American Criminal (32 page)

    The Hummer reached the open gate at the bottom of the hill and drove through it. It pulled onto the canyon road and accelerated. The other vehicles followed.

    “So, then we’ll have our own snipers on the roofs overlooking the alley?” Burnside asked.

    “Don’t get too excited, hotshot,” Joe said, flashing Ray a feral grin. “For these big deals, the Columbians use a bulletproof limo to transport the drugs. Our guns won’t do shit against it. The limo will be parked at the intersection of the alleys next to the Triad’s fleet of trucks. We won’t know which truck the money will be in. That’s why we have to wait until the deal commences and then our guys on the roofs will move in.”

    “So what’s our job?” Ray asked.

    “We’re the soldiers,” Joe said. “We’re the guys who are going to storm the alley with guns blazing. Our goal is to grab the money and the drugs. We’re not leaving the alley without them.”

    “They have guards in trucks at both ends,” Tommy interjected. “We’re going to take them out in a drive-by and then storm the alley.”

    “What about the bulletproof limo? How are we going to take it out?” Burnside asked. “Their guys could retreat to the limo, hide out in there, and then drive right by us as we hit them from all sides with gunfire.”

    “That’s what these are for,” Tommy said, reaching down to his belt and unclipping a hand grenade. He held it in front of Ray and smirked. “I have two and Joe has two.”

    “No offense,” Ray said. “But what happens if you guys get taken out?”

    “Then you’re fucked,” Tommy said, widening his grin. “You better keep us safe then.”

    “You’re going to provide cover for us while we go after the limo with the grenades,” Joe said.   

    “Why don’t you just have our snipers on the roof drop grenades on their heads?”    Burnside asked. “Then we could go in and mop up.”

    “That’s not going to work, hotshot,” Joe said. “We can’t risk blowing up the drugs or the money. The grenades are for the limo and the limo only.”

    “Okay, I got you. Do we have any back-up grenades in case?” Ray asked.

    “In case what?”

    “Like I said before, in case you don’t make it.”

    “You better hope we make it,” Tommy said. “We’re the team leaders, so we’re the only ones with the pineapples. We’ll be taking up the rear and the rest of the team, including you, will be responsible for taking out any resistance ahead of us. Our job is to use the grenades like a can opener and blow a hole in the limo so we can get to the drugs. The Columbians’ bulletproof glass won’t be able to stand up to grenades.”

    “What if you miss?” Burnside asked.

    “Then, you’re fucked,” Tommy said, widening his smirk like a demented Cheshire Cat.

Ray didn’t know what else to say. It was a terrible plan. His life was depending on keeping these two assholes alive. They were also alarmingly big targets.

    Damn, what did I get myself into?

    Burnside was now thinking that he had made a very large mistake. It sounded like a suicide mission.

    The limo eventually left the twisting canyon roads and entered the city. The vans and the limo split up to take different routes to the target.

    Smart move,
Burnside thought.
At least they’re doing something right.

It would have been too obvious if they moved in a convoy. The gray Hum-vee remained following the black Hummer as it negotiated traffic. Burnside tapped the seat nervously as they waited at inevitable stop lights. As the buildings got taller, Burnside realized they were in the heart of the city. 

    I don’t want to kill anyone, but it doesn’t look like I have a choice. In prison I killed in self-defense – to survive. This is different. This is a choice.

    “You all right, brother?” Tommy asked, noticing Ray’s pallid complexion. “You don’t look so good.”

    “No, I’m fine,” Burnside said, grinning. “It’s just been a while since I engaged in an operation like this.”

    Not since I worked on the police tactical team, but these guys don’t need to know that.

    “I hope you’re not going to freeze up on us, hotshot,” Joe said, turning toward Ray. “If you do we’ll have to kill you.”

    Burnside laughed – a harsh, barking sound in the interior of the Hummer.

    “You could try,” Ray said, grinning widely. “You will need more guys than you have here though.”

    “That’s more like it, hotshot,” Tommy said, clapping Ray on the shoulder.

    I can do this. I have to do this. I was wrong before. This isn’t a choice. This is my only option for survival on the outside. There’s no way in hell I’m going back to prison. I’d rather commit suicide on this crazy mission than go back.

    Now that he was resolved, color returned to Burnside’s face and his expression became grim and determined.

    No choice. I Have to do it. I’m not going back.

    “Okay, boys, we’re coming up on the target. We’re going to do one dry run to see what they have guarding the alley and then we’re pulling over out of sight to wait for the signal. Guido, slow down here. We’re getting close.”

    They entered a rat warren of tall tenement apartment buildings. Burnside thought the decaying, dilapidated buildings should have been slated for demolition, not human habitation. Ray glanced behind him and saw the other Hummer pulling over to the side of the road.

    “Okay, slow down a bit, Guido, but don’t make it too obvious,” Joe said. “Go about forty miles per hour. There they are.”

    Burnside looked out the right window and saw a huge black truck parked facing outward in a wide, dark alley. He could see the silhouettes of men in the cab and in the back. He saw tiny lights like fireflies and realized they were smoking cigarettes – making them better targets. The Hummer drove past the Columbian guards in the truck. It turned onto an empty side street surrounded by apartment buildings and pulled over to the sidewalk – out of sight of the Columbians.

    “Okay, now we wait for the signal,” Joe said.

    “What’s the signal?” Burnside asked.   

    “You’ll know it when you hear it. It should be about twenty minutes.”

    To Burnside’s chagrin, all three of his comrades lit cigarettes while they waited. However, this time they cracked the windows all the way, which made it more bearable. Still, wisps of smoke drifted through the car and Ray tried not to cough again.

    What the hell
, Ray thought, taking out his own pack of cigarettes and lighting up.
We’re just a bunch of guys hanging out smoking.

    The sky darkened as twilight set in. Ray took a deep drag and glanced left down the street. He saw a group of eight Hispanic youths about a hundred feet away sitting on a wide set of stairs leading up to the double doors of an apartment building. They were drinking beers and passing around something that looked like a cigarette, but wasn’t. Farther down the street, he saw the silhouettes of two scantily dressed women outlined against a streetlight. 

    No one is going to call the cops on us in this neighborhood. We could sit here parked all night and no one would care.

    Occasionally, a car would drive past them on the street. Burnside saw an interesting mix of clunkers and top-of-the-line vehicles. Time began to drag and Burnside followed his comrade’s example and lit another cigarette. No one talked for a while and then Joe broke the silence.

    “Tommy and I will be doing the shooting,” Joe said. “You just get out of the way and sit tight, hotshot.”

    “No problem.”

    It was another reason the Hummer’s windows were rolled all the way down. Burnside figured zero hour must have been getting close because Tommy began positioning his AK out the window.

    “I need you to move back as far as you can,” Tommy said to Ray as he began encroaching on Ray’s space in order to take better aim through the open window.

Ray plastered himself against the rear driver’s door to let Tommy do his thing. He watched Tommy balance himself on the seat on one knee with his other leg on the floor and then rest the lower barrel of the AK on the lower window sill. Tommy positioned himself so he was looking down the AK’s sights. Joe was maneuvering his body in a similar fashion in the front, although he appeared to have less room. Guido had to lean far to the left to keep his head from being struck by the stock of the M-16. Now Burnside knew why they only had four guys in a vehicle that could easily accommodate eight.

Burnside heard the thundering of automatic weapons fire echoe in the distance.

    “That’s our signal. Hit it, Guido,” Joe said, remaining in position with the barrel of his M-16 facing outward.

    Guido stomped on the gas and squealed the tires as the Hummer pulled away from the curb and did a U-turn.

    “I need you to slow down to twenty, Guido,” Joe said as they turned the corner onto

Moore Boulevard. “Tommy, you know the drill. Start firing before we reach the alley. Aim low to take out the ones in the cab. I’ll get the ones in back.”

    “You got it,” Tommy said.

    As the Hummer approached the alley, Joe and Tommy opened fire. Their automatic weapons blasted like thunder and Ray thought he would go deaf in the confines of the vehicle. He saw bright sparks shoot from the rifle barrels, but he couldn’t tell if they were hitting anything.

Chapter 44

The Operation

    The thundering of machine guns was punctuated by screams from the alley. Bullets ricocheted off the reinforced armor of the Hummer as the Columbians returned fire. Guido drove fifty feet past the alley, did a U-turn, and pulled over to the sidewalk. The bulk of the Hummer was now providing cover for Joe and Tommy, but leaving Ray in the open if he emerged from his door. Instead, Ray followed Tommy out the right door so he would also have cover. More bullets ricocheted off the Hum-vee’s bulletproof windshield.

    So much for taking them all out in the drive-by,
Burnside thought.
  

Joe and Tommy fired their rifles over the hood of the Hummer, using the vehicle as cover. Joe ducked in time to avoid being struck by bullets ricocheting off the hood. He re-loaded and was on his feet again, firing. Tommy ducked behind the body of the Hummer to reload.

    Ray circled around to the back of the vehicle and fired his MAC 10 from the cover of the rear left quarter panel. He fired in the direction of the alley, but he couldn’t tell if he was hitting anything. As twilight darkened into night, visibility became difficult. The streetlights in this area had not come on yet, so they were mostly shooting blind.

Burnside emptied his magazine and ducked behind the vehicle to jam in a new one. He heard the distant thundering of machine guns in addition to the metallic thunder produced by Joe, Tommy, and the Columbians. He guessed that it was either the snipers on the roof or the mafia soldiers assaulting the other alley. Either way, he needed to clear the entrance to this alley so they could get this mission over with. He spotted a red Nissan parked on the other side of the street – closer to the alley.  

    Burnside waited a few seconds and then timed his departure to coincide with a vicious barrage from Joe and Tommy’s machine guns. He stayed low, crossed the street, and ducked behind the Nissan, which was parked thirty feet from the alley. He got down low and glanced around the rear bumper to survey the situation. He had a clearer view from this position and saw a lone gunner standing in the truck bed firing an assault rifle over the cab roof. Two blood splattered bodies were slumped in the seats of the cab and another lay stretched out on the sidewalk next to the passenger door.

    The gunner in the truck bed was busy returning Joe and Tommy’s fire, so he hadn’t noticed Burnside’s new position. Ray waited for the gunner to duck behind the truck cab to reload and then darted from his place of cover, staying low until he was flush against the brick wall to the left of the alley. Ray couldn’t see the gunner from this position, but he could see the sparks shooting from his rifle above the truck’s cab. Ray stayed low and inched his way toward the alley with his MAC10 held in a two-handed grip. He hoped he wasn’t going to get blasted by a stray shot from his own guys.

    Joe and Tommy stopped firing, so Ray figured they must have spotted him. Ray reached the edge of the alley, waited for the truck gunner to cease firing, and turned the corner. He aimed at the hunched figure in the truck bed and pulled the trigger. There was a quick burst of thunder and the figure dropped out of sight.

    Got him.  

    Ray looked through the two-foot gap between the truck and the wall to see if he could spot any more adversaries. He hoped that Joe and Tommy were smart enough to hold their fire now that he was in the target area. Ray saw the silhouettes of two gunmen running down the alley toward him. He got down on one knee, took careful aim, and fired. The gunman on the left went down, but the other darted across the alley and hid in a doorway.