“Charlie pushed me in the water. He turned and shoved me, even while he was dying.” He sobbed, pulling his hands away to cover his face.
Once somewhat calmed, he began again: “I managed to swim under the pier, and hang on to something. They didn’t search for me too hard. Some woman with a raspy voice told ‘em to put chains on Charlie, then they dumped him.” His face was changing, from anguish to hate. “I know it’s my fault, and I want to make up for it by catching these bastards. Whatever it takes, I’ll do it.” He looked at each of us as he said this. “I want you to hire me as a computer analyst. I don’t need money or equipment. You gave me money already, and I’ll make sure to get top of the line computer gear to help catch these-these assholes.”
I put a hand on his arm. “Did you say a woman? With a raspy voice?”
“Yeah. She was running the show. Got a glimpse of her just before they started shooting. Red hair with lots of white streaks through it. Face looked blurry, not sure why.”
I let out a shuddering breath. “Damn it, she’s still alive.” We all looked at one another, then at Wilbur.
Tony finished wrapping Wilbur’s leg. “You got a job with us long as you want it,” he said. “That last bit of news helped us a lot.” He gave Wilbur a sharp look. “Think hard. Did you hear her say anything else?”
After a calming breath, Wilbur lowered his head in concentration. “There was something…what was it…Oh, yeah. She said ‘Next week we’ll finish the job.’ Whatever that means.”
I nodded, mind whirling with plans. “We need to think about this. But first, let’s get you to a doctor. Then we can go check out your apartment.”
Wilbur wiped his eyes, a determined look on his face. “Already checked when I went there for dry clothes. They trashed the place, took a computer and other stuff. Don’t worry, though. We moved all our electronic gadgets that were involved in the sting to a safe place. Charlie, bless him, insisted on it before we went to Reno.” He began tearing up again, silent sobs shaking his body.
Alice pointed at Nate. “Let’s get your car. We’ll run him to a doctor, while the rest of you deal with what we’ve just heard.”
I watched them go, despair creeping in. Was I to always be surrounded by death? Each friend that died in the manner Charlie had was another knife in my heart. I leaned both hands on the table, head down. A deep anger built in me, not as sharp as the rages I’d suffered in the past, but more purposeful. This time, I’d clean the slate of our enemies, and be done with it. After this one, no more…
A hand on my shoulder caused me to flinch away. “Another one gone,” I muttered. “No more…”
After a couple of fumbling tries, I seated myself. A deep breath and vigorous scrubbing of my face helped bring my focus back to the here and now. I looked around the table; Marty, Tony and Dave sat down, sadness and anger intermingled on their faces.
I took a deep breath, forcing my mind to focus. “Not sure about you guys, but I think if we try to hide from this bitch, it’d be a mistake. We need a plan of attack. One we can use now.”
Dave shifted in his chair. “Agreed. But we need time to plan. We’re sitting ducks if we stay in this building. They know where it is.”
“Prioritize,” Tony said. “We need to set up a priority of tasks, and do it now.”
I wiped my eyes. “Okay, I think we’re agreed about relocating. And I think Willie just became a lesser problem for us, at least for the moment. We need to concentrate on getting rid of the primary threat.”
The next two hours settled into a planning session, interrupted when Alice came through the door. “Wilbur will be okay, according to the doctor. Said the bullet passed through the calf muscle cleanly. Right now he’s tied up with the police. I left Nate with him. They’ll probably be back in another hour or so.” She dropped into a chair next to Marty, weariness crossing her face. “The cops got the name of which pier Wilbur and Charlie were on. Already got a team lookin’ for Charlie’s body.”
Marty touched her shoulder, and she leaned into him. He glanced at us. “I got an idea how to do it, but it’s gonna take more than us to pull it off.”
I shook my head. “I’m reluctant to put anyone else at risk, if we can help it.”
Tony shrugged. “I’ve come up with a notion, too. Why don’t we each go over what we have, and see if there’s any combination we can use?”
We were deep into our planning when my cell phone buzzed, making everyone jump. I keyed it on. “Hello?”
“That you, Mister Baker? This is Agent Browder. You up for a visit?”
I glanced around the table. “Um-Sure. When would you like to come over?”
“I’m downstairs right now. The door’s locked.”
“Be right there.” I hung up and looked around the room. “Remember Al, from the FBI? He’s downstairs. Wants to talk. Must’ve gotten word already about Charlie.”
Tony hurried for the stairs. “I’ll let him in. Maybe the old fart has some information.”
I took time to make coffee while getting Al settled in. Frustration had been creeping into the room, since a simple plan still evaded us in getting rid of Crosby.
Al took a drink of coffee, nodding approvingly. “Good stuff. Helps me focus.” He set his cup down. “Really too bad one of your friends was killed. Just before I got here I heard they’d found the body. If it was me, I’d probably be trying to come up with a plan to get even, and protect ever’one else.”
Tony glanced at us before answering. “And
