by S Cinders
The men set out the same direction that Freddy had seen Alex taking earlier. Though the darkness of night had set in, the streetlights illuminated the sidewalks enough for them to see clearly.
“There,” Elliot said, pointing down a back alley. “Is that him?”
“Hey!” Nate called out, waving his arm. “Alex!”
The individual tipped his face up at the call, showing Nate, Elliot, and Freddy it was indeed Alex. A panicked look registering just as quickly as surprise, Alex stared for perhaps a millisecond before taking off at a run.
The men cursed and tore down the alley after him. The smells of the alley assaulting their noses, they ran past dumpsters, garbage cans, and a vagrant or two before Freddy was able to get a hold of Alex’s jacket.
Tackling the kid to the ground, Freddy took a punch to the jaw before trapping his hands above his head.
“Fucking hell,” Freddy groaned. “Why the face?”
“What the fuck, man?” Alex yelled out. “I didn’t do anything. You can’t just do this to me.”
“If you didn’t do anything,” Nate answered. “Why did you run?”
Alex flushed, his chest still rapidly rising and falling from the chase. “Can I at least get up off the fucking street?”
“Freddy,” Elliot instructed. “Let him up. But just know, Alex, that if you run again, we’ll haul your ass down to the police department.”
Scowling, Alex slowly got to his feet. “What do you want?”
“Alyssa Vauban and Agent Scott Tabor are missing,” Nate replied. “I want to know what you know about it.”
“The rich chick?” he said with confusion. “How to fuck should I know?”
“Because we think your boss has her,” Elliot added. “Now drop the attitude and tell us what you know.”
Some of Alex’s bravado slipped away. “I don’t work for Frankie anymore.”
Nate leaned in close to the younger man, allowing the intimidation to settle in. “If anything happens to them, I will do everything in my power to see you linked to the crimes and put away for the rest of your life. You may want to really think about your answers here. What do you know?”
Alex swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the motion. “I don’t know what Frankie’s up to, but I’ve heard that he’s looking for something. Half the fences on the streets have their eyes out for it.”
“What is he looking for?” Nate and Elliot said at the same time.
“It’s some kind of old statue of a horse and rider. He’s offering a million dollars to whoever comes up with it. That’s a lot of fucking money, man. I could get a place of my own and get off the street.”
“What happened to the foster family you were just placed with?” Nate asked. “I know that Kim went to a lot of work to see you put in a safe place.”
Alex flushed. “She’s all right, your wife. She did right by me, so that’s why I’m telling you about the statue. But I don’t know anything else. I sure as shit wish I knew where it was hiding, though. What I wouldn’t give to find out.”
“What in the hell is that all about?” Elliot asked the other men in confusion.
“I know the statue,” Nate said calmly. “Tell Frankie if he wants the statue, I want Alyssa and Tabor.”
“Why should I help you?” Alex sneered.
“You want help getting off the street?” Nate replied with a little shove for emphasis.
The younger man’s eyes widened. “You’d do that?”
Nate’s expression softened. “I know that life hasn’t been easy on you, kid. But you are at a point in your life where you could go either way. Right now, you have a few minor hits to your record. But soon you can be tried as an adult. If you want to have any kind of future, you’ll pull your head out of your ass and take the help.”
Alex nodded. “Yeah, I will get the news to Frankie. Where do you want to meet?”
“We can meet up tomorrow night at The Grind, ten o’clock.”
“You’ll bring the statue?” Alex confirmed.
Nate nodded. “I’ll bring it. Just make sure he knows I won’t be giving it to him unless he has Alyssa and Tabor to trade.”
“What about the million dollars?” Alex asked nervously.
“I don’t need any of his blood money,” Nate spat. “I’ll do right by you, Alex. Just do your part.”
Alex nodded, then scampered off into the darkness of the night.
“What statue is he talking about?” Elliot asked.
Nate looked around before saying, “Not here, let’s talk back at the shop.”
The men made their way back to The Grind.
Nate gathered up their coffee cups while Freddy went back into his apartment to grab some beers.
“Have a seat,” Nate said, motioning for Freddy and Elliot to sit down.
“Tell us about this statue,” Elliot asked.
“It’s a 14th-century statue of a man riding a horse, just what Alex said.”
“I guess the real mystery is why do you have it?” Elliot replied.
“And why does Frank want it?” Freddy added.
“That’s the funny part,” Nate answered. “I knew it had some financial significance, but it isn’t a drop in the bucket compared to the Vauban fortune. Honestly, I’d forgotten I had it in my keeping. Before Alyssa’s parents were killed, her father came to the firm and asked that we keep it in our vault. He had intended on giving it to her at some point. However, he said the timing wasn’t right.”
“That’s certainly cryptic,” Elliot said after taking a swig of his beer.
Nate nodded. “They died shortly after that. As Alyssa was dealing with her grief, I tried to limit the amount of time she had to be in my office signing forms and allocating properties and holdings. It was at her request; she said she just couldn’t deal with that at the time. Then she came to me in a panic about her apartment being ransacked and the statue completely slipped my mind.”
“So, it’s sitting over in the vault at Livingston, Cooper & Jones?” Freddy mused. “Makes you wonder what’s so goddamn exciting about an old statue, doesn’t it?”
30
"That's it?" Kim exclaimed when she saw the statue. "What's so important about this old thing? He's missing his head!"
"Likely that makes it worth more," Mandy added, clearly not impressed with the medieval artifact.
Nate and Elliot had successfully retrieved the horse-and-rider statue the following morning and returned to Nate and Kim's apartment. The time for the exchange was approaching.
"Whatever it's worth, I'd far rather have Alyssa and Scott," Kim replied.
"I don't like the FBI using you two as bait. Surely there is a safer way to do this exchange."
Elliot kissed Mandy's temple. "They’ll be with us the entire time."
"That housekeeper heard that someone in the FBI is crooked," Kim pointed out. "How do we know they aren't setting you two up for something terrible?"
Nate squeezed her cold hands. "I promise you. I won't do anything to jeopardize this family. Freddy has some friends on the police force, and they’re all going to be within shouting distance."
Kim's nose wrinkled as she said in confusion, "Freddy has a sordid past that includes some jail time."
Nate smiled. "Where do you think he met them?"
Mandy clutched Elliot's hand. "I just don't think you're taking this seriously enough."
Both men sobered, all frivolity gone from their expressions.
"Mandy, I promise you. We will do everything we can to keep everyone safe. I love you and Charlotte more than anything else on this planet."
Nate kissed Kim, gently at first but, as per usual, it quickly became carried away. It wasn't until Mandy giggled and Nate pulled away that he said, “I love you, too."
Elliot glanced at his watch. "We’d better get going."
As Nate drove to the meeting place, dusk was just beginning to fall, spreading pockets of darkness across the city. Neon lights replaced the billboards
and headlights illuminated the streets.
Once there, Elliot removed a tiny, flesh-colored earpiece from the package the FBI had outfitted them with. Placing one in his ear, he gave the second one to Nate, saying, "Tuck this into your left ear."
"Brand? Livingston?" a disembodied voice said from the earpiece.
"That's creepy," Nate said.
"I heard that."
"Tyrone? Where are you guys?" Nate asked, recognizing the voice.
"Black van, a block up."
"What about Jackson?" Nate asked.
"On assignment," Tyrone responded shortly.
Elliot and Nate shared a knowing glance, but neither man commented.
"Everything has been quiet," Tyrone continued. "Make your way into the coffee shop and we’ll be right behind you."
Nate and Elliot made their way to The Grind's front door. After unlocking it, they went inside.
"Where is Freddy?" Nate asked, checking the shop and coming up empty.
"Don't worry about the store manager," Tyrone said into their earpiece. "A sleek black car just pulled in front of the shop. I can't tell from here who is getting out."
The bell jangled on the front door as Alex walked in.
"Where's your boss?" Nate snarled.
The kid looked scared. Pulling out a piece of paper, he motioned for Nate and Elliot to be quiet. Then he allowed them to read.
* * *
IT'S NOT SAFE. DON'T TRUST FEDS. GO OUT THE BACK. SOMEONE WILL TAKE YOU TO THE RENDEZVOUS POINT. - FREDDY
* * *
"What's going on?" Tyrone snapped.
Alex gulped. "Frankie will be here any second."
But the shaking of his head told them he was lying.
"You wait here with the statue," he said, handing them a second piece of paper. "I got to bounce."
Alex fairly ran out the door, hopping into the black car before it sped away.
This one was a torn paper bag with only one word written on it. BOMB!!
"Just wait there..." Tyrone was saying as Elliot and Nate ripped the earpieces out as they ran as fast as they could out the back of the coffee shop. Another black car was there to pick them up. Before Elliot could shut the door behind him, the building exploded.
"Fucking hell," Nate breathed. "That was too close."
"You can say that again," Freddy said from the front seat. Still driving way too fast for the conditions he advised, "Put a belt on. Those dirty Feds won't be too far behind us."
"The FBI just tried to kill us?" Elliot said incredulously.
"Tyrone, Jackson, and some of their agents tried to kill you. They knew we were getting close to uncovering their entire operation. I've been undercover here for more than five years. Kim's first husband, Andrew, was only small potatoes in the drugs-and-arms empire that Frank Vauban was building."
"Undercover?" Nate whispered, shaking his head. "Who do you work for?"
"NSA." Freddy flipped a badge over the backseat without slowing down.
"I don't know what to say," Nate replied, clearly out of words. "Where are Scott and Alyssa?"
"At the real exchange location—Vauban's brownstone. Alex has been a huge help with everything. I'm trying to get him into one of our programs."
"You're a spy?" Elliot blurted out, clearly still hung up on the fact that easygoing Freddy wasn’t really going back to school to buy The Grind; instead, he was actually part of the National Security Agency.
"Stay with me," Freddy said with a grin. "We've still got to beat Vauban and rescue an agent and a hostage. Oh!" he exclaimed. "And we need to swap that horse."
Without missing a beat, he pulled out an identical one to what Nate was carrying.
"There are two of them?" Nate asked, taking what Freddy offered in exchange for the one he'd kept for Alyssa.
"Nope," Freddy answered honestly. "You're holding a fake. But this one is a fake, too."
"I don't understand," Elliot added.
"The horse and his headless rider aren't what Frank is looking for."
Pressing on the back hoof, Freddy revealed a secret compartment with a tiny microchip.
"What's that?" Nate asked.
"This is a formula for a biochemical weapon that leaves the victim paralyzed within three minutes and dead in ten. The person that created this formula was brutally murdered several years ago. The NSA has been looking for this statue for a long time. You can imagine my surprise when you said you had it. Things finally began to click into place."
"This formula cost Alyssa her family and safety. How did she end up with it?" Nate asked.
"The only thing we can piece together is that her father wanted it off the market. He bought this statue for several billion dollars. We've only just recently put the two together."
Pulling into a beautiful upscale neighborhood with brownstone mansions lining the street, Freddy maneuvered the car into a parking spot. "You boys ready?"
Elliot raised a brow at being called a boy, but both his eyebrows rose to his hairline when Freddy started attaching all of his weapons.
"Do you think we’ll need all of those?" he asked, his voice higher than what his manhood usually allowed.
Freddy thought for a minute before replying, "You're right."
Then he pulled out two wickedly sharp knives and settled a small revolver into both Nate’s and Elliot's hands.
"There are two rules I'm going to need you to follow," he instructed. "First, shoot to kill. They won't hesitate to kill you."
"What's the second one?" Nate asked weakly.
"Heroes come home in boxes. Don't be a hero. Just stick with me, got it?"
Before they could reply he said, "Good, let's go."
31
Knock, knock, knock.
Alyssa’s eyes flew to the front door. Fear laced with adrenaline raced through her veins. This meeting could go a myriad of ways for all of them. Alyssa counted seven men in the house with them. She had no idea how many were stationed around the property.
Scott was sitting beside her. His face looked terrible; the cuts and bruises had developed into a bloody mess. Despite everything he’d been through, Scott’s concern and attention had been on her wellbeing. If she didn’t love the man already, that would have sealed the deal.
But as it was, Alyssa knew she was head over heels in love with Scott Tabor.
One of Frank’s men opened the door.
Alyssa’s breathing hitched when she saw Nate Livingston and Elliot Brand entering Frank’s home with the horse-and-rider statue in Nate’s hands.
She looked over to her uncle, who was practically salivating. It was more than obvious that Frank was basking in his victory.
“Hand over the statue and you’re free to go,” Frank commanded.
Nate’s brow rose a fraction. “Release Alyssa and Scott, and I will happily give you the statue.”
Frank lifted his hand to stroke his chin. Alyssa wasn’t sure if he was attempting to mimic something he’d seen in an old mobster movie. Wherever he’d picked it up, it didn’t seem natural in the slightest.
“You don’t trust me?” Frank said, his lips twitching as if this amused him.
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” Alyssa interjected. “After everything you’ve done, it’s hardly a surprise that nobody trusts you. Your own men don’t trust you.”
Frank’s expression sobered. “Trust no one. That is the first rule of survival in this world, princess. Don’t forget it.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Alyssa saw Freddy, the manager of Nate and Kim’s coffee shop, outside the window.
Not wanting to alert anyone of her find, she tried to remain as natural-looking as possible.
“Come on, Frank,” Nate cajoled. “You wanted this statue. Let’s make a trade.”
Frank did smile this time. A toothy grin that reminded Alyssa of a jackal. Pouring three tumblers, Frank extended one toward Nate. “Why are you in such a hurry? Have a drink.”
“This isn’t a social call,” Elli
ot snapped in a hardened tone.
Frank's men raised their pistols, all pointed toward Nate and Elliot.
A tug on her sleeve had Alyssa turning toward Scott. They were tied to the chairs, side by side.
“On the count of three, kick your chair over,” Scott whispered to her.
Alyssa gave the faintest of nods that she understood his command.
“One, two…”
He was cut off when gunfire erupted outside of the building.
Without another thought, Alyssa kicked as hard as she could at the same time that Scott managed to break free of his ties. They both went over onto their backs.
Scott frantically worked at her ties until Alyssa's hands too were free.
“Untie your feet and hide,” he instructed. “Don’t come out until I tell you it’s safe.”
Alyssa nodded, but as Scott turned to leave, she grabbed his arm.
“Wait,” she pleaded. “I need to tell you something.”
Scott paused for the barest of moments. Cupping her cheek, he replied huskily, “There are many things we need to talk about, love. But let’s not do it here.”
He kissed her quickly on the mouth and then rolled away from her where Nate was taking cover. She saw Nate hand Scott a gun.
Elliot was across the room behind the couch with Freddy.
The laidback barista had a deadly look on his face as he calmly took out each of the guards.
“Untie yourself,” Scott hissed from his position.
Alyssa shook her head and tried to block out what was going on around her. Reaching down, she loosened the ties around her ankles. Then carefully she moved the piano forward and slipped behind it.
Figuring it was the safest place to be in the room, Alyssa waited and prayed for it all to be over.
Frank’s voice rang out raw and angry, “You are fucking morons. Kill them!” This was followed by thumping and a gunshot.
For a moment Alyssa was right back where this had all started, watching Frank brutally murder that poor man. Only it was no longer a stranger; it was Scott sitting there lifeless with a knife wound from ear to ear. It was Scott’s blood pouring down his front and spilling onto the floor.