Man of Steel

by Dave Conifer

  “When did this happen?”

  “No more than twenty minutes ago,” Bremer said.

  Braden looked at Marino. “Somebody’s doing some grunt work. Getting ready to print an article. Calling for background is standard procedure. Could Jonas have escaped back to Charlotte? This just got a whole lot more serious.”

  “It wasn’t Jonas,” Bremer said. “It was a guy named Trappe. He was the head editor of this or that. I didn’t write it down. ”

  “That just means Jonas is talking to his editor back home in Charlotte,” Braden said. “It’s bad, but not fatal yet. We can still hang on. They can’t run anything like this without checking it out. They’d get eaten alive. Even the Kennedy brigade wouldn’t like it. They can’t take a chance on being wrong.”

  “Yeah, but they’re not wrong,” Bremer blurted.

  Marino grimaced. “We know that,” Braden snapped, “But they don’t know that. Just do what you’re told and keep your brain in neutral.”

  Braden started for the door but turned around. “Do we know where those Castle Papers are?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “We have to have those Papers, or at least make sure nobody else gets them. We can’t take a chance that there’s something in there. Find out where they are and burn the building down if you have to. See to it that nobody gets a look.”

  “I’ll get on it, sir,” Marino said.

  “We’re now at DEFCON 1,” Braden said. “I still think they’re right here in Morgantown. Get as many men down here as you can,” he barked at Marino. “I don’t care what it takes. I don’t care how it looks. This is our last stand. They have to be found.”

  -- Chapter 31 --

  Just before five o’clock Jonas sat down to make another desperate phone call to Steve Trappe. He’d already decided to bluff him by saying that Reno’s newspaper would be running a similar article in the next few days. He hadn’t dialed yet when Reno, who was peeking outside from behind the drapes, called him over.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” she said as he put the phone down. “Either this motel has the fastest plumbers I’ve ever seen or we’ve got problems.” His heart sank as he walked over. He was already thinking about an escape plan before he even looked out the window.

  “Careful,” she said as he pushed the drapes away. “Over there. Two guys are pushing some kind of tool cart from door to door but I don’t think they’re plunging toilets. I don’t think they’re maintenance men or whatever they dressed up as. For one thing, they’re wearing suits under those coveralls. Check out the shoes when they come out. And they get in and out of each room in about three minutes.”

  Sure enough, two men emerged from a room across the parking lot just as she finished her description. They wheeled their cart to the next door and knocked. After nobody answered one of the men bent over, out of sight behind the cart. Fifteen seconds passed before the door opened.

  “They’re not using a key to open those doors,” Jonas said. “You’re right. We have to get out of here.”

  “Should we leave separately? We can meet up by that dumpster.”

  “Good idea,” Jonas said. “You go first, after they finish another room. Maybe you should go into the woods. I’ll meet you there in a few.”

  “Better get the article, too. It’s there on the table.”

  “They just came out!” he said. “They weren’t in there for even a minute that time. Are you ready?”

  “Ready. I guess we’re not checking out, huh?”

  “And they’re in!” he announced. “Go!"

  After she was gone he made a quick inspection of the room. When he returned to the window he didn’t see the searchers or the cart where it had been before. “Shit!” he said under his breath as he scanned in every direction.

  Then he saw them. They must have finished that side of the motel and moved across the parking lot. Had they seen Reno leave? They were no more than six rooms away. Unless he timed it perfectly he was going to be caught.

  The next time they emerged from a room Jonas had to squeeze his face against the window to see them. The cart was so close that he could see the untouched tools that hung on its sides. He was set to run out the door as soon as they went in another room but they crossed him up. One man went in as soon as the door was opened but the other remained outside. Jonas froze with fear until the man turned away. He must have been counting doors, he decided. The man finally joined his colleague inside the room, but by then it was too late. Jonas would have to wait through another cycle. They were so near that he worried they might hear the door shut when he left, but leaving it open would be even more dangerous.

  After they entered the next room he crept outside and pulled the stubborn door closed as quietly as possible. He felt naked as he walked toward the stairway. When he glanced back the men were just stepping out of the room. He disappeared around the corner and sneaked past the dumpster and into the woods.

  “I was starting to worry,” Reno said.

  “They moved upstairs right after you left. We just made it, Abby.”

  “Yeah, and now we’re in the middle of the woods,” Reno said. “Where do we go?”

  “Think of it, Abby,” Jonas said. “They’re in our room right now! We’d be dead ducks! It was damn lucky that you happened to be looking out the window.”

  “I don’t want to think about it right now. Let’s just keep moving.”

  “Let’s head up the road. There’s all kinds of stuff up there,” Jonas suggested. “We can’t stay in the woods forever. It’ll be easier to blend in where there are other people. We’re just a couple of students now, right?”

  “I’d give anything to be just another student right about now.” They walked through the patch of woods until they reached University Avenue.

  “Lots of people,” Jonas said. “That’s good.” They crossed the road and followed a cluster of students into the Book Exchange. After passing shelf after shelf of Mountaineer trinkets they found themselves in the back corner of the store. Safely hidden behind a rack of blue and gold sweatshirts, they felt safe enough to talk again.

  “What do we do now?” Jonas asked. “It’s obvious they’re on to us. We’re almost out of time. We’re screwed until somebody decides they’ll print our story.”

  “What about the Professor?” Reno asked. “I still think if she knew what ERC was up to, she’d let us see the Papers.”

  “That would have been a good idea a week ago. Now it’s too late. We’d be walking right into their trap. If we know about her, they know about her.”

  He absentmindedly twirled the drawstring of a sweatshirt in a display bin as he tried to think logically. The pervasive smell of new merchandise was making him nauseous, but he enjoyed knowing they were out of view. The fleeting serenity was interrupted by the metal-on-metal screech of a steel clothes hanger as it slid on the rail of the display rack. They backed out of the way as a student examined sweatshirts before pulling one off. Jonas studied him carefully and decided with relief that he’d never seen him before.

  “Life used to be so simple,” Reno said as she watched two girls walk past with an armload of textbooks each.

  “And safer. But look at it this way. If we weren’t working this story you’d never have met me,” he said, forcing a smile.

  “Okay. I wouldn’t take that part back. Satisfied?”

  “Maybe the room will be safe now,” he said.

  “Maybe it isn’t.”

  “They’ve already searched it and we weren’t there. It might be the safest place we could go.”

  “Could be,” she allowed.

  “Let’s go next door and eat,” he suggested. “It’s probably packed with kids. We can blend right in. It’ll give us time to think it over.”

  “I can’t wait until the sun goes down,” Reno said. “I don’t know. I used to love sunshine but now I just feel better when it’s dark out.”

  ~~~

  “I can’t make up my min
d about going back. Are we doing the right thing?” Reno asked during dinner.

  “Yeah, I think so. Why would they stay? There are probably thousands of rooms in this city, right? Once they finish one place they have to move on.”

  “And we just don’t have anywhere else to go,” she added. “Maybe we can talk our editors into printing the story if we try again. It’s worth one last try.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “And if that doesn’t work we just have to find a way to get out of here. If we stay long enough they’ll eventually find us, even if it’s by accident.”

  “Too bad we don’t have a car anymore.”

  They crossed the road and disappeared into the trees. They had to move slowly in the dark. Each managed to stumble and trip several times. The lights of the motel were visible through the trees so they walked towards them without speaking. By the time they reached the edge of the woods they both had a few new scratches and bumps. “We should go separately again,” Reno suggested when they reached the edge of the woods.

  “Yeah, just in case,” Jonas agreed. “Do you still have your key?”

  She patted her back pocket. It was still there. “Yup.”

  “I’ll go first. Give me a couple minutes. If I see anything strange I’ll run back into the woods. If that happens, stay still. No use both of us getting nabbed.”

  “Okay. Be careful, Joe. Keep your eyes open. If it looks clear I’ll be there right behind you.”

  He walked out of the woods and down the gentle slope of grass toward the motel. The walk across the lot felt like it took years as he imagined sets of eyes watching him. He ran his finger over the sharp edge of the room key in his pocket as he walked. Finally he reached the building. Before continuing he took advantage of the darkness and checked out his surroundings. He could see the woods, about fifty yards away, where he knew Reno was still hiding and probably watching him. When he was satisfied that he hadn’t been spotted he turned and climbed the stairs to the second level of rooms.

  His heart was pounding when he reached the door and dug the key out of his pocket. He inserted it in the lock, twisted the knob and forced the door open. Even though he was sure the room was empty he immediately snapped the light on. Nobody was there but somebody had been. All the drawers were pulled open and one of the beds had been completely stripped. He fought the urge to go back and signal an all-clear to Reno because that would attract attention. Instead, he checked the bathroom and then went to the sink and threw some cold water on his face. He heard her key slide into the doorknob just as he was turning off the bathroom light.

  Before he reached the bathroom doorway he knew something had gone wrong. Very wrong. He heard what sounded like the door slamming into the wall just before Reno screamed. “Shut up!” grunted a male voice. There was an unmistakable slapping sound of a fist striking flesh followed by a thud.

  The motel room door slammed shut. Jonas heard the door chain rapping and scratching against the doorjamb as it dangled freely. He poked his head out of the dark bathroom far enough to see what had happened. Reno was face down on the floor at the end of one of the beds. She appeared to be unconscious. Even from the other side of the room he could see blood smears on the filthy beige carpet next to her head. A man in a business suit with well-trimmed dark hair was turned toward the door as he slid the security chain into position. The net had just gotten much tighter and they were both inside it.

  -- Chapter 32 --

  Jonas was surprised at how he reacted to the sight of Reno bleeding on the floor. He’d lived in fear for the past week but at that moment he felt more angry than scared. For the first time, he understood that the people they were up against were mere human beings. He didn’t know if Reno was still alive, but there was one thing he did know. Whatever happened, the intruder at the door was going to pay for what he had just done.

  He heard the scratchy static of a two-way radio. “Bremer here. Over.” Jonas watched as he opened the door and pulled a blue bag into the room. The radio squawked but Jonas couldn’t make out the garbled words. “Bremer here. I got the girl,” Bremer said. “She popped out of the woods and I grabbed her.” He heard the motel room door slam closed. “Wake up, shit sticks,” Bremer snarled to the room as he waited for a response. After another pause Bremer spoke into the radio again. “Is there anybody on? Acknowledge. Over.”

  “Bunch of ass hats,” Bremer muttered. Jonas heard the radio land on the bed. “Where in the hell are you guys?” Jonas stifled the urge to burst from the bathroom and attack the man who called himself Bremer, because he wasn’t ready. He still held the element of surprise and knew he shouldn’t squander it. Besides, he reasoned. This man is probably a trained killer. I don’t stand a chance unless I finish him off quick before he can react. He would need every edge he could get. It was likely that Bremer was well-armed. Jonas could expect to have a weapon in his face within seconds after the confrontation started, unless he made that impossible.

  “You dumb bitch,” Bremer sneered under his breath. Jonas burned with anger but he stayed quiet even as he heard Reno’s body being dragged across the carpet. Bremer’s back was to the bathroom so Jonas was able to watch what was happening. After positioning Reno between the beds Bremer went to look for something in the bag he’d retrieved from outside. When he returned he had a shiny razor knife in his hand. A sick feeling came over Jonas, but when he saw a roll of duct tape in the other hand an instant later he breathed a silent sigh of relief.

  Working far too efficiently for Jonas’s taste, Bremer slashed a hunk of cloth from a pillow case and bent between the beds with it. Jonas could only guess that he was stuffing it into Reno’s mouth to keep her quiet. Maybe she was still alive. The piercing whine and snap of tape being ripped from the roll and sliced into pieces was unnerving. He backed deeper into the bathroom and pushed himself up against the wall, trying to calm himself with some deep breaths. There was nothing to see anyway, and he had plans to make.

  If there was going to be a fight he would need a weapon. He looked around in the near-dark bathroom to see what was available and quickly settled on the glass pot from the drip coffee maker. It was heavy enough to hurt and light enough that he could get some good licks in. With any luck it would break if he hit Bremer in the right place, turning it into an even more brutal weapon.

  He padded across the room and extricated the pot without making any noise. The pace of the duct taping slowed markedly, reminding him that he’d waited too long to begin his preparations. Taping up Reno was probably the last thing Bremer would be preoccupied with.

  The room went quiet. He heard a soft moan that he recognized as having come from Reno. That was both a tremendous relief and a powerful motivator. He was fighting for Reno’s survival as well as his own. He moved toward the door to try to get a look at what Bremer was doing. Before he got there a shadow appeared on the floor. His grip on the handle of the coffee pot tightened as he flattened his body against the wall behind the door.

  The fight was about to go down. He could feel it. If Bremer was coming into the bathroom he would almost certainly reach for the light switch as he entered the room. Jonas moved in tighter, planning to belt him before the light was on. He lifted the pot over his head and waited.

  The instant he saw the hand reaching for the switch Jonas advanced. Bremer managed to turn the light on and may even have caught a glimpse of Jonas before the pot crashed savagely onto his head at the hairline. Glass flew as the pot shattered. Time passed in slow motion as shiny beads of blood appeared above Bremer’s eyebrows even before any broken glass hit the floor. It was a good start. He had hurt Bremer. More importantly, he could see by the confused expression on Bremer’s face that he had stunned him.

  But he would have to do more because Bremer was still standing. As he jerked back what was left of the pot for another swing he could hear slivers rattling on the counter and in the sink. Bremer moved his hands into a defensive position, but not before Jonas slammed the pot on the top of Bremer’s
head, resulting in another shower of blood and glass. He pulled back and jammed the now unrecognizable mass into Bremer’s face with all his strength. This time Bremer crumpled onto the floor and fell away from the bathroom. He twisted onto his back and stared up at Jonas with his mouth open. Blood dripped down his forehead and over his face before running down the sides of his head onto the carpet.

  “If you move a muscle I’ll bury this in your jugular vein,” Jonas warned, waving a healthy jag of glass that was still attached to the handle. There was so much blood that he wondered if he already had. “You’ll bleed to death in five minutes. If you stay still I’ll tape you up and let you live.”

  Bremer closed his eyes. He tried to roll onto his side but couldn’t. Jonas bent over him and patted him down for weapons. It didn’t take long to find a sleek black pistol in the jacket of his suit. There was a smaller handgun strapped to one calf and a sheathed knife with a six-inch blade strapped to the other. Jonas dropped the weapons on the bed and studied them. The site of the arsenal lessened his remorse about what he had done.

  He wouldn’t turn his back on Bremer but he knew he wasn’t going to be getting off the floor anytime soon, if ever. Bremer had left a few tools on the other bed, including his walkie-talkie, the razor knife and a bloody set of brass knuckles. Jonas picked up the razor knife and walked over to where Reno was still bound and gagged.

  She wasn’t nearly as bloody as Bremer, but the thick, purple mush that oozed from the gash that extended from her temple to her eye was as ghastly as any of his wounds. That eye was closed but Jonas could see that her other eye was halfway open. He wondered how much she’d seen or heard as he pulled her into a sitting position and propped her up against the bed. She watched carefully with her one eye as he carefully cut the tape from around her mouth. “This is going to hurt,” he said as he peeled the tape from her cheeks and out of her hair. She looked at him blankly. He pulled the gag out of her mouth and dropped it on the floor before looking back over to check on Bremer. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Can you hear me?”