The System - A Detroit Story - (19 page)

"You are so kind to me," she said. She looked up at him. "I love you. But I can't do it. Not without my Sanja. I think about her every minute. I want to go home, no matter what happens."

Chris stood. He looked at the bag of money. Money. What was it? Freedom? Power? Maybe it could buy Elena a ticket home, and happiness.

"I already destroyed one family," he said, staring at the television. "Forever. It's my fault, and I have to live with that. I'm not sure if I can." He looked down at Elena. "Maybe I can help fix yours."

"How?" said Elena.

Chris thought, reasoning it out. First, a plane ticket. Eddie was always on the Internet, surfing porn. They could go to Eddie's and buy Elena a ticket on-line. One way to Frankfurt or Athens. They could print the boarding pass right there. From Athens she could get to Tirana. Vlad fucked up- Elena still had her passport from the road trip. He would split his money with Elena. Hell, give her most of it. He'd keep fifty thousand and give her the rest. Ninety five thousand could keep her going for a while. Elena could hook up with her daughter and meet him in Florida. Maybe be a real family. He would need Eddie's help and have to square things with Vlad. Then he would wait for Elena's call.

"We need to go see Eddie," said Chris. "He may be able to help us figure out things with Vlad. Convince him to let you go."

Elena held the hairbrush and glanced at the television, not wanting to get her hopes up, just to have them shattered. Chis kept Channel 2, 4 or 7 on almost always for local news. Channel 7 was on. The Mayor of Detroit stood in front of the green Spirit of Detroit sculpture at the side of the Coleman Young Municipal Building, talking to reporters about more cuts to the city bus service. Elena's eyes widened. "That's him!" That's who Vlad made me be with."

Cletus B. Lincoln stood to the left, a short distance back, talking on a radio.  

Elena dropped the hairbrush. "Look! That's the man that killed Miri!" She rushed to the television and pointed. "That's who's trying to kill me."

Chris looked at the TV. "Don't you know who that is? That's the Mayor of Detroit," he said. "The other guy, I've seen him around. He's the Mayor's security guy. Like his personal bodyguard." He looked at Elena, her gaze frozen on the television.

"This is not good," said Chris.

Chapter 33

Eddie's Out

Eddie was taking a piss when Vinnie walked into the office carrying a large plastic bag full of cut up onions and a roll of duct tape. Eddie zipped up, motored out of the can and stopped when he saw Vinnie.

"Vinnie, we gotta talk," said Eddie, seeing and smelling the onions.

"I get a call," said Vinnie quietly. "Cop I know. Well placed. He's says you're hooked up with the Albanian I've been looking for. DEA's after him too."

Eddie looked at Vinnie, then down at the shop floor.

Vinnie pulled his Beretta 8000, pointed it at Eddie's head. "He said that the DEA and the cops knew about the Marriot boost. That's how it got stung."

Eddie gripped the armrests on his wheelchair.

"You should have seen Paulie's mother," said Vinnie. "My sister. At the funeral. She's ruined. Done. First her husband, now her son. My nephew." He looked down at Eddie. "All because of you."

Vinnie held the Beretta to Eddie's temple and ripped of a piece of duct tape with his teeth. He taped Eddie's arm to the chair.

"What the fuck are you doing?" said Eddie. "Wait a minute. Yeah, I engineered a couple of boosts with him but that's it."

"How come I don't believe you?" said Eddie. He taped Eddie's other arm to the chair. 

"Look," said Eddie. "I'm sorry about Paulie. I really am. But my guy Zippy's dead, too. Paulie pulled a gun and started shooting. Zippy's dead because of him."

Vinnie hit Eddie in the jaw with the Beretta handle. Eddie cried out, blood pouring from his mouth. He slowly spat out two molars.

"You think I give a shit about that stupid spick?"

"C'mon, man," said Eddie. "What do you want me to do? I can't bring him back. It just went south."

"Went south," said Vinnie. He put the Beretta in his pocket, opened the bag of onions and put it over Eddie's head, holding the bag around Eddie's neck. Eddie screamed, the sound muffled by the bag.

The vapor from the onions hit Eddie like a freight train. He instantly choked, unable to breathe. He held his breath until his reptile brain took over and inhaled deeply, the powerful onion vapor filling his lungs and burning his esophagus. Eddie's arms and torso stiffened, like a man in a gas chamber. His head dropped and he started to pass out.

Vinnie pulled the bag from Eddie's head, dropping onion fragments on Eddie's lap. He gasped for air. 

"Just like the old days," said Vinnie. "Brings back memories, don't it?" He held the bag of onions and shook it. "Now. Tell me what else you got going with the Albanian."

"Just a couple of boosts," Eddie whispered. "That's it."

"Bullshit," said Vinnie. He took the bag and put it over Eddie's head from behind. Eddie shook his head from side to side as Vinnie taped the bag around Eddie's neck. Eddie's mouth moved.

"What's that?" said Vinnie. "I can't hear you?" He pulled the Beretta from his belt. "You want to tell me something?"

Eddie nodded. Vinnie ripped the duct tape from the bag and Eddie's neck, pulling skin with it.

"What you got to say?"

Eddie's head bobbed. Barely conscious, he looked up at Vinnie.

"Fuck you." Eddie's head dropped.

Vinnie smiled. "Okay," he said. "Have it your way." He put the Beretta to Eddie's temple and pulled the trigger. Eddie's head reeled to the left from the impact. The entrance hole was small, much smaller than the exit wound. Blood, skull fragments and brains sprayed on the walls and floor. One lump of gray matter landed on the side of the box that covered the floor safe.

Vinnie pocketed the Beretta, took a look at Eddie slumped in the chair, turned and strolled out.

Chapter 34

Diamonds and Blood

"What's that smell?" said Elena as she and Chris entered the chop shop.

"Onions," said Chris, frowning. 

They walked through the garage to the office, the onion smell getting stronger. They walked in the office and saw Eddie, dead, strapped to the wheelchair, the small room filled with cut up onions, blood and brains. Elena instantly turned and retched.

"Jesus Christ," said Chris. He walked over to Eddie, holding his nose to his sleeve, trying to mask blood and onions odor. Vlad must have done this. Eddie must have fucked him somehow. Chris went to the floor safe, the rug covered by blood and a lump of brains. He kicked the brains out of the way and moved the box, exposing the floor safe. He sat on his haunches, trying to remember the combination. If it was Vlad, chances are the safe was empty and they were done.

"Can you open it?" asked Elena, nearly choking.

"I think so," said Chris. Think. Calm down. Just like a boost. Be systematic. If he could get the first number, the rest would fall in place. What was the association?

"Twenty two," he said, conjuring an image of his mother and sister. "Twenty two." Chris spun the tumbler and stopped on twenty two. "Fifty eight," he said and positioned the dial to fifty eight, hearing the faint tick of the tumblers. "Seventy eight and nineteen."

The lock clicked and released. Chris pulled open the door.

The bags of dope were in a canvass bag. Chris counted ten of them. Sitting on top was a small black velour sack.

"It wasn't Vlad," said Chris. "Holy shit, it wasn't Vlad." He looked up at Elena.

"We got to get out of here, fast," said Chris. "He's going to come here and get his dope. He could be on his way, right now."

Chris pulled the heroin from the safe, careful not to set it on blood and brains." He picked up the velour sack and peered in. He looked at Elena then back in the bag. "Diamonds," he said. "Eddie talked about converting cash into gold or diamonds, but I thought it was only talk." He looked at the icy clear rocks in the bag and handed it to Elena. "Here," he said. "Take these. Keep them." Chris walked around the desk and turned on Eddie's computer. It was older, and used a dial up modem for the Internet, but at least he had an ink jet printer. Chris moved fast but the computer didn't. 

"Come on, goddammit," he said. The computer finally booted and Chris clicked the browser icon and navigated to Delta Airlines. He checked the flights to Frankfort, Germany and Athens, Greece. Greece was a better bet. There was a flight leaving in two hours with three seats available. He walked over to Eddie's body and pulled Eddie's wallet from his sweat pants pocket. It was wet with onion juice and traces of blood. He pulled out a MasterCard.  

Back at the computer Chris bought a ticket from DTW to Athens, one way, and typed in Eddie's card numbers. A moment later, a confirmation came up on the screen, verifying a boarding pass. He turned on the small ink jet printer by the side of the computer and printed the pass. 

The printer spit out the boarding pass and Chris handed it to Elena. 

"Here," he said. "This will get you to Athens. From there you can get back home. Take the diamonds. They're a lot easier to hide than cash. I have no clue how much they're worth, but it's gotta be a lot."

Elena took the boarding pass and the diamonds. "Come with me," she said. "Please come."

"I can't. There's no way. I have to fix things with Vlad," he said. 

Chris hefted up the canvas bag, the parcels of heroin shifting with gravity.  "We gotta get out of here and get you on that plane. We'll take one of Eddie's cars." 

*   *

Thirty minutes later Vlad pulled up and walked into the garage. He saw Eddie and the open safe door. 

Chapter 35

The Letter Arrives

Milos was home early, his arthritis acting up. Rain tapped at the windshield. He stopped by the mailbox in his rickety Lada Niva and saw the letter from the United States, addressed only to him. The address was written in Elena's handwriting. Instead of driving up to the cottage and taking the mail inside he sat inside the small truck and opened the letter.

Dearest Papa,

   I am a slave here. I was sold by Sami to a person named Jerzy who owns a sex club. I was then bought by a man named Vlad and taken to America. I have been made to do terrible things. I am so ashamed. Rada knew. Please, please take care of Sanja and keep her away from Rada and Sami. I love you and miss you, and I'm determined to come home one day.

Elena

Milos looked at the letter for a long time, letting it sink in. He neatly refolded it, put it in the envelope and put it in his coat pocket. He drove up the driveway. Rada stood at the door.

*  *

Inside, Milos walked past Rada to a closet and pulled out his shotgun. 

"Stop," said Rada. "Are you crazy?"

Milos said nothing. He picked up the double barrel shotgun, opened the chamber and filled it with two shells.

"What are you doing?" said Rada, alternately looking at the gun and Milos's robotic expression.

Milos snapped the barrel shut. He reached in his coat pocket and handed Rada the letter. Rada took it, read it and recoiled when she saw Elena's handwriting.

"Please," she said. "I had nothing to do with this. It was all Sami."

"Read it."

Rada opened the envelope and read the letter, stopping at the line,
Rada knew. Please, please take care of Sanja and keep her away from Rada and Sami.
She looked up at the shotgun, pointed at her face.

"You knew this," said Milos. "You knew this all along." Milos looked around. "Where is Sanja?"

"It's not true," said Rada. "It was Sami, not me."

"Where is Sanja?" Milos cocked the trigger on one of the barrels.

Rada looked down. "In her room," she said. "Sleeping."

Milos nudged her with the shotgun. "Out," he said, motioning to the door with the shotgun. "Now. If I ever see you again, I will kill you."

"But Milos, it was Sami. All Sami. What was I to do?"

"Now," said Milos.

Rada hung her head and walked toward the bedroom room. "I will pack my bag," she said.

"I don't think you understand," said Milos. "I said now. As you are. Move."

"Like this? It's freezing outside." Rada started walking in circles.

"I have never hit a woman," said Milos. "But I swear, if I put this shotgun down I will beat you to death. Now go." Milos put the shotgun to Rada's face. "I never want to see you, hear from you, or hear about you again. If I ever see you, I will kill you." He nudged her toward the front door, opened it and pushed Rada out. Rada stood on the cold gravel, looked back at the cottage, then turned and faced the rain.

*   *

An hour later Milos checked the grounds, holding the shotgun. There was no sign of Rada. He went inside, woke Sanja and told her to get dressed and put her coat on. They drove into the village to a public telephone.

"Wait here," said Milos. "I have to make a call." Milos left the truck running. He stepped into the phone booth and dialed Sami's cell phone number.

"Halo?" said Sami.

"Sami. This is Milos. It's Rada. She is very sick. I don't know what's wrong with her. She's been asking for you."

"What is wrong?" said Sami.

"I don't know, but it's very serious. I'm afraid to move her in my truck. Maybe you can help with your big car."

"I will come right away," said Sami. Milos could almost feel the worry in Sami's voice.

Chapter 36

Dodge City at DTW

Cletus B. Lincoln looked at the number for the incoming call and answered. Andre Davenport said, "I ran down that number for you. It belongs to one Christopher Wolfe."

"Got an address?" said Lincoln.