As for The Band, he made it perfectly clear if anyone in the group snitched, the man’s loved ones would pay—a promise he intended to keep. If any one of these assholes even thought about turning on him, he’d kill them and their families. They knew the score. Just as he knew if he talked, Phipps would kill his family. The cost of betrayal had to be more expensive than the threat of prison. It was the only way he could survive; a simple but effective technique he’d learned from Mexican cartels—rat and everyone you love pays the price.
It’d all been going smoothly until Jonathan fucking Thorpe replaced him as supervisor of the OGU. The man had been doing serious damage to his enterprise and arresting far too many people who were associates of The Band. Sooner or later, one of those associates would decide to talk. They wouldn’t be able to identify McDonald, but they’d damned sure be able to name others. If Band members were exposed, they might consider federal protection despite the threat to their family’s lives.
The situation escalated further when Thorpe arrested Charlie Peterson’s sons. The two sold dope for The Band and were extremely close to Price. Lyndale was sentenced for one hell of a stint. McDonald and Phipps in particular feared Lyndale would tire of sitting in prison while the rest of The Band continued in prosperity. That’s when McDonald hatched the idea of planting dope in Thorpe’s home. If Thorpe was discovered to be a dirty cop, all the cases he’d been involved with would be closely scrutinized and many overturned. Coupled with the allegations from Lyndale’s father that Thorpe had planted drugs on his sons, Lyndale’s release would be certain. As an added bonus, Thorpe would be fired and sent to prison. The man wouldn’t be around to fuck up McDonald’s business anymore.
Within The Band, Daniels presented his biggest worry. The man simply didn’t have the stomach for what needed done. Folks with a conscience as developed as Daniels’ had no business swimming with sharks. He’d have Phipps keep a close eye on him—maybe provide a reminder of what awaited him if he talked.
If Phipps ever had a conscience, it’d abandoned him years ago. His brutal demeanor was matched by his physical appearance. A battering-ram shaped skull sat atop a thick frame packed with dense muscle. Small deep-set eyes peered out from beneath his pronounced forehead. When unsavory acts were required, he was the man McDonald called. Unfortunately, Phipps had just made his opinion known to the rest of the group.
“We need to do what?”
“You heard me the first time, Daniels. You wearing a fucking wire or something?” Phipps accused.
Daniels began to pull off his shirt.
McDonald had remained silent till now. But things were getting out of control, and he needed to instill calm.
“Keep your shirt on, Daniels,” McDonald said. “We know you’re not wearing a wire.”
“Damn right, I’m not. I’m also not going to be part of no killin’.”
“If we don’t act first, he’s damn sure going to kill us,” Phipps argued.
“We don’t even know if Thorpe was the one who killed Price.”
“Let’s go over this one more time, you fuckin’ moron,” Phipps growled. “On Wednesday night, Price got an anonymous phone call from someone saying he knew about the incident last year.”
“Incident? We killed an innocent woman and child,” Daniels interrupted.
Phipps warned off the man with a glare, and continued. “Let me finish, Daniels. The anonymous caller told Price he was going to the police with this information unless we paid him twenty-thousand dollars. After getting the call, Price called McDonald, and we all met at Shaw’s house. Daniels, you were the only one not there because you didn’t answer your fucking phone. Price, Leon, and the rest of us met, and we talked about who might have known what we did. We figured someone in this group was talking. Leon starts trippin’ about a police sting. He went out the back door. Says he left to see if anyone was watching us. After a few minutes, we look for him and notice his car missing. We all figure he got scared and skipped town…”
“I guarantee he took off. That boy was scared to death,” Corn interrupted.
“Corn, you mind?” Phipps growled. “Now, as we all know, Price was killed last night. I hear detectives think the murder was more like an assassination. This shit ain’t no damn coincidence. Price was blackmailed about the incident one minute and killed the next. It’s all connected.”
Phipps drew a deep breath and acknowledged the nodding heads before continuing. “If that’s not enough for you, this morning Shaw’s neighbor called him over to look at his fence. There was a hole cut in it. The hole faces the front of Shaw’s house. I think whoever called Price that night followed him to Shaw’s. I think when Leon went outside to look for surveillance, he was killed. No one has seen or heard from him since.”
Phipps surveyed the room making eye contact with each man. “Leon is dead—murdered. Thorpe killed Leon, then turned around and killed Price.”
Phipps raised his voice to drive home his next point. “I think every damn one of us who were at that meeting is in danger of being killed next!” Phipps paused to let his last statement sink in. “Baker, you’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think?”
Baker cleared his throat. “I’d have to agree. This is no coincidence. The phone call, Leon disappears, Price is killed. We all know Thorpe’s behind it. Who else would start killing people over this shit? Anybody else would turn us in. The only question is, what are we prepared to do about it?”
“We all know what needs done. We just gotta nut-up and do it,” Phipps screamed. “This is fucking war!”
“We’re the ones who started the war when we killed his wife and kid,” Daniels shouted back.
“That was an accident; we didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt,” Baker chimed in.
“That’s a bullshit excuse, Baker. You start fucking around like that, and what do think is going to happen? We never should’ve done what we done.”
Phipps shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It happened, and you’re a part of it, Daniels. Right now, we need to concentrate on the threat to our lives. We have to deal with Thorpe before he kills each and every one of us!”
“Phipps, the way I see things, I’m safe,” Daniels said as he headed for the door. “I didn’t show up to your little meeting the other night, and Thorpe doesn’t know I’m involved in this shit. I can’t believe you’re actually discussing murdering a man…I won’t be a part of it!”
As Daniels stormed out the front door, Shaw also stood up to leave. “Daniels is right. I ain’t gonna be part of no murder.”
McDonald had lost control of the meeting. “Sit down, Thadius. We’re not getting anything accomplished by fighting with each other.”
“Fuck you. I’m gone.”
“Please, Thadius. Have a seat. No one is killing anyone. I think I have an idea where no one will get hurt,” McDonald implored.
The five remaining men sat down, shiny with sweat despite the relatively cool temperature of the room. McDonald began laying out his plan. Every time he looked Phipps’ direction, he was rewarded with a piercing glare.
After revealing his plans, McDonald stood and told the other men he needed time to work out the details. Once outside the door, he sent Phipps a text.
“Lacy Park. Now.”
Five minutes later, Phipps pulled next to McDonald with murder in his eyes. “You sit in there the whole fucking meeting not saying a word and when you finally do…”
McDonald held up a hand, cutting Phipps off. “Everything I said in there was bullshit. You’re right. But we have to be careful about what we say and who we say it around. The others don’t have the balls to do what needs to be done…understand?”
“So what are we going to do?”
“I don’t think Daniels can be trusted any longer.”
“I’ve never trusted him.”