take-out and sit in the cars out back.’
‘Any sign of Heming?’ asked Harper.
‘Nothing,’ said Carney. ‘He’s either flipped out or hunkered down somewhere.’
‘Do we know their targets?’
‘We don’t. We’re still not sure how it happens, but we think they are told by someone, maybe by text even. When they’ve been told their hit, they travel out. We’ve got evidence of Section 88 using black cards as a way of putting hits out on their victims.’
‘I’m interested in our 88 Killer. Josef Sturbe.’
‘We got to follow the groups and see what we can. If he’s connected to Section 88, like you think, then this is the best way forward. You want Heming? We think he’ll turn up if he’s around. You take Unit C. These guys are on the edge, Harper, so steer clear unless you’ve got support.’
Harper looked down at the map on the hood of Carney’s car. ‘We just follow them?’
‘That’s it. Follow, get them caught in the act, then rumble. Backup will be with you on each unit. Now, come and meet the guys.’
They walked over to the Hate Crime team. Carney waved his arm. ‘You take them through your operation and why you are looking at Section 88,’ he said. ‘Then let me take over.’
‘This is the deal,’ Harper called out. ‘We know that Section 88 are involved in organized hate crimes. We also think that the organization is responsible either directly or indirectly for the murders of three women and one man. All the victims were Jewish. We’re looking for a lone wolf who may be feeding off this group, or he may be heading this group. His name is Martin Heming but he may be using the pseudonym Josef Sturbe. Most hits involve low-level intimidation, but that’s not what we are here for. We’re after our lone wolf, and his style is to pick off victims of hate crime and execute them.’
The men and women in front of him nodded. ‘This is a joint op, people. What we’re looking for is the main man, so try to hold off so that we can track these guys. See what they do, where they go, who joins them.’
Carney then took over. ‘Just a word or two. These guys get pumped up when they’re out on a mission, so roll with them, keep your distance and keep in contact. As soon as you see Heming, just shout. As soon as you see anything even close to looking like trouble, call in the support team. Okay, let’s move out.’
The team rolled out in a variety of vehicles and drove to McRory’s. They pulled into the parking lot and spread out. Each unit had a different target. The radio link between the vehicles was open. Harper was in the car with Denise Levene. They sat and stared out.
‘It’s a good spot,’ said Harper. ‘Maximum crowds, large numbers of people, so they wouldn’t be spotted. But we’ve got to get out and get closer. We’ll see nothing in here.’
The three of them got out and started to walk towards the center of the parking lot where the first of the suspects were congregated.
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Blue Team and Hate Crime spent almost two hours watching, but nothing seemed to go down until one set of guys started to shake hands. It wasn’t a normal goodbye shake. They went down a line, high-fiving people in a pumped-up manner. This was celebratory.
‘We’ve got that truck covered,’ said Carney. ‘The rest just keep watching.’
The truck rolled out with four men in it. A few seconds later, a battered Hate Crime Unit panel van pulled out into traffic and started the tail.
Then the call came through. ‘Harper, you wanted to see how these guys operate, roll in and take the lead. This is a strong unit here. If Heming is around, he might want to make contact.’
Harper gunned the engine and pulled his car around. He overtook the HCU truck and followed behind the white van and hung back. There was silence in the car. The hunt was on.
The night air was chill and damp. The gang in the truck were traveling north from McRory’s and still drinking. They were easily visible from Harper’s car and the jokes seemed to be flying.
Right behind Harper, Jack Carney followed in his car and behind him was the HCU truck with the support team.
McRory’s disappeared behind them. The pink neon lights and big crowds were silenced by distance. The team had no idea what was ahead. The groups didn’t seem to speak on their cell phones and there was nothing they could find on the forums. All Hate Crime Unit had managed to find out from informants was that tonight was a joint operation — a protest at the treatment of Leo Lukanov. Carney had heard that the leader of Section 88, Martin Heming, could be joining the post-attack celebrations.
Tom Harper turned to Denise. ‘Why do they do it? What’s in it for them — attacking defenseless people?’
‘They believe they’re right,’ said Denise. ‘That there is someone on their patch who is causing them harm, and they don’t see the government doing anything about it. Or the NYPD.’
Section 88’s van turned. Carney and the support truck fell in behind. The truck turned off the major road and with the lack of traffic, the train of following vehicles was too conspicuous. Harper called Carney. ‘You and the van take the next left and carry on. You can re-join further up the street. I think they’ve clocked us.’
Harper watched the white van and Carney’s car veer into a side road and disappear. He continued to follow the truck.
They seemed to be heading towards Borough Park, one of the largest Jewish communities in the States. Harper followed until the group’s truck pulled off the road and into a side street, where it stopped. A sedan pulled up beside it. Harper stopped and they watched. Someone from the sedan jumped into the truck and then someone from the truck passed a duffel bag to the driver of the sedan.
Harper called Carney. ‘Jack, you need to pick up a dark blue sedan — it’s coming your way. You’ll be face to face in a moment. Looked like some drop. Maybe drugs.’
‘That’s how they fund their operations,’ said Carney.
Harper thought back to the three wraps in the alleyway beside David Capske. It seemed more likely than ever that this was a Section 88-sanctioned attack.
He called the driver of the white van on his radio. ‘This is Detective Harper, we’re following south of Lewton. Where are you?’
‘We’ve come up to a block. A truck ahead of us has got a flat and can’t move out. Carney got past but we’re stuck. We’re going to try to back up.’
‘You want me to drop off the tail?’
‘No, keep contact and keep in touch.’
Harper waited for a few minutes before turning into the side road. Up ahead there was nothing to be seen. It was a long narrow street surrounded by high buildings. Harper drove slowly, his eyes searching.
Five hundred yards down the street, Harper stopped at a junction. He pulled out and looked both ways. The Section 88 truck was parked to the right. He could just see its tail lights shining in the darkness. Harper turned and drove close enough to be able to see and the three of them sat and watched. Up ahead, the guys in the truck didn’t even look around; four of them were already on foot, heading down an alleyway towards the back entrance of what looked like a kosher bakery. Three were carrying sledgehammers and one had an ax. The lead guy, a huge muscular skin-headed man, called for the rest to follow. A fifth man got out of the truck carrying a can of gasoline.
‘What now?’ said Harper over the radio. ‘They are out of their vehicle and are heading to the street.’
‘Call for more backup. Do not try to stop them yourselves. We can’t be there soon enough. We’ve got reports of other groups heading to that area.’
Harper looked across to Denise and then to Eddie behind him. ‘What do you think?’
They could just see the group formed at the alleyway. It was 10.29 p.m. They seemed to be waiting. All five men pulled masks over their faces as the time clicked over to 10.30 p.m.
‘What the fuck are we going to do?’ said Eddie. ‘We can’t let this happen.’
