“Everybody out!” Fishburn shouted.
Nobody moved.
Fishburn looked from one to another. Everyone saw the exact moment in the attorney’s expression when he knew he had lost. He made a sudden lunge toward the open door. Hugh stepped aside to let him through, and he ran straight into the arms of the two sheriff’s deputies who had accompanied district attorney Grosnell. They had been listening, and had heard it all.
Fishburn, with his hands cuffed behind his back, stood between the two deputies, and watched in horror as Hugh handed the DA a thumb drive. “These are videos of confessions from everyone in the room. They’re all here,” he said.
When all the attention was on Fishburn and the others, Hugh nodded to Roc, who Hugh had arranged to be the one holding onto William’s arm. Roc led William quietly out the back door of Fishburn’s office and into an alley behind the building.
Once all three were outside and the door was closed, Roc let go of William’s arm.
“What’s going on?” William said, rubbing his arm where Roc had held it with his vice-like grip.
“I’ve got a little something special planned for you,” Hugh said. “Up until now, you’ve had your guys do all your dirty work for you. You ran like a coward when I stopped to rescue Charlie, and you let a little girl beat up two of your best guys.”
Roc looked a question at Hugh. “Later, Roc.”
“Now it’s time for us to see what you’re made of.”
Moving faster than Hugh thought was possible, William charged in and caught Hugh a glancing blow against the side of his head. Only Hugh’s quick reflexes kept it from being a one-punch knockout.
“Ha! If you’re going to fight, then fight. Don’t talk,” William said. He assumed a martial arts stance.
Hugh took small, measured, well-balanced steps, walking slowly toward the hulking man. He saw indecision on William’s face.
“What the fuck you doing?”
“Having fun,” Hugh replied. He had a smile on his face. He knew this would unnerve his opponent.
William came in again. He feigned a move to his left, then crouched low to swing his powerful right leg in an attempt to sweep Hugh off his feet. Hugh was ready for that move, had anticipated it, timed it just right, and brought his heel down on the joint of William’s right knee. It made a sickening cracking sound like separating a chicken leg from a chicken thigh bone.
Down, but still with a lot of fight in him, William fired his left leg straight up and caught Hugh against the back of his right thigh.
“Not bad. That actually hurt a little,” Hugh said. “But, I’m done playing.”
He chopped down with a powerful left on the top of William’s head, compressing his neck vertebrate beyond their natural resiliency. That took all of the fight out of William, and he lay on the ground moaning.
That wasn’t a fatal blow. Hugh needed William to be able to testify against the leaders of the insurance scam.
Hugh stood straight up, then looked at Roc, who was backing slowly away. Roc’s hands were raised shoulder high in front of him in a submissive gesture.
“No fear, man. We’re good.” Roc said.
“What’s wrong with you?”
“You didn’t raise a finger when we put you through the initiation.”
“Jenny asked me not to say or do anything. What about it?”
“Man, you could have taken down a bunch of us if you’d wanted to.”
“I didn’t want to.”
“OK, then. We’re good?”
“Yeah, we’re good, Roc. I couldn’t have done any of this in the last couple of days without you. I owe you big time.”
Jenny came through the door followed by the two deputies. She came right to Hugh and Roc. The deputies lifted William off of the pavement to carry him back into the building. His right leg hung at an unnatural angle.
“What happened out here?” one of the deputies asked.
“He tried to escape. I stopped him.”
“Little sister, I’ve got to tell you, you’ve got quite a man here,” Roc said.
Jenny held Hugh’s arm. “I know.”
Hugh and Jenny were quiet on the ride back to the WestAm terminal with attorney Johnston.
“That pretty much wraps up the lawsuit against us,” the attorney said. “I’m familiar with your hijacking experiences, of course. It sure looks like you have a knack for breaking up major crime rings.”
“I don’t look for them. That’s for sure,” Hugh said. “They do tend to follow me, though. I’m kind of a trouble magnet.”
“I’m a company attorney, and not your safety officer, but can I make a suggestion?”
“Sure.”
“I suggest you get a load back up north, and then take a nice long break.”
“You read my mind. That’s exactly what I plan to do.”
Hugh looked at Jenny.
“You get no argument from me.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Hugh asked attorney Johnston if he could make one quick stop on the way back to the WestAm terminal from Scottsdale.
At the terminal, the attorney parked, and they all said their goodbyes.
“Thanks for letting me do it my way,” Hugh said. “I have to say, it was very satisfying.”
“No problem. Between the recorded confessions, the documentation we’ve been able to seize from Fishburn’s office, his off-shore banking records, and witness testimony, we were able to wrap up the insurance scam ring in one afternoon. We couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I’m glad it worked out,” Hugh said.
“Don’t forget my advice about taking a break.”
“I’m on my way to dispatch right now.”
Hugh and Jenny walked up to the counter in dispatch and got buzzed in.
Gloria smiled when she saw them. Then her smile grew wider when Hugh gave her the flowers and chocolates he had bought for her.
“Why, thank you, Hugh,” she said. “You didn’t have
