The sound of his voice was unsettling at first, but after his instructions to her, Orinda’s intuition told her any suspicions were not valid.
The line went dead after the call. Mason was still facing backwards to keep his eyes on the following car. There were other cars between them, but he could still see they were being followed.
“We’re not losing him, baby. I have an idea. Slow down for me. Let’s let the car get as close as we can. We know that whoever is driving knows who we are; let’s see if this person has anything to do with the information that we found out regarding Cruz. The hotel where the conference was held is not too far from here. Let’s head in that direction. I think if the person following us pulls up to the hotel, we may have another problem but if they turn away, there is a possibility they have an association to Cruz. In the meantime, we need to get back with Griffin to see if he has an update on his unmarkeds because we can’t keep living off of our wit," Mason said.
He had to take his time because the car chase ignited his anxiety. He had to breathe and control himself between each word. He left his flask of Slivovica at home and decided to try to quit drinking cold as he was against his dependency to the drugs prescribed but amended by a killer.
"I’m begging you. Whatever you do, do not stop. Both of my lookouts that were on your street are dead. The car with a detective on the eastbound and the unmarked with the detective on the West were found with shot-out windows from a .45 caliber firearm, but there were no casings around on the ground. There were also no witnesses or sounds of gunshots heard either. You guys obviously didn’t hear anything because I’m sure you would have called me if you did. Someone must have been watching your home, which means they were watching while I was there as well. Once I got the call from the Philly PD, I started on my way, but then I was worried for my wife’s safety. If I sounded panicky earlier, that’s why. I was in a mad dash to find a safe haven for her because I would be damned if I put her in harm’s way over this case," Griffin said.
The line was put on speaker phone which allowed them all to be conferenced in and Mason could not believe what he was hearing. The time was now. It must have been his internal marine clock but for some reason, he was more excited than afraid because now they had to act. This was the time now to be the hunters. They would be prey if they didn’t, and he couldn’t let that happen to Orinda or Detective Griffin and his family for helping them, but he was still confused.
"I think I’m missing something," Mason said as he turned to see if they were still being followed and they were. "If you had two unmarkeds watching the house while we were inside, how is it they both were taken out at the same time without being heard by the other? Wouldn’t it make sense for a least one unit of detectives to notice the ruckus from the shooting and then respond?"
"Mason’s right, how does that happen? How come one set of undercovers didn’t hear gunshots that killed another set of undercovers watching the same house and a part of the same mission?" Orinda asked as she turned at the intersection.
The Philadelphia Downtown Marriot was not too far away, but the person driving the sedan with the missing front license plate was on the move to catch them. Orinda had to accelerate faster while listening to Griffin and keeping her eyes on the busy city streets.
"We think that the reason why one didn’t respond to the other’s incident is that we think it happened at the same time. We think that the killer has help. Maybe he had help the entire time at least for the local murders. We aren’t sure, but we need you to get to that manifest list to see the names on the list. That may be the answer we need to not only confirm this person Cruz is the killer and that he is using the conference to validate his reason to be in the area but also using this as a reason to get as close to his targets and victims as possible. How soon can you get to the office?" Griffin asked.
"We were planning on being there already, but we had no idea we were going to be followed. At first, we were going to try and lose them, but now we want to see if we can bait them. We are only a few blocks away from the Marriot where the conference was held. We figure if they don’t follow us there, it’s gotta be a reason. We all know the hotels have as many cameras as banks, and they don’t want to be caught on a camera especially after a high speed chase through downtown," Mason said.
Orinda took her eyes off of the road for a moment to look at him. His expression matched the sound of his voice. There were so many faces of Mason that each had a personality of their own, but this is what Orinda was willing to deal with to be with him.
"What if that doesn’t work? How will you get to the office to get the information?" Griffin asked. As they approached the traffic light near the hotel’s entrance, the person driving the following car must have finally understood what the plan was because he began to back away from position. It made sense. The driver probably had to park nearby after his killing sprees and couldn’t be seen on camera chasing them just as they thought.
“Hold on, Detective. They are turning away! It worked! They left!" Orinda said with excitement. Her excitement now paralleled with Mason’s. She put her hand on his thigh as Market Street returned from a death course back to a vibrant urban oasis. The traffic light turned red as they approached the intersection. The throbbing in her snatch box excited her so much that she needed Mason to kiss her. She needed him to relax her. She needed his fix to her addiction.
"So you mean they stopped following you? That’s very interesting," Detective Griffin said but could not get an answer. Mason and Orinda could not release from each other as they indulged in the sweet nectar of their saliva. Maybe it was to celebrate still being alive to kiss each other or maybe it was because of their collective contributions to ditch a possible killer in order to eventually solve the murders. Maybe it was because after it all ended, they were all each other had and they wanted to show their appreciation for each other but whatever it was, they had each other’s attention and Detective Griffin didn’t.
If it weren’t for the car horns being sounded from the cars waiting to pass through the intersection, they would not have noticed Detective Griffin yelling obscenities to get their attention. To them it was as if they were the only ones left in the fifth largest city in the United States of America.
"You guys are being a little ridiculous! Let’s get to the next task at hand. I’m almost near the Daily. I need you to make your way there now. From this point forward, I’m going to provide close support protection from whoever this fucker is but until we find him, I don’t think it’s safe for you guys to be alone," Detective Griffin said to them as they collected themselves and rerouted their journey back to the office.
The scare of being chased through the busy city streets was such a rush, more than they expected this morning. For all they knew, they were being followed for days and not until this morning did they have to run to avoid being reached. They had to put it all behind them now. They needed to find their way back to the Daily without being found again, followed or worse.
"Can someone respond to me please?! I need you guys to help me help you. I can’t help you if you don’t communicate," Detective Griffin said with irritation in his tone.
"We’re sorry, Detective. We were almost killed and needed a moment. We’re not used to this type of danger on the job. We’re journalists, remember?" Orinda explained. She continued on in the direction of the office. Mason continued to instinctively look behind to see if they were being followed.
"I understand you’re not used to this, Lovebirds. That’s exactly why I need you to hurry here. Make sure you watch your 6 no matter your 20. Do you understand?" Griffin instructed.
Orinda’s expression was perplexed and blank, but Mason nodded his head to her to let her know he understood; therefore, he would inform her of what Detective Griffin meant. Griffin had to go because he arrived at the Daily newsroom. He needed to secure the area before they arrived by roaming the block, looking for anything or anyone out of place especially since they were followed
. The chance of this person or persons following them knowing where they worked was probable since they knew about everything else. Whoever these guys were, they really did their homework. Orinda and Mason didn’t follow all of his instructions which didn’t help him, but they survived and that’s all he wanted for them.
"What does watch your 6 no matter your 20 mean, Papi?" Orinda asked. They were only a few blocks away from the office, and her mind was on getting inside and finding the next piece of clues. She needed to get to the office without incident and didn’t have time to figure Griffin’s military jargon.
"Watch your 6 is how in the Marine Corps we used to say, ‘watch your back.’ Your 20 is always your current location. So Griffin basically told us to watch our backs no matter where we were," Mason said slowly as he turned to do what Griffin instructed. His heart began to beat faster because he thought he saw the sedan that tailed them until Market Street, but the car turned in a different direction.
"Why didn’t he just say that? He never spoke that way before and all of a sudden, he starts using military talk. It’s not the time for all of that," Orinda said with frustration. She saw the Daily as she approached the corner. Detective Griffin’s words to not park in the underground parking depot re-emerged from her mind as she fought the instinct of repetition. Then there was a sudden flash of headlights and a horn blown from a vehicle parked across the street.
There was a construction cone in front of where the car was parked. Detective Griffin vacated the vehicle, removed the cone from its location, and gestured to Orinda and then the parking spot. He was waiting for them and for them, it was relief now that their ally had joined forces with them.
“Maybe he used that language to make sure that we didn’t forget the mission. It’s okay, baby, because we understood and he did come through for us. We have to trust him at this point because we have no one else," Mason said.
"I’m glad you guys made it! Did you notice if anyone was tailing you after the car turned away?" Detective Griffin asked as he opened Orinda’s door to help her out of the vehicle. He looked relieved to see them, but he still exuded stress.
"I kept an eye out, but I didn’t see it after the chase. After a while, all of the sedans were the same, especially all black Chevrolet sedans," Mason said as he walked around the car to greet the detective. He spoke slowly but precisely as he explained to Griffin with his hand extended to shake.
"Wait, the car that was chasing you was a black Chevrolet sedan?" Griffin asked as they walked across the street with eyes on alert and their heads on a swivel.
"Yes, it was a black Chevy sedan without front plates. The front windshield had a darker than normal tint so I couldn’t make out the driver," Mason said. The news sent shivers through Detective Griffin even though he wore a full length trench, hat, scarf and gloves. Mason held the building door for Orinda and then he followed.
"After I talked to you guys and then parked, I noticed a car matching that same description drove around the block. I didn’t pay it much mind at first, but that had to have been the same person chasing you guys. They must know something we know because after you scared them off of your trail, they came immediately here. We need to get this list now because I’m not sure how much time we have," Detective Griffin said as they loaded the elevator.
After eluding the bad guys, though they felt fear, they felt they had the ability to do it again but now on their own terms; this was like home. The Daily was another place of refuge for them. Granted, Mason didn’t have the close connections Orinda had there. He was used to the environment; therefore, he had an advantage over any killer brazen enough to enter one of Philadelphia’s oldest gazettes because that would definitely make the news.
Orinda had a different advantage because not only did she know the same domain, but she had friends that would watch out for her and her team of Mason and Detective Griffin as they made their way to the press floor to acquire “Special Agent Sessions’” fax from the downtown Marriot.
"If that is the case that whoever was following us made their way near here, they obviously know our connection to the Daily," Orinda said to Detective Griffin as the only working lift in the building slowly ascended to the busy press floor. She noticed that Mason stood in the rear of the elevator with his back pressed firmly against the wall as if he were trying to become a part of it. His eyes were closed. It appeared that he was trying to collect himself inside the confines of the elevator.
It was another scenario where his anxiety overpowered him while he did his best to get the upper hand and keep calm. As he thought calming thoughts to himself, he moved his lips to formulate and articulate his secret thoughts. Orinda rubbed his hands because she knew he was trying his best especially without his prescribed pills. She promised him she would be his medicine. Detective Griffin nodded to her that he noticed, too, and he understood what she was doing but more so because he appreciated it. Mason was a vital part of the team, and they needed him at full strength in order to complete this next part of the mission.
The elevator chimed, and then the doors slowly opened. The instant they opened enough, Mason could no longer wait until Orinda exited before he did. He couldn’t breathe and needed to remove himself from claustrophobia’s grips. The ride in the old lift only took about a minute and a half, but from the perspiration on Mason’s face, it was a minute and half too long.
“Next time, let’s take the stairs," he said to them after they exited, too. He tried to smile away his discomfort.
"Yes, I need to get in your shape so the next time we are running away from killers into a newspaper distribution center, we definitely should take the stairs," Detective Griffin said with a smile and a pat on Mason’s back. To his surprise, Mason smiled back. It was rare to see him smile and when he did, it made them all feel better about what they were about to find out. They were about to save his life.
"I need you both to go into the conference room down the hall and wait for me to get the document. Papi, I don’t want you to be seen because I don’t want anyone to know you’re here. Detective, I don’t want you to be seen either because then I would have to explain to whoever asks who you are and that that wouldn’t be a good idea especially since we want to keep you helping us a secret. Also I told a few of the girls that I work with about your secret," Orinda said clearing her throat and wincing. Detective Griffin cringed at the same time as they all thought back to the day at the Pennsauken Police Department when Detective Griffin made his move.
While Orinda went to recover the fax, Mason and Detective Griffin followed her instructions and ducked away into the conference room. This was the first time Mason and Griffin were alone without Orinda and it was obviously awkward. She was the glue that made their team a trio but with her out of the picture, the two became somewhat strangers.
"How are you feeling, buddy? How are you holding up?" Detective Griffin asked Mason as they sat at the table. Mason sat with his head in his hands in order to keep the calm but also to avoid the eye contact. He thought that would prevent them from engaging each other, but it didn’t work. Detective Griffin was used to interacting with people who tried to avoid the police, and this was no different.
The best way to do this was to start a dialogue and then wait for a response. When he asked Mason how he was feeling, he didn’t know this was his first day going without the medical poisons he had been taking for years to pacify his anxiety. In fact, he didn’t know about the dependency of the elixir Mason usually kept in his flask to aid swallowing his pills either. Griffin didn’t know any of this, but he did know Mason had anxiety issues and inquiring about how he felt was the best way to at least take the pressure off and remove the silence at the same time.
"I’m okay, I guess. I’m just ready to figure this whole thing out. I mean a few days ago I was alone in my own world, but now I’m being chased by my past, and I’m near death," Mason said still with his head in his hand. He looked like a man who was in battle with himself. The smile he offered ou
t of the elevator was so long ago; Griffin thought it might have been made up from his imagination. There was no hint of it now, and he didn’t see another coming again.
"I know this is a tough experience, but the outcome is going to give you something that you didn’t have. It’s going to give you a woman who cares deeply for you, it’s going to give you me, a friend, and it’s going to give you a story to tell. This is your chance now, Mason, to do what you didn’t do before. You now have a chance to tell the story because this is something that needs to be told and there will be people willing to listen. You have to do it. I would if I could, but that’s not my gift. You have a gift of expression. I read some of your articles before. This is before I met you in person. This was before you and I had our bad moments, and this was before we all started working for the same goal to find this son of a bitch who is terrorizing our community. You have to take this experience and give it to the world. No matter what you feel they will judge. What you know to reveal and your ability to articulate…this is what the world needs. So give it to them," Detective Griffin said.
Now with his head up and looking directly at him, Mason knew Detective Griffin was right. It was the only way for him to avenge his brothers. He couldn’t change the past, but he was able to write about it and tell the world the truth about his brothers in arms and his comrades who had to endure because of what they stood for. He would tell who the real enemy was when America secretly offered a helping hand in a war we didn’t know in order to protect our interest in the area.
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