The Mexican died half an hour after Matt tied him to one of the trees down in the gully. Initially, he had intended to torture him and make him suffer for the grief he had caused him. And it had been his intention to do so when he hauled him out of the trunk. But when he was standing there in front of his half dead body after having tied him to the tree and noticed how weak he was, something inside him had held him back. Something that had prevented him from physically harming the other man any further.
Instead he had knelt down beside him and pleaded with him to provide him with the information he was after. Matt had even promised to take him to a hospital for treatment if he started talking.
But the Mexican had given him nothing. The man had, despite his dire condition, even managed to laugh and told him that the cartel would send another assassin to finish the mission. But despite the mocking tone and the hatred that had been burning in the killer’s eyes, Matt had not been able to raise his fists. And instead of speeding up the inevitable, he had watched as his life slowly faded away.
When it was all over, Matt had untied the dead body, picked it up and walked further into the ravine where he had flung it into a shallow, which he had then back-filled with sand and covered with rocks. Then he had stood back and studied the unmarked grave for a long time, wondering if someone would eventually find the body.
He had then returned to the car and reversed it back up the dirt path, and headed back in the same direction he’d come from. And that’s when the cellphone had rung. A muted ringtone combined with a heavy vibration that had made the entire dashboard come alive. Matt had quickly located it inside the glove compartment and grabbed it. At first he had been hesitant to answer it, but when it kept ringing, he had picked it up and pressed the green telephone icon at the bottom of the display.
There was a brief moment of silence, before a deep baritone voice asked what sounded like a question in Spanish.
Matt hesitated, but decided that this was probably going to be the best opportunity he would ever get at communicating with the people that were after him.
“Who is this?” Matt said and felt a tightening sensation in his chest.
There was a moment of silence, before the deep male voice at the other end replied, this time in English.
“Where is the owner of this phone?” The man spoke with a heavy accent.
“Who wants to know?” Matt pulled over to the side of the road and put the transmission in park. His pulse had increased noticeably, and despite the air-con operating at full capacity, he felt the sweat starting to run down his face.
“The man who is paying his salary,” the voice at the other end replied almost instantly. “Is he somewhere around?”
Matt wiped away the sweat with his hand and took a deep breath.
“No, he’s not.”
“I see, and where is he now?”
Matt swallowed hard and wondered if he should tell the other man the truth. That he had overpowered the assassin that the cartel had sent after him and buried him in a shallow grave in the harsh Arizona desert. No, that was probably not the right thing to say, especially if he wanted the cartel to back off.
“Let’s just say that he’s no longer here.”
Matt could hear the other man breathing, and in his mind’s eye, he could picture him trying to decipher the cryptic message that he had just received.
“I take it that you are Senor Brunner?” the other man said when the lack of words started to become oppressive.
“Maybe.”
“And you are in the possession of my employee’s cellphone, and judging by the cars I can hear in the background, I’d say you’re also in the possession of my employee’s car. But still you refuse to tell me what has happened to him.”
Matt didn’t reply. The sweat was running into his eyes now and the stinging sensation made him flinch.
“I don’t know how you managed to do it, Senor Brunner, but I think you have killed my employee. And now you are driving around in his car. Am I correct?”
Matt chose to remain silent.
“I take your silence as confirmation.” The man let out a quick laugh and cleared his throat.
“You’ve got balls, Senor Brunner, I’ll give you that. This is the second member of my organization that you have killed. And I’m sure you can understand that this cannot be tolerated. But because I think you are a very brave man, I’m going to tell you how this is going to play out. I’ll be sending another one of my employees after you, and he’s just as diligent as the one you’ve just disposed of. I’m also going to notify the police of the vehicle you’re driving around in, the blue Mitsubishi Lancer, registration number XDT - 3456. I’m sure they’ll be very eager to find out what car their murder suspect is driving around in. Don’t you think?”
Matt felt his heart skip a beat, and he pressed the phone closer to his ear. It was the correct registration number. He felt his legs start to go limp. If the other man decided to contact the police and pass on the information, he would be pulled over within a matter of minutes. Jesus Christ, he would have to ditch the car and get as far away from it as possible.
But that meant exposing himself, and he was sure that by now, every single patrol car in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area knew what he looked like and was on the lookout for him. Fuck! What a god damn nightmare.
The shock he’d just received was of such a magnitude that he hardly heard the parting words of the man on the other end.
“Goodbye Senor Brunner, and good luck. You’re certainly going to need it, because when we get our hands on you, your life will be over.” Then there was a muted click and the conversation was over.
Matt looked at the cellphone for a couple of seconds before throwing it down into the footwell on the passenger side. Dammit! Things were definitely not working out as he had intended when he had picked up the phone. He had completely frozen up, and not once during the conversation had he mentioned that he was innocent. That he had nothing to do with the hit on the cartel boss, and that they were chasing the wrong man. When the other man had started talking to him, it was like an invisible cloak had wrapped itself around his brain and prevented him from getting his message across. And now it was too late. The call had come from a phone with a ‘No Caller I.D.’, and even if he had wanted to call the guy back, he would have been unable to do so.
And then it was the matter with the car. If the guy was serious about the threat, and Matt had no reason to doubt that he wasn’t, then he probably only had ten minutes at the most to get rid of it. And after that he would have to organize some other type of transportation.
Matt slammed both hands against the steering wheel. Then he leaned back in the seat and tried to think. He had to remain calm. He had to do the right thing. Think things through and not panic. If he panicked now, the police would have him in their custody within the hour. And if that happened, he would be dead before the end of the week.
Matt opened his eyes again, wiped the sweat away from his face and pulled away from the shoulder. An idea had come to him, and if luck was on his side, it might just work.
The shopping mall was located off the main road that ran through the neighborhood. It was one of those monstrosities that could be found all over the country, a place where the locals could take refuge on hot summer days in order to get away from the scorching heat hovering over the desert.
Matt turned left and found a spot at the far end of the massive parking lot. It had taken him ten minutes to get there, and it had been the most nerve wracking ten minutes he’d had to endure in a long time. But fortunately luck had been on his side, and he hadn’t come across any patrol cars along the way. And now that he was sitting here studying the concrete structure, he wondered if his luck was about to run out. He hoped not, but he wasn’t too optimistic either.
The police would have released his name and picture to the media by now, and all that was needed was for an observant shopper to recognize his face. Then it would all be over. But it wa
s a chance that he had to take. He had to go in there and make a couple of purchases if he was going to have any chance of slipping out of this city without getting caught.
He reached over and grabbed the backpack that was resting on the passenger seat. Then he opened it and retrieved three hundred dollars that were lying underneath the bloodied t-shirt that he’d chucked in there after he’d buried the Mexican. He grabbed the t-shirt and wrapped the gun that he’d pushed underneath the driver seat in it and placed it back in the backpack.
Then he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. This was it. The next fifteen minutes would determine whether he’d get caught or not. He placed his hand on the door handle, pushed open the door and stepped outside.
He tried not to rush as he walked over to the big glass sliding doors and entered the mall, but he didn’t know whether he succeeded in this or not. It was just after lunch and the place was packed, which oddly enough was a good thing. More people meant that he could blend in and keep a low profile. He would just be another face in the crowd. He lowered his gaze and made sure not to look anyone in the eye.
The sports shop was located on the right hand side of the wide corridor, about seventy yards in from the entrance doors. He entered it and quickly walked over to the section where the baseball caps were located. There he grabbed a New York Yankees cap from one of the steel rods, before heading over to the sunglasses section and grabbed a random pair without studying them too closely. The important thing was to make himself less recognizable, not win a fashion contest.
The girl at the register didn’t seem to take any notice of him, and she accepted the fifty dollar bill that he handed her with a bored expression on her face. To Matt she didn’t look like the type to watch the news or read the newspapers, which meant that she probably had no idea who he was. Good. If things stayed that way, he’d be able to get away without getting caught.
The girl handed him his change and wished him a good day, and Matt quickly exited the store and put on the sunglasses. Then he placed the cap on his head and pulled the visor down low.
He caught a glimpse of himself in a mirrored column, and was reasonably satisfied with the result. It was by no means a perfect disguise, but it was a whole lot better than nothing and it made it harder for anyone to identify him based on a photograph in the media.
Matt made purchases from two more stores before heading over to the food court, where he got a meal from the McDonald’s restaurant in the corner. Then he went back outside and sat down on one of the benches overlooking the parking lot and ate his food. No one appeared to pay any attention to him, and after a while he started to relax a little. Maybe it was still early days? And maybe his picture hadn’t been released to the media yet?
Six hours had passed since he’d discovered the first body. And if the police had found James’ body, which he assumed that they probably had, it would only have been two hours ago at the most.
How quick were they to release information about potential suspects in cases such as this? They would have to have a very strong suspicion in order to release a picture, because if they got it wrong, people would sue the hell out of them.
But then there was the thing with the Mexican on the phone. If he was serious about his threat, he would have told the police about the Mitsubishi and that Matt was driving around in the car. That would have made the cops take notice, and it would link him to both murders.
But regardless of whether his picture was out there or not, most people were working at this hour, and the odds of them having watched the news or read the newspapers were rather slim. And he hadn’t seen any police cars enter the parking lot, nor were there anyone parked next to the Mitsubishi. If they knew where it was, the place would have been teeming with cops by now.
He took another bite of his burger, grabbed a few fries and washed it all down with some Coke. The cup containing the drink had a picture of a local baseball player swinging a bat. Matt thought he’d seen the guy before on TV, but he couldn’t remember his name.
Ordering the meal had been risky, but he had been hungry and he had to eat. His last meal had been yesterday, and he didn’t know when he would get the opportunity to have his next one. Hopefully it would be somewhere far away from Phoenix.
Sitting on the bench was risky too, but it was the only opportunity he had to study the parking lot and the cars that were coming and going without arousing suspicion. That was the only reason why he had come outside and not finished his meal in the food court.
What he was looking for was an older car without a burglary alarm, and which would be easy to hotwire. He had seen a few potential candidates pull into the big lot, but he had quickly dismissed them. The owners had been dressed in work clothes, and he suspected that they were only dropping in to get some lunch and probably wouldn’t spend too much time here. And that was just cutting it too short.
He needed a car, whose owner would spend at least a couple of hours inside the shopping mall, so he could spend the next few hours without having to worry about getting pulled over by the cops for driving around in a stolen vehicle.
He finished the rest of the meal and sat there sipping on the drink when he finally saw the perfect car pull in and park about seventy yards away from where he was sitting. He watched intently as the individuals inside it, two women in their twenties got out and started walking toward the entrance area.
He made a quick mental note of where the car was located, then followed the two young women with his gaze as they made their way toward him. He could of course be wrong, but something told him that they weren’t on their lunch break, but were here to kill a few hours shopping or window browsing, or whatever it was that women their age did when they went to the mall.
He was close enough to hear them laughing as they disappeared through the entrance doors. They wouldn’t be laughing when they came back out again and discovered that their car had been stolen.
Matt waited another five minutes before he got up and walked over to a rubbish bin, where he tossed the empty paper bag and the cup he’d been sipping on. Then he started walking casually toward the car.
He was scanning the area from behind the sunglasses, hoping desperately that no one would take notice of what he was about to do. The sweat was running down his face again, and his breathing was rapid and shallow. He could see a few people walking toward the shopping mall, but none coming from the area where the car was located.
He was only twenty yards away now and could see it quite clearly. It was an old Honda Civic with big patches of rust interspersed with the faded blue paint. He turned his head once again and quickly scanned his surroundings, but he couldn’t see anyone close by.
Very discreetly, he put his hand in the big plastic bag he was carrying and pulled out the thick steel wire that he had modified in the restroom. The wire was from the coat hanger he’d picked up from a men’s clothing store twenty minutes earlier. It was a straight piece, about a foot long with the tip bent at a ninety degree angle.
He felt the adrenaline rush into his body as he stopped beside the driver side door and inserted the metal wire between the rubber seal and the window. If anyone saw what he was doing and decided to call the cops, it would be all over.
But there was no one shouting at him, demanding to know what the hell he was doing. The only thing he could hear apart from the wire scraping against the inside of the door was his own breath and his pulse pounding against his temples.
Come on dammit, open up! He had the wire all the way down and kept wiggling it around. Where was the damn locking mechanism? He yanked a few times without any luck and was considering abandoning the mission all together when the tip of the wire caught onto something. He pulled on it carefully and saw the pull pin on the other side of the window pop up.
Yes!
He quickly pulled the wire out and opened the door. It swung out effortlessly, and more importantly, without setting off any alarms. Matt didn’t waste any time and swiftly removed the back
pack from his shoulder and placed it on the passenger seat. He did the same with the shopping bag. Then he jumped inside and closed the door. Part one of his mission was completed, now part two remained.
He reached over and pulled out the screwdriver from the shopping bag and leaned forward, and started removing the car ignition column cover. It was only a handful of screws holding it in place, and it took him less than a minute to get the job done. Before he reached inside the bag to retrieve the wire cutters, he sat up and did a quick three hundred and sixty degree scan. There was no one around.
He leaned forward again and cut the two power wires and stripped the ends. When that was done, he connected them and twisted the ends together. Then he began working on the starter wires, briefly connecting the two exposed ends and the engine came to life.
Matt closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. He picked up the column cover and threw it over the seat, placed the tools back in the bag and reversed out of the parking space. The second part of the plan had been successful, and no one had seemed to have taken the slightest notice of him.
He looked at the fuel gauge and was relieved to see that the tank was almost full. He wouldn’t have to worry about running out of gas.
The car rolled slowly over the blacktop and Matt maneuvered it toward the main road and turned left when he got there. He had decided to go back to Phoenix.
He estimated that the car was safe to use for another hour. After that he would have to source out another vehicle to take him out of the state. And he already had one in mind, even though it was going to be extremely risky. But that was a chance he was willing to take.
He was less than a minute away from the shopping mall, waiting at a red light, when he saw three patrol cars come racing down in the opposite direction, their blue lights flashing. The sight of them made his hands start to shake, and he felt the adrenaline hit his system. What were they doing here so early? Had he been spotted at the mall? Had they received a tip from an observant member of the public?
Shock and Awe Page 15