As Eddie shut the door, and I pulled away from the intersection, I glanced over at him as I drove. He smiled back, cool as a cucumber, like he didn’t have a care in the world. You would’ve thought I was driving us to dinner and a movie instead of to trap and kill a dangerous predator.
The yellow Camaro was still on my mind as I drove, and I continued to check the rear view periodically, even though I knew there was no way I could’ve been followed after the long and redundant route I’d taken. Still, that nagging feeling that I was missing something was still there.
When we got to Francis’ building, I drove the van down into the secured underground parking and found a spot on the lower level in a lesser used corner in the back. Normally I would’ve backed the van into the spot to make for a faster exit, but I didn’t this time as we needed access to the double doors at the back to load our cargo if all went well tonight.
Eddie and I stepped between the front driver and passenger seats into the back of the van, and I bent down to pick up the backpack that was lying on the floor behind the driver’s seat. A quick inspection inside revealed two blue workers uniforms, the kind that you usually see delivery men wearing. As I had requested, one was in my size, and one was in Eddie’s.
At the back of the van, sitting in front of the doors, was a large box with the logos and markings to indicate that there was a small chest freezer inside. Sitting beside the freezer box was a full size rolling suitcase, the kind with a hard shell that you see people using all the time in airports.
Everything was exactly as I had requested. It always was when I made a request from my supplier. He was meticulous, dependable, and, perhaps most importantly, discreet. He wasn’t cheap, but then the best things in life rarely are, and I didn’t care so much about the price as I did about the end result. When I’m on a job, I need everything to be able to trust that the contractors I work with will get the job done. It’s not like there is a big margin for error.
Eddie grabbed the backpack, and we headed for the stairs. You rarely saw someone taking the stairs in a building when there was an elevator available, so the stairs were almost always the better option. The fewer people that saw us, the better.
Francis’ apartment was on the nineteenth floor, but neither of us had even broken a sweat when we stepped out of the stairwell. The hallway was empty, and we made our way quickly to number twenty-one and let ourselves in complements of a key from Francis.
I did a quick walk through of the apartment, checking all the rooms and closets as well as the balcony and any other place that someone could possibly be concealed. Nothing. I didn’t really expect anything at this point, but you can never be too thorough.
As I made my way through the apartment, I also swept it for bugs and other listening devices as I went, using a highly sensitive little device that wasn’t available to the general public. This little gem came to me via a friend of a friend of a friend. Normally the only people that had access to it were CIA, NSA, and other three letter acronym government organizations, most of which didn’t even officially exist. It’s always nice to have friends in high places.
The apartment was clean of bugs and listening devices. We both inserted our ear pieces that would serve as our communications system and checked that they were working properly. They were skin colored and not much bigger than the eraser on the end of a pencil. It was really amazing what they could do with technology these days.
Eddie made himself comfortable in a big armchair and flipped on the big flat screen tv that hung on the wall in the center of the living room. It was probably going to be a while before Francis’ assailant made his move, if he made it one at all tonight. At least Eddie had the tv to keep him company. I wasn’t going to be so lucky.
As the door shut softly behind me, and I made my way back down the hall toward the stairwell, my mind ran through a whole series of scenarios, actions and reactions, and possibilities as to how Francis’ assailant might make his attack. The wrong thing to do here would be to get cocky and overconfident about the situation. Yes, Eddie was more than capable of handling himself, as was I, but this guy was still an unknown. We didn’t know who he was, or virtually anything about him. The only information we really had on him was what we knew about his previous attacks on Francis, which gave us some valuable intel on how he operated, but still left us with a lot of questions.
As I descended the stairs, I decided to go right to the bottom to check out the basement levels again. Even though I doubted I was going to find this guy hiding out in the storage room, it wouldn’t hurt to have a look.
The basement was empty. No one was around. Even the laundry rooms were silent, all of the machines sitting quietly like rows of metal children at nap time. The silence was actually a little unnerving as it seemed a little too quiet. What were the odds that no one was doing laundry in a building this size?
I disappeared back into the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time before emerging on the main floor. The hallway was empty as I headed down it towards the building’s main lobby. An elderly couple were waiting for the elevator as I approached. I smiled my best smile and flashed my eyelashes as I passed them, and they smiled back. Even dressed as I was in dark greys and black, I had no problem pulling off a friendly appearance with the simple addition of a big warm smile.
There was nothing out of place or suspicious in the lobby as I made my way to the front doors. A middle-aged businessman in a navy blue suit passed me, heading in as I headed out, but there was nothing about him that caused me to give him a second glance. Just one of a thousands like him in this city, heading home late from a long day at the office.
Out on the sidewalk, pedestrian traffic was light. A few people were coming and going on either side of the street, moving in both directions. Again, no one seemed out of place, and nothing set off any alarm bells for me, just regular people on their way to their various destinations.
Of course, that was the danger, that one of these regular people wasn’t just a regular person, that one of them might have much darker intentions, especially when it came to Francis. The danger always came from the unknown, because that was the nature of the unknown, you just didn’t know. And all of these people were unknowns.
I turned to my right and walked casually up the street, just another person on their way to somewhere. I looked around me as I walked, more with my eyes than with my head, not wanting to appear out of the ordinary to anyone that might be watching, specifically our prey.
At the next corner, I crossed the street and headed back the way I had come. Nothing. No one was standing out, or not standing out, as is often the case when it comes to identifying a watcher on the street. Sometimes they went too far out of there way to not stand out, which in term made them stand out to someone like myself who knew the telltale signs.
When I reached the end of the block again, I crossed back over and headed back toward Francis’ building, turning again when I got to the laneway that led around to the back of the building. It was at times like this when a dog would be handy. Nobody suspected someone walking a dog. It was like automatic urban camouflage. Unfortunately, my lifestyle wasn’t conducive to owning pets, and I wasn’t aware of anyone that rented out dogs.
The back of the building was quiet. No parked vehicles. Nobody around. Just a couple of dumpsters up against the back wall of the building, and a row of industrial sized recycling boxes for the residents to dump their paper, cans, and other recyclables into.
I paused for a moment by the backdoor and surveyed the area, letting my ears become accustomed to the sounds as my eyes moved over the scene again. Nothing.
The back door opened silently as I turned the key in the keyhole and pulled it open. The building was well maintained, and it showed. Of course, an upper-scale place like this, you wouldn’t expect any different. Money talks.
I made my way down the hallway and turned toward the stairwell again, bypassing the front lobby. As I headed back up the stairs, I was almost disappo
inted my little walk had been so uneventful. It wasn’t like I’d been expecting to bump into our mystery man, but it would’ve been nice if I had, and we could’ve wrapped things up early.
Of course, a confrontation out on the street probably wouldn’t have gone over very well. Too public. Too many ways for our guy to get away. No, it was better if he came to us in Francis’ apartment where we could contain the situation and deal with it on our terms.
Eddie was still watching tv when I stepped back inside the apartment. He glanced over at me and raised an eyebrow in a silent question as I locked the door behind me.
“Nothing,” I said, shaking my head. “If he’s out there, he’s good. I didn’t see anyone or anything that was in the least bit suspicious. Back of the building is clear, and there’s just your every day folks out front on the sidewalks. No suspicious cars or vehicles parked anywhere near the building either.”
Eddie nodded his head in acknowledgement as I sat down on the couch beside the chair he was lounging in. It was still light outside, so I didn’t have to worry about shadows just yet, although I was keeping well away from any of the windows.
***
The knock at the door startled me. I looked at Eddie and we both glanced over to the door. Neither of us was expecting anything to happen this early, nor were we expecting anyone to be knocking at the door.
I moved to the door silently, keeping out of the line of sight of the peephole. Most people didn’t clue in to the fact that a peephole in a door worked both ways. Sure you could see who was at the door through it, but they could also see in so if they’re holding a gun in their hand, you don’t exactly want to be sticking your eyeball up close to get a look-see.
Eddie strolled casually up to the door, careful to sound and look like a normal person would as they answer a knock at the door. If this was our guy, we didn’t want to give him any reason to think it might not be Francis in the apartment.
When he reached the door, Eddie unlocked the deadbolt and turned the door handle, pulling the door open as far as the security chain allowed.
“Oh, hey!” Eddie exclaimed, “wasn’t expecting a delivery. You UPS guys work pretty late!”
UPS delivery? At this hour? Was he legit? Was this a setup? My mind raced to cover all the possible angles.
“Yeah, we aim to please,” I heard the UPS guy reply. Friendly tone, no hint of anything wrong. I could practically see the smile on his face from the sound of his voice.
Eddie took a package from the guy and reached for something else.
“Just need your signature here, and we’re good to go.”
“No problem,” Eddie said as I watched his arm moving, obviously scratching out Francis’ name on the UPS guy’s signature pad.
My left hand rested on one of the twins, and my right was gripping one of the stun guns. I was ninety-nine percent sure this guy was ok, but it was the remaining one percent that kept my guard up.
“Thanks,” UPS guy said as Eddie’s hand reappeared, signature completed. “Have a good night!”
“Yeah,” Eddie said, “you too!”
I stayed still as Eddie shut the door and re-engaged the deadbolt and security chain. He looked at me, and then we both looked down at the package in his hands. I could tell we were both thinking the same thing. Bomb?
Eddie walked over to the kitchen table and put the package down. A moment later I’d retrieved another little device from the same bag as the bug sweeper, except this little guy wasn’t for bug sweeping. It was for bombs.
Turning it on, I move it slowly around the package, holding my breath as I did so, waiting to see whether the little red light was going to light up, or the little green light. This little gadget was very high tech, but extremely simple to use. There really wasn’t much to it other than an on switch, and the red and green lights.
Of course, that’s really all you needed. If the green light lit up, you were good to go. All clear. If the red light lit up, it was bad, very bad. You had a bomb on your hands, and you needed to act quickly, especially in our case where we had a plain looking package and no way to know how soon it would go off. It wasn’t like in the movies where there’s a timer ticking patiently away to let you know how much time you had left.
No, if that red light lit up, we had no idea how much or how little time we had.
And then I felt a little rush as the air blew softly out of my nose. The green light had lit up. I continued to move the gadget around the package, picked it up and moved it under it too, almost as if I was willing the bomb detector to change it’s mind. But the light stayed green. Didn’t even flicker. Just solid, bright green.
Eddie and I almost laughed as we smiled at each other, the tension draining away from our bodies, making us realize just how wired we’d been. And then before we’d barely had time to breath, we both spun towards the door as a high pitched, mechanical sound came from the hallway outside and then stopped.
I sprinted soundlessly to the door again with Eddie right behind me. In a flash, Eddie moved his face to the peephole and then quickly away again, shaking his head softly as his eyes met mine.
The high pitched, mechanical sound came through the door again, louder this time, and coming closer, obviously moving fairly quickly. I looked at Eddie and nodded towards the door. Slowly, he slid the security chain back off the door, and then released the deadbolt. My hands gripped the twins as he turned the doorknob and opened the door, pausing before slowly sticking his head out for a better look.
When he popped his head back in, there was a smile on his face, which made me relax a little. “It’s just a kid playing with one of those remote control cars. You know, the more expensive, faster ones.”
I smiled back, but my brain was moving at light-speed behind the smile.
What were the odds that a kid would be playing with a remote control car in the hallway in front of Francis’ apartment at the same time as we were lying in wait for his assailant?
“How old?” I asked.
“I’d say fourteen, maybe fifteen,” Eddie replied.
“What’s he look like?”
“I don’t know, like your average fourteen or fifteen year old. T-shirt, jeans, sneakers. Dark hair, clean cut.”
I stared at Eddie, continuing to play out the thoughts in my head. “Does he look like he belongs, like he lives here?”
“Yeah, I guess. I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary anyway.”
“No one else around?”
“No.”
“Was he outside of an apartment door, like that’s where he lives?”
“No, he’s at the end of the hall by the door to the stairs.”
I didn’t like this at all. Maybe it was me being paranoid, and the kid was perfectly legit, lived on this floor, and was just playing in the hall outside of his apartment, but I wasn’t buying it. I don’t believe in coincidences, or at least I don’t trust them anyway, and it just seemed a little too much that this kid was out there, right now, tonight, while we were in here, waiting for the bad guy.
The sound of the kid’s car went by the door again, and then faded. A moment later it returned, getting louder and then fading again, presumably as the car raced down the hall in front of the apartment door.
Eddie watched me, not saying anything, as if he didn’t want to interrupt whatever thoughts were going through my head. The high pitched scream of the car went by the door again and faded down the hall. And then it stopped.
Time seemed to slow down, and the silence grew loud, but the sound of the car didn’t come back. We waited and looked at each other as the seconds ticked by.
“Stick your head back out and take another look,” I said, suddenly sure that this was it.
Eddie opened the door again and stuck his head out, paused for a second, and then moved back inside. “The kid’s gone, and the door to the stairwell just swung shut.”
I moved past him in a flash, sprinting for the stairwell, my footsteps silent on the carpet hallway. I
saw movement through the small glass window in the door to the stairwell, and I ran faster, bursting through the door in time to see the kid Eddie had described about to disappear down the next flight of stairs to the landing below.
I took the stairs three at a time and had him pinned to the wall before he knew what hit him, my elbow at his throat, using just enough pressure to cause him to freeze in fear without really hurting him.
“Where’s your car?” I asked, as he stared back at me, eyes wide with fright.
“It’s not mine,” he said. “The guy took it.”
“What guy?”
“The one who gave it to me. You just missed him. He was going down the stairs right ahead of me.”
“Why’d he give it to you?” I asked, glancing down the stairs, torn between the need for more information and the need to pursue.
“I don’t know, honest. He just gave me twenty bucks to drive it up and down the hallway. Said he was playing a prank on his friend.” The kid was shaking now as he stared back at me.
I dropped my arm from his neck. “Get out of here. Not this way. Go back down the hall and take the elevator down to the main floor, and then get out of the building.”
I turned from the kid and flew down the stairs, three, four, and even five at a time, going as fast as I dared without breaking my neck. The fact that Francis lived on the nineteenth floor was actually working to my benefit as I raced downward. If I could just move fast enough, I should be able to catch up to the owner of the remote control car before he reached the main floor, providing of course, that the main floor was where he was going.
By the time I reached the tenth floor, I could just make out someone moving on the stairs just a couple of flights below me, and when I passed the sign for the seventh, I was only a flight behind him.
When I hit the landing for the sixth floor, I could almost reach him, and then I launched off the top of the next flight of stairs and flew downwards, hitting him squarely between the shoulders, my momentum slamming him into the concrete wall of the stairwell with a massive thud.
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