The Same Coin
0300
Davie, Florida
FL-818
The drive has been peaceful enough, but far from stress free. Highway robbery in the middle of the night might as well be child's play at this point for Tyler, but it's never the execution that creates problems. It's the evacuation. The ambush on the Cuban convoy was far from quiet or clean, it was only a matter of time until the local police came to investigate the scene. Despite nobody else being around to see who was there, the possibility that somebody saw his truck leaving the scene lingered in his mind as he continued down the Highway, keeping his distance from possible police cars to blend in for the time being. Despite being on mission, being pulled over in a beat up Tahoe with mud covered bullet holes, a spiderwebbed windshield, and somebody tied up in the back seat wouldn't leave any ground for convincing the police to be let off with a warning.
Not wanting to leave evidence in the vehicle burning cigarettes, Tyler resorts to scanning the radio for music to pass the time as he goes through the channels, eventually stopping on the classic rock channel as they play "Sympathy for The Devil", letting The Rolling Stones to drown the noise of the captive muffled yells in the back seat. Tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the beat as he enters town. Passing under the traffic lights, he notices something in the rear view mirror that's been there for awhile, the silhouette of a biker with his headlight off. Being near impossible to identify its rider, only catching slight glimpses of him as they pass under the street lights, Tyler casually changes lanes as he watches the biker follow suit confirming his suspicions that he was being tailed. Expecting for the worst, he unholsters his 1911 and keeps his left hand low on the steering wheel in preparation of going loud as he approaches a red light and the biker makes his presence known, pulling aside the battered Tahoe where the two finally meet.
"Leather vest, shaved head, custom Harley. That really narrows down the MC's out here." Tyler thought to himself as he scanned over the biker. Even at close distance, he looked like your typical tattoo cladded biker, but it was the patch on his vest and the scar on his head that identified who he was to those who knew him.
"Bandit"
Content that the situation didn't need to escalate any further, Tyler relaxes a little bit, giving the man a nod as he reholsters the firearm.
"You can't tail me like that." He says with a subtle southern drawl.
"That's how you get shot."
"You should've pulled the trigger." the man replies with a thick german accent, raising his voice slightly to compensate for the loud idle of the shovelhead engine. *"I could've pinned it on the Outlaws MC. make my life much more exciting."*
Watching the adjacent lights turn yellow, Bandit cuts the conversation short, gesturing for Tyler to follow him as their light turns green. Doing so, Tyler follows his bike as he turns left, leading him not too far up the road before going off the beaten path past a weathered chain link fence with the padlock and chain still laying cut in the middle of the cracked concrete road. Killing their lights on the way in, Tyler keeps his eye on the silhouette of the motorcycle as they drive further down the overgrown road, arriving at the location. With the overcast sky starting to clear up, Tyler takes advantage of the limited moonlight to scan the area as they circle the yard. Around the abandoned concrete building was mostly handfuls of relatively new construction equipment and dumpsters half-filled with concrete and scrap metal. The building itself hasn't fared well to the test of time, with parts of the building falling in on itself and being covered in a generations worth of graffiti. In reality, there really wasn't much of a building left, mostly consisting of crumbling walls, a withering frame, and a few conveyor belts that lead to the toppled remains of what used to be silos. Despite its current condition, it was still one of the more convenient places to conduct business such as theirs, being far enough out of the way that noise and curious onlookers weren't much of a threat.
Circling around to the back of the compound, Bandit leads the two of them towards the back of the plant near an old set of rolling doors, killing it as tyler parks the Tahoe near him, leaving it running as he exits the vehicle as he approaches the man, adjusting his blazer as he walks
"Copperhead."
"Bandit."
"How're things going in your neck of the woods?"
Bandit gives an irritated groan that tells him everything he needed to know about his current situation.
"At least Hell's Angels had a sense of discipline. None of these fools would make it as A true one-percenter."
"That bad, huh?"
"That's putting it lightly."
Going back on topic, Dominic re-directs the conversation.
"Were you able to find your target?"
"The intel was good, but Alejandro was a no-show."
Hearing the news, Bandit gives an exasperated sigh. Being able to slip away from the Sons of Ragnarok for a while into what was considered rival territory was hard enough, but now it started to feel like a senseless risk if he showed up empty handed. "I was afraid of that."
"Let's be honest here. The odds that Alejandro was going to be there were low to begin with, but we had to chase the lead. The cartel still showed up when and where the informant said they would, he just wasn't part of the convoy."
"This doesn't get us any closer to finding him."
"True, but this might." Tyler says optimistically as he opens the backdoor, showing bandit the individual on the floor of the back seat, exhausted and drenched in sweat from his failed attempts to free himself from the hogtie he was stuck in, along with the lack of airflow.
"I promised you I wasn't gonna call you out here with nothing to show for it."
After an awkward moment of locking eyes, Bandit leaves the door open and continues his discussion with Tyler.
"...Who is he?"
"Couldn't tell ya. We didn't really get far with formalities on the ride over. The best I could tell ya is that he's one of his goons."
"You're confident he works for him?"
"His ink checks out, but I doubt he's anything special."
Looking back at the cartel member, Bandit kneels down and gives him a quick once over as Tyler steps out of his way, and reaches for his pack of cigarettes, grabbing one and placing it between his lips unlit for the time being while the other operative does his thing. Looking him over, his physique was on the scrawny side compared to other cartel members that he had dealt with in the past. On top of that, he was also quite dirty and pretty beat up, being covered in mud and having dried blood on his face originating from a knot on his head.
"Oh he's special alright." He joked as he took a closer look at the lump which piqued his curiosity on the events that unfolded.
"What did you put the poor bastard through?" He asks, poking the wound with almost childlike curiosity as the cartel member shakes his head away every time he does.
"He did it to himself. Rolled his truck and got tossed around pretty good in the process."
"Good answer." Bandit concurred as he reaches for his boot knife to cut one of the bit of extension cord that acted as a binding knot between his wrists and ankles. Watching him pull his blade, the cartel member begins to panic for a moment as the bind is cut, giving him some temporary relief in his joints and back before he's grabbed on the right bicep by the biker.
"He'll do. Give me a hand with him."
Watching bandit pull the individual out of the truck and onto the ground in one sweeping motion, Tyler steps in to help get him moved inside. With the two of them hooking one of their arms under the captives armpits, the two drag him into the factory while bandit uses his free hand to draw his USP9 and aim it down the hallway, using the attached flashlight to illuminate their way through the building.
"I take it, you checked that the place was clear?"
"I would've found somewhere else to do this if it wasn't." Bandit confirmed as they proceed up a flight of stairs leading to an office where everything in the room was pushed against the room except for an old metal table with two pairs of handcuffs connected to the legs along with several items surrounding it including a gas can with a rag, a bundle of rope, and a pair of jumper cables. A bit crude for an interrogation setup, but it was good enough for what needed to be done.
Tossing the fugitive on the table, Tyler holds the mans arms in place as Bandit cuts the extension cord binding his wrists and connects them to the table via the handcuffs. With the upper half restrained for the most part, Tyler grabs the rope and restraints the lower half of the body by wrapping the rope around the tabletop and the knees, successfully keeping him from freely moving around too much. Except for his head, which was hanging off of the edge of the table.
"No battery?"
"I didn't have time to source one. I need to borrow your trucks battery."
"Take it. The ride is hot anyways."
"I'll keep that in mind." Bandit acknowledges as he turns around to head outside.
"keep him company until I return."
Having a few minutes to kill, Tyler paces around the room and lights a cigarette as the captive on the table watches him place the lighter into the pack and into the pocket of his blazer, unsure as to what his next move may be. As suspicious as he may have looked, the quiet reality was that he was just trying to keep himself awake. Having little to no sleep over the last couple of days started taking a toll on him, relying mostly on nicotine and the occasional power nap to stay functioning. Wanting to get this over with sooner rather than later, Tyler removes his coat and hangs it from one of the legs of upside down chairs set atop some of the furniture pushed against the windows. Having some moonlight to work with, he takes a moment to roll his sleeves as he converses with the man on the table.
"So tell me, what's your name?"
The man hesitates for a moment, still unsure of where he is before he answers in a shaky voice.
"…Julian."
"Julian?" Tyler replies in a somewhat surprised tone. "You don't really strike me as a Julian, but to each their own I guess." He says as he reaches into the inner liner of his blazer for the picture of Alejandro.
"Anyways, Julian, do you know why you're here?"
Saying nothing, but acknowledging the question, he simply shakes his head in denial.
"You're here because your boss, Alejandro, has pissed off quite a few people in some pretty high places. I was aiming for him, but clearly, he didn't show up, and you were the sole survivor in the convoy he was supposed to be in. So congratulations, you're it. Tell me, Does The Eastern Diamondback ring any bells?"
Julian starts to break into a cold sweat. Aware of the name, he begins to piece together who was behind the attack as he begins to panic.
"We were told that he wouldn't interfere. Him and Alejandro worked a deal out."
"Is that what Alejandro told you?"
Julian simply nods.
"I hate to break it to you, but your boss lied. I know, big shocker, and that's where you got fucked over. Because your boss, Alejandro? He's well aware of The Diamondback. He never would've been able to work a deal out with him because Diamondback despises the cartel with a burning passion. He also knows he can be a real mean sonofabitch when he's been disrespected. Like when someone goes behind his back and srarts operating in Florida after being specifically told to stay the fuck out."
". . ."
"Here's the thing, amigo. You wanna be anywhere but here, and I wanna go to bed, neither of us are gonna get what we want unless you cooperate. So here's what's going to happen: I'm going to ask you a few questions about your boss and his whereabouts. You're going to answer them honestly. In return, i'll make sure the Diamondback and his boys don't get a hold of you. This can take five minutes, or it can take five hours. The choice is yours."
"Alejandro will have me killed if I talk. How do I know you're not gonna finish me off once you get what you want?"
"Because I have no desire to kill you. All it's going to do is piss me off because then I have to find a place to dump your body and cover a bunch of tracks. That's a lot of work that I really don't want to do right now. I just want Alejandro's head, not yours, but if all you're gonna do is try and hide the fucker that sold you out, be my guest. I'll hand you off to Diamondbacks goons and let them deal with you while I go find another one of your two-bit friends. Makes no difference to me."
From the hallway, Tyler catches the sound of heavy boots approaching as Bandit approaches with the battery in his hands, placing it down next to the rest of the gear.
"Welcome back." Tyler replies as Bandit takes a knee and connects the jumper cables to the battery.
"Is he ready to talk?"
"Dunno." Tyler answers as he gets face to face with Julian.
"Is Julian ready to tell us where Alejandro is?"
Worried about what's in store, He tries to give him an answer as he tries to buy himself enough time to find his words
"Cuba…He's in Cuba."
"Cuba's a big country. Narrow that search down a little bit." Bandit replied in an irritated, yet calm manner.
"i…I don't know."
Watching his eyes, Tyler notices Julians eyes dart away as he answers, leading him to believe that he's lying. Shaking his head in disappointment, he stands back up and circles around to the side on the table as Bandit stands by, curious of what he has planned.
"Alright, let's try this question again." He says calmly as he raises his hand and drops his elbow into Julians solar plexus, causing him to lurch forward in pain as he struggles to catch his breath as he's grabbed by the throat by Tyler.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS HE!?"
"Cuba!"
"No shit! Where in Cuba?"
Defiantly, Julian says nothing as his head is thrown back in frustration as Tyler walk approaches Bandit for the jerry can
"Fuck it, he ain't ready to talk yet."
Watching him reach for the Jerry can, Bandit knows what he's planning on doing. Waterboarding was an option. That's why he brought the supplies up, but watching Tyler make the sudden change in attitude brought up the concern that he might get carried away, so he pulls him in as he grabs the can and speaks quietly into his right ear.
"Remember. I cannot protect you if he dies."
Acknowledging the warning, but still needing a second hand, Tyler pulls the rag out of the mouth of the can and hands it to Bandit.
"You be my judge, then."
approaching the table again, the two take their positions as Bandit takes the rag and holds it tightly around Julians face, keeping his face held downwards as Tyler lifts the jerry can, taking a quick whiff to make sure that it wasn't gasoline. A little late to check at this point, but still better to know what's being used and adjust accordingly if need be. With the can being filled with water, no adjustment was really needed. Content with this knowledge, Tyler places the Jerry can on Julians chest as slams his fist hard into his solar plexus one more time to induce a coughing fit before pouring the water over his face. Julians reaction was almost instant as he begins to panic as his coughing forces him to inhale the water. Keeping eyes on Julian, Bandit watches as his struggling starts to secede. The metallic clinking of the handcuffs being pulled against the metal table legs becoming slower and less intense as he nears the brink of unconsciousness. Having reached a stopping point, Bandit releases the rag and pushes the jerry can away from Julians face.
"That's enough." He says with a stern voice as Tyler stops and takes a few steps back as the german takes the reins for the next step by removing the rag and stepping to the side as Julian expels the water from his lungs. After having a moment to maintain his consciousness, Bandit squats down in front of him to get face to face with him, maintaining a cold demeanor.
"Start Talking. Where is he?"
Through his raspy breathing, Julian collects enough of his thoughts to begin assembling an answer.
"He's outside of Moron."
"How far?"
"Fifteen… Twenty miles maybe."
"Which direction?"
"I don't remember. All I remember was that it was that far away from moron."
"Sounds like he's covering for him!" Tyler calls out excitedly as he connects the jumper cables to the battery and taps the clamps together a couple times, letting them throw a bright shower of sparks along with the loud zapping of electricity.
Glancing at Tyler and then back at Julian, Bandit maintains his act as he gives him a warning.
"You might want to start remembering. It'll only get worse for you from here."
Having hesitated for too long, Tyler takes the matter into his own hands and approaches the head of the table, clamping one of the cables to the now wet table while keeping the live cable in his hand as he gets closer to placing it to Julian's chest.
"I don't remember the town name! I was sent there only once and I saw him there! north of moron, and East of punta alegre!"
"You're lying." Bandit says as he continues to stare him down.
"I'm not, I swear! I met with him a few blocks away from the hospital."
"What did you do to get to meet him face to face?
"I was promoted. I was a soldato until a week ago. My Lieutenant was caught By the DEA and I was next in line."
"What was his name?"
"Why does he matter? You got what you wante–."
Bzzzzt!
Julians sentence was cut short by the jumper cable being pressed against his neck for a few quick seconds before being removed, but still kept close to his body.
"We're asking the questions. Not you." He was reminded by Tyler as he kept the cable close to Julians body. "Now what was your Lieutenant's name?"
Catching his breath, Julian mutters the name.
"Diego Martinez… His name is Diego Martinez."
Content with the answer, he pulls the cable away from Julian and starts pacing the table as he continues the interrogation process.*
"Good. Where's he locked up?"
"Charlotte Correctional. We heard he was being moved to UCI in the next day or two."
"Is that why y'all were on 41 west?"
"We were going to intercept the transport bus and get him back."
"With what? a couple chevys and some rinky-dink pistols? Doesn't sound like a real thought out plan there."
"A biker gang was hired to supply us with weapons and backup when we found him."
"Which gang was it?"
"I don't know. Alejandro said that we were going to meet them in Fort Myers."
Catching the inconsistency, Bandit pulls the lieutenants head back to look him in the eyes.
"You're telling me that you don't know who you're meeting with and you're just blindly hoping that the ones you're supposed to meet with are the ones that show up first? Sounds like you're covering for them."
Realizing how absurd it actually sounded being said out loud, Julian stays silent and lets his head hang, avoiding eye contact with the biker as he contemplates his fleeting options. Tyler, finally being fed up with his mixed compliance, rips Julians shirt, giving him an unobstructed path to his chest, still wet from the waterboarding, and presses the jumper cable to his heart.
"I'm getting tired of your games, Julian! How fucking hard is it to give some SIMPLE. FUCKING. ANSWERS!?"
The two of them watch as his body starts to arch and try to contort from the electricity. With his arms restrained to the table legs, the limited range of motion threatens to start tearing ligaments in his shoulders and arms.
"This could've all been avoided, but you decided to choose the hard way."
Having gone on for long enough, The german raises his hand, signaling for the torture to stop. Catching the hand gesture, Tyler removes the jumper cable from his chest and tosses it to the side as he takes another couple steps back. Giving Bandit the space he needs as he prepares for the last straw. Keeping him conscious for a little longer, Bandit gives Julian a sobering slap to regain his attention. Before he could speak, Julian beats him to the first words.
"Sons of Ragnarok!" he shouted, as he groans in pain. Ready for all of this to end.
"We were supposed to meet with them near the Legacy Harbor Marina in a few hours."
"How many were you expecting to be there?"
"I don't know! We were told they would be sending a few guys. It could be five, it could be twenty. I. DON'T. KNOW!"
"...Good."
Studying his face again, Bandit can tell that Julian was in a lot of pain, but he was telling the truth. If the information they extracted from him was accurate, it could potentially knock out two birds with one stone in this operation, but would have to be taken one step at a time. Looking up at Tyler, Bandit gives a nod, confirming that the lieutenant was telling the truth.
"I'm done with him." Tyler says as he backs away from the table. "Do what you want with him."
Returning with a maniacal grin, Bandit grabs the rag and wrings out the excess water before turning it into a blindfold and wrapping it around Julians eyes as he starts to panic again.
"No. Wait! I've told you everything I know!"
"He may be done with you, but I'm not."
Content with the blindfold, Bandit stands back up and walks towards the door, signaling for Tyler to follow him into the hallway. Doing so, the two of them step out of the room and hold their conversation out of earshot.
"Got the info you were looking for?" Tyler asked
"More than I expected. This may explain a lot."
"For who? Sueno, or Ragnarok?"
"Both." He replied. "I've been trying to find who's been holding the leash on Ragnarok for a while and if what he said is right, it'll tie them back to Alejandro."
"Didn't think he was that desperate to get a foothold in the states. I take it Ragnarok's in a shaky position?"
"It's not something they speak about openly, but their actions make it obvious that they're struggling. This chapter doesn't have any territory outside of their clubhouse and most of their money has come from harassing the locals and picking up whatever contracts they can. Recently, someone hired them to pick up a shipment of firearms from a black market dealer. On top of that, I've seen a few of them Taking rides out that way."
"You didn't hear anything through the grapevine about those jobs being connected?"
"Information like that doesn't get shared with nomads, even if I was a Sergeant at Arms for the Bay Area chapter. They trust me enough to pick up the guns from their dealer."
Hearing the clinking of handcuffs, the two look back into the room to seeJulian using the last of his energy in an attempt to free himself from his restraints and failing. Knowing that his odds of escaping were close to none, they go back to their conversation as Tyler makes a slight change of topic as he tosses his cigarette butt into a nearby trash pile left by squatters.
"So what are we gonna do with him? Can't exactly let him go at this point."
Having already weighed the options, Bandit opts for the best solution. As much as he would prefer to handle it like the Hells Angels would, there is a time and place for it, and today was neither.
"If the circumstances were different, he would float the river, but we need him alive. Six already has a few teams on standby waiting on the outcome of our mission. I'll contact Meghan, and have her pick him up. Stick around if you want, but you've done your part."
"I've gotta bail for now. Got a few more things I need to handle before I'm done for the day, but before I forget, I have a vest and an AK in the Tahoe that I can't take with me. use it, or hand it off to V. She'll know what to do with it."
"Very well… Keep your phone close by. Someone will be in contact if they find anything new."
"Will do. Good luck, Dom."
As they finish their conversation, Tyler re-enters the room to reclaim his blazer while Dominic stays outside for a second to arrange the pick up. Although the weather made wearing the coat uncomfortable, appearances were everything to his contacts, and the long sleeves of the coat covered the majority of the stains accrued from tonights work. A few small spots of water, sweat, and blood were still visible around the chest, but it was acceptable in comparison to what was visible before.
unable to see, but can hear that someone is behind him, Julian makes an attempt to strike conversation, accepting whatever may be coming.*
"So… What happens now?"
"Dunno. Don't really care, either." He replies flatly as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a worn Nokia 3310, spinning it with his fingers while Bandit handled his business.*
"But I told you everything I know."
"You did, and in return for doing so, i'm not handing you off to a mobster that would love nothing more than to send your boss a message. You held up your end of the deal, I held up mine."
Hearing the sound of heavy boots enter the room once again, Bandit approaches the table with a set of keys as he prepares to change Julians restraints to a single pair of handcuffs.
"They're on the way."
"Good to hear." Tyler replies as he takes that as his cue to exit, placing the phone back into his pocket and leaving the lieutenant at the mercy of the undercover biker."
Once outside, Tyler takes a minute to stretch as he takes a minute to clear his head and enjoy the late night Florida breeze as well as check the message someone sent him before arriving in Davie. Looking at the whole phone number was pointless, given how often burner phones were rotated out, most people only kept track of the area code. In this case, it was a 305 area code. Narrowing it down to two people in Miami who he's been in recent contact with. Wasting no more time imagining who it is, he checks the message which is kept short and to the point.
"Call for ride. DO NOT take yours."
Not wanting to call a cab, he presses the call button as he heads down the road towards the lights of a gas station. The phone rings a few times before he's greeted by Ronnies familiar voice.
"Hello?"
"Ronnie."
"Whats up, Donnie"
"I'm taking you up on that ride."
"I got you. Where are you?"
"The gas station on the corner of Griffin Rd. and 71."
There's a pause as Ronnie looks the location up and returns with an estimate.
"I can be there in about fifteen, twenty minutes. That work for you?"
"That's fine."
"Cool. I'm on my way. Dont want to keep the boss waiting"
