Chapter 16 No Stone Unturned

Chicago April 8, 1929

The car came around the corner and stopped. Liz shut off the engine and opened her door. Duke got out of the passenger seat and Jake popped out of the back. Next to them was Vito's Fine Meats and Delicatessen.

"Every dog in Chicago, stray or no, finds this place eventually." Liz pointed up to the neon sign.

"Why?" Jake asked.

"Other than the obvious, Vito smokes a lot of his meat in house. It's like a magnet for any meat lover, dogs included."

"Forget I asked." Jake felt dumb for not paying attention. Liz walked to the door and looked around. Duke turned down the alley and saw the mess. A heap of dead rats and liberated meats lay strewn throughout the alleyway.

"Hey, I think I found something!" Jake and Liz ran to the alley and Jake switched on a flashlight. Upon seeing the scene in the beam of light he let out a low whistle.

"It looks like a tornado tore through here." Jake said. Duke knelt down and examined the rats on the ground. Many had bite marks on them and had broken bones. Next to them was a pile of half eaten meats.

"Look, how much do you want to bet they got in and took these?" Jake pointed his light at the pile of bones and half eaten sausages. Some of the bones had peculiar marks on them that threw up a red flag.

"Loki lost one of his teeth the other day, an incisor, and this bone only has three marks, it has to be them."

"Great, but I've never known Balto to leave a sausage behind, so where are they known?" Duke continued to look in the alley and saw a single line black tracks leading away from the scene. He knelt down and put a finger in the track; he rubbed his fingers together and smelled it. "Motor oil, somebody stepped in it."

"It's a lead, not sure how far it will take us though." Liz interjected. "You two follow these; I'll get in touch with my FBI friend."

"Alright, go ahead; we'll call if we find anything." Liz walked back to the car and got in. Jake and Duke turned back down the alley, following the tracks.

"Dibs." Jake said after she was out of earshot.

"What?" Duke looked at him like he was drunk.

"Dibs." Jake said again, pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

"On the detective girl? All yours, I like brunettes, besides, I think I already pissed her off anyway." Jake shown the light onward and continued to walk down the dark alleyway following the jet black tracks. Unbenuonced to them, a pair of binoculars followed their every move.

"Follow them, and god damnit be discrete." The car door opened and Tony and Rico got put they quickly ran across the street. Andre went back to taking notes though his binoculars. Tony and Rico stealthily made their way to the alley and began to tail Duke and Jake.

"So, how far do you think these tracks go?" Duke asked. Jake shrugged his shoulders in response.

"No idea."

"I for one can't wait to find them; this walking thing is for the birds." Duke sat on a garbage can for a break.

"Damn strait, this has been a long day." Jake waived the flashlight up and down the alley; the beam of light lit up the dirty path and the line of black tracks. "And it looks like it is gonna be a bit longer, these tracks go on forever." The sound of a bottle breaking echoed down the alley and Duke's head spun towards it.

"What was that?" Duke yelped. Jake pointed the light in the direction of the sound. In the beam of light were the remains of a broken glass bottle.

"Calm down Aunt Susan, it was probably just a rat; this stink hole is probably teeming with 'em." Jake shone the light on the walls next to him, pointing out the grime, there was so much the red of the brick was almost completely obscured.

"Eah, let's get going." Duke stood back up. Another sound echoed through the alley, a heavy boot in a puddle. Emanating from the other side of the dumpster.

"That ain't no rat." Jake said. He and Duke exchanged a look and drew their weapons. Jake came around the dumpster. As he did a hulking man charged him and tackled him. The force of the impact knocked the gun from his hands. Duke recognized the attacker in an instant; it was Tony. Jake was doing his best to fight of the man with fifty pounds on him. Duke lined up a shot with his 45 when a closed fist blindsided Dukes jaw. Rico had also come out of the shadows in ambush. Rico came around for another swing, but Duke deflected it with his free hand. Duke countered with by hitting Rico in the side of the head with his weapon and then kicking him in the gut. Duke grabbed Rico and put him into a head lock. Now with Rico under control, he leveled his gun at Tony again.

"Get off of him or so help me." Duke said in a voice Jake had never heard come out of him. Tony looked as if he had the fear of god put into him. He quickly put his hands in the air and got off of Jake. "You ok buddy?" Duke asked Jake. Jake put a hand on bleeding lip and felt his black eye. He hit Tony in the gut, making the large man double over.

"Better now, jackass." Duke heard a subtle click behind his head. He knew the sound well; it was the same sound his 45 made every time he cocked it. Andre had decided to join the party.

"Are you two nimrods capable of anything?" he asked. Duke silently cursed everything Chicago and put his hands in the air. His pistol was relieved of him by a gloved hand. Andre hid the weapon in his coat. "Hmm, nice gun. Don't tell me, Duke is it?" Andre turned to Jake. "And that makes you Jake. Good to see you again, how is your head?" Jake said nothing but stared at the man with burning eyes. "Tony, Rico, grab them and put them in the car. And pickup those backpacks." His subordinates did as they were told. Tony picked up Jake's bag and the Tommy gun fell out.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Andre picked up the gun and worked the action, a .45 hollow point round popped out of the side. "That is a government round, where did you get this? Are you a cop?" Duke spit on Andre's coat.

"I'm just a guy you managed to piss off."

"Take them and toss em in the car. Be careful with them, I don't want any more shit out these two."

They started back towards the street and a jet black car was awaiting them. Jake saw Liz on the far side of the street in her car; he put a hand down at his side a subtlety waived her off. Tony shoved both men back to and into the back of the car. Rico tossed the packs into the trunk. Tony and Rico got in the front while Andre sat next to their captives in back, keeping his gun on them at all times. The car started up and they began to make their way back to Rouliani's old safe house. During their entire journey, Duke took note of Andre and his weapon and saw something peculiar.

"That is an army pistol, standard issue, given to officers following the war."

"Very astute, I was a first lieutenant in the army." Andre responded.

"I was a second lieutenant in the Air Corp. Tell me Andre, how can a good man go from serving his country to serving a bunch of murderous thieves?" Andre was taken aback by the question.

"I'll answer that question after you follow this order, shut it." Andre jabbed Duke in the ribs with the skinny end of the 45.

"Hey boss." Tony said from the front. "We're here." Andre looked out the window. They had returned to the same back alley they had left from. This time, Capone's Morgan was nowhere in sight.

"You two are lucky, the big man is not here, yet. Get out." Andre knocked on the door. The slit opened again.

"Mary had a little lamb."

"Stuff it, and get word to the boss that we found these two." The eyes on the other side of the door drifted to Duke and Jake. Jake wondered if he would ever see the sun again as the sickening click of the door announced its opening.