Michael watched as she typed in the password to unlock her computer. “Muffin?” he asked when he figured out the word she had typed.
“Hey!” she said turning to him and punching him playfully in the arm. “You shouldn’t hover over people when they’re typing in their passwords!”
“Well, I did. And Muffin?” he asked again.
“It was my cat’s name,” she said pointing to one of the pictures on the wall to their left. The picture was of a young, teenage Lindsey hugging a bundle of white fur tightly. “We got him when I was in grade school,” she explained.
“Cute,” Michael said, staring at the picture. “You look almost the exact same as you did then!” he added with a laugh.
“I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not,” she said as she leaned forward to give her attention back to what they were doing. “What’s the number again?” she asked, bringing the topic of conversation back to the matter at hand.
They both sat in anticipation as she typed the number into a Google search. “A payphone?” they said at the same time when the results came up.
“Son of a bitch!” Michael yelled as he pushed himself up and ran his fingers through his hair. “Another dead end! I should have known it wasn’t going to be that easy!”
“Hold on,” Lindsey said as she typed the address of the payphone into another search. “Don’t get all dejected just yet.”
Something that continued to amaze Michael about her was the way she reacted to him. She never let his outbursts affect her mood. She didn’t seem to be bothered by his frustrated rants or his more-often-than-not aggressive tone. “What are you thinking?” he asked as he took his seat next to her again, letting her relaxed air wash over him and calm him down slightly.
“If you thought before you reacted, you would have realized that this is still a good, and very solid lead,” she said turning the computer so that he could see it better. “The payphone is located in the parking lot of a strip mall.”
“And what?”
“Obviously whoever was calling needed to have easy access to it,” she replied. “So they have to work in one of these businesses,” she said pointing to the screen.
“How many are there?” Michael asked trying to count.
“At least a dozen,” she said wrinkling her nose a little.
“Are any of them one of the fronts the Lords use to launder money?”
“No,” she replied shaking her head. “This is in a part of town way outside of the Lords’ territory. It’s a pretty upscale area, actually.”
“That’s at least a dozen companies, with who knows how many employees,” Michael said, the burning feeling of frustration forming in the pit of his stomach again.
“It’s still a lead, Michael,” she said as she shut her computer. “And one that we will follow up on tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?”
“After our adventure last night, I need at least a day to recover before I go running off on another ill-thought pursuit with you.”
“So what do we do now?”
“We eat,” she said, placing the computer back in its spot under the table and standing to make her way for the kitchen. “What are you in the mood for?” she asked turning back to face him.
“I’m not too picky,” he said. The expression on her face seemed to change as he answered. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide. “Is that such a big surprise?” he asked, not sure how to take her response.
“No,” she said quietly. “It’s not that.” She rushed over to the back wall to find the light switch turning off the lights and letting the room become consumed with darkness. “Get over here!” she ordered him.
“Lindsey, what the hell?” he asked, feeling his pulse speed up slightly as he hurried over to her side.
“There’s someone outside,” she said her voice shaky.
Chapter 13: Raising the Stakes
They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity, waiting for the slightest movement from outside. “No one’s there,” Michael said after he felt they had waited long enough. “You’re just paranoid.”
“No,” she replied still in a whisper. “I’m sure I saw it. Someone was outside, right there, standing right behind the rose bush.” She pointed to where she was talking about. Her hand was shaking and her breathing was heavy.
Michael looked harder, trying to see something—anything. “I’m telling you, no one is there.”
She didn’t pay him any mind. Still kneeling down, she moved slowly to the coffee table in the center of the room. Reaching under the top of the wooden frame, she pulled off one of the panels and threw it carelessly to the side. Quickly she slid her hand into a hidden compartment and produced a small revolver. Sliding back to where Michael was still crouched in the corner of the room, she opened the cylinder to make sure it was loaded.
“Do you have guns hidden everywhere?” Michael asked, feeling impressed but surprised.
“Just the one in my car, this one, and another in the kitchen. It’s behind the bread on the top shelf of the cabinet next to the refrigerator,” she answered quickly.
“I didn’t take you for such a jumpy person, Lindsey.”
“I’m just cautious. When you’re in the line of work I am, you can never be too careful.”
Michael started to move forward slowly. “I’m going to go check it out,” he said.
“No,” she reached out and grabbed his arm. “You shouldn’t.”
“We can’t just sit here in the corner all night,” he said to her over her shoulder. “Cover me,” he motioned to the gun in her hand.
“Right,” she said lifting the gun slowly and training it on the glass door in front of them.
As Michael slid across the room on all fours, he felt a shiver run down his own spine. It was probably just Lindsey’s paranoid thoughts getting to him. He tried to push the fear from his mind as he made his way past the coffee table. When he reached the door he lifted his hand to the glass and peered around the outside. “Nothing,” he said standing up. “I told you. There’s nothing out there.”
“You sure?” Lindsey asked, pushing herself up slowly.
“Yes,” he said, turning to look out again.
“Good,” Lindsey replied turning on the light and making her way back to the couch. Before she reached it, though, the door in the far corner of the room, just three feet away from where they were crouching for cover came flying open.
A man barged in, followed by two others, all of them wearing black ski masks, gloves, and carrying an assortment of weapons. Lindsey held up the small revolver in her hand, pointing it directly at the first man who came into the apartment.
The man looked at her calmly and burst into a fit of laughter. “You going to shoot me?” he challenged her, taking a step in her direction. As he did the two men behind him lifted their own guns, pointing one at Lindsey and one at Michael.
“Stay back,” Lindsey ordered him, keeping the gun pointed in his direction.
“You can shoot me,” the man said slowly. “But as soon as you pull that trigger, my two friends here will pull theirs,” he said motioning to the men standing behind him.
“What do you want?” Michael demanded, taking a cautious step in Lindsey’s direction.
“There’s actually a few things we need from you two,” the man said taking another step towards Lindsey. As he did, she cocked back the hammer on her gun. The soft click echoed around the room, causing the air to stir and the tension to rise.
“I will shoot you,” she said to him calmly.
“Like I said, Ms. O’Neil, that’s your choice. But if you do, it’ll cost you not only your life, but his,” he said motioning to Michael. “You don’t really want to be responsible for his death, too? Do you?”
Lindsey looked back at Michael over her shoulder. He took the last few steps towards her and rested his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s hear what they have to say,” he said to her in an almost comforting tone. He knew it was his f
ault that they were in that situation. He was the one that continued to go to her for help; he was the one that had dragged her into this. There had to be a way he could get them both out of it.
Lindsey lowered her gun slowly. The man held out his hand for her to give it to him, but before she could Michael reached out and grabbed her wrist. “I said we’ll hear what you have to say, not that we’ll surrender.”
“Fair enough,” the man said, motioning for the men behind him to lower their guns as well. “Take a seat Ms. O’Neil, Mr. Kent.”
“How do you know our names?” Michael asked as he and Lindsey sat down on the couch.
“I know a lot about both of you.” His words made a shiver run down Michael’s spine. It wasn’t just what he was saying, but the confident, almost condescending way in which he said it.
“Funny, because we don’t know anything about you,” Michael pointed out.
“Let’s keep it that way,” the man said as he paced back and forth in front of them. “Who I am doesn’t really matter anyway. What matters is that you two are making a lot of people very angry.”
“Can we know who these people are?” Lindsey asked.
The man bobbed his head from side to side in thought. “It’s probably best that you didn’t know that, either. What I can tell you is that my specific organization is willing to give you a chance at redemption.”
“Redemption?” Michael asked. As they sat on the couch, he could sense Lindsey’s nervous, tense stance and he couldn’t help but notice the slight shaking of her hands in her lap. He reached out and took one of her hands in his. His palms were sweaty, as were hers. Giving her hand a tight squeeze he tried to comfort not only her, but himself as well.
The man sighed, feigning a hint of concern for them. “You see, there’s been a sort of target placed on both of you.”
“A hit?” Lindsey asked. “Someone’s put out a hit on us?”
“Hmm,” the man said thoughtfully. “Not a ‘hit’ per se. More like a ‘call to arms’.”
“That doesn’t sound better,” Michael pointed out.
“Oh no,” the man said with a hearty laugh. “It’s not. It’s worse! Much worse! You see, with a ‘hit’ it’s just one man looking to do one job. You two, however, have an entire ring of sophisticated criminals buying for their chance to get their hands on you.”
Lindsey’s hand began to shake more violently in Michael’s—or maybe it was his that was trembling. He couldn’t be sure. What he did know was that a layer of cold sweat has suddenly appeared on his brow, and his heart was pounding so hard and fast he thought it would explode out of his chest. He had been in high-stress situations like this before when he was in the service. But he had never been responsible for someone else, someone completely innocent. That was what weighed heavy on him in that moment. “It’s me,” Michael said softly. “You want me. Not her. She didn’t want anything to do with this; I forced her to participate.”
“Michael,” she scolded him quietly. “Don’t.”
“It’s true,” he continued. “Just let her go, and I’ll give you whatever you want. You can take me to whoever you work for, and I’ll suffer whatever consequences I have coming to me.”
“Isn’t that sweet?” the man said looking over his shoulder at his men. They both chuckled a little in agreement. “That’s just too sweet,” he said turning back to Michael and Lindsey. “But, unfortunately it’s too late. You see, if I let her go, then our entire reason for being here is completely lost.” He shifted his weight around before continuing. “I’m not actually working for one of those men who want you dead. I’m working for a different man who wants those men dead.”
“I don’t follow,” Michael said.
“You two really don’t have any idea what you’ve stumbled into, do you?” the man asked tauntingly. Michael and Lindsey exchanged nervous looks. “I thought not.” The man stepped forward and sat on the edge of the coffee table. “Why don’t you tell me what you know, and I’ll tell you what you don’t.”
“We know that somehow Hamilton & Lewis are tied to the Lords,” Michael answered before Lindsey could. He didn’t want to go into details; he didn’t want to divulge all the information they had acquired.
“Good,” the man nodded, looking from Michael to Lindsey. “And what are the Lords known for, Ms. O’Neil?”
“Drugs,” she said softly. “They have access to some new drug that’s been making its way around the city for the last year and a half or so.”
“Yes,” the man said encouragingly. “What else?”
“They’re working with the East Side Kings,” Lindsey continued. Her gaze was fixed on her lap and her eyes were darting back and forth as she tried to piece together the little information they had. “They’re trying to expand their territory.”
“Very good, Lindsey,” the man said patting her on the knee. His touch made her jump. Michael tightened his grip on her hand, trying to calm her. “Is that all?”
“That’s all we know,” Michael said firmly.
“Well, I guess it’s my turn then, isn’t it?” The man leaned back and began to explain. “We’re part of a little organization known as the Underground Mafia.”
“The Kings’ rivals,” Lindsey whispered.
“Bingo!” the man yelled happily. “So you have heard of us. Good. Well, then, you’ll understand that if the Kings are successful in their new endeavor, we’ll be pushed out. They’ve already succeeded in taking over a good chunk of our territory. And that doesn’t make us happy.”
“What does all of this have to do with us?” Michael asked.
“We’ve been working for a while now to try to find who is supplying the Lords, and in turn, the Kings with their new product. It’s like gold! People are going crazy for it. It’s basically the backbone to their entire operation. We’ve been watching them for a few months now. And, our surveillance of them led us to you. They’ve been watching you, you know.”
“The black Impala,” Michael said.
“For one. There are a few other major players that have been following you, and we’ve been following them.”
“Others?” Michael and Lindsey asked at the same time.
“We don’t really have the time to get into specifics,” the man said pushing himself up to his feet. “Just know that you saw the black Impala because they wanted you to see it. They wanted you to know they were on to you, in hopes of detouring you from continuing.”
“Are you going to tell us your reason for being here?” Michael asked, losing patience with the mind games.
“Right,” the man said laughing. “You know, sometimes I just get so caught up in the moment during these things. Don’t I boys?” he said turning once again to his men. They both nodded their heads, not taking their eyes off of Michael and Lindsey. “Anyways,” the man said turning back to them. “I’m here because there are few things that you have that we want.”
“I already gave the backpack to someone else,” Michael replied quickly.
“Oh, Michael,” the man said with a chuckle. “If only this had all ended with the backpack. But alas, it did not.”
“What do you want, then?” Lindsey questioned, her voice shaking just a little.
“A little birdie told me that you have a certain cell phone—a cell phone the Lords and their associates want. And you see, if they want it, that means that I don’t want them to have it,” the man replied.
“Joy’s?” Michael asked, knowing that playing dumb wouldn’t help him at this point.
“Yes! That’s the one!”
“It’s not here,” Lindsey said quickly.
“And that’s where you come in, Ms. O’Neil.” The man said taking a quick step towards her. Before she had the chance to reach for the gun sitting on the couch next to her, the man grabbed her wrist and pulled her to her feet.
As he pulled her backwards, Michael reached for the gun just as one of the other men jabbed the barrel of his into Lindsey’s back. “I wouldn’t do
that if I were you,” the man said eyeing the gun in Michael’s hand.
“Don’t hurt her,” Michael warned him.
“I don’t plan on it,” the man replied. “She’s just going to have to come with us for a little while.”
“If you want the phone I’ll go get it right now, “Michael said standing quickly to his feet. “I can be back in 20 minutes!”
“It’s not that simple,” the man said. “You’ve impressed us, Michael. In just a few days you’ve been able to uncover as much as my men after searching for months.”
“But I don’t have anything else to give you.”
“Not yet,” the man said taking a step backwards, his hand still wrapped tightly around Lindsey’s wrist. “But maybe it’s just because you don’t have enough motivation.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that, I’m going to take your friend here with me. She’ll be fine; don’t worry about that. Well, she’ll be fine for the next 36-hours. After that, I can’t make any promises. My boss is a pretty impatient man.”
Lindsey locked eyes with Michael, her expression one of sheer fear. “What do I need to do?” he asked, not taking his gaze off her.
“Simple. Find out who is supplying the Lords with their new drug.”
“How will I know where to find you when I do?”
“Tomorrow you’ll receive instructions. You’ll be given an address where you are to drop off the cell phone. At that location, you will be given more instructions for what you are to do once you have what we want.”
As he spoke, the man continued to step back, keeping his hold on Lindsey. “Oh, and Michael?” the man added. “No cops. Be cool.” When they reached the front door, he waited for his men to pull it open.
“Michael!” Lindsey yelled out to him as they pulled her out of the apartment.
“I’ll do it, Lindsey!” he yelled out after her, running to the door and watching them lead her farther away. “Don’t worry! I’ll figure it out and come for you!”
Once they had disappeared into the night, Michael let himself fall to the ground in the entryway of her apartment. He ran his hands through his hair and tried to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t let his emotions get away from him now. He had to stay focused. He couldn’t let himself retreat into the hole of self-loathing that was threatening to swallow him. He couldn’t let the feelings of blame and fear wash over him. He had to push them aside, at least for now. He owed it to Rachel, and Joy, and now, more than anyone, Lindsey.
Unforgiven: A Conspiracy Thriller Page 9