The Crusader Ch. 07

Rollie had always thought that the saying about someone's face going white was just that; a saying. He watched, fascinated, as Burt and Sammy's faces turned the color of bed sheets.

"I don't think the big guy likes you too much. My lady is like a daughter to him and he's really upset that you put her in the hospital," Rollie offered. "I suggest you tell us where Jackson is hiding."

Bert and Sammy looked at each other, not sure what to do. Tully growled and stepped further into the room, bringing his weapon up.

"He's in a warehouse on Laclede's Landing," the one called Sammy quickly said. "It's the old Switzer's Licorice plant. Jackson bought the place years ago and has an apartment on the top floor."

"How many men does he have with him?" Rollie asked.

"He usually runs with three others that he trusts. I don't think he wants too many knowing about the warehouse."

"How do you know about the place then?"

"I was one of his, what'd you call it, oh yeah. I was one of his inner circle until Johnny went hyper on you." Bert shook his head remembering Jackson's words. "He said when I learned to keep my head he'd start trusting me again.""The police would know about that place," Tully argued.

"The building's in his cousin's name so he can't be traced to it. That's where he always goes if things get too hot in town," Bert added.

"Get on the bed face down, both of you," Rollie ordered. To Tully, he said, "Get something to tie up these guys."

Tully holstered his pistol and went into the bathroom. Bert and Sammy climbed onto the bed and laid face down as ordered. Both men were sure it was their time to die.

Using his knife, Tully cut strips from the bath towels and tied the two men. First he tied their hands behind them, then he tied their feet, and turning them over onto their backs he tied their hands to the headboard. "Kinda kinky, but it works for me," Tully said inspecting his work.

Rollie picked up a wash cloth, wrapped it around the barrel of his weapon and walked over to the bed. He stuck his gun in Bert's face. "Open wide Bert, we wouldn't want to hurt those pretty teeth."

"I think Bert's had an accident," Tully said as a wet stain appeared on the front of the man's pants.

Bert closed his eyes and opened his mouth. Rollie took the wash cloth and stuck it into gaping hole; then repeated the operation with Sammy.

"My God, that stinks," Tully complained. "I think old Bert did more than wet himself." Turning back to Rollie he asked, "What now?"

"Call Frank and tell him where these guys are. But let's wait until we get to Laclede's Landing."

"The police can't come into the room without a search warrant or probable cause," Tully protested.

"They can if the door is wide open and two upstanding citizens are being held against their will," Rollie said. "We'll leave the door open so Frank and the boys can breeze right in. While their dealing with these two, I'll deal with Jackson."

"We'll deal with Jackson," Tully corrected. "I want a piece of him too."

At a stop light Tully used his cell to speed dial Julie while he was driving; Rollie listened to one side of the conversation. "Hi Babe, I'll have to beg off on our date tonight....Yeah I know, it's short notice but Rollie and I found out where Jackson is hiding. We're going to pay him a visit...No you're right; we won't call the cops first....Okay I'll tell him. Love ya, call you later."

He turned to Rollie and passed on Julie's message. "She said that we should call the cops and said to tell you if you let me get hurt she's gonna have your hide." Tully smiled and added, "She also said for you to be careful because Jessica needs you."

The Switzer's Licorice plant had been the mainstay for the company for many years; it had employed over 200 people at one time. The warehouse and plant were built close to the river and the railroad line. The plants materials and supplies for production were brought in by barge and railcar. The business had been bought out by Hersey in the late 1980s and shortly afterward the plant was closed down.

Now the warehouse had been abandoned for close to 20 years. The three story brick building looked like a sad old man that had seen better days and gone to seed. It was a mere shell of its former grandeur.

"By the way, and this is a hell of a time to bring this up, but what do you plan to do with Jackson?" Tully asked as he pulled to the curb two blocks from the warehouse. He looked at Rollie and said, "I'm with you whatever you decide but we need to be sure what our objective is. Your answer will determine what we're gonna do."

"Jackson is going down Tully," Rollie responded. "With your help or without it, Jackson's going down."

Tully could see the anger on Rollie's face and heard the rage in his voice. "Let's do this; maybe I can keep my date with Julie later," Tully said and pulled his truck away from the curb.

Switzer's old warehouse was boarded up and dark; except for one corner on the top floor. Lights shown through open windows and music could be heard coming from the interior. Maybe not abandon after all, Rollie thought as Tully parked his truck in the alleyway behind the building. As they got out of the truck, Tully reached behind the seats, pulled out a fanny pack, and put it on.

Rollie raised an eyebrow in question and Tully said, "It's sort of like Batman's Utility Belt. I carry a few things that might help on a mission like this."

"Okay Batman, I guess that means I'm Robin," Rollie grinned.

There were two cars parked at the loading dock; a Cadillac Escalade and a Mercedes sedan. "Business must be good for Jackson," Tully said in a low voice as they walked toward the large sliding doors fronting the dock.

"Not for long," Rollie said. Staring at the big doors, he saw a smaller one to the side for people to use. Pointing toward it Rollie offered, "There's bound to be at least one guard behind that door."

Tully held up a finger for Rollie to wait a minute. He gathered some trash paper that had blown onto the dock and piled it at the bottom of the door. He used a cigar lighter to start a fire and then threw some old rags into the flame. Smoke billowed up and crept under the door. Rollie stood to the side so that the door would conceal him as it opened; Tully stood to his side and slightly behind him.

The door opened and pushed the pile of burning paper with it. A man stuck his head around the door to see what was causing the smoke. His eyes opened wide just before Rollie hit him in the forehead with the butt of his pistol; the hood went down without a sound. Tully quickly grabbed the man under his arms, drug him back into the building, and relieved him of his gun. He used two plastic cable ties from his waist pack to fasten the thug's hands and feet. Then Tully pulled a roll of duct tape and taped the man's mouth shut. He put the tape completely around the head.

"Duct tape?" Rollie whispered.

"Never leave home without it," Tully replied.

"With that guy's beard and moustache, it's really going to hurt when the tape is pulled off," Rollie said smiling.

"I know." Tully said with satisfaction.

"Tully I never knew you were such a sadistic son of a gun."

"You say that like it was a bad thing."

Rollie had to keep himself from laughing out loud. "No, just an observation." He pointed toward a staircase and led the way.

"It'd be too easy if the elevators work," Tully complained as they quietly climbed to the second floor with guns drawn. It was there that they found the second of Jackson's men.

This one was staring up toward the top floor, listening to the music. His face showed his displeasure at what sounded like at least three women laughing. "Why do I have to miss the good times and the party?" He said in an angry voice.

"Cause you're too stupid to have a good time," Rollie said, putting the muzzle of his .45 against the back of the man's head. "No don't," he ordered as the man started to reach for his gun; he stopped and lowered his hands. "Do what I say and you might just be alive when I leave," Rollie said.

Tully frisked the subject and found two pistols. He dropped the clip from the 9MM and ejected the shell in the chamber; the revolver's cylinder was swung open and emptied. Tully threw the clip and shells in one direction across the huge warehouse floor and stowed the guns in a box under the stairs.

"On your knees, cross your ankles, and put your hands behind you," Rollie ordered.

Using the duct tape and cable ties, Tully neutralized this guard. "For a supposed drug king pin, Jackson sure doesn't hire very good people," Tully said in a low voice. He motioned toward the stairs. Slowly and quietly Tully followed Rollie up toward the top level of the building; the level where the party was going on, the level where Jackson waited.

As they got up to floor level, Rollie and Tully lay almost prone with just their heads showing about the steps. In the far side of the very large room a sort of apartment had been built. There was a sleeping area, a galley type kitchen, and a living room. It was in this living room that Jackson and his remaining guard were drinking and laughing with three young women.

Jackson was around Rollie's age. He was thin, tall, and his hair was full and slicked back. His face was sort of pinched in and his eyes were small, dark, and looked like a weasels. Looking at him, no one would understand how he ruled a drug operation in a big city. Rollie knew Jackson ruled because he was ruthless; he didn't hesitate to use any and all means to get his way. The guy with him was a disappointment; he was just an average wanna be hood.

One of the girls was standing on top of a coffee table. She was dancing to the loud music and slowly doing a strip; the other two women were dancing next to the table, also taking off their clothes. Both men were sitting on a sofa in front of the table and their attention was centered on the women; especially the girl on the table. By now she had her blouse unbuttoned and started to unfasten her short mini skirt.

Rollie nodded to the left. Tully crouched and went in that direction while Rollie went to the right. They were able to get very close to the group before one of the girls saw them. She put her hands up to her face and said something. The music was so loud that Rollie couldn't hear it. He reached over and turned off the CD player.

"Party's over Jackson," Rollie said, his voice quivering with anger. He had his weapon pointed at Jackson's head.

"Bruce?" Jackson said to his partner.

"I don't think he's gonna be any help," Tully said.

Jackson had had stood and turned to face Rollie. Now he looked over his shoulder and saw Bruce face down on the floor with Tully's foot on his neck.

"You ladies get dressed and get out of here," Rollie ordered.

"We got no way home," the girl on the table complained as she buttoned up her blouse. "They brought us here."

"Why don't you give them the keys to the Mercedes Jackson?" Tully suggested. Jackson shook his head and started to object.

"Do it," Rollie told him. "You're not going to need it anymore."

Jackson handed the keys to the girl. "Down on your knees," Rollie ordered. To the women he said, "Y'all get gone. You don't want to be here for what's going down."

Tully trussed up Bruce's hands and feet and then did Jackson's hands as he knelt in front of Rollie. Rollie stepped closer to the drug pin and put the barrel of his .45 against Jackson's forehead. Tully looked at his friend's face. Rollie's eyes were wild and had a faraway look in them. His body was tense and almost shaking in anger, but the hand holding the pistol was steady.

"Okay, you got me," Jackson said. "Call the cops, but I'll be out on bail before tomorrow morning. Then I'll come looking for you."

"I'm not going to arrest you Jackson," Rollie answered. "I'll deal with you myself." Rollie not so lightly tapped his weapon on top of Jackson's head. "You came looking for me once before and it didn't work out too well for you."

"Who are you?" Jackson asked with a sneer.

"I'm Rollie Chambers and I'm your worst nightmare."

Jackson's face got pale and his eyes opened wide. He realized that his chances of seeing a jail or courtroom were next to nonexistent. Jackson had heard about this man with a vendetta against him for harming his woman.

"You can't just shoot me," Jackson wailed. "That'd be murder."

"Did you worry about that when you sent your goons after me and my woman?"

Jackson turned his head toward Tully. "You can't let him kill me."

Tully shrugged his shoulders. "Not my decision."

Rollie put the barrel of his gun back against Jackson's head. "Say good bye Jackson."

I've never seen him this worked up, Tully thought. Even when we tracked down the Campus rapist or went after Vito for threatening his friends, he wasn't this angry. Tully sighed and continued his thought, Jackson's chances of getting out of here alive are slim and none; and slim just left town. He's a dead man and just doesn't know it yet.

"Rollie," Tully said. He had to loudly repeat it to get his friends attention. "Rollie!"

Rollie turned toward Tully.

"I'm with you, whatever you want to do, I'm with you. This piece of crap doesn't deserve to live." Tully paused for a three or four seconds. "But ask yourself what Jessica will think about you killing him in cold blood. She'll soon get her memory back and this will be the first new memory she has of you. Is that what you want?"

Rollie listened to Tully, his eyes lost some of the wildness but they were still cold and hard. He turned back to Jackson. "He's got to pay for hurting Jess," Rollie said in a quiet deadly voice. He pulled the hammer back on his pistol causing Jackson to beg, "Please don't, please don't.

*********************

Rollie walked into Jessica's hospital room at 9 AM. She was leaning against the raised bed, looking at a magazine. She looked up as he came in and smiled. Rollie crossed to her bed, took her hand and leaned over kissing her cheek. He stepped back and smiled at her.

"They're going to let me out of here in a couple of days," Jessica said. "I'll have some therapy for a while but I can go home."

"That's good news," Rollie answered. He wasn't sure if she would be coming home to him.

"Will you pick me up in the Corvette? With the T-Tops off please."

"Sure, I'll drive the....wait. You remember the Corvette?"

Jessica's smile lit up the room. "Yes Rollie, I remember everything. Our life together and how happy we are; I remember it all. As the memories came back it was almost like falling in love with you all over again."

Rollie didn't know whether to laugh or to cry. He hugged his Jess instead.

After a couple of minutes, she pulled back a little. "Did you kill him Rollie? Did you kill Jackson?" Rollie looked at her, puzzled. "When my memory came back, I asked Julie where you were. She told me about you and Tully hunting for Jackson." She paused and then asked again, "Did you kill him Rollie?"

Rollie looked into Jessica's eyes. "No." He told her what had happened and held up his thumb and forefinger with very little space between them. "I came this close to dropping the hammer on him, but no Jess, I didn't kill him. The police arrested him."

"I'm glad. It would have haunted you forever if you'd executed him. I'm glad," she repeated. Jessica grabbed her man and pulled him closer.

That's how Tully and Julie found them several minutes later.

********************

"Seems Jackson was wrong," Tully said.

"About what?" Rollie asked.

It had been two weeks since Jackson's arrest at the Switzer warehouse. Tully and Julie were at Rollie's and Jessica's for a cook out. It was the first time they'd entertained since Jessica was released from the hospital. Rollie checked the baby back ribs cooking on the grill, grabbed another beer for Tully and himself and sat back down next to his friend.

"Remember Jackson said he'd be out on bail by the next morning after he was arrested."

"Yeah?" Rollie asked, remembering the night at the warehouse and how close he had come to killing Jackson.

"Well he's still in jail. My friend in the DA's office said the court refused bail; they said that Jackson was a flight risk. Can't really blame the court; if it hadn't been for us, the cops would probably still be looking for him." Tully drank some of his beer. "The DA is bringing a cornucopia of charges against our friend Jackson."

"Cornucopia?" Rollie said with a grin.

"Would you prefer I use plethora?"

"No, I just didn't think you knew those big words." Tully grinned and gave Rollie a one finger salute.

Rollie's attention wasn't totally on the conversation with Tully. Every half minute or so, he would nervously glance over Tully's shoulder toward his garage at the back of the yard. Rollie would cock his head, listen for a few seconds and then continue talking.

Tully knew what was grabbing Rollie's attention. Just as Tully started to remark on Rollie's preoccupation, they heard the roar of the big V8 engine and side pipes come down the street, slow to make the turn into the alleyway, and then stop in Rollie's garage. Rollie's pride and joy, "The Beast", was home safe and sound.

Jessica had asked to take Julie for a ride in the classic Corvette. Rollie couldn't very well refuse the request, but he was concerned that something might happen to his "baby". Tully wasn't sure if the concern for the "baby" was for Jessica or the Corvette.

Julie followed closely by Jessica came toward their men on the patio. Jessica's hair was still short and showed no signs of the ride in open Corvette; Julie's longer hair was windblown and messy. Their faces with flushed with excitement and they were giggling like two high school girls.

Laughing, Julie walked to Tully. "Time to replace your truck."

"You want us to buy a Vette?"

"That's Corvette," Rollie interjected.

Julie waved him off and said, "Not necessarily, but something besides your company truck would be nice to take to dinner and dancing and such."

Tully hugged her to him and replied, "We'll go looking for a new ride tomorrow."

"Now that's my good boy," Julie responded and pulled his face down to kiss him.

Jessica almost skipped over to Rollie and handed him his keys. "Did you miss me?" She asked as she put her arms around him.

"Of course I did," Rollie answered putting the keys in his pocket.

"What did you miss most, me or the Beast?"

Rollie barely hesitated and answered, "You of course Jess."

"Liar," she said with a grin and hugged him tighter.

The End....For Now