Page 99 of Wild Fever

By that time, a car had pulled up. The driver stopped with wide eyes, staring at us.

I flashed my badge and waved him around as I pulled the scumbag out of the roadway.

The driver almost broke his neck looking at us as he passed.

I told the scumbag, "You work for STT-X.”

"See, you don't need me. You got it all figured out."

"Names. I need to know who put you up to this.”

"I just do what I'm told."

"Good. Because I'm telling you to give me names."

He laughed. "This is bigger than you. You can't touch them."

"Wanna bet?"

"Do yourself a favor. Walk away from this. Let me go, and we can forget this ever happened. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

I laughed. "I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

The scumbag smirked. "No, you don't.”

"Names," I said, jamming the barrel of my pistol hard underneath his chin. “I'm not screwing around. I will shoot you right here and now. I don't care. You need to be asking yourself if I'm a good cop or a bad cop. Let me give you a hint."

The dirtbag hesitated.

"Just think, your brains are going to be splattered all over this concrete. You’re gonna die right here.”

"Julian Ashby. CFO of STT-X.”

"You're smarter than you look," I said. I fumbled through his pockets and found a burner phone. "Now you’re gonna call him and tell him you missed."

I used facial recognition to open the phone, then scrolled through his recent calls and texts. "Is this his number?"

He nodded.

I pulled out my phone, launched the camera app, and started filming. Then I dialed Julian’s number.

This was a direct line to his cell phone. Julian answered himself after a few rings. "Is it done?"

The dirtbag hesitated. "No. He got away.”

"I'm not paying you to let him get away. I'm paying you to take care of problems. Deputy Wild and that partner of his have become a problem. Is this something you can handle, or do I need to look elsewhere?"

"No. I can take care of it.”

"You better. This is your last chance.”

Julian ended the call.

I smiled. "See how easy that was."

I holstered my pistol and called dispatch. They sent a patrol unit, and I stuffed the scumbag in the back of the car. He was taken to the station, processed, printed, and put into an interrogation room.

His name was Dalton Rhames. He confessed again and implicated Julian. "I did you a solid. I expect you to take care of me when the time comes.”