Dog tried to qualm the rage he felt in order to think. It had been a bad couple of days. Less than three weeks out of prison for serving most of a four-year sentence for armed robbery and he was nearly arrested again yesterday afternoon. What the fuck happened?
He replayed yesterday’s scenario over again in his head. He had already picked up his stash of killing machines. Two Mac-10s with silencers, two Uzis, and three Desert Eagle .44-calibre magnum semi-automatic pistols. As planned, he was to deliver them to everyone two hours before the armoured truck arrived.
Mad Dog was on his way when things fell apart. He spotted the same car that ran a red light behind him the day before. Checking a piece of paper in his pocket confirmed that the number he had scrawled down was the same plate. He exchanged eye contact with the pig driving the car. The pig knew he had been burned and tried to cut him off in traffic. Mad Dog knew he had been extremely lucky. Lucky that I got a good memory for numbers. Lucky to get away.
Immediately he called Snake and Looner on their cellphones. He was in time to warn them. Pete and Bongo were not so lucky. So how did the pigs find out about it?
The plan to rob the guards from the Brinks armoured truck was something he had thought about constantly during his last year in jail. It was all he and Looner had talked about. The other men were hand-picked later. Looner had been released two months ahead of him. Did Looner say something to earn an early release? Then again, he’s so stupid, he could have let it slip accidentally.
Then there were Snake, Pete, and Bongo. Snake came recommended through Ophelia, a hooker he knew and trusted. Pete and Bongo were guys he had met in a bar. Both said they were addicts. He believed they would want the money as much as he did. Were they really arrested? Or was one of them the rat? There was his own girlfriend, Julie. She had visited Mad Dog regularly when he was in jail. Was it her? Had she found someone else when I was inside …? Naw, the bitch loves me.
Mad Dog warily glanced at Snake and Looner. Now it was every man for himself. Unlike Looner, he didn’t trust anyone … including Looner, who was too stupid to know the pistol Mad Dog gave him wasn’t loaded.
Snake was another story. He was smart and Mad Dog knew he hadn’t earned his nickname by being nice. Now survival was the name of the game … and being around someone like Snake made him nervous.
No place was safe and he was broke. Except for one thing. He had a trunk full of a very valuable commodity. With luck, he and Julie would get enough cash to slip into the States and make their way to Mexico. Snake knew some bikers willing to pay top dollar. The trick is to sell the guns and get the money without being shot or robbed by either Snake or the bikers.
Mad Dog was happy with the scenario that had been negotiated. Julie and Snake’s girlfriend would both wait in a motel. Snake would pick up Looner, who would search Snake and his car, just to keep him honest. Looner would take Snake to meet Mad Dog, who would give him the guns, except for two Desert Eagles that he and Looner carried. He would keep one for his run to Mexico. Looner would keep the other.
When Snake got the guns, he was to call his girlfriend, who would then call the bikers to bring the money to the motel. Julie would turn over the ammo for the guns and the bikers would take Snake’s girlfriend as a hostage until Snake delivered the guns to them.
Mad Dog glanced up at the sky as he walked to the rear of the car. There was a full moon, which pleased him. He knew a remote road behind Cultus Lake that would take him close enough to an area where he could walk through the bush and cross the border into the States. It would be better if he didn’t have to use a flashlight. He had used the route before when he had helped his brother import cocaine. With luck, he and Julie would be in the States within the next couple of hours.
He and Looner were to part company near the U.S. border. Looner would drop him and Julie off and take the car. Looner’s plan was to hide out with a girlfriend in Prince George. Mad Dog knew Looner would be caught sooner or later, but it would help him if the cops didn’t find a stolen car ditched near Cultus Lake and put two and two together.
Snake wasn’t talkative about his plan to escape. Likely crawl back into the same hole he came out of and wait until the heat died down.
Mad Dog took a deep breath before popping the trunk as Looner and Snake gathered around to look inside.
“As promised,” said Mad Dog, fingering the butt of his .44 as Snake bent over to examine the guns.
A woman’s voice screamed behind him, “Police! You’re not going anywhere this time!”
Constable Sophie White saw three men spin around to face her. She gasped when she saw two of them were pointing pistols at her. One man straightened his arm to shoulder height, aiming it at her face as his finger started to squeeze the trigger.
3
“Wait!” Snake yelled at Mad Dog. “The pig-bitch doesn’t even have her piece out. There could be more of them,” he said, glancing around nervously. “If there’s others, she could be our ticket out of here!”
Mad Dog stared at the young woman in front of him as she dropped her police identification on the ground and slowly raised her hands. Something sure as hell don’t make sense! How come there ain’t an army of pigs with guns?
“Why is she here by herself?” asked Mad Dog before looking at Sophie and demanding, “What the fuck are you doing here? How did you know we were here?”
“I … I don’t know who you are,” she replied, her voice barely audible. “My, my partner and I were on our way home. I left my gun and portable radio in the car with him.”
“Why are you here?” snarled Mad Dog.
“I just, I mean, we … there were some kids who were vandalizing some of these buildings earlier tonight. We were checking it again on the way home.”
Mad Dog stared at her silently for a moment and then said, “I think she’s lying. If she had a partner, why isn’t he with her?” He glanced at Looner and said, “You want to shoot her?” Remembering that Looner’s gun was empty, he added, “Never mind. Fuck it, I’ll do it!”
“Hang on,” said Snake. “I don’t wanna get busted for killin’ a cop if I don’t need to. Do that and the cops will be huntin’ us down for as long as we live.”
“We got no choice,” said Mad Dog. “The pigs will figure out who we are. Besides, she’s seen our cars. I don’t have time to rip another one off. Too risky under the circumstances. I gotta get outta here. There’s no fuckin’ way I’m goin’ back inside.”
“We just got here,” observed Snake. “She’s gotta be parked close. Find her wheels. We’ll tie her up and lock her in the trunk of her car.”
“Tie her up with what?” asked Mad Dog.
“If we don’t have somethin’, then I’ll rip some wires out from under the hood of her car. We’ll be long gone before anyone finds her.”
“We ain’t got time for that,” said Mad Dog.
“Fuck, what will it take? Five minutes?” Snake looked at Sophie and yelled, “Empty your pockets, pig!”
Sophie’s keys fell to the ground. “My car is over there,” she pointed. “I’m alone,” she confessed, meekly.
Mad
