Through Smoke: The Troubled Heroes Series (30 page)

Michael’s stomach jolted. It was as if a ton of bricks just fell from the roof on top of him. “What did you hear?”

“I heard someone say that Casey got into a car
with a bookie named Viper.  The cops have told us that
Viper is well known in Hell’s Kitchen.  I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, but with Viper, who knows? I know it’s just hearsay from people I don’t know, but I just thought you should know.”

Michael nodded and stared down at the sidewalk.  The same feeling he had before of feeling trapped overtook him. Despite the fighting with his baby brother, he just couldn’t allow anything to happen to him.  He had to get to the bottom of this, he just didn’t know where to begin. “I guess it explains the text message I got from him.”  He handed Eva his phone.  “At first I wasn’t sure if it was just Casey being Casey, but your story sort of confirms that something isn’t right.”

“But Mikey, these were probably drug addicts.  Who’s to say it is the truth?”

Michael stared at her, wishing he could believe that it was just some crack head rambling on about a hallucination, but he couldn’t be so lucky.  “How about this, Eva. After our shift you take me to that bar and we’ll see if we can find out who was talking.” He paused, considering his options at that moment.  “I’d call Detective Matson but you know they have those stupid ass policies of being missing for twenty four hours before anything is done.”

Eva nodded.  “I think we should still go ahead and call.  Anything out of the ordinary should be reported, and I’d say this qualifies.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

She squeezed his hand.  “This is where Viper will make his mistake.”

The remainder of the shift crawled on.  Of course, with Michael’s self proclaimed bad luck, they didn’t get another fire call to pass the time. In a way, that was probably a good thing.  He wasn’t focusing well enough to be able to deal with that, and his concentration problems would put one of his buddies in danger. 

Walking out of the garage, he felt someone grab his arm and he saw that it was Eva, jolting him from his fit of anger and panic.  Her calm face soothed him despite how frantic he was feeling deep inside. 

“Plans for this evening?”

The question lingered on his mind as if she was speaking a different language.  “To be honest, I’m not really sure, Eva.”

“I have a suggestion, but you’re not gonna like it.”  They walked out of the garage and out onto the street, making their way toward his apartment. 

In all reality, he just wanted to go to bars and areas where Casey was known to hang out and ask around.  It probably wouldn’t get too much accomplished.  Most drug addicts and people he hung out with wouldn’t say much and just deny everything.  “What is your suggestion?”

“We need to talk to the police.  Tha
t Detective who you’ve been in
contact
with
said to call him if anything changes.”  He began to say something but she cut him off. “Seriously Mikey.  I know you’re not a fan of the cops and all, but as long as they know and have it in the back of their mind it could help us down the road.  Not all of them are careless.”

“You know they’ll just say he’s not missing unless it’s been twenty four hours.  They’ll hand us that line of bullshit and you know it.”  As they walked, he watched different groups of people, hoping that maybe he’d see Casey or Viper, hoping the word on the street about it all was just a rumor.  A sense of dread rushed over him as they got to his apartment stoop. 

“At least if the cops know, that’ll help.  You’ve got nothing to lose.”

Michael contemplated her advice, staring down the street as if Casey would magically appear, laughing at one of his not so funny jokes he used to pull all the time.  Grabbing his cell phone, he dialed Detective Matson’s phone number, his heart pounding as he waited.  He felt like the more time they waited, the worse off his little brother would be if this were all playing out to be true. 

“Detective, this is Michael McGinnis.”

“Hey, what can I do for you?”

“I think Viper got Casey.”

There was a pause on the other end, heightening Michael’s nervous mood.  “What makes you think that?”  Michael knew the question wasn’t meant to sound hostile, but it came off as disbelief by the way Detective Matson’s tone was.

“Several people were claiming to see him leave with Viper.  I know that’s just hearsay, but don’t you think with everything happening that it’s worth looking into?”

Another short pause filled with heavy breathing.  It was almost like the detective was doing it for the dramatic effect.  “Yes, you’re right, McGinnis.  I’ll get right on that.  In the mean time, you lay low.  If he’s after Casey there’s a chance he’ll come for you too.”

“Okay.”  Michael hung up the phone, instantly ignoring Detective Matson’s advice.  How was he supposed to be low key knowing there was a chance his brother would never be found, and if he was, he’d probably be dead? 

“What did he say?”

“Said he’d get on it.  I believe him about as well as I believe Viper.  We’re gonna have to do this ourselves.”

Eva folded her arms over her chest and just by her expression, Michael knew that she wasn’t going to agree with him.  “Any suggestions on what to do?  I’m all ears.”

“Every journey starts with the first step.” Pausing, he forced a smile that didn’t feel natural.  He couldn’t remember the last time a smile felt real.  “I guess we better start looking.”

Chapter Nineteen

Eva was frustrated, not just at the situation, but at Michael.  What was he expecting to do, go to every bar in Hell’s Kitchen and think that someone would talk?  They had been walking up and down the street for a couple of hours now and as she had said, no one was open to talk to them.  Her feet were killing her and she just wanted to sleep.  Deep down she admired him for caring enough to do this, but there was a time to
call it quits.

“Mikey, let’s go back to your place.  Maybe tomorrow more people will be out and talkative.”  She leaned against the side of a building, the bricks cold against her hand as she tried to fix her shoe with the other.  “I mean seriously, what else can we do?” Her tone was more desperate than she intended.

Michael stared down the street, his face full of confusion.  Glancing down at the sidewalk, he shrugged.  She wished she had answers for him.  Most other people going through everything he had would have either killed themselves or ha
ve been put in a straitjacket
and thrown into a padded room. 

“What do you suggest we do, Eva?  I can’t sit at home knowing that my brother could possibly be dead.  What if we're overlooking him and I go home and he dies?  I could’ve stopped it.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed, not surprised at the fact that he didn’t respond to it.  “Have you tried calling him?”

“Of course.”

“For all we know, he’s just out of touch like he gets sometimes, right?  Nothing is set in stone that he’s actually missing.”

Michael glanced at her from the corner of his eye.  If looks could kill she’d be dead.  “You’re the one who told me people were talking about him going with Viper.” He paused and balled his fists up.  “I know people out here aren’t the best viable source, but why would they just randomly be saying that?  They don’t know you know Casey.  They’d have no reason to spout that off to you to lead you off course, would they?”

He did make sense, but at the same time it could go both ways on reliability.  “Just remember how rumors change, Mikey.”

Michael shook his head and buried his hands in his pocket.  “I don’t know what the hell to do, Eva.  If it were your brother, what would you do?  How shitty would it look if I just went on and lived my life knowing what Viper is capable of doing to him?”

“That’s a tough question, Mikey.  I’d want to find him, but I also know my limits and when it is time to rest.  What good are you gonna be if you’re dead tired?  You can’t concentrate right and you could make bad decisions.  That’s not helping Casey any more than sitting at home and living your life.”  She let that sink in.  They were quiet aside from the sound of traffic rushing by them on Forty Second Avenue.  “Think about it.  The cops are aware of it too.  You’re doing all you can.”

Mikey ducked his head in defeat.  “Okay.”  He turned around, his head still lowered, and they made their way back to his apartment.  Eva just wanted to pull him into a hug and never let him go.  She suddenly missed how simple life was before all of this, back when they reported to work and did their jobs and went to the pub after to have a few drinks.  And to think life seemed complicated back then. 

When Casey first woke up, all he could hear was water dripping far off.  The echo was loud enough to shoot through his head, intensifying the pounding headache that rumbled through his skull.  There was a dull light in a corner and a dark shadow that seemed to look like someone sitting in a chair. 

             
“Hello?”  His voice echoed over the water drip.  Memory was failing him.  He remembered going with Viper, but that was the last thing he could recollect.  How could he have been so dumb to succumb to Viper’s wishes?  He should’ve put up a fight.  But at least Mikey wasn’t taking the brunt of this.  He didn’t want his brother enduring another thing for him like he had done so much in the past.  Grunting, he realized he was tied up against the wall.  “Is anyone there?”

The shadowy figure in the corner moved and it caused Casey’s heart to skip a beat.  He fought the urge to rub his eyes clear of the blurriness since they were tied behind his back.  The figure got closer and he finally saw the person’s face.  It wasn’t Viper, but it was someone who’s gaze looked more empty and lost. He had a black coat on.  The hood covered most of his head and face.  He looked like a character from a horror movie. The silence in the room was palp
able, and Casey wondered if he
even spoke English.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

The man grabbed a metal rod and lifted it high.  It was the last thing Casey saw before his vision went black.

Michael rolled over in bed, glancing at the alarm clock.  It was two AM.  Eva was buried in the covers so he tried to crawl out of bed without disturbing her.  Walking to the window, he watched the street below, as he did so many other sleepless nights before.  Sighing, he hoped and prayed that Casey would randomly pass by, safe and sound, doing what he always did.  The street was dead.

He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of whiskey from the cabinet.  Sipping on it, he savored the burn as it went to his stomach.  After a few more swigs, he replaced the lid and watched the street from the living room window.  It was the same story.  No Casey.  He wanted to scream.  He wanted to punch a hole in the wall.  He wanted to just leave New York and not look back.  So many emotions poured through him and the only thing he could do was sink to the floor, bury his head in his hands, and allow tears to flow down his face.  Frantic sobs escaped his throat.  Tears soaked into his hands.  He had the sudden urge to vomit.  He rested his head against the wall and the cool feel against his forehead soothed him, and his sobs quieted down.  More tears fell but he wiped most away with his shirt. 

Standing up, he took
a deep breath.  Eva was sound asleep.  Now was the time to get out of the house and look some more without her behind him, nagging him every step of the way.  Most of Casey’s friends were up at this time of night anyway. 

Grabbing his baseball cap and coat, he slowly opened the front door and made his way down to the street.  He wasn’t doing any good wallowing in his self-pity.  It was time to find his brother and wake up from this nightmare. 

The night air was cool and moist.  He felt so lost and had no idea where to start.  Bars were closing down at this time.  Maybe he would catch someone coming out of one and he could get some information. The reliability would be questionable since most would be drunk and high, but it was worth a shot. Sometimes that was the best way to get the truth out of someone. 

His first stop was the bar a few blocks away.  It was a well-known hangout, especially for Casey and his drug dealers and buddies.  People were making their exit.  He waited at a distance, patiently scanning the crowd for anyone who looked like someone Casey would hang out with.  He didn’t really know his brother’s friends, but he had a good idea of who some of them were.