Watcher

by Andrew Weis

  “It’s possible they’ve brought in another angel,” I mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Tyrone isn’t a genius, and only an idiot would try to rob the Fed. In our case, an angel could help them succeed.”

  “What if it is the devil?” he asked.

  “We already ruled him out. Anyway, why would an angel help with a bank robbery? I’m missing something here, but I can’t figure out what it is.”

  “Maybe that angel wants something locked in one of the vaults.”

  “No, the angel is likely using them for a different purpose, but what?”

  I figured Ellis was the likely mystery angel, and I had to find out what he wanted. The angel hierarchy came to mind, but how did that connect to a bank robbery requiring angelic help?

  “Well, I’m with you, Jessa, no matter what. Where you go, I go. Whatever that angel wants, he’ll have to go through me too,” Daniel said.

  “Thanks, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “I’m being supportive,” he said. “I didn’t mean I’ll stop the robbery with you.”

  “Too late to back out now. You’re committed now, boy. That’s how it works in angel land,” I said with a restrained grin.

  “Hey, girl, if you think I’m storming that castle, you’re crazy.”

  “I’m kidding, but I’ll need your help before this is over. I’ll take care of the heavy lifting. Now, I got to talk to Nemo and Nero.”

  “What help will a couple of bouncers be against angels?” Daniel asked.

  “I don’t know, but the more help we get, the better.”

  Nemo and Nero had their business to save, so they had an incentive to be active players.

  “Angels aren’t all powerful,” I said. “Angels on both sides have rules to follow but breaking them has the potential to cause more damage than either side wants.”

  “Want me to arrange a meeting after their shift tonight?” Daniel asked, sliding his smartphone out from his pocket.

  “That’d be perfect.”

  For once, I felt good about myself. Now I had to figure a way to save Reggie. With Daniel at my side, I could do no wrong.

  I suppressed any fears of pending confinement in a blinding prison among solar systems and mutant aliens as long as I had Daniel on my side. The idea of going out on my terms felt right. A prison sentence was temporary anyway even if it was for a million years, but before they slammed the doors on my ARV, I needed to get my army together.

  Chapter 27

  I DIDN’T LIKE the idea of meeting Nemo and Nero at Xtremes at night when the place was so busy. To stay out of Coz’s sight, I suggested we go to a place I figured Coz or Tyrone wouldn’t be, the Garfield Park Conservatory. The park was far enough away from the heat of Englewood Rails for a semi-private meeting.

  This hot summer evening didn’t keep people away from the popular park replete with soccer fields, tennis courts and a fishing lake. It wasn’t the safest place in town, but I had that covered. The park couldn’t escape the industrial aromas of Stamper’s Row which wafted our way thanks to the lake breeze.

  Daniel and I entered Garfield Park and parked at the bandstand occupying the center of a circular drive, its copper dome greened over by decades of rough Chicago weather.

  “When are they supposed to be here?” I asked.

  Daniel looked at his smartphone.

  “Any minute,” he said.

  I looked into the black void of the park when a pair of over-under headlights emerged. It was Nemo’s Ford Galaxie. I changed my face back to my disguise since they were familiar with it.

  “Wait here, Daniel. I’ll only be a minute,” I said, sliding out of the car.

  Nemo and Nero got out of their Galaxie, then stepped toward me.

  “Hey, guys,” I said.

  “Hey, girl. Not sure if anyone tailed us, so we got to be quick,” Nemo said. “T’s got peeps everywhere.”

  “Okay. What’s going on with the Fed?”

  “Check it, Tyrone’s still working over the details, but they’re looking to hit the Fed late tomorrow afternoon with a hijacked armored truck.”

  There wouldn’t be time to play it safe or make mistakes. The pressure building within me to stop the robbery intensified, but I wondered if I’d have the fortitude to fight off any demons should they appear.

  “With an armored truck, they’ll be able to drive right in,” I said. “They might get as far as the dock before they’re made.”

  “Tyrone said that won’t be a problem either,” Nemo said.

  “Why not?” I asked.

  “His boss said so.”

  “His boss? What boss? Who?”

  “Don’t know, but it’s clear he’s got T by the balls.”

  I couldn’t imagine Tyrone taking orders from anyone, but if things strayed from the plan even a little, Tyrone’s boss had enough muscle to make life miserable for those seasoned gangsters.

  “I knew someone had to be helping Tyrone,” I said. “You guys have done enough for me.”

  “Abbey, we settled with you a long time ago. Now we have our own score to settle with Tyrone,” Nero said. “We’re committed now, and if either me or Nemo dropped out, Coz or T would cap us.”

  Nemo frowned at Nero.

  “We don’t drop our problems onto others, man. Do I got to paint it on your bald-ass head?” Nemo said.

  “The sister asked, Mo, so don’t be getting word in my face, man.”

  “What score do you have to settle?” I asked.

  “Go ahead, Ro,” Nemo said, crossing his thick arms. “You got all the answers.”

  Nero shook his head in defeat at Nemo.

  “When we opened our shop, business grew big. Peeps brought in Mopars, Fords and Hemis for us to mint. We needed growing money, so Tyrone helped us when the banks shut us out.”

  “Yeah, then the worthless mother called our loan early,” Nemo said.

  “You told me that before. Did you pay him back?”

  “He said we defaulted, so he took our shop. But we didn’t default nothing.”

  Nemo and Nero spoke of their shop as if it were their child under attack by a bully. That wouldn’t sit well with me either.

  “That’s crazy,” I said.

  “No lie. I’ve been telling Nemo that all along,” Nero said. He shot Nemo an I-told-you-so glare.

  “Don’t call me down, fool,” Nemo said as he jabbed Nero in the chest with his meaty finger.

  “Guys, we got to focus here. We’ll get your shop back. Tyrone won’t need it after tomorrow anyway since he’ll be a hot ticket. I think I have an idea about the robbery, but I need you two to help me with it.”

  Right when I was about to get into the details of my plan, I heard a tussle in Daniel’s GTX. I looked back at him, shielding my eyes from the headlights. From where I stood, it looked like two people struggling in the car.

  “Daniel?” I asked.

  I ran to the driver side of the car. Daniel fell out of it, then scrambled toward me.

  “Daniel, what happened?” I asked as we held each other.

  “It was him,” he said, panting.

  “Who?”

  “Coz. He’s in there. I don’t know how he did it, but he appeared out of nowhere.”

  “Go by Nemo and Nero,” I said.

  I approached the car, preparing for another encounter with Coz. I looked inside the car, but there was nobody in it. With tightened lips, I marched back toward Nemo and Nero. Anger seethed within me.

  “He’s not there,” I said.

  “The man’s a ghost,” Nero said.

  “I ain’t dealing with no ghost, Ro,” Nemo said.

  Coz’s disappearing act was a new wrinkle I didn’t know how to iron out. I had to move forward, and an idea sprung into my mind.

  “Okay, guys. I have an idea on what we can do to trip up Tyrone and the robbery,” I said.

  I explained the details on what we’d do for our end of the robbery; or rather, their end
of it. It wasn’t complicated, but the plan was for shit if they couldn’t get to Reggie and clue him in before the group left Double N for the Fed.

  “Are we set?” I asked. “Can you guys make it happen?”

  Nemo and Nero grinned.

  “I like it,” Nemo said. “There shouldn’t be a problem since Coz or T would never see that coming.”

  “I don’t know,” Daniel said with wide eyes. “Coz is crazy. He could mess things up for us any time, and if my dad gets pegged, he’s dead.”

  “Do you think it’ll work?” Nero asked.

  “It has to,” I said. “The beauty is that it’ll be an inside job. Tyrone will be so busy looking over his shoulder, he’ll never notice what’s going on in front of him. It’ll work.”

  Nemo looked beyond my shoulder as a hated voice spoke behind me.

  “I see all the snakes are together,” Coz said.

  I turned, then stared down the barrel of Coz’s handgun. He smiled this time as if he savored the opportunity to blast my head off. Bid surprise. Everyone on Coz’s team wanted to do that.

  “Thanks for the tip, Nero,” Coz said, nodding with an evil grin.

  Nemo looked back at Nero in shock. I did too.

  “Nero, you sold us out?” I asked.

  “What did you tell him?” Nemo said.

  “I didn’t tell nobody nothing, man. He’s talking smack. He’s playing you,” Nero said in his own defense.

  Coz laughed while he shook his head.

  “Right, I’m talking smack. How else could I make you clowns here?”

  “Hey, I didn’t tell nothing to—” Nero said.

  “Shut up!” Coz said. “Nemo, Nero, take Daniel someplace safe and wait for instructions like T said. I got me a bill to settle with the girl.”

  Nero started the Galaxie. With angry eyes, Nemo took Daniel by the arm. If I survived the next several minutes, I had every intention of kicking Nero’s ass ten ways to Saturday and twice on Sunday. No chance he’d like what I had in mind for him. The Galaxie turned around and rumbled out of the park. I looked back at Coz.

  “Well?” I asked. “What do you want?”

  Coz shoved his gun in his coat pocket. He paced with an arrogant demeanor as he seemed to consider his next move.

  “I was trying to figure you out over the past couple days. Thinking of you kept me up nights for all the wrong reasons. Since I know you’re using magic with me, I can nap like a baby in Naperville now.”

  Coz smiled, as though he figured he’d have an easy time with me.

  “Wow, it sounds like you turned wuss on me,” I said.

  Coz grew angry but kept his cool, for the moment.

  “I’m only interested in Daniel’s safety, which you don’t seem to care about,” I said.

  “Care? Oh, I care about Danny boy. It’s you I want gone. Daniel and I were on the road to riches until you got in the way,” Coz said.

  Coz materialized a dagger as he rushed me. In an instant, I too materialized a dagger. We squared off into fighting stances. Coz swiped at my abs and sliced a short razor-thin nick on my exposed abs. The cut felt cold, then the sting burned.

  I charged him and sliced his leg. I scooped him up like a wrestler and body-slammed him. His eyes blazed red as he battled to his feet. I kicked his jaw like a field goal kicker, which sent him arcing onto his back.

  With lightning speed, he snapped back up, dashed toward me and clutched my neck. I hacked away at his arms, but before I passed out, a powerful force whisked me away. Damn it, I was so close.

  In the blink of an eye, I found myself kneeling before Arlen at the Temple’s podium. Crap, I was back in Hali. A wave of denial washed over me as I rose to my feet.

  “What am I doing here? I didn’t quit,” I shouted.

  Arlen looked at me, his face expressionless and non-judgmental.

  “You called home in the last moment of your conscious state,” Arlen said.

  “What? I didn’t say a word.”

  “Jessa, you failed to complete your ARV as instructed. As of this moment, I order you to begin your sentence at the Outer Edge.”

  Chapter 28

  “THAT’S BULLSHIT!” I shouted. No way Arlen was serious about locking me up. No way.

  “What did you say, Jessa?” Arlen said, leaning over his mighty glowing book.

  “You heard me! I’m getting my ass kicked down there. You basically gave me a street address and said good luck. It turns out I have to save the boy who let me get killed. Then I learned his cousin has angel-like strength.”

  “Jessa—”

  “No! How am I supposed to make sense of all that and keep Daniel alive? If you throw me in jail on a technicality I never executed, then maybe being a protector isn’t worth the headache. So, go ahead and kick me out of your bullshit Wild West show. See if I care!”

  There was more I wanted to say to Arlen, but my thoughts moved faster than my mouth could deliver the words. It seemed like Arlen screwed me over big time, but I never expected a Power-class angel to do that on purpose. My head swam in a sea of frustration thanks to a constant stream of surprises.

  “Do you wish to return to succeed or fail?” Arlen asked.

  I dropped my head and took a deep breath.

  “Yes. All I have is Daniel,” I said.

  “If you embrace the compounded circumstances of your assignment, I’ll afford you the chance to return. Remember, Jessa, the next time we meet will be to either award your promotion or impose sentence. This ARV is too important and you’re out of second chances.”

  “Fine. I’m finishing this job either way. Even if I succeed, I might not accept the promotion. People aren’t worth saving. They can run their lives into extinction for all I care. This place needs angel cops to keep all the crap where it belongs. Maybe you should think about adding another choir or something.”

  Arlen sent me back to Earth. When I opened my eyes, I found myself on the grass in Garfield Park where I fought Coz. Coz and the GTX were gone. I wasn’t sure what to think, but I figured the Fed would be the last place we’d fight again.

  After I inrepped and sped into the sky, I thought of the places Coz or Tyrone might go to. I zipped over to the far west side of Englewood Rails and landed at Avalon Range among the mountains of rusting scrap metal. Aside from the crushers performing their never ending duty, I didn’t see any cars beside the trailer office or anyone walking around. I floated through the trailer wall and inside was dark. Nobody was home.

  With the Continental job still fresh in the minds of the police, I doubted that Coz or Tyrone would hide out at Xtremes, so I flew over to Double N.

  A pair of white unmarked contractor vans laden with extension ladders on their roofs cruised through the busy industrial district. Diesel trucks roared by, leaving a choking cloud of carbon exhaust in their wakes.

  Outside of Double N, I spotted the red Chevelle parked along the side of the building. Still inrepped, I walked through the back room and saw the blue barrels still scattered on the floor. Nobody was around so I went to the main garage area. Tyrone and Coz’s voices emanated from the upstairs office.

  I followed the sound of the voices to the office door, passed through it and listened to their discussion.

  “The armored truck will be in front of Continental at five-ten this afternoon. Be ready for it,” Tyrone said.

  “I’ll be there at a quarter till,” Coz said.

  “Hold on. What are you going to do while you’re waiting, stand around like a thug waiting for a drop?”

  “Chill, T. I’ll get a Coke or something.”

  “You going to hang around in a guard uniform with no truck nearby? Forget that madness. You got to stay in the shadows until the mule comes out of the bank with the money. After that, rush him and take the truck.”

  “They got more than one guy, though.”

  Tyrone sat on the corner of the desk then leaned toward Coz.

  “I’ve been watching their pattern for weeks. It’s al
ways the same. They got a driver, a mule and a box man. The mule takes the money from the truck, escorted by the driver. When they come back, the mule gives the money to the box man. Then, the driver and the mule get into the truck. You move on the mule when he’s alone on the passenger side. You’ll have about three seconds.”

  “What if he plays hero? I’ll be alone, T.”

  So, Coz was every bit the coward I knew he was. He killed people without warning, but when facing his adversaries, he was a frightened boy.

  “They don’t know that,” Tyrone said. “Say you got guys watching or something. Don’t shoot them or even hit them. They got to play it safe and give up the truck, so it should be an easy takeover. It’s part of their training.”

  “Okay. Let’s say I get the truck. Where do I go with it?”

  “Come back here. We’ll load our things, then deal with the guards later.”

  “Ain’t nobody take the Fed. What makes you think you can? You know somebody inside like you did at Continental?”

  “Yeah. Lucky for us, he’s nobody you can shoot. Just make sure you get the damn truck. I’ll get your uniform.”

  Tyrone opened a gray steel gym locker like those we had at Roosevelt. He removed a folded armored truck guard’s uniform stuffed on a middle shelf.

  “Where you get this?” Coz asked.

  “Hey, why are you asking so many questions? You wired?” Tyrone asked.

  Tyrone flipped open Coz’s black leather coat and gave him a sloppy pat down.

  “What? Hell no,” Coz said, jerking his coat closed.

  “Good. Get some sleep and be ready later. Got to be sharp.”

  Tyrone leered at Coz. Their plan might work for me. Tyrone doubted Coz, which made one less man he could trust and one more man to screw over if the heist succeeded. That didn’t help much since I still didn’t know where Tyrone kept Reggie, so until they made their move, I had to let things play out.

  Now that I knew when they’d get the armored truck, I also knew breaking up their plan before they left Double N wouldn’t work. Somehow, I had to find out why a guy like Tyrone would go after the most secure bank in the country outside Fort Knox. I formed an idea of how I’d let this play out, but I needed Nemo and Nero’s help.