I grumble. “Yes, she told me. And we don’t have time to talk about this now, Bailey. I need your help. Cannizzo had her taken to a ‘warehouse by a dock.’ But the city records have been redacted, and I don’t have time to go through my usual channels. I thought you might know something I don’t.”
Bailey shuffles around some papers and I hear the sound of keyboard clicking. “This is going to take me a minute, Cochran. I’m not some mob lawyer who represents made men. I just happen to know people who know people who work for people like that. I need to see if my contact in Mexico is… Wait. Hold on.”
He puts me on hold, and I think I’m going to put my fist through the wall. Every minute that ticks by is a minute Arie thinks I’m not coming for her, and it’s making me sick. Just went I think I might lose my mind with worry, Bailey comes back.
“All right, my guy in Mexico was awake. He said the warehouse in Brooklyn. I’m texting you the address now. But listen, Cochran… Be careful. Sonny Cannizzo is a dipshit, but his son Angel is a monster. He’ll shoot you down as soon as look at you. So, don’t make the mistake of thinking he will show you any respect, or decency.”
I thank him and hang up. Then I take a deep breath and prepare for whatever is about to happen. And then I get my weapons.
I drive to the docks in Brooklyn, and park as close to the warehouse as can without running the risk of being detected by Cannizzo or any of his goons. I’m in my tactical gear, which I haven’t so much as looked at since I got hurt, and the pants feel tight against the wounded muscle in my leg. My knife is strapped to hip, and I have my gun in my hands, as I inch my way around corners, until I’m standing outside the door that leads into the Cannizzo warehouse.
It’s completely unmarked, and anyone walking by would probably assume it was abandoned. But through a dirty window, I can just make out the telltale signs of life inside. A gently glowing light is illuminating a hallway in the distance, and I can see a shadow moving back and forth under the light. I know I can’t just walk through the front door, so I have to find a different way in. And considering the building seems to have a limited number of entrances, I’m not sure how I am going to get inside.
With steps as light as I can manage, I weave my way around the warehouse, until I come upon a slightly ajar window facing the water. The problem is, the window is over the water, so I will have to shimmy along the edge of building and hope my leg can hold me. I use the edge just over top of the water to keep myself up, then tip-toe slowly across, until I’m able to hang off the window ledge.
I use all of my upper body strength to pull myself up, and look inside. The room is dark, with only the faintest trace of light from outside creeping in. But it’s just enough for me to make out Arie’s back. She is tied to a chair, arms and legs, but I can see she has been working to get free, because one of her hands has almost come loose from the zip-tie. I’m thrilled she’s still alive, I know that Cannizzo and his man won’t let her stay that way for long. As quietly as I can, I push the window open just enough so I can roll inside. But I miscalculate the shittiness of the building, and the window squeaks a lot more loudly than I would like.
When I land on the floor, Arie’s head spins around.
“Who is there? Who the hell is that?”
I rush up behind her in a squat run and whisper in here, “Hell of a tight spot you’ve gotten yourself in here, Arie Blanchard. How were you planning to get out of this one?”
Arie lets out a long, exhausted sigh. “Pierce! Thank goodness! How did you find me? How did you… you know what. Never mind. You can tell me later. Get me out of here. Cannizzo is gone for the time being, but that shithead Danny is just outside the door and I don’t think he will take too kindly to finding you here.”
“Don’t you worry about that,” I say as I take out my knife and cut her wrists free. She groans as she pulls her hands around front and inspects the damage, then tries to stretch out some of the pain. “I’m more than going to get you out of here. I’m going to make that man pay for what he did to you.”
I’m just about to cut away the ties holding her ankles to the chair when the locks on the door start clicking. Arie turns to me, panicked.
“Hide. If he finds you as soon as he gets in here…”
I make a face at her. “Arie, I’m a SEAL,” I hiss. “You think some mob schmuck is going to get the drop on me?”
“He has a gun, you idiot. And trust me when I say he’s faster than you expect him to be. Please, just hide!”
I dive for the darkest corner of the room where I can blend in, and hopefully, get the drop on this douchebag. I watch as he walks inside, with an arrogant stroll that just pisses me off more. He walks up to Arie, and gets way too close for my comfort.
“Well, Miss Blanchard. It looks like the boss is on his wake back. And when he gets here, he said I can do whatever I want to you.”
That’s all it takes. All of my training tells me to wait until he’s totally vulnerable, but hearing him threaten Arie like that, my Arie… It’s too much. I slide up behind him and before he even has time to realize that I’m there, my knife is at his throat. He sucks in a deep breath, but doesn’t dare speak, so I do the talking for him.
“Listen. And listen closely. You have precisely two ways out of this. One is in a body bag. The other is in a police car. But in one of those options, you are alive. So, I’d think about this carefully if I were you. Either you call your boss and tell him to meet you exactly where I say, then you trade places with Arie and sit still like a good boy until the cops come for you…”
Danny snorts. “Or what?”
“Or I let you go and you find out all the ways the Navy taught me to make a man’s dying moments the most miserable of his life.”
He doesn’t answer for longer than is probably appropriate given his options. Finally, he shrugs his shoulders a little in what feels like an attempt to get me to loosen my grip. I don’t.
“And where exactly am I telling the boss to meet you?” he asks sarcastically.
“The coffee shop on Avenue A and Second in an hour. Tell him Arie is secure, but you need to talk him about something important. And if he doesn’t meet you, it could mean trouble for the whole Cannizzo family. Got it?”
Danny squirms, and grumbles. “Fuck, man. I got. But you have to let me have
a hand or I can’t make the call, ya know?”
I give him enough leeway to get his phone from his picket, and he makes the call. I search both voices for any sign that they are betraying a code, but I don’t pick up on anything. So, when he hangs up, I take a couple of zip-ties out of his jacket pocket, and start by tying his wrists together. I pull the plastic tie a lot tighter than it needs to be, but I don’t really care if his hands fall off from blood loss. He would deserve it. Then I cut Arie’s legs loose from the chair, and the minute she’s free, she stands up, jumps up and down a few times, walks over to where Danny is standing…