Chapter 9
Dubrio set down his drink on the side table, and sat forward in his chair, focusing all of his attention on the broken ex-Lieutenant in front of him.
"You have skill, Mr. Peck. I grossly underestimated your potential when I turned you over to the police."
"What is it that you want from me? Haven't you taken enough already?" Face said, his voice breaking with every other word. "Just shoot me and get it over with. I'm through running."
"I don't want to kill you, Mr. Peck. I want to hire you."
"Excuse me?" Face leaned forward, and looked Dubrio straight in the eye. "You killed my girlfriend. You chased me down, and you killed two of my best friends. Why in the hell would I want to work for you!"
"I believe you have another friend... who lives at the VA Hospital."
Face nearly leapt from his chair in a rage. Two sets of hands held him down in the chair.
"Leave him alone!" he shouted angrily.
"You work for me, Mr. Peck, and your friend will be safe and sound, and none the wiser. That's my deal. Take it or leave it."
Face stopped thrashing against the arms holding him down, and tried to calm himself down. Murdock was all he had left in the world... if anything were to happen to him...
He looked into Dubrio's eyes. They were full of malicious intent. Face knew right then that he had no choice.
"Okay."
"Okay, what, Mr. Peck?"
"You win. I'll work for you."
Dubrio smiled contentedly as the broken man in front of him sank back into the chair limply, defeated. He'd achieved exactly what he wanted... and he always got what he wanted.
three months later...
Face was perched on the top of a building, in downtown L.A. His target was below, talking to a man in a business suit and tie, holding a leather briefcase. Face's task was to take out the target, so his partner, hiding below, could collect the briefcase. Face watched carefully through the scope of his rifle, waiting for a clear shot. It was night, but still hot. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead and stung his eyes. He blinked rapidly and kept his eyes on the target.
"Peck!"
The voice barking into his radio startled him. It was Sam Edwards, the man assigned to complete the operation with him.
"Yeah."
"Are you going to take the shot sometime this century?"
"It takes time to get the perfect shot, Edwards. Do you want to get arrested?"
"Obviously not, asshole."
"Then shut up and let me do this."
Edwards started shouting at him into the radio, and Face turned it down considerably. He focused on the target in his scope, and finally, he had the shot. The guy in the suit had turned the corner, and the target was alone in the alleyway. Face didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger, and the target dropped instantly. He immediately grabbed the radio and turned it back up.
"Go now."
"About time!"
"Just get the briefcase and meet me around the block. I want to get the hell out of here."
Face packed up the sniper rifle carefully in its carrying case, and policed his brass before slipping quietly from the roof. He took the stairs all the way down to the ground floor, and slipped out the service entrance. As he came toward the corner to meet Edwards, he saw flashing red lights dancing on the side of the building to his right.
Shit...
Face backed up toward the entrance he'd just come out of, when he felt someone coming up behind him.
"Drop the case right now and put your hands up."
Damn it to hell.
Face slowly bent to set down the case. Just before it touched the ground, he dropped it and pulled his pistol. The cop took a shot at him, and missed, allowing Face to turn and shoot him in the leg. The officer went down, and Face grabbed his case and ran. He switched his radio channel and held it up to his mouth as he ran.
"We've been made! The cops have Edwards! I need help!"
"Where are you?"
"Coming up on 7th street, from the alleyway across from Belluci's Bistro!"
"Someone will be there to pick you up in two minutes."
"Hurry up!"
Face skidded to a halt at the end of the alley and waited. As promised, a black Taurus pulled up. Face hurried over as the trunk popped open. He threw the rifle case into the trunk, and scrambled into the backseat. He breathed a sigh of relief as the car sped away.
"What the hell happened!" The driver shouted at him.
"Edwards got made, is what happened."
"Did you put the silencer on like I told you?"
"Of course! I'm not a moron, Mancuso."
"Dubrio is pissed. He heard the whole thing on the radio."
"Crap. He's going to shoot me this time for sure."
"You better come up with a good explanation for why you don't have the briefcase, or he'll shoot both of us."
Face nodded at the pair of brown eyes staring him down in the rear view mirror, and gazed out the window as they passed 74th Street. His gaze fell on a sleeping bum as they waited at the traffic light, and his breath caught in his throat.
That looks a hell of a lot like Jack Daniels. Could it be?
The light changed, and Mancuso punched it. They sped off, leaving the sleeping bum to his slumber.
"Who is going to tell me exactly what the hell happened out there?"
Dubrio was fuming, as Mancuso had promised. He was pacing back and forth as Face and Mancuso stood next to each other in Dubrio's office.
Face glanced at Mancuso, and back at Dubrio.
"I took too long to take the shot. I wanted to get it right."
"Because you waited, my best man is in jail, and my briefcase is in an evidence locker!"
Face felt two sets of hands grab him from behind. He let himself be restrained as Dubrio came around the desk with a handgun.
"Give me one good reason not to shoot you where you stand."
"You hired me because of my skill, Mr. Dubrio. Part of being a sniper is making sure the shot is perfect enough so it's not traced back to the shooter. That's what I was doing. I'm sorry I screwed up the mission, but I'm not going to sacrifice my freedom for speed."
Dubrio looked at Face for a moment, and tucked the gun back into his suit jacket.
"I won't kill you... this time. Don't let it happen again."
"I understand."
Dubrio looked up at one of the men holding Face.
"Get him out of my sight."
The men took him to his room and locked him in. When he wasn't on a mission, Dubrio insisted he be locked in his living quarters. He insisted it was for Face's own safety, but Face knew he was a prisoner, and he accepted it.
As he sat on the bed and took off his shoes, his thoughts turned to the bum he saw on 74th Street. It sure as hell looked like Hannibal's wine-o, but it couldn't be. Hannibal was dead... long dead.
Or maybe he wasn't. Could it be possible that the gunshots he heard were faked? Could Hannibal and B.A. still be alive, and in hiding?
There was only one way to find out.
Face reached across the bed to the nightstand, and picked up the phone. He'd learned a long time ago that Dubrio tapped the phone in his room, and the tap didn't turn on until after 8 p.m. He had about five minutes before he'd be monitored.
"Helloooooo!"
Face smiled.
God, it's good to hear his voice.
"Murdock. It's-"
"Faceman?"
"It's me."
"This has to be some kind of joke. Who is this, really?"
"It's really me, Murdock. Templeton Peck."
"If you're really Faceman, then what's my first name?"
"Harvey."
"Where the hell have you been? I thought you were dead!"
"I only have a few minutes to explain..."
"I'm all ears, Muchacho."
Face poured out everything that had happened over the past three and a half months, his voice cracking with every sentence that came out of his mouth. When he was finished, Murdock was silent for a moment, and Face thought he might've hung up the phone.
"Why didn't you call me before?"
"I didn't want you to end up in the crossfire... because of me. Please forgive me, Murdock... I didn't ask for any of this to happen."
"I believe you. Look... we have to find a way to get you out of there. I'll go down and check out the wine-o in that alley that you saw. I hope to God that it's really Hannibal... that he isn't... "
"Me too." Face looked at his watch. Hed had about 15 seconds. "I have to go. I'll be in touch."
Face slammed the phone down just in time for the little green light on the monitor next to it to kick on. He sighed in relief,and sat down on the bed.
I hope Murdock comes through...
TBC...
