Sin City Assassin (The Bill Dix Detective Series Book 3) (21 page)

Dix looked at Marie and felt even six trained men weren’t enough to handle her, let alone handle whoever was coming looking to free her.

Marie felt his stare and turned to see the concerned look on Dix’s face. She blew him a kiss as the team whisked her away through the door to the stairs. He shook his head.
Think, Bill, think. Get out or follow?

“They’re here for Marie. We gotta assume they know where she’s headed and what our response will be based on this attack. I’m not going out through the front door,” he turned to sprint toward the stairs, “I’m following her.”

Frazier looked confused. As Dix’s statement sunk in, two loud explosions shook the building again. They came from the area toward the basement. Suddenly Frazier realized Dix was right and they needed to prevent someone from freeing Marie. If she escaped, plenty more bodies, including his and Dix’s, would follow.

They ran as fast as they could to the stairs and paused before going in. They nodded at each other and swung the door open. Dix went right, Frazier went left. Working their way down to the basement took awhile, but when they got there, it took them a few seconds to process what they saw.

Two transport vans had been blown apart and agents were scattered in the debris. Dix instinctively ducked behind a car for cover as Frazier dove to his right, trying to do the same.

Gunshots whizzed by Dix’s head, smashing the concrete near his face. It seemed there were at least two shooters because the sounds of the gun blasts were different. Dix looked over at Frazier and saw a shadow behind him.

“Frazier! To your right!” Dix screamed and pointed behind him.

Frazier spun around just as Marie grabbed him and put a gun to his temple. What was left of her handcuffs hung from her wrists and somehow her spiked adrenaline helped her swing Frazier around as a human shield. 

Motion off to their left caught Dix’s attention. Several agents began flooding the basement and another firefight broke out just out front of the building’s garage.

“Well, well, Dix, looks like I got another one of your partners,” Marie said while Frazier struggled to get free from her grasp.

Dix tried like hell but he didn’t have a clear shot. “Let him go, this has nothing to do with him,” replied Dix. He scanned the area, but didn’t take his eyes off Marie. The firefight continued just outside the basement garage. Dix could hear sirens and couldn’t imagine what was going on out there. It didn’t matter, though, since his immediate problem stood directly in front of him.

“Fuck off, Dix. Here’s how this is going to go. Drop your weapon while I wait for my ride and I’ll let this asshole live.” She smiled and looked at the gate leading outside the building to the parking lot. “Or I kill you both and walk right out that gate to kill a few more agents on my way to freedom.” She had no idea what was going on, but she was sure Robert was trying to rescue her and by the sounds and looks of it, he was damn near close to succeeding.

“Can’t do that, Marie,” Dix responded. “Let him go, you don’t have to do this.”

She smiled. “I know, but I
want
to do this.” She looked out to the parking lot and she could hear the firing had stopped. She assumed whoever was trying to free her must have been killed or fled. She hoped it was some of Robert’s men and not him personally.

Dix wanted to take a shot to rescue Frazier, but it was too risky. He felt deflated and out of options. He had to save Frazier, but was fairly confident Marie would kill both of them as soon as he lowered his gun.
It’s worth a shot
, he decided. He began to lower his weapon and noticed a red laser on Marie’s forehead. Then two, three, four more lasers were on her. One crossed her eye and she looked down to see the lasers all over her exposed body parts.

“Marie, you don’t have to do this. Let me go, please, I’ve got a wife and kids,” Frazier pleaded with the psychotic assassin.

She smiled disturbingly and murderous intent flashed in her eyes. She decided she’d kill Frazier and as many others agents she could before they got her. There was no way out of the basement, and she was not going to rot in a cell for the rest of her life. She hoped she would see Robert in the afterlife.

Dix saw her demented smile first, and pulled his trigger. The round went right through Frazier’s arm and into Marie’s flesh. She didn’t flinch and trained her weapon on Dix while Frazier fell to the ground screaming in pain. The surrounding agents shot her numerous times, mutilating her body before it fell to the ground. They moved closer and closer to clear the basement of any further threats. What was left of Marie was handcuffed, and paramedics were summoned for Frazier.

“Dix you asshole, you shot me!” Frazier sounded pissed.

“She had made up her mind pal, she had a sick smile on her face and her finger was moving toward the trigger. Sorry I saved your damn life!” They shared a laugh while Dix tried to get an update from the other agents. He needed to know what the hell happened in the parking lot.

Dix made his way to the parking lot and was not prepared for what he saw. Several fresh craters remained where vehicles had been blown to bits. Debris, body parts, and broken structures were scattered across the lot. Several men were being treated for wounds, while others were being transported or worked on right in front of him. It looked like a damn war scene.

Dix watched for a brief moment and noticed one man seemed to be making calls and commands on the radios. He assumed this man was a supervisor. Dix jogged over to him.

“Hey boss, what’ve we got?” he asked the man.

 The man paused for a second. “We’ve been attacked in broad fucking daylight and the son of a bitch broke our perimeter and escaped. That’s what we got!” the man replied obviously pissed off.

“Anyone get a look at the guy?” Dix wanted to help and remembered he had the photo of Laurin in his pocket that he’d let fall in the interrogation room.

“We all saw the son of a bitch, I looked him in his eyes and all he did was smile. Then he threw four grenades at the cars blocking the entrance.” He motioned to the craters in parking lot. “And you see what’s left of them over there. Asshole drove away and some units gave chase. They all ran over spike strips the piece of work laid out and were disabled too!”

Dix unfolded the piece a paper from his pocket and showed it to the supervisor, “Is this the guy?”

The supervisor studied the photo for less than two seconds. “Goddamn it, that’s him. I want a BOLO out on this asshole ASAP!” He looked at another agent. “Get the helicopters in the air and every able bodied cop or agent in the area to respond!”

Dix stood in the parking lot trying to figure out what to do next. Frazier would make it, but he had to go to the hospital to get the bullet wound treated. Petersen was ordered to stay at the hospital by his physician so he couldn’t come out to help. For the first time in a long time, Dix felt alone. He had his team nearby, but they weren’t there with him. None of the men running around in front of him knew him either. He felt overwhelmed and wondered how the hell they’d ever find Robert Laurin again. He considered giving up, but then suddenly recalled that Pierre could track the phone they all now believed belonged to Robert Laurin.
This ain’t over yet
, he thought with a greater sense of urgency.

Chapter 38:

Robert Blass, aka Robert Laurin, finished collecting the items he needed to try to rescue his lover, Marie Roy. The more he thought about her, the more he wanted to be with her. He even considered how he just might marry her even though he swore he’d never wed again after killing his last wife.

After killing the supplier and stashing his body in the trunk of the supplier’s car, he’d lit it on fire and started to roll toward the hospital where Marie was being treated. On the way, he was tipped off by an informant that she’d been treated and moved to the main federal building. It meant two things to Blass: one, she wasn’t hurt that badly to be released already, and two, she was fucked because she’d landed herself in federal custody. Blass thanked his informant and dialed the number to a janitor he knew at the federal building.

“Hey man, you know if they brought some hot broad into custody recently?” Blass asked the janitor.

“That depends, you paying a c-note again?” the janitor replied.

Blass chuckled. He would have paid ten thousand for this information, but the idiot janitor only wanted a hundred dollars. “Sure thing.”

The janitor nodded. “Yup, red headed lady with big tits and a nice ass. She’s here, but they’re watching her extra close.”

Blass nodded. “Yeah, that’s my Marie. Keep eyes on her and try to send me information on where she’s being kept. I’ll throw in ten thousand dollars if you come through.”

“Ten thousand! Are you shitting me?” The janitor had to cover his mouth to make sure he didn’t bring attention to himself.

“I need everything, and I need it in less than thirty minutes.”
Man, I hope he can pull this off.

Blass had piqued the janitor’s interest. Ten thousand dollars was a ton of money and he decided he’d take it. “Will do, I’ll text you before thirty minutes.”

Blass had been inside the federal building as a visitor several times. He’d also been there as a contractor when the funding was approved to expand the building and add an underground secure parking lot. However, he needed to figure out Marie’s exact location if he had any real shot of freeing her. Although he’d made up his mind to hunt down and kill Bill Dix earlier, now all he wanted was to free Marie and flee the country, together.
Eventually Dix will get his.

He had filled his car with plastic explosives, grenades, fully automatic firearms, ballistic vests and full body armor, spike strips, and a rocket propelled grenade launcher. The armor-plated vehicle also had bullet resistant tires. He had spent a lot of money having the vehicle made, but it was perfectly designed for a high-risk operation where a lot of bullets were going to fly. An attack on the federal building in the middle of the day was one such mission. But he could not stand the thought of being away from Marie another moment and he needed to feel her body against his.

He assumed Dix was likely in the building as well and planned to kill him should the opportunity present itself. He figured Dix would try to interrogate Marie, which would never work. Dix would probably try everything he could to get her to crack, but she was not a rat and was far more mentally tough than anyone Blass or Dix had ever met. He continued planning while he drove toward the federal building. He checked his watch and noticed it had almost been thirty minutes since he spoke to the janitor.
I hope the idiot comes through
, he thought.

Blass knew the interrogation rooms were on the second floor along the north side of the building based on his time inside the building. It was possible they’d been moved, but highly unlikely since nothing moved fast in the federal world. He pulled into the non-secure parking lot and backed into a stall so he could see the building fully. As he put the car in park, his cell phone vibrated, indicating he’d received a text message.

He used the pass code to get into his device and saw he had a text from the janitor. The text confirmed a woman named Marie was being interrogated on the second floor. It also said she was handcuffed and shackled. Blass hummed while tossing about ideas in his head of what to do next.

It was mostly a timing thing. He had to make an attempt to save her, but only when the agents moved her to the basement to be taken by van to the federal prison. He knew she wouldn’t be in the room too long because no one would get her to talk. From there, she’d be taken to the basement via the stairs and placed in a van with at least six armed agents following her. Once on the road, she’d be closely guarded until she was safely housed at the maximum-security federal prison.
If that happens, even I can’t save her.

Blass texted back, “For another ten, let me know when she is being moved.” He hit send and waited. He hoped the guy would take the money.

He received a text back, “OK, it will be short notice, but I’ll let you know.” Blass smiled and watched the building. He pulled up the surrounding area on the map function of his phone. He noticed two ways into the parking lot and several ways to escape once out of the lot. He pulled out of the lot and into an adjacent wooded area to gear up.

After loading the automatic rifles, he opened the schematics for the building and placed them on the front passenger seat. While looking them over, he placed several magazines full of ammunition within reach. Lastly, he donned the full-body armor and waited. All he could think about was Marie. Her smell, her amazing body, how she touched him and pleased him. He wanted to storm the federal building right then, but if he moved in too early, he’d never get close to rescuing her.

After an hour or so, he received another text message that read, “Moving, 6 guarding her, dangerous,” Blass considered the janitor’s warning.
To hell with it, what does he know about true love!

He sped into the parking lot, popped out of his car and shouldered the RPG.
Here goes nothing,
he thought as he squeezed the trigger. The round smashed into the side of the second story, blowing out windows and part of the structure. He tossed spike strips at the entrance/exit and jumped back into his vehicle. He sped to the underground parking structure entrance. Blass exited his car and watched the structure as the gate went down. He clicked a clicker of his own, and it forced the gate to remain open. A couple agents came running out of the garage and Blass shot them with his rifle.

Blass got back into his car and drove directly toward the gate. He made the turn and lobbed two grenades into the structure toward the row of black full-size vans and mashed the accelerator. The grenades exploded and smoke billowed from the garage. He spun the car to face the gate and got out again. Agents and officers hit him with small caliber rounds and he laughed out loud because his full body armor shielded him from any damage. He fired two magazines into the building and garage, tossed the gun and grabbed another one.
Where is she?
He assumed she would come out any second after he created her an escape route with the grenades.