Time and Again

by Brian D. Meeks

  “Try again!”

  She dialed the number. It rang, once, then twice. Henry’s voice lacked warmth. “Hey…”

  “Do you have an answer for me?”

  She whispered, almost saying his name, “Hen…” She took a breath, “What is going on?” Fatigue and fear had stripped away her ability to control herself. She was scared, it came through in her voice, and she hated the weak sound of it, but there wasn’t anything she could do.

  Slowly and measured he said, “Did the Greek man give an answer?”

  “He said he will pay you the money.” She sounded small and defeated.

  “Call me back in one hour. Tell him we have a deal.”

  “Henry…”, she said, sounding desperate, “I am in serious trouble here, what is…” The phone clicked off.

  The Greek man came back into the room and put the phone on the table next to his chair. He was suddenly calm and smoking a cigarette. It smelled awful.

  “They are Turkish. My wife hates the smell too. A filthy habit, I admit, but I like them. It appears we have reached a deal with your friend. I have to admit, he is a cool customer. He played his hand well. We have reached a deal and the thought of putting this whole mess behind us, has improved my mood considerably.” He looked past her, took a long pull from his cigarette and made a motion with his hand.

  From the other room, the muffled but distinct sounds of a pistol could be heard. She heard the body fall, and then the heavy door closed. The Greek man’s smile was slight and terrifying. “Yes, soon it will all be over.”

  She started to talk, but nothing came out. She tried again, her voice trembling, “What deal? We had a deal too.”

  “Yes, I have some vague recollection of something, but my mind isn’t what it used to be. I don’t recall the deal you made including a payout to your friend. It seems that this new deal trumps the old one. I would say I am sorry, but you disgust me.”

  “I thought you were a man of your word.”

  “I was under the impression you were better at reading people.” He stood up, with a smile, enjoying the little joke he’d made.

  She leapt from her chair, fear and adrenaline taking over. She swung wildly and he grabbed her wrist. The second blow was equally ineffective. “I would kill you now, but you are the only one who knows his number. So it has bought you an hour.”

  He flung her back in the chair and walked out.

  Chapter Sixty-Two

  Hans knocked lightly and opened the door. Henry, in the back, told him to come in. Hans hung his hat and coat on the hall tree, walked into Henry’s office, closing the door behind him. Henry started to get up, but Hans waved it off.

  “No need to stand Mr. Woods. I will be brief.”

  Henry sat back down, motioning to the chair. “How may I help?”

  “I wasn’t entirely truthful with you on the phone, as Dr. Schaeffer was in the room. Though it is true, he is concerned about the auction, as he hasn’t heard from Patrick, that’s not why I am here.”

  “Oh?”

  “You see Mr. Wood, I serve two masters.” Hans paused and took a breath. “I assist Dr. Schaeffer, but I also work for the ‘Falcon’. In fact, I only work for the doctor, to keep an eye on him.”

  “An art spy, as it were.”

  “Yes. Myself and Andre Garneau’s man Arthur, were planted by the Falcon years ago. It is our job to keep her, er, the Falcon, informed about their financial means, which items they truly want, and then to, when it serves her needs, help one or the other win a bid, or lose entirely.”

  “Art collecting is a dirty business. So what is it you want, though I am not saying I'll help. Frankly speaking, I find your little revelation to be revolting. Dr. Schaeffer seems like a good man.”

  Hans had to bite his tongue, his hatred of Dr. Schaeffer was about to boil over. “Yes, but business is business, as they say. The Falcon has been kidnapped, along with Father Patrick. We need you to find out where they are, so we might get them out.”

  Henry leaned back in his chair and looked at Hans. They both knew it was Henry’s turn to talk and he just let the silence hang there, choking Hans. Henry could see that under his calm blank expression, was a look of desperation. “What makes you think I can find them?”

  “You have connections, specifically within the police department. They were taken last night, from a car, and the driver was killed. You are a very bright detective, and I was impressed with how much you learned for Dr. Schaeffer, so I am confident you will dig up something.”

  Henry was confident that the flattery did not impress him at all. “It will cost you.”

  “How much?”

  “$10,000…each.”

  “That seems awfully steep.”

  “I have standards about the type of client I will take, and frankly, knowing you now, you fall short. Oh and did I mention it needs to be cash…upfront.”

  Hans walked out to his coat and returned with the money, dropping on the desk. “Okay, here is your money, now…”

  “Now nothing, I won’t have you dictating terms. You and Arthur be ready, when I find out their location, and I will. I'll call you. You may think I am some small time private dick, but I care about Katarina, as much as you do…maybe more.”

  Hans knew he had been played. Henry was already working to save the Falcon, but finding that out, just cost him and Arthur $20,000. Hans wrote a phone number down and dropped it on the desk. He didn’t say goodbye.

  Henry got up and put the money in the safe. He called Mike, but didn’t get an answer. He was probably on his way, as was everyone else. He wouldn’t have much time to get the pieces in place. And there was the one wild card; could he trust the Greek man? If he couldn’t, well it wouldn’t just be Katarina in a tight spot.

  Henry thought about Mickey, he thought about the $20,000 and smiled. Mickey would have approved. He thought about some of the tight spots they had been in, and the thrill of getting out. The best part was always the drinks after, listening to Mickey tell the story. Listening to the embellishments was always entertaining.

  Henry flipped open his notebook and went to the two pages he hadn’t decoded. He gave it one look and pulled out his pencil. Two minutes later he had it all worked out. He had everything he needed right in front of him, courtesy of Michael Thomas Moore.

  Chapter Sixty-Three

  The phone rang, and Henry picked it up without speaking.

  “I waited the hour. What do we do now?” Katrina said, sounding shaky.

  Henry took a bit of the edge off of his voice, “We are going to get you out of there, but it is going to require a bit of finesse. You’re going to have to trust me.”

  “I do.”

  “Will you do what I tell you, when the time comes? Our lives may depend upon it.”

  “Yes, whatever you need me to do.”

  “Put the Greek man on the phone.”

  A few seconds later the voice changed. “Hello, Sir. I’ve followed your instructions, now let’s discuss the exchange.”

  Henry said, “You did a good job, she sounds petrified. I’m ready to take you to the ‘Eye’. Leave a couple of your men to watch her. It is in a building not far from there, and the neighborhood should be pretty quiet at that hour.”

  The Greek man had walked out of the room. Henry gave him all the details, and the time they would meet.

  ***

  Celine said, “It sounds dangerous to me.”

  Professor Brookert said, “I agree with Celine, but I also don’t see any other way.”

  Hans and Arthur stood by the desk, behind them Mike, all with concerned looks on their faces. “They will be expecting a double cross, so that is why we have to keep everything in balance. That is why we are meeting at 10:00 p.m., because everything has to be perfect. There can’t be any reason for him to change his mind. If he gets what he wants, he will disappear into the night, and we will get Katarina and Patrick back.”

  Arthur said, “It still seems like they have the edge
.”

  “Look, You, Hans, the Professor and I will take my car. The Greek man will follow with most of his men. We will take them to the building with the ‘Eye’ hidden in it. The Greek man will give me the address where they are holding our friends. Then the three of you will stay with them, while I drive to wherever they are keeping Katarina and Patrick. When I get there, I’ll give the phone number to their two guys, who will call their boss. It’s to a pay phone outside the building. Once he gets on the phone, then they let me into the room to check on Katarina. At this point, I tell them where to find the ‘Eye’. It will take a little while to break through the wall, since I don’t know how to open the trap door. Once they have the ‘Eye’, have checked it out and are satisfied, then he will call back. I have looked into it, and there is a phone in the room, where it is hidden. He calls back, tells his guys he has got it, and they leave. Then I call back, to the pay phone, where the professor is waiting, and give the all clear. At that point, Arthur and Hans you two leave the front of the building with the professor and they see you drive off.”

  Arthur said, “I don’t understand why he won’t just tell his guys to shoot you and Katarina.”

  “You and Hans will be covering their only exit. They may have you outnumbered, but if they want to sneak quietly out of the building and get away with their artifact, they can’t risk a noisy shootout. He is a smart man and knows it is best we just go our separate ways.”

  Professor Brookert said, “Do I get a gun?”

  “You ever fired a gun?”

  “No, but I know which end the bullet comes out of.”

  “In that case…no.”

  Mike said, “I am not clear on my role.”

  “You will already be at the building with the ‘Eye’. You follow me to where they have Katarina and Patrick. You are my back-up. Keep out of site, they don’t need to know I have an insurance policy.”

  Celine was making another pot of coffee, her face showed concern. “It just seems like there are too many moving parts, too many cogs which could break, and cause your perfect little plan to go horribly wrong.”

  “I appreciate your vote of confidence.”

  There were some light chuckles.

  She wasn’t convinced and said, “I am not ready to start looking for another job. If you do get killed, I am taking the petty cash.”

  Henry said, “Okay, everyone back here at nine.”

  With that, everyone headed out, except Mike. Celine started to clean up the coffee cups, while Mike and Henry went over it one more time.

  When they reached the street Hans whispered to Arthur, “I have a new plan. We may make those early retirements after all.”

  Chapter Sixty-Four

  Hans and Arthur got out onto the street and walked a ways without talking. The morning air was still and the exhaust from the traffic seemed thicker than usual. A taxi splashed a puddle at them, as Arthur lit a cigarette and then motioned towards a restaurant across the street.

  Inside it was dark. The lunch crowd hadn’t arrived yet. In fact, they were the only ones there. They could hear the kitchen staff prepping for the day, pots and pans being shuffled about. Hans requested a booth in the back. The waiter took their order and hurried off. Both men were thinking about their next move, or more accurately, Hans was thinking, while Arthur was trying to guess what he might have in mind. The food arrived and Hans started to lay out his plan.

  “If we had the ‘Eye’, I could set up a meeting between you and Dr. Schaeffer. You two have never met, correct?”

  “It is strange, for as much as I know about him, no we have never met. But I guess that was by design. I may not like the Falcon, but I give her credit for her planning. Yes, I could pose as the original seller, explaining that I was able to recover it, when everything went south.”

  “We can figure out the cover story later. Right now I have only one question, can we take it from the Greek man and his men. It could get a little bit messy.”

  “Yes, you are right, but you know I am not afraid to get my hands dirty. They will be on guard though, so we are going to need some help. There won’t be an element of surprise.”

  Hans cuts his steak as he thinks about how they might pull it off. Arthur starts to name off some guys who they could employ, though he knows Hans is only barely listening. The waiter refills their water glasses, and then takes away the salads. When he is out of ear shot, Hans continues, “I think we will need four extra guys.”

  “We don’t know how many men they will have?”

  “Yes, we may be out numbered, but we may still be able to get the jump on them.”

  “How is that?”

  “When Henry gives the all clear, we drive away, as planned. We pull around the corner, pop the professor, then park and head back into the building. They will be worrying about loading the ‘Eye’ up and at least two men will be required to move it. If we use silencers, we may be able to take out a few of them, before they even know what has hit them.”

  “You think we should kill the professor? If we do, Henry will know it was us. It’s Henry’s car, so we let the professor drive, then after we are out of sight, ask him to let us out.”

  Hans smiled, “That is why we make a good team; you see the simple elegant solution, when I do not.”

  “Thank you.”

  Hans continues, “So we make our way back to the Greeks, take the ‘Eye’, and set up the sale with Dr. Schaeffer.”

  “If we move quickly, we can blow town tomorrow, as wealthy men.”

  “We may not get to settle our scores with Schaeffer and Garneau, but I am tired, and ready to put this all behind us.”

  Arthur nodded his head. “Yes my friend, I am tired too. A simple life, some wine, maybe a woman, and my greatest worry, is when to roll out of bed in the morning. There is one problem though.”

  “Yes, the Falcon. She won’t be happy, us pulling the double cross, cutting her out, selling it to Dr. Schaeffer.”

  “She has contacts all over the world, some pretty dangerous people, too. I couldn’t even guess how much money she has squirreled away in Swiss accounts. She will come after us. It will hardly be a life of leisure, if we have to look over our shoulders constantly.”

  Hans finishes his steak, while considering Arthur’s last point. “We had planned on killing her originally, so I guess we take care of her, before we leave town. After we get the ‘Eye’, we head back to Henry’s office. They should all be there.”

  “Yes, but we can’t kill them all. There will already be plenty of Greek bodies lying around; add an office full to the equation and it would be too much. Also won’t it look suspicious, us being left off by the professor, then showing up again?”

  “Great points, our plan seems to be flawed. Or more precisely, my plan is flawed. Your ideas have been right on the mark.”

  “How about we grab the ‘Eye’, and then tomorrow, we present it to the Falcon.”

  Hans is intrigued. “Go on…”

  “She will be ecstatic and pay us well. Unlike the paintings and sculptures, she won’t be able to move it alone. The Falcon will need at least one of us to help her. We finally get taken to her stash.”

  “Oh you are brilliant.”

  “Thank you. I’m sure you have figured out the rest…”

  “We wait to kill her and get our bonuses, the ‘Eye’, and her sizable collection.”

  “Yes, but the best part, we leave her body in her secret stash, which will keep anyone from finding it for a long time. Then we sell the ‘Eye’ to Dr. Schaeffer, and leave town as planned.”

  “Okay, we need to round up our helpers.”

  With that they paid their bill and left.

  Chapter Sixty-Five

  Henry drove, professor Brookert sat in the passenger seat and Arthur and Hans were in the back. A black sedan and truck followed behind. Henry took W 14th street across town. The meat packing district was mostly quiet, save for a few drunks. When they pulled up to the building, Henry sto
pped the car next to a phone booth. He handed the keys to the professor and got out.

  Two men got out of the sedan; the driver remained, as did one man in the back. Henry stopped and talked briefly with the large older man then pointed to the building across the street. He got in the back and the car drove away. The truck pulled around to the side of the building, while the two men went and stood by the phone booth. Professor Brookert slid over and got in the driver’s seat. Nobody had much to say, so they just waited.

  The sedan drove away and ten minutes later stopped. Henry was told which building and got out. Two men followed Henry into the building.

  A few minutes later they were standing outside a heavy metal door. It looked like a room where kidnappers might hang out. A bunch of chairs, a table covered in debris from a day of prisoner watching, a deck of cards, and a radio, and some mostly empty shelving, made up the décor. One of the men opened the heavy door, and handed Henry the phone with the long cord.

  He walked around the chairs and into the circle of light. Katarina looked a bit rough, but as soon as she saw Henry, leapt to her feet and threw her arms around him. Henry holding the phone in one hand, gave her a light hug, and then stepped back.

  He whispered, “After I make this call, we won’t have much time.” Henry took out his notebook, flipped to the last page, and dialed the number. When the man in the phone booth answered, “I am here.”

  Katarina sat on the edge of the table, her hands clasped together between her knees. She looked tired and scared. “What now?”

  “You listen.” Henry paused, and then continued when she didn’t say anything, “In five minutes I have to call him back. I have given him the building, but he doesn’t know where the ‘Eye’ is hidden. We made a deal. I get 5 minutes with you, and then call him back, with my decision.”

  “What decision?”

  “He is willing to trade the ‘Eye for you or $250,000, and it is up to me. If you aren’t straight with me, I am taking the money.”