that Archer knew every detail of his role and that they were both on the same page. Archer tossed the phone onto the bed and sat down in a chair, thinking. Across the room, the television was still on, sound coming from it quietly, and he grabbed the remote and clicked it off.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Three raps, quick. Taptaptap. Every knock conveyed something and this one sounded urgent. He wasn’t expecting a guest, so he grabbed the Sig from the bedside table and walked over, the pistol in his right hand.
‘Who is it?’ he asked.
‘It’s me,’ a familiar voice said.
Shielding the pistol down his right leg, Archer pulled it open. Gerrard was standing there, still wearing the suit with the guacamole stain on the shoulder, looking stressed and worn out.
‘What’s wrong?’ Archer asked.
‘They did it again,’ he said.
‘I’ve been called up to D.C to explain myself,’ Gerrard said, sitting on the edge of the bed inside the room. Archer had let him in, then shut and locked the door behind them. ‘I’ll be back tomorrow or Sunday.’
Archer moved to the minibar and pulling it open, took out two cans of beer from the shelf, kicking the door shut behind him. He passed one to Gerry, who took it with a nod of thanks. The beer was a Miller, All-American, the can golden, the liquid inside cold.
‘You’re not going to be here Saturday?’ Archer asked. He lifted the ring-pull on his can and the beer gave a tschick as it opened.
He beckoned Gerrard to follow him and he opened the sliding door leading out to the balcony, stepping outside with the FBI agent then sliding the door shut behind them.
‘They summoned me,’ Gerrard said in a low voice, taking a seat in a white plastic chair. He continued to speak in lowered tones, seeing as the balconies of rooms adjacent were in earshot. ‘When that happens, you know you’re in deep shit. Nothing you can do will get you out of it. I tried to explain what the situation was, but they weren’t having it.’
‘This is bad, Gerry. I need you here on Saturday.’
‘I should be back sometime over the weekend. Don’t worry. I’m going to brief my team tomorrow on the intel we’ve gathered and the all details you’ve provided. They’re a good outfit. They can handle it without me. I’ll have them set up at the Garden, ready and waiting.’
He shook his head and looked at the beer can in his hand. The sounds of Times Square down below filled the silence, the constant hum of electric lights under the interjections of car horns and the occasional shout.
‘Shit. They’re going to have me for lunch. This could be the end of my career.’
‘Don’t think like that. You’ll be fine. Tell them you’ll have Farrell and his entire crew in hand-cuffs by Sunday. This will all be over by Monday morning.’
Gerrard didn’t reply. He opened his beer instead, lifting the can and taking a mouthful of cold beer.
‘Shit, that’s good,’ he said, savouring the taste and clearing his throat. ‘Anyway, they didn’t tell you about the job today?’
Archer shook his head.
‘They only need me on Saturday,’ he said. ‘Farrell won’t tell me anything other than the absolute essentials, and it’s clear that Ortiz and Regan still don’t trust me. Tell me what happened.’
‘It was another Chase, on 40. Two minute walk from here. They went in dressed as cops, probably the same outfits they’ll use on Saturday.’
Archer pictured the location.
‘Wait, I know that bank,’ he said. ‘I passed it the other day. It’s the one on 7 right?’
Gerrard nodded.
Archer frowned. ‘In a location like that? How the hell did they pull it off? Did they use guns?’
‘No. Farrell went straight to the manager. Handed him a cell phone and told him to listen. On the other end, he heard his wife crying, telling them to do everything they say or a man holding her captive would rape her and his daughter and kill them both. It took my detectives two hours just to pull that information from him. Apparently the thieves told him that if he told anyone what had happened, he’d never see his family again.’
‘Have you found them?’
‘Yeah. They’re OK, aside from the trauma. We sent a squad car over to the family home in Long Island and the two cops found them duct taped-up in chairs in the main room. Apparently it was one man, wearing a hockey mask and armed with