Above Ground (41 page)

They walked for a little while longer, both lost in the silence of their own thoughts. Eventually they returned and stopped outside of Laura's door.

“Thanks, Jack,” she said. “I'll be okay. Just need time to sort things out.”

“You sure?”

Laura nodded and said, “You're a good friend. Goodnight.”

“A
good
friend?”

Laura smiled and said, “Yeah. This time you're helping me bury a body ... if only in my mind.” She then hugged Jack. He kissed her on the forehead and returned to his own room.

It was six-thirty in the morning when Jack was summoned to Jean-Louie's room.

As soon as he entered, Jean-Louie waved a copy of
El País
in front of him and yelled, “What is this?”

“A newspaper,” replied Jack.

“What it says,” snarled Jean-Louie, holding up the headlines reading
CARLOS — MORTE!

“I don't know,” replied Jack. “Haven't seen it and I don't read Spanish.”

“I'll explain the grisly details,” said Jean-Louie. “Sit down!”

Jack took a seat and listened.

“Norte del Valle,” Jean-Louie started, then paused and said, “Early this morning, on a road outside of Buga, travellers were shocked to discover the bodies of nine men piled in a pyramid on the road.”

“Wow!” said Jack. “People really play it rough down here!”

Jean-Louie stared briefly at Jack, then said, “I'm an old-school operator too, remember? Skip the concerned part and go straight to denial.”

Jack stared ahead, his face frozen.

“I'll continue,” said Jean-Louie. “This pyramid of bodies was only half the size of another pyramid discovered on the outskirts of Palmira. A naked man was laid face-down at the top of that pyramid. He had a broomstick protruding from his buttocks with a green beret dangling from the end. Later it was discovered that this was the notorious...” Jean-Louie paused to look at Jack and said, “The hell with it! You know who it was!” he said, flinging the newspaper down. He glared at Jack and asked, “Any comment?”

“No.”

“The paper said that in both incidents the police were unable to find anyone who heard or saw anything ... but Ramirez is being linked as someone who has a previous history with Carlos.”

Jack nodded quietly.

“For the record, were you with Ramirez all last night at the party?”

“He left for a little while. We thought he was picking up some more guests.”

“A little while?”

“Might have been longer. Maybe a couple of hours. Everyone was partying and having fun.”

“Good.”
Almost believable
, Jean-Louie thought
.
“What are you thinking?” asked Jack.

“I'm thinking the three of you should grab your bags and get the hell out of here!”

It was eleven-thirty at night when the plane touched down on the Vancouver runway. It was an hour later when Jack and Laura cleared Customs. Damien was already gone.

Jack expected to get a taxi, but a familiar voice in the terminal stopped him.

“Hey, cowboy. How ya doing? How's your new sidekick?” asked Danny as he approached, carrying a shopping bag.

“What are you doing here?” asked Jack.

“Talked to Natasha. Heard you were coming in. Thought I'd like to pick up a friend ... if you still want to call me that.”

Jack looked at him, too surprised and too tired to respond.

“I know I've been an ass,” added Danny.

Jack put his suitcase down and embraced Danny. “I
always think of you as a friend,” he said. “A good friend.”

“Thanks,” said Danny, stepping back while wiping his eyes. “Your trip ... did it have anything to do with...” He paused a moment and looked nervously around before whispering, “The guys who ... tried to drown Jimmy?”

“Yes,” said Jack.

“How did it go?”

“Total success,” said Laura.

Danny closed his eyes and whispered, “Thank you.”

“We'll talk about it over a beer,” said Jack. “Just not tonight. We need to get home.”

Danny nodded that he understood but looked glum as they made their way to the parking lot.

“What's wrong?” asked Jack.

“I should have been there,” he mumbled.

Jack shook his head and said, “No, you should have been with Susan.”

“You really believe that?”

“Beyond any doubt. Laura is my partner, but if you want to come back to Intelligence, we could maybe find another spot for you.”

“Hell, no!” said Danny. “I want to be your friend ... not your partner!” He looked at Laura and added, “You've got no idea what working with him is like!”

Laura laughed and said, “I think I've got a pretty good idea!”

Danny smiled. “Yeah, if your trip was a total success, then I guess you do.” He passed the shopping bag to Jack and said, “This is for you.”

“For me?”

“Yeah, well, you know what they say,” mumbled Danny. “Beware of geeks bearing gifts.”

Laura unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside. Elvis rushed toward her, but before he could speak, she flipped a penny toward him. He caught it, then looked at it and smiled.

“How?” asked Laura.

Elvis shrugged and said, “Didn't you ever have any good friends when you were on Drug Section?”

“Yes, I had friends.”

“Now, on Intelligence ... isn't Jack a friend of yours?”

“Yes, I consider him a good friend. Get on with it,” said Laura quietly.

“Did it ever occur to you that I might have a good friend in the section I work in?”

“Not really. I wouldn't trust any of them.”

Elvis paused until he saw the grin on Laura's face. He embraced her and felt her warm kisses on his neck. After a moment he said, “Come on. I'll unpack your bags while you put your feet up.”

Laura looked at Elvis and said, “Do you know the difference between being a friend and being a good friend?”

“Sure,” replied Elvis. “A friend bails you out of jail. A good friend is sitting beside you saying, ‘Boy! Wasn't that fun!'”

Laura laughed.

Elvis studied her face carefully and then said, “With Jack ... does that hit it pretty close to the mark?” Before Laura could respond, he said, “Never mind. House rule. We don't discuss work.”

Their next kiss was more passionate.

Natasha was in the shower but heard Jack yell that he was home. She quickly shut off the water and wrapped a towel around herself. She then saw Jack
standing in the doorway. He was wearing a white cowboy hat.

Natasha kissed him warmly on the lips, then stepped back but kept her arms wrapped loosely around his waist.

“Something new for your wardrobe?” she asked, looking at his hat.

“Present from Danny,” he replied.

Natasha smiled and said, “Good. He told me.” She then let the towel fall from her body. “Ride 'em cowboy!”

In July 2005, Jean-Louie received three pictures of Damien from the Colombian police. They were found during a search of Carlos's home and given to Jean-Louie as a matter of courtesy. The pictures were not mentioned in his report to Assistant Commissioner Isaac, which simply stated that continual physical and electronic surveil-lance of the Canadian investigative team did not reveal any irregularities. Further investigation of the Ramirez cartel was not recommended at this time due to unrest in the area and an inability to provide adequate protection.

In August 2005, Satans Wrath held a memorial service on an acreage owned by one of the club members. Rellik's ashes were dumped inside his motorcycle helmet and buried. His colours were hung with distinction inside the east-end chapter clubhouse. Only a few members of the club were ever aware of how their fallen comrade had died.

In September 2005, a woman discovered a large amount of cash inside a duffle bag on the seat of her car. She turned it over to the police, who, when it went unclaimed, transferred the million dollars in Canadian hundreds to the woman's bank account. The police told her that part of a torn twenty-dollar bill had also been found in the bag. She retained it as a souvenir.

In December 2005, the B.C. Supreme Court struck down the anti-gang legislation under Section 467.13 of the Criminal Code as being too broad and too vague.

Within hours, strikers manning Satans Wrath clubhouses in B.C. received orders to purchase a total of 114 bottles of champagne. The clubhouse phones were used as a gesture to slap the police in the face. The amount ordered indicated to the police that the club had grown from their original estimation.

While most bikers celebrated the event, Damien remained worried. The decision served to advertise that B.C. was choice territory for organized crime. Competition would be fiercer. He was not upset when the Crown indicated they might appeal the B.C. Supreme Court decision.

In early January 2006, Damien was approached by two members of the Russian mafia and invited to join in a criminal venture. Damien believed there was something much more sinister to the offer, fearing the actual plan, if implemented, would result in thousands of lives being lost. He searched for a solution. Club rules would not allow him to phone the police ... but what if the police came to him?

In mid-January 2006, Laura received a carton delivered to her apartment. It contained ten pairs of expensive shoes and two pairs of knee-high boots. A note from Damien said that it was a gift from Ramirez. The
gift had the potential of placing Jack and Laura once more in the sights of the Anti-Corruption Unit. They decided they would meet with Damien to discuss his lack of good judgement.

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