Colby looked around to see if there were any others. There was no backup, no sudden movement, nothing else that might have given him reason to believe it was an ambush. However, one thing he did notice was that the ten volunteers from the second truck still hadn’t made it over even though Kenzo had gotten on the radio to alert them.
“Come in, Gary, do you copy?” Kenzo said.
Colby lifted his eyes and saw a smirk dancing on Reilly.
Kenzo continued to give them directives. “I swear to God, I will open up on your ass if you don’t climb down.”
Reilly took a hard hit on his cigarette and then flicked it at Kenzo far below.
“Is that a direct order?” Reilly asked in a mocking fashion. The rest of his men laughed. Colby was expecting them to fall back behind the lip of the roof and then reemerge with weapons but they didn’t. They just sat there, calm and self-assured. One of them kept looking behind Colby.
Colby turned and took in his surroundings again.
This time it was different.
There were now rifles pointed at them from the rooftops. He twisted again, and it was the same in every direction. Siemens Hall and the radio station had barrels pointing out of windows at them.
Shit.
“Kenzo,” Colby said. “Hey!” He tried to get his attention but he wasn’t listening. He was too focused on Reilly and bellowing orders. The last thing they needed was for him to shoot Reilly who was now smiling from ear to ear.
“Hey, why don’t you call your friends again?” Reilly said in a mocking tone. “Maybe they got lost.” He laughed. “Or maybe…”
“Kenzo!” Colby said, coming up behind him and grabbing his shoulder to get his attention. As soon as he turned, Colby didn’t have to say anything, he saw the men on the roofs rise to their feet. His eyes widened, shock setting in as he realized they had just walked into an ambush.
If that wasn’t bad enough, being pushed down the small walkway that separated the hall from the radio station was the other group. They were no longer packing weapons. Their hands were tied behind their backs and they were being escorted by eight armed men.
Reilly sniffed hard and turned and dropped down off the roof, a short ten-foot jump. He landed and put out his hands wide in a crucifix pose. “I’m down. Just as you asked. Now what was it you wanted?” He pulled the rifle from his back around, and made his way over to Kenzo with quiet confidence, sizing him up, walking around him with judging eyes before quickly lashing out and sideswiping him with the butt of his rifle.
Kenzo hit the ground hard and spat blood.
Chapter Fourteen
Their weapons were taken.
Reilly tilted his head from side to side, letting his neck crack as he eyed Colby and the others. There was no fear. Not that he’d shown any in the city on the day they took them in.
“I would say it’s been a pleasure but you know… they’re all yours,” Reilly said to someone behind him. Colby turned and approaching through the midst of the men was John Boone. He should have known they were associates.
“Colby Riker. Wow. Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” He grinned. “Well done, Reilly. Drop back. Check that there aren’t more of them.”
Boone hadn’t changed a bit. He still looked as ugly as the first day Colby laid eyes on him. Back then he was younger, full of spit and vinegar, part of a new crew that had moved into Humboldt with plans of dominating the black market. His family soon realized they’d bitten off more than they could chew.
“You got it, boss,” Reilly answered.
Reilly whistled and seven guys turned and headed in the direction they came. Meanwhile the rest of Boone’s family came out of the woodwork like rats. As Boone got closer, he looked him up and down. “You look a lot like Bruce. Pity. How is that asshole?”
“I wouldn’t know, he’s dead.”
“Too bad. I was hoping to kill him myself,” he said, getting close enough that Colby could smell stale tobacco on his breath. He eyed a long scar down the side of his face. Boone noticed and ran a hand over it. “Took a long time to heal. Do you know your father did this? Cut me from the corner of my mouth up to my ear. Told me if I didn’t get out of Humboldt he would do the other side.” Boone unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it apart to show a big S on his chest. “The Stricklands did that. Couldn’t be outdone by you Rikers.”
“So is this where you kill us?”
“Kill you? No. Why would I do that?”
“Then what do you want?”
“What do I want?” he said. He chuckled as he prowled around the group like a lion, a smirk dancing on his face. “Oh you know, what everyone wants.”
“Power?”
He returned to Colby and stood in front of him. “Power? That would imply I have none. Which you can see isn’t true. No, no, no. I want to have some fun. I mean, I’ve been locked up inside for close to ten years. You know what that does to a man?” He walked over to Nina, and Jessie stepped in front of her.
Boone laughed. “Oh you Rikers are so predictable. So much like your father. Do you remember my brother, Colby?” he said turning and gesturing with a hand. “Tyler.”
Tyler emerged from the group. Colby knew him well. He’d dated Skye at one point. Long before he had. The relationship had gone sour after he decided to use her as a punching bag. Colby had gone after him but by that point he’d left the county. “Of course you do. Ah, there it is, that famous Riker look.” Boone’s eyes widened as he sucked air between his teeth. “Oh it
