Running on Empty (46 page)

‘You nearly gave me a heart attack you fucking moron, you know that?’ said Brad, mopping his brow.

‘Nearly doesn’t cut it old timer’, he answered, ‘now, what are we here to steal?’

‘We’re not here to steal anything, Knox my boy, we’re here to return’.

‘Huh?’

‘That’s right. Look upon it as atonement for all your previous misdemeanors. Your salvation lies in putting back, instead of taking out. Now, isn’t that something?’

‘But I don’t understand’.

‘Well that’s a relief. It’s if you did understand, that’s what’d worry me. That’s enough of the chit-chat. Let’s do what we have to do, and get to hell out of here’

‘Well to start with, I’m not being hunted for murder, I’m being hunted because I witnessed a murder’.

‘Whose?’

‘A Chinese man, murdered by Stan Lowanski on the instruction of, and in the presence of, Mark Fielding’.

‘Mark Fielding? Are you sure? Mark Fielding is a highly respected member of our organization. I find it very difficult to believe that he would order the murder of someone in cold blood, as you intimate. I knew Lowanski was a bit of a loose cannon, but Fielding?’.

‘I’m afraid so, Mr. Harmon. Not only that, but he’s ordered the murders of others as well’.

‘Like who?’.

‘Me’, answered Sally, ‘he tried to have me killed. He would have succeeded too, if I hadn’t been so fortunate’.

‘But why? Why would he want you killed?’

‘Because I helped Tom here when he was on the run’.

‘Listen Tom, you have to stop running and turn yourself in. I can protect you. Come back into the organization and I’ll put all the resources at my disposal to finding out the truth. I promise a full investigation into the affairs of Mark Fielding’.

‘Do you know where is now?’ asked Sally.

‘No, I haven’t had contact for a number of days, but if what you say is true, he’ll end up spending a long stretch behind bars’.

‘That might prove difficult’ responded Sally, ‘considering he’s lying face down in a field in Nebraska’.

Harmon’s jaw dropped.

‘What? How do you..I mean..’

‘Told you she was necessary’ said Tom.

‘But, how do you know this?’ stammered Harmon.

‘Because I saw him being murdered’ answered Sally.

The blood drained from Harmon’s face. He tried to regain his composure.

‘Who killed him?’ he uttered finally.

‘He was murdered by a guy called Carter’ Sally continued casually. ‘Carter and I had a nice little chat about the whole affair. No point in trying to contact him though. He’s a little tied up at the moment’.

‘But..but why would Carter kill his boss? he finally blurted. He could see everything unraveling before his very eyes.

‘Because you ordered him to’ she said finally.

Harmon was speechless. Tom turned to Sally.

‘I think you’d better leave Mr. Carter and I alone for a while’ he said, ‘the poor man doesn’t look at all well’.

Sally got up and left the table, leaving Tom to mop up.

‘Listen Harmon, you and I both know what this is all about, don’t we, a shit-load of drugs and a shed-load of money. So, why don’t we cut the crap and start talking’.

Brad pulled the car into a side street and cut the engine. He turned to Jimmy.

‘Well, this is it kid, the end of the line. You go your way and I go mine’.

‘What about my file?’

‘You did good in there. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my side of the bargain. You’re home free, this time. However, if there’s a next time, you won’t be so lucky’.

Knox went to get out of the vehicle, but Brad grabbed hold of his arm.

‘Listen, cop on to yourself kid. You got this chance, now take it. I don’t want to see your name crop up again. If it does I won’t be able to help, you’ll be going down, and believe me, a bunch of homeboy tattoos won’t look too good on those scraggy arms of yours. Now, beat it’.

Knox closed the door and slowly ambled down the street, deep in thought. Brad watched him in the rear view mirror until he disappeared from sight, then took out his cell phone and dialed.

‘Charlie, it’s Brad’.

‘Why am I not over the moon when I hear your voice, Brad. It’s late, what do you want now?’

‘Late? It’s only eight thirty. What are you, a schoolboy?’

‘Yeah, whatever. What do you want Brad?’

‘I don’t want anything Charlie, it’s payback time. I told you I’d fill you in when the time came. Well, that time’s now, so listen up. Remember that address we discussed earlier? Well, you’re going to need a warrant to search that house’.

‘Are you shitting me Johnson? You want me to get a search warrant, at eight thirty at night, to shake down the house of a bureau head? Are you crazy?’

‘Listen to me Charlie. Harmon is in it up to his eyeballs. I know that for a fact. I also know for a fact that there’s a large amount of heroin stashed in that house. Are you listening Charlie? I KNOW IT! Get the warrant and search that house. This will be the bust of your life. If it’s not I’ll gladly own up as being your source and take the rap, ok?’

‘Are you sure?’

‘100%’

‘You’d better be right Brad, or both of us are done for’.

‘That’s not all, Charlie. Remember those items you sourced for me? They’ll be in your mailbox tomorrow, and with them will be a tape, where our friend not only admits to drug trafficking, but also to being an accomplice to murder’.

‘Holy shit Brad, you serious?’

‘Never been more serious in my life Charlie’.

‘Listen Tom, you’ve got this all wrong’.

‘So, are you denying you’re the number one honcho in the importation of twenty kilos of heroin each month? Is that what you’re trying to tell me? According to Carter you’re the main man. According to Carter, you were the one who ordered him to kill Fielding. I have photos of him murdering Fielding, on your orders. Fuck Harmon, I even know where the body’s buried. I can lead the cops right to his rotting fucking corpse. Is that what you want?’

‘No Tom, wait. Let’s be reasonable. We can work this out. Listen, when I said you had it all wrong, I wasn’t talking about the operation, I was talking about you. I didn’t set out to get you killed, I came in much later, the drugs yes, but killing you? I didn’t have any say in that. That was all Fielding’s idea. So, you see Tom, we can work this out, we can come to some arrangement. I’ve nothing against you Tom’.

‘What sort of arrangement?’

Harmon ran his hands through his hair, pondering, before speaking again.

How about fifty grand a month? That seems like a generous figure. Fifty grand a month, and you don’t even have to do anything. It’ll be just waiting there for you at the end of each month. Hell, I’ll even make sure you get your old job back. In fact, I’ll see to it that you get a promotion, that you get Fielding’s old number. How about it Tom, we could be partners’.

And to earn this money, all I have to do is to keep quiet, right?’

‘That’s it Tom, keep quiet, and give me the information so I can set about tying up a few loose ends, that’s all’.

‘Like what?’

Like where that moron Carter buried Fielding. That’ll have to be tidied up for a start. But we can do it Tom. Fifty grand a month, just to keep your mouth shut and you’re sitting pretty. That’s well over half a million a year. A young man like you could have some living to do with that sort of money coming in’.

Tom rubbed his chin thoughtfully, while glancing across the room. The businessman who had been studying the financial reports had stood up from his table, and was sauntering to the exit. Once outside and in the car, Pat removed the audio equipment.

‘Right girls, we’ll pull round the corner and wait’.

‘Oh another thing Charlie, there’s a bit of a mess to be sorted out in Nebraska’.

‘Huh?’

‘You’ll have to contact the Dawes County sheriff. Tell him that in the Lazy Days motel in Crawford, he’ll find a fellow by the name of Andy Jones. This guy is just a regular lowlife, a little fish in a little pond. You know that shootout in Hillcrest? Well this Jones guy works, sorry worked, for a fellow by the name of Gorgeous, a big fish in west Boston drugs, who’s thankfully no longer walking this earth. In the Red Cloud motel on the other hand, which is also in Crawford, they’ll find one Dave Carter. This guy murdered his boss, Mark Fielding. They’ll find Fielding’s body about ten miles outside Crawford, on the road to Chadron. There’s a black scarf tied to the base of a telegraph pole, and he’ll be buried about a hundred yards behind that pole, in a field. You’ll find pictures of the murder and burial in your mail box in the morning, along with the other stuff I promised’.

‘Jesus Christ Brad, how did you come up with all of this information?’

‘It’s a long story Charlie. Let’s just say that the two guys that are in Crawford were, how shall I put this? Oh yeah, those two guys were, ah, bound to talk’.

‘Do you realize what your people put me through?’ asked Tom.

‘Hold on, hold on, that wasn’t me Tom, that was Fielding. I had nothing to do with that. I only became involved later. I wouldn’t have ordered them to come after you Tom, honestly I wouldn’t’.

‘I was cast out, on the run, had nobody to turn to. I couldn’t return to the organization, because they were after me. I couldn’t go home, to my family, because they were being watched. I had no money, no phone, no papers, nothing. All I had were the clothes I stood up in, just a pair of trousers and a flimsy top, just like you are now. Do you have any idea what that’s like?’

‘I can only imagine, Tom’.

‘Well you don’t need to imagine any longer’ said Tom, unbuttoning his shirt to reveal the wire, ‘because now, you are me’.

‘But….but…’ was all Harmon could utter, his voice rising.

‘I’d forget about heading home incidentally, because round about now, it’s being taken apart by the cops’.

‘But…there’s nothing in my house, it’s clean’.

‘What about the three kilos of heroin?’

‘What three kilos, there’s no heroin in my house’.

‘Oh but that’s where you’re wrong, there is now’.

‘You planted that, you set me up you fucking bastard, you can’t do that’.

‘No? That’s where you’re wrong. Nothing says I have to play by the rules while you wreak your havoc. As far as I’m concerned, all rules went out the window a couple of weeks ago. Survival of the fittest now Will. You’ll soon get used to that, I’d imagine’.

Harmon’s brain was in meltdown as he tried to come to terms with reality.

‘And by the way’ added Tom, ‘I’d say you have maybe three minutes before the police are here. I’d get that ass of yours in gear if I were you’

Tom stood up from the table and made to leave, then turned to Harmon.

‘Y’know, they say Crazy Horse could do it with his eyes closed. I did it for a while, and survived. Now it’s your turn. I have a name for it. I call it ‘running on empty’.

And with that, Tom turned and walked out of the restaurant.

Tom knocked, while Grainne stood by his side. She looked nervous he thought, more so than during any of the dangerous situations she’d found herself in over the last couple of weeks. A frail old lady answered the door.

‘Ah Tom’ she said, ‘It’s been a while. I was a bit concerned to be honest, what with not seeing you, and all the strange comings and goings happening next door recently. Come in, come in. And, who’s this beautiful young lady? I hope you haven’t been in Paris all this while?’ she said, giving a little chuckle.

‘Hi Ella, this is Grainne, a friend’.

‘How are you my dear. Grainne, now that’s an unusual name. Where are you from dear?’

Grainne could hardly get the words out of her mouth.

‘I’m…from Ireland’ she managed finally.

‘Ireland eh. Oh, you’d want to keep an eye on this Irish lass Tom, she’s a stunner. Don’t let this one out of your sight’. ‘You know dear’ she continued, turning back to Grainne, ’you seem familiar. Have I met you before do you think?’