Chapter two

     Kimberly felt numerous eyes on her as she walked into the club. She could see some people dancing to the music that was blaring from the large speakers  on the open space close to the DJ’s stage, as she made her way to the bar. She ordered a glass of Martini which she was sipping when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

“My chief Lieutenant.”

She turned around and sure, it was no other person but Luis, the head of the Italian Mafia standing before her.

She smiled weakly and said.

“Hello.”

         He took a seat beside her and ordered a glass of vodka. He was dressed exquisitely as usual, as he had worn a three piece suit. He barely looked like anyone affiliated to the mafia save for the skull tattooed to his neck.

She had met Luis through Oscar, a former colleague in the marines who had been in the same line of business before her.

“You look even more beautiful than the other time we met.”

Her boss complimented.

“Thank you.” 

She replied curtly.

“I would love you to be at my birthday party tomorrow evening. I’ll text you the venue.”

          Luis had ordered a second drink when one the men he came in with whispered something in his ear.

He stood up, dropped a hundred dollar bill on the table and said.

“I’ve got to go love. See you tomorrow.”

Kimberly ordered her second drink before heading to the dance floor where she joined the little crowd moving to the rhythm of the gyrating techno beats.

!      !     !          !     !         !         !      !          !

          Bryan and Jamal were seated in a small car across the street where they could easily watch the huge warehouse. They had gotten information from a confidential informant that Luis was having a drug deal tonight.

They had been on his trails for two months, but the man was very careful and smart. He was a man who disappeared quickly into the shadows at any sign of disturbance,but they had been assigned the case of investigating him till they got substantial evidence on him to be arrested.

“It’s been over an hour. Are you sure he’ll come?”

The huge African American Agent asked.

“Let’s still wait a little more.”

Bryan replied.

         The two men had been pulled from different units and made partners on this case due to their individual high success rate of cracking cases.

While Bryan studied criminology at Harvard and worked with the police department for a year as a detective before transferring to the drug enforcement agency after the police chief recommended him, Jamal on the other hand had not college degree, but he was street smart.

This blend of different ethnicity, educational background, experience and personality was what the DEA chief hoped would give this duo an edge to indict the head of the Italian cartel who had been elusive for years.

Everyone in the agency knew that this case was one of the high profile ones as other agents had previously failed to get a break in the case.

“Check this out.”

Bryan said as he pointed through the wind shield.

            A black Chevrolet had pulled up beside the building as three men got out of the vehicle and proceeded into the warehouse. 

“It’s impossible to make out their faces from here. I’m going in.”

Jamal said as he opened his door.

“Let’s call for backup”

Bryan protested.

“There’s no time.”

His partner replied.

Bryan cursed under his breath, got out of the car and followed his partner as they crossed the road, with their pistols drawn out, they proceeded into the dimly lit building.

There were a total of eight men standing around a large table with two briefcases on it. The warehouse was empty except for two fork lifts and some pallets scattered around the vast open space.

         The agents proceeded slowly till a high pitch whistle was heard followed by gunfire from several directions.

The men immediately dove for cover behind a fork lift and waited for about five seconds when the shooting had stopped, before they raised their heads from their hiding place, but the warehouse was now deserted.

“Shit!”

Jamal said angrily.

They ran to the exit at the other end of the enormous building to find the tail lights of two vehicles disappearing into the night.

The Italian Mafia has eluded them again.

          Bryan slowly walked away from his lanky partner as he took in his surroundings.

He noted that the warehouse was too empty to be operational which meant that it had probably been a reoccurring meeting point of the mafia, however he doubted if they would ever risk using the place again as it was now too ‘hot’. 

He heard sirens approaching the warehouse, apparently the police had heard the gunshots.

He brought out his badge and raise it up as the sound of urgent footsteps echoed into the warehouse.

He was momentarily blinded by a pair of flashlights as he yelled.

“DEA agent.”

One of the officers, a young man not more that twenty two years of age got closer and took a quick look at his badge before lowering his weapon.

“My partner is back there.”

Bryan added.

The second policeman who was much older pointed his flash light at the bullet ridden fork lift that had shielded the agents a few seconds ago.

“Mafia yeah?”

“Yeah”

“Those bastards are getting more brazen by the day.”

“Their luck will surely run out soon”

Bryan said as he walked out of the building into the night.

‘But how soon?’