SPEARSDante Bianchi was nothing like the Commissioner of Police had expected. This, in essence, meant that he was not old, pale and potbellied. Prior to the meeting that had been arranged between him and Natasha, he had not seen any photos of the man. Subsequently, all that changed. Ignorance had never done any man good, especially the ones in law enforcement, so he set out to know everything he needed to. This led to him being saddled with a pile of files and unfinished paperwork. There were gangs all over the city, lurking in the dark, claiming boroughs and sets. Their notoriety gained them more respect than fear, and if there was one thing that Coleman Spears had learned in all his years as an officer of the law it was that there was nothing scarier to a cop than a criminal that the people respected. Sometimes, the respect went as far as love. As a child, the story of Robin Hood was a fascinating story to Spears. As a person who had been a cop for longer than even he could rememb
BIG JACKThe Marksman found him the first time on one of the sunnier days. By then, the heydays of winter had slowly began to give way to warmer days, drifting steadily from snowy days thick with cotton-like clouds to more torrid days, and the first signs of spring had began to appear across state lines. Everywhere you turned, there were melting snowdrifts; and new blades of green grass sprouted from places in the snow. The air had also gotten considerably warmer.Joaquin went down from the hotel room they were staying at to get something from one of the shops close by. The hotel was the big fancy type, with two large beds metres away from each other. Big Jack had opted for larger, more opulent accommodation after the call from Neil. It was the best he could do. He had a faint idea of how the Marksman thought. Fugitives liked to leave very little tracks to make it impossible for anyone to track them. That was basic knowledge. So more often than not, if not always, they w
DANTE The man's mother had a house uptown, in the wealthier parts of the city, squeezed between two much larger buildings. Hers was considerably smaller than the rest and elegant in its smallness, perched on an equally small parcel of land. There was no lawn.Merely looking at it, Dante approved. It did not stink of illegally obtained wealth, but smelled of gratification; did not scream of affluence, but spoke of small comforts. Dante knew well-hidden drug money when he saw it, though. And this was it.He alighted from the back of the jeep, but his uncle stayed. The man arrived in the city a few days after he had Jackie over at the house, and although the mansion was big enough that their paths would most likely not have crossed, he was thankful that Orlando had not arrived earlier. Yet was Orlando who had convinced Dante to make this trip. In his words, 'The people who work for you need to see that you care for them, Dante. Fear is one way to inspired loyalty. B
THE MARKSMANThe killer knew fear when he smelt it. Rust and sweat, that was what it smelt like. And Jack Maeto reeked of it. It had not been an easy task finding the man, but once he had found him, staying with him was relatively easy. The man was enormous and so, he stuck out like a sore thumb. His size did not give the killer cause to worry. Scared people were predictable. They were clumsy too, repetitive. They slipped up, made mistakes. Unfortunately for them; fortunately for him.The killer sat behind the wheel of his Toyota, a old rusty car he rented. It was perfect for keeping a low profile and had let him follow the man around town without being looked at twice. He fancied himself a hunter, and Jack Maeto and his companion were blood trailing prey. The Toyota was parked in a shoulder of gravel on the street that was directly opposite the restaurant the big man had just walked into. CRAIG'S DINER. The killer popped open the glove compartment where he had kept
BIG JACKDeath was in the air tonight. Big Jack could just taste it. He did his best to shrug the thought away. It was only his nerves, he told himself. Running on caffeine and Coca-cola was not the best way to live.The receptionist was a lady in her mid twenties—or so he guessed—and like most people at that age, she had an attitude, and when she spoke, she sounded like disturbed water. Joaquin did a good job booking a room without threatening her within an inch of life, considering how exhausted they both were.'That would be 35 dollars a day.' She said, lips smacking gum. She never looked up from the computer. A row of gaudy bracelets jingled on her wrist whenever she moved her arm.Joaquin glanced at him. He returned the look. 35 dollars was mighty cheap compared to the places they had been to. 'We will take it.' Big Jack said.'Uh, you staying the week? It would be 250 dollars in total.'There was no chance they we're staying ther
BIG JACK:Big Jack awakened with the feeling of airlessness, like there was river in his lungs. He only managed to regain his composure after he had gasped and gasped into the floor, until he had drawn enough air into his body. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling in the motel room. It was dark and quiet, the only light coming from the windows. The curtains fluttered and a phantom breeze kissed his unclothed upper body. All was silent, almost disturbingly so. Not even the usual night bugs and crickets could be heard. Joaquin made a noise from his throat and rolled over in the motel bed. He thrashed around a little bit then sunk back into a deep sleep.Poor boy, Big Jack thought. Left his life to chase an old man who was afraid for his, all around the countryside. He listened for the sound of more thrashing, but Joaquin had gone silent. It must have been what had woken him, he told himself. In the dark, Big Jack waited for his heart to stop beating so fast. He was not sur
BIG JACK'The hell happened to your face?' McCoy asked, staring at him in horror, when he arrived finally.Big Jack palmed his bruising cheek self consciously. 'What the hell happened to your stomach?''This tends to h happen when you are living a good life, my friend.' The man laughed at his own joke and patted the new swell of his stomach.Big snorted. Only moving the muscles I'm his face hurt like hell. Worst than hell actually. Those he could tend to with an aspirin. The real hurt was in his head, where he could not get to. 'It's no worries. I was never a pretty man like you, McCoy.'They were in the better parts of Miami, in one of the buildings his friend owned. McCoy was reclined on one of lounge chairs, sipping sparkling wine from a flute when he was escorted up. The man had taken one good look at his face and exclaimed. Now, he offered Big Jack a drink.He shook his head at the offering. 'No.''Since when do you refuse champagne?'F
DANTEColeman Spears was just as punctual as he had expected. The bloody man was correctness itself, what with that firm jaw, those self-righteous eyes that seemed to have the ability to make anything he did not approve of combust if he fixed them with a stare for enough time. Which was what he looked to be trying to do to Dante when he spotted him in the midst of the festivity.Dante took his hand in a firm grip. The man's giant paw of a hand almost swallowed his. 'Finally,' he said through a smile that was more clenched teeth than it was actually excitement. 'I get to meet the man running the city.'Spears snorted. 'I could say the same for you. The people seem to believe you are the one in charge.'Dante's arm was in grave danger of being crushed. Flattery and subtle violence? One handshake and a sentence and he absolutely loved this guy.He managed to get his hand out of the vice grip and smiled. 'Well, this is New York. The people think what they