Ready for War
Once it started getting dark, I had to make my way downtown to settle this once and for all.
Hildy got a call to fill in for someone at The Oar House. I figured that this would be a good time for Shadow and I to go and see Mr. Sanderville himself. I told her that when I am done that I will go and meet her at the restaurant. It shouldn't take too long to go in, ask a few questions, do a little killing here, do a little killing there. I could only hope that my questions will now be answered.
Could he have been the one who hired someone to kill my dad? Then you have the stuff with Augie and setting me up to go to jail. Sanderville ran this whole city. He probably pulled all the strings.
The last thing Sanderville may face is the barrel of a Beretta, if it has to lead that way, that is.
Earlier that day, Jack called Eve to check with her if she could provide some support. Eve was more than willing to do this. Hildy took her car to the restaurant, but Eve came by to pick up Jack in her car.
"How are you feeling, Jack?" Eve said.
"Better than last night," Jack said.
"I bet your doctor took care of you good, didn't she?" Eve said.
"She sure did," Jack said. "Anyway, listen, before we go out to Sanderville Heights, can we stop at the Bay Bell? I have to pick up some guns that I may need."
"That won't be necessary," Eve said. "I got plenty of guns for you to use. I will be on the roof of a building across the street providing covering fire in case shit gets out of hand. Once you reach the Sandman, you handle your shit while I keep an eye on others."
"Got it," Jack said.
"Here," Eve said and handed Jack an earpiece. "You will need this."
"I will let you know when I get to him," Jack said.
Eve started up the car and they were now on their way. The building was in the Grant City's central business district. Although Sanderville had a building in that area, there was another area just blocks down known as Temple Plaza, as media mogul Julian Temple had some financial influence on Grant City's economy. Aside from any crime bosses, Temple was the only other rich guy in the city. The other was the mayor, William Pinnacle.
Eve parked the car close to the building that she was going to use as her vantage point. It looked like an office building that was closed. But Eve had her way to get inside through a backdoor, likely used for maintenance workers.
It was now time to face the boss himself. But before Jack was about to get inside, he got out the cellphone he took from the late Marvin Silt and made a call.
"Hello, Mr. Blanjov? This is Jack Slate. Listen, I am at Sanderville Heights and I think I may need some help soon. Thanks."
Jack hung up and whistled for Shadow to come up. Jack pushed the button on his earpiece.
"Hey, Eve, are you ready?"
"Ready as I will ever be, Jack," Eve said.
"Okay, I'll take your word for it," Jack said.
Jack walked up to the front desk where a man sat in a chair. The man looked up and noticed Jack standing before him.
"I'm here to see to see Mr. Sanderville," Jack said. "Tell him Jack Slate is here."
"I will," the receptionist said. He got on a phone and told whoever was on the other line who had arrived.
However, what caught Jack off guard was the tone. The receptionist spoke quickly and quietly.
I have a bad feeling about this. Jack thought.
"Mr. Sanderville will be on the top floor, sir," the receptionist said.
"Thank you," Jack said.
As Jack walked down the corridor towards the elevator, he pushed the button on his earpiece and turned around.
"Eve, I'm going up a couple of floors down. Make sure you find any of Sanderville's men on the top floor. The way the receptionist talked, I think I'm falling into a trap."
"You got it, Jack. I'll keep you posted. Maybe I'll bring out a diversion."
"Are you sure about this? Bullets will start flying and maybe there will be some casualties."
"I know what I'm doing. If they start coming towards you, I shoot. Don't underestimate my skills, Jack."
"Okay, I'm counting on you." Jack then pushed the button to the third to last floor of the building. The way the receptionist put it, Jack just knew that he was going to be ambushed.
Outside on the roof of the building, Eve had her rifle set up with a rest right on the ledge. She looked through the scope and right in her sights, many mobsters and soldiers were running down towards a hallway. With the corridor going a little further down, many of the soldiers stood in a stance ready to open fire as soon as the door would open.
Eve pushed the button on her earpiece. "Holy shit, those guys are ready to shoot. Good thing you thought ahead."
"Somehow I knew that this would happen," Jack said. "What's the status? Is Sanderville in the building at all?"
"I couldn't tell you," Eve said. "I see his office, but I am not sure he is there. If I were you, I'd get the fuck out of there."
"Not yet," Jack said. "I may need to find out for myself. If he's not here, then I'll have to ask some questions."
"I'll be up here," Eve said. She looked through the scope. Many of the gangsters were ready to pump some lead right into Jack once he walks through the elevator.
Meanwhile, a couple of floors down, inside what looked like drug labs and/or storage facilities for any narcotics and illegal arms, Jack and Shadow walked through the area to find any other back areas to get to the top floor.
"Okay, Shadow, I want you to search for any doors to staircases, can you do that?"
Shadow barked in response and did a nodding motion.
"Okay, boy, go for it," Jack said.
As he looked around, he noticed that windows were covered so that nobody could see through the windows of this floor. Although this building may have been a front for any business that Sanderville had a hand in for any sort of legitimacy, this floor in particular was closed off for any of the illegal activity going on around here.
Jack found a door that led into a room, maybe it was the office for anybody who oversaw the operation. Jack turned on the light and on the desk, something highly irregular drew his attention. It looked shiny. It looked like it could have been gold.
Jack took a closer look at it and picked it up a bit, but not before grabbing what appeared to be a rag on the table.
Heavy, shiny, valuable. This was gold all right. The question in my mind is why would I find something like this here?
Jack wanted to take it, but for what reason? Who could he turn to with this kind of evidence? Could he also use it to exchange for money? Only the latter would have been a viable decision. In either case, he needed to move along.
Even through some of the darkness, Jack sensed what was around him. There was dim light on for security reasons.
BARK! BARK! Suddenly, Shadow's barking grabbed Jack's attention as he saw him rubbing his paws against a metal door. It was on the other end of the room.
"Good boy," Jack said and opened up the door. A stairwell was seen going up and down. There were only two floors to go up.
"Eve, what's the deal?" Jack said.
Outside, Eve continued to look through her scope and saw that many of the men were still in their firing positions. But one person caught her attention. He had blonde hair and looked to be talking on the phone in another room. It was Palmer.
"Jack, when you go up there, give me a signal to start shooting," Eve said. "I have a feeling something else is about to go down."
Through the window, another man was seen talking on a phone, but looked to be done with the conversation. This man had dark hair and went into the main office and looked like he was about to confront the blonde man. The other man was Dutch.
However, another man walked in there and started talking to the two men, as if he wanted the two to stop arguing.
"I see something going on, but where are you now?" Eve said.
"Shadow and I are going up the stairs," Jack said.
"Okay, good, then those men won't see you," Eve said. "They're in the office."
"Any sign of Sanderville?" Jack said.
"I still don't see him," Eve said.
"Someone must know something," Jack said.
After Jack picked the lock from the other side of the door that went into the top floor. However, there was another hallway that had a door just a few feet away. It had to be the entrance to get in through the back way.
Jack opened the door and it led into the office. The window overlooked the city. The office was big as it had dark walls with artwork, a desk, expensive rugs among other décor. Sanderville sure had expensive tastes. However, Sanderville was nowhere to be seen.
Jack heard some chatter going on outside the door. However, out of the blue the door was heard opening.
Shit! Jack thought and quickly raced to hide behind the door to the hallway. Through the crack, he saw Palmer and Dutch walking in.
"You're turning against, Sanderville, aren't you?" Palmer said.
"Like you weren't, you fucking snitch," Dutch said.
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Palmer said.
"Like I told you earlier, Golden Boy, I know shit, and I know you've been talking to Hennessey," Dutch said.
What? Jack thought when he heard that.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Palmer said.
"Yeah, yeah, try to worm your out of this one, you fucking snitch," Dutch said.
"Wait until Sanderville finds out that you've been doing a side deal with Fahook," Palmer said.
"Yeah, and wait until the old bastard finds out you've been working with the cops," Dutch said and pulled a gun out. "Such a shame he won't have to deal with you himself, because he loved you like a son."
"You fucking son of a bitch," Palmer said and pulled his gun out. "I had it up to here with you, Sugarman."
"Don't you ever call me by my last name, David," Dutch said. "I had it up to here with your shit, too."
Dutch was addressed by his last name, which he wasn't fond of. Palmer didn't like being called by his first name. Both men still pointed their guns at one another.
Out of nowhere, the door in the other side of the room opens and a man with a gray long-sleeved button-down shirt and a tie walked in. His name was Alvin.
"Guys, enough with your shit, we got to deal with Slate, he should be coming soon," Alvin said.
Out of the blue, the other door slammed open.
"I'm right here, motherfuckers," Jack Slate.
"It's Slate!" Alvin said. "Kill that fucker!"
Alvin ran out of the room.
For a brief moment, Palmer and Dutch put aside their differences and were ready to shoot. However, Shadow went forth and bit Dutch right on his leg. Jack wasted little time in delivering a takedown right on Palmer, but did it non-lethally as he grabbed him by the arm and took him down and kicked the gun away.
"You two aren't going anywhere," Jack said.
"Yeah, well, good luck getting out of here," Dutch said.
The sounds of running came coming towards the office.
"Oh, fuck," Jack said. "Eve, now!"
Right when someone walked into the office, BANG! Blood squirted right out of a mobster's head and plopped right to the ground.
BANG! Another shot was heard from outside of the room. If the sound was glass breaking wasn't enough, the sound of bodies dropping was evident that Eve handled a lot of matters.
A couple of other men stormed right in through the door, but Jack quickly thought ahead and pulled out two Berettas and right before the two soldiers could fire, Jack quickly opened fire and fired four shots each right to both men.
"Fuck this shit!" a voice was heard from behind and Jack turned around and saw Dutch running away. Jack pointed one of his guns towards the man.
"I got you now, Slate." The voice from the floor through off Jack, and saw Palmer lying there and pointing the gun upward towards Jack.
"I'm not through with you," Jack said. "I heard you're snitching for Dick Hennessey. And don't try to bullshit your way out of this one."
"Okay, maybe I am, but I'm still getting that money and doing my boss a favor for this," Palmer said.
"Yeah, tell that to your boys," Jack said.
Palmer looked up and saw a couple of more men storm into the office.
"Kill that rat!" one mobster said.
Both Jack and Palmer quickly fired their pistols at the men. It was crazy to think that with the soldiers wielding machine guns that Jack and Palmer used only their pistols to take them out. It was kill or be killed.
"You were saying?" Jack said.
"Okay, maybe you're right," Palmer said. "Don't act like I owe you shit."
"But you do," Jack said. "I cover your ass, you tell me where Sanderville is. You cover my ass, I won't have to shoot you. I need to have a word with him. He already knows that you are a snitch. No way of getting out of this one."
"Okay, we get out of this, I'll take you to him," Palmer said.
"Deal," Jack said.
RING! RING! RING! Suddenly, the phone started to ring.
"Let me answer," Palmer said and picked up. "Hello?"
Palmer held the phone out towards Jack. "It's for you."
"Jack Slate."
"Mr. Slate, this is Senator James Copeland. You must hurry. The police are on their way there as we speak. I'll give you my number so that we can talk on a more secure line. There is something we need to talk about."
"Right," Jack said and got a pen out and piece of paper, and wrote the number on the paper. "Thank you, senator."
Jack looked towards Palmer. "No time to waste. You're taking me to Sanderville."
Palmer glared at Jack but nodded his head.
"Let's go," Palmer said.
Outside, Eve looked on outside and saw blue and red lights coming from a distance, as well as a helicopter flying towards the area. She quickly pushed the button on her earpiece.
"Jack, you better get out of there now. Cops are coming!"
"We're on our way out. Someone told me where Sanderville really is."
"Okay, I will meet you there," Eve said.
She stripped the rifle and put it back in her case and was on her way off the roof of the building. As soon as she got off the elevator, she headed for her car and then took off.
Moments later, once Palmer, Jack, and Shadow got out of the building, the Grant City Anti-Crime unit stormed the building by swinging through the windows and also the doors into the top floor.
Hennessey entered through the elevator, leading his team, which also included Chris and Michelle to start searching the area, along with the other floors. Everyone was all dressed in SWAT gear, especially Hennessey.
Many of surviving mob soldiers surrendered to the cops' orders. Some even searched the bodies.
Chris and Michelle searched the office. Chris noticed that the door was cracked open, but Michelle found something a little more irregular – gray fur left on the floor.
Michelle picked up the fur and put it into a little baggy and the two cops came out. Hennessey, along with a couple of other GAC officers, was questioning Alvin, one of the surviving members of Sanderville's mob.
"Where is Slate?" Hennessey said.
"Who is Slate?" Alvin said.
"Don't fucking play dumb with me," Hennessey said. "I know Jack Slate was here."
"I don't know, I didn't see shit, okay?" Alvin said.
Hennessey got closer to the man. "Listen to me, fuckhead, I got word that Slate was here. I know a lot about Sanderville and his operation. I even got shit on him, as well as you to bring your asses down. Besides, the old man doesn't have much long from what I hear. Tell me and I'll let you go."
Alvin was at a loss. It was clear that Hennessey meant business. Alvin had no choice but to comply with Hennessey's demands and told him the one place where Jack could have gone.
"Sir, look at this." Hennessey turned towards Michelle who had a baggy with the gray fur.
Hennessey saw the fur and a smile rose on his face. "Good work, Powell."
Chris looked on with so much shock like he was confused and a bit afraid. Chris knew whose fur that was, as did Hennessey.