Antonio felt Olivia’s hand tighten on his shoulder. He leaned back again to let her whisper in his ear.
“They’re going to kill him!” she hissed.
“They’re doing their job, Olivia. I’m sorry, but you can’t be squeamish on this level.”
“Chief Antonio,” Cesar barked, “the time for conferring with our subordinates is before or after Council. We are currently in session!”
“I’m not being squeamish,” Olivia held her grip and whispered fiercely. “I am convinced they are misreading the situation, and therefore quite possibly making a terrible mistake.”
“And this conviction is based on the facts before you…not sympathy?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“How convinced are you?”
“Chief Antonio!” Cesar’s voice rose. “This meeting is in session. Please send your subordinate out of the room.”
“Ninety percent.” He saw the muscles in her jaw tighten, but she held his gaze.
Antonio drummed his fingers for a second, studying her face, then motioned for her to go. Without another word, she straightened and tucked her tablet under her arm. Then with a respectful nod to the Council, she turned and walked briskly from the room. Four pair of eyes followed her exit.
“You should not indulge her,” Marcos spoke after the door clicked shut. “Respect for the Council, and our laws, is what keeps us who we are.”
Idiot, Antonio seethed inside, she has ten times the respect of others in her generation, and less reason than any of them to have it. The only reason she tolerates being treated like this by you old baboons is because of respect. But his smile showed nothing as he turned back to the Elders.
“My apologies,” he placated, “the fault is mine. This meeting was on such short notice that I hadn’t adequately prepared. Besides, I’ve had a bit of a day.” He touched his bandaged head.
“We understand,” Alejandro interrupted, glaring meaningfully across the table at Cesar and Marcos, “and we appreciate your efforts to give a thorough report to this council on such short notice. But I also have to concur with Cesar on the matter of Mr. Sellars. We can’t risk the type of open warfare the Spider People seem ready to escalate to in this case.”
And that makes three, Antonio realized. If the meeting ends now, Adam Sellars is a dead man.
And yet Olivia had seemed certain they were making a mistake. He still couldn’t tell for sure if reluctance to see an “innocent” man killed colored her point of view, but she had insisted that reason dictated her objections. He hoped so, because if she ever intended to function at this level of things then she needed to learn innocence did not count as a virtue. It just as often made somebody expendable.
“So,” Delgado queried as they watched the TV monitor, where Adam Sellars was pulling on one of his braces, “how are we going to go about doing this? I see no reason in having the poor man suffer. He’s done nothing to us.”
“That’s not a problem,” Marcos answered. “We’ll send a couple of men down there and tell him he’s being brought up to be questioned. Then one will simply put a bullet in the back of his head when he turns to leave. He’ll never even know it happened. Then we’ll dump the body on the edge of their territory, where they’ll be sure to find it and this whole mess…”
“Gentlemen! Please!” Antonio interjected while lighting his cigar. He hoped Olivia appreciated what he was about to do…and that she was right in her misgivings. “I would like to suggest a different course of action, before we go murdering men in our basement bathrooms.”
###
“Uncle Antonio, have you lost your mind?”
“Didn’t I get asked that question less than an hour ago?” the man chuckled as he and his niece walked down the carpeted corridor toward the elevators. At least, unlike Cesar, Olivia wasn’t yelling when she asked it of him.
“Yes, sir. And this time it is warranted.”
“You wanted me to stop Mr. Sellars’ execution.”
“I didn’t want you to jump in front of a bus for him,” she replied with smooth aplomb. “The risk you are taking is unacceptable.”
“Now you are overstating things. Even Cesar agreed this was worth attempting.”
“Cesar hates you, and his grandson is in line for your position.” She folded her arms and fixed him with a level look as they came to a stop in front of the elevators. “But you know this, and now you’re simply being difficult.”
“Olivia.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “Have some faith in your uncle. You’re putting the risk higher than it actually is.”
“Am I? I haven’t had time to fully calculate all the possible ways this madness can get you killed, but I’m sure the final tally will be impressive.”
“You underestimate me. Besides, this will keep Mr. Sellars alive longer, and give you a lot more of those variables you want so badly to work with. I will email you reports daily.”
“Email me? I beg to differ.” She arched an eyebrow at him. “Since this little jaunt of yours is such a cakewalk, it is only appropriate your assistant be along to assist you.”
“Out of the question.” Antonio glowered. “I didn’t say it was a cakewalk. Besides, Cesar made it clear how the Council felt about risking you.”
“And I recall your response about operational matters being outside their scope. I doubt that has changed in the past thirty minutes.”
“Olivia,” he set his jaw, “I’m serious about this. I almost got you killed today, and that was on a job where I didn’t foresee much chance of danger. We were damn lucky his lawyer called when she did, or we would likely all be dead. This time I’m going into enemy territory, and the danger is going to be real and immediate. I’m going to need to be thinking fast, and I don’t need to be worrying about you.”
“Again, you are being unreasonable. I can take care of myself.”
Antonio took a deep breath and put his hands on his hips. He hated what he was about to do next.
“Olivia, you will not accompany me on this mission, and that’s an order. Now go get Mr. Sellars and bring him to my office.”
The elevator doors opened and he gestured for her to step in.
For a moment she didn’t move…simply standing there and staring at him with no expression. Then without a word she stepped into the elevator and pressed the “close door” button on the wall. Their gaze remained locked, until the sliding door cut them off from each other’s view.
“Sorry, Olivia,” Antonio muttered at the door, ‘but if you’re ninety percent sure we’re misreading this, then I have to act on that. But I don’t have to get you killed doing it.”
###
Adam finished securing the Velcro strap to his left foot brace, then tried to use the cot as a brace of a different sort to push himself to his feet. On the third try, he managed to achieve a wobbly standing position.
His head now seemed free of the drugs, but the injury and loss of blood left him weak as a kitten. His earlier idea of escaping through the ceiling once clear-headed would have to be put on hold. For the time being, logic dictated he satisfy himself with examining his situation.
It was still a restroom.
White-painted, cinder-brick walls and a concrete floor suggested a utilitarian area, like the restroom for some large hardware store. He made his way along the wall, using it for balance since whoever had locked him in here had kept his cane. Arriving at the light switch, he discovered he could turn on the rest of the lights. The new brightness helped clear his head further, and a peek in the nearby mirror allowed him to take stock of himself.
To say he had looked better was being charitable.
Only freshly recovered from all the shotgun pellets removed from his back and sides, the effects of the new injury were written in gaunt strokes across his face and frame. It didn’t help that he had been slacking off the past couple of days in the hygiene department while huddling over his laptop. The two day growth of stubble managed to give his haggard look a certain
street derelict ambiance.
“Adam, my man,” he muttered at his reflection, “you need to get it together. The scruffy look just doesn’t work for you.” Having settled that, he turned his head to examine the bandages swathing his arm and shoulder.
They were neatly done and were the obvious work of a professional.
“Apparently, Mr. Antonio has the services of a doctor at his disposal,” he mused aloud. “Either that, or the enigmatic Olivia includes first aid amongst her impressive list of skills.”
“Actually, I’m certified as a nurse.”
“Holy sh..!!” Adam successfully resisted the impulse to spin around, knowing it would most likely put him on the ground if he did. Instead he half jumped, tightened his grip on the sink to steady himself, then shifted his position at the mirror so he could see the door.
Antonio’s assistant stood in the open doorway with all the regal poise of an ancient Egyptian princess. He noticed she now had a small bandage on her neck, but chose to let the scratch on her face heal in the open. She had a white terry cloth bathrobe draped over one arm, and carried his cane in the other.
“You could have knocked,” Adam accused, trying to salvage at least a shred of dignity. “This is a bathroom, after all.”
“This is the Ladies’ Room, Mr. Sellars. If you were indisposed, it would be in the privacy of a stall.”
Adam belatedly noted the lack of urinals.
“Wow. You really think of everything, don’t you.”
“That is my job.” Olivia ignored the obvious sarcasm. She walked over to where Adam stood at the sink and offered him the bathrobe on her arm. After he took it, she turned and hung his cane on the sink, then surprised him by pulling his .380 out of her shoulder bag and laying it next to the faucet. “The firearm is unloaded,” she said, noting his glance, “but your cane has both its teargas canister intact, and its batteries.”
“That’s awfully confident of you. Aren’t you worried I’ll use the cane on you and try to escape?”
“I would appreciate it if you didn’t. I have had a difficult day. Besides, it would be poor payment for stitching up and bandaging your wounds.” She pulled a tablet computer out of her shoulder bag and started tapping.
“That’s it?” He goggled. “You come in alone and give your prisoner a functioning weapon, and when he hints at using it on you, you basically resort to telling him it wouldn’t be very nice?”
“It wouldn’t, would it, Mr. Sellars?” She stopped tapping and glanced up from her tablet at him. “Would you be so kind as to go over there and get that little camera I was monitoring you with off the top of the divider between the first and second stalls please?”
Adam looked over at the tiny camera in surprise, then stared at his visitor with incredulity.
She returned his look with a level gaze of her own, and he realized he could stand here and admire her all day. She was still ridiculously attractive, and the scratch and bandage only heightened the perfection of the rest of her.
After a few seconds pause, he realized he was making a fool of himself. Feeling stupid, Adam surrendered with a shake of his head and headed for the stall. He figured he ought to be grateful she spared him the indignity of pointing out that in his current shape he wasn’t going to be taking anybody prisoner.
He fetched the little camera, and returned.
“Okay, since taking you hostage and making a mad dash for freedom is off the agenda, what exactly is on my itinerary today?”
“Antonio has sent me to return you to his office,” she replied. “It has been decided you will be given some answers.”
Adam liked the sound of that...although he got the feeling she disapproved of the decision. He couldn’t be sure, because she was almost as unreadable as a sphinx. Regardless, he wanted answers, and now they were being offered…even if the qualifying word “some” had been included.
“Then let’s go see the boss man.” He gave a bowing sweep of his hand toward the door. “Lead the way.”
The assistant regarded him with an arch expression, then turned and headed for the door. He noted with approval her figure was as flawless from behind as the front, and she walked with an effortless grace despite the heels. Back before the accident, he would have definitely been trying to figure out how to get together with her.
Back before the accident, she would have still been out of your league, a certain honest portion of his brain informed him. This woman was like something out of a spy movie, and only top of the line super villains and evil CEO’s rated companionship like this. He realized with self deprecating amusement that he was already picturing her in a black catsuit.
Adam followed her out into the hallway, then paused to get his bearings. Like the bathroom, the walls of the hallway were white painted cinder brick…but now he had some context to make sense of it all. Down at one end of the hallway, the metal doors of an elevator awaited. In the other direction, a row of cars in what could only be an underground parking garage sat unattended.
He had been a prisoner in the basement bathroom of a large building.
“Do you still want to escape, Mr. Sellars?”
Adam realized he had been looking at the rows of cars with longing. He had only been a prisoner for a short time, and treated well…all things considered…but he instinctively rebelled at the idea of being trapped. Still, he reminded himself he was here by choice and these people held the answers he needed to rescue Tucker.
Besides, he had never hot-wired a car before, and even if he could he doubted he would make it out of the garage before Olivia raised the alarm. For now, he remained as trapped as he had been back in the bathroom, and his best move would be to play along with his captors and learn what he could.
He turned back to follow Olivia and came up short as she tossed a set of keys to him.
“Those go to the silver Lexus at the other end of the first row.”
He stared at the keys in his hand, then at the beauty who had tossed them. It took him a second to wrap his mind around what just happened.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“But…why?”
“That’s not relevant, Mr. Sellars.” He couldn’t decide if he detected a hint of stress in her voice or not. “What matters is this is not a set-up or a trap. Get in the Lexus, and follow the signs to the exit. I will see to it the security gate is open. Once you’re away, head north to George Bush International Airport.” She tapped rapidly on her computer tablet while she talked. “Proceed to terminal 42. There will be a ticket waiting for you at the desk for Anchorage, Alaska via Seattle. I would recommend leaving your handgun with me.”
“Anchorage?”
“Yes. You’ll be safe there. The people who are trying to kill you would never risk venturing so far north, even if they did find out where you went. I think they would lose interest in you anyway. And once they stop rocking the boat with attention grabbing attempts at killing you, our people will lose interest in you as well. You would be free.”
“And that’s it?”
“That’s it, Mr. Sellars. It would be over. You would have to adjust to your new home and its climate, but it would be a reasonable price to pay for the ability to get on with your life without fear. You would be safe, and all this would be behind you.”
Adam looked at the keys, then back at the cars parked behind him. They beckoned like a promise, and the temptation to head their way pulled at his very being. He had thought himself safe at the last place he hid, only to have this woman and her boss show up on his doorstep, shortly followed by the cannon-toting Valkyrie who tried to kill him at the hospital. Yet he had the feeling if Olivia thought he would be safe in Alaska…then he would more than likely be safe in Alaska.
But David’s son would remain in the hands of his killers.
And he would never know what happened.
“I can’t do it,” he sighed, and offered the keys back. “I just can’t.”
“Why not? I assure you, M
r. Sellars, this is not a trick.”
“I believe you. I don’t know why, but I think you’re doing this of your own initiative, and I thank you for it. But I have obligations. I have to save Tucker if I can. And I need to know what’s going on.”
“Are you sure?” She ignored the proffered keys. “Because you need to understand something…once you have this meeting with Antonio, you will start becoming privy to information that will mean you will never exactly be ‘free’ again. You would be in a situation where you could conceivably become a threat to us as well as our enemies…and we would kill you every bit as quick as they would, if that became the case. You would become a very junior member of an exclusive club from which there is no leaving.”
“You make it sound like the mafia.” Adam inhaled and looked at the keys again.
“We are a far tighter knit association than the mafia, Mr. Sellars. We have existed for centuries and not one person has ever tried to betray us and survived.” She looked as grim as death itself. “Not ever. This is your chance to walk away and avoid all that. I recommend you consider it carefully. Alaska has its disadvantages, but you will still have your freedom up there. Once we get on the elevator, there will be no going back.”
And consider it he did. He thought about freedom, and Alaska, and the fact he had nobody left down here anyway. Ellen was gone, and his career and associates gone, too. He thought about it all.
Then he tossed the keys back to Olivia.
She caught them out of the air and looked at him with curiosity.
“I still can’t,” he answered softly. “If I did, I still wouldn’t be free, and never would be. I would always be trapped inside the man who left Tucker when he needed him. That’s a prison I just can’t face.”
She seemed to consider that for a moment, then turned her back to him and faced the elevators. He still couldn’t read her worth a damn, but he got the distinct feeling she had really wanted him to leave.
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