“I keep my hand in. Tell me what you need, and I’ll see what I can do.”
Taylor pulled out his phone and brought up the pictures he’d taken of the dead gunmen.
“A friend of mine was taking some personal time from the FBI to help a relative look into the death of her husband. That relative ended up dead, and the German police asked me to help find her. While looking into some leads, we were attacked by three gunmen. One of the shooters got away and the other two were killed at the scene. An attack in broad daylight on a German police officer seems out of character for the way the investigation into my friend's involvement with the death of her relative. I did, however, recognize a tattoo on one of the gunmen that makes me think he works for the Bratva. I’ve had some run-ins with them over the last few years that would have given them a reason to come after me. I wanted to see if you could find the identity of the shooter and see if he currently works for the Bratva so I can rule this attack out as being part of the investigation into my friend.”
“If you’re working with the police, why don’t you just ask them?”
“Working with is a strong word. They asked me to help find her, but I am not inside the case at all. Hell, they wouldn’t even let me look at the stuff we eventually found at the storage place that we’d gone to look for in the first place. My contact with the German police gave me the okay to keep looking into Whitaker’s disappearance on my own, but I’m not getting any help from them on it.”
“Still, you were one of the victims of an attempted hit, I’d think they’d tell you who the guys were. I’ve worked with a few agencies before, though; and yeah, they can be a little paranoid when it comes to releasing any information. Text me the pictures and I’ll see what I can find.”
“Thanks, Captain, I appreciate it.”
“Sure, although don’t think I’m doing this as a favor. You’re going to pay for intel just like everyone else.”
“Of course,” Taylor said while wincing inside.
He’d hoped Bryant would do it as a favor, one old soldier to another. While Taylor did okay for himself and didn’t spend on much besides living expenses, Bryant normally sold to governments, and Taylor imagined his prices were adjusted for those deep pockets.
“Actually, I did have one other thing,” Taylor said, almost apologetically. “Considering someone already tried to kill me, I’d feel better if I could actively defend myself next time.”
“You know the Germans are sticklers for unlicensed firearms, right?”
“I do, but I still would prefer to have one.”
Bryant grunted but didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked back into his office and closed the door. He was gone long enough Taylor started to think he’d almost pissed the man off and ended their conversation. He was trying to think of other ways he could find the gunmen’s identity in case he’d soured Bryant on helping him when the office door opened back up and Bryant returned carrying a small case.”
“Make sure if you’re caught with this, you don’t mention my name.”
“Sure,” Taylor said, opening the case.
The case looked fairly nondescript on the outside, like something he’d expect a repair shop to use to return merchandise. Inside the case was a padded lining holding a fairly new HK45 Compact, a box of ammo, several empty magazines, and a belt holster. What caught Taylor’s attention was that on the side where the serial number should have been, there was an empty plate. It wasn’t scored or burnt off, just a blank, unstamped plate. Taylor couldn’t imagine how Bryant had managed that feat, but he knew better than to ask. He also knew that if this gun ended up in the hands of the German police, it would elicit a whole range of questions beyond just why Taylor had an unlicensed gun.
Bryant promised to reach out to Taylor when he got the information, and Taylor said his goodbyes. Considering the neighborhood and the case he was carrying he caught a cab back to his hotel. Once safely back in his hotel Taylor emptied the contents of the case, loading the magazines and getting the gun safely concealed under his shirt. Thankfully, even though he hadn’t come to Germany armed, he bought most of his clothes these days with the idea of concealing a weapon.
While it was still fairly early, Taylor was a little at a loss for what to do next. This was the point he hated the most in a case. He’d find a thread that looked like it would lead to whoever he was searching for, but he had to wait for someone else to do their job and tell him what the thread meant.
The best case was Bryant said the gunmen had nothing to do with the Russians, the tattoo was just a coincidence, and Graf found something on the men that lead them to Whitaker. Worst case the gunmen worked for the Russians, the attack was payback for the events a year ago, and Taylor was back at square one. Either way, he had to wait for Bryant - and potentially Graf, if Bryant couldn’t tell him who the guys were - to find out the men’s identities.
While that all left Taylor very little to go on, it didn’t take away all his options. One of the few things he’d decided on before passing out the afternoon before was that his best option now would be to backtrace Whitaker’s investigation.
Despite Graf's denials, Taylor knew that Whitaker was still their main suspect for her aunt's murder, which also meant that
