by Mike Ryan
Recker smiled. “You got me.”
Recker immediately showed his gun and fired at the man in the passenger seat, hitting him three times in the chest. The driver reached for his gun but it was too late. By the time he put his hand on it, Recker had already hit him three times as well. Both men were killed instantly and Recker pushed the driver on his side across the middle console to prevent someone from seeing the dead man from a distance through the window. With those men taken care of, Recker turned around to head into the apartments. As he walked toward it, he reloaded his weapon in anticipation of the next round of action. Since the men inside the apartment didn’t know what room Mia was in, Recker figured he run into them roaming around the hallways.
As soon as Recker entered the building, he saw one of them standing near the door, probably waiting for Mia to come out. The two men locked eyes and Recker instantly withdrew his gun and fired several shots at the unsuspecting man. Jeremiah’s man was leaning against the wall, but slumped down to the ground as he held his midsection once the bullets entered his body. His shirt was soaked in blood as life quickly left his body. There was one man left. Recker didn’t immediately see him and stood there silently, hoping to hear something to indicate where he was. Whether it was doors quickly opening and closing, or fast walking footsteps, anything that would give an indication of where the man was. Recker didn’t hear anything though. Instead of standing there, or walking through the building to find the man, Recker instead went to room 108, just in the unlikely chance the man found where Mia was. Recker slowly opened the door and took a quick peek inside. He didn’t see anybody at first glance. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him, still holding his gun, though he had it down by his leg.
“Mia,” Recker whispered.
“Mike?” Mia asked, though Recker still couldn’t see her.
Mia emerged from the kitchen where she’d been hiding. It wasn’t much of a hiding spot, but in the event someone other than Recker came in, she didn’t want to be standing in the middle of the room out in the open. She was relieved to see that it was him. She wasn’t ecstatic to be there to begin with, but being there by herself in a strange room, in the middle of the night, had her terrified. Even though she knew Recker was in the vicinity, unlike the last time she was there, her nerves were still a wreck. Upon seeing him, Mia ran up to him and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a big hug.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, holding him tight. “I’m not cut out for this type of stuff.”
“Most people aren’t,” he said, enjoying holding her once again.
“I’ve been so scared waiting in here, thinking someone unpleasant was going to come in.”
“I know. It’s almost over.”
“Almost? It’s not done yet?” Mia asked, looking worried, as they released each other from their embrace.
“There were four men watching you. I’ve already taken out three.”
“When you say taken out, you mean…”
“Killed. I told you I’d always protect you. No matter what you think of me.”
“So, what about the last one?”
“I’ll take care of him.”
“How?”
“Well, he’s somewhere inside the building. Probably checking the other floors. But he’ll have to come out front at some point,” Recker said.
Recker quickly tried to formulate a plan which wouldn’t put Mia in any danger. Without knowing exactly where the other man was made things more difficult. There was a staircase at each end of the hall leading up to the higher floors, not to mention an elevator toward the middle of the building. It meant Recker couldn’t stake out one spot, fearing the man could come out via another alternative.
“Why can’t we just go now?” Mia asked. “Forget about the other guy.”
“What if we start leaving and he sees us as we go out the door and pursues us? Or what if he sees us and don’t know he’s there and he takes a shot and hits one of us?”
“I just want this to be over.”
“I know. And it will be...soon,” Recker said.
The other thing complicating the situation for Recker was sure he’d be recognized as soon as the man saw him. Seeing as how Jeremiah’s man in the car knew who he was, albeit a little late, it was a sign that Recker’s picture had been distributed among the gang leader’s men. Recker thought about just staying in the apartment with the door ajar slightly, so he could see anyone passing by, but there was a possibility the man might not come that way if he chose the elevator or other staircase. As he thought about how to move forward, Mia asked him what he was thinking, and Recker relayed the concerns running through his mind.
“Fine. Use me as bait,” she said.
“What?” Recker asked, surprised at the request.
“Use me as bait.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Mike, I trust you completely. I know you won’t let anything happen to me. It doesn’t mean I won’t be scared out of my mind, but I know you’ll protect me. You always have.”
“I dunno.”
“It’s the best way, right?”
“I don’t know. Maybe,” Recker said, still not sold on the idea.
“Hurry up before I lose my nerve.”
Recker sighed and looked away, not really wanting to agree to the plan, but not having any better options either.
“Would you do it if it was someone other than me?” Mia asked.
“Probably.”
“Then treat me as if I was anybody else.”
Recker nodded, reluctantly agreeing to her proposition. “But you’re not anybody else.”
She gave him a nervous smile as she waited for instructions. “So, what do you want me to do?”
“Well, seeing as it is you, I want you within arm’s reach of me if something goes wrong,” Recker said. “Stand just outside the door and keep your hand on the knob. You keep watching both directions and as soon as you see someone coming, you duck inside. We’ll keep the door open so it looks like you’re just coming in.”
“OK. What are you gonna do?”
“Well as soon as he sees it’s you he’s gonna follow you and see what number you ducked into. As soon I get sight of him I’ll start firing.”
“This will work, right?” Mia asked nervously.
“It’ll work. Promise.”
Even though Mia had issues with Recker about how he viewed and handled their personal relationship, there was no doubt in her mind, nobody would be better to handle their current predicament than him. There was something soothing in his voice when he confidently said he’d handle something. Though there were never guarantees with anything, especially in volatile situations involving men with guns, but Recker’s word was as close to one as humanly possible. Before she lost her nerve, Mia went over to the door and opened it, though Recker stopped her before she went into the hall. Recker wanted to make sure she didn’t run into a surprise out there and stuck his head out the door first. With the coast clear, he signaled that she was good to go.
“How long do you think this will take?” Mia said.
“Not long. He should be here within a few minutes.”
“What if he’s already been by here and just goes outside instead?”
“Then he’ll find his buddies and make his way back inside to find the person who did it,” Recker said. “Either way, he’ll be along soon. Remember, as soon as you see him, don’t waste any time in getting in here.”
“I’ll remember.”
Recker initially had thoughts about having her wait by the elevator. He could have probably covered her from the same door he was in, but he thought it was too risky. It was a longer shot to take and he’d also risk the man taking Mia as hostage if Recker missed his first shot. In the end, Recker figured this was a much easier and less risky plan which didn’t involve putting Mia in as much danger. He knew the man wouldn’t come up shooting at Mia since Jeremiah needed her alive to keep Recker in line. Just as R
ecker suggested, it didn’t take long to put the plan in action. Within three minutes of her standing in the hall, the man came pouncing down the stairs and threw open the door as he walked into the hallway. Mia immediately saw him enter and waited a split second until she was sure that the man locked eyes on her. As soon as he did, she pushed open the door and went into the apartment.
“He’s coming,” she said.
“Go in the kitchen and wait,” Recker said. “Which way’s he coming from.”
“Your right.”
Recker stood behind the door, still leaving it open a crack. He looked through the peephole until he saw the man approaching the door. The man cautiously approached the apartment and saw the door was not fully closed. He took a few steps toward the door and put his right hand on the front of his pants, presumably reaching for a weapon. Recker wasn’t going to give him a chance to use it though. He violently flung the door open and stepped into the frame of the door in full view of the unsuspecting man. The dark-haired man tried to withdraw his gun from his pants but Recker was too quick for him. Recker started shooting, hitting the man in the chest and stomach at point blank range, continuing to fire until the man dropped to the ground. After the fifth bullet entered the man’s body, Recker stopped the carnage and went into the hallway, looking around for onlookers. He quickly picked up the man’s gun and grabbed his feet, dragging him into the apartment before the curious crowd showed up.
One of the perks of picking the Haddix building was the residents were used to gunfire, hearing it fairly frequently. Any other building probably would’ve brought out the apartment dwellers almost immediately. Here, though, most people weren’t too keen on popping their head out of their door too quickly, for fear of catching a bullet after the fact. Plus, not very many people were very interested in being witnesses. The residents of the Haddix building mostly just wanted to be left alone and minded their own business. As Recker dragged the man’s lifeless body into the living room, Mia showed herself from the kitchen, observing him leave the dead body as he went back to the door.
“All right, coast is clear,” Recker said. “We’ve gotta hurry before the police show up.”
Recker grabbed Mia’s hand and led her down the hallway, leaving the building via a side exit located by the stairways at the end of the hall. As Recker led her away from the apartment building and through the trees and bushes on the side of the property, Mia was confused at where they were going.
“Where’s your car? Where are we going?” she asked.
“This leads to the shopping center on the other side. My car’s over there.”
“Why?”
“That way nobody would see us leaving,” Recker said. “Of if the police came before we left, we wouldn’t have issues getting out of here.”
“Oh.”
Within minutes they were on the other side of the divider, quickly scurrying to Recker’s car, though Mia was concerned about the fate of her own vehicle.
“What about my car?”
“We’ll have to leave it for now,” Recker said.
“Why couldn’t I just follow you?”
“’Cause we can’t risk it. Once Jeremiah realizes what happened, he’ll put an alert out on your car. Every man he’s got will be all over the city looking for it. And when they find it, they’ll know where you are.”
“I guess that makes sense. But doesn’t he know your car? Won’t he come looking for that instead?”
“Except I put on a different license plate every time I see him, just in case he’s tagged it. That way I avoid that problem.”
“Sounds like an awful lot of work,” Mia said.
“Not as much work as doing this.”
9
Just to make sure they weren’t followed, Recker drove around for an extra thirty minutes, paying careful attention to any cars behind him. It would have had to be an excellent tail job to be able to follow him based on the circumstances, and since Recker was a master at this type of work. He hadn’t met a tail yet he wasn’t able to get rid of. Luckily, there was nothing he had to shake this night. When he pulled into the parking lot of the office shopping center, Mia was still confused at what they were doing.
“I thought we were going to the office,” Mia said.
“We are.”
“Uhh, there’s no offices here. Are there?”
Recker smiled. “The laundromat.”
“Seriously?”
“What?”
“You two are running your entire operation out of a laundromat?”
“Of course not. There’s an office over the top of it.”
“Oh. Makes perfect sense,” she said with an eye roll.
Recker led her around the back of the building and up the wooden steps to the office door. He could tell Jones was still awake since all the lights were still on.
“Home sweet home,” Recker said, unlocking the door.
As they came into the office, Jones got up from his chair and walked over to the middle of the room to greet them. Seeing someone new come into their sanctuary was a nerve wracking experience, even though it was a person they both knew well. It was still a day Jones had never anticipated having.
“Glad to see you both made it in one piece,” Jones said, scanning the both of them for holes. “You are both in one piece, aren’t you?”
“As far as we know,” Recker said, patting his chest.
“Hi David,” Mia said.
Jones gave her a smile, happy to see her in surprisingly good spirits. At least outwardly anyway. She didn’t appear to be harmed or injured in any way, and her face didn’t look all doom and gloom. But she stood by the door for a minute, like she was afraid or nervous to come in any further. Jones went over to her and gave her a hug, then took her arm to try and make her more comfortable.
“Wasn’t sure if you’d still be awake,” Recker said.
“You really thought I’d go to sleep before you came back or before I knew you escaped unharmed?” Jones asked.
“You really thought I might have problems?”
“Even you, Michael, can run into something you’re not prepared to handle.”
“So, this is where everything happens, huh?” Mia asked, looking around the room.
“This is it,” Jones said.
“It’s not quite what I expected,” Mia said.
“It grows on you,” Recker said.
“What were you expecting?” Jones asked.
“I don’t know. Something a little fancier I guess.”
“You mean marble floors, crystal chandeliers, tons of windows, things like that?”
“Uhh, yeah, I guess.”
Jones smiled, amused as he looked around the room himself. “Yes, it’s not quite the Hilton, is it? But it works well and suits our purposes.”
“Over a laundromat...not at all what I was expecting.”
“All the five floor office buildings were taken,” Recker said sarcastically.
“Don’t you ever get any prying eyes or anything?” she asked.
“No. This is actually a perfect setup for us,” Jones said.
“Am I the first person to ever be in here with you guys?”
“You’re the first.”
“I guess I should be honored you think so highly of me to allow me to be here,” Mia said sheepishly.
“Did you bring some luggage or a bag of your things or anything?” Jones asked.
“Uhh, well, I did. But I left the bag in my car. I didn’t realize I’d be leaving it there.”
“You left her car?”
“Figured it’d be better that way,” Recker said. “If Jeremiah goes out looking for it, I didn’t want it to be parked here. This way, he’s got no way of knowing where she went.”
Jones nodded, approving of his plan. “Good idea.”
Mia walked over to the couch and plopped down in the middle of it, sizing it up. “Guess I’m sleeping on here tonight?”
“I’m sorry,” Jones said. “It is quite c
omfortable though, I’ve spent many a night on there myself.”
“It’ll be fine,” she said, faking a smile.
Jones told her where the bathroom was if she needed to use it, or if she wanted to take a shower in the morning. He also pointed out the Keurig machine, as well as the refrigerator, which was pretty well stocked with food at the moment, and told her to help herself to anything she wanted.
“What am I gonna do for clothes and necessities?” Mia said.
Recker and Jones looked dumbfounded as they stared at each other, neither of whom had thought much about her request prior to that.
“Drive back to her car and get her bag?” Jones asked. “Or stop by her apartment and grab a few things?”
“No, too risky for that,” Recker said. “Just in case Jeremiah keeps a man on her car or her apartment in the event she comes back.”
“I guess one of us can go to the store and pick out some things for her for the morning.”
“One of us?”
“Well we certainly can’t take her and parade her around in the store, can we?” Jones asked.
“I suppose not.”
“You guys are gonna stay here tonight with me, right?” Mia asked. “I really don’t wanna stay here by myself.”
“Of course,” Jones said, smiling, trying to put her mind at ease. “One of us often stays here anyway. That’s why there are two couches.”
“So what are we gonna do?” Recker whispered in Jones’ ear.
“Well, I suppose one of us stays here tonight and the other can go to the store and pick up what she needs.”
“So who’s doing what?”
“Well, considering your history with her, do you think it’s wise if you stayed the night?”
Recker took a good long look at Mia and carefully considered the question, thinking about her attitude toward him lately, notwithstanding at the apartment, and also thinking about her current boyfriend. “No, I guess not.”
“So I’ll stay the night with her,” Jones said. “Why don’t you go to the store and pick up things she needs and come back in the morning with them?”