A Boatload of Trouble
"So what's the deal, Blanjov," Jack asked as he and the Russian mobsters stood on the streets.
"A lot of things," Blanjov said. "Are you familiar with a man named Sanderville?"
"Who isn't?" Jack said.
"Well, here's how it goes," Blanjov said. "The old man is looking to pass along his organization to this new player in town. In fact, this guy has kept low profile, but word has it that Sanderville has made a deal with this mysterious player. They have been doing deals involving human-trafficking, as well as arms-trafficking."
"Okay, what's this got to do with me?" Jack said.
"I'm getting to that," Blanjov said. "There is this guy, Alexei Volkoff. He's the captain of the cargo ship, The Iron Curtain. Now the bastard turncoat has gone over to do jobs for Sanderville, as well as doing jobs for the newest player in town, Fahook Ubduhl."
Alexei Volkoff, Boris and Dimitri's other brother who handles his own shit. Jack thought.
Blanjov continued. "A couple of other old associates have been working freelance for those two men. Boris and Dimitri Volkoff, they used to pull jobs for me. They broke away from me, started working with Blatz before he was killed, and then started to work with the Sandman and Fahook as well."
"Okay, now we're getting somewhere," Jack said.
"Boris and Dimitri have been doing deals with Sanderville and his associates," Blanjov said. "They've been getting some of my personal shipments and providing the Sandman and Fahook with my merchandise from Alexei. They've been loaded with hi-res hardware, guns, my business. If Sanderville and Fahook get hold of that cargo, he has won and I have lost, and you'll have your work cut out for you."
"Right, but what could Sanderville have to do with me, or even Fahook?" Jack asked.
"Word has it that Sanderville has put out a major hit on you," Blanjov said. "Don't ask me why, but just the shit that I heard."
"I got nothing to lose, so tell me what else I should know," Jack said.
"If you want to get to Sanderville, you will need heavy duty persuaders," Blanjov said. "I'm just the man to get them for you. When you find the boat, change the ship back under my flag, maybe pop the traitor's head while you are at it, maybe the others if you see them. You'll get enough guns to start the apocalypse. You in or out?"
"Shit, I'll do it, let's this show on the road," Jack said.
Blanjov was one of those old-school gangsters with honor and morals, which made him almost one of the good guys. Jack thought. None of us was a saint. Blanjov filled me in on where his former men were handling stuff. It was at Cold Rock Creek, down by the docks, too. I think I had heard Gofer mentioning something heading there after he was done playing golf. I might kill two birds with one stone.
The thing that puzzled Jack was the deal about Sanderville. Why was he after him? It was said that he and Augie Blatz worked together prior to Augie's death, but could he still be wanting revenge after all this time? It didn't matter how old Sanderville was, the man was still powerful and at this stage in his life, he tried to make deals with other organizations to see who could take over Grant City when he passes. If stuff was going down at Cold Rock Creek, then there was all the more reason to gain some information. Jack just needed a way to approach the situation.
Jack had arrived at Cold Rock Creek. If something was going down at the docks, then maybe this could get him closer to Patch or even Sanderville. Jack knew that his father died working a case, but what was the case about? It was something he needed to ask Hildy, who was working for Frank at the time of his death. There just had to be some answers out there.
As soon as he parked the car, he got out and noticed several people near a front gate into the docks. Jack pulled out the binoculars that he used earlier that night at the golf course. He looked through and noticed some people walking up. He saw Patch, as if the eye-patch and purple hair didn't give it away, adding that he was a little overdressed for this occasion with him wearing a frilly shirt with a dress jacket. Gofer approached him and Jack knew that they were speaking to each other, likely about the fiasco that occurred at Sawyer Greens.
Finally, the door opened as a muscular man of African descent walked out. He had his hair dyed blonde and done in a man-bun. If was none other than former British boxer Rafshoon Diggs. Through the binoculars, all of the men followed Diggs inside.
Something smelled fishy around here, and it wasn't from the ocean water close by. Jack realized that there was more to it than met the eye. He approached the situation by sneaking towards the door after giving it some time for the criminals to get inside the warehouse.
Once he got inside, Jack heard some banter from the two men as they were walking and they were distinguishable by their British accents. Jack hid behind a large crate to make sure he would not be seen. He looked towards Shadow and signaled him to be quiet.
They both were at a complete stop. Jack peered from one corner. The two men men stood there awaiting the presence of the person who called this meeting. From above, a man of Middle Eastern descent, muscular with an open shirt and a lot of tattoos on his chest that went down to his stomach and had his hair in a man-bun. He walked down the stairs with twin women by his side with short hair that was dyed with a silver tone. This man was Fahook Ubduhl. The twin women were his bodyguards, Meeshaka and Shedraka.
"Hello, gentlemen," Fahook said. "I called this meeting because I have some things that I want to discuss with all of you."
Jack stayed put and peered out of the corner to watch as Fahook would discuss some things with these men. It was clear that it was a private discussion. Rafshoon just stood there with Fahook's twin bodyguards as Fahook was going to begin discussing things with Gofer and Patch.
"Gentlemen, I heard that you have been assigned to do a job for Mr. Sanderville to eliminate Jack Slate, am I correct?"
"Yes, mate," Gofer said. "But the old geezer only issued an open contract on that bloody tosser."
"What exactly are you getting at, mate?" Patch said.
"You see, there is another job I want one of you guys to do," Fahook said. "Whether it's Patch, or any of your other men, I would like for you to eliminate Gloria Exner."
"The bloody mayoral candidate?" Gofer said.
"I think we can arrange for that to happen," Patch said. "Maybe I, or any of our other people can eliminate that bird. How much are we talking?"
"The real question is would it be worth having some gold as payment," Fahook said. "Maybe a few gold ingots would suffice."
Patch added. "No, that's not how I do business. I am aware of the process in exchanging gold for money, but it would take some serious money for me or any of our associates to take out Ms. Exner."
"Very well then," Fahook said. "Money is no issue as I got a lot to provide for you, Patch, to take out the mayoral candidate."
"Okay, but where would you want me to take care of the woman?" Patch said. "I'm expensive and this better be worth it."
"I have been told by another source, I shall not say who, that Ms. Exner will be participating in a debate sometime soon at the Fremont Hotel. What I ask of you to do is make sure she doesn't leave the hotel alive. Do it how ever you want to do it, just make sure you take care of her."
"That won't be a problem, Mr. Ubduhl," Patch said.
"Please, you can call me Fahook," he said. "You may leave now."
"Hold on a second, mate," Gofer said. "We may need to talk about some other stuff. Remember?"
"Right," Fahook said. "Follow me."
As Fahook and his bodyguards, along with Gofer and Patch followed him, Jack stood out of sight and listened to every word that was said. Before Jack could make his presence known, he saw Rafshoon leave the warehouse from the entrance that they all entered in. Lucky for Jack that Rafshoon didn't see him. It would appear that the former boxer was going out because more people were to arrive to meet with Fahook.
Gloria Exner? I just remembered that Dad had done a case for her before he was killed. Jack thought. I will get to that, but first I need to do that favor for Blanjov.
As soon as Fahook and the others were out of sight, Jack went forth and snuck around to ensure that nobody would see him. Shadow followed his master around. They went up a flight of stairs and found a switch that would open the gate in the warehouse he was in.
The gate was now open. Jack and Shadow raced down the stares to get to the outside. One thing that stood out to him was that there were other men with guns in the area. They wore green coats. Others wore yellow coats. They were clearly mercenaries working for Fahook. Any person who wasn't armed was likely a stevedore just doing his or her job as there were female dock workers.
Jack was only one man. He was outnumbered. If he had to kill, he would do it. He may have still had that cop instinct, as he would only kill if someone were to try to kill him. He wasn't a cop anymore, though, and it was anything goes if things get nasty.
It had been a few minutes. Jack and Shadow managed to sneak around the docks until they saw The Iron Curtain was docked on the other end.
There it is. Jack thought. I'll handle this shit and then I get to Patch. It seemed that meeting with Fahook was important. He's not going anywhere.
It was a bit of a distance away. Many crates were stacked on top of another. Some of the other mercenaries and assassins were seen just chatting away as it seemed like a slow night for them. What was also clear as that considering how close they were to the ship, no civilian dock workers were seen. It appeared that area was off-limits to anybody who didn't work for Fahook or Sanderville. From Jack had heard from Blanjov, it seemed that the two crime lords were in cahoots.
It didn't take too long until they got closer to some of the mercenaries just hanging out.
"Man, what another slow night, huh?" one mercenary said. He wore a green coat.
"Can't always expect to just shoot anybody, you know?" the other mercenary said. He wore a yellow coat.
"Shit, I ain't concerned about killing people," the green-clad merc said. "I'm just waiting for Fahook or those Russian guys to bring some more women. Shit, I want a piece of that blonde girl that hangs around sometimes."
"That blonde? She's fucking hot, you should see her on stage," the yellow-clad merc said. "But I wouldn't mind having one of the twins."
"The twins are hot, but I hear they don't fuck around when they handle some shit," the green-clad merc said. "But I wouldn't mind having one of those two."
"Well, I'm also looking forward to the new hardware," the yellow-clad merc said. "I also think that one guy overseeing everything gives me the fucking creeps."
"That big dude? Are you talking about Longshoreman X?" the green-clad merc said. "He's just a man of his job, but I do agree that he is kind of scary."
Through the darkness, even with some white lights glaring over the docks, the guy in green looked up and saw a silhouette of a man, as well as one of a dog.
"What the fuck?" the green-clad merc said.
"What?" the yellow-clad merc said.
"I thought I saw someone," the green-clad merc said. "Hey, you! Over there!"
Jack looked up and saw that someone had made him.
"Hold it right there, asshole!" Jack heard a voice from behind him. Jack turned his head and through his left peripheral he noticed two men pointing his guns at him.
"Get him, boy," Jack said to Shadow.
Shadow went forth and pounced on one of the mercenaries who was behind him and started biting the man on various parts, like the man's groin and then neck, much to the horror and shock of the other merc.
It gave Jack enough time to deliver a hard elbow to the man's gut and face. He wasted no time in grabbing an AK-47 right from the man's face and pressed the barrel right against his chest. Jack pulled the trigger as blood started spraying through different wounds in the man's back.
But there were other problems ahead. The other two mercenaries ran towards him. They went to a stop and were ready to open fire, but Jack had to think fast and quickly dived towards the left as he wanted to hide from the other mercenaries. But Jack quickly opened fire and fired at the two mercenaries who were coming towards him. The guy in yellow caught six in the chest as seen from the bullet wounds. The guy in green took seven shots. They were down.
It was now clear that more guys were about to gun Jack down, but he was not going to give up like that. Jack ran right towards the ship. The Iron Curtain was right in front of him. The guns were definitely in the cargo hold.
Some of Fahook's men and possibly Sanderville's men would be on board, along with Alexei. It would take a lot of bullets and bloodshed to get to them. I'm going in. Jack thought.
The boat was docked with starboard right against the edge and the gangplank laid out. It was time to make the move.
Some of the lights from the boat and the poles glared over the ship. It was still dark on the main deck. Once Jack got on board, a guy came running down the stairs from one side of the stern as he stepped out of the bridge.
BOOM! A shot was heard from a shotgun he was wielding. Jack quickly dove forward with Shadow in front of him. A couple of shotgun pellets grazed him a bit. It wasn't enough to do him in as if they were all pellets from the shell, he wouldn't be getting up. Jack lied face down in between two stacks that were covered by tarps. The soldier came walking slowly to him to make sure he got him. But Jack quickly turned around with the AK in hand and pointed it upward and let out five shots to the man's chest. The man's blood dripped right onto the deck's floor.
Another soldier came out ready to flank Jack, but Shadow was one step ahead of him as he bit the man on his calf, causing him to fire shots into the air. Jack quickly got out a silenced Beretta, one of the guns he bought from Fat Chow that one night, and quickly fired a slug right to the man's forehead.
Jack knew he was a marked man. Whether these men were protecting the cargo or taking part in the open contract, Jack was not about to go down without a fight. Jack and Shadow were now close to the bridge of the boat. Through the window, a man held a 9mm pistol and fired towards the glass. He missed as Jack saw the broken glass. Jack quickly ducked under the window and crawled. He was using some skills he learned when he was not only on the police force, but also when he served in the Marines.
They were so close to the door that Jack could walk in and gun the man down, but it would almost seem that the man could just walk out and fire at him. The real question was who would fire the first shot and who would go down first. Jack may have had a ballistics vest, but the man could shoot him in the head. Jack looked right at Shadow and signaled to him to go towards the door.
Shadow crawled towards the door. Jack peered above through the window and saw that the man in the bridge was heading closer. As the man got closer, Shadow growled. The man looked down and said, "Huh? What the hell?"
But Shadow wouldn't waste any time as he quickly pounced right onto the man and started biting him. The man screamed in agony, likely to draw attention to any nearby associates. Jack quickly ran into the bridge and suddenly a ringing sound came from a VHF radio near the boat's control panel. Jack went and answered it.
"Alexei? This is John Sanderville here." The voice said.
"Sandman, at least we speak," Jack said. "Tell me, how much did Alexei cost you? I bet he's just as cheap as his brothers."
"Jack Slate?" Sanderville said.
"Right the first time," Jack said.
"You're dead, motherfucker!" Sanderville said.
"You sure you're not confusing me with Alexei here?" Jack said. "But you are right of course. I was thinking, you and I should have a talk soon."
"You son of a bitch! You're fucking…" Jack then ended the call and put the radio back on its hook.
Pissing Sanderville off was a dangerous game. Jack thought. But when people get mad, they make mistakes. I should know. That's where I wanted Sanderville, mad enough to trip over his own feet, preferably into a grave.
Jack was not done yet. He went right for the door to go down into the cargo hold. Shadow followed Jack as he headed down the stairs. One guy was seen climbing up the stairs, but Shadow went and attacked the man. The door into the cargo hold was right at the end. Once the door opened, a Russian man with long hair, a long coat, and a beard was seen.
"Jack Slate!" said the Russian man. It was definitely Alexei.
"Alexei," Jack said in a somewhat jovial yet sarcastic manner. "How are your brothers doing?"
"I should have known it was you," Alexei said. "Get that fuck!" He said to his fellow soldiers.
Shadow ran into the cargo hold and pounced right onto one gun-toting mercenary and started savagely biting him. Jack wasted no time in firing what was left in the AK right towards two other soldiers before shifting his focus on Alexei.
Both men dropped. There was only one man to focus on – Alexei. The Russian boat captain pointed a Mossberg 500 shotgun right towards him. Jack quickly jumped forward and ducked behind a large and heavy stack of boxes. The shot left some damage on the wall.
"I'll kill that fucking dog of yours, cop!" Alexei said.
"Not if I can help it," Jack said. "And haven't you heard? I'm not a cop anymore."
"Whatever," Alexei said. "I'll never forgive you for putting Dimitri in jail."
"Isn't he out of jail?" Jack said.
"Doesn't matter," Alexei said. "I'm still going to kill you."
Jack got up and fired any rounds that were left in the AK he took. It wasn't long until he heard a clicking sound, which only meant that he was out of rounds. All Jack was left with were the pistols that he had. He took off the suppressors and popped up and fired any bullets towards Alexei. Some bullets hit the Russian in the arms and legs, but the shots weren't fatal. Alexei struggled as he limped a bit.
But it didn't stop Alexei from trying to fire Jack as he was right in Jack's line of sight. Any shot Alexei could make could do in Jack, never mind that it was in a point-blank range.
A growl was heard. It drew Alexei's attention. Shadow was right at his calf as well and bit the man hard to the point where Alexei started screaming in pain. It gave Jack an opening to raise one pistol to point right at Alexei's head.
BANG!
Alexei took a slug right in the dome. He was now finished.
Jack looked towards Shadow. "Come on, boy. Let's go."
Jack and Shadow went up the stairs and the VHF radio rang once again, except it was from a different frequency.
"Hello?" Jack said.
"You sure know how to handle yourself, Slate," Blanjov said. "Anybody who says different is calling me a liar."
"Blanjov," Slate said.
"Collect all the guns and ammo you want," Blanjov said. "It's my token of appreciation."
"Thanks," Jack said.
"Did you get everything you need?" Blanjov said.
"Not everything, I still have some shit to do here," Jack said.
"I owe you big time, Slate," Blanjov said. "Anything you need, I can help you out."
"This is my solo," Jack said. "When I'm done, Sanderville won't be anybody's problem anymore."
"Clear as vodka, but anytime you get between a rock and a hard place, just whistle," Blanjov said. "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
"You really get a kick of this big-time gangster act, don't you?" Jack said. "I appreciate the offer. Thanks, Blanjov."
"Please, you can call me Robert," Blanjov said.
Jack put the radio back on its hook. There was going to be more to take if he had to go after Patch and Sanderville, who wanted Jack dead.
Jack saw what looked like a spyglass on the boat's control panel. He had to look around to see if anybody else was going to try to take him out. He walked outside of the bridge and looked towards the docks. He looked through the spyglass and saw Gofer and Patch with Fahook and they were still walking, as if they were done with their meeting. From the opposite end, it looked like two men and a woman. From that distance, it looked like Boris and Dimitri. The woman was blonde and looked to be in her early-20s.
"Huh?" Jack said. "Ruby?"
Could it have been her? Was she working with them now? If so, why? There were two options to make. As much as he wanted to talk to Ruby about all of this, now was the chance to find out who hired Patch to leave him to get arrested if he didn't before any cops got to him, as well as killed Blatz that night.
Jack and Shadow got off the ship. It was now time to get the answers he needed. Jack and Shadow walked along the docks. No other mercenaries were seen, but that didn't mean that they weren't present.
By that point, Patch and Gofer were separated from Fahook and we seen walking together along side a warehouse near some large crates.
"PATCH!" Jack yelled.
Patch went full stop, as did Gofer. They both turned their attentions towards Jack. Even without a right eye as his eye-patch covered it, Patch had a good idea who called for his attention.
"End of the line, Patch," Jack said. "Your ass is mine."
"Jack Slate," Patch said so calmly. "To what do we owe this pleasure?"
"I found out from a friend that you and Gofer were going to be here," Jack said.
"A friend? Not that important on who it is," Patch said. "I know what you want from me. After seven months you've been waiting for this moment. But I'm afraid there is another bump in your road."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jack said.
"You'll see soon," Patch said. "Cheers, mate." Patch let out an evil smile.
"Hey, I'm not done with you," Jack said. He started walking fast bordering on running. Until he heard a piercing sound near one of the crates he stood close to. Another piercing sound was heard as Jack looked to his right and saw what looked like an arrow.
"What the hell?" Jack said, quietly.
Just then, he felt something sharp hit his left shoulder.
"AAAAUUUGGGHHH!" Jack yelled. It turned out an arrow hit him this time. He looked right to his left and around a corner stood a tall and large man. He looked to be close to 7 feet tall and packed some serious muscle. He wore a striped sweater with overalls with rubber boots, the kind that fishermen would wear, as well as wore a red fisherman beanie and dark goggles.
It was Longshoreman X, Mayhem Inc's newest member as well as worked as a fisherman by trade. He got close to Jack and threw him towards a door, so hard that Jack broke through as Longshoreman X let out an evil laugh.
"Where do you think you're going?" Longshoreman X said with what sounded like an accent of some sort. He drew his crossbow yet again as Jack lied there. The insane fisherman looked like he was ready to fire, point-blank.
Jack knew that this wasn't going to be easy, but there had to be a way out of this.
Author's note: Thought I'd leave this on a cliffhanger. I will get to the next one really soon. This portion is not over yet.