The Merger – 40

 

As soon as they closed the agency for the day, Mike and Josh headed to their respective apartments to change from their work clothes to something more comfortable—and darker. Then Josh picked Mike up, since there was no reason for both of them to drive, and they stopped at a diner close to their destination to eat supper.

It was just after eight thirty and beginning to get dark when they left the diner. As they drove to their destination, Josh noted, unsurprisingly, that ninety percent of the buildings they went past were warehouses, with an occasional convenience store or small eatery interspersed on the main road going through the center of the ten-block square area.

"There," Mike said as they drove down one of the side streets, pointing to a small warehouse. It sat between two much larger, two-story ones that took up most of that side of the block. "The delivery entrance must be in back."

Josh turned at the next corner then into the area running behind the buildings. The two larger ones had several loading docks set directly on a paved lot, which was wide enough to let trucks access them. The warehouse belonging to Leades' Distributors had a narrow, fenced-in lot of its own off the main one, allowing a truck to back up to the small loading dock in front of a tall, roll-up door.

"They don't want anyone seeing what's being delivered," Mike said.

A logical conclusion, Josh thought, since deliveries to the other warehouses would be visible to anyone walking or driving by when they were happening.

Josh snorted. "Gee, I wonder why?"

Like the others, the Leades' warehouse was dark, no light shining through the two windows at one side of the entrance. The lot, however, was lit by two floodlights, one over the loading dock and the other by the entrance gate.

"They don't want trespassers," Josh said, slowing the car so they could get a better look. Since, at the moment, the area was empty, he pulled to a stop to study the fence and gate. "No trespasser is getting through or over that without setting off alarms, unless they know what they're doing."

"You can bet the same holds true for the building."

"No kidding." Josh continued driving, looking for somewhere they could leave the car so they could do a walk-by of the warehouse. He found it in the lot behind one of the convenience stores two blocks away. He slung his bag over his shoulder when they got out of the car, and then they returned to the street fronting the warehouse. The only illumination came from the streetlights on the corners of the block, lights over the entrances to the warehouses, and the occasional headlights of a passing car.

"A mugger's paradise," Mike said as they strolled with apparent casualness past the Leades' warehouse.

Josh nodded as he read results of the scan he was doing that would tell him what sorts of security were on the doors and windows of the warehouse. "Very high-tech," he murmured. "Not that we're going to break in, but interesting." He did that again with the warehouse next door for comparison. "Also good, but not nearly up to what Leades has on his building. I'd say that's a good clue that Leades doesn't want anyone coming in to check out his merchandise without him being there. You'd think he had drugs or illegal firearms in there, too."

"Hell, for all we know, he might," Mike replied. "Not that there's any way of finding out, even if we get inside as potential buyers for what he sells to people like Palmer."

"True. Now, let's check out the back to find a good vantage point to watch the warehouse."

That turned out to be relatively easy. One of the warehouses—across the alley from the lot belonging to the one to the left of Leades' building—was three stories tall and had a fire escape that went to the roof. The jump from there to the roof of the two-story warehouse opposite the one belonging to Leades was no more than ten feet, so getting to it was doable, as they discovered when they tried. There was a parapet running the length of the roof, giving them relatively safe cover to take photos, using a telephoto lens, of any trucks making deliveries to Leades' warehouse.

"I wish we could get closer, though," Mike said when they were back on the ground. "We'll be a good fifty feet away."

"Let's not press our luck," Josh replied.

"Still, if you could get me through the gate, I could hide behind that—" Mike pointed to the dumpster next to the loading dock, "—and get close-up shots of what was being delivered and the men doing the work."

"No," Josh replied adamantly. "You're not risking your life. You'd better believe they're armed. They'd have to be, to have hijacked the truck in the first place."

"Okay. You're right. Now, if we could get to that roof—" he gestured to the building on the right, next door Leades' warehouse, "—we'd have a better angle for photos and we could hear anything that was being said."

Without replying, Josh walked to the side street they hadn't driven down yet. "We can," he said. "Another fire escape. Of course, it doesn't go to the roof, but… Come on." After making certain there were no cars or people in sight, he jumped, grabbing the lower rungs of the ladder to pull it down. Then they climbed up to the second level. "Give me a boost," he told Mike. When Mike did, Josh was able to crawl onto the roof. Lying flat, he held out his hands, Mike took them and pulled himself up to join Josh.

"You're stronger than you look," Mike said. "But then I knew that." He winked, getting a grin from Josh in return.

They crossed to the edge of the roof, where they'd have a good view of the Leades' loading dock.

"Perfect," Mike said. "Thankfully, there's no moon to silhouette us while we're up here, so we're set for tomorrow night."

"And Sunday, if necessary," Josh replied. "It won't be this easy if we have to do daytime surveillance during the week."

"We bring our gear at night and camp out up here."

Josh rolled his eyes. "Not."

Mike laughed as they returned to the street the way they'd gotten up to the roof—then back to where they'd parked the car. "Your place or mine?" Mike asked once they were driving out of the area.

"Mine. That way I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to go home to change clothes before meeting my Saturday morning client."

"Let me pick up my car, then, or I'll be cabbing it home."

Josh grinned. "You can get up when I do and I'll drive you home."

"Umm, no? Saturdays I like to sleep in, no matter which bed I'm in."

"I know. Lazy man." Josh shook his head when Mike gave him the finger. Half an hour later, with both their cars parked in the lot next to Josh's building, they'd showered and were in bed, doing what they liked best—making love before falling asleep spooned together.