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Gideon tightened his hands on the steering wheel, then forced his fingers to relax. He’d known Alex wouldn’t drop this. From everything he’d read about her, she was a very successful defense attorney. One of the reasons? She was like a pit bull. Once she got hold of something, she didn’t let go. Not until she’d wrung every possible ounce of information out of it.
“My team was investigating the Bratva,” he began. “Russian organized crime. They’re based mainly in New York, with some activity in Florida, but there’re indications they’re trying to expand.”
Alex sucked in a breath. “You think they’re working with Jerry?”
“I think they might be using him to launder money. There are probably other people in the Chicago area who’re also laundering money for them, but a tipster gave us Jerry’s name.” He clenched his teeth together. “We got that tip after I was fired. Tony passed it along to me. He’s also the one who got the tip that Jerry was looking for a hired killer.”
“So the FBI, via your Blackhawk security people, hired you to find out who Jerry wanted killed,” she said slowly.
“Yeah.” He glanced over at her. “You connected those dots pretty quickly.”
“Not too difficult to see where that was going,” she shot back. “What were you going to do with that information?”
“First of all, protect whoever he wanted killed. Then figure out why he wanted that person to die.” He sighed. Shoved his hand through his hair. “In your case, Jerry told me why he wanted you dead -- so he could collect on the insurance policy he’d taken out on you. He admitted he was laundering money for ‘bad guys’. And that he’d been stealing some of it.”
“Which makes Jerry an idiot,” Alex said, shaking her head.
“Exactly. If it’s the Russians, and finding Smith and Jones in that motel office seems to confirm it, Jerry’s a dead man. He’s smart enough to realize it, too. He might have bargained with them. Told them he could find you, kill you and collect the insurance money to pay them back. That may be why those two guys were looking for you.
“But if he’s really smart, he’s planning on using that insurance money to disappear. I won’t let him collect it, of course, but he doesn’t know that. Right now, he thinks he has those two Russians and me all chasing you. Probably figures that money is as good as his.” Gideon shook his head. Jerry had gotten greedy, and that would be his downfall. “What Jerry doesn’t know is that the Bratva is relentless. They’ll never stop looking for him. And even if he paid them back, with interest, they’d probably kill him anyway. As an example to anyone else who thinks about cheating them.”
“If they’re based in New York, why are they working with Jerry?”
Gideon shrugged one shoulder. Their task force had wondered the same thing. Tried to come up with a theory. “We’re not sure. The FBI has been pretty aggressively going after them on the east coast. Maybe the Bratva wants another outlet. Maybe one of their people married someone from the Midwest, and they thought it was an opportunity to expand their operations.”
He sighed. “Bottom line? We have no idea. But we don’t want them to spread to another part of the country.”
“By ‘we’, you mean the FBI,” she said softly.
“Yeah.” Gideon grimaced, feeling like a fool. They’d fired him because he’d uncovered corruption within the bureau. He’d been doing his job, but he’d still been booted out of the bureau. Just like they’d done to his father. But he was still referring to himself as part of the FBI.
Someone with a twisted sense of humor would probably find that ironic. And laughable.
The air in the closed car was heavy. Dense. Hard to breathe. What did Alex think about what he’d told her? Did she believe him? Would she let him see what she’d taken from Trotter’s safe?
“So as long as we get to your compound before Jerry catches up with us, we’ll be fine,” Alex said after a too-long silence.
“Theoretically. But the FBI needs Jerry. Needs the information he has. Needs him to testify against the people who were paying him. So I can’t just hunker down in the compound and forget about him. We need to grab him before the Russians get to him.”
“But you don’t work for the FBI anymore,” Alex said, frowning. “So what good would that do…” Her voice trailed off. She swiveled to face Gideon. “You need Jerry to testify. To implicate the guy who fired you, so you can get back into the FBI. That’s what this is all about.”
“I’m not sure if I want to be part of the FBI going forward,” he said stiffly. Not after what they’d done to him. “My number one priority now is keeping you safe. Arresting Jerry would be a bonus. And I suspect he’d welcome being arrested by the FBI. If he testifies, he could probably convince the Bureau and the Marshal’s service to put him in Witness Protection. Let him start over as someone else.”
Alex glanced at the app on Gideon’s phone. “He’s still behind us. He’ll kill both of us if he catches up.” She stared at him, her eyes flashing fury. “But you want to put him in Witness Protection instead of jail.”
“Not my call,” Gideon said immediately, although he agreed with her. Jerry belonged in prison. “But if he can put some very scary people in jail, then he gets to live a sad life in some nowhere town. Remember the opening scene of Better Call Saul? Bigshot lawyer Saul Goodman pushing a broom in a mall Cinnabon? That’s what’s waiting for Jerry.”
Alex let her head flop against the head rest. “I bet Jerry would say it was better than rotting in an unmarked grave somewhere.”
“Yeah. But for a guy like Jerry? Used to money and a good life? It would be hell.” Gideon glanced at Alex. “And that’s the best possible outcome for him.”
By mutual consent, Gideon turned on the radio to the same classic rock station they’d listened to earlier. Discussions about Jerry and their predicament were put on the back burner. He was still behind them, but he was close to Boughton. If he stopped there, they were probably home free.
They reached Billings a few hours later. The mountains rose all around the city, but the interstate was clear. Jerry had indeed stopped at Boughton, and was still there.
They stopped for gas and a bathroom break, then continued on to Bozeman, a couple of hours away.
