Denouement (19 page)

“Yeah, yeah, the guy that has been all over the news. Where are you, and what do you need?”

“We have the vehicle he was last seen driving at a place called the Dusty Hill Motel in Ridge Manor. If you could give me some kind of local presence here, it would be appreciated. The road being blocked off a few blocks up and down probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. If he is in fact inside this motel, I doubt he’ll go quietly when he becomes aware of our presence.”

“I’ll get some cars dispatched.”

“We need to keep them away from the motel visually until the FBI arrives. We’re looking at just under an hour.”

“Okay. Where are you right now?”

“An old marine store a quarter mile south of the motel.”

“I’ll notify the cars I send to approach from that direction and meet you there. You should start seeing them arrive within ten minutes. What kind of vehicle are you driving?”

“A white Cadillac wagon.”

“Thanks for the notification. I’ll get you what you need.”

“Appreciate it, Captain,” I said.

I clicked off, stepped out of my car, and locked my eyes on the area of the motel’s driveway a quarter mile up. From that distance, if I took my eyes off of the motel for a second, I could miss him leaving. The sun was breaking the horizon to the east. I barely blinked for the next fifteen minutes until the first Hernando cruiser arrived. The car pulled to the right of mine, and the motor died. The deputy stepped out and approached.

“Deputy Mike Levy. You’re the Tampa lieutenant?” he asked.

“Carl Kane,” I said, not looking at him. I kept my eyes focused up the street. “I believe our guy is in the motel up there.” I pointed. “We need to make sure he doesn’t leave.”

“Sure,” he said. “I have a pair of binoculars in the car here. Let me grab them.”

I nodded.

The deputy appeared back at my side a moment later and handed me the binoculars. I brought them to my eyes and continued watching.

“A couple more cruisers should be here any minute,” he said.

“If we could get the road blocked here and about a quarter mile past the motel, I think we’ll be in good shape,” I said.

“Do you think he’ll try to make a break for it?”

“I have no idea what he’ll do if he’s in there. I’d say it’s pretty safe to assume that he’ll be armed. It’s even safer to assume that he’s damn well going to put up a fight. Are you wearing body armor?” I asked.

“Always.”

“Good.”

“You think it’s really going to be like that?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said. “One hundred percent.”

The sheriffs had the street blocked and the traffic rerouted in each direction. I’d just gotten off the phone with Faust. He said he and his team were just a few minutes out. I didn’t ask how many men he had with him. The Toyota hadn’t moved, and no activity appeared to be going on in the motel. From the northern roadblock, the deputies had eyes on the scene. I checked my watch, and the time was a bit after seven thirty.

I had no chance to be at work on time and felt I should let the captain know what was going down. I pulled out my cell phone and dialed.

“Hello,” he said.

“Cap, it’s Kane. I’m out in Ridge Manor.”

“Ridge Manor?” he asked. “What the hell are you doing out there?”

“I started early. I went to Ed’s and picked up all of Erik Ekel’s belongings. His cell phone had an incoming call from someplace called the Dusty Hill Motel out here. I figured since it was a few hours before my shift actually started, I’d come out here to take a look. I have the car Azarov was last seen driving in the motel’s parking lot.”

“You need to call the Hernando County Sheriff’s Department.”

“Already taken care of. We have the road shut down in both directions from the motel, and Faust is on his way with a team.”

“Do you know that he’s in the motel?”

“No. Faust wanted me to wait, so I called the locals, and now we’re waiting. Faust should be here any minute.”

“Okay. Do you need anything?”

“I don’t think so. I just wanted to give you a heads-up with what’s going on.”

“Be smart. Call me when you know more.”

“I will.” I clicked off and stuck my phone back in my pocket.

Deputy Levy walked from the roadblock at the corner back toward me at my car. Average height and thirty pounds overweight, he looked to be about fifty. He was wearing the standard green Hernando County Sheriff’s uniform and a matching green campaign hat. His round face was clean shaven.

He leaned against the door of his cruiser. “Any word on when these guys are showing up?”

“It should be any second,” I said.

“How many guys?” he asked.

“I couldn’t tell you.”

“We’re going to need to get whatever staff that is in that motel out,” he said.

I hadn’t thought about that until he said it. Whoever owned the Porsche was more than likely inside. If Ray started shooting, we couldn’t return fire until we knew the rest of the place was empty and he was the only person inside. “I’ll call the motel office right before we roll up. We’ll get whoever is inside out before alerting our presence.”

Levy turned his head and looked up the road. “I’m betting this is your guys.”

A black van and a black Dodge Charger approached from up the street. They pulled into the lot for the marine business and came to a stop next to my car. I glanced at the van—I didn’t see any FBI insignia or any marks telling it was any kind of official vehicle. The van had no windows behind the front doors and no rear door on the passenger side—it appeared armored. Faust stepped from the Dodge. He wore drab-colored tactical clothes with body armor cinched over it.

“Kane,” he said.

“Morning,” I said.

“Hopefully a good one when this is through. That’s the motel there?” he asked and pointed.

“That’s it. We have the road blocked coming from the other direction as well.”

I heard a side door slide open on the opposite side of the van. Three men rounded the back and came to us. Another man rounded the front from the driver’s door. I recognized two of the guys from Sokoloff’s condo. They all wore matching tactical gear. I didn’t spot any FBI lettering on anything they wore.

“Any friendlies inside?” one of the guys asked.

“Not sure, but we have another vehicle there. I’d imagine someone is in the office. I was going to make a call to the front desk before we rolled up.”

“We’ll take care of it,” the guy said. “Thanks for the heads-up on the motel.”

“What?” I asked, looking at Faust. “If you think I’m sitting on the sidelines, you’re out of your damn mind. You wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t called you.”

Faust waved for me to follow him, so I did as he walked to the front of the van and out of earshot from his men and Deputy Levy.

“Kane, these guys know what they’re doing. Let them take Azarov down. There’s no reason to put yourself in harm’s way if you don’t need to.”

“This guy abducted my fiancée, tried killing me and those close to me… I don’t know how many times. I couldn’t give a flying shit what you say. I’m going into that motel.”

Faust’s face twitched. “You know I could just detain you while we take care of this.”

“Good luck with that,” I said.

He let out a breath and shook his head. “Whatever. Just stay behind us. I don’t need you to get shot and us to get blamed. Do you have on a vest?”

“No,” I said.

“Come on.”

Faust walked to the driver’s side of the van, and I followed.

He stepped inside the open sliding door, grabbed a vest from a shelf, and tossed it out to me. “Put that on,” he said.

I stared past him into the van. Thick metal sheets welded together were lining the walls. A rack on the back wall held a number of assault weapons. Two laptop computers sat on a metal table. He jumped out of the van and rounded the back. “Come on,” he said.

I followed Faust back to everyone on the opposite side—pulling the vest over my shoulders and snugging it tight as I walked.

“Are we ready?” Faust asked.

“He’s coming with us?” one of the guys asked.

I looked over at him. He was the guy from Sokoloff’s condo with the knife strapped to his chest.

“He is,” Faust said. “Kane, you want to make that call to the motel office?”

“Now?” I asked.

He nodded.

I got the number and dialed. The phone rang and rang. After countless rings, I hung up and jammed the phone back into my pocket.

“No one?” Faust asked.

“No. We need to see if there is staff inside. If he’s there and he sees us, I guarantee he’ll start shooting,” I said.

“What exactly did you see when you turned around in the lot? Was the office open?” Faust asked.

“I don’t know. The other vehicle there has to belong to someone. And it’s not the kind of car you are going to let sit around.”

Faust called for the guy with the knife strapped to his chest and Deputy Levy to come over. They both walked up.

“Okay. Here’s what we’re doing. We’ll pull up single file and park along the street. I’ll lead, then my guys in the van, then Kane in your own vehicle, and then the sheriff’s cruiser.” Faust looked at his man. “Knox, I need you to go to the front office. Ask whoever is there how many staff are present, and then get them away from the building back to the sheriff’s car, who’ll get them away from the property to safety. As soon as we’re good there, we’ll pull into the motel’s parking lot and get ready to advance on the room. Everyone understand how this is going down?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Are we trying to get into the room or trying to call him out?” I asked.

“We’re going in,” Faust said. “You get our back. Okay, again, everyone got it?” he asked.

Faust’s guy with the knife, apparently named Knox, nodded.

“Got it,” Levy said.

I bobbed my head in confirmation.

“Let’s go,” Faust said.

I got in my car and followed them from the lot. In my rearview mirror, I saw Deputy Levy get in his cruiser. We drove the quarter mile, and Faust pulled to the side of the road, parallel to the front office in the Charger, followed by his men in the van and then me in my Cadillac. Deputy Levy pulled behind me. Faust stepped from his car, pulled a pistol, and aimed it at the motel, using his car as a shield. The van door slid open. Two men rounded the van and took positions over the hood. One stayed at the wheel while the one named Knox went for the motel’s office. I got out, removed my service weapon and took a firing stance over the roof of my car.

Knox disappeared around the corner of the building toward the motel’s front door. We waited. A minute passed with no signs of Knox or any staff. Faust inched away from the front of his car, trying to get a visual on the front office door of the motel. Knox came back a moment later, jogging back toward the van. “No one answers to knocking at the office. The door is locked. The sign says Closed.”

“Could you see in?” Faust asked.

“There is a blind pulled down over the glass on the door. I didn’t see any lights on, though.”

“Let’s move,” Faust said. “Kane, leave your car where it is. Hop in with me. Deputy, block this driveway with your cruiser and take a position there.”

“Sure,” Levy said.

I closed my car door and walked to Faust’s car. I got in the passenger side as he was firing the motor. We crept forward and made a right into the lot. The black van followed us and parked directly behind the Toyota Ray had been driving, blocking it in. Knox jumped from the van, took his knife from the sheath on his chest and walked toward the Toyota. Faust and I stepped out, and Faust went to his men at the van. I got behind the Charger and took a firing position again. I could see movement inside the room next to the office.

“Faust,” I said in a hard whisper. I pointed at the room. “Someone is moving inside.”

“Who the hell is calling here this early?” Amy asked.

Ray sat on the edge of the bed. He pulled a T-shirt on. He looked at Amy half under the bedsheets. The constant ringing was beginning to annoy him. “Do you need to get that?” Ray asked.

“No. We don’t open until nine,” she said.

“You might be losing business,” Ray said.

“Whatever. I don’t get any of the money anyway.”

Ray didn’t respond.

“So are you staying tonight again?” she asked.

“No. I should probably be leaving shortly,” Ray said.

“Oh, where are you going?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Just moving along,” Ray said.

“Do you want to stay another night, on me?”

Ray said nothing. He sat at the edge of the bed, staring at the floor. The coke was beginning to wear off, the hangover returning.

Amy rolled herself out of the bed and wrapped the bedsheets around her naked body. She walked in front of Ray and sat on his knee. “Or maybe we can go stay at my place. My dad won’t be back for a few days.” She smiled. “It’s big, private, and has lots of booze.”

Ray thought for a moment. “Where’s your place?” he asked.

“A little under an hour east of here on Lake Apopka. I have to go there anyway to feed the dogs and change. Do you at least want to check it out?”

“Um, is there anyone else there? Brothers, sisters, or whatever?”

She wrapped her arms around Ray’s neck. “Nope. It would just be us.”

Ray tried to contain a smile as his mind continued working on a plan. The Porsche said that her father had money, and the house on a lake confirmed it. He could spend a few days drinking and screwing around with the girl, take anything of value from the house, and then drive away in a Porsche. The car could be flipped at a chop shop—all easier than selling guns on the street.

“Yeah, I guess I could check it out,” Ray said.

“Cool.”

“What about this place?” Ray asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, who’s going to run it if you’re at home?”

She shrugged. “I’ll just close and lock the place up. It’s not like anyone really comes here, anyway. No one will care if we’re closed for a few days. They’ll just continue down the street.”

“When do you want to leave?” Ray asked.

“I don’t know. Now is fine.” She said. “Or we could go later.” She leaned in and kissed Ray.