Fake

by C. L. Stone

  My heart lifted but then dropped. There were more guys out here than I had thought. Axel and Marc… maybe they were in the trunks. I just needed a way to get rid of those guards…And for my eyes to stop crossing. I squeezed them tight, willing myself to stay moving and awake.

  There were two garage doors, and then the car inside that was covered with a tarp. There were two buttons on the wall as well. Door openers.

  I took the Taser out. I wasn’t sure this would even knock them out completely, or just stun them for a minute. I also couldn’t hit more than one guy.

  I went back to the window. The men were still talking amongst themselves.

  Blake, however, lifted his head, squinting at me. At least he was paying attention. His eyes were wide, questioning me from a distance.

  Charades again. I sucked at this game. I checked out the men who were talking. I could lure one into the garage. I showed Blake my Taser, pointed to the guards, and held up one finger.

  The guards were facing Blake, and while he could watch me, he couldn’t signal back without drawing attention. He did, however, wake up Doyle. He said something to him. Doyle rolled his head, said something and then sat up, rubbing his eyes.

  I moved back to the buttons, hovered my hand over them both and, aimed my body to be ready to run behind the car.

  Smack.

  Run for my life.

  I ducked behind the car, and crab-walked the long way around toward the bumper and squatted.

  Both doors opened with a loud hum. The men outside of the car turned toward it, looking confused.

  Blake rolled down his window. “Hey,” he said. “What’s going on? Are we going in?”

  One of the guys said something to the other. They split up. One went into the garage, the other moved toward Blake. The two additional men inside the car talked to the guard. There was a short conversation, and they got out, signaling to Blake and Doyle to get out of the car; they were all heading inside.

  My heart was beating hard and fast. I might just have made this worse, but if Ethan and Avery were on the way, as were the Academy backup, then having people outside with guns when they showed up wasn’t a good idea. My blood was pumping. I breathed, trying to steady myself.

  The one that entered the garage did it slowly, with his gun out. He checked out around the corners. He took his time, covering his back.

  Doyle and Blake were inside with more guards. I was on my own now. Taking one down was a start. At least then I’d have a gun.

  I checked out the Taser, and was excited to find it was the kind that spat out barbs.

  I snuck around the car, waited until the guy was on the steps, looking at the garage door buttons, and then aimed for his back.

  I fired.

  The barbs flew, connecting at the back. I wasn’t too far from him, so it hit and latched onto him.

  The man jerked, fell back, and landed on the ground. He dropped his gun. Because he fell on his back, and the current was still working on him, he was basically stuck with the Taser barbs in him.

  I didn’t really feel sorry for him.

  I stepped around the car, still holding onto the Taser button so electricity was flowing through. I needed him down as long as possible.

  I picked up the gun, a .45. I checked for the safety and then aimed it at the guy that was still down on the ground, his legs twitching. He moved slowly, still alive, but seemed to be having a hard time working his muscles.

  I checked the garage, found duct tape on the wall and went for it.

  Releasing the Taser’s button and putting the black box on the ground, I moved to hover over the guard. I checked his pockets, finding a knife in a holster, some magazines with bullets inside, his wallet and cell phone, and a radio. I put those aside, out of his reach.

  I taped his mouth first, and then taped up his wrists and ankles. And then I got tired and taped him to the ground around his back, thighs and biceps, using long strips. He might get up eventually, but it would take a lot of work. I found another tarp and draped it over him. Totally obvious but at least the man was down and couldn’t call for help.

  I went to the door of the garage. No one came back outside. I wasn’t sure if anyone was watching. Maybe Raven upstairs. I’d kept the gun, the knife and the man’s radio. The others I tossed into the garbage can inside the garage. I’d almost kept the wallet. Old habits. Felt like a waste to throw it.

  I held onto the radio in my pocket and carried the gun with me. The car was still, the second car was empty with everyone inside the house. I crossed my fingers that I could get at least Axel and Marc out. After that point, it would be a matter of getting everyone else out.

  I slunk over to the car, opening the passenger door on the far side. I popped the trunk. I waited for a minute, just in case someone like Eddie noticed. When no one came rushing out with guns, I scurried over.

  Axel and Marc were inside, tied up with black sacks over their heads. They were in the same clothes as the other day, only now their clothes were dirty. They were sweaty, and Marc’s arms were bruised.

  “Axel,” I said. They were still. I was worried they were dead. Maybe we were too late for a cure.

  Axel shot up. Marc did, too, mumbling something through the bindings.

  I got Marc first, removing the hood and starting on his arms, using the knife to cut through. Marc sucked down air the moment I released the hood. He coughed hard, spitting and coughing again, I thought he was going to be sick.

  “Did she poison you?” I asked. “Are you guys okay?”

  “She said she did,” Marc said. He wiped at his mouth and then stood up. His mismatched eyes looked watery. His nose had been bleeding at one point but now was just caked with dried blood. “I feel fine. Outside of the beating.”

  Axel mumbled something, nodding his head and showing me his bindings. I used the knife to cut him free.

  The moment Axel’s head was free, he was coughing, too. His long dark hair was mashed up against his sweaty face. I raked it away from his mouth and nose so he could breathe. “Thallium,” Axel said first thing after his initial coughing spasm. He broke into another round soon after. He spoke between coughs as I cut through his arm bindings. “It’s thallium. She’s poisoned all of us.”

  “How?” Marc asked. “I don’t feel bad. Just beaten up.”

  “We won’t feel it,” Axel said. He started to get up, and I assisted him until he was on the ground outside the trunk. “It takes days to go through your system before you’ll react. I heard her talking about it when she thought we’d passed out. Everyone involved has been injected.”

  “Who?” I asked.

  He spat and then looked up at me, his dark eyes thundering. “Everyone,” he said. “Anyone who’s been caught by them. Including you.”

  My stomach turned. I’d been tired, but I didn’t feel sick… Or didn’t think so for sure until now. Suddenly my stomach cramped and my tired body shook. I willed myself to forget it for now. “For how long?”

  “Since you were picked up with Brandon. Eddie and his gang carried a vial, and injected you with it. Unless we get everyone to a hospital, we could die in a few days. That was her goal. Even if she faked letting us go, she would have killed us days later and it would look like we were all sick from something else.” He fished in the trunk, pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on his face, blinking. His hair fell in front, giving him a wild look. Fierce like a storm. “Where’s Brandon? What’s going on?”

  I caught them up quickly on Corey’s plan, about Raven with a gun watching him. “Brandon’s still downstairs, creating a distraction to give them time, but Doyle and Blake just got escorted inside by three armed gunman.”

  “They killed Randall,” Axel said. “But they’ll have a hard time getting rid of all these bodies. Poison would be the perfect solution for them. Given at varying times. We wouldn’t notice until it was too late and they’d gotten away. It’s untraceable. The only ones who aren’t affected are anyone she hasn’t been abl
e to capture.”

  “Raven and Corey,” I said.

  “And Kevin,” Marc said. He was sitting on the ground, sucking in air and holding his guts. “I feel like shit.”

  They were both rolling around on the ground, pretty beaten up. There was no way they could help me with people on the inside.

  “Ethan Murdock is on the way,” I said. “And Avery. Kevin is heading in with Academy people. They should be almost here.”

  “We’ll have to head in ourselves,” Axel said. “We have to stop it before it becomes a hostage situation.”

  “You can’t go in like that,” I said.

  Marc grabbed Axel’s arm. “We need people to come out, not go in. We need a plan to get them to let hostages go.”

  “They were going to let them go if they got what they wanted, right?” I asked.

  “Maybe,” Axel said. “They aren’t beyond shooting anyone.” He spat again and shook his head, pressing a palm to his neck. “You said Raven’s inside?”

  “Yeah,” I said. “Corey’s working on the core. It should be done soon. We just need them to think they’ve gotten what they want. We need to stop Brandon from getting shot before then.”

  “Then you’ll have to listen carefully,” Axel said. He swallowed, coughed and then swallowed again. “Because I have to teach you how to manipulate terrorists in two minutes.”

  SICK

  Axel was hanging back behind the car and waiting for Avery and Ethan to show up with their part in the plan. Marc was covering us from the back. The goal was simple: One by one if needed, get anyone captured safely outside without alerting the guards.

  Easier said than done. I was about to go back inside and direct the plan from the inside. Get anyone not captured, like Raven and Corey, on the same page.

  I fought off a wave of dizziness. I had the knife. Marc had the gun, and Axel went for the cell phone in the trash to contact Kevin.

  I was in the garage when the radio I’d been holding went off. I turned down the volume and listened. It was in German, unhelpful. It wouldn’t be long before they came to look for their buddy. Axel was in no condition to take him out. And Marc couldn’t shoot anyone without people hearing it and coming to see what was going on.

  I peeked in through the door inside the garage. No one appeared to be in the hallway or the kitchen. There was talking inside, but further away and I couldn’t hear.

  There was a smell coming from the kitchen. Eggy. I guessed the exploding microwave thing worked. It meant they were on guard now. I’d have to be careful.

  I went for the back stairs, stopped halfway up, and listened closely.

  “Your guards are idiots,” Blake said. “She used a Taser and got one outside. He’s sick behind the garage puking his guts out. That’s why he’s not answering.”

  I cringed. He was telling them I was here? Now they’d be on the lookout.

  A male voice cut in, speaking German. It echoed on my radio and I turned the volume down to a whisper.

  “You know,” Doyle’s voice came through. “I could go check on him. I need a smoke anyway.”

  “No one is going anywhere,” Mr. Murdock said. “Everyone gets to go upstairs. We’ll handle this quietly. We just need to make those adjustments to this core. Everyone gets to walk away after. No fuss.”

  “That sounds like a reasonable solution,” Alice said. “We won’t need to worry about the annoying bug if everyone is upstairs and we’ve cut her off.”

  I gulped. I needed to get upstairs before they did. I’d be trapping myself in with the rest of them, and there weren’t that many places to hide. I wasn’t sure how I’d get out of there with everyone if they locked us all in upstairs.

  I scurried up while they were still talking. I used the printout of Ethan’s face and then pressed the code.

  I got behind the door, locking it again. Maybe it’d delay them for a minute.

  I checked the room. Raven and Corey were missing. The computer was back in the floor. Had they left?

  I heard a cough somewhere in the room. I couldn’t source it, but then I heard voices behind me on the stairwell.

  “He’s not getting up,” Eddie was saying.

  “Punch him again. He’ll get up.” That was Mr. Murdock.

  I ground my teeth. I’d shoot them both in the face.

  “Hey there,” Blake called. “Someone need some help? Is that a control pad? Do you guys know the password? Let me take this one. No, he’s fine. Look, he’ll walk. Doyle, help me.”

  Eddie spoke. “Alice, they’re your people. They’re getting your cut, not mine.”

  Maybe they weren’t working as closely together as I thought.

  I found a couch to hide behind, close to the door. I wanted to be able to have access. I wasn’t sure how else to get them to escape, but I got a good view of the room from behind the sofa next to one of the windows.

  Mr. Murdock spoke. “Let’s just get everyone inside.”

  “We need the passcode,” Alice said. “Won’t you be a dear and type it in quickly for us?” She pointed to the third floor. “Before your son gets here.”

  “My son is a moron,” Mr. Murdock said, disgust thick in his tone. “He’s an ungrateful bastard who doesn’t get how the world works. You have to kick a few balls to get ahead.”

  “Let’s get this over with,” Eddie said.

  “We’re going to trust these guys?” Mr. Murdock asked, walking up the steps.

  “This one,” Alice said, “is about to beat your little security dog into submission. So type in the password and we can get going.”

  “Where to?” Mr. Murdock asked. “Back to the cabin? Where I can shit in a pot and eat nothing but frozen dinners? I didn’t work this hard to go back to living like a Neanderthal.” He coughed, though underneath, it sounded like swearing and muttering. There was a small noise as each time he hit a number on the security pad.

  The alarm beeped and then quieted.

  The door opened, and I pulled back, waiting. From under the sofa, I spotted feet coming inside. Lots of them. This was going to be harder than I thought. I wedged myself further into the corner, just so I could look between the sofa arm and a side table.

  Mr. Murdock stood by the security panel. He typed in another passcode and then the computer lifted from the floor again. “You shouldn’t need me now.”

  “We should stay for a minute,” Alice said. “Just in case anything else comes up. I’ve got a plan, and we don’t need anyone leaving early.”

  “If I wanted to watch a moron type at a computer for an hour, I’d have watched my kids with their games and their Facebooks.” He looked at Brandon, who was being dragged in by Mack Truck and then pushed down on one of the sofas, sitting in it and folding his arms. “Just get it over with already. I want to get out of here.”

  Brandon glared at everyone. His face had more cuts. I wondered if his poison would work faster if he was beaten like that. He was slightly shaking his head. I realized he didn’t know what was going on but he was still trying to resist. Then I spotted his eyes going up, down, left… He was looking for Raven and the others without making it obvious. It probably looked like Blake and Doyle had teamed up with the bad guys as well. Hopefully he knew better.

  I stared hard at him, looking calm.

  Slowly, as Brandon scanned the room, he passed me once, and then his eyes came back. He squinted. Slowly, I smiled, and then winked.

  Brandon frowned at me and I could tell he didn’t like me being up here.

  While Doyle looked over the two monitors, Blake and the others watched over him. I wasn’t really sure what to do at this point. There were five guards now with guns, including Mack Truck; way too many to mess with. I didn’t know if Eddie had a gun, but he wore a jacket, which could have concealed one in a back holster. From what I could tell, Mr. Murdock’s pocket had a wallet on one side, a cell phone in the other. Alice had a cell phone in her right front pocket. No purse. Unless she kept a gun between her breasts, she was unarm
ed.

  Only Raven had a gun up here, and since he’d used up bullets at Blake’s house, I wasn’t sure if he had many left, if any at all. Hopefully he brought more, but one gun wasn’t going to take many of them out if they started firing, even if he was Russian.

  But it wouldn’t really work if they left before we came up here.

  I scanned the room, and then I noticed Brandon was still staring at me from across the room. Then he dragged his eyes up toward the ceiling. I followed his gaze.

  Raven was above the group, in the ceiling, hanging from a couple of exposed metal beams above us. They were so high up, I wasn’t sure how he’d gotten up there. He caught my eyes instantly, giving me a thumbs up, ready to go.

  Corey wasn’t with him, though. I checked the room again for him. I glanced once more up at Raven. He quietly pointed to Brandon and then held up ten fingers, mouthed the word ‘minutes’, and then nine fingers, eight fingers: a countdown.

  I nodded. We needed ten minutes for something to happen.

  I checked around, and noticed the phone was missing. While I couldn’t see him, I thought Corey must be behind that sofa, using the phone as a communication line.

  “Can I sit?” Blake asked. “Is that allowed?”

  “Everyone can sit,” Alice said. “No pressure here. If everyone does what they’re supposed to, no one needs to be harmed.”

  Eddie snorted. He must have known about the poison. Bastard.

  Blake started toward the sofa that I suspected Corey was behind. Brandon coughed through his taped-up mouth, looked right at Blake and shook his head just the slightest bit.

  Blake got the gist, and rerouted to the other side, closer to where I was.

  A gunman followed him; his own a personal guard. He stood in front of Blake, his gun drawn.

  Mack Truck moved next to Brandon. Brandon grunted, sitting back, breathing deeply through his nose.

  I gulped quietly as Mack Truck took his gun out and watched over him.

  It felt like the execution line. Wasn’t exactly how I thought it would work out.

  Up in the rafters, Raven looked unhappy.

  I looked at Blake, who was staring out the windows. “Nice view,” he said. “Makes me want to sit here quietly and watch the sunrise.”