“They know,” Will said. “Maggie’s already sent them copies of your photo IDs.”
“Good to know,” Remy said. But it didn’t make him feel any better.
The four FBI agents locked into position along the alley.
“Drop the gun!” the man bellowed again.
Ruby lights glowed to sudden life against Remy’s chest. He knew he was only a heartbeat from death. Carefully he bent over and placed the pistol on the pavement and awaited further orders even though he was pretty sure he knew what they would be.
“Get on the ground!” the man ordered. “On the ground now! Facedown! Hands on top of your head!”
Remy followed orders and took care that his hands were always outstretched from his body so they wouldn’t think he was reaching for a weapon. His heart felt like it was going to explode.
Memories of other times he’d been arrested back in New Orleans flashed through his mind. It was hard to believe that he was going to survive such an encounter when there had been so many close calls back then.
The rough pavement chewed at his cheek. He had to force himself to lie there when footsteps pounded in his direction. In the next instant someone blinded him with a flashlight beam while someone else jumped in the middle of his back and raked his arms behind him.
Hard metal bit into his wrists and secured his hands behind his back.
“I’m with NCIS,” Remy said. “My ID-”
Someone punched him in the back of the head and snarled, “Shut up.”
“Hang in there, Remy,” Will said over the earpiece. “We’ll get you out of there as soon as we can.” Then one of the FBI agents stripped the earpiece.
Blood from a split lip tasted warm and salty inside Remy’s mouth. He shut up and stayed where he was as he was roughly frisked. But he hoped Shel was still safe.
›› 2035 Hours
Slowly, not offering any sudden movement that might panic Bobby Lee Gant, Shel raised his arms. “Hey, bro,” Shel said. “I don’t know what you’re smoking, but I just came in to check out tattoos.”
“Who is he?” Bobby Lee demanded.
The young woman behind the counter shook her head. “He just came in. He was asking about tattoos.”
“Bobby Lee!” the big man from the back room roared.
Shel recognized the man from the file Remy had downloaded. His name was Ralph “Spider” Gemmell, a known associate of biker clubs.
Bobby Lee swiveled and pointed his pistol at Spider. “Back off, man!”
Spider came to an abrupt halt. “You don’t want to do this, bro. It’s gonna end bad if you do.”
“I ain’t going to jail!” Bobby Lee screamed. His eyes rolled in panic like an animal’s. “They ain’t gonna take me to jail!”
“Dude,” Spider said, “it’s just jail. Ain’t like they’re gonna lock you up forever.”
“They ain’t locking me up at all!”
Shel thought about reaching for the pistol at his back. But he knew if he did, he was going to have to use it.
Let it ride, he told himself. Let this develop. He’s smart enough to realize he isn’t going to get out of this without getting hurt.
At least, Shel hoped that was true. Whether Bobby Lee was sober enough to do the right thing was another question.
Outside, through the large windows that overlooked the parking lot and Doggett Avenue beyond, two unmarked sedans with flashing lights shrilled to halts. Car doors jacked open, and men in Kevlar armor and FBI jackets took up ready positions behind cover.
“FBI?” Bobby Lee said in surprise.
Well, Shel thought, he isn’t so high or panicked that he can’t read.
“It ain’t supposed to be the FBI,” Bobby Lee moaned. “It’s the Marines. The Marines are supposed to be after me.”
“Maybe they’re not after you,” the woman behind the counter suggested. “Maybe they’re here after somebody else.”
“Who?” Bobby Lee demanded.
The young woman flinched back. “I don’t know. I was just saying.”
In the next minute, though, a man on a loudhailer stripped away that illusion. “Bobby Lee Gant! This is the FBI! Put down your weapon and come out with your hands up!”
Bobby Lee whirled around just in time to get lit up by ruby spotter lights. He glanced down at his chest and cursed.
“Give it up, bro,” Spider advised. “They got you cold. You can still get out of this in one piece.”
A lithe movement put Bobby Lee next to the young woman at the counter before anyone could move. He roped an arm around her neck and pulled her body back against his.
“I’m getting out of here!” Bobby Lee declared. “Or I’m going to kill her stone dead! I swear I am!”
1 3
›› Spider’s Tattoo Shop
›› Doggett Street
›› Charlotte, North Carolina
›› 2037 Hours
The young woman screamed and tried to break free from her captor. Bobby Lee popped his forearm up and hit her in the mouth. She stopped screaming and remained still.
“Try that again,” Bobby Lee yelled, “and I’ll hurt you bad! Do you understand me?”
The young woman nodded and shivered in fear.
“Don’t do that, bro,” Spider said. His voice was more calm than Shel expected. “If you just stay calm, Bobby Lee, you’ll come out of this all right. I promise. But if you go off half-cocked, you’re gonna get a lot of people hurt.”
Shel forced himself to remain still. Any move on his part would turn the tattoo shop into a bloodbath. He didn’t know why one of the FBI snipers outside didn’t drop Bobby Lee Gant in his tracks. Shel also wondered where Remy was.
Spider stepped forward slowly. “Give her to me. She don’t deserve none of your trouble.”
“Well she’s in it now,” Bobby Lee snarled. “All of you are. Whatever happens to me is the same what happens to you.”
Moving slowly, Spider took another step toward Bobby Lee.
Shel’s breath locked down in his lungs. Don’t, he thought. Bobby Lee wasn’t holding together well. He wasn’t going to handle the situation.
“Give her to me, bro,” Spider said.
Bobby Lee shook his head. “I can’t. I can’t. ICANTICANTICANTICANT.”
“Yeah, you can.” Spider took another step. “That there’s my blood, Bobby Lee. My sister’s girl. I promised my sister I wouldn’t let any harm come to her.” He gestured with one hand. “You got to give her to me an’ let me get her outta this. C’mon now, bro.”
“No.” Bobby Lee shook his head like a scared child. Unshed tears gleamed in his eyes. “I heard stories about what prison’s like, man. I ain’t gonna go. They ain’t gonna do something like that to me. I ain’t gonna be no…”
Spider wouldn’t stop moving.
Shel knew that was a mistake, and it was like watching a train wreck happen in slow motion. He wanted to tell Spider to stay back, that the FBI snipers would put Bobby Lee down without hurting the young woman if it came to that, but he couldn’t. If he spoke, he would further split Bobby Lee’s attention and ratchet up the tension.
It was at a time like this, Shel knew, that his brother Don would have told him to pray. But Shel had never been a big believer in the power of prayer. He had prayed on occasion, but he’d never been able to put his heart into it or really believe.
Instead, he remained still and hoped that he was wrong about how events were about to unfold.
“Bobby Lee, listen to me.” Spider took another step. He was close enough now that he could have reached out and touched the pistol in Bobby Lee’s hand.
Bobby Lee pointed the pistol and squeezed the trigger without warning. The detonation filled the tattoo shop with rolling thunder.
Spider recoiled only slightly. His head jerked to one side. Shel saw the ugly wound in the side of his face and the huge exit wound in the back of Spider’s head. Death had to have been instant, but he remained on his feet for just a moment. Then his legs went out from under him and he sank to the floor.
“I told him!” Bobby Lee shouted. “I told him to stay back! It wasn’t my fault he didn’t listen!”