Earthbound : A gripping crime thriller full of twists and supernatural suspense Fynn Perry (if you liked this book TXT) đ
- Author: Fynn Perry
Book online «Earthbound : A gripping crime thriller full of twists and supernatural suspense Fynn Perry (if you liked this book TXT) đ». Author Fynn Perry
Lazlo was shaking his head angrily. âFive years, Iâve worked El Gordito!â he exclaimed. âTracking every murder he was suspected of and every drug bust he avoided being connected to. Now you guys get lucky with a truck full of drugs overturned by one of his top men! Iâm the one who put him under pressure and caused him to make mistakes! I get my badge and gun taken away from me. Thatâs the fucking thanks I get, while you guys breeze in on the back of my fucking work?â
âYou did what you could, Lazlo,â Chapman said calmly. âWeâll be bringing in Vargas under a federal arrest warrant. Drug trafficking and falsifying identities are federal crimes, so we wonât have to deal with any state judges that El Gordito may have compromised. Itâs a different ball game now.â
âAt least tell me when you plan to raid the fulfillment center! I need to be part of it!â pleaded Lazlo.
âYou canât be,â said Chapman.
âForget the suspension! Thatâs bullshit! You need me on this raid! I know how his mind works,â argued Lazlo. âI need this, I canât just sit around in this house all day. Policing is my life!â
âItâs not the suspension, Dan.â Chapman paused awkwardly. âThereâs a contract out on you. A hit has been ordered.â
âGo on,â said Lazlo with a mixture of shock and anger on his face.
âAn assassin known only as Shadow Dragon was contracted via the dark web yesterday. We tried to take him out an hour ago at a location in Hawaii when the full upfront payment went through, butâââ
âBut what?â snapped Lazlo.
âWe were sure we had him. George here burst through all his encryption and we know the assassin was there just minutes before the raid. So close!â
âWhat fucking good is that now, Lee? You guys donât know anything about this assassin. You didnât see anything, did you? Christ! You donât even know if itâs a he or a she, right? Whatâs his or her kill efficiency?â
âA hundred percent and at least twenty kills that we know ofâŠâ Chapman paused awkwardly. âHeâs responsible for around eighty that we suspect him of. True, we donât know if itâs a she, but very few assassins have been female.â
âJust great guys! Assuming itâs a âhe,â and you missed him an hour agoâhe was probably heading to the airport to come for me. Whatâs his nearest airport?â
âHonolulu. Nine and half hours to JFK,â came the response, also pre-empting the second question.
âWait a second, why did you come here with your guns drawn? You thought he might already be here!â
âIt was unlikely, but we didnât want to take any chances,â Cromwell admitted. âIn addition to all the location cloaking that I broke through, I couldnât rule out that he hadnât used a remote method of controlling his computer that I hadnât been able to trace.â
âPerfect! How much for the hit?â
âItâs a seven-figure hit. Youâre NYPD and a detective, for Godâs sakeââanyone with a shield will want to avenge your death.â
Lazlo raised his eyebrows, slightly mollified and flattered at this proof of his value.
âWith administratorâs privileges I could get the buyerâs IP addressâââ Cromwell interjected.
âYeah, I know youâre clever, George. Just tell me who ordered it, for Christâs sake!â interrupted Lazlo.
Cromwell continued. âThe buyer used the name âLa TarĂĄntula,â meaning Tarantula in Spanish.â
âI know what it means, George!â Lazlo muttered impatiently.
âIt came from an IP address located in an exclusive loft complex in Manhattan.â
âFuck it, George! Whose?â
âWe know that El Gordito and his lieutenants have condos there. I narrowed the address to somewhere in Victor Sanchezâs condo. The trail leads to Sanchez, but itâs obvious that he was doing it on El Gorditoâs orders.â
âSo, El Gordito thinks he can just order a hit on me now?â Lazlo said, his anger rising.
âWe have a plan, including dealing with the hitman,â said Chapman.
âWell, thank God for that! I feel better already! Is it a hundred percent efficient?â
âTry to stay calm. Thereâs better news. Weâve taken over the communication between Shadow Dragon and Tarantula by assuming their identities. Weâve made the real Shadow Dragon think that Tarantula has called off the hit while leaving Sanchez and, by extension, El Gordito thinking that itâs still in play,â explained Chapman.
âBut the assassinâs been paid everything upfront, a hundred percent,â Lazlo countered. âShadow Dragon doesnât sound like the kind of assassin that gives refunds.â
âNo...and from what we knowâââ started Chapman.
âWhich isnât a lot,â Lazlo interrupted, frustrated.
âItâs true that he might do the job just to seal the contract,â Chapman continued. âYou know, under some kind of hitman code of honor. We figured the only way out is to pay him more.â
âPay him not to kill me? Thatâs great! And the FBI has money lying around to pay hitmen for not killing people?â
âIn a manner of speaking, yes. We hijacked some unrelated transactions on the site and transferred the Bitcoins into the assassinâs account. We made it looked like it was coming from El Gorditoâs man, Sanchez. You know, under his name, Tarantula,â said Cromwell.
âOK, so you think youâve called off the hit with the assassin, but you have Sanchez and El Gordito believing itâs still going ahead. Now what?â
âWe want to get more on Sanchez than just an intent-to-murder charge. We need to place him, and maybe even El Gordito, at a murder scene that we will stage.â Chapman added.
âHow do you figure on doing that? The whole point of him hiring a hitman is for him not to be anywhere near the body!â
âWeâre counting on the fact that because of your illustrious relationship with him, Vargas will want to see the body, to satisfy himself that youâve really gone. His type always does. Weâll need you to play dead and then weâll take photos of you in a staged murder scene. Then, when Vargas wants to see the body, youâll be safe somewhere else, while weâll use an agent as a stand-in for you. At that point, weâll arrest him and whoever else he
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