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Parking the SUV in front of a derelict building, he stepped out and then tipped his head back to look up toward the roof. The windows on the lower floors were boarded up, but the top floor windows were intact and even appeared to be recently installed. He definitely had the right address.
“Yo, mister, whatchya doing here? You lost?”
Jason turned to see a group of boys and young men standing near the rear of the car. There were six of them, ranging in age from about fourteen to mid-twenties. He braced his hands on his hips, pushing his jacket back just enough for them to see his badge and his gun.
“I’m here to see an old friend,” he replied. “Maybe you know him? Eddie Green.”
He saw the oldest man’s eyes flick upward to the top floor of the building, and Jason knew he’d been right—Green lived in this building. Jason also noted how three of the other youths kept one hand loosely behind their backs, which meant they were carrying weapons in the backs of their pants. After closer inspection, he realized that two of the young men wore surveillance earpieces similar to what he wore when he was on duty. Eddie already knew he was here. The message was clear, and Jason knew they wouldn’t hesitate to kill him if the ringleader decided he was a threat. Several members of their gang were already on death row for murdering a police officer. No doubt they each considered it a badge of honor, and Jason felt a little ill at the thought that he had once been like these derelicts.
“You sure about that?” the first man asked. “Last time I checked, Eddie wasn’t friends with no cops.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.” Reaching into his back pocket, he withdrew a slim length of photos, the kind you got from a coin-operated photo booth. The black-and-white pictures were of him and Eddie and another boy, Nick, taken one summer on the boardwalk. “We go way back.”
The man stepped forward and took the photos, glancing suspiciously between the pictures and Jason. Jason didn’t miss how his eyes widened when he recognized the younger version of Eddie, with hair and without his signature tattoos. His eyes narrowed as he continued examining the young boy in the photo, after a while finally acknowledging it was Jason.
He looked at his companions and gave them a curt nod. “Yo, my man, watch the car. Don’t let nothing happen to it.” Turning to Jason, he swaggered forward and handed him the photos. “Follow me.”
Jason studied him for a moment and then nodded, indicating the other man should precede him. He didn’t doubt his own abilities to protect himself, but he didn’t like the thought of anyone sneaking up behind him. Now he followed the man through an alleyway to a reinforced steel door. Inside, the building appeared as empty and dilapidated as the exterior would lead you to believe, but the freight elevator was in good working condition.
“Just take it to the top, man.”
Jason stepped into the elevator and closed the steel grate, never taking his eye off the other man, until the elevator slid smoothly upward and the guy disappeared from sight. On the top floor, Jason opened the doors and found himself in a hallway that was garishly lit. There was only one door visible, and he could see that it was partially open.
As he walked slowly toward the door, he saw the shadows of several figures at the end of the corridor and knew that Eddie’s henchmen were standing around the corner, just out of sight. He kept his hands carefully away from his own weapon and toed the door open wide enough to look inside.
“Hey, man,” a voice called from inside the apartment. “C’mon in—it’s all good.”
Jason stepped inside. Two enormous men immediately converged on him and quickly patted him down. Having expected this, Jason didn’t protest; he waited while they confiscated his two weapons and his badge. He was in a spacious loft apartment. The walls were exposed brick and beams, and the living area was richly decorated with leather furnishings and high-end stereo and electronics. However, Jason wasn’t fooled by the fancy window dressing—he knew Eddie to be a hardened criminal, and everything he owned was the result of those crimes. He might like to surround himself with expensive things, but it didn’t change who—or what—he was.
A state-of-the-art kitchen occupied one end of the apartment, and a man stood behind the counter, preparing what looked like breakfast. The two henchmen brought his guns and his badge over to the kitchen and dropped them onto the granite island. Eddie studied the badge for a moment and then gave a curt jerk of his chin toward the door. The men left, pushing past Jason without a word. He knew they would stand just outside the door, ready to intervene if Eddie gave them any indication.
