S.1 E.6 Wednesday 04/17/2019—Two For Flinching
Raid at The Five Iron! Lorry holds off the NYPD SWAT Team. Fergus schemes Andrew’s demise with his henchmen from prison. Police intimidation tactics on Lorry backfire.
Season 1 Recap:
Fergus secretly plots Andrew’s demise from prison. The Beck family mourns the death of patriarch Ted Beck, and childhood wounds between Andrew and Brandon surface and add to the tension. Andrew reluctantly agrees to give a speech at his father’s memorial ceremony on Saturday. However, Andrew has other matters on his mind, mainly how to tell Sandra he has a gambling problem when last week’s events have her ready to leave him. Gina is holding down the fort at Beck Sports Psychology, but his patients are in trouble, and Andrew’s gambling and out-of-office distractions have him dangerously close to losing everything he has worked for. Meanwhile, at The Five Iron, Lorry has Operation Phoenix running in full force as an imminent police raid is expected.
Episode 6. Preview
Raid at The Five Iron! Lorry holds off the NYPD SWAT Team, and they are surprised at what they find two stories below the ground on Mercer Street. Fergus schemes Andrew’s demise with his henchmen from prison. Police intimidation tactics on Lorry backfire, as she simultaneously deflects the cop's search of The Five Iron and a call from Fergus’ henchmen when he asks about Andrew’s location.
Blaring sirens from a line of New York City police cars and a SWAT van raced down Houston Street as the leading motorcycles stopped traffic so that the police vehicles could make sharp turns down Mercer Street. As the motorcycles drove down Mercer Steet, their shock absorbers put to the test as they sped down the uneven cobblestone street. The motorcycles stopped in front of a metal elevator at street level, with the cars and van skidding to a stop behind them, blocking the street.
New York City’s finest gathered with the SWAT unit armed with automatic weapons, riot gear, and a gadget to force elevator doors open, which looked like a reverse vice with a narrow metal edge to slide in between the doors.
After directing the men to stand to the side of the elevator, the lead officer on the scene held a piece of paper up to a security camera to the top right of the elevator.
“Police! We have a warrant to search the premises! Open these elevator doors at once, or we will breach!”
After a few seconds, the elevator door opened.
Another police officer raced up to the leader, put his hands on his shoulder, and said, “Sir! You can’t send men in there! There is room for four of us at most. If this is a trap, as soon as those doors open, we’ll be butchered.”
At that point, the team leader’s mobile phone rang.
“Hold on, everyone.”
The leader stepped out of the elevator's security camera’s direct sight and looked at his phone. The call was coming from a number with 15 digits, and many of the numbers were zeros. He stared at it a few times before answering it, very confused.
“Hello?”
A female Scottish voice said, “SWAT Commander Jerrome O’Connell, but your friends call you Jer, right?”
“Who the fuck is this? How did you get this number?”
“We’re not armed,” she continued. “Step in the elevator, and you will go about two stories down. Nothing will happen when the doors open, Jer.”
“You expect us to trust you?”
“I’ll keep the shaft open; if you hear gunfire, your men can come down the hatch and through the escape door at the top of the elevator. Plus, we’re trapped in here, mate. There’s no place for us to go.”
O’Connell held the phone to his chest, stepped inside the elevator, and looked around.
“Oi, Jer?!” O’Connell heard the muffled yell from the Scottish woman.
“If the shaft has a bomb, the whole bloody building will come down on our heads, mate. Are you daft? Just get in the fucking elevator so we can sort this out.”
“Stay on the fucking phone. If you click off, we open fire as soon as those doors open.”
“Well, we wouldn’t want that. Fergus wouldn’t approve of bullet holes in his walls. He’d have me head.”
O’Connell pointed out three men plus his lieutenant to enter the elevator, weapons drawn and riot shields interlaced, looking like a Roman phalanx.
Although it was a cool April afternoon, the men were sweating in their gear and had adrenaline coursing through their veins. They readied themselves as the elevator lowered.
“Stay ready!” Yelled the lieutenant.
The doors opened, and Lorry stood with one hand up and the other holding her mobile phone to her ear.
“Fuck me, you boys are a wee bit jumpy.”
“Drop the phone, now!”
“It’s a $1,500 dollar iPhone, mate. I’ll put it down gently, like.”
She bent down and placed the phone on the carpet.
“Step away!” The man yelled.
With her hands up, she took three steps backward.
The lieutenant picked up the phone as the other three team members took cover. The concierge was not in his usual spot, and no one except Lorry was in the entry foyer.
“Commander, you there?”
“Copy that, Lueitenant.”
“What are your orders, Sir?”
“Proceed with caution and put her in front. If someone takes a shot at us, they hit her first.”
“Rodger that, Sir.”
He used his assault rifle to point Lorry to the front.
“Hands behind your head, interlaced, and walk forward.”
Lorry complied and walked forward into the main room.
She led the men and said, “I didn’t see the warrant, mate. What exactly are you looking for here?”
“Don’t play dumb! We got your boss, Fergus Mackenize. We know this is an illegal gambling club.”
She turned slightly to the right so the Lieutenant could see her wily grin as she said, “Is that a fact?”
The men looked upon the open area. Two of them lowered their weapons.
“Sir, you better come down here. You need to see this.”
In Rikers Island…
Fergus stood staring at the wall. The flip phone was on his bunk. He peered over at his petrified cellmate, curled up in a corner, rocking back and forth.
His phone rang.
“Go.”
A man with a Scottish accent said, “What the fuck happened?”
“I got played,” answered Fergus calmly.
“You, mate?”
“Happens to the best of us, Amish.”
“Edmund Dantes?” Amish asked.
“Aye.”
“Proditor?”
“Dr. Andrew Beck.”
“A doctor?”
“A Sports Psycologist.”
“What the fuck is that, mate?”
Fergus ignored the question. “Lorry has his details. She will know where to find him.”
“I’ll call ‘er, find ‘em, and kill ‘em.”
“No! I want him alive. I want him to see me right before I put a bullet in his eye.”
“Not a problem. Me and Duncan will handle it. Where do you want us to hold him?”
“Duncan and I.” Fergus quipped.
“Duncan and you what?”
“No, you stupid bastard, it’s not ‘me and Duncan’ it’s Duncan and I.”
There was a brief pause before Amish said, in a patronizing tone, “Where would you like Duncan and I to put him?”
“Someplace cold, dark, damp, and fucking miserable.”
“I got just the place. He’ll love it.”
“Amish!?” Fergus barked.
“Aye?”
“Call me when you have him.”
Fergus clicked off before the man could respond.
Fergus looked over at the man cowering in the corner.
“Go get my fucking food. I’m having lunch in bed.”
Fergus athletically hopped up on the top bunk. The battered cell mate hurriedly tried to leave the cell, and Fergus grunted and snarled as he kicked him in the back. The man yelped and crashed into the metal bars. He held his nose as he bolted out of the cell.
Fergus lay down in his bunk. His hands clasped behind his head, staring menacingly at nothing. Slowly, his snarl turned to a smile.
Back at Mercer Street…
Lorry was observing the police search The Five Iron when her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and saw on the caller ID “Wanker.”
She mouthed “fucking wanker” to herself.
“I’m a bit busy here, Amish.”
“I need the address for a fucking Doctor Beck. I bet he’s a right posh bastard, eh?”
“Fucking google it. I’m a bit tied up here at the moment, fucking cops are everywhere. Do your fucking homework.”
Lorry heard the beginning of something profane as she clicked off and shoved the phone in her pocket, hoping no one saw her take the call.
Commander O’Connell approached her with the Lieutenant by his side.
“Find what you were looking for, boys?” Lorry snapped.
There is a big red door, with a large brass door knocker upstairs. We need access to that room.”
“Why?” Lorry crossed her arms and gave them some attitude.
“Because I fucking said so.”
Lorry smiled politely and said, “Why didn’t you just say so?” She was quite pleased with herself that she angered them so quickly.
Lorry guided them up the carpeted steps and took a hard right at the top. As they walked towards the door. Lorry saw her staff politely cooperating with the police, acting confused about what they expected to find at The Five Iron.
She pulled out her keys, and the longest one was a brass skeleton key that slid into the lock and turned with a loud click. She pushed the big red door open and motioned for the men to walk in.
“Is this Fergus’ office?” The Lieutenant asked.
Lorry, arms crossed again, gave a slight nod.
The room was immaculate. His desk had just a few papers, some unopened mail, and open invoices neatly stacked.
When O’Connell opened the drawers, he saw basic things a desk might have but nothing incriminating. He looked at the top of his ink blotter when he saw two Montblanc Meisterstruck pens, one with blue ink and the other with black.
“Mr. Mackenzie likes his pens, I see. That’s about three thousand dollars worth of pens just lying out in the open.”
“Why would Mr. Mackenize be concerned about any of his pens? We only hire trustworthy people.” She paused. “You should try it.”
O’Connell leered at her over the dig.
“Are you legal to work here, missy?” He shot back.
“Aye, are you?”
She said something in Galic to him and O’Connell looked confused.
She chuckled, “Aye, I guess you are an American, because a real Irishman wouldn’t allow me to say that about his mother.”
The Lieutenant defended his commander. “You better start showing a little respect, lady, or we’ll haul your ass downtown for obstructing an investigation.”
“I’m not obstructing. I’m just not a pleasant person. I don’t talk to people much. I just tell them what to do, and they fucking do it.” She pointed her chin to O’Connell, “Just like you, right, Jer?”
O’Connell tapped his Lieutenant on the shoulder to indicate they were done. As he was leaving, he looked up at the old five iron above the faux fireplace and pointed at it.
Lorry anticipated the question and said, “It’s a family heirloom, it’s a golf club.”
O’Connell glared at her for womansplaning.
Lorry put her head in her hand. “It’s a fucking five iron, get it? Our club is called The…Five…Iron.” She pantomimed with her hands on every word.
The men walked past her shaking their heads as the Lieutenant mumbled, “Bitch” as he passed her. Lorry just grinned and tried not to laugh. She slammed the big red door behind her so hard the brass knocker flew up and down, making a “bing-bang” sound.
Between the unexpected heavy door slam and the knocker, the two men turned and drew their weapons, ducking behind a pillar.
Lorry clicked the lock closed with her skeleton key and grinned as she walked past the shaken officers as they reholstered their weapons.
“Made ya, flinch.” She eyed the Lieutenant and added, “Bitch.” And she strolled past them, taking long strides.
The Leuitenant lunged forward, but O’Connell put his hand up and held the Leuitenant’s vest so he couldn’t advance. He shook his head and said, “Let it go.”
Up Next:
S.1 E.7. —Stimulus and Response
Andrew counsels hockey player Vladimir “The Russian Bear” Poplov after a one-game suspension for an excessive beating he gave an opponent. Andrew also counsels Vladimir on his tumultuous marriage to a Russian ex-supermodel, who provokes him. Andrew teaches Vladimir about the benefits of living in the space between stimulus and response. Andrew is still struggling with his strained relationship with recovering drug addict pitcher John Palmer, who he fears may be heading down a dark path.
Author’s note
This was a fun episode to write. I combined a couple of shorter chapters that appeared later in the outline. However, feedback from my fabulous Advanced Reader Team had me move them up in the timeline so readers could still follow the tension I created in Episode 1 around Fergus and Lorry. I also wanted to get a little deeper into Fergus’ network, Fergus’ plot for revenge, and how Andrew has no clue about it.
I look forward to your comments and feedback!
Chris K. Jones
Thanks Mike! This was a fun episode to write. Lorry is such a badass yes she has a soft place in her heart for Andrew. She is caught in between her loyalty to Fergus and her caring about Andrew and not wanting to see Fergus kill him. Always important to put characters in dilemmas! The off-scripts notes are something I can only do on substack, which is pretty cool.
Great episode, Chris...I like when you interject some humor. Also appreciate the off-script notes at the end!