Chapter Nine
Bryce sat in a booth in the seedy bar and frowned at Dalton sitting across from him. “Okay, so we rushed out of Amelia’s place. What’s so important?” He spared a glance for Reece, who watched Dalton impassively.
“Thanks for agreeing to come along,” Dalton said, and smiled. “Sorry to rush out of there, but given what I heard on the call I got at dinner, I figured it was best to get moving on this ASAP.” He shrugged. “Not like Blitz is going to take a day off just because we’re eating dinner.”
Fucking prick had either the worst or best timing. Bryce still wasn’t all that sure.
After everything that happened with Tanya, the last thing he wanted to do was be out listening to Dalton, but he also knew that if he’d been able to stay near her, they wouldn’t have stopped when they did.
Besides, Bryce knew that someone needed to stand up for the little guys in whatever the fuck was going on, and for whatever reason, the police weren’t going to be the ones to do it.
He wasn’t even convinced that Dalton gave a shit. He was probably just helping so he could look good and get a promotion. It didn’t matter in the end if it led to the bad guys getting their hands on less guns.
“Okay, what’s so important then?” Bryce said.
"So I’ve got an in with someone in the gang,” Dalton said. “He was the one who sent me the text at dinner. When I gave him a call, he said that a cop from the force is the one selling a cache of guns.”
“I thought you said Blitz was doing it.”
“Well, our cop friend is… I don’t know, the wholesale provider, I guess. He doesn’t have the connections to move the guns to people directly. So he’s going to hook up with Blitz to do that. Of course, Blitz is going to keep more than a few for his guys as well.”
“And you’re sure this is a good tip?”
“Yeah, I’ve been working this connection a while.”
Bryce frowned. Sure, they all did their stint with undercover work, but Dalton was long since past that sort of thing. Besides, it had never been something he excelled in, and Bryce seriously doubted he'd gotten much better over the years.
"Who is this ‘in’ exactly, and did they name the cop?"
Dalton shook his head and leaned back against the red cushioned bench. "I promised I wouldn't give out the source since he’s already in danger for even telling me. It took me ages to get this guy to trust me, and I can't risk that."
“But you want me in on this?”
Dalton shrugged. “I need you, Bryce. I can’t trust the department, and I can’t do it myself.” He grinned. “Shit, we both know I’m not the greatest when it comes to this sort of thing.”
Bryce snorted, then exchanged a look with Reece. He had reservations about this whole thing but even more so without knowing who was on the other side. Still, Dalton’s logic did make sense, and it seemed like the fool had actually wised up a little bit over the years if he could admit one of his weaknesses like that.
"And you trust this man's opinion?" Reece asked.
Dalton nodded. "The guy has had all the dates and information I could possibly want, but it means shit if I can’t actually catch them making the deal.” He slapped his palm on the table. “It’s just numbers otherwise.”
Bryce took a drink of his beer. He didn't like the direction this shit was going.
"And how exactly do we fit into all this?" Reece asked.
Dalton glanced over to Bryce. “We need someone with the necessary background to help set up the sting, to work with the gang member, not directly, but you know, indirectly.”
Nope. He did not fucking like the direction this was going at all.
"So you want me to risk my ass on a guy who I don't know with information I can't verify. What, because we have such a good history?" Bryce asked.
Dalton sighed. "I get it," he said. "You got no reason to trust me and even less to trust this guy, but think of all the good it could do. This place is going downhill fast, and if those guns hit the streets, it’s going to be even worse. This is just a start. Blitz is going to make a shit-load of cash off this deal, and the Russians and God knows who else are going to be even more well-armed. Even my informant gets this. There’s being a criminal, and there’s being an out of control thug.”
Bryce took another drink of his beer. More and more he was realizing just how hard it would be to turn away from this.
"Look, I'm not saying this has to happen tonight, but it does need to happen soon if you’re going to be in on this," Dalton said as he leaned forward. "The shipment just got into town, and if we don't get a move on this, we’re going to lose out. If it’s about money, I’ve already got a budget. I get you’re a private contractor and all that.”
“If you got a budget, doesn’t that mean the department knows?”
“Nah. I’ve got them convinced I’m working a different angle. By the time this is over, they won’t be able to touch me.”
Bryce nodded his understanding and watched as Dalton slid out of the bench. Reece slid out from the end and moved to the other side across from Bryce.
"You got my number," Dalton said. "Let me know if you want in. Just let me know quickly.”
Bryce watched as his former partner made his way to the door and outside into the night.
"You buying this?" Reece asked. "What exactly does he stand to gain from all this?"
“Fame and glory. He’s a chicken shit, but he’s always wanted it.” Bryce gave a chuckle. "He wants to be chief. And he’s doing a shit job of hiding it. He wants to make sure to get himself something big, and this is a big deal. If he lands this and can snag a dirty cop, he can land the job for chief with ease.”
Reece grimaced. "So this is all about moving up in his career? Does he even care about what happens to the town, or is that all a lie?”
“Maybe. I don’t know.” Bryce shrugged. "Doesn’t really matter if it ends in the same way."
“I don’t like the smell of this whole thing.”
Bryce had to agree. For now, he needed to think on the deal. It had been a long time since he’d set up a sting, and these things could take months of planning. Even then, there was no saying that more guns wouldn’t make their way into town.
These days there were always illegal guns in the area. Most times the thugs in the area just used them to take one another out. He didn't think this would be any different than all the other times. Turf wars could be dangerous, but mostly for the opposing gangs.
The only problem was if things really started getting out of hand. If the police weren’t willing to reign things in, then innocent people might start getting caught up in it.
"I think for now,” Bryce began, “we wait and see what happens. I want to see what Ryan has to say. If Dalton is serious, he’ll wait.”
“What about Reed?”
“I’m not really involving firm resources in this other than asking Ryan and you. I know what he’d say, but this is something I need to handle, one way or another. Not like he doesn’t allow independent work.”
“Fair enough.”
Bryce finished his beer and frowned. There wasn’t a damn bit of this whole thing that didn’t smell like trouble he really didn’t want to dig up.