Shattered Ice

Chapter Seven

The detectives parked across the street from the green warehouse near the waterfront. Crane looked completely different, as he was wearing a denim jacket, white T-shirt and denim jeans. He also had a listening device.

“So do I look like a Mean Machine?”

Stoneward gave him a pair of sunglasses for him to wear, saying, “You do now.”

Fortunately, they were early. A few minutes later, a few other cars showed up, parking near the green warehouse. The guys coming out of the cars were wearing denim clothing as well, so Crane would fit in. There were at least 20 of them, and four women dressed in T-shirts and denim shorts.

Crane would sit by himself for awhile, until one of the women sat next to him. “Hey, there. I haven't seen you before. What's your name?”

Crane got nervous, until he looked at her face. “Oh, I'm Sam.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Sam. My name is Dana.”

Suddenly, a figure came in front of the stage. It was Hal Brooks. He was wearing denim as well.

“Unfortunately, we are missing my friend, Charlie. Some of you know that he was involved in an unfortunate accident. He will recover soon.”

Brooks had a bottle of water in his hand, so he drank it and continued. “Someone stole my Ford, and Charlie was in it. I don't know who stole my car, but I damn well want those responsible to pay.”

Meanwhile, Stoneward and Tannehill were listening in on Brooks' speech. “Okay, so he admits to having his car stolen. But he doesn't know who did it”

Tannehill shook his head and said, “I can guess why he didn't call the cops.”

Brooks just walked around and then drank from his water bottle again. After clearing his throat, he continued, “Oh, I'd like to blame the cop for this, but word is out that some men who run a business that exploits women were responsible for stealing my car.”

A loud boo echoed in the warehouse, especially from the females. Brooks shook his head and then said, “Yeah, I know what you mean. I am just as disgusted as you are. But we don't need to take that. We must be free of these monsters! Free from the bondage of evil laws!!”

A loud cheer echoed in the warehouse. Brooks was smiling as the cheers got louder. He raised his fists above his shoulders.

Crane knew he had to stay in character, so he shouted, “FREEDOM!!”

It apparently caught on, so even the others started to shout FREEDOM and chanted it for nearly 10 minutes.

Meanwhile as Stoneward and Tannehill were still monitoring what's going on. “Wow, even Sammy is getting into the act. I just hope he doesn't overdo it.”

Suddenly, a big van pulled up in front of the warehouse.

“What the ---”Tannehill shouted.

Out of the truck came men in suits armed with rifles.

Stoneward shouted, “Oh, sh*t!!” as he and Tannehill ran straight to the warehouse with their guns ready to fire.

Once the gunfire began, Tannehill called for backup. “Repeat, shot fired, 340 West Blink Avenue.”

They ran inside the warehouse, and gunfire continued. Stoneward was able to shoot a few of the gunmen, as was Tannehill.

The gunfire ceased, and when the dust settled, there were a few deceased Mean Machine members as well as some of the gunmen.

Also on the floor was a wounded Hal Brooks, and a wounded Crane.

Suddenly one of the gunmen tried to get up to get his gun, but Tannehill pointed his gun at him, saying “Don't even think about it!!”

The uniformed police showed up, That's when Tannehill would tell one of them, “Read him his rights and cuff him.”

Meanwhile Stoneward tended to Crane. “Sammy, are you okay?”

Crane was shot in the left arm.”Man, I hate it when I get shot. At least I plugged one of those perps.”

“You'll be okay, kid.” Stoneward said as Crane would be taken to the hospital.

Next he would go to Brooks. “Mr. Brooks, your friend Mr. Knox will be all right. He'll be out of the hospital soon.”

Brooks was hurting bad. “That Damn Ryker. That Damn Ryker---” He didn't say another word after that.

Stoneward would walk away as they tool Brooks' body away in the ambulance. He'd say to Tnnnehill, “I don't know, Lucas, but I get the feeling that Ryker had something to do with all of this. And for what?” He pulled the diamond out of his pocket. “All for this.”

The detectives went back in their car, heading to Scranton Hospital.

When they got there, they saw Crane in the treatment room. “Hey, Sammy.”

Crane smiled and answered, “This is the first time I infiltrated a group like the Mean Machines, and then I get shot. What a bum deal.”

Tannehill would smile, saying, “Look at it this way, Sammy. You took one for the team.”

Crane started to laugh a little, as one of the nurses start to take his vital signs. The other detectives left his room.

Officer Grant came to them. “Lieutenant---”

“Hey, Grant. What's up?”

“You're not going to believe this. The two wounded shooters-- one works for D'Amico, and the other works for Toad.”

“What? You're kidding.”

Officer Grant nodded. “Afraid not, Lieutenant. It just doesn't add up. Unless D'Amico's men and Toad's men decided to have a truce to wipe out the Mean Machines.”

“That's sounds far-fetched, but maybe it's possible.”

Just then, Doctor Li appeared. “Lieutenant--”

“Hello, Doctor Li. What;s up?”

“Lieutenant, I put Mr. Brooks in the same room with Mr. Knox. Apparently they shared some information with each other and they want to speak with you.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” The detectives went up to the 3^rd floor.

When they arrived at room 330, apparently Mr. Brooks was in a good mood. “You know, I owe you guys. I guess that's what I get for speaking against cops....”

Tannehill looked at him and answered, “Hey, don't worry about it, Mr. Brooks. We're used to being called names; we don't care.”

Brooks cleared his throat, and then said, “The only cop I hate, actually, is that Ryker.”

Stoneward said, “Believe me, we've never given the guy any Christmas cards.”

Brooks was surprised. “Really? He's your boss and you hate him, too. How ironic.”

“We agree that he's a natural pain in the A.”

Knox laughed along with them. “Hey, Hal. You need to tell them about Damon Carducci.”

Stoneward suddenly changed his facial expression. “What about Carducci?”

That's when Brooks got serious. “Damon didn't want any part of our group, but I respected him for that, because he and I were friends. Two days before he got killed, he called me. You see, he was scared because he told me that he stole a diamond from some man who ran an escort service.”

“Mr Toadamont, ask the Toad.”

“Yeah I guess so”, Brooks agreed. “Damon told me he was working for this D'Amico guy, trying to force that Toad guy to make him share part of his escort service.”

Tannehill asked, :”Why is it that one of your men shot two men at Anna Fredricks' place?”

Brooks got upset, saying, “I saw that on TV when they identified those shooters. I swear they were not part of my group. I keep tabs on my members. I know most of them by face. None of those were members of the Mean Machines.”

“Are you saying that those dead men were phonies? They did have the tattoos on their arms.”

Brooks would pause for a moment. “Wait a minute. I didn't think of it before, but a few days ago before Damon was killed, Ryker came to me and told me he could wipe my criminal record clean if I did a favor for him. I told him to go f*#&k himself..”

“Aha”, Stoneward's eyes lit up. “It's beginning to add up. Ryker was D'Amico's client. He's on the take.”

Officer Grant came in. “Lieutenant, we re-checked the identities of those dead men who had those tattoos. Most of them either work for D'Amico or Toadamont. They had nothing to do with the Mean Machines.”

Brooks was happy. “I knew it. I knew it.”

Stoneward turned to Officer Grant. “Are you sure?”

“Here's something else. Some of them were once arrested by Ryker.”

Stoneward and Tannehill looked at each other, and Stoneward would say “BOOM!!” They'd leave the room. “Gentlemen, thank you.”

Knox would be confused. “What does it all mean? “

Brooks would turn to Knox, saying, “The cops put two and two together. It means our group is in the clear..”

Knox was relieved.

Stoneward went to the nurse's station. “Excuse me, but I'd like to use your phone.”

“Certainly.”

Stoneward would dial a number. “Captain Ryker, I've got news for you. Can you meeting me at the green warehouse at 340 West Blink Avenue. Thanks, Captain.”

After he hangs up the phone, he turns to Tannehill and say, “Lucas, we are about to trap a crooked cop.”

Suddenly they see Crane in a wheelchair with one of the nurses. “Hey, guys, I need a ride.”

“Sure, kid. You can help us trap a killer” Turning to the nurse, he said, “We'll pick him up in the front door.”

They would leave the hospital and then returned to the green warehouse. Parking behind, they'd set up inside.

A few minutes later, Ryker showed up. When he went in the building, the place looked dark and empty. Ryker shouted, “Stoneward, where are you??”

Suddenly the lights came on. As Ryker looked around, the place was still empty. “What kind of game are you playing, Stoneward?”

Still there was silence.

“Stoneward, if this is a joke, it's not funny.”

Just then Crane appeared. “Hello, Captain Ryker. Aren't you going to ask me how I'm doing?”

Ryker was not amused. “Crane, what is this all about, and where's Stoneward and Tannehill.?”

Crane was smiling. “Oh, come on, Captain. You put me in homicide and for that, I am grateful. I won't be stuck in the robbery division anymore, thanks to you.”

“Crane, I demand to know where is Stoneward and Tannehill?”

Crane's face showed a lot of confidence. “You know, Captain, at first I thought you were rewarding me for all the great work I did in the robbery division. The trouble was that Lieutenant Stoneward knew I was inexperienced and maybe I'll be lead in the wrong direction. But they stuck with me, and now I have the experience.”

“Get to the paint, Crane.”

Suddenly, Stoneward's voice could be heard. “We'll get to the paint, Captain. You see, you were getting extra money from Joseph D'Amico. You knew that his employee Damon Carducci stole that diamond from Toadamont.”

“You're crazy, Stoneward.” shouted Ryker.

Stoneward, continued. “Of course Damon Carducci knew you wanted the diamond for yourself, so you confronted him at Bennett's Jewelries, and then you killed him.”

Crane would look at Ryker as he said, “I know we're getting warmer. Captain. Next you killed Toad right after we left. We saw you there mingling with the girls. After closing you stuck around and killed Toad. YOU EVEN KILLED MY PARTNER, BILL JONES!!”

“Dammit.!! Stop!!” Ryker shouted.

Stoneward continued. “My guess is D'Amico knew you were after the diamond for yourself and he decided to cut off your salary and name you to the police.”

“That diamond is mine, Stoneward. Do you have it?”

“Oh, wait. You used a couple of D'Amico's and Toad's men you recruited to pose as members of the Mean Machine to kill D'Amico. Then with D'Amico dead, you convince some of his thugs to shoot everyone in that Mean Machines meeting. That way, the Mean Machines would be blamed for killing Toad''s men and D'Amico's men.”

Crane added,”You even knew where to find us, because you planted that listening device in my jacket while I wasn't looking. Obviously you did it the last time we saw you in the precinct.”

Ryker pulled out his gun. “Where's the diamond, Stoneward? Tell me or Crane is dead!!”

Stoneward would continue. “This was your way of getting back at Hal Brooks for getting off on a technicality. You wanted the diamond, D'Amico's organization and Toad's as well. The trouble is you are too greedy..”

“No. D'Amico got greedy. He wanted to cut me out if I didn't get rid of the Toad. Then he wanted to cut me out once he got his hands on the diamond. But Carducci ruined it all by hiding it where I can't find it. I met him at Bennett's and fought with him about the diamond location but he refused to share it with me.

“But you're right about D'Amico wanting to expose me so I had him killed. Oh, and Bill Jones was just sacrificed. Now give me that diamond or Crane gets it.” Ryker pointed the gun at Crane.

Finally Stoneward showed his face. “Captain Ryker,---”

Ryker looked up as Stoneward took the diamond out of his pocket, showing it to Ryker. “Is this want you are looking for? This diamond that you were willing to kill for?”

By this time Ryker was agitated. He pointed the gun at Stoneward, and Crane attacked him. The gun went off but didn't kill anyone.

Crane shouted, “This is for Bill Jones!!” and then he planted a fist in his right cheek.

The struggle continued as Stoneward and Tannehill ran down to where Ryker and Crane were. Crane managed to knock the gun off Ryker, but Ryker ran out and went to his car, the mysterious white one.

The detectives followed him in their car. Once again, they were involved in a high-speed chase, this time they are the chasers. It would last 10 minutes, Ryker shooting back at them, and then Stoneward would open fire.

Just then Ryker suddenly didn't keep his eye on the road. He'd hit a construction sign and then the car flipped over. The detectives stopped their car behind a parked concrete mixer truck. And then they ran towards Ryker's flipped car.

The car caught fire so they knew they had to put him out quickly. They managed to get him out completely and far away from the car before it exploded.

Ryker had been hit on the shoulder by Stoneward's bullet. They looked at him, and finally Ryker said, “I should've had everything. Dammit!! I – I--- should've --- had ---everything.”

That was the last thing that Ryker would say before he passed away.

All the detectives could do was call it in. A few minutes later, the uniformed police came as well as the fire trucks to put out the fire.

“Ryker wanted to take over the world, and now he's just out of it.”Crane would say as he joined Stoneward and Tannehill to answer questions from the police officers.”