The Crusader Ch. 09

Brian turned a sickly shade of white and eyed the only way out of the shooting bays.

"Don't try it," Rollie ordered and stepped in front of the door. "Even if you get past me, Detective Wendt of the St. Louis Police is waiting on the other side." He shook his head and grimly smiled at Brian. "I don't think you can get past me and of course Ray is out there too. Face it boy, you're screwed. Unless..."

"Unless what?"

"If you tell us how you fit in and what the plan is, I'll tell Wendt that you cooperated. Hell, I'll even tell the judge you came to me because you regretted your part." Brian hesitated, thinking about how he could get out from under the storm that was coming.

"I'll tell you what I know and you jump in anytime," Rollie suggested. "I know that Jorge and the SLRC had a deal with Delgato and it fell through. They contacted you and made some kind of deal for you to help them get automatic weapons from Missouri Tactical. I'm pretty sure they kidnapped Tully to get his security codes." Rollie gave the boy a piercing look. "That about right Brian?"

Brian looked at the ceiling took a deep breath and sighed. "I didn't know they were gonna kidnap Mr. Tully; I swear I didn't. I was supposed to tell them when the guns were cleaned up and ready to shoot. Then I was gonna tell them what times the Sheriff's Department made their security sweeps. That's it."

"Why? Did they offer you money or what?"

"I owe some money to Jorge. He said he'd write off the debt if I helped him; he also said he break my legs if I didn't."

"When are they coming to get the weapons?"

"Don't know for sure, but I think it'll be tonight. I called Jorge yesterday and told him the guns were ready and stored in the armory." Brian hung his head and in a soft voice said, "I drew them a map of the complex."

That supported Tully's phone call, Rollie thought. He raised his head and looked at the security camera. "You get all that Frank?"

"Yeah, I'm on my way," Frank answered over the speaker in the bay. He entered, walked over to Brian and put handcuffs on him.

"You can't arrest me," Brian said. "You got no, what'd you call it, jurisdiction. You're a city cop."

"He's not arresting you," Rollie said. "We're just going to put you somewhere for safe keeping until we deal with your buddy Jorge. Frank, would you lock our boy here in the secure file room please."

"What then Rollie?"

"Guess we'll hide our trucks out back and just hang out and see if Tully shows up." Rollie followed Frank as he led Brian out. After securing their prisoner, they went to the security station that showed the view from the cameras on three monitors. "Now we wait," Rollie said. "Got any coffee Ray?"

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

"I need my leg, unless you want to carry me," Tully told Jorge. It was around midnight and Jorge had just ordered Tully to lead the way to the door.

Tommy shoved a pair of crutches at Tully. "Make do with these crip!"

Tully took the crutches, stared at Tommy for a few seconds and started toward the door. Seeing the look in the "cripple's" eyes, Tommy stepped back and pulled a pistol from under his jacket. Once outside, he motioned for Tully to get into the back of a panel van. Jorge got behind the wheel and Tully was seated between Chang and Tyrone on the second seat; Tommy sat on the passenger side, turned and kept his pistol on Tully.

Jorge looked in the rear view mirror and caught Tully's eye. "This is the way it's gonna go down. If anyone is there, you'll tell them that Tommy is your cousin and you're just showing him the place. Tell them that we're thinkin about takin lessons for our CCW or something. Got me?"

Tully stared back at Jorge in the mirror then gave him a grim smile and nodded. "We got no problem if the place is empty," Jorge continued. "Either way, you get us into the building and then into the armory." Jorge turned in his seat and looked directly at Tully. "We know there is a numerical security code, you'll give us that code."

"Okay, I'll give you the code," Tully replied. "You don't need me to go with you."

"Don't play dumb, old man. We also know there are a retinal, voice and a finger print scanner; without your eyes, voice and prints, the number codes don't mean shit."

"What happens after you get the weapons?"

"We tie you up, leave you in the armory with the door open, and go on our way," Jorge answered. "It'll be at least a day before someone finds you and we'll be underground by then." Jorge turned back to the front, started the van, and drove away from the waterfront warehouse where they'd been holding Tully.

Somehow I don't believe they're just gonna leave me there, Tully thought. Come on Marine, time to adapt to the situation, he told himself.

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

At 1 AM, there was no moon; the Academy and the grounds were shrouded in darkness. Ray took turns glancing out of a window and at his security monitor. "Dark as the inside of a black cat out there," he said. "Good night to run an op." Ray bent and stared at the tracking display on his monitor for a few seconds. "We've got company," he said. "A car just passed the outer perimeter; should be here in about three minutes."

"Let's stay frosty," Rollie ordered. "We don't want to tip off Jorge and the boys if this is them."

"You forget who you're talking to," the former Marine Captain answered.

A battered panel van with a crumpled rear quarter panel and faded paint pulled to a stop in front of the office. A man stepped out of the van and looked around; then he motioned and four other figures climbed out to join him. One of the men was on crutches.

"That's Tully," Rollie said in a low voice. He watched as the man that had to be Jorge pushed Tully toward the entrance to the building. "Can we get behind them from the office?" Rollie asked Ray.

"Yeah, but why don't we get ahead of them?" Ray asked with a smile. Rollie looked puzzled and Ray continued. "In the Corp we used to run search and destroy missions; one of the things we did was set up ambushes for the bad guys. We could do the same thing for these guys."

Rollie smiled and nodded. "Frank can wait up in the file room until they get out into the hallway and then he'll be behind them," he suggested.

"I want to be part of the ambush," Frank complained. "Tully's my friend too you know."

"Frank, I may not be able to ask nicely for Jorge and his friends to give it up; I may have to put them down right away," Rollie replied with a serious tone. "It could mean the end of your career if you're involved in that." Rollie walked over and put his hand on Frank's shoulder. "If things go south, call the Sheriff's Department."

Taking three ear bud radio communication devices, Ray handed one to Rollie and Frank. "Courtesy of Mike Thomas," he said." They're the same type used by Marine Force Recon units and the Navy Seals." Ray chuckled and added, "Mike is the king of over kill."

"Give us a heads up when they leave the office Frank," Rollie requested. Frank nodded and Ray led the way toward the armory with Rollie on his heels. Arriving at the security door, he turned to Rollie. "Since it's the place they're headed for, I thought we might spring our ambush from inside. There are several weapons crates that we can hide behind. What'da you think?"

"Sounds like a good plan," Rollie answered. "Jorge and his boys won't expect us to be in there."

Ray ran through the security checks and opened the large vault door. The door would have done justice as a vault door for the biggest banks in St. Louis. There were two rooms in the armory; one large, open bunker like space and a smaller room off to one side with its own security door.

Against each of the three of the walls of the big room were racks of weapons. Each rack held pistols, rifles, or shotguns. The smaller room contained ammunition for the guns.

The vault door was pulled closed and pushed into its frame; but Ray didn't lock it. The door could be locked from inside the room by using a keypad set in the wall next to the door. Once locked it would take explosives to force the door open from the outside.

The two men quickly stacked a few of the crates on top of each other for cover. Rollie pulled three of the large wooden boxes close to the wall on one side of the door. When Tully and his captives entered, Rollie would be behind them; Ray would be facing them from across the large room.

"Stay cool when they get here Rollie," Ray cautioned and then grinned at the look Rollie gave him.

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

As Tully hobbled toward the door of Missouri Tactical, he saw the tail end of Rollie's truck parked down by the storage sheds that were used for the outdoor ranges. Tully looked down at the ground because he didn't want Jorge and the others to see the look on his face. I'm not alone anymore, Tully thought.

Jorge motioned and Tully used a numerical code to unlock the door to the building. Tommy pushed Tully inside and Chang closed the door behind them. "That door leads to the armory," Jorge said after looking at a hand drawn map. "Lead the way old man."

Tully continued with the labored way he used the crutches and slowly led the men down the hallway to the vault door of the armory. When he got there he saw that the security locks were already opened and he knew someone was in the armory waiting for him. It took a lot of effort to keep the smile off his face. You boys are going to get a big surprise, Tully thought as he went through with bogus procedures to supposedly open the door.

As he entered the armory, Tully could see that some of the crates had been moved. He took three swinging strides with the crutches and dove behind one of the crates to the left of the door. Jorge yelled and followed Tully.

"Hold it right there," Ray yelled and showed himself from behind his hide; he was holding an M16 and pointed it Jorge and the others. Ray had grabbed the weapon from a rack on the wall and loaded it. "Toss your guns toward me and get on your stomachs."

Tommy recovered from his surprise and started to move to the side. "He ordered you to stand still," Rollie said from behind Tommy and the others. Glancing over his shoulder, Tommy saw Rollie holding a large pistol on him. The young man hesitated, and then tried to turn and bring his pistol to bear on Rollie. The high pitched bark of the M16 sounded and Tommy fell to the floor.

Chang paused; he had no intention of giving up but he couldn't decide which of the armed men to attack. He moved to the side; taking two steps to his left he fired at Rollie. Chang never made a third step as Rollie put two bullets into his chest. Tyrone had better sense than Tommy or Chang; he jumped back through the still opened armory door and turned to run down the hallway. As he turned he came face to face with Frank Wendt.

Frank motioned with his own Glock and said, "On your knees and then on your stomach. Tyrone followed the order and Frank secured him with handcuffs and then secured the cuffs around a metal drain pipe running down the wall. That's when he heard Jorge scream, a gunshot and then silence.

Jorge had seen two of his men taken out of the fight and the third run out the door. He screamed in anger and frustration, and then snapped off a shot at Ray. Tully stood, using the crate to steady himself and swung one of his crutches. The polished oak crutch caught Jorge in the throat. The force of the blow snapped the crutch into pieces and Jorge dropped his weapon. He grabbed his throat, made choking sounds and slumped to the floor.

"How's that for a crippled old man?" Tully asked. He started at the stump of the crutch in his hand, dropped it, and using the crate carefully picked up the other crutch. Ray came out from behind the stacked crates and pulling Jorge's hands away from his throat and secured them with a nylon zip tie.

"Clear?" Frank yelled from outside the big room.

"Clear," Rollie confirmed and Frank entered the armory.

"The cavalry's on the way," he said. "I put in a call to the Sheriff's Department; they said they'd bring an ambulance and EMTs with them."

Rollie walked over to his friend. "Hey Tully, long time no see. How you been? What you been up to lately?"

"Just cleaning up some trash," Tully answered and smiled. "Thanks for the help Rollie; you too Ray. Nice to see you Frank."

"All bull aside, are you okay?" Rollie asked.

"I feel like a three legged horse without my peg leg but other than that I'm fine." Tully grinned and sat down on the crate. "Could use a good meal though. Maybe when this is over we can make a run to Rigazzi's."

Rollie took out his cell phone and started to make a call. "No reception in the vault area," Tully said. "You'll have to get out from under all this metal.

Nodding Rollie stepped out and called Jessica. "Found him Jess," he said when she answered. "Yeah he's okay but he needs his leg. We're at the Academy. Would you call Julie and let her know?" He listened for several seconds, and then interrupted her. "We'll tell all about it when you get here; Tully needs his prosthesis." He listened again and said, "I think we're going to be held up out here with the Sheriff's Department for a while. See you soon."

The sound of a siren could be heard coming from the main road up to the office complex. "Guess I better get out there and meet the Sheriff," Frank said.

He left at a trot down the hallway to the front of the building. As he opened the office door, he saw a patrol car skid to a stop. A young Deputy Sheriff, who couldn't have been more than 22 or 23, stepped out of the car as the siren wound down. Using the open car door as cover, he pulled his service weapon and pointed it at Frank.

"Freeze Mister," the young Deputy yelled.

Frank put his hands in the air and thought, great I told them to come quietly and I get a combination of Barney Fife and Dudley Do Right with sirens screaming. "I'm Detective Frank Wendt of the St. Louis Police," he identified himself and took a step toward forward.

"I said freeze," the Deputy repeated.

Frank shook his head. "Look I'm a cop too Deputy. What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Deputy Stiles."

"Okay, look Stiles I don't want to get shot and I especially don't want to get shot by mistake," Frank said. "I'm going to reach into my jacket and get my badge and ID. Okay?" Moving very slowly, Frank pulled out the small leather folder that held his badge and ID card. He held it up so Stiles could see it and took another step forward.

Stiles went into a modified Weaver stance and again pointed his pistol at Frank. "Anyone can flash a fake badge," Stiles said.

Frank stopped for a couple of seconds and then again raised his hands over his head. "I'll just put this on the hood of your car and you can verify who I am." Lowing one hand, he slid the folder across the car toward the Deputy and stepped back; lacing his fingers behind his head. In the distance, Frank could see the lights of at least three more vehicles speeding toward the complex.

Stiles picked up the folder and studied the picture ID and then the badge. He was still looking, turning from the ID to the badge and back again, when another patrol car pulled to a stop beside him. A man climbed out of the car and put on the Smokey Bear hat of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Department.

"What you got Stiles?" The man asked.

"I heard the radio call for a disturbance at Missouri Tactical and since I was closest I hurried over here Sheriff."

"Did you also hear that the call for was for a quiet approach and you weren't supposed to use your siren?" Sheriff Rawlings shook his head. Stiles' was going to be a first rate deputy one of these days but today wasn't it.

Frank waited and listened as Rawlings chewed the Deputy a new one. Rawlings was another of the poster boys for law enforcement. He was tall at 6' 4, with broad shoulders and a slim waist. Rawlings looked like the tight end he'd been in college. Rawlings and Frank had met several times at different law enforcement seminars and symposiums. They were kindred spirits dedicated to law enforcement and had shared a few dinners together after the meetings and classes.

Looking at Stiles, Rawlings ordered his Deputy to holster his weapon. "Hello Frank," Rawlings said. "What are you doing out here in the boonies? And put your hands down, you're embarrassing me."

"Hi Sam. Got a little situation here," Frank answered as he lowered his hands. He quickly explained about Tully's kidnapping, the SLRC, and what the outcome had been. "Tully, Rollie Chambers, and Ray Jenson are still in the armory. There's a guy cuffed to a drain pipe in the hallway and there are three down in the vault; two are dead and the other one probably wishes he was."

Rawlings turned as the other two vehicles came to a stop. "Ambulance is here," he said unnecessarily. Guess we better call for the medical examiner too."

"I'll do it Sheriff," Deputy Stiles offered.

"No, I'll do it. You'll have him charging out here. You go bring out the prisoner and put him in your car," Rawlings ordered. Frank handed the Deputy the key to the handcuffs and the youngster went inside.

Before the EMTs could get their equipment together on a gurney, Stiles returned pushing a staggering Tyrone in front of him. Tyrone had a cut over his left eye and blood was dripping from a cut lip. Rawlings raised an eyebrow at his deputy.

"He tried to grab my gun when I freed one of his hands," Stiles explained with a shrug.

"Looks like you showed him what a bad choice that was," Frank said with a grin.

In the armory, Rollie said to Tully, "You know those guys would have killed you after they got the weapons. What were you going to do?"

"Yeah I know, but it didn't make any difference because they would have never gotten out of the armory." Rollie looked puzzled and Tully motioned with his hand toward Ray.

"There's a button on the interior keypad that will lock the door from the inside," Ray said. "The release is voice activated. Once it's activated, you're not getting out of the vault without a set of numbers spoken by an authorized voice."

"You were going to lock yourself in with those guys?" Rollie asked. "I think Jorge would have been a little upset at you. Why would you do it?"

Tully sighed and looked around the vault for a few seconds. "St. Louis is my home. I've come back to it twice after my military career; once when I retired from the Corp and after my consultant's stint in the sand box.

There was no way I was going to help or let those assholes make my home into a free fire zone." Tully paused and then added, "I was going to lock the door and they wouldn't have gotten me to say the code. We would have been in here until Ray or one of the others got here in the morning."

"There is an alarm that turns on the cameras in here if the door is locked from the inside," Ray explained. "When I got here in the morning the video feed would have been on the monitor on my desk."

"Jorge would have killed you Tully," Rollie said with concern in his tone.

"Maybe, but they still wouldn't have gotten out until Ray let them out." Tully smiled. "Besides they didn't do so good when they grabbed me. If they hadn't drugged me I would've kicked their asses at my place."

Rollie returned Tully's smile. "I believe you would have Tully."

"Rollie," Frank called from the hallway. "Comin in."

"Well come on you sorry excuse for a cop," Tully yelled back. "Don't wait for a written invitation."

"You know you get right down nasty when you don't get enough sleep Sarge," Frank replied. "C'mon the Sheriff's Department is waiting for you guys. They want to talk." Turning to leave he saw Deputy Stiles standing in the door. "In fact, here is one of those fine officers now."