Chapter 25
Several hours had passed and Vincent d’Alleva was more than halfway through mixing up his newly modified plant food formula. He had gathered up some germinating seeds to use in the later stages of the process. Using a dissecting scope and live seeds, he could apply the finished solution and directly observe its effects at the cellular level. His excitement level continued to grow the closer he came to completion.
“All I need to do now is distill the crystals and add them to the existing mixture. The fractionalization process always takes so long.” He instinctively looked at the clock on the wall as his stomach began to grumble. “I can’t believe that I worked through dinner again! Is it really a quarter to ten? Where did the time go?”
Vincent walked to the rear of the lab where he had a small personal refrigerator and opened the door. Several containers of Greek yogurt greeted his hungry eyes. He picked one up and checked the expiration date.
“Well, it says its still good. Might as well eat something while I wait.”
The crystallization chamber continued to crackle and pop as the chemicals continued to combine on a molecular level releasing small amounts of heat and condensation in their wake. A preset timer indicated that the process was near completion.
* * *
The caravan of various delivery trucks did their best to blend in with traffic along I-95 South. They were already in New Jersey and less than fifteen minutes from their desired target. The Newark docks were a congested area with a lot of activity. The chosen rendezvous point was the same pier that had once housed the Headman’s supply house only months ago. The Headman managed to maintain his composure as the meeting site emerged. He did not want a turf war, but he would not be attacked or insulted. He had worked too hard and come too far for that. Gristle stopped the car when the pier was in clear view. It was not well lit and it appeared that the arranger of the meeting was already on site as a large black SUV with running lights on was parked near the corner of the dock. The vehicle had a large push bar and was turned around and facing in their direction, ready to make a quick getaway or to ram an oncoming vehicle.
“It appears that Vargus and his cronies are already here. Instruct the ground troops to get their night vision goggles on and to get into position.” His second in command gave the order through a Bluetooth comlink. A moment later there was a response.
“Alpha, Beta and Epsilon teams are in position, sir. Delta team is floating in the bay. We await your orders, sir.”
The Headman nodded into the rearview mirror and instructed his driver to proceed onto the dock. They parked the car roughly thirty yards from the black Expedition, whose hood logo could now be clearly identified. The doors on both sides of the luxury SUV opened and several men in long trench coats emerged holding their hands up in a non-threatening manner.
Gristle exited the car and opened the rear door so the Headman could join him on the outside. The two parties then walked to the center of the area between both vehicles which was illuminated by the parking lights of both cars.
“I didn’t know if you would actually show Declan. It’s truly been too long.” The Headman now recognized the voice to be that of Manuel Vargus, a street peddler from back in the day when they both ran product for the Sinaloa cartel. Both men had at one time been acquainted and close allies, now the man was a mere customer who occasionally purchased large amounts of drugs from him.
“Manuel, so good to see you again. Although if you wanted my attention there were other ways to do it than killing my informant.”
“Jimmy was a snitch and working with the feds. I did you a favor.”
“And what about the firebomb at the bar? Were you doing me a favor there too? Several of my associates were gravely injured by your arsonist and that is NOT an acceptable way to do business!”
The drug lord’s voice was stern and intimidating, but there was no movement from the four men standing before him.”
“Maybe, we’re done doing business with you. Maybe, it’s time for a change. Too long has Vargus taken orders from you. We want the northeast. It’s time for you to take orders from us.”
Gristle made a slight move to reach for his handgun, but Declan put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.
“I came here tonight to try and broker a reasonable agreement and keep the peace between our two organizations. If you want to challenge my leadership of the streets I understand, but are you really ready to back up that statement with blood? I can still be a reasonable man. It’s up to you now.”
“We’re done taking orders from you and your band of miscreants.”
“Have it your way then. Your ‘blindspot’ will be your own undoing.”
As the words left his lips, several red targets appeared on the chests of the four men standing before them. The Headman and Gristle both pulled their own weapons and fired at the four men while dashing for cover among a pile of crates. A barrage of bullets began to rain down upon both parties. Vargus had also come ready for a firefight.
“Get down boss! Let the Headhunters take care of this.”
Alpha and Beta team snipers made short work of the men brandishing guns who had emerged from among the steel canisters and alleyways. Several of Vargus’ men tried to jump off the pier into a waiting getaway craft only to be mowed down by Delta team. The whole firefight lasted no more than six minutes, and all members of the Vargus Cartel laid dead or were dying. Manuel Vargus was barely clinging to life when he tried to crawl to safety under his SUV. The Headman ran over to the man’s prone body and grabbed him by his right leg preventing his escape. He then turned the man over to face him as three well-armored stormtroopers flanked the man from key sides. Manuel Vargus put up his hands in surrender.
“Please Declan, we were friends once. Show some mercy. I made a mistake. You win. Please, I have a family.”
The Leader of the Headhunters smiled at the carnage around him and at the bloodied man lying before him.
“Oh, I’ll show you mercy. I’ll make sure your family is lying next to you in the morgue in the next twenty-four hours. I reject your proposal and hereby put you and your upstarts out of business.”
He placed his gold-plated pistol between the defeated crime lord’s eyes, then squeezed the trigger. As the final shot rang out, he announced once more. “The Headman reigns supreme!”
He used Vargus’ tie to wipe the blood from his handgun then surveyed the fallen bodies.
“Did we lose anyone?”
Alpha indicated that everyone was present and accounted for.
“Excellent! Clear the area of any incriminating evidence. The cops will be here shortly, we need to make ourselves scarce. Move!”
The activity on the pier ended almost as quickly as it had started. The Headman placed his handgun back into his shoulder holster before getting back into his limo and Gristle chauffeured him far away from the pier.
* * *
“Major you’re going to want to see this.”
Bulletproof jumped up from behind his desk and came over to the monitor. “Satellite imagery just revealed several random delivery trucks in route to the Newark piers an hour ago. Local police chatter has just alerted us of multiple shots fired in the same area.”
Bulletproof slammed his fist hard against the desk.
“Dammit! I knew something was brewing. We need to get out there pronto.” Bombstrike removed her headset so that everyone in the room could hear the audio.
“Local police are reporting multiple rounds of gunfire coming from the main shipping pier outside Newark Liberty International Airport. At least twenty alleged drug cartel member’s bodies have been retrieved with other casualties expected. The lone abandoned vehicle was registered to Manuel Vargus, supposed head of the Vargus Syndicate. It appears rival drug gangs participated in a turf war leading to the multiple homicides. The FBI and other specialist groups are being called in for further investigation.”
No sooner had the broadcast occurred that the phone on Major Morris’ desk rang.
“Hello. yes, this is he. Why weren’t we made aware of this sooner? It’s already all over the media. We’re on our way.”
He hung up the phone and turned to face his team.
“Everybody gear up. We got a hot crime scene to investigate. Looks like it’s going to be a late night.”
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