Chapter Six
Drew parked the Harley and stowed his helmet. He made certain not to scratch his chest where the wire was. It was itchy beneath the tape.
It was quiet down by the docks. This was more of an industrial area than the marina his team had staked out. Now there were detectives in discreet positions, waiting to see what boat came forward. They would then track the movements of that boat to find out the identity of the drop ship. From there, more arrests would be made, and pressure would be put on the criminals to name their supplier. If it were international, like Green suspected, then the FBI would be called in and the department will have done its job well.
Drew might even get a commendation for this. Hopefully he was done with the undercover work. It wasn’t something he enjoyed, trying to lead a dual life. It was dangerous and potentially put his family in danger as well. The last thing he wanted was something happening to his sister Jana and her kids.
This was also part of why he wasn’t in a relationship at the moment. Going undercover carried risks. He didn’t want to involve anyone in that.
Drew shook away the thought and approached the pier. A small group of men were waiting.
“Harley,” Sam said in greeting.
Drew nodded to him. Red, Knuckles and Lawe were there with Sam. Hendrix was missing but Drew didn’t dare ask where the man was.
“Boat will be here any moment. We need to unload quick. Truck is right there around the corner,” Sam pointed to it. “Red and Knuckles will take the truck to the new location. Harley will follow them to help split up the product. It needs to go out early tomorrow morning. Lowe and I are going on the boat. There’s a problem with a local that needs to be dealt with.”
“What problem could anyone have with us?” Drew made it sound like a small joke. He smiled and nudged Knuckles.
Knuckles grunted. “He thinks he should get a cut for keeping his mouth shut.”
Drew shook his head. “Now if he were willing to do some heavy lifting, that would be a bit different.”
Drew wondered where Goals was in all this. The man seemed to be content to make Sam manage everything. Drew hoped that when they arrested everyone tonight that Sam would talk and give his boss up.
It would be disappointing if he didn’t.
They watched a boat coast up to the pier.
“There’s our man,” Sam nodded. “Get the forklift Knuckles.”
Knuckles left to bring out the rented piece of equipment. Red dragged over a wooden pallet, dropping it down so they could put the barrels on it. The forklift already had chains on it and Knuckles got as close to the edge of the pier as he dared.
Sam and Drew jumped on the boat. They manhandled the barrels to the side of the deck, securing one at a time to the chains with come-along straps. The forklift raised the barrel up and to the dock, over the pallet where Red and Lawe guided it down, releasing it from the straps. Twelve barrels later and three pallets filled, they were done.
The chains were unhooked from the forklift and the pallets were put into the back of the rented truck.
It was a smooth enough operation.
Knuckles and Red jumped into the truck. Sam and Lawe went on the boat, presumably to deal with the person who wanted to try to blackmail the criminal operation.
Drew got on his Harley and was ready to go when a group of men sprang out from the shadows, guns drawn, yelling, “Freeze! Police!”
He held up his hands in surrender. In the plan that they had laid out at the station, Drew would get arrested along with the rest of the members of the gang. Each would be held in separate cells, preferably where they couldn’t even see one another so that they wouldn’t realize that Drew was missing once they were processed at the police station. Then if they needed to resurrect Harley, Drew’s cover story, for any reason, they would be able to say that Harley had gotten out on bail and skipped his court appearance.
Drew let Monroe pull his arms behind his back and cuff him. He could see Red and Knuckles getting the same treatment at the truck. Monroe read him his rights while Colby, Tony and Jacobson secured the boat, arresting Sam, Lawe and the stranger who had been driving the boat.
Miguel opened the back of the truck, hopped up and opened one of the barrels, shining a flashlight down on it. He pulled out a small test kit and tested the contents of a barrel.
Monroe pushed Drew into the back of a cop car. He shut the door on Drew, leaving Drew to look out the window. Miguel shook his head slightly as he looked at Drew and that’s when Drew knew something wasn’t right. Knuckles and Red were pushed into the backseat of the cruiser with Drew, Monroe shutting the door.
“Guess Lawe was right,” Knuckles looked at Drew with contempt. “We got us a rat.”
“What are you talking about?” Drew’s stomach bottomed out as he bluffed. He frowned at Knuckles.
“You,” Knuckles growled. “Lawe checked you out.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Drew stated flatly. “Whatever Lawe thinks is going on, he should let me know so I can answer to it.”
