C33 Chapter 33

Zane made himself a cup of coffee and drank it while he waited for Johnson to return. Finally, he heard Johnson’s motorbike pull up outside. Zane turned off the lights and locked the house. Then he climbed on the back of Johnson’s bike and together they headed for the cabin.

Sanchez let them in and locked the door behind them. They all sat down and ran through the new information they had gathered. Johnson gave them the address he had followed Hope to. It was a warehouse on the outskirts of Hurstville. Sanchez made a call and passed on the information to his team.

They were told to meet at a point downtown in the morning at which point a combination of law enforcement agencies would gather nearby to support the team that would go in with Jerry. The rest of them intended to storm the building if necessary.

Zane told Sanchez to tell his team to wait until he got the message from Hope that everyone was present. They didn’t want anyone slipping through the net this time. They wanted everyone rounded up and arrested in one go if possible.

With nothing more to be done, they all decided to try and get some sleep.

Zane lay awake most of the night as he thought of Hope. He hoped she wasn’t going to double-cross them and that she hadn’t done so already. He wondered if the day would bring success and an end to the drug ring for once and for all as well as serve to restore his job and clear his reputation and name.

If Hope hadn’t sold them out he wondered if she and her daughter would be safe when everything went down the next morning.

They woke early the next morning, had breakfast, bathed, and prepared for what lay ahead. Johnson headed into the city with Jerry, while Zane took a taxi with Sanchez. Sanchez gave the driver an address and they soon arrived. Johnson and Jerry were already waiting outside. Sanchez entered the building and the rest followed. They rode the elevator up to

the fourth floor and exited.

Sanchez led them into an office and introduced them to more law enforcement agents. “These are the men who will be joining Jerry when they enter the building.”

There were four men and they were all introduced to each other. Jerry and Sanchez moved off to a table where they could have some privacy and go over the plan with the additional men. They were the team that would enter the warehouse together.

Zane and Johnson would be left waiting outside with the rest of the agents and snipers on the outside. They went through the photos of who was considered friendly and who were targets for arrest.

Hope and her daughter were marked as friendlies while Terry, Brian, and Commissioner Loman were all marked as suspects to be arrested. Other faces identified by Sanchez’s team were added to the list. Many of them were police from out of state where Hope had worked for them before.

When they were sure that everyone was on the same page, Jerry made the call to Hope asking if they could meet.

Hope confirmed that the path was clear for them to meet and she gave them the address. They told her they would be there in about twenty minutes. Then Jerry and the team left in the car they had allocated and drove to the warehouse.

They arrived almost twenty minutes later. Jerry placed a call to Hope.

Hope informed Aaron that Jerry and his men were outside the warehouse. Aaron signaled to his men. They checked outside and confirmed that it was just one car with what seemed to be five occupants.

“Very well,” Aaron said. “Open the doors. Just wide enough to let them in.”

His men slid open the large warehouse doors just wide enough to let the vehicle through. Jerry drove the vehicle through the doors and the doors were closed behind them.

Jerry cut the engine and climbed out with his men.

Hope approached Jerry and shook hands with him. “You must be Jerry.”

“I am. You Hope I hope,” he joked trying to break the ice.

Hope simply smiled and nodded. “You told us you wanted to make an allegiance and wanted to do some shopping.”

“Yeah I do,” Jerry replied.

“I been getting drugs from upstate but supply’s getting tight. Control’s changed hands and costs are going up. When I heard you were setting up here, I figured we could make a deal.”

“What deal are you talking about?” Hope asked.

“Wait. Can you agree to a deal with me? Are you the right person I should be talking to?” Jerry asked.

“I assure you that the people who need to make the decision are in the building right now.”

Jerry seemed to hesitate then continued.

“Okay. I run East Hurstville. I’ll share it with you. Word on the street is you got people in high places, in the right places. Explains how you get arrested and get free so easily. I need contacts like that. I got all the schools, bars, clubs, universities and any other locations where supplying is easy. We don’t need to fight over them. Just share them. What do you

say?”

“I think I need to see some numbers. That’s the way it always works isn’t it?”

“Well sure. No problem with that. I can give you a ledger right now. If you like the numbers we can do a couple of location visits and confirm that you’re satisfied with what we can generate before we agree to go into business. One thing I know is that if we are united, we’ll be pretty unstoppable.

Jerry lifted his briefcase and placed it on the vehicle’s hood. He popped the locks and removed a ledger that he offered to Hope. She stepped forward and took the ledger from him. She opened it and paged through it. She paused at some pages and showed interest but said nothing.

“Looks interesting,” she said she closing the ledger and holding it out to one of the men to take from her. They collected it from her and carried it to Aaron.

“What are you doing asshole?” Aaron hissed. He had not wanted to be identified but the fool had made it clear that he must be senior to Hope.

Jerry focused on Aaron. “You the boss?”

Aaron lifted the book. “Nah. Just the accountant,” he lied. Whether his lie was accepted, he couldn’t tell.

“So where’s the boss?” Jerry asked. “Who’s going to say we can or can’t sleep together?”

Jerry had been chewing gum until then, but now he spat it out onto the floor. “Come, let me show you I’m serious.”

He turned and walked to the back of the car. He pressed the vehicle's remote and the trunk popped open. One of his men opened the trunk and Jerry stood proudly by the vehicle spreading his hands like a magician finishing a magic trick.

Aaron and Hope approached the rear of the car slowly. When they were close enough and could see what was inside the trunk they stopped and whistled slowly.

The trunk was filled with cash from side to side and front to back. The cash was sealed in plastic and the notes looked crisp and new.

“What’s that for?” Aaron asked.

“For doing business,” Jerry replied. “Now, where’s your boss?”

Aaron hesitated, licking his lips nervously.

“Well?” Jerry asked showing the slightest bit of irritation. “I told you last night that I was coming this morning. Are you open for business or not? I can always move on down the road.”

“No, no. Wait a minute,” Aaron replied. He turned and walked to the back of the warehouse where steps led up to an elevated platform with an office. He climbed the stairs and entered the office.

When the door opened Commissioner Loman looked up from his desk, irritated. “Dammit Aaron. Don’t you knock?”

“Sorry Commissioner,” Aaron replied. “This man says he wanna speak to the boss. He got a car full of cash downstairs and says he’s moving on unless he meets the boss.”

“What the hell for?” Commissioner Loman asked.

“He has a lot of cash and wants to make a very big purchase.”

Commissioner Loman hesitated just a moment longer. Who would know him anyway? And how much cash was a lot of cash?

He swore and stood. “Alright. Let’s go see.”

Commissioner Loman stood and Terry and Brian rose quickly too. They led the way out trying to appear proactive and they all headed down the stairs.

Commissioner Loman approached the car slowly.

Jerry introduced himself and shook hands with Commissioner Loman. The Commissioner introduced himself simply as Bremen.

“How can I help you?” Commissioner Loman asked.

Jerry stood back and motioned to his vehicle’s trunk. “I want drugs man and I heard you have them. Lots. I got a big order and I need to fill it today. Now are you interested or not?”