Jack Stratton: Jacks Are Wild Part 10

Jack looked back at Severino, nodded his head, and walked out. Paolo escorted him to the front door. The guys in the hallway eyed him with awe and puzzlement.

I guess they're not used to seeing people walk out of that office still breathing.

Jack stopped at the door and held out his hand. Paolo nodded, and a guy handed Jack his gun. Jack stared at the old man. "Paolo, if-"

"Look, kid. You just asked Severino. Are you going to insult me and ask me now?"

The two men stood toe-to-toe for a moment before Jack holstered his gun and walked out the door.

d.a.m.n it. He wanted to scream. Mancini hasn't heard from anyone. If someone abducted her...it has to be related to her father.

Jack marched down the driveway and started down the street. He headed the opposite way from his car. He planned to double back and get the Impala but, as he crossed the street, he noticed the man at the corner. He stood in the shadow of a tree and Jack couldn't make out his face.

Jack looked back up the street but, as he did so, he unzipped his jacket, letting it hang open, giving him faster access to his gun. As he walked toward the man, he started to make out details.

Short. Five five or five six. Curly hair...Ilario.

Marisa's brother nervously s.h.i.+fted back and forth as he waved Jack closer.

"Is my sister okay? Have you talked to her?" He grabbed Jack's arm.

The family resemblance to Marisa caused a pain in Jack's chest.

"No. I told you all I know. Did anyone-?"

"Bull."

"What?"

"That's BS. Either the guy who called knows more than you, or you're lying."

"Why would I lie?"

Ilario let go of Jack's arm and he took a step back. "How do I know you even know my sister?"

Jack's hands went out.

Besides the photo, what can I tell him?

"How am I going to prove to you...?" As his head tipped to the side, Jack looked down the block. "There." He pointed toward the side street. "Last Christmas I parked with Angelica right there."

Ilario's eyebrows arched. "She didn't come in?"

Jack shook his head. "We sat there for an hour and she didn't even say anything. Your sister, she's good to me. I would have sat there all night with her. At midnight, she laughed. I asked why and she told me the two of you would exchange one early present, then. You forgot one year when you were little, so you took one of your father's presents from under the tree and wrote her name on it. She gave you a Power Ranger and you gave her a corkscrew."

Ilario kept looking at the street, but Jack knew that wasn't what he was seeing. Ilario held his hands up to his head and pressed them both into his temples. "The Fed who called kept asking about knock-offs. My father went crazy afterward."

"Knock-offs?" Jack shrugged.

"Counterfeits." Ilario looked at Jack as if he were slow. "You know, handbags, jackets, c.r.a.p like that. It's one of the rackets. Big money, low risk, low cost. My father has a piece of it but doesn't control it."

"Who does?"

"The Yakuza."

"Are the Yakuza against your father?"

Ilario exhaled as he shook his head. "Everyone is against my father, but I don't have anything to do with his business. I'm actually going to medical school." He rolled his eyes. "But my sister..."

"If someone did take Angelica, they're going to contact your father."

"Yeah. My father's already getting cash together, but what if they don't call? What if it isn't about money?" Ilario wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Ilario, they'll reach out to your family. You need to let me know right away when they do."

"How can I contact you?"

Jack shook his head. "I need to reach out to you. What's your phone number?"

"You don't trust me?" Ilario glared up at Jack.

"The trust isn't mine to give. It's Angelica's. I can't betray that."

Ilario nodded but his eyes smoldered. Now Jack could see the resemblance to Severino. Ilario reached into his pocket to take out a cell phone. "Here." He handed it to Jack. "It's a burner phone. I have a drawer full. I'll call you on it."

I actually said drop the knife Jack walked up the sidewalk as Ilario hurried back to the house. Jack went up the block and started the route to the Impala. Before he took the last turn, he waited. Besides a woman walking a dog, the side streets were empty.

He quickly strode back to the Impala and slid behind the wheel. As he exhaled, he stretched and flexed his hands. Jack focused on his breathing, trying to calm the tremor in his leg.

They already knew about Marisa. Prescott must have been fis.h.i.+ng about the connection between the Asian guy Thaddeus saw and the Yakuza and Severino. Why would Prescott call him if he didn't think there was anything to it? Unless he just wanted to rub salt in his wounds. Severino is a b.a.s.t.a.r.d. You can hate the guy, but it's still his daughter.

He popped the panel again, dropping Ilario's cell phone in, too. Jack spun the car around to head for the highway. When he reached an intersection, he stopped abruptly. Four SUVs flew by him with Big Nose driving the lead car.

They're on the move.

Jack waited for a few moments before he pulled out after them.

Four cars. Easy to spot. Easy to get spotted if they bunch up.

Jack didn't have to worry too much about the caravan getting bunched up. To them, stop signs and traffic lights seemed to be merely suggestions as they plowed forward. They quickly made their way to the highway and headed for the city.

I don't know if Severino is with them, but I don't think they're going home.

Jack slipped through the traffic as the row of cars moved into the left lane. The lead car, a giant, black SUV, would go right up on the b.u.mper of the car in front of it until the driver pulled out of the way. As the outskirts of the city approached, the caravan suddenly s.h.i.+fted toward the off-ramp. Jack felt like a fighter pilot as he eased back into position to follow them. At the end of the off-ramp, he no longer had to wonder where they were going. A huge, red archway, with giant yellow letters, said it all: Chinatown.

It's not a caravan. It's a war party.

Jack weaved through the traffic until he saw the cars double-park in front of a two-story restaurant. There were plenty of people on the streets, but the car traffic here was light.

d.a.m.n. I can't drive right by them.

Jack cut off a taxi as he drove down a side street to the right. The cab driver laid on the horn while Jack turned his body to hide his face as he flipped off the cabbie.

I should have been far enough away that they could never tell it was me.

He took a right as he saw a van pull out of a parking s.p.a.ce, and then gunned it so he could slip right in. As Jack jumped out of the car, he popped the trunk. He yanked his jacket off, grabbed his gray sweats.h.i.+rt, and slipped it on. He shoved a gym bag aside, grabbed a white baseball hat, slammed the trunk shut, and then walked back toward the caravan. The baseball hat's strap was too tight, so he loosened it and then pulled the brim down low. As he turned the corner to the restaurant, he slowed and fell in step behind two couples who were ambling along. When the people in front of him stopped to look in the jewelry store window, Jack did, too.

He glanced across the street to see Fat Man and Big Nose by the cars. Fat Man spoke into one of the cars.

At least three guys stayed in the cars. Did the others go to the restaurant? Or the department store next door?

Big Nose kept looking up to the second floor of the restaurant.

They have to be in there.

Jack looked at his reflection in the window and frowned when he realized why the baseball hat he wore was too tight. It was Replacement's. He scowled at the pink logo.

The people Jack was using for cover moved on, so he walked as well. The next store was perfect-a coffee shop. He kept his eyes on the cars across the street while he tried to order the closest thing on the menu to a regular cup of coffee. Then he sat at the window and waited. He didn't have to wait long. Paolo and a giant walked out of the restaurant, toward the waiting cars.

That guy with Paolo has to be six foot six and three hundred plus pounds. I definitely didn't miss Goliath in the house.

Big Nose held the SUV door open for them. Once everyone was in, the cars pulled away. Jack sipped his coffee.

They went to see who they thought was responsible. Prescott clued them in that the guy was Asian. Ilario said they're arguing with the Yakuza. Paolo is either giving ultimatums or arranging a deal. Either way, someone in there knows something.

Jack tossed his coffee in the trash and headed next door.

The first floor of the building had a wide staircase covered in red carpet. A hallway went a short distance to a door with a keypad entry. Two gold lions stood on either side of the stairs. Next to one of the lions was a sign on a stand. An arrow pointed up and, printed beneath it was: GOLDEN BLOSSOM. Jack headed up the stairs.

The second floor opened onto a large, dated restaurant. Huge, round tables for eight filled the room. Covered in white tablecloths, all the places were already set with silverware, water gla.s.ses, plates, and napkins. Jack took a quick glance at his watch.

11:15. Their buffet must start early.

There were perhaps three dozen people seated at tables with a half-dozen employees moving back and forth with carts and trays of food. A young girl hurried up to him, greeting him with a customary Chinese bow.

"How many, please?" she asked.

"One." Jack took his cap off.

"This way." She bowed again and led Jack over to a square table with four place settings. Another waitress rushed over to quickly remove three of them.

"Would you like a drink?"

I'd love you to leave a bottle.

"Tea, water, and I'll get the buffet." Jack returned the smile that seemed to be constantly on the young girl's face.

"Very good. Thank you." She bowed again and rapidly headed off toward the kitchen.

Jack put his hat down on the chair next to him, got up, and headed toward the back where the restroom sign pointed. He noted the tan, circular floor in the middle of the room.

Dance floor? Maybe they do weddings.

The restrooms were in the back, down a small hallway. Jack frowned. The men's and women's rooms were the only two doors in the narrow corridor.

Where are the offices?

He opened the men's room door and walked over to the row of four sinks. The bathroom was large with six stalls and four urinals.

No windows.

Jack had just finished was.h.i.+ng his hands when the door opened and four men walked in. All four were Asian, and around five six except for the guy on the left. At five ten and two hundred pounds, he was much larger than the other three slender guys. They were all dressed in business suits, but Jack knew from the way they lined up in front of the door they weren't businessmen. Three wore blue, and one wore black.

Three are j.a.panese and one's Korean. Looks like I've come to the right place to find the Yakuza.

"Why are you here?" Black Suit asked.

Jack looked over at the urinal and then back to the guy and smirked. The man on the end laughed and then quickly stopped.

Black Suit bared his teeth. "Talk."

"Why don't we sit down over a cup of tea?" Jack turned his hands out.

Black Suit shrugged. "Kick his a.s.s."

The three others started forward.

Jack didn't wait for someone to throw a punch. He lunged forward, grabbed the big guy's shoulder with his left hand, and then hit him in the throat.

Fight them one at a time. Drive them toward the urinals.

Jack grabbed the large guy with both hands. Jack's muscles fired from his feet, traveling up his thighs, and his strong back muscles kicked in. The big guy's legs were already wobbling so Jack used him like a battering ram as he drove him into the other three. Three of the four men tumbled into the back wall. The laughing guy fell, and Jack heard his head crack on a urinal before he hit the floor.

Black Suit was fast. He sidestepped the big guy and kicked at Jack's ribs. Jack didn't block the kick but twisted out of the way so the kick just missed.

Jack punched hard, but Black Suit tilted his head. As Jack's fist pa.s.sed his face, he grabbed the back of Black Suit's head and slammed him face first into the stall door. The laughing guy wasn't moving. The third guy got to his feet but didn't stay there long. Jack's first punch broke his nose, which made him fall back onto the big guy. Like playing a drum set, Jack unleashed a flurry of blows on the men, and then, panting, he straightened up.

Black Suit was back up on his feet. A thin blade was in his hand, and he wiped his b.l.o.o.d.y nose with the sleeve of his suit. Jack's lip curled into a wisea.s.s grin.

"That blood's going to be hard to get out of that suit. If you don't drop that knife, there'll be more of it."

"You want the knife?" He swung the blade in a big arc.

"I actually said drop the knife."

Black Suit lunged with a straight thrust, but Jack blocked it with his right forearm. Jack's hand opened and grabbed Black Suit's arm. Jack's legs settled into a deep horse stance, and he pulled the man's arm straight. Jack yanked up with his right hand as his left forearm smashed into the man's elbow.

As the bone snapped, the man gasped but didn't have a chance to scream out as Jack's left fist crashed into the side of his head, and he crumbled backward onto the tile floor.