The System - A Detroit Story - Read online

Elena saw Miri walk in the lap dance room. Miri motioned to her. Elena gave Chris a long, soulful look and got off. Jesus, it was a long time since Chis was so turned on by a woman. Even if the look was staged.

  "Sorry. Vlad wants to see you," said Miri to Chris.

  "Yeah," said Chris. "Perfect timing." He sat for a moment, and then stood up. Miri led him to the office then walked toward the bar.

  Chris walked in the office.

  "Have a seat," said Vlad. Chris sat in the chair opposite the desk, facing Vlad.

  "She is very nice, no?"

  "Sure is."

  "How would you like to spend more time with her? Go on a little trip?"

  "A trip?" said Chris. He looked at Eddie then back at Vlad. "To where?"

  "Canada," said Vlad. "A small town."

  "Why?" said Chris.

  "I need you to pick something up for me and bring it back. A package," said Vlad. "You and Elena can be on," Vlad looked at Eddie, "a honeymoon."

  Chris sat back. "What's in the package?"

  "Something that is worth a lot to me," said Vlad.

  Chris figured it was cash, gold or dope. "I don't know, man. It sounds risky. Very risky."

  Vlad nodded. "So are your boosts."

  "Not like this," said Chris. "On the boosts, I call the shots."

  Vlad nodded. "What about your boat?"

  Chris sat up.

  "How far away are you from getting it?" said Vlad. "It could be a place where we start negotiating your fee."

  "I need another one twenty five," said Chris. "One twenty five and I'm there."

  Vlad sat back. "As I told you. My father was a fisherman. I understand. I know the sea. A boat, it becomes part of you. Like a living thing." He looked at Chris. "What does it cost? Total."

  "Two fifty," said Chris. "For the boat and take over the business."

  "You could make one hundred on this trip," said Vlad.

  "I need one twenty five," said Chris.

  "Twenty five ain't much," said Eddie. "You could make that on a good boost or two."

  "We will see about the twenty five," said Vlad. "Right now, I'm offering you one hundred. And you have the extra benefit of having Elena with you. Do what you want with her."

  Chris sat back, looked at Eddie then back at Vlad. If Eddie was here, then he had something to do with this and stood to gain somehow. A hundred for this job and if he cleared twenty five from the Millender boost he'd be free and clear to head down to Florida and clinch the deal. He thought of Elena, still smelling her perfume and wouldn't mind taking a road trip with her.

  "When does this happen?" said Chris.

  "You can leave tomorrow. I have all the papers ready."

  Chris sat for a moment. "I'll do it."

  Vlad nodded and stood. "We must shake hands." He held out his hand, and Chris shook it. "It is very important."

  * *

  Peabody and sat in the white work van, parked a few houses down the side street next to the Tiger's Den and had a clear view of the parking lot. She saw Washington place the GPS transponder under the black CTS's gas tank. She lit it up and it tracked perfectly. Washington hurried back to the van.

  "Good job," said Peabody.

  "Did you get anything?" said Washington.

  Peabody nodded. "Some," she said. "A lot of background noise. Static. It was definitely Dragovic. I can tell by the accent. "Don't know who he was talking to."

  Washington nodded.

  "It looks like someone is going on a road trip." She pulled a video camera from a black canvas case. "We're going to tape everyone that comes out of there until it's empty."

  * *

  Vlad left alone at 2:15AM. At 2:45AM the bouncer opened the door. Eddie rolled out followed by Chris. Eddie used the loading lift on the van and got in the driver's seat. Chris sat in the passenger's side.

  "Hey," said Peabody. "That looks like the limo driver that picked up Dragovic."

  "That it does," said Washington.

  Chapter 22

  Rada and Sanja

  Rada sat by the fire in the red velour chair in the parlor, glaring at Sanja. Sanja was playing with Trina and the new doll Sami brought her. She stood the dolls up facing each other, like they were talking. Sanja let the new doll go and focused on Trina, fixing her hair with atiny toy brush.

  "Give me that," said Rada, reaching down and grabbing Trina.

  "No," said Sanja, not letting go.

  "I said give me that," said Rada, pulling the doll from Sanja's little hands. "This doll is no good. Play with the other one." Rada took Trina and threw her in the fireplace. The doll's thin clothes instantly caught fire, then her hair.

  "No," cried Sanja. She got up and ran toward the fireplace. Rada snatched her by the collar of her sweater and dragged her through the parlor.

  "I told you not to play with that doll," she said. "How many times?" She forced Sanja through the dining area, kitchen and out the rear door.

  "I want Momma," cried Sanja.

  "She is gone. She isn't coming back," said Rada. She dragged Sanja toward a wooden shed that stood near the rear of the cottage, by the tree line. "All you have is me now," said Rada. "And you need to learn to be good."

  Rada stopped in front of the shed and twisted the metal clasp. Sanja collapsed on the ground, crying.

  "Do you know why your mother will not be back? Do you?" Rada leaned down and hovered over Sanja's face. "She doesn't love you any more."

  Sanja buried her face in her hands and sobbed.

  "Get in," said Rada, picking up Sanja and forcing her into the shed. "And if you tell Papa I put you in here I will make you walk in the fields." Rada shut the shed door and twisted the metal clasp.

  Sanja sat on the floor, unable to see, and crawled on the damp, hard packed dirt floor to a corner. She felt the wall, seeing thin bands of bright light through the wall's wooden slats. She sat in a corner diagonal to the door, her chin to her knees and her face in her hands.

  Two hours later Rada emerged from the cottage and walked toward the shed. She stopped when she heard Sami's Mercedes rumble up the gravel road. She turned and waited for Sami to stop. He got out of the Mercedes and hugged Rada.

  "Where is Milos?" he said.

  "In the village. He will be back later this evening."

  Sami looked around. "And where is Sanja?"

  Rada pointed to the shed. "She's been bad. So much like her mother."

  Sami looked at the shed.

  "Get her out of there," he said. "Take care of her."

  "She's a nuisance," said Rada. "Defiant."

  "She may not be a problem much longer," said Sami.

  "How's that?"

  Sami lowered his voice. "First, Elena is gone. Forever. Jerzy had to sell her."

  "So?" said Rada.

  "I just thought you would like to know." He stepped closer. "Jerzy has a new proposition. He is lining up some new clients. From Moscow. Clients with special needs." Sami looked at the shed.

  Rada stood for a moment, and then caught on. She smiled. "When?"

  "Soon. Jerzy needs to work out the details and will let me know. A lot of money is involved."

  "How much?"

  "More than you would think," said Sami. "You would be set, as I would." He looked around. "And you would not be stuck here."

  "What about Milos?"

  "What about him? I'll just tell him that Elena is doing well and has sent for Sanja." Sami motioned to the shed. "Now let her out of there and be nice to her. Fatten her up a little."

  Chapter 23

  Recon Analysis

  Davenport was looking at the photos on the wall of Vlad, Elena, Miri and Chris when Peabody and Washington walked in. Peabody was surprised to see Davenport.

  "Interesting cast of characters," said Davenport.

  "Yes they are," said Peabody. "We've run down their IDs."

  Davenport nodded, and then said to Washington, "how's it working for you so far?"

  Washington shrugged his should
ers.

  "Everything's fine," said Peabody.

  Davenport looked at Peabody. "How can I help?"

  "More resources," said Peabody, already knowing the answer.

  "Can't do that," he said, "but I'd like to know what's going on. See if there's anything I can do."

  Peabody scanned Davenport. "All right," she said. "Here's what we have. Dragovic has something coming in. Something big. From what we know from Interpol about his connections in Albania, Turkey and France, he'll start transporting the heroin soon. Where it enters North America, we can only guess." Peabody stepped back. "Dragovic's very efficient, and smart."

  Peabody stood in front of the pictures, pointing to Miri and Elena. "These women are here illegally, we believe, even though they went through customs at DTW," she said. "Fake passports and visas."

  "Why not just pop him on that?" asked Davenport. "He'd be looking at ten to fifteen, minimum."

  "We could, and it would probably stick," said Peabody. "But we have bigger fish to fry. We want him, but we want the route back through Europe more," she said. "And the entry point. Detroit, we believe, is a pilot program, so to speak." Peabody tapped the picture of Vlad with the eraser end of a yellow pencil. "If Detroit works, he and whatever associates he has could expand to other, if you don't mind me saying, decaying cities," she said. "Cleveland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, to name a few."

  Davenport nodded and looked at the picture of Chris. "Who's this guy?"

  "Name is Christopher Wolfe. Works for a limo company," said Peabody. "We shot these at the airport," she said, motioning to the photo of Chris opening the limo door for Vlad, Elena and Miri. "We would have never made a connection if it wasn't for this." She took a small voice recorder from her suit pocket and played the Tiger's Den recording. Peabody pulled the video camera from the black case and showed Davenport the video of Chris and Eddie at the Tiger's Den.

  "We couldn't get an ID of who Dragovic was talking to so, so we waited until everyone left," said Peabody.

  "We saw him," said Washington pointing to Chris, "and a man in his late fifties in a wheelchair coming out of the room with the bug. We ran the limo driver down," said Washington. "Came up fairly clean. Suspected car thief. Had a juvenile record, but that was expunged," he said. "The guy in the wheel chair is Edward Siegler. Owns a junkyard on the southwest side. Italian Mafia connections, we believe. Auto's been interested in him and his operation for a long time," said Washington. "Suspected chop shop."

  Davenport nodded. "Thanks for the update. Again, if there's anything within my power to do to help, just let me know."

  Chapter 24

  Lincoln and Davenport at American

  Lincoln looked down at the plate with two conies and a side of fries. He liked American Coney Island better than Lafayette, but know Davenport didn't. It was almost a religious war in Detroit, those who loved Lafayette and those who loved American.

  "The DEA's on this," said Davenport.

  Lincoln took a bite of his coney, the onions, chili and mustard dripping off the end of the bun.

  "How much do they know?" asked Lincoln.

  "They know about your friend, his connections, his women and some limo driver. They know something's coming in, and know it's big," said Davenport.

  Lincoln finished his dog and started on another. "How many DEA?" he asked.

  "Just one for now, they got nothing hard," said Davenport. "Cool thing is the agent's using one of my men."

  "So what do we do?" said Lincoln.

  "Watch for now," said Davenport. "They got nothin' real yet, maybe ICE'll be interested at some point about the women and make a bust, but not the DEA." He casually looked around the dining area. "You might want to hold off on that delivery for awhile."

  Lincoln thought about how Alanzo would take this. Not good. He would back out immediately and Lincoln wouldn't put it past Alanzo to have him capped, just to cover his tracks. Vlad might also, for that matter.

  "No can do," said Lincoln. "The system's been put in motion."

  "The system," said Davenport.

  "Product's moving and people need to get paid," said Lincoln. "Including you and me."

  Davenport looked down at his bowl of chicken soup and grilled cheese sandwich.

  Lincoln finished the second dog and fries. "Keep your eyes and ears open, I don't have to say what's at stake," he said. He pushed the empty plate away. "Yes I do. Our motherfucking asses."

  "I'll do my best," said Davenport. He wiped his mouth with a paper napkin. This was getting way too loose and sloppy. When things get loose and sloppy people get busted, and capped. He knew- it was his job. Time to nip this shit. Davenport decided to give Vinnie Tucci a call and let him know what's going on. Give him names and get him thinking.

  Cletus looked at Davenport's soup and sandwich. "Man," he said. "You at American. Eat something real."

  Chapter 25

  Road Trip

  The shipping container came off the freighter in Halifax as Chris and Elena passed through Erie, Pennsylvania. A crate labeled CUSTOM FURNITURE was unloaded, stored in a holding area, cleared through Canadian Customs, stored in a corrugated steel warehouse, picked up by a forklift and loaded on a truck bound for Woodstock, New Brunswick.

  By the time the crate would arrive at McLean's Furniture Store in Woodstock, Chris and Elena would be in Houlton, Maine, approximately thirteen miles away.

  Chris and Elena stopped for the night at a Howard Johnson in Burlington, Vermont. After a dinner of fried chicken and beer, Chris sat on the bed in the small hotel room. Elena had taken a steady stream of painkillers on the trip, her eyes dull, but her body warm and supple. Chris liked the way she smelled, like a humid, wild violet.

  "First thing I'm gonna do is take a shower," said Chris. "Long road trips make me feel greasy."

  Chris was too road weary to care whether Elena watched him strip or not. He pulled off his clothes, started the shower and waited for the water to heat up. A bonus, the showerhead was surprisingly powerful. He stepped into the shower, letting the hot water wash over his head and face. He put his arms against the wall and stood. The door opened and in walked Elena, naked. She stepped in and embraced him from behind. Chris turned, looked in her eyes, dull but not distant as they usually were. He kissed her, and they made love.

  * *

  Chris and Elena lay in bed, watching television, Elena's head on Chris's shoulder, her hair still a little wet. Chris felt her tightened, like she suddenly had a severe cramp. She let out a tiny yelp, got up and pulled the bottle of painkillers from her purse. She pulled out a pill and chewed it. Chris watched her.

  "You're going to have dump those before we cross the border," he said. "Besides, those are really bad for you."

  "I don't care," said Elena. "I need them."

  Elena walked over to the bed and got in, sighing as she lay on her back, feeling the wave of relief form the pill pulse through her with every heartbeat. They kept her feelings shielded, like a lion tamer with a whip and a chair. Only the lion grew larger and more powerful while her tools to keep it at bay grew weaker. She sat up, put her face in her hands and began to sob.

  "Please don't tell Vlad," she said. "He will kill me."

  Chris sat up, startled by Elena's outburst. "Kill you?" he said. "Nobody's going to kill you. What are you talking about?"

  "Vlad," she cried. "If he found out I cried in front of a customer then he would kill me," she said. "That is the system."

  "I didn't think I was a 'customer'," said Chris. "System, shit. Everybody has a system. The Government. The Feds. The cops. The Italians. The Albanians. Even we do, at Eddie's. You know what? They don't work. They're all full of holes, and everything eventually falls apart and turns to shit." He looked at Elena. "Why on earth would he want to kill you? He doesn't own you."

  "Yes he does," said Elena. "Oh yes he does. He owns several of us. Me. Miri, other girls. He buys us and brings us here. I am not really like this. I hate this," she said.

  "
Then why do you do it? This is America, for Christ's sake. Get a job somewhere, or go back," said Chris.

  "A job," Elena laughed. "That's how all this started. I was tricked, how do you say, duped? Instead of going to Tirana like I was promised I was sold to a pimp. A filthy pimp," she said, sobbing. She looked up at Chris. "And my daughter. My little Sanja. What becomes of her?"

  "Your daughter?" said Chris. "You have a daughter? Where is she?"

  "At home," said Elena. "With my father and step mother, the evil witch. Her brother is the one who sold me."

  "Have you talked to them?"

  "No, it is not allowed," she said. "But if I did Vlad would kill me and them if I didn't say everything is fine."

  "Didn't you have anyone back home?" asked Chris. "Someone who looks like you surely must have had someone?"

  Elena paused. "I had a husband. Sheptim was his name."

  And that's when Elena went away… She and a young man stood in the town square saying wedding vows under a white arch festooned with red and white flowers. They finished, turned to the guests and were showered with rice and confetti...

  "It was beautiful," she said. "We had the bridal room. I was never happier," she said. Her voice went flat and cold. "Then they came and killed him and damaged me. Many in the army are just gansters and use that as an excuse to kill people and steal from them."

  …Gunshots rang outside in the town square. Sheptim got up and started putting on his underwear and pants. Elena rushed to the window and saw several men lined up and shot by the rebel army. Sheptim tried to lock the door when four rebels burst into the room and tackled him. Elena screamed. Two rebels dragged him from the room, beating him. The other two soldiers went for Elena, slapping her nearly unconscious and throwing her on the bed. Both soldiers raped her, ripping into her, laughing and grunting as they came.

  Sheptim was dragged to the town square. The two rebels forced him to his knees.

  The soldiers were finished and Elena broke free and rushed to the window, saw Sheptim and screamed his name. He looked up and a rebel strode up to him with a pistol and shot him in the head. Elena saw the surging mist of blood and brains as Sheptim slumped to the ground.