Dead Man's Hand (6 page)

Calvin lost it.
With both hands, h
e grabbed
Pitt
by the collar
a
nd slammed him against the wall, which
crack
ed behind Pitt
’
s shoulders
.

“
Listen to me
,
you son of a bitch
,
”
he
said between gritted teeth.
“
I
’
m leaving this business
. Understand?
”

The
Adam
’
s apple
in
Pitt
’
s
throat shift
ed
when he swallowed.
He
raised both hands
in surrender
.
“
But what am I going to do? You
’
re my only collector. Where will I find another one?
”

“
I don
’
t care. It
’
s not my concern.
”
Calvin
l
oosened
his hold, but only a little.

“
Ok
ay, o
k
ay
.
”

Calvin
let hi
m
go.

“
But I need you for just one more pickup
,
”
Pitt said
.
“
It
’
ll be soon. I won
’
t have time to find a replacement
,
so you
’
ll have to do it.
”

“
I
’
ve already said
I quit. It
’
s over.
”

Pitt sighed.
“
After this one, you
’
re done with me.
You
’
ll be a free agent. I promise.
”

Calvin
thought for a moment. One more pickup
—one more payday—
and he could take Rachel along with few worries.

“
What
’
s the job?
”

“
Doug
las
Grant owes me
some money. A
lot of money, in fact.
”

Calvin
’
s eyebrows shot up.
Grant was one of the richest, most powerful men in Vegas. Why would anyone like Grant have an
ything to do with Donald Pitt?
And why would he borrow, or even have to borrow, money from Pitt when Grant
’
s estimated net worth was over $300 million dollars?
“
Why would
Grant be doing business with you
?
”

“
None of your business
.
Are you in
or should I have someone else collect the $40,000 commission?
”

“
It
’
s
$40,000? How much does he owe you?
”

“
Exactly $200,000
.
He borrowed
$150,000
. Now the interest is $
50,000
.
”
“
And you
’
ve
waited this long
to collect?
Even at your rates, it takes a long time to get the interest up to fifty grand.
”

“
I thought lending to Grant would lead to business with his friends. You know how many dealings I
’
ve had with Sanders? Hoped to start with him, work up to Grant
and
then move around.
”

“
How
’
d that work out for you?
”
Calvin asked dryly.

“
Not good. B
ut
it
was worth the try. Also you don
’
t push a man as powerful as Grant. I know he
’
s good for it, but if I put pressure on him, I
’
d lose him all the way
—
and
the two
hundred grand. So I
’
ve waited. He called last week. Said he wanted to get this matter settled
and
he
’
d have the money in cash sometime this week.
”

T
he job didn
’
t make any sense, but it wasn
’
t
up to Calvin
to figure out all the whys.
His job was simple. He was the collector and
the only collector who could pull this task off because of Grant
’
s status and power. In that sense, Pitt did have a point.

And the extra $40,000 would make taking Rachel with him a lot more affordable.

“
I
’
ll do
it. But for a job
this tough, I want $10,000 cash u
p front now. And $3
0,000 more when I bring you Grant
’
s money.
”
When he saw Pitt gearing up to protest, he added,
“
No one else could do
this one and you know it.
”

“
You want my blood too?
”
Pitt screamed.
“
I
’
ve already paid you the $10,000 I owe you
and
now you want me to pay you $10,000 more before I get paid
?
That
’
s crazy.
”

“
No. Those are my non-negotiable terms for this last job. Take
‘
em or leave
‘
em. If you don
’
t
give me the $10,000
now, good luck finding another collector who can get that much from Grant.
”

Pitt
made
strange sounds
in the back of his throat and his face reddened
.
It looked as though he was trying to pull his hair out by the roots.

Calvin chuckled.
“
I think you
’
re losing it
.
”

“
I am. And it
’
s your fault.
”

“
Yes or no. I
’
ve got better things to do than stand around waiting for you to decide.
”

After a couple of shall
ow breaths, Pitt said,
“
I
’
ll get you another $10,0
00.
But never again.
”

“
I think that
’
s the one thing we do agree on.
”

Pitt
mumbled his way to the
back offices
for the third time
and returned with
a fat
envelope
.
“
Take it and get out of here. I
’
ll call when it
’
s time.
”

“
Good afternoon, Mr. Watters.
Right on time as usual.
”

“
Hey, Chet.
”
Calvin slung his duffel bag onto the front counter. It landed with a thud.

“
What are you using
today?
”
The young man
unzipped the bag and rummaged through the contents, pulling out weapons.
“
SIG P 210-6, Smith & Wesson Model 940, Beretta PX4 Storm, Colt Government and a Browning High-Power. Nice selection.
”
Chet checked each gun to verify they were unloaded.

Calvin smiled.
“
Thanks.
Just handguns today.
Give me two 50-round
boxes of nine millimeters.
”

“
Paper or
plastic targets
?
”

“
Paper.
”

The man handed
Calvin ten pieces of paper of
solid black circles with scoring rings on a white background.
“
Do you have your own eye and ear protection?
”

He
showed the man his glasses and ear plugs and muffs. He always
doubled-up on ear protection to fight the increased noise pressure level
inside the shooting range
.

“
Did you want to ren
ew your annual membership today?
Since this is y
our third year in a row, there
’
s a discount.
”

“
Nah,
”
Calvin said.
“
I
’
ll do that another time.
”

“
You know the regular rules.
”
The man snickered.
“
No holster dra
wing, cowboy action shooting or
combat-style shooting.
”
Chet put his fingers in the form of a gun and imitated a cowboy.
“
Just sign this waiver and that
’
s
$
19.99 for the ammo. You know where the handgun range is.
Markus is already down there.
”

He
signed the waiver,
paid,
placed his guns and targets back in the bag and left the lobby.

He moved straight to the handgun range and entered the soundproof air-locked corridor. Markus, the head Range Safety Officer, smiled and waved when he saw Calvin.
Markus had also been Calvin
’
s teacher for the concealed
-
carry license course he had taken when he
’
d first joined the club.

“
Hey, Calvin.
”

“
Markus.
”
Calvin nodded.

“
We
’
re hot right now. But in a few minutes you should be good to go.
”

Calvin stood
back
and watched
through a
P
lexiglas window. A row of lanes were occupied and clients fired their weapons at targets
,
each at a different range length.

The lanes were cover
ed by absorbing foam material on
the floors, walls and ceilings for noise reduction.
The bullets struck targets and then passed through a rubber curtain before hitting the metal backstop
and
falling safely into angle-plated collectors.

Markus walked over and stood beside Calvin.

“
Are you entering the members
’
tournament next month? If you win it for a second year in a row, it
’
s a free membership.
”

He
grunted.
“
I
’
ll think about it.
”

He
waited
as each shooter, one by one, raised their hand to indicate they were done. When the last person raised his hand,
they
placed their gun
s
on the firing line table with their actions open.

Markus said,
“
We
’
re cold. Go ahead in, Calvin.
”

He
donned his eye and ear protection and made his way to lane six, dropping
his duffel bag on the table. He hung a paper target on the target holder positioned on a slide and hit the electrical switch. The motorized assembl
y withdrew the target and he
stopped it about thirty yards away. He then hit another switch and the lane
’
s ventilation system started. It would pull smoke and lead particles away from the shooting line to reduce the risk of lead poisoning.