Nebraska, ten years ago…It was a warm and bright day and there was no activity on the streets. The road was deserted except for a rusty white van parked across the street of a hardware store. A hooded figure emerged at the corner of the street and he jogged to the van. His pace diminished until he stopped beside the van and knocked in a distinct pattern. The door of the van slid open and the hooded man entered. The van looked abandoned again. Inside, there were a bunch of computers with trackers and real time surveillance footage. A man worked on the computers and two cops chilled on the other side.“Wassup, Wady?” Arthur yelped. Wade winced. “The van ain’t soundproof, you moron!” Whispered Freddie and punched Arthur on the arm. “Ouch!” Arthur screamed even louder. Freddie put his hand on his mouth. Arthur licked it. “Eww! What are you, five?” Freddie yelled in a whisper and wiped his hand on his shirt while Arthur had a victorious smirk on his face.Arthur was the biggest of them
The squad had been fishing for catfishes but managed to hook an Alligator Gar. All there was left to do was to carefully reel it in. Wade was salivating at the idea of showing up at the precinct holding Dominic like a trophy. It would immortalize him in the department as a real life Dirty Harry. He got out of the van after putting on the vest and strapping the guns in. Freddie and Arthur followed immediately. He looked back and saw Cody hesitating wearing the vest.“What’s up, big guy?” Wade inquired as softly as he could. Cody took a while to muster up the courage to answer.“Are you sure we shouldn’t tell the Captain about this? There’s a lot that can go wrong in there,” Cody voiced his concerns. Arthur and Freddie momentarily seemed to share the concern and looked at Wade for his explanation. Wade sighed.“The moment we let the Captain in on it, he’ll call us back and thrash our asses for doing this much on our own. He’ll involve a shit load of documents and formalities into this m
It was almost midnight. The day had been a usual slow one at the precinct. Captain Luke Clifford had left early as usual, expecting the night to be like the ones the precinct had always seen. Only a handful of pencil pushers were still in the building. Even they were dozing off. There wasn't much paper to formalize. The most common reason among them to stay was to keep away from their homes and their failing marriages. A rookie was trying his luck with an irritated sergeant. “So…whatcha doing tomorrow night?” He asked leaning on her desk as she tried her best to ignore him. “I’ve got a ton of files to type in. Maybe I’ll spend tomorrow night like this too,” she said with a fake smile and went back to typing. Meanwhile, Cody expertly maneuvered through the roads. There was little to no traffic but the roads were foggy. The squad was down to follow Wade into the pits of hell. If Wade Johnson thought something was the right thing to do, they knew better than to doubt. But Wade on the
Wade braced himself for a profound grilling session. He was sure that the Captain was going to vent on him for a while before finally giving him a pat on the back for pulling off the impossible. As he walked to the office, he received congratulations from his colleagues. Some of them even stood up and high-fived him. Some gave him envious side glances. They all knew how big of a fish Dominic Carter was. Nailing him was a ticket to instant fame and promotion. Wade didn't bother knocking on the office door and barged right in with an expecting smirk. Clifford was glaring right into his eyes when Wade entered. It shocked him a bit. The man looked genuinely pissed. A part of him looked anxious. He was pacing inside the room. Wade had never seen Clifford so on edge before. His smirk disappeared. “What the fuck were you thinking, Johnson?!” Captain Clifford yelled as soon as the door had been locked behind Wade. “Going behind my back and fucking everything up! Did I or did I not personally
Wade had been in the bar to forget his worries, not add to them. He had the hunch that Clifford wasn't there to console him. He was sure that the man’s presence in the bar was a bad omen. The revelation left him speechless. The effects of the whisky faded and he was wide awake. The bartender arrived with Wade’s drinks and placed the glass in front of him. Wade didn't acknowledge it. He just stared at Clifford, wondering how he had managed to fall into that pit of hell. The image of Dominic’s knowing grin appeared in front of his eyes, mocking him out of sanity. Wade needed a gallon of alcohol within a minute to forget that image. He punched the table in rage and stood up from the bar stool. The noise attracted a few curious glances but Wade was back to being the unnoticed alcoholic that he was a minute ago. He was panting with his head down and his eyes closed. Captain Clifford watched him closely. Wade shook his head and came back to his senses. “How? How the fuck did that happen?”
The kill had gone unnoticed. The one on the roof was the biggest threat. He had eyes on the one on the ground. Wade looked for something to climb the wall and found a drum that was enough to help him. He silently climbed the drum. The mercenary with the binoculars was a sitting duck. Wade had his crosshairs on that oblivious mercenary’s head. All Wade had to do was to wait for the mercenary on the ground to walk to a safe distance before putting a hole in him. And he did. The sound from the gun was nothing more than a hiss and the impact made a faint splattering sound. It was a walk in the park for him now. There was only one adversary left and Wade had the high ground. The mercenary received a five bullet burst aimed at his head and he fell. It was almost poetic how three lives were taken yet nothing had changed. The rain poured on and Wade looked for any sign of movement around him. There was nothing but the violent splashing of water and roars of thunder. Wade climbed down from th
The present day…Hugo and Juan stood inside the murky room above the strip club that smelled of sweat and cheap beer. Vladimir was sitting in his underwear, pondering his options. The idea of crossing Volkov was nothing short of disastrous but in the absence of any healthier alternatives, Vladimir agreed to side with Hugo. He grimly nodded his head and stood up. “Come with me,” Vladimir said and put his pants back on. He led them out of the room and they gladly followed. He caught Boris out cold on the ground and sighed. “This suka cost me eighty grand. Talk about clickbait,” Vladimir snorted and walked to the metal staircase. Hugo didn't expect him to do something as petty as making a run for it or screaming for help. When you rise through the ranks in the world of crime, you adhere to a different code. The higher you get, the more grace is expected from you, up to the point that the bosses were expected to die with a fat cigar hanging from their lips rather than bullet holes in t
Back in Palomino, Present day…The night was quiet in Palomino, Colombia. It was past the general population’s bed time. Michelle’s roofless car emerged from the darkness and approached her plaza. Her mood was of indifference. She had been partying hard like she always did but it wasn't giving her the same kicks as it used to. The blinding lights and the deafening music of the club wasn't doing anything for her. There were no more hookups. Hordes of men swarmed her like zombies the moment she entered the club wearing her overpriced dresses. They were barely dresses. They were walking thirst traps and they always delivered. Tons of men who were neck deep in debt just to look wealthy, tried their luck with her. She made them pay for every second of her time. She made them order the most expensive wines. They regretted ever looking her way. If they were good enough for her, they could get some action in return. Either way, Michelle returned satisfied. But since Hugo had left for the US,