“If we’re to do this,” he said, “it’s to be my way or not at all.”
Erin let out her breath. “Okay,” she said. “What’s the plan?”
Chapter 15
It wasn’t a great plan. In fact, Erin thought it was lousy. But what choice did they have? There was risk any way they turned. The worst of it was, she was still suspicious of the NYPD, so she didn’t know if it was a good idea to call in heavy reinforcements.
She did call Webb.
“O’Reilly,” he said. “Good to hear from you. I’ve been playing tag with you all night.”
“And I’ve been chasing our bad guys,” she said. “I’ve finally caught up with them. Where are you, sir?”
“At the Irish American Bar, cleaning up after the last round of mayhem. Where are you?”
“I’m at the Eightball, but not for long. I’ve got to go scoop up some Colombians, and take Siobhan Finneran back into custody.”
“Why her?”
“She’s the fourth shooter.”
“Can you make it stick this time?”
“Sir, we may not have much time to discuss this. The cartel guys are after her, and they’re going to make their move soon.”
“ESU is on alert,” Webb said. “I called them earlier, with all the shooting going on tonight. They’ve got the Apprehension Tactical Team standing by. Where are they going?”
“Can you have them deployed quietly? Without going through normal channels?”
There was a pause.
“O’Reilly, I can’t make them do anything without going through channels,” he said. “What did you find out?”
“Not enough. The more people we call, the more likely word gets to the cartel. Someone’s on their team; I don’t know who.”
“How many bad guys?”
“At least two. Maybe more.”
“Where?”
“The Barley Corner.”
“Really.” Webb’s voice was flat, deadpan.
“Of course they are,” she snapped, irritated. “They know Carlyle bailed Siobhan out. They figure he knows where she is.”
“Where is she?”
“They figured right. She’s there. So is Carlyle, and a hell of a lot of bystanders. If we go in heavy, there’s going to be shooting."
“So we need ESU, but we need them at arm’s length.” Webb took a breath. “We need to take her outside. Okay, O’Reilly. I’ll call the A-Team unit commander directly, bypass the Captain. Holliday will tear me a new one if this goes sideways, so I hope you know what the hell you’re doing.”
“I’ve talked to my source in the O’Malleys,” she said. “Siobhan’s going to go down the stairs and outside, fast. She knows guys are waiting for her at the bar. But they’ll be moving her down the back hallway, no civilians in the way. There’ll be an O’Malley car waiting for her on the street. We just need to be waiting outside. The Colombians will chase her. We can take them in the back alley, away from bystanders, hopefully with no shots fired. We grab Siobhan’s car on the street before she gets away.”
“Is Neshenko with you?”
“He’s upstairs.”
“Get him and your dog. Tac up, full kit. I’ll meet you with the A-Team a block west of the Corner and coordinate. I don’t know how long it’ll take to move them, but it should be just a few minutes.”
“Thanks, sir.”
“Thank me in the morning, after we see how this plays out.”
Erin still didn’t like the plan. It was too loose. Too many things could go wrong. Carlyle might betray them, but she didn’t think so. More likely, he’d make some modification to the plan on his own part. Or one of his guys would do something. Or the Colombians. Or Siobhan herself.
At least Vic was in a good mood. The prospect of working with his old ESU buddies always perked him up. He was actually whistling as he climbed into Erin’s car.
“Glad someone’s enjoying this,” she said.
“Huh? Oh, I’m just looking forward to what I’m doing after the shift ends. Assuming this shift ever ends.”
“Would this have anything to do with a blonde Street Narcotics cop, by any chance?”
“Maybe.”
“That means yes.”
“You’re the big-shot Detective Second Grade, so I’ll have to take your word for it.”
“When did you even have the chance to set this up?”
“She called, while you were downstairs.”
“Just do me a favor, Vic. Keep your mind in the game, so we all get to go home. Or wherever it is you’re going. I don’t imagine you’d take a girl back to your place.”
“Erin, just where the hell do you think I live? I told you, it’s a studio apartment. It’s actually kind of nice.”
“You said it was pretty much all man cave.”
“Zofia likes manly stuff.”
“Zofia?”
“You were right, I needed to learn her first name.”
“Is that with an S, or a Z?”
“Z. I think it means ‘wisdom’ or something.”
“You could use a little more wisdom in your life.”
The Barley Corner wasn’t far from Precinct 8. They reached the rendezvous point, a block away. The ESU Apprehension Tactical Team had just arrived. Erin liked driving her Charger because of its full-throated power and aggressive front profile, but the A-Team’s ride made hers look tame. It was a Lenco BearCat, a wheeled armored vehicle that could take hits from a .50 caliber rifle and keep rolling. They’d pulled into an alley to avoid being too conspicuous while the team prepped for action.
Erin parked and joined the other cops. She, Vic, and Rolf had already donned their body armor. Vic gave a firm handshake and a one-armed hug to one of the ESU guys.
“Parker!” he said. “What’ve you been up to, man?”
“Oh, you know,” Parker replied, feeding a clip into his AR-15, smacking the side of the gun, and chambering a round. “Same shit, different day.”
Erin knew the Tactical Team was the busiest police unit in New York, probably in the country. They executed something like eight hundred operations each year. These guys kicked in doors every single day. This was just another job for them.
Webb stood off to one side. To Erin’s surprise,
