Exceptional Merit (17 page)

Castillo's thoughts were interrupted when Nora walked over to him and began to put another beer down in front of him.  Castillo was slightly confused.  “I didn't order another beer.  I'm not even done with this one yet.”

“I know,” said Nora as she set the beer down on the table in front of Castillo and walked away.  Castillo hadn't noticed the waitress place the napkin on Tommy McDermo
tt's keyboard.  Castillo tried to figure out why the waitress would bring him a beer without asking for it.  Was she being courteous and buying him a round back?  That didn’t make much sense.  He was apprehensive and wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer.

He glanced ever so slightly in Keegan's direction.  Keegan was still seated in the booth with the other man but he seemed to be looking in his direction.  Castillo immediately looked back down to his book.  He had to be careful.  It had to be some sort of coincidence.  There would be no way Keegan knew he was being watched.  Even if he did, he had no way of knowing who was watching him.

Castillo decided not to panic and he would assume there was a logical explanation for the beer, other than Keegan letting him know he was aware of his presence.  Castillo put his book down on the table and took a big gulp of the beer.  He turned away from Keegan and watched the Tommy McDermott Band as they entertained the crowd.  He felt this was his best option to blend into the crowd.

After finishing the song, McDermott picked up the napkin set there by Nora.  He silently read it to himself.  Tommy McDermott introduced the next song.  “I have a special request for the next song ladies and gentleman.  This song is one of my favorites.  It's called,
the Streets of New York.
”

Keegan stared at the man he suspected of being a rat to see if there were any reaction to McDermo
tt's words.  Keegan could only see the man's profile and hoped that would be enough to tell.

McDermo
tt continued, “As always, this song is dedicated to any members of the N.Y.P.D. we might have in the audience tonight.  A special dedication for this song goes out tonight to Castillo from Jim.”  McDermott began to belt the song out.

Keegan watched as Castillo's face turned red instantly.  Their eyes met for a brief instant.  There was no longer any doubt in Keegan's mind.  The man was, in fact, Castillo.  Whoever warned him was right on the money.  He wished there was some way to repay the person.  Keegan came to the realization that there was an open case against him.  He was nervous but he figured I.A.B. couldn’t have too much on him if they were still following him.  Keegan said good night to the man he knew as Sean Murphy and got up from the table.  He waved to Dan O'Brien and bid a good night to Tommy McDermo
tt.  Keegan walked passed Castillo towards the exit, glancing down at him as he passed.  “Enjoy your beer.”

Castillo could feel his face go flush when he heard the singer dedicate the song to him.  He prayed Keegan was only going on a hunch and didn't know who he was.  He didn't want to look in Keegan's direction because he knew that would almost be like admitting guilt.  Nevertheless, he couldn’t stop himself.  It was almost instinctual.  Their eyes met briefly and Castillo quickly looked away.  He tried to remain calm and emotionless so he wouldn't confirm any suspicions Keegan may have.  He could see Keegan getting up from the table and wishing a good night to various people.  He picked up the duffel bag Castillo had been interested in and began to walk in his direction.  Castillo didn't even peek up at Keegan as he passed.  When Keegan passed the comment, there was no doubt in Castillo's mind.  He had been made. 
But, how?

He was now more determined than ever to nail Keegan.  He remained in his seat and snapped a few more photos of the man who was still seated in the booth.  He noticed a tattoo of a shamrock on the man's forearm and discretely took a photo of it.  After about fifteen minutes, Castillo asked Nora for his check.

Castillo was dejected.  How could he have blown his cover and how many people in this bar knew who he was?  He looked over at the man that Keegan had been seated with.  He showed no signs of leaving or any interest in Castillo.  Neither the bartender nor Nora seemed to take a particular interest in his departure either.  Castillo paid his tab and left the bar wondering where he went wrong.

Keegan had already passed through the Midtown tunnel by the time Castillo exited the bar.  He thought very carefully if he truly had something to worry about.  He figured the investigation couldn't have been going on for too long.  And that he hadn't done a job except for last month and tonight in over six months.  What could Castillo have seen that night by the pier?  The guns were in the duffel bag and he knew he didn't seize the car so there's no way he would know there were guns in the bag.  Furthermore, if he ran the plate on the car it would have come back legitimate.

As far as tonight was concerned, everything was done under the table and Castillo couldn't have seen anything.  Keegan assured himself he had nothing to worry about.  He had just completed his last mission for the Irish Republican Army and Castillo couldn't have one ounce of solid evidence against him.  Keegan was relieved to know that this was all behind him now.

****************************

Flynn remained seated in the booth, smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer long after Castillo had left.  As the crowd started to thin out, Nora O'Donnell sat down in the booth with the man she had only met a few hours earlier.  The two of them flirted for a little through some light conversation until one of the remaining patrons bothered Nora for his check.  When Nora got up, Flynn walked over to Dan O'Brien.  He would take the opportunity to express his concerns.  “I don't trust em, Dan.  I don't think he's true to the cause.”

“Gerald…I'm sorry, I mean. Sean,” O'Brien began, covering up his slight of tongue.  O’Brien wanted to defend his long time friend.  “He's been with me for years and I've never had a problem with him.”

“That maybe so but he's still a cop; and we're going to do a job in his own back yard.  I want to make sure he won’t be a problem.  I want to know where his loyalty is going to lie.”

O’Brien did his best to sound reassuring as he wiped down the bar.  “I don't think you have anything to worry about.  He won't do anything stupid.  I promised him that if this operation was successful, we wouldn't be in need of his services anymore.  All he really wants to do is put this all behind him and be a family man.  For cryin' out loud, that's the same ambition too many of our men back home have aspired for.  Trust me Sean, he won't be bothering you.”

“I hope not…for his sake that is.  If your friend tries to stick his nose in my business, I will kill him.  Make no mistakes about that Dan.”

O’Brien heeded the warning.  “Understood and agreed.  This is too important to have anyone get in your way.  This will surely capture worldwide attention.”

Flynn returned to the booth and waited for Nora to get off from work.  There were less than a dozen patrons still in the bar and it was after two.  Nora would be getting off work shortly and they could go out and get a cup of coffee.  Nora checked with her boss and since there were no more customers in the dining area, her services were no longer needed.  She walked out arm in arm with Flynn and they walked to a nearby, twenty-four hour coffee shop.  They sat down at a booth in the back.  Flynn felt much more secure with the nine millimeter handgun in his waist.  At home, he always carried a gun and in the short time he didn't have one, he felt naked.

It was a narrow establishment, furnished with six booths on one side and less than a dozen blue cushioned bar stools at the counter.  There were only a handful of patrons.  Two other couples seated at booths and three men sat separately at the counter.  Two were most likely coming from bars, Flynn figured, and the third was a newspaper truck driver getting ready to deliver the morning editions to local stores.  The waitress was in her early fifties and wore too much make up.  She took her pad from her pocket and took their order. 

The coffee began to sober him up from the beer he had drank throughout the night.  Nora had a diet soda along with a toasted corn muffin.  She enjoyed Murphy’s stories about her native country.  She moved to the states with her parents from County Cork when she was a young teen and has yet to return.  He charmed Nora over the course of the next hour or so and she agreed to go back to his hotel room with him in Queens.

The two of them left the coffee shop together and got into his rental car.  He had a hard time getting used to getting in on the wrong side of the car to drive.  He stepped on the clutch and turned the key starting the car up.  He pulled away from the curb and drove along Third Avenue.  He placed his hand on Nora's knee and caressed it as he enchanted her with the charm he could turn on at will.

Nora really liked the man and thought they had hit it off, unable to see through his guise.  She couldn't tell when looking in his eyes that he was in fact a ruthless murderer and not the polite, adventurous young man she believed him to be.  It was just after three a.m. and Flynn didn't see any harm in making a right hand turn through the red light.  His hotel was still a twenty minute drive from here and he was anxious to get there.

The police officers were reviewing the complaint report they had just prepared for a stolen vehicle when they noticed the rented Nissan make a turn through the red light.  The officers sped up until they were directly behind the vehicle.  They ran the license plate on the police car’s mobile digital computer.  After a few seconds passed, the computer beeped alerting them to the new message.  The car was not stolen.  It was a rental car.

The officer in the passenger side of the police car flipped on the toggle switch, activating the blue and white auto's turret lights.  The driver of the radio car was an officer named Ed West.  West was, by anyone's standards a collar man, as cops referred to a fellow officer who made a lot of arrests.  His partner, Pete Lynch was more of a ladies’ man than a collar man.  He would make his collar a quarter just to keep the bosses off his back.  He never had a problem with his partner taking most of the arrests the team effected.

The Nissan pulled over and the officers cautiously approached.  Officer
West would approach on the driver’s side and take control of the car stop.  Lynch would approach on the passenger side, keeping an eye on any passengers in the vehicle.

“Shut the engine off,” West commanded, as he approached the driver’s side of the auto with his flashlight in one hand, the other on his service revolver.

West observed the long haired man and a rather attractive woman in the car.  The most important thing in any stop was to make sure you saw the person’s hands at all times.  The man kept both hands on the steering wheel as the officers approached.

The man seemingly aware of the officer’s concerns, especially at this time of night, was careful not to move them until the officer directed him to.  The officers let their guard down ever so slightly.  “Can I please see your license, registration and insurance card?”

“No problem officer.  What did I do?”

Flynn reached into his wallet and took out the forged driver’s license Quinn had supplied him with.  He then reached into the glove box and retrieved the rental papers as he looked up at Lynch, whose flashlight was concentrated on Nora's partially open blouse.

Flynn sized up the situation quickly, as he debated whether or not he should kill the officers right here and now.  If he had to, he would kill the officer on his side first.  He was more businesslike and professional and therefore more dangerous.  His hand was already on his gun.  He stood behind the rear door, not in front of him at the window.  Flynn realized the positioning would give the officer a tactical advantage over him but he figured he could still overcome it.

The officer on Nora's side was too busy trying to steal a peek at Nora's chest to be concerned with him.  The officer’s own distraction would buy him the extra time he would need to kill the both of them before either of them would be able to draw their weapons.  Flynn held out the documents at chest level not reaching out of the window.  He wanted to test the officer and see if he could get him to reach into the car to take them.  If he did, killing him would be that much easier.

“You ran the red light back there, coming off Third Avenue.  You can’t make a right on red in the city.  I’m sure you know that.  I’m still waiting for your license.”

“Sorry officer.  Here you go.”

S
harp copper, Flynn assessed.  He knew enough not to reach into the car.  He then handed the officer the documents and decided to let the officers decide their own fate.  He decided there would be no need to kill them and attract unnecessary attention to himself, unless they did something to endanger his operation.  A man hunt for a double cop killing couldn’t be good for him.  It could possibly doom the entire assignment.

On the other hand, if these cops were like the cops back home in Northern Ireland and decided to pull him out of the car and search him, he would be forced to kill them.  He knew he couldn't carry out his assignment from an American prison cell for concealing an illegal weapon.  He glanced over at Nora momentarily, thinking how he would have to kill her as well, to eliminate any potential witnesses.  She glanced at him and smiled unknowingly.  Flynn's right hand moved down to his waistband and touched the butt of the gun through his shirt, making sure he knew exactly where it was.