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“Yes, Boss,” I respond instantly, and the other guys answer similarly.
My knee bounces from a hit of adrenaline as we pull into the parking lot.
We all wore vests under our shirts, so aside from looking a little bulkier than normal, we shouldn’t stand out to hotel guests or staff.
Mia caught Tony breezing through the hotel lobby on their surveillance feeds after he left the coffee shop around the corner. She lifted his room number from the hotel’s system, recognizing one of the aliases he used to use when Mia was on the task force with him and was able to catch him going into his room.
It’s odd he didn’t change it. Almost like he wanted her to find him. Just one of the questions we’ll ask him, once we get him talking.
Mia gives us an update. “I have eyes on the fourth-floor hallway. It’s all clear. He should be in his room.”
“We got here just in time. He’s probably planning on leaving in about fifteen minutes to get to the pier for your little meet and greet,” Jonesy says, pulling his hat down a little farther and adjusting his camera.
We take the stairs two at a time.
Sawyer gets the honor of knocking on the door while the rest of us press flat against the wall, staying out of sight of the peephole. Ideally, he’ll open the door for Sawyer, and we’ll slip in behind him to take him down before he has a chance to get suspicious.
After a few seconds, he knocks again. “Hey, buddy, are you in there? I’m staying in the room beside you. I have something that belongs to you. Just trying to return it.”
He waves an old CVS receipt in front of the peephole in a gesture that will show he’s holding something but won’t reveal what it is. It also hides a portion of his face, so if Tony has been digging up intel on Redleg, he shouldn’t be able to recognize him.
As an aside, it’s nice to know the tree that died to make that single, long-ass receipt didn’t die in vain.
A deep voice replies from the other side of the door. “Who are you?”
“My name is Smitty. I’m in the room next door. My daughter said she was walking behind you this morning, and this fell out of your pocket.”
Another few tense seconds pass. Sawyer jiggles the receipt again.
“My daughter was too scared to approach you. She’s shy. But this might be important, so I figured I’d get it to you.”
Sawyer rocks on his heels, having given it his best shot.
Come on, Tony Fuckface McGee. Open up and say ahh… to my fist.
The crick of the safety latch unlocking is music to my ears.
He opens the door about a half foot wide. Thankfully, he doesn’t stick his face out into the hallway. Otherwise, he could have caught a glimpse of us. He holds his hand out.
Sawyer puts the receipt in his outstretched palm but doesn’t let go. Instead, he clutches Tony’s wrist and bends it hard, resulting in a nauseating snapping sound.
Tony gasps in pain. Sawyer quickly covers his mouth to silence his scream.
Using the surprise to his advantage, Sawyer slams his shoulder into Tony’s chest, knocking him backward ambush-style. I closely follow Sawyer and Tony into the room, Jonesy and Aaron behind us. I hear the click of the door shutting.
There’s not much space in the entryway of the hotel room, so I struggle to find a spot to jump in to help Sawyer without taking a boot to my skull.
Tony’s flailing around, somehow drawing Sawyer into a barrel roll like an alligator does to disorient and drown his prey. In the process, Sawyer knocks a gun out of Tony’s other hand.
Sawyer quickly emerges victorious, landing on top of Tony with a knee to the chest. Tony’s right arm is bent behind him, bearing the brunt of their combined body weight.
Since his mouth is free of Sawyer’s palm, Tony wails in pain.
“Shh,” I whisper, kneeling to get right in his face. “Recognize me from your little spy camera?”
He shakes his head no, and veins bulge in his neck. “Did she send you? I don’t know what she told you, but you can’t trust her.”
“Well, now you’re being mean. Don’t talk that way about the woman I love.”
