The Big Enchilada

and in a couple of hours I was sitting in the back of a crummy bar with him and James “Mad Dog” Green, the Young Turk of the District Attorney’s office. His nickname came from the way he played linebacker in college football, but I gathered it was not inappropriate for the way he did his job as D.A. He had a reputation for single-minded ferocity that was most distressing to some of his less energetic colleagues. We disliked each other on sight, but we both realized that each of us could be very useful to the other.
    I talked for a long time. I told them about Mound of Venus Films and how that enterprise was a major supplier of the child porn films that everyone was getting so bothered about, and how it also provided young talent to the club. I told them about the Black Knight Club—what went on in the club and what happened to the members after they made use of the facilities. I told them about the heroin factory at Medco and how that setup tied in with the club. I told them about the part Ratchitt played. I told them that one man was behind all of it. I told them everything except who that one man was.
    When I started my story, they didn’t believe me, but as I went on, explained connections, examined coincidences, they became less skeptical, and by the time I finished they were believers. Thank Christ for that!
    As their incredulity changed to belief, anger turned to red-eyed fury. Green was jumping around, ready to call out the dogs, sound the alarms, order all hands on deck, and descend like an avenging angel. That was just about the worst way to handle things, and it took me a long time to calm him down and explain that a little subtlety was called for if he really wanted to close things up. I finally got him to agree that the more noise he made, the more likely it was that somebody would be tipped off and his net would come up empty.
    Then Green started in on me about the identity of the man behind it all. I kept quiet.
    “Damn it, Hunter,” he said, “I need to know the name. I can’t proceed without it.”
    “Come off it. I’ve given you enough stuff to act a dozen times over. You don’t need the name right now.”
    “But he’s the one I want,” Green said, hitting the table with his fist.
    “He’s the one I want as well. The only one I want. I don’t suffer from moral outrage, and all that other stuff doesn’t bother me too much—except as it relates to the big man. And I intend to see him brought down. But it won’t happen unless we do it my way. He’s too well insulated, and he’ll get off. He might be slowed down, but he won’t be hurt. He should be hurt.”
    “Scum like that should be exterminated,” Burroughs muttered.
    “I didn’t hear that,” Green said quickly.
    “I did,” I said, and grinned at Burroughs.
    From that point on, I had an ally in the cop, and together we talked Green around to leaving the big man to me, at least to begin with. Nobody talked about what I intended to do to him, but the unspoken idea hung over the table like a heavy shadow.
    I outlined the way I thought Green should handle things. He was to get the necessary warrants as quietly as possible, from a judge in whom he had absolute confidence. He couldn’t be too careful about this because the big man had connections all over the place. The same applied to the cops who would be chosen for the assignment. Only a small group was needed, but they should be handpicked and absolutely trustworthy. If possible, they should be from outside the immediate area, and they should be assembled with the least possible fuss in order to minimize the chance of anything being noticed or leaked. Up until the time they went into action, no one except Burroughs and Green would know what was going down. Then, if there was a leak, we’d all know where to look.
    I asked Green if he could manage all that, and how long it would take. He thought it would be no problem and that he and Burroughs could have the strike force ready in a couple of hours. It’s amazing how the red tape just falls apart if you use the right scissors.
    Their first target would be Venus Films. They would hit it in the late afternoon when work would be proceeding as usual. They shouldn’t run into any resistance there, and they should find enough material to keep them busy for quite a while. The important thing was that anyone they netted should be kept on ice until the rest of the operation was done. They should be kept incommunicado, out of