Chapter 17
Ali, Hope, Megan and a dozen uniformed police officers were parked half a block away from the warehouse. From where they were they had a good view of the front of the warehouse facing Clinton Street, with large rolling warehouse vehicle doors, and the side entrance on Canal Street. More backup was on the way. Ali had convinced Hope to stop by the 18th precinct to brief the watch commander and pull some backup to roll with them. Hope had argued against that, since she didn’t want to lose time, but Ali had insisted. The whole thing just didn’t feel right to her. The troubling thought that she’d had, that this meeting had been set up to trap her, and thereby get to Ashlyn, was farfetched, but it was possible. She also knew that, if she was right, that they would be severely outnumbered.
“Alright", Hope began. “We approach the warehouse, enter through the side door on Canal Street, and then spread out once we're inside. If they move, we take them. Otherwise we wait for backup to arrive.”
“I don’t see any cars”, Ali said. There were no cars outside on the street or in the gravel parking lot.
“They may all be inside the warehouse”, Megan said.
“Maybe”, Ali acknowledged. “Makes it tough to figure out how many people are here.”
“My source says it’s a small meeting”, Hope reminded her. “Plus, it would have been tough to organize anything larger in such a short period of time.” She looked at Ali, Megan and the uniformed police officers. “Alright – let’s move.” They moved towards the warehouse, guns drawn, and approached the side entrance on Canal Street. Hope checked the door. It was unlocked. She pulled it open and the team filed in, Ali in the lead. It was dark inside the warehouse, except for a faint light at the far end. Ali looked around. As far as she could tell, the warehouse consisted of a main big area, and what looked to be some smaller rooms and maybe hallways on the outside perimeter. As Ali’s eyes adjusted to the dimness, she started to make out shapes, and her heart stopped. Cars. There were lots of cars. Lots of cars meant…
Hope caught up to Ali. Ali tapped her and motioned him back.
“We gotta get outta here, now”, Ali hissed as the group huddled together. “There’s like two dozen cars here.”
“That could be a hundred men”, Megan said, doing the math.
Ali’s blood ran cold. “It’s a fucking trap, Hope. Your CI set us up.”
Hope cursed silently and thought for a second. “Alright, let’s get back outside, and wait for back-“ She was about to say 'backup', when she was interrupted by a female scream. It came from the direction of the light at the back of the warehouse.
Ali looked up, and her face froze. “Oh my God”, she said.
********
“Fuck”, Ashlyn screamed. She was standing in a room in the warehouse. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling. Her weapons were on a table ten feet away. Her hands were duct taped behind her back. Around her were six Disciples. Two of them were holding her, one on each arm. The head of these six had just pushed the business end of a switchblade half an inch into her stomach.
Ashlyn had been at home twenty six minutes ago working on her laptop when she had received a text. She looked at her phone. It was Ali. She was hoping Ali was texting her to arrange a time to talk. Instead, her text said:
Just found out another mtg has been set up w Disciples n Maranos. Warehouse on Clinton near Chinatown. We r leaving from JOCT HQ ASAP. I have a bad feeling about this. Hope says the meeting is small, but for some reason it feels wrong. Not sure why. We r going to check it out without much backup. We could use u to watch our backs but pls b careful if u join us.
Ashlyn read that and had sprung from her chair. It sounded like a setup, and it sounded like Mitchell or Marano had somehow figured out that Ali knew Ashlyn and was possibly trying to set a trap that included ensnaring Ali as bait to lure Ashlyn to the warehouse. Ashlyn though about all of this, but still, she had to go. She couldn’t let Ali and her team walk into that. They wouldn’t have time to assemble a raid team on such short notice, and if it was a trap, then they would be outnumbered. She had donned her black tactical outfit, grabbed her rifle, her 9MM, and her tactical knife. She had sped over to the warehouse and had parked a block away. She had grabbed her gear and had crept towards the warehouse. She had seen the main entrance on Clinton, with the large rolling warehouse vehicle doors, and the side entrance on Canal, and had headed towards the side entrance. There had been a man patrolling the outside, and Ashlyn had dispatched him with a silenced shot to the head and then dumped his body in the bushes nearby. She had opened the side door and had crept in. She had seen the light at the far end of the dark warehouse, and she had started towards it, when her eyes adjusted to the dark and she registered that there were at least two dozen cars in the warehouse. An alarm immediately went off in her head, and she started to back out, when all of a sudden all around her car doors opened, and men started to pour out. She took aim and fired, killing half a dozen men, but there were too many, coming from all directions. Someone hit her from behind, and she went down. What felt like 2000 pounds of human put their weight on top of her. Her wrists were duct taped behind her back, and she was hauled to her feet. Someone shoved a gun into her temple, but a voice said, “No – we’re taking her to Mitchell and Marano”, and she was roughly shoved towards the light. She had been careless. She had been worried about Ali and had charged right in without properly assessing the situation. Now, she was standing in this room with blood seeping from a stab wound to her stomach. It hurt like hell. She could tell they weren't trying to kill her. At least not just yet. They were just trying to hurt her. It was working.
“How’s that feel, bitch?” Dominik Lancaster said, as he smiled and squeezed Ashlyn’s cheeks?”
“Why don’t you untie me, you fuckin’ pussy, and fight me like a man?" Ashlyn said. "What, are you scared of me? Afraid I’ll kick the shit outta you, like I kicked the shit outta Felipe and his three buddies?”
Dominik smiled. This bitch had cajones. He liked that. That made it that much more enjoyable. “I don’t think so”, he said, and then stabbed her again. Ashlyn screamed again. “How’d that one feel?” He said, as he stroked her hair.
“I didn’t feel a fuckin’ thing”, Ashlyn said, gritting her teeth.
“Well, good. Cause that’s what you’ll be feeling all night long, bitch”, Dominik said. He smiled and was waving his switchblade in front of Ashlyn’s face, when a menacing baritone voice said, “D – chill out.” Dominik backed up. Ashlyn looked up.
“Wait – that’s not the JOCT woman”, Frankie Marano said, as he walked in the room. Giusseppe, Carmine, and their bodyguards were with him.
“No, it’s not”, said Kody Mitchell, as he walked in another doorway, along with four other Disciples. He looked at Ashlyn and smiled. “That’s the muthafuckin’ sniper.”
********
“Oh my God – that’s Ashlyn”, Ali said her face in horror.
“What the hell is she doing here?” Megan asked.
Hope looked at Ali.
“I…told her we were coming”, Ali said.
“Jesus”, Hope said.
“I was worried we would be outnumbered, the way this whole thing came together”, Ali said. “I thought we could use her help. You said it yourself, Hope. You don’t care if these guys end up behind bars or under six feet or dirt.”
“Well, it looks like they got her first”, Hope said.
“We have to go save her”, Ali said. This is my fault, she thought. Ashlyn is here because of me. Ali knew the meeting could have been a trap to get Ashlyn, but they needed her help. She had argued with Hope to stop at the 18th precinct to talk with the watch commander and get backup, because she was afraid they would be outnumbered. She also wanted to give Ashlyn enough time to get down here from wherever she was. Ali knew that Ashlyn would come if she texted her. Now, somehow, they had nabbed Ashlyn and were putting the hurt on her. Ali shuddered at the thought.
“We need to wait for backup before we go charging in there”, Megan said.
“No, we can’t!” Ali hissed. “They may kill her before backup arrives!” She started to walk towards the light.
“Krieger, wait-“ Hope said, but Ali was already off. “Shit!” Hope hissed. She pointed at Megan and six of the uniformed police officers. “You guys – come with me. The rest of you get outside, and you”, she pointed to a uniformed police officer, “find out when backup is coming, and tell them to get here ASAP.”
********
“So, this is the fuckin’ sniper bitch”, Kody Mitchell said, as he walked in the room. He looked at Ashlyn and then said, “I’ll be damned. She’s as hot as the federal bitch.” Laughter erupted.
“C’mon, Mitchell. You think you can take me? Untie my hands, and let’s find out how tough you are.” Ashlyn wasn’t trying to be tough. She was trying to goad Kody into taking off her binds, and then, once she was free, she was going to lunge for the nearest gun and shoot her way out. She was hoping that Kody would buy into it, that he would feel as though his machismo was being tested and untie her, but he just smiled.
“Nah, I don’t think so”, Kody said. “You killed Sosa and his guys with your bare hands. I got no problem keeping your bitch ass tied up.”
Giusseppe Marano stepped forward. In his hand was a piano wire. “And later, I’ll be tying this around your neck”, he said, stretching the wire.
“Fuck you, Marano”, Ashlyn said, and then glared at him. “You killed my parents. I’ll be killing you.”
“Damn, you killed her parents?” Kody asked Marano. Marano shrugged his shoulders. He honestly couldn’t remember who this woman’s parents were, but that was no surprise. He’d ordered so many hits in his life, it was hard to keep track. Kody smiled. “No wonder she’s pissed at you.”
“And you threatened my girlfriend, asshole”, Ashlyn said, glaring at Kody.
“What – the JOCT woman?” Kody said, and then laughed. “Ha! I knew there was somethin’ goin’ on there.”
“Where are the feds?” Giusseppe asked Ashlyn.
“Coming here with a SWAT team and a shitload of unis to arrest your asses. That is, if I don’t kill you first”, Ashlyn said. She actually didn’t know where Ali and her team were, but she was hoping they were waiting for backup, and bringing lots of it.
Giusseppe looked at Kody. “The feds aren’t here? I don’t like this”, he said. “I want to know where they are.”
“It doesn’t matter”, Kody said. “The whole reason we set up this meeting is to get this muthafucka right here. And now that we got her”, Kody said, “Let’s get to work.” He walked over to Ashlyn until her was standing right in front of her. “You’re a pretty good shot”, he said, and then punched her hard in the stomach. Ashlyn doubled over, and the room erupted in mean laughter again. “I wonder how good you’ll shoot without any fingers”. He smiled and was about to pull out a knife when the lights to the large open space in the warehouse went on. Kody chuckled and looked at Giusseppe. “Well, looks like the feds just joined the party.”
********
Ali, Hope and six uniformed police officers were creeping up towards the light. It looked like it was coming from a room at the far side of the warehouse. They were nearing the room, and Ali motioned for them to stop. They ducked behind some cars and Ali peered over. She could see Ashlyn, about fifty feet away, standing in the middle of the room. Her back was turned towards them, but Ali could tell it was her. It looked like her hands were duct taped behind her back. Two large Disciples flanked her on either side, holding her arms. Ali could see Giusseppe and Frankie Marano, Carmine Lippenzo, and their bodyguards on one side of the room. Dominik Lancaster and a bunch of other Disciples stood on the other side, behind Kody Mitchell. Kody was standing in front of Ashlyn. He was talking and then punched Ashlyn in the stomach. Ashlyn doubled over and mean laughter erupted. Ali’s heart lurched. She turned to Hope. “That’ it – I’m going in”, she said. She turned around and was about to charge in, when all of a sudden all of the lights went on. She put her hands to her eyes, blinded for a moment, and then looked up.
“Sup, pigs!” Terrell shouted. He was on the second floor, standing on a metal catwalk that surrounded the inside perimeter of the building. Forty armed Disciples were around him. “Kody, they here.”
“Well, shit”, Kody said. He stepped past Ashlyn, who was still recovering from the punch to her stomach, and stepped one foot into the main area of the warehouse. Giusseppe Marano followed him. He shouted something in Italian. Thirty emerged from the rooms along the perimeter of the warehouse, brandishing weapons.
“Pig face Solo”, Kody said with a smile.
“Special Agent Rapinoe, and Special Agent Ali Krieger”, Giusseppe said. At the mention of Ali’s name, Ashlyn tried to turn around to look at her, but the two Disciples flanking her held her facing the other way.
“Let her go, Mitchell”, Ali said, her gun trained on Kody.
Kody laughed. “Are you fucking kidding me?” He said.
“If you hurt her, I will-“
“You’ll fuckin’ do what!” Kody yelled. “Write me a fuckin’ ticket? You muthafuckin’ pigs!” All his humor was gone. He was all business now.
“Drop your weapons”, Giusseppe said. The uniformed officers started to lower their weapons, but Megan, Hope and Ali kept theirs up and trained on Kody and Giusseppe.
“Let her go”, Ali said again.
“Stop fuckin’ frontin’ like y’alls gonna shoot. Put down your fuckin’ guns, or we gone light you up", Kody yelled again. He waited for a moment, and then turned around. He grabbed Ashlyn by the hair and hauled her over so Ali could see her. Ali looked at Ashlyn and gasped. She could see that Ashlyn was cut on her stomach. it looked like someone had been stabbing her. Kody took out his switchblade and said, “I’m gonna count to three. And then I’m gonna carve this bitch up!”
Ali started to lower her gun. “One!” Kody yelled. Ali lowered her gun a little more.
“Two!" Kody yelled, a little more menacingly. He put the blade against Ashlyn’s stomach.
Noooooo, Ali thought. She lowered her gun even more, but Ashlyn yelled, "Ali - shoot his ass!"
“Shut up, bitch!” Kody said and gave Ashlyn’s hair a hard yank. Ashlyn felt the tip of the knife against her stomach and braced herself for the pain. Ali looked into Ashlyn's eyes and felt sick. Then, she looked just to the right of Ashlyn, and saw Dominik Lancaster, holding a knife. The blade was stained with red. Dominick grinned at Ali and licked the blade.
“Th-“ Kody was about to say three, when all of a sudden sirens approached and tires screeched on the outside of the warehouse. A voice came through a megaphone, “Attention! We’ve got the building surrounded!” At the same time, Ali, seeing Dominik grin at her, registered that he was the one who had stabbed Ashlyn, and she lost control. She shifted her aim from Kody to Dominick and fired. She hit Dominik square in the head, and he went down. Then she took aim at Kody, but Ashlyn was right in front of him, so she aimed at Giusseppe instead and fired. She missed, and Giusseppe scrambled back into the room.
“Waste ‘em!” Kody yelled as he let go of Ashlyn and backed up towards the door he came in from. Then chaos erupted.
********
Hope, Ali, Megan and the uniformed police officers dove for cover behind some parked cars. They heard the door to the side entrance of the warehouse open and shouts as more police entered through. Bullets flew through the air.
“We gotta get over there!” Hope pointed to a protected alcove near the wall of the warehouse, then said, "Shit!", as a bullet struck the car right next to her, less than a foot away from her head. If they could make it over there, they would be shielded from the bullets raining down from above and also flying by them at ground level. Megan counted to three, and then she, Hope and the uniformed officers made a run for it.
“You guys go! I’m going to get Ashlyn!” Ali yelled back.
“Krieger, no!” Hope yelled, but Ali was already on her way.
********
As soon as Kody let her go, Ashlyn hit the ground, tucked her legs, pulled her hands underneath them and in front of her body, and then reached for Dominik’s knife. She cut the tape on her wrists and then looked up. Giusseppe Marano, Frankie Marano, and Carmine Lippenzo were running for the door they came in, their bodyguards in tow. Still crouched, Ashlyn lunged at the nearest Disciple, one of the men that had been holding her while Dominik stabbed her, with Dominik’s knife. The knife went through the man’s leg, and as he screamed, Ashlyn grabbed his gun out of his hand with her free hand. She twisted the knife and then pulled the trigger twice, and then man went down. Ashlyn sprung up and thrusted the knife through the neck of the other man who had been holding her. Blood spurted everywhere, the knife buried to the hilt in his neck, and then Ashlyn, using his body as a shield, pivoted and opened fire on the remaining Disciples in the room. She squeezed off four shots, and four bodies went down, then she let go of the man's body and scrambled for the doorway that the Maranos had gone out of. She made it through the door and halfway down a hallway, then she stopped and paused. She grabbed her stomach and winced in pain. The wounds weren’t life threatening, but she was losing some blood, and they hurt like hell. She closed her eyes and mentally put the pain somewhere else, then tried to listen through the gunfire. She heard shouting in Italian down a hall and she followed it. She rounded a corner and saw Giusseppe, Frankie and Carmine, along with four bodyguards, trying to force a door open. Ashlyn took aim and fired. Four more shots, and the four bodyguards went down. Giusseppe, Frankie, and Carmine whirled around.
“Holy sh-“ Carmine started, but Ashlyn silenced him with a bullet between the eyes.
“Alright, hey, look, broad-“ Frankie started, but Ashlyn silenced him as well with a shot between the eyes. Then she approached Giusseppe, who was trembling with fear. He fell to his knees as Ashlyn approached him.
“Look, just name your price”, Giusseppe said. Ashlyn walked towards him. As she got near, she suddenly dropped the gun, grabbed Giusseppe by the back of his head and delivered a hard knee into his face. Giusseppe fell down, face first, onto the ground. Blood spurted from his broken nose. Ashlyn spun behind him and drove her knee into his back, driving him all the way down. Keeping the pressure on, she grabbed the piano wire from Giusseppe’s hand and placed it around his neck.
“You killed my parents”, Ashlyn said, as she dug her knee into Giusseppi's back. She wrapped the wire around his neck and and pulled it tight. Giusseppe struggled for a few seconds, then slumped to the ground, blood pouring out of his neck. “That’s my price.”
********
Ali had been making her way to the room where Ashlyn had been. She had seen Ashlyn drop, and then the next thing she saw was Ashlyn exploding into action. She saw her take out six Disciples in ten seconds and then scramble through a door. Ali ran into the room, then went through the door where Ashlyn had exited. She heard a gasping, gurgling sound and followed it. She rounded a corner, and her jaw dropped. Frankie Marano, Carmine Lippenzo, and four other mobsters laid dead. They had all been shot. Still alive, but almost dead, was Giusseppe Marano. Around his neck was a piano wire. Ashlyn had pulled it so tight she head nearly guillotined his head off. He was bleeding profusely. “Jesus”, Ali said, looking at him. She stared for a moment, and then the last of Giusseppe Marano’s life went out. Ali stared at him for a moment longer as his body went lifeless, and then she moved on in search of Ashlyn.
********
Ashlyn slinked down a hallway. She was looking for Kody Mitchell. Kody Mitchell or Ali. She was hoping that they hadn’t found each other first. This warehouse was bigger than I had thought, Ashlyn said to herself, as she moved silently down the hallways, ducking into rooms. She was about to round a corner when she heard a voice behind her.
“Ashlyn!”
Ashlyn turned around to see Ali running up to her. “Oh my God”, Ali said, as she saw Ashlyn. She hugged Ashlyn tight and kissed her on the lips. Ashlyn winced. Ali heard her and pulled back, then looked at her wounds and said, “Oh my God, are you alright?”
“I’m okay”, Ashlyn said, wincing. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine…I’m fine”. Ali said, as she stared at Ashlyn. Even having sustained stab wounds, Ashlyn was asking Ali is she was alright.
“How is your team?” Ashlyn asked.
“I don’t know”, Ali said. “I came to find you.” Again, stab wounds and all, still concerned about my team, Ali thought.
Ashlyn looked at Ali with a quizzical look on her face. “Ditched your team to find me, huh? Sure you weren’t breaking procedure?” she asked and then smiled slightly at Ali.
Ali smiled back. “You…you were in danger”, she said. She paused and then said, “You’re the most important thing to me.”
“Above following the rules, huh?” Ashlyn jockeyed, and smiled slightly again.
Ali smiled and nodded. She went to hug Ashlyn, then remembered that Ashlyn was wounded, so she cupped Ashlyn’s cheeks and kissed on the lips. They stayed locked for just a second, and then Ashlyn’s Spidey Sense went off, and she pulled back.
“Where’s Mitchell?” she asked.
“I don’t know”, Ali said.
“Right here, bitches”, Kody Mitchell said, as he stepped around a corner. He took aim at Ali, who was closer and had her back towards him. Ashlyn saw his arm come up and spun herself and Ali around 180 degrees so she was in front of Ali with her back to Kody. Kody fired, and the bullet hit Ashlyn in the back of her left shoulder. Ashlyn screamed and slumped against Ali. At the same time, Ali's arm came up firing around Ashlyn, and she hit Kody in the chest. She fired again and hit him in the chest again. She fired again and hit him again, this time in the neck, and then she fired again. Her final shot hit Kody in the forehead, and he went down. Ali stumbled back as Ashlyn’s weight slumped against her.
“Oh my God, Ashlyn”, Ali said. She laid Ashlyn down on her back and knelt over her.
“I’m okay”, Ashlyn hissed. “I'm okay. It fucking hurts, but I’m okay." Between the gunshot wound in the back and the knife wounds in the front, she couldn't find a comfortable position to lay. "Go”, she said. “Find your team.” Ashlyn reverted to her Special Forces mantra. The team comes first. "Go take care of your team."
“No”, Ali said. She could hear the gunfire in the main room dying down. More cars were pulling up outside. Sirens were everywhere. She looked at Ashlyn, who shifted onto her right side. “I’m not leaving you, hon."
Ashlyn closed her eyes and tried to block out the pain, but she smiled ever so slightly. Even in her condition, she registered that Ali had called her 'hon'.
********
“Well well well, Terrell Terrell Terrell”, Hope said, as he saw Megan escorting a handcuffed Terrell Jackson out of the warehouse. There were cop cars everywhere, and officers and SWAT were rounding up Disciples and Maranos. “Quite a mess you guys created down here. Torture, murder, shooting at police officers…” Hope trailed off as she took Terrell from Megan and slammed him face down onto the hood of a police cruiser.
“Fuck you, Solo”, Terrell said. “Your ass is dead, muthafucka!”
“I’m not so sure”, Megan said. “I saw my partner take out Dominik. Maybe the sniper wiped out Mitchell and the Maranos. You may be the only one left.”
“Yup”, Hope agreed. “And judging by this mess, you’ll be spending the rest of your days in the SHU down at Stateville.”
“Either that, or we can send the sniper after him”, Megan said to Hope.
"Man, fuck you guys”, Terrell spat back, but with less conviction.
Hope smiled at Megan, then opened the door to the back seat of the cruiser and shoved Terrell in the back. “Take him”, Hope said, and the cruiser sped off.
“Solo. Rapinoe.” Hope and Megan looked up to see Wambach approaching. “What the hell happened here?”
“We got a tip on a meeting between the-“ Megan began.
“Look, I can explai-“ Hope interrupted.
“Where is Krieger?” Wambach demanded, cutting Hope off.
Hope and Megan both looked around. “I don’t know”, Hope said. “She went off running after the sni-“ she was about to say “sniper” but Megan cut her off with a sideways slug to the arm. She looked at Megan, who shrugged.
“Jesus”, Wambach said, and walked off towards the warehouse.