With Friends Like These....Part IX

[Robbie C.]

Rico looked up and grinned when Sonny walked into the office. “One day to go, partner. I don’t know about you, but I’m gettin’ tired of warming the damned bench.”

Sonny grinned. “You and me both. You have any of those Sears suit guys follow you home?”

Rico shook his head. “Naw. Stan drew the last one off when he rolled out in the Roach Coach. But it gave Lester plenty to work with.” He chuckled to hide his own growing frustration. “Good to see the boys earnin’ their pay.”

But it was getting harder for him to keep his temper in check. Who the hell do those cheap assholes think they are? Tapping the phones of fellow cops! It ain’t our fault they can’t find their own asses without three partners, a spotlight, and a map with a big ‘your ass is here’ arrow on it. “You ready to get Burnett back into action?”

“Yeah.”

There was something in Sonny’s voice that made Rico look up. “What’s up, partner? That ain’t confidence I hear.”

“No, it’s all good, Rico. It’s just funny is all. All that Caitlin’s House stuff is going through in his name, at least in parts. I’m signing things over to myself and then shifting it into a foundation. Feels damned strange is all.”

“I’ll bet. How’s Jenny doing?”

“Good. Having the boat project settled her down quite a bit. But she still won’t tell me anything other than it was a feeling about something from her past.”

“Just do me a favor and don’t slug one of the Feebs if they get in our way today. I think Dave wants to be the first in the ‘whack a Feeb’ contest.”

“That’s no shit. Can’t say’s I blame him, though.”

Rico was about to saying something else when Mindy stuck her head in the office door. “We just got those photos from Customs. You’ll want to see this.”

Rico walked into the conference room and froze. Four photos were spread out on the table, and he looked at each one in turn before glancing back at Mindy. “Did you edit that nose onto Gina’s face?”

“No. That’s what our mystery lady looked like before her trip to the body shop.”

Stan came out of the Tech Room. “Did someone say…holy shit! Are those old photos of Mrs. Switek?”

Rico laughed. “Same thing I thought, Stan. That’s our mystery lady before her operations.”

Stan narrowed his eyes, covering the broken nose and jawline with his hands. “Yeah…it’s her alright. Can’t miss those eyes. But have Randy take a gander, too. Just to be sure.” He lifted his hands and shook his head. “But she’s a damned spitting image of Gina with a broken nose otherwise.”

Rico looked over and saw Sonny’s expression changing. “What’s up, partner?”

“I think this just told me part of the reason Jenny doesn’t like Gina. I think she might know this girl. Or at least know of her.”

“It makes sense.” Rico laid his hand on Sonny’s shoulder. “You knew what she did before, man. You can’t hold it against her if she knows some bad people.”

“I don’t. Trust me, Rico. I don’t. I just never thought to ask her if Gina reminder her of someone.”

This time Stan spoke up. “And why the hell would you? Besides. She wasn’t like that when they first met. Not completely. It only started recently.”

“About the time she thought something from her past was coming back.” Rico snapped his fingers. “Maybe she saw her somewhere or it was just that damned sixth sense thing she has.”

Castillo came out of his office. “Do we have a name on this woman?”

“Customs didn’t, captain.” Mindy shook her head. “But I faxed a copy to DEA and our local office. They’re running the old picture now. Shouldn’t take long.”

“Good. Say nothing to Jenny until we have a name.”

Rico nodded. It made sense to him. But… “We got one day before the meet with those two, captain. Is it still on?”

“Yes. We can’t afford to let them disappear. They may be new to narcotics, but they have clear smuggling skills and unlimited access to product. We can’t let them get their feet under them.”

“Solid. And how do we send the FBI after their own tails?”

Trudy came out of her office with a small stack of papers. “Mindy and I have that solved for you, Rico. We’ve got two options framed. They’ll both take out some mid-level players in the booming crack economy, and minimize the chances for the FBI to inflict collateral damage.”

Rico took one of the stapled packets and flipped through the sheets. “I like your style, Trudy. Make them clean up some of our leftovers.” He looked over at Castillo. “The first option sends the Feebs after the remnants of the Double Treys. That Dominican gang. They picked up crack because it was easy and are making some inroads.”

“And the other?”

“Just as good. Seems the Columbians who lived through that little war refocused their efforts on crack. Los Tech 9s swept up the remains of two other smaller gangs and are setting up shop on the fringes of Overton.” Rico rubbed his chin, feeling his beard under his fingertips. He’d considered shaving it off until Mindy told him she liked how it tickled. “I’m thinking we send ‘em after the Treys because it’s an easier sell.”

Sonny nodded. “Yeah. Make it sound like we’re pissed some of them got away. Language the Feebs understand all too well.”

Stan shook his head. “Not be a downer and all, but what if they don’t buy it?”

“Then we shake their tails, jam their radios, and go to the AUSA about them interfering in our investigations.” Castillo’s voice was cold. “I will not lose this operation because of them.”

Dave spoke up from the edge of the room. “Then I’ll do my damndest to see this one, captain. I want to see those boys turning beet red with their dicks in their hands in the middle of the street.”

Trudy nodded, hiding a smile. “They we go with Plan A.” She pulled out a second stack of papers. “Here’s our working outline.”

Rico flipped through it, his smile getting wider by the second. “I like it. And it’s a damned easy sell. So easy I’ll just start it now.” Reaching out, he snatched up the phone and selected the line they knew was tapped. “This is Lieutenant Tubbs. Special task force. Yeah, I need all the current intel you got on the Double Treys. Street gang over near Little Havana. Yeah, one of the ones that was in that war a couple of months back. Solid. Thanks.”

Sonny chuckled. “Let me guess. Metro-Dade central records.”

“Joo got it, meng. And I’ll bet…”

“We got a bite!” Lester’s voice echoed from the bowels of the Tech Room. “Their control point just called Edgar Seven, that’s the tan Ford on duty right now, and told them to expect a marked Metro-Dade unit something before three.”

Rico glared at the phone. “And we’re clean aside from this?”

“Yeah.” Stan nodded to back up his answer. “Lester and I upped our sweeps to once a day. We might go to twice a day once this gets rolling.”

Rico looked around the room. “We’ll need to line this up so we draw them off somewhere else before the meeting tomorrow night.”

Stan grinned. “We got some ideas there, Rico. What’s gonna be tight is manpower. Running two ops at the same time is gonna stretch us thin.”

“We’ll have personnel.” Castillo’s voice was firm. “Don’t worry about that. Focus on the plans.”

Back in the office, Rico sank back in his chair with a sigh. “You know, I kinda wish we were taking out the Double Treys.”

“You and me both. I really don’t want to dance with those two Nazi goofs,” Sonny shook his head. “Especially if they’re tied to Jenny somehow.”

“You’d better get your head and heart right on this one, partner. She’s done with that life. She said so, and I believe her. She gave up a life for you. You gotta trust her.”

“I know, Rico. And I do. But if I found out they hurt her…”

“Yeah.” He saw the change in Sonny’s eyes and knew exactly what he meant. “I hear you. But we gotta stay focused. See this one through.”

“Yeah. I know.”

Rico watched as Sonny turned away, feeling the concern growing in his mind and seeping down to his heart. He knew how much Sonny loved Jenny, more that he had Caitlin if that was possible. And after what he’d seen with Menton, he knew Burnett was even more dangerous than he had been before. More focused. Calculating in a way the side of Sonny that took down the Manolo cartel wasn’t. Not quite.

Shaking his head, he forced himself back to the files on his desk. He had to trust his partner. Had to. There was no getting around that. And even with his worries he knew he could look himself in the mirror and say he trusted Sonny Crockett.

Reading back through his note he chuckled. “You think that Double G chump is still runing the Double Treys?”

“Last I heard Metro-Dade hadn’t picked him up, so I’d guess he is.” Sonny looked up from his own notes. “He must have been hurtin’ to replace that cash cow Doc and his China White gave the hood.”

“Yeah. That and sweepin’ up what was left of the 8-Ball Kings.” Rico closed the folder with an annoyed snap. “I suppose we’d better start planning our little meet with Hitler’s leftovers or whatever the hell those two are. And how we’re gonna balance that with gettin’ the Feds after the Double Treys.”

“Marty said we’d have manpower, so I’ll bet he’s reaching out to Pete.” Sonny grinned. “But we plan like we don’t have any help. That way it’s easy to slot people in if they magically appear.”

Rico nodded. His brain was spinning through possibilities, though he knew not as fast as Sonny’s. His partner had that blank Burnett look he got when he starting planning for real. “I’ll go get Dave and Randy and we’ll take the conference table. It’s gonna be us at first, anyhow.”

They sat around the table staring at the small-scale map of Miami mounted on the wall marked with grid references and operational notes. Randy shook his head. “I ain’t givin’ up our good spots for those morons.”

Rico nodded. “I wouldn’t ask you to. Naw, this can be stuff that’s pretty disposable. Just good enough so you’re not standin’ in the middle of the street with an FBI jacket on or something. We just want to look like we’re starting to plan something, not goin’ all out.”

Sonny stared at the map. “We know where the Treys ran before Doc went down. And the intel coming over will update the picture.”

“I’d say we sucker those morons into the newer areas.” Dave waved a hand at the map. “We ain’t really worked some of that before, so we can recon and send those fools after their own tails.”

“Sonny and I can hit any clubs in the zone.” Rico looked at the map. “If they move the way we think they did, there’s a couple of spots down there we can move in. I’ll have to work up some disposable chump cover, and Sonny’s Burnett all the time.” He watched out of the corner of his eye to see how Sonny reacted.

Sonny chuckled. “Havin’ a rep isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be, boys. It might get you some phone numbers, but it makes things difficult when you want to try something different.” He shook his head. “But we don’t need to worry about that until after the meet tomorrow. You two might take a pass through tonight just to get ‘em interested, though.”

Randy nodded. “Yeah. I don’t want to get too extended if I gotta be Patch tomorrow night.” He grinned. “I don’t know how you guys do it day in and day out. I can do UC, but it wears me the hell out.”

Rico smiled. “It did me at first, too. But the rush of it’s just so damned strong. I got to the point I used it to push through, and then it’s like you’re hooked.”

“Give me a damned rifle and a target and I’m happy.” Dave looked at the others around the table. “Hell, it’s hard enough for me to keep my own head straight, let alone two or three others stuffed in there.”

Rico chuckled with the rest, but he knew there was wisdom in what Dave said. His life had been quite a bit easier when he was working Patrol in the Bronx back in New York. You weren’t taking down the big bad guys, but every day you could make a little difference of one kind or another. But he’d wanted more. Hell, it was how they got you to pick up the gold shield. But there was a certain kind of purity in what Dave did. Or the guys on the high-risk warrant teams. Find the bad guy, take down the bad guy.

A patrol car from Metro-Dade dropped off the files Rico had asked for just after two, and they spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing new information and adjusting their plans. It was almost five when Dave and Randy headed out, making a show of taking one of the unmarked units and drawing a tan Ford out in their wake. Stan confirmed with a burst of Elvis lyrics that the FBI had taken the bait, and were actually sending two units to watch the deputies.

Rico chuckled. “That leaves them with one. I wonder who the hell they’ll follow?”

“Me.” Castillo came out of his office. “They can’t stand not knowing what the unit chief is doing. They don’t trust their people to do their own work, and figure everyone else works the same way. Trudy and I will live in half an hour, and then you can all call it a day.”

“Solid.” Rico smiled and forced his mind to shift gears. “There’s a new quartet at Downbeat I want Mindy to see.”

Mindy’s red hair appeared out of the intel office. “New quartet? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There’s this thing called a surprise. I hear the ladies like them.” He nodded toward the map. “And with things heatin’ up again we might not get much time to relax.”

Castillo smiled. “Don’t forget I want a full briefing on your plans in the morning. Both of them.”

The last note floated out of the wide bell of the sax and melted into the smokey air of the club. Rico looked over at Mindy and saw her eyes shining in the dancing candle light. They’d eaten at the club, and they still had half a bottle of wine between them. It was a quiet, relaxing evening. Something Rico hadn’t known he’d needed until it happened.

“That kid gets better every day. How long you you think they’ll be able to keep him? The rest of the band’s new.”

“Unless he starts rapping, he’s safe here. Not that many record deals for traditional jazz guys, an’ I bet the kid knows it.” Rico smiled. “Or his agent does.”

Mindy giggled. “You’re probably right. Still, it gives us something to do when we want to go out. I can’t complain.”

“Neither can I.” Picking up the bottle, Rico topped off her glass and poured the last of the wine into his. When the waiter came by he shook his head.

“Cutting back?”

“Yeah. I kinda got the idea from Sonny.”

“He’s changed, hasn’t he?”

“More than you know, Mindy. Hell, you would have hated him if you’d met him when we were with OCB.”

“I mean just in the time I’ve known him he’s changed.”

“I think we all have.” He smiled as the band struck up another standard. “And I’d say mostly for the better.”

Her hand slipped over his as the sax player ran through the Charlie Parker line opening Ornithology. “I can’t argue with that.”

 

Sonny and the team presented their plans to Castillo just after ten the next morning. “I’ll be going in with Stan and Randy,” Sonny finished, locating the club on the map. “I’ll do the Burnett heavy thing and see what shakes out. The goal is to get Rico in the club tonight, but if that doesn’t play out at the next meeting.”

“What’s your pitch?”

“Greed. Same as usual. Did Customs come up with anything new on the girl?”

Trudy nodded. “Yes. Her name’s Monaele Jankow. They were after her for questioning regarding a shipment of stolen paintings moving from Argentina to collectors in South Florida. They got awful interested when they saw the new photos, but I think I warned them off.”

Sonny nodded, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his gut. Stolen art? Can’t be a coincidence. Jenny must know her. “How long ago was this?”

“Three years give or take.” Trudy shook her head. “They had no information about her having a partner or anything else, Sonny. Sorry.”

“Well, she’s got one now and she’s looking to change from paintings to blow.” He turned to Castillo. “I’ll ask Jenny about her tonight, captain. See if she knows anything.”

“Thank you. It’s not necessary, though.”

“It is for me.” Sonny felt his eyes go cold. “Anyhow, we want to get Cooper in play as quickly as we can. And I’ll let Stan talk about the other plan, since quite a bit of it’s on Team Elvis.”

“Thank you very much.” Stan ran the words together in a perfect Elvis drawl, and Sonny sat down. Happy to be out of the spotlight. “We got a show for you tonight, folks. Or more to the point, we got a show for the FBI. Dave and Randy did a great job selling their ‘superior’ surveillance skills last night. That team bit on both the fake hide locations you set up. Our plan’s to use those in conjunction with some fake transmissions to make the FBI think we have people in position when we really don’t. But each position’s perfectly sited to give the Feds a perfect view of crack selling activity.”

Rico nodded. “Yeah. Metro-Dade’s product was pretty good. We’ve got locations marked where the heavy trade goes down. I know it ain’t the Feds’ normal beat, but they can’t look the other way. Not for long, anyhow.”

“Risk?”

“There’s always some.” Stan grinned. “Those damned Fords of theirs aren’t exactly stealthy, and they stand out in Double Treys’ turf like no one’s business. But are we putting them deliberately in harm’s way? Not a chance.”

“Good. Consider them both approved. Will you need buy money tonight?”

Randy shook his head. “No. I did my cash flash already, and Patch ain’t the kind to carry money around with him without a good reason. We’ll use this to get Burnett in front of them and see where it goes from there.”

The rest of the day dragged by, made worse for Sonny because he wanted to head back to the marina and ask Jenny about this Monaele. But she was at another meeting with Angie and the lawyers, and he couldn’t in good conscience bail on the team. So he glared out the window at the buildings across the street, wondering which window was hiding the FBI.

“They gettin’ to you, too?”

“Sort of, Rico. Don’t those assholes have real criminals to chase instead of wasting time and taxpayer money bothering fellow cops?”

“You know the Feebs.”

“Yeah, and I wish I didn’t.” He looked at his watch. “Only another three hours before showtime. I wonder if Stan’s plan will work?”

Rico shook his head. “I don’t know, but it’s genius.”

It was just starting to get dark when Sonny looked down and saw two tan Fords roar out of the lot across the street and accelerate toward Double Treys turf. Stepping out the door, he looked down toward the Tech Room. “I don’t know what the hell you just did, but those two carloads of J. Edgar’s finest just took off like there was a dress sale at Sears.”

“We just fired up Betty Sue.” Stan shrugged. “It was Lester’s name. Don’t judge.”

“What exactly was it?”

“We sent out a fake transmission series making it sound like Dave was reporting in from one of the overwatch positions they scouted yesterday.” Stan laughed. “You should have heard their control freaking out on the radio. Actually you can. We taped it. Anyhow, he sent their two mobile units off on a wild goose chase. At least if they’re looking for Dave.”

“Yeah.” Dave looked up from his gun magazine. “That fake position is right near a major street corner crack market. At the very least it’ll send the dealers to ground an’ might make the Feebs think a bit.”

“Nice move waiting for Castillo to leave before pulling the trigger.”

Stan shrugged again, turning back to the Tech Room. “He drew off their third unit. That means we have a window to get out of here and do our jobs. And now if you girls will excuse me I gotta get in costume.” He laughed again. “Now I know how Gina and Trudy felt.” He leaned in the door of the office Randy and Dave shared. “Randy! You gonna help me with my corset?”

“Screw you!”

Laughing, Sonny turned back to his office. At least they could still joke before heading out. The day they couldn’t was the day they should pack it in.

The two Harleys rolled ou first, the roar of their exhaust echoing off nearby buildings. The heat hadn’t left the pavement yet, and Sonny wasn’t looking forward to stepping out of the Ferrari. But he tucked the white beast in behind the two bikes and followed their lead through the winding traffic. It was that strange part of the evening, when the old folks were heading home and the younger ones hadn’t gone all-out crazy yet. Back in his uniform days he’d enjoyed the lull, and now he just appreciated the lack of traffic.

He parked a bit back from the bikes, mostly to give them space to turn and get if things when south in the club. The fading heat still had enough strength to slap him in the face as he stepped out of the car and buttoned his Burnett-black suit coat. There was nothing casual about his look tonight, and he felt his mood starting to match. All the cold calculation backed by a certain vicious anger. He could feel the Smith & Wesson under his arm, and the weight of the Detonics on his ankle. It was time.

Stan nodded as he came over, slipping into character with ease. “Burnett. This is Patch. Old buddy of mine. The people we’re meeting are inside.”

Sonny nodded to Randy, his head moving a fraction of an inch. “Let’s get this done. I’ve got better things to do than hang out at some dive club.”

The doorman thought for a second about blocking their passage. Until he locked eyes with Sonny. Then the rope dropped and he waved them through without a second glance. Sonny took the lead, moving through the crowd with a total lack of concern. His attitude was almost a physical thing, and people moved as soon as they saw him coming. He’d slipped his sunglasses back on once they got in, and it just added to the Burnett look and mood.

Stan touched his arm. “There they are.”

Sonny looked, and pitched his voice loud enough to carry. “You didn’t tell me I was meeting with Ken and fucking Barbie.”

Randy laughed. “Now that you mention it, they do look kinda like them.”

Stan stepped in front, doing his best Biggs in command routine. “Frank, this is the guy I told you about. Sonny Burnett, this is Frank.”

“Sit down so you don’t look like a total asshole.” Sonny smiled inside as he saw the girl flinch. “That goes for you, too, darlin’. I don’t have all night, so let’s get to it. Biggs here needs some assistance with transportation. That’s what I do. He says you have product that needs to be moved. Fine. What are we talking in terms of weight?”

Frank’s eyes were still glazed from the initial approach, and Sonny could see he was well out of his depth. Like a kid learning to swim who jumped off the high board. “We were talking forty kilos.”

Sonny turned and looked at Stan. “Forty? That’s chump change Biggs. Barely worth starting the Scarab over.”

Randy shook his head. “Cash I got to invest only goes so far, man.”

“I get it. Business is business and all that. But I got margins, too.” He smiled. “Last time Biggs and I did a run forty was all I could handle. But things have changed a bit since then.”

Frank nodded, trying to look important. “Yes. I have heard of you, Mr. Burnett.”

“But I don’t know you, pal. That gets you nothing from me.” He turned back to Stan. “Look, Biggs. I’m not gonna screw you or your partner. But we gotta find a way to sweeten this a bit.” He turned back to the blondes in business suits, deciding he really didn’t like Monaele’s eyes. “I don’t suppose you happen to have some extra weight kicking around? Like say double what they’re looking for?”

He watched as the girl touched Hoffmann’s leg. “It could be arranged.”

“Yes or no, pretty boy?”

“Yes, and I’m not…”

Sonny had his 4506-1 out and under the man’s nose in less than a second. “You don’t tell me squat, pal. You’re decoration. I get it.” He turned and looked at the girl, the Burnett side of him enjoying the sudden flash of fear in her eyes. “You make the decisions, right, darlin’? Good. Decide. I got an investor lined up who just had a deal fall through and is looking for what Biggs and Patch want. Same weight. Question is can you do it or not?” The gun disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

Her accent was faint, and her voice throaty. “Yes. We can do that much.”

“Good. He’ll want to meet you and check the product. Me? I don’t care. I just move it. But Mr. Cooper’s a bit picky.”

Randy shook his head. “This is all damned special, but I don’t want to stick around Miami a day more than I have to. You dig?”

“Yeah. I get it.” Sonny paused, pretending to think. “Look. I can call him and see if he’ll come down now, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one. Or him and me can meet Ken and Barbie here tomorrow night and get that side of the deal nailed down. We do the exchange that night if he’s cool.”

Stan nodded, playing it up. “What’s your take, Burnett? I don’t wanna be left holding the bag because he dropped out.”

“I think he’ll deal. This last bunch left him in a jam, and if their product’s good it’ll go a long way.” He looked at the pair, his voice level. “Is your product good?”

“Pure Bolivian. Run through our own processing house.” There was pride in her voice, and he saw Hoffmann nod as she spoke. “You won’t find better.”

“You’d better hope not.” Sonny nodded as if deciding something. “Tomorrow night. Same place, same time. Have the product ready to move. You pick the location, so long as it’s close to water. We load it on my boat and from there you don’t think about it.”

“We usually do ship to shore.”

“I don’t give a shit what you usually do. This is Miami, pal. My city, my rules. We can do boat to boat if it makes you happy, but I’m not handling the product twice. Cooper’s stuff needs to go by boat, and that’s how it’ll be.”

Stan nodded. “Works for us. If you don’t mind sitting on some of it for a couple of days.”

“We’ll work that out between you, me, and Patch. These bozos don’t need to know that side of it.” He turned back to the pair, who were leaning back against the booth cushions like someone had slapped them. “Smile! Cooper pays top dollar. And I mean like fifty a kilo. You’ll make bank off him, and if he likes your product he’s a return customer. I’ve moved weight for him more times than I can count, and he likes steady suppliers.” He looked at his watch. “And I gotta get. You girls play nice, now.”

Outside he took a series of deep breaths, forcing the cooling night air into his lungs and settling back from the vicious mood that was Sonny Burnett. He’d felt it strong this night, especially when he looked at the girl and imagined her ties to Jenny. Slipping the sunglasses in the inside pocket of his suit coat, he lit a cigarette and drew the smoke deep to take the edge off.

He thought for a moment about waiting for Stan and Randy, but knew it wouldn’t work. Burnett had business, and he’d tend to that business. Crushing the cigarette out with the heel of his dark shoe, he got in the Ferrari and cranked the engine. Raising his wrist, he gave Lester a quick sign-off. “Out for the night, Lester. Stan and Randy should be out soon. You guys can knock off as soon as they’re clear.”

The marina was dark and quiet. He could hear a stereo jamming some kind of pop crap off on one of the motor yachts anchored offshore, but his little corner of the world was quiet and still.  His heart skipped a beat when he saw Vellamo’s spot was empty, but then remembered Jenny saying something about moving the boat to the dock at Caitlin’s House. He wondered if she’d found her way back or decided to stay at the group home with Angie. In a way he hoped she had. Burnett was still too close to the surface.

[mjcmmv]

Well done! The Jenny/Gina mystery deepens! 

[vicegirl85]

20 minutes ago, mjcmmv said:

Well done! The Jenny/Gina mystery deepens! 

Yes, it does!  And the tension is ratcheting up!