The silence broken part.., p.2
The Silence Broken: Part Three: the District Detectives, #1, page 2
Shadow’s mouth twitched under the brim of the fedora. “Silence.”
Shivers slid up and down Office’s spine. The way he said the word made it sound like a name or some sort of omen. “Why-” he started again. A gunshot cut him off, and he dropped heavily to the floor with a hole in his throat. His gurgling didn’t take long to die away.
Shadow nodded in satisfaction and walked away. He had shaken The District and he knew it. As he turned his back on the now-dead thug, he slipped his handgun into its shoulder holster once more.
This is when things would get interesting.
OLLI WAS SUNK LOW IN her black leather chair, her feet on her desk again, hiding behind the morning paper. She could have read it on the computer, but she wanted to de-tox and think about something else besides the case. She had managed to think herself into a headache and still not feel any closer to figuring out what was happening. Dallas was being his normal, calm-to-the-point-of-infuriating self. She enjoyed his ability to point out the facts and keep the two of them on task, but sometimes she wished that he would have the decency to look slightly upset so she wouldn’t feel childish and bratty. That crooked smirk of his didn’t help anything either.
Suddenly the alarm went off, bathing the office in its red light. Since both detectives were in the office, it meant that something was amiss in The District.
Dallas blinked at the sudden red light, and looked at Olli’s paper. It still hadn’t moved.
Olli snapped the paper backwards and watched the light blink for a couple of seconds. “They’re starting early this morning. That’s never a good sign,” she muttered blandly. She smirked to herself when Dallas frowned at her.
Dallas stood up and walked around his desk to the middle of the room. “What is it?” he asked, looking to the computer for answers.
The computer screen that had been flashing red blinked once more and then an alley map of The District filled the screen. A dialog bubble popped up on Harbor Street.
“That’s even worse.” Olli kicked her feet off her desk and walked to the other side of her desk her hands in her pockets.
Dallas looked at the computer and then at Olli. “The Harbor?” he questioned.
Olli’s lips were pursed. “It’s No-Man’s Land. Has been since The Big Three became a problem. When something happens at The Harbor, it gets bloody and stays that way for a long time. Once, it lasted for six months. Gun shots,” Olli read the bubble. “Not good.” She sighed.
“Dee, we’re leavin’ for The Harbor. Set the alarm.” Dallas announced to the room.
Dee appeared between them and nodded. “Good luck.”
Olli already had her right arm through its jacket sleeve and was working on her left arm. “Thanks. We’re going to need it if we’re going to beat The Three there.” Olli darted out their door with Dallas right on her heels. “Monte! Something’s happening at The Harbor! We’ve got to get there now!” she snapped, her chin directed toward her collar.
Secretaries, other detectives, and their clients looked up when the two detectives rushed down the stairs through the second floor and disappeared down the next stairway. The lobby was full and bustling, but with a little work and a whole lot of weaving and dodging, the detectives made it through without many problems.
Monte’s hack was already waiting when they pushed through the door. It didn’t take them too long to make it across the sidewalk and into the hack. “Th’ Harbor? I don’ like it. That’s never good,” Monte commented as a way of saying hello. He pulled the cab out, cut across three lanes, and raced toward The District.
Dallas frowned and looked at Olli. “So I’ve heard.”
Olli watched the buildings fly by and tapped her fingers on her leg. She had stuffed her pants into her boots quicker than normal. Every time something happened at The Harbor, she started to get edgy. This was the time when her job got difficult. A lot was riding on her ability to keep the Big Three in The District and make sure that they didn’t leave unless they were in handcuffs. When things started up at The Harbor, The Three tended to push The Line a little harder.
“Something wrong, Miss Olivia?” Dallas questioned, noticing how nervous she looked.
Olli looked at him, and her fingers froze for a second. Then she started tapping her fingers again. “Not really...not yet. Every time something like this happens at The Harbor, my job to make sure that The Line doesn’t move becomes a nightmare. Plus I have to make sure that all the innocent lives on this side of The Line stay alive. That’s a huge responsibly. Nothing good ever comes out of a Harbor call.” Olli bit her bottom lip and looked back out the window.
Dallas’ forehead furrowed for a minute. “But it isn’t just your responsibility any more. After all, I’m your partner,” He pointed out.
Olli glanced at him, smiled and then looked down. She nodded. It was a relief that she didn’t have to go into The Harbor alone. “Thank you for that.” She smiled at him.
IT TOOK A FEW MORE minutes to get the detectives to an alley only a few blocks from Harbor Street. Monte had driven carefully once they were across The Line. It was hard to hide a bright yellow hack in the shadows.
“All righ’. You two be careful, watch each other’s backs now, ya hear? This place kin git downright nasty,” Monte ordered when the detectives stepped out.
Olli nodded and looked at Dallas. “Get out of here before someone sees you. Dallas will look out for me, don’t worry.”
Dallas had been around keeping an eye out. He didn’t like the way Olli was on edge even before they had gotten to The District. He smiled slightly at Monte.
With a nod, Monte pulled the hack away and soon disappeared around the corner, leaving the detectives completely alone.
“I’ll follow you.” Dallas looked around uneasily.
Olli nodded. “This way.” She led him down the alley and around the corner to their right. They darted and dodged into and out of shadows and stopped moving only when they reached Harbor Street.
Chapter 2
The One with the Hitmen
Nothing moved, gulls floated lazily above the water, and there wasn’t much to hear above the sound of the docks breaking the movement of The Harbor’s water. The entire street looked like it had been ignored or shunned for years. Even the gulls seemed to respect the silence.
Olli flattened herself against the cold, damp wall and peered around the corner, then looked down Harbor Street the other way. Nothing was moving, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t change in an instant. “We’re going to make a dash for that barge, all right?”
Dallas looked past Olli and eyed the barge distrustfully. “That?”
Olli glanced at him and pursed her lips. “Unfortunately.” She blew out her breath through her mouth, trying to get rid of the jittery feeling. “Let’s go.” She took one step; glanced both ways one more time. “Please don’t shoot me, please don’t shoot me.” She raced full-tilt across the street toward the dock.
Dallas groaned to himself and darted across the road after Olli. ‘Why does she always take off by herself like that? How am I supposed to take care of her then?’
The two detectives pounded down the dilapidated, tipsy wooden bridge to the barge, which didn’t look much different or better than the pier that leading to it. They barely slowed down as they slipped through the door and ducked into the dark interior of the barge.
Olli was breathing hard, not so much because of the running, but because of the adrenaline coursing through her. She leaned her head back against the wall for a second and then looked at Dallas. “Something is wrong,” she whispered.
“Let’s just find out what’s goin’ on.” Dallas nodded toward the rest of the barge.
Olli blinked and nodded. His voice was a little harder than normal, and he seemed almost frustrated. She led the way, not dwelling on Dallas’ attitude.
The detectives slipped through a paneled room, down a short hallway, and then stopped in front of a closed door. Closed doors were always things to be careful around, especially in The District.
Olli hesitated for about a minute and then blew through the door. She hit the floor and the rolled to her feet, braced, eyeing the room.
Dallas tried to grab her arm before she launched through the door. She made it through the door and it almost completely closing behind her. “Jenny!” he growled under his breath in frustration. He pushed through the door and walked up to Olli and eyed her.
Olli looked at him and blinked. “What?”
Dallas shook his head and pointed to the dead and bloody thug. “Who is he?”
Olli frowned. There was that curt, frustrated voice again. He looked almost angry. What just happened? “One of Two-Timer’s hitmen.”
Dallas looked at him for a minute and then looked at Olli. “Why was he here?”
“There’re three of them. Ace has a hitman in that office building, and Razor’s is in that factory right there. No one really owns The Harbor. So these three keep an eye on things to make sure that the other two don’t take over while someone’s not watching.” Olli walked up to the thug and crouched down by him. “I don’t understand it. Gunshots make sense. Him dead...that doesn’t.” She pointed at him.
“A single shot to the throat. Cold and merciless,” Dallas muttered.
“Someone rolled him over too. There’s blood on the wood here.” Olli pointed to the floor between her and the thug.
It didn’t appear that he had been left on his stomach for too long. Most of the blood had soaked into his shirt.
“All right. There’s nothin’ else to see here. You said there are two more, correct? Let’s go see how they fared.” Dallas returned from his walk around the room.
Olli looked at him, and after furrowing her forehead for a second, she nodded. Something was bothering him. But what? “All right, we’ll go to the factory.” She started walking and missed the frustrated look when Dallas watched her walk past him.
“Just wait for me,” Dallas turned and briskly walked up next to her.
Olli looked up at him and nodded. “Right.”
They quickly and quietly left the barge. After a big breath each, they bolted down the dock, across the street and into the lee of a building without hearing a single shot.
Olli was pressed up against the building next to Dallas. She looked at him and frowned. “Does it seem strange to you that he let us get all the way to that barge and back without at least taking a shot at us?”
Dallas nodded. “It does seem like somethin’ that wouldn’t happen normally,” he agreed and checked around the corner to make sure that they weren’t being snuck up on from that direction.
“Oh, good. Glad I’m not the only one.” Olli looked the other way, feeling completely on edge. Something was most definitely wrong, and she didn’t like not knowing what it was.
“It makes it a bit more difficult to take a shot at someone when you’re dead in the middle of the street.” Dallas was still looking around the corner.
Olli’s head snapped back to him. “What?!”
“See for yourself.” Dallas looked at her and then nodded around the corner.
Olli walked around the corner and looked at the hitman lying in the red puddle that surrounded him. She walked over to him, fighting the growing trepidation gnawing at the pit of her stomach and looked the thug over. “Notice anything?” she asked in a tight voice when Dallas walked up next to her.
“Throat again. Same caliber. Repeat customer.” Dallas looked back over his shoulder; it felt like they were being watched.
Olli glanced down the alley at the door and narrowed her eyes. “That’s not funny,” she muttered as she walked toward the inset door a few feet down. A simple step in, and Dallas couldn’t see her at all.
Dallas turned around and looked down the empty alley, eyes wide, trying to figure out where Olli had gone. She was already edgy, which made him jumpy. ‘Where is she!’ He started down the alley, his pace quick with worry.
Olli stepped, seemingly, out of the wall, bringing her arm around, her right hand clapping into the palm of her left hand, the right pointer finger pointing in the direction of the dead thug...and Dallas’ chest. “Hello.” She blinked, but her hands didn’t move.
“Where did you go?” Dallas demanded.
Olli blinked. “The doorway.” She nodded her head back toward where she had been standing a moment before.
“Why?” Dallas clipped the word short.
“Because that’s where he was.” Olli blinked. ‘Why does he sound so angry?’
“Who?”
“The one who killed Factory Frank and Sailor Boy.” Olli blinked and looked at Dallas in confusion.
Dallas pursed his lips and looked over his shoulder at the dead thug. “It does appear that way.” He turned back to Olli. “Just don’t leave by yourself like that, all right?”
Olli slowly lowered her arms and nodded. “I’m sorry, Dallas. Old habits die hard.”
Dallas shrugged tightly. “I know. It’s my job to keep you safe out here.”
Olli touched his arm and smiled slightly. “And I appreciate that. Let’s go see if the other thug is still alive and shooting.”
They started down the alley and turned left at the next cross alley. Neither of them said much. They were both thinking about what they were finding.
Olli was beginning to stress about the thought that there was a no-error hitman on the street. The District was always in a state of balanced chaos, but the now the delicate balance was becoming more un-balanced. She was starting to become more and more grateful that Dallas was with her constantly. She couldn’t shake the bad feeling that hung over her like a black cloud. She finally couldn’t stand it anymore. The Big Three were probably going to be on Harbor Street at any moment, and when they arrived it was going to end badly. “We’ve got to hurry.” She started running toward the big office building, gaining speed with each step.
Dallas easily kept pace with her, his distrust of the situation adding speed to his strides. The feeling that things were rapidly spinning out of control was eating at his mind. He wouldn’t deny Olli a little speed.
They banged through the nearest door of the office building. Olli stopped for a second, glancing around between puffs of air, trying to decide which way was the fastest. After a moment, she started off to their left with Dallas in hot pursuit. They charged up the staircase that suddenly rose in front of them, taking the stairs two at a time. The hallway was traversed quickly, and the two of them banged through the door together.
Olli stood in the middle of the room, sucking breath. There was the thug, lying dead in a pool of red, sticky blood. “Things are going to get ugly.” She panted, swallowing.
“That’s not right,” Dallas muttered from where he was crouched next to the expired thug.
“What’s not right?” Olli glanced down at him.
“This doesn’t fit the pattern. The other two thugs were shot from behind, this one; he was facin’ the one who shot him.” Dallas looked up at Olli, pointing to the injury with his left hand.
“Who is this killer?” Olli threw up her hands. “He takes on three prized hitmen, all by himself, and kills them one at a time, letting the last one see him...what is going on here?” Olli walked toward the window, trying to sort through all the thoughts that were ramming around in her head. She was turning back toward Dallas when screeching tires caught her attention.
Three black sedans were bumper to bumper at an intersection not far away. Each car had a man in a suit standing on the running boards pointing fingers at one or both of the other two.
“That’s not going to end well.” Olli muttered. She spun on her heel and walked back to Dallas quickly. “We’ve got to get out of here now.”
Dallas stood up and nodded. “They’re here, I take it.”
Olli’s chin barely dipped. “And arguing already. All three of them are out for blood, and I personally don’t want to be around when they start looking for someone to spill it out of. Hopefully, they didn’t see me already.” She walked briskly out the door and headed back up the hallway that they had just pounded down about five minutes before.
“I take it they are especially ruthless when they come in swingin’?” Dallas followed closely. He had taken the time to read some reports about the three crime bosses, but there was nothing like a first-hand account.
Olli nodded. “They’ll shoot long before they’ll ask questions. Razor isn’t anywhere as bad as Ace and Two-Timer. He can be rankled though.” She hopped onto the banister and slid toward the landing.
Dallas trotted down the stairs slightly behind her. There was nothing more important than getting out of the area before The Three started looking for a target. He didn’t like the thought that they were already angry enough to shoot at shadows.
Olli hit the landing on the balls of her feet and stood upright. A sudden realization dawned on her face. “Suddenly it all makes so much sense.”
Dallas stopped next to her, fighting the impatience that seized at him. “What does?”
Olli started down the hallway. They weren’t going to get anywhere near the street until they had at least this building between themselves and the mobsters. “Something felt off when we got here. It felt like The Harbor wasn’t being watched. Which makes perfect sense now. They’re all dead.”
Dallas picked the pace up a little. He wanted to get as far away as possible. “It does seem to be the logical explanation.”
They quietly slipped through the door on the far side of the office building and started down the alley away from The Harbor toward The Heart. Right now the safest part of The District was closest to the center or on the civilized half. The detectives started off at a fast jog. Speed was the key.
Just when it appeared that they were going to get away easily, a set of tires squealed behind the detectives, the sound jerking their heads back to look over their shoulders. It was a black sedan. The one that seemed to always find them in The District. It came barreling toward them.
