The Devil's Elixir

Navarro met his gaze with a raised eyebrow, inviting an update.

“My guys are on your fed’s tail,” he informed him. “He’s driving into the city.”

Navarro nodded his approval, slow and thoughtful, then just said, “Muy bien.”

19

Villaverde’s directions were flawless, and it wasn’t long before I reached the huge marine terminal complex and spotted the gate to the bonded warehouse.

“I’m here,” I told him, still on my BlackBerry’s speakerphone.

“Okay, you’re all set.”

There were few cars around and zero pedestrians, which was what I was hoping for. I put my turn signal on early intentionally in order to see how the goons in the maroon sedan would react. They receded in my mirror as they slowed right down to give me some space to let a container truck pass before I could turn in to the storage facility’s entrance, which was across the street from us. As I did, I watched them pull up to the far curb and stop.

It looked like they were going to wait for me. Which meant they needed me to lead them to something. It had to be Michelle. They were definitely still after her.

As I waited for the truck to pass, I scanned the facility’s outer perimeter. There was an eight-foot-high chain-link fence around its frontage that wouldn’t be too hard to climb over. I pulled up to the gatehouse and rolled my window down as the security guard lumbered out to meet me. I knew his name was Terry since, moments earlier, I’d listened in to Villaverde on the phone with him. Terry was in his fifties and wasn’t the fittest or the most nimble guy I’d ever seen—the term mammoth did spring to mind—and it was just as well I hadn’t been counting on his being my wingman during my planned sneak and grab.

“Terry, right?” I showed him my creds, both as a matter of procedure and for the benefit of the watchful eyes up the street. I saw his expression go a bit jittery and quickly added, “Keep your eyes on me and act natural, okay? Just make like you’re asking me what this is all about before you let me in.”

“Okay.” His eyes were throbbing with tension and he was visibly having a tough time resisting taking a peek over the roof of the LaCrosse to check out the bad guys.

“Stay with me, Terry,” I reminded him, slow and calm. “Just keep your focus on me and answer my questions without looking their way.”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “Okay, um—so, what do you want to know?” An Oscar was definitely not in Terry’s future.

I gave the place a quick sweep and settled on a warehouse to my right. I indicated it with a discreet nod. “I need to leave my car behind that building over there so it’ll be out of sight while I go over the fence and sneak up on the guys who were following me. Okay?”

He took a second to calm his nerves, then said, “Sure thing.”

I figured this was enough of a show for my stalkers. “Good.” I flicked a glance at the holstered automatic almost buried under his paunch. “I’m assuming you know how to use that.”

He grinned, and his hand dropped down to give its grip a small pat. “You bet your ass.”

The bet your ass was a bit too gung-ho for my liking, but better that than having him go all wobbly-kneed on me if things went sour. “Well, backup’s on its way, so don’t you go and play hero or anything. Just stay sharp, all right?”

His jowls sagged with disappointment at that, and he gave me a glum, “I hear you.”

“And don’t look at them when you let me in.”

Terry nodded again and stepped back to roll the barrier aside for me. I gave him a small nod back as I drove in.

“I’m in,” I told Villaverde.

I pulled in behind the warehouse and continued all the way down to its far end, where I parked alongside its wall.

Villaverde’s voice came back. “I’ve got a Harbor Police black-and-white about three minutes out and another on the way.”

I picked up the phone and killed the speaker function as I got out of the car. “Keep them back and tell them not to approach until I say so,” I insisted firmly. “Make sure they understand that, David. I don’t want my guys to bolt and I don’t want this to turn into the OK Corral either. These guys like to shoot stuff up.”

“Copy that. And keep the line open.”

“Will do.”

I had to move fast.

I took off my jacket and chucked it into the car, then pulled out my gun, chambered a round, and flicked the safety off before slipping it back into its holster. Then I set off.

I trotted down the back of the warehouse until I reached its corner, making sure I couldn’t be seen from the street. There was some tall grass growing at the base of the wire fence that provided a small measure of cover. I’d seen my guys pull up on the other side of the street, but this wasn’t the kind of street people parked on and I didn’t think they’d still be there.

I peered out and surveyed the area.

I couldn’t see them at first—then I spotted them. They were parked in the small lot of a marine supplies store, almost directly across from me. The spots were slightly angled, herringbone-style, and the sedan was nose- forward facing toward Terry’s gatehouse—which meant I needed to move farther down the fence before climbing over it if I didn’t want to be scaling it almost in direct view of my goons.

There was a second warehouse sitting behind the one I was hugging. I nipped back along the wall and away from the street, made sure the goons weren’t looking my way, then sprinted across the gap between the two buildings, staying low. I kept running all the way down until I reached the far corner of the second building, took a cautionary peek behind it, then went around and kept going until I was crouched close to the fence again. I figured there were now a couple of hundred feet between me and them. It was enough.

As another truck rolled by outside, I crept up to the fence and gave it a little tug to test its rigidity. It was solid, and the diamond shapes formed by the crossed wires were just wide enough to accommodate the tips of my shoes. I stayed low and waited for another truck to trundle by, then I got something even better—a big eighteen- wheeler coming out of the bonded warehouse facility itself. I reckoned it would snare my goons’ attention, and I tensed up, ready to move—and as the truck rumbled past, I took three big strides and leapt onto the gate. I was up it in four quick moves and launched myself over it, landing hard on the sidewalk in a low crouch before scurrying for cover behind the slow-moving truck and rushing across the street in its dusty wake.

I dove behind a parked car about a dozen cars down from the maroon sedan and paused there to catch my breath, then I peeked out. I could see the guy in the passenger seat, in profile. He was looking dead ahead, toward the gate. I pulled out my gun and darted out, hugging the cars and ducking from one to another in quick, stealthy bursts. I tried to minimize the risk of being spotted by timing my moves to coincide with trucks rolling past, knowing the eyes in the maroon sedan would be distracted by them when they weren’t otherwise fixated on the gate, waiting for me to reappear.

I paused about five cars away, where I got a decent view of the guy riding shotgun. He had a shaved head with what appeared to be a flame-like tattoo pattern running along its side, above his ear, and was wearing metal- framed shades. He was just sitting there, smoking in silence with his elbow on the windowsill and his gaze locked on the warehouse’s entrance. Although I hadn’t seen the tattoo under the cap he wore at the hotel, I recognized him now—he was one of the three hard-asses who’d come up in the elevator, the guy I’d slammed into in the lobby.

I couldn’t really see the other guy’s face.

My entire body tightened up in anticipation and I nipped out again. With my gun hand leading the way, I tucked in behind the car that was parked closest to theirs. There was an empty spot between them. I crouched low, steeled myself with a couple of deep inhales, and, with another truck passing, I scurried fast and silent around the