked around to him, pointed the gun at his foot and pulled the trigger. He looked at me in shock. Then noticed the pain and started screaming again. I walked back over to the chair I was in before and sat, Mac decided to take a break I guess and sat next to me. “I was just about to do that.”
“I know, but I don’t want him to bleed out and with those cannons, he surely will,” I said.
“This guy is freaky, he probably has a blow torch around here somewhere.”
“Yeah, I didn’t think about that. Maybe we should find it anyway. Might come in handy.”
Marshall was getting himself together. “That’s it, I’m done. I’m not talking again until I get some medical attention.” He put his hand on the desk to help himself sit up straighter.
Mac reached over and took my gun, put the barrel on top of his hand. Marshall yelped because the barrel was still warm, but it was short because Mac pulled the trigger. He was back to screaming. “Keep it up, pretty soon you will be mistaken for Jesus Christ.” Mac sat back down and handed me the gun. Then to me, “You're right, that gun is a better choice for this.”
“Hmm mmm.” Now we both just sat there waiting for him to get back under control. It was a few minutes.
“Oh my god, you have to get me help. I can't take much more. HELP! Help!” he started screaming.
We just sat there, and heard steps coming. The same ones there came earlier. James poked his head through the door. “You guys alright?”
I turned my head, “We might need some food soon.”
“And some more bullets,” Mac said.
I chuckled to myself.
James looked at Marshall, “You need anything? Food or a Band-Aid maybe?” He turned around and left. You could hear him laughing while he was walking down the hall.
“Hey, wait. You have to help me. You’re a cop!” Marshall screamed at him. He put his good hand on the desk to steady himself. “Bastard! What a fu-”
Mac jumped up with his gun in his hand, which shut Marshall up. He noticed what Mac had in his hand so he yanked his good hand back to protect it, but that put all the pressure on the other with the hole in it. That hand gave out and Marshall smacked his face on the desk. He looked like all three stooges by himself. Mac sat back down. Marshall picked his head up; he had a busted lip.
“Okay, enough guys. I get it. About once a month now, we get a box and the next day they call. Give us a description of what they are looking for. I send out Freddy to find what they want; he charms them. Usually takes a week or two. He brings them here and tells them they need to be able to get up in front of crowds and be comfortable getting naked. Moreover, once they think they are soon going to be on their way, we slip them something to knock them out and take them off. We always drop them off some place different and it has never been the same person. Is that it? Can I get some help now?”
“No!” I said harshly. “Where is Alison?”
“She’s been gone for about two days.”
“Do you have another girl now?” Mac asked.
“Yeah, we usually have a girl. It was the one that just left.”
“You know you’re done with that? And she’s going home tonight,” Mac said.
Marshall nodded his head. He was starting to look a little green. I didn’t care, but I thought he could still be of use and didn’t really want to lose him just yet.
“We are in a spot here,” I said. “You see, we have to let her go, but she might be our only way to find Alison.”
Mac yelled for James. He poked his head in. “Pull over a chair, let’s talk.” He did and Mac filled him in.
James got on his phone. He was on it for a while. Marshall was fading fast. He lost a lot of blood. However, the pain probably took him somewhere else.
James got off his phone. “Okay, there is a team on their way,” He looked over at Marshall. “Maybe we should call someone for him.”
“I guess if he is going to be any good to us, he needs to be alive,” I said.
James got back on the phone. This time the conversation was heated. By the time he was off, I thought he was going to blow. When he turned around, I was in front of him almost nose to nose. It startled him a little. “You want to explain why you are in my face?”
“Couple of things, first that girl needs to go home if it is at all possible. Next we need to stay out of jail until this is over,” I said.
“So I guess Mac didn’t tell you about us.” I shook my head. “Well, he’s like a father to me. At least one I care about. I would do anything for him. Including going to jail myself. You guys just play along and maybe we can keep you out for good,” he said.
I nodded and stepped back.
“We are leaving, we don’t want all these government vehicles outside in case this place is being watched. Mac, can you get that girl and meet us out back?” James asked.