A Shot In The Night (John Harper Series Book 2) (32 page)

The three people were at an impasse.  The gunman stood in the
hallway with a pistol pointing at Harper as Nelson lay on the floor bleeding. 
It would be sensible to simply fire on the two men and place the pistol in the
hand of Nelson making it look like the detective had got the drop on the drug
dealer and had been unlucky, that in the ensuing struggle both men had been
mortally wounded.  Harper knew that and the best way he had of surviving the
situation was to try and delay till the police arrived.

“Very clever, Harper,” Matthew Thompson said as he removed the mask,
breathing in fresh air for what felt like an age, “now throw over your pistol.”

Harper let the pistol dangle on his finger and he slowly crouched. 
He placed the pistol on the floor and he slid the weapon across the ground
towards Thompson, who stopped the Browning with his foot.  Harper then spun in
his place and talked to Nelson putting his hand on the wound on his leg.

“Harper, what do you think you are doing?  Stand up and get away
from that scum.”

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to make his passing a little easier,”
Harper said standing, his hands once again raised, “He is bleeding pretty
badly.”

Thompson smiled, “He should survive long enough,” he said as he
crouched himself and picked up the detective’s pistol.  He pocketed his own
weapon and raised the Browning, “Did you get this gun off one of your drug
dealing contacts?  How fitting it should be then when I kill you with your own
weapon.”

Harper pulled off his gloves as he rolled his eyes, “Really going
down that route, are you?  This isn’t the first time I have been in this
position. Thompson, you know that there is no way out of here for you.  The
police are in the building and it is only a matter of time before they arrest
you.”

“I know you, Harper, I know that you think if you talk long enough
then you will be able to get close enough to me to use that knife you carry,
just like you did in Hollingswood but you aren’t dealing with some kid here.  I
do my killing at range, I won’t let you get anywhere near close enough to me.”

“You may not be a kid as you say but you are deluded if you think
that you are going to get out of this.  You’re not trained to do this but those
men in the tactical unit are.  They will come through that door, take one look
to their left and see the gunman that has taken the lives of their brothers in
arms and not hesitate to pull the trigger.  For all the killing you have done,
Matthew, the world will still turn and bad guys will still fall.”

Thompson laughed, “And you’ve done your upmost to see to that,
haven’t you?  Even now you are protecting one of the people who you should be
bringing to justice.  Just take a walk down the streets and you see the
destruction their livelihood brings to the community.  I’ve made the people of
this city, of this country, see that there is a cancer eating at the core of
our society, and that those charged with eradicating it have been complicit in
its growth.”

“See I think that’s where your metaphor really falls apart.  You
killed police officers and civilians.  Did Megan Reed and Craig Tunney deserve
to be shot dead like rabid animals?  When you pulled the trigger on Boulton and
the others, were they really the henchmen who needed to die?”

“I killed those police officers because they, just like you, are
colluding with the drug peddlers that are ruining this city.  The others
deserved it just as much and I will continue to take lives till there is a
change in this culture.”

 Harper couldn’t help but sigh, “Well, I think that is enough of
your crap.  You can't even offer a reasonable excuse for your deluded
fantasies.  So either shoot me now or drop your gun and put your hands up.”

“You’re right, I’ve gone on too long. Good try though, Harper,” he
said as he raised the Browning and pulled the trigger.

I did my best to slowly move in front of Kai Nelson whilst I was
talking to Matthew Thompson.  My hope was that he thought I was protecting the
drug dealer from another shot.  That was partially my aim but I was also
blocking his view of Nelson who I had instructed to hold onto the talk button
on the police radio he had taken from me.  It was my hope that the police were
waiting on the other side of the stairwell door.

I couldn't be certain that they were there but I hoped I had given
them enough time to get up to the fourteenth floor with all of the delaying
tactics I had employed.  Being chased around being shot at wasn't exactly my
plan but it was all I could do at the time.  I realised that I was running out
of time when I spoke to him.  I couldn't keep the exasperation out of my voice
when I finally said, “Well I think that is enough of your crap.  Either shoot
or drop your gun and put your hands up.”

I thought that was enough of a warning for not only the armed unit
but also for Thompson.  When he raised the pistol though, the thought running
through my head was that maybe I should have tried delaying him even longer.
Thompson had been getting angered by my words and although he had offered some
explanation, it was not the usual monologue other people tended to offer when
they're given the chance.  Of course there were a large number of the criminals
who I had put behind bars who never said anything bar their overriding hatred
for me and what I had done.

I could barely hear the words Thompson said when he pulled the
trigger as my pulse raced.  Turning my back I covered Nelson as he lay on the
floor.  My Browning clicked in his hand.  Thompson hadn't counted how many
shots I had fired, unlike myself.  Luckily for me my plan worked as the door to
the stairwell burst open and a flashbang exploded.

The confined space made the detonation even louder than usual.  Once
again my hearing was damaged that night and since I was on the job I was
tempted to put in one of those claims that you hear on the radio about loud
working environments.

Even the disorientation was not strong enough to hinder Thompson. 
He turned and pulled out another pistol and directed it towards the door. 
Unfortunately for him the armed police were ready and fired two shots hitting
Thompson square in the chest and he flew backwards towards me.  I turned over
and went to the man on the ground even though I heard the shouts of the armed
men to stop and raise my hands.

I checked his pulse as he spluttered, blood covering his lips, “Come
on Matthew, don't you die yet, you bastard.  You've got a long time in prison
yet.”

He laughed and his blood and spittle landed on my face as I put my
hands to his wounded chest.  Both shots had hit him within the space of a fifty
pence piece.  My hands were covered in his blood and he wheezed out a reply
which was a guttural laugh which ended in more coughing.

“Alright if you are going to the light just answer me quick; you
killed Boulton, didn’t you?” he nodded at me, “Thanks, but more importantly
now; why the hell did you kill those civilians?  Tell me!”

More coughing as the armed police officers came over to us.  One
pulled me away as another went to apply pressure like I had.  My hands were
pulled behind me and the sharp edges of the plastic cuff bands went around my
wrists as my head was pushed to the ground, orders being shouted at me as I
watched Thompson’s face.

His head slowly turned to me and looked me squarely in the eye and
said, “Who said I did?”

“So in the end they let me go once Spencer was on the scene.  My ID
was still in my jacket pocket and Nelson was in no state to tell me where it
was.  To be honest I wasn’t that keen on going back into the building,” I
explained, whilst staring at my comfortable new Loakes loafers that rested on
the edge of my desk.

“But you got it back afterwards anyway, right?” Rich asked me his
face remarkably tanned compared to my own pale complexion.  He was wearing a
black suit and white shirt mirroring myself, which only served to highlight the
difference in our skin tone.

“Yeah otherwise I wouldn’t have got my winning betting slip.  My dog
romped home at five to two which was rather annoying since I was hoping for a
better price.  The money Saul had placed on it shifted it significantly at the
end.  I had a grand on in that little shop at four to one and couple more
contacts placed some bets for me.  All in all it was another successful day;
winning bet and serial killer locked up.”

Rich stood to one side in my office and shrugged his shoulders
against the cold.  His fingers rolled around a set of darts as he took aim at
the dartboard that hung opposite him, “Will Matthew Thompson make it?”

“I don’t know, they’ve been rather good at keeping me informed about
his condition but the armed response team did their job.  It was only because
he was moving that they missed Thompson’s heart.  Still he lost a lot of blood,
one lung was turned completely into mincemeat and there is some spinal damage. 
As of right now all I know is that he is in a medically induced coma.  Nelson
lost a kidney and one of the bullets broke his femur but he’ll live.  Which is
rather good because they’ve got him on a couple of weapons charges and all
those drugs in the flat that is registered to him.  That’s the difference
between the likes of Saul and Nelson the bigger they are the better their
planning.  Saul would never have anything in his name like that. Apparently
Nelson is saying he didn’t know anything about them but his record speaks for
itself there.”

Rich delivered three darts into the twenty segment on the board, two
of them into the red paint, the other narrowly missing, embedding itself on the
other side of the wire, “Could Saul have had it planted there?”

“Wouldn’t put it past him,” I said as I stood up and pulled the
darts out of the board.  I put my left little finger in my ear and moved it
around trying to relieve the ringing noise and pain.  My darts weren’t as good
as my friends but they still scored one hundred points.

Rich pointed at my ear, “You still suffering?”

“Yeah but I’m doing better than a lot of the people Thompson
targeted.  The officers he killed were the first to die on duty in the city for
over ten years.  Also the helicopter he fired upon was really lucky; one of the
shots narrowly missed something important I was told.  There’s only four of
them at the North West Regional Air Support Group so losing one would be a
major blow to the area,” I elaborated as I sat on the windowsill and wiped away
the condensation to have a look out onto the cold wet Manchester street below.

My friend was busy throwing his darts, “So you haven’t told me how
you cracked the case yet.  How did you know it was Thompson?”

I smiled and waved my hand, “Not much to crack in the end.  I just
tracked the man down.”

“Yeah, but you knew who he was or had your suspicions.”

I threw my darts, my last hitting the bullseye, and I turned and
winked at my friend, “Sometimes I do get my target.  Matthew Thompson had
access to weapons and his role in the community meant that he knew a lot of the
players.  He knew how they operated, where their stashes were located, everything
really for him to damage operations.  Once he hit the small fry he knew
eventually Saul would come and try and solve the problem and taking him out
would have been the perfect plan, although it would never stop the drugs being
in the city.”

“But you intervened.”

“Yeah it was after that when I first really started doubting he was
as well trained as people made him out to be.  The football pitch was a target
rich environment and taking out the people he did should have been easy for
military sniper.”

Rich nodded as he took a sip of tea from his mug on the desk before
gathering the darts, “Most of the best hit ninety eight percent of their
targets.”

“Well not only did he miss but there was a sloppiness the more he
escalated.  That attack was brilliant in that he not only used a vehicle to
shoot and escape but also managed to frame someone with the shell casing in the
tinned up house.”

“That was impressive, throwing us off like that but how did he know
we would go after Leo Ambrose?”

I rubbed my chin, scratching the stubble I’d allowed to grow as I
thought about what Rich asked, for what was the hundredth time since the
shooting, “I don’t know how he knew about Leo.  It’s probably going to have to
wait till Thompson wakes up, if he ever does.  Maybe there was a website they
bragged on because at the moment there is no connection in an organized way.
Thompson wasn’t in any rifle club so I don’t know how he would know anything
about the man’s weapons.  Getting into the house was apparently easy due to his
connections on the council.  He managed to get a set of keys that allowed him
access to the houses that are part of the empty homes regeneration strategy.”

“He could have been doing this for months, hell even years, if he
had places to hide and plan.”

“That’s the worrying thing.  I can take some solace in that.  Now if
I was in his situation I would not have even attempted the attack on the
station and if I did I would have left the area after hitting the van and car,
not wait around for more.”

Rich nodded again, “The attacks on the first responders were perfect
in maximizing casualties, it was a good plan but he was far too close.  If you
are going to use explosives and be tactical in your planning then why stay and
shoot?”

“Because, like most snipers, he got off on the power he had.  Having
the ability to take lives at the pull of the trigger without the victim even
knowing where you are can be very intoxicating.  It became less about the
message, which was completely distorted anyway and more about what he could get
away with.”

“But he wasn’t going to get away with it was he?  Did he think he
could escape completely?” he hurled the darts with great strength.  They
thumped into the board and I struggled to remove them.

I shrugged my shoulders, “He thought he could frame Nelson and his
crew, I’m sure of that.  I’m sure he would have planted enough evidence after
the house or just called the police and said that he saw someone going into Oak
Tower.  Once the police raided it he could have just gone out as yet another resident
or even a victim especially if someone saw his wounds.  No one would think
anything of seeing him in the building since his job meant he was often in the
area.  If I hadn’t been there it might have been different.  Mister Miller, the
owner of the house opposite the police station, would have been the patsy and
it would have given him long enough to get away and plan his next attack.”

“Still doesn’t make a lot of sense though, his rampage etcetera.”

Putting the darts on the desk next to me, I picked up my tablet, “I
did a little research into the man.  Turns out he was attacked when he first
came to the city and has had an inherent hatred of drug dealers and gang
members ever since.  The slight military training he had was from a short stint
in the Officer Training Corp at university.  He also did a lot of reading on
tactics and history but that’s as far as he got.”

“Probably would have been better off joining the service.”

“Got enough psychopaths and sociopaths in there as is,” I said with
a smile.

Rich laughed, “Nothing wrong with a psychopath.”

“True.  Still would have been better if Thompson had focused himself
on something other than cleaning the streets like that.  I’ve investigated a
few people like him who acted like dedicated members of society and then turned
out to be killers.  I’m just glad he won’t be hurting anyone ever again,” I
said with a sigh.

“And the Boulton shooting?  I mean the only reason you were ever
involved was to help out an old friend.”

“Saul managed to get word to Tommy in prison who has since recanted
his confession and obviously the radio had Thompson saying he was the shooter. 
Hopefully that’s enough for all to end the year well for Sheila Harrison.”

“So what now then, John?”

“I’ve got some questions that still need answers to be honest mate,
so I’ll be sticking around here for some time.”

Rich simply rolled his eyes, “Sometimes you don’t know how lucky you
are.  Look, you got the bad guy, you saved the day, take some time off and come
with me to the pub.  Some of us need to relax.”

I looked at my friend with his tanned features and sardonic smile. 
I owed him for his help, not only in the information he had provided but in the
Browning which had saved my life.  Exploiting our friendship was never my
intention so I relented, “Just a couple.  Some of us need to work for a living
and at this rate I’ll be open till Christmas.”