The Darkness - Jason Pinter [118]
against the window.
I felt a lump rise in my throat. What the hell was he
doing here?
Curt immediately lowered his window and said, "Detective Makhoulian, I... How did you get here?"
Detective Sevay Makhoulian, wearing a light brown
jacket that fluttered in the wind, nodded, gesturing across
the front seat toward my window.
338
Jason Pinter
We turned around to find another man there. This one
I'd never met before, but I knew him right away. He was
in his early forties, with wavy blond hair and an ear that
looked like a bad science experiment.
It was Rex Malloy, and he was smiling as he aimed a
gun at my head.
47
Rex Malloy opened up the backseat door and slid in,
keeping his gun trained on the back of Curt's head. Detective Makhoulian was walking in front of us, leading
us toward the path that the Sam's fish truck had pulled
into. I now knew that Makhoulian had tipped them off
about our meeting with Hollinsworth. Curt had trusted
him. And so had I.
"Weapon, please," Malloy said to Curt.
"I'm not packing."
"And I'm Tiger Woods. Weapon. Please."
I closed my eyes as I felt the muzzle of the gun pressed
against my head. Curt reached down and unstrapped a
gun from his ankle, then handed it over.
"Thank you," Malloy said. "Was that so hard?"
I could see Malloy through the rearview mirror. His
gun was held level, steady, and there was even the slightest hint of a grin on his face.
Curt looked straight ahead. He was quiet, but I could
sense that he was seething inside. As a cop, I could imagine it was a massive blow to your ego to be ambushed like
this. But it wasn't Curt's fault. At least now we knew who
the mole was inside the NYPD. And it was the very man
who'd helped "investigate" my brother's murder.
340
Jason Pinter
"How long has Makhoulian been working for you?" I
asked. Up ahead we approached a gate, which opened for
us.
Malloy tilted his head just slightly. "Now come on,
Henry. There'll be plenty of time to ask questions. And
please call him 'Detective.'"
"He's no more a detective than you are a soldier," I spat.
Malloy squinted his eyes just slightly, and the hint of
a grin became a full-blown smile.
"You know, I wasn't sure how much Bill Hollinsworth was able to get out before we quieted that rat,"
Malloy said.
"He told us everything," I said. "I know about Panama,
about the Hard Chargers. I know that your brother was
killed and you've decided to emulate him in some sick
game, you whack job."
"Emulate?" Malloy said. "My friend, I am a living
tribute to my brother."
"Shame you didn't both get plugged over there," Curt
said. "Save us all a lot of time."
"Even if I did," Malloy said, "it wouldn't have changed
anything except my post-military career. You two just
happened to be caught up in the current, and lucky enough
for you, you'll actually get to know the truth before you
die. Well, at least all the truth that's fit to print."
"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" I said.
"Just sit tight," Malloy said. "We're almost there."
I followed Makhoulian down a long dirt road, both
sides bracketed by fencing topped with razor wire. The
forest was thick behind the fence, blocking our path from
view. The road snaked and twisted for over a mile, before
it opened into a large open field, surrounded by more
fencing and still closed off from the rest of the world.
The Darkness
341
There was a large brown warehouse in the middle,
some sort of facility. As we approached the facility, two
men carrying machine guns came out to meet us. They
stopped on either side of the car and waited.
"Get out," Malloy said.
"Or what?" Curt replied.
"Or I'll kill your friend Parker. And if Parker doesn't
get out, I'll kill you. And if you both refuse to get out, I'll
kill every member of your family."
Hatred burning through me, I opened the door and
stepped out. Curt did the same.
As we stepped out, I was shoved up against the car and
searched by the man with the machine gun. The man on
the other side did the same to Curt.
From me they confiscated