by Luis Samways
‘Who do you think he is boss?’ Asks the guard
‘No one special I guess. Just some poor sap who was risking his life for a pay check.’
The guard grunts a short laugh, wheezing as he bares Adam’s weight.
‘A bit like us then.’
Connor stops dead as he lets Adam’s feet hit the floor.
‘What do you mean?’
The guard looks back nervously as he tries to collect himself
‘Well what we are doing could be considered dangerous’
Connor shakes his head
‘No, that’s not what you meant. Spit it out!’ Shouts Connor
‘Well don’t you think this is a lot of effort for some money?’
Connor slowly walks up to the jittery guard
‘What money?’ Asks Connor
The guard darts his head from left to right, trying to find the answers in his surroundings.
‘Look at me’ Shouts Connor while grabbing his jaw tightly.
‘I did not mean anything by it boss’ Says the guard
Connor lets go off the guard’s face, pushing him into the wall.
‘This isn’t about money son. This is about principle. When you lack that in life, the only thing you got left is your shadow. The shadow of a man with no principles is a man with no word. If he hasn’t got his word then he has no balls. If he has no balls then all he is a bitch. I don’t mean that in the sense that a woman is a bitch because women are much more than that. Women get labelled that too often. I’m talking about a bitch. A female dog, are you a female dog?’
The guard shakes his head cautiously.
‘Good because the only thing female dogs are good for is sniffing around’
The guard nods in agreement
‘Keep your nose out of my affairs. You’re here to do your job, not speculate on the finances. You do it correctly; you will get paid, out of my money, no one else’s. I am not here for a hand out, I’m here for change. Now drag that body down to the caller. We may be here for a while; I don’t want the place stinking up. Make sure you douse the body in petrol just like the rest. We’re having a cremation ceremony before we leave this shithole.’
Sixty Nine
He walks up the stairs holding a suitcase. The stairwell is well lit considering the geographical location he is in. he reads a plaque on the wall.
“Willard Intercontinental Washington Hotel Fire Exit”
He smiles as he manoeuvres up the last couple of steps, lugging the heavy yet important metal briefcase. He sighs in relief as he reaches that much fought for top floor. In no means is he an unfit man. It’s more of the fact that he is carrying such a heavy load. The lift was out of the question. He did not think that using it would help him in this matter. He thought about how he would have to use it coming down because time is of the essence. He stops pondering and walks a few steps towards the heavy fire exit door. It’s glistening in the artificial light that’s coming from the warm industrial light tubes on the walls, one every few feet. Unnecessarily illuminated for a staircase he thinks to himself. He is dressed in a business like suite. Not uncommon in such a distinguished building. He needs to look the part for what he is about to do. If he came in the building looking common then he would be considered the common enemy. In a sea of suits it would take them ages to find the person responsible. A guy casually dressed in such an establishment would be found in a matter of minutes.
He opens the big metal door. It forces its self-inwards. The strong winds brace against his suit. Ripples of cloth explode all over his body. The swift breeze makes its way up his sleeves and ankles. He walks through the door and onto the rooftop. He looks around and sees a view of Washington that surprises him. The picturesque skyline is surprisingly comforting to the man. He closes the door behind him and walks in a straight line, casually looking around at his surroundings. Metal grates and bellowing AC units occupy the roof along with the occasional antique styling to keep in tone with the building. He laughs to himself as he contemplates whether he is going to see a gargoyle. He finds the designated spot and crouches down to his knees. He fishes into his pockets and produces a small pair of binoculars. He scans the horizon in front of him. The Pennsylvania Avenue Street below him is littered with press. The police are cordoning off an allocated parking spot just in front of the hotel.
He leans against the ledge of the roof top. He looks down and sees the ground. It appears minute in the distance. He leans back in from the granite ledge and shimmy’s further away from it. He turns around still sitting on his rear; his actions seem rehearsed and covert. He flicks the code needed to unlock the briefcase. It hatches open as he looms over it. His face tingles with excitement as he unpacks the contents of the case onto the ground. He carefully places a black silk cloth on the ground. He unfolds it to reveal its true size. It stretches the ground in front of him. He reaches into the case again and pulls out a large metal piece. It’s shaped like a silencer. He starts pulling out bits of metal and wood. He clicks the pieces together in a timely fashion. The pieces quickly start to form the shape of a rifle. He attaches a barrel and then calmly screws on the suppressor. He fishes around the brief case once more and pulls out a soft silk pouch. He opens it and produces an 18 x Zoom scope. He attaches it to the now fully formed rifle. He places the constructed rifle on the black cloth laid out in front of him. He then pulls out his last piece of equipment. He stands up and walks over to the ledge. He takes another look through his binoculars. He then sits back down overlooking the edge of the roof. He unclips a tripod and fixes it to the ground. He shakes it to see if it’s sturdy. It is, he turns around and crawls towards the black cloth. He reaches into his suit pocket and pulls out a balaclava. He puts it on. He takes off his suit jacket and puts on an army shirt. He places the jacket on the silk cloth and picks up the heavy rifle. He slowly manoeuvres over to the tripod and clicks the rifle into place.
He kneels down on his front and lines the scope up. He looks through it and scans the ground below him. He marks a couple of people into his sights. He reaches into his trouser pocket and pulls out a PDA. He clicks the touch screen buttons and hits an application. The loading bar hits one hundred. He places the PDA down on the ground millimetres away from the rifle. He reaches into his pockets again and pulls out a small ear piece. He places it in his ear and clicks “SYNC” on the device. He breaths in deeply and takes aim once more. He scans the horizon and sees nothing. The earpiece clicks.
‘ETA on the President thirty minutes’
Seventy
Sandra Austin is stood at the vending machine for what seems like the hundredth time in one day. Her camera man Mike walks up to her gingerly.
‘Have you spoken to Bob yet?’
She takes another hot coffee from the vending machine. She takes a long sip from the cup, the warm liquid refreshing her tedious spirits.
‘You know what Mike, since the last time you asked me I still haven’t spoken to him. I wonder why.’ She states sarcastically
Mike shakes his head in frustration.
‘Well to be honest Sandra I don’t like sitting on my ass all day at a Goddamn train station waiting for something to supposedly happen when one of the biggest news worthy events that I have ever witnessed in my thirty five years of being alive is happening right now, and I’m not there to film it!’
Sandra throws Mike a stern look.
‘What did you expect Mike; they let you into M.I.T to film Connor Chase and his men up close?’
‘No not exactly. But I do want to be in the vicinity when they send the SWAT in.’
‘Do you think they would let you film that Mike? Don’t you think that maybe that would give Chase a warning about the infiltration?’ Mike shrugs at Sandra’s comments. He reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a cigar. He lights it and blows smoke into Sandra’s Face. She shoos the smoke away with her hands and pulls a sickened face at Mike. She steps backwards and throws the bird at Mike. He laughs and walks away leaving her by
herself sipping on lukewarm powdered coffee.
‘Asshole’ she mutters to herself while casually people watching.
Seventy One
Eddie smith walks into the interrogation room. Three security officers are standing at the door. He signals them to go relieving them off their duties. They comply and earnestly walk out of the room. Eddie shuts the door firmly behind them. He turns around and looks at Frank who is sitting down palms faced down on the table glancing at Eddie. He walks over to the table and takes a seat, unbuttoning his suit jacket as he does so. He rests his hands on the table and looks back up at Frank. They make eye contact. Frank smiles openly and relaxes back into his seat.
‘What?’ Asks Frank
Eddie shakes his head in disappointment as he lights a cigarette.
‘I think it’s obvious don’t you?’
‘Not exactly Eddie. Enlighten me.’
‘I’ll give you one clue’
‘Go on’
Eddie gets up from his seat and looks Frank up and down. Frank is shackled with handcuffs around his wrists. Eddie slowly makes his way around the interrogation table. He grabs Frank by the head and slams it hard into the metal table. Frank’s scull bounces in one tremendous jolting action. Frank grunts in pain. Eddie walks back to his seat and sits down, calmly observing Frank. The three security guards rush in guns drawn.
‘Is everything okay Sir?’ asks one of them
Eddie nods. The guard notices Frank’s bleeding nose and smiles. He walks out with the two other guards and slams the door.
‘I’ll let you have that one for free Eddie’ snarls Frank while whipping the blood off his nose
‘This isn’t about me getting one for free Frank. It’s about me trusting in you and putting in a good word to get you back on the force. Then what do you do. You go and break the chief of police’s nose. Then to make matters worse, you are suspected of being in a damn fire fight with the secret service’
‘What do you mean the secret service?’ asks Frank
‘Don’t play stupid Frank. Did you not go and see Jacob Reach in downtown Boston earlier today?’
Frank shakes his head while whipping at his face once again.
‘No I did not. And even if I did I wouldn’t be fighting the damn secret service.’
Eddie seems unconvinced. He stubs out his cigarette on the metal table and stands up.
‘So you’re telling me that all this chatter about you being involved in a shootout down town is bullshit? And the fact that I found you down in a warehouse not too far away from the alleged shooting is pure coincidence?’
Frank shakes his head.
‘You’re Goddamn right it’s a coincidence. Ever since I came back all I’ve been hearing is how I’m in it for me and not one of the team. Truth is it was my own team that sold me out and made me look that way. So you tell me Mr DA, who’s really to trust, the Goddamn department, the people who seem to have a raging hard on over me and my business, or me, a guy that has done nothing but his job, a guy that has nothing but dedication and balls. I admit that I am not perfect. Heck I’m imperfect! That doesn’t mean that I’m the person people seem to be pinning me for. All they do all day long is speculate if I’m a good cop or a bad one. Truth is Eddie I’m the cop I need to be, the cop that Boston needs me to be. Nothing else, if they don’t like it, then they can kiss my ass because quite frankly if you’re going to arrest me then do it now, if not then un-cuff me. I have an ass hole to arrest.’
Eddie walks over to Frank and unlocks his cuffs.
‘Look Frank I understand where you’re coming from, all I want from you is the decency to not make me look like an idiot. If you have to do what you have to do, then make sure that it doesn’t lead back to me or you. I know that sometimes the rules have to be broken. But I don’t want you to think that gives you the right to go out and cause havoc. When you’re on those streets you are representing the City of Boston and its law enforcement. Don’t you forget that’ Says Eddie
Frank nods as he gets up from his seat, rubbing his wrists.
‘Is Shaw okay?’ Asks Frank
Eddie laughs
‘Yeah he’s alright. His nose isn’t broken, just his pride.’
‘Well the asshole deserved it. All he does is bark orders. He should keep his fat mouth shut when it comes to mentioning me and my life’
Eddie nods in agreement, patting Frank on his tatty shoulder.
‘Frank you need to get some hot food in you and have a shower. A change of clothes and a belly full of food will do you good, a lot better than no food and half a bottle of Jack.’
‘Yeah I hear you.’
Frank walks towards the door.
‘One more thing before I forget, keep away from Shaw. He wants blood, and I’m not talking about a punch up. The guy wants your career Frank.’
‘As far as I’m concerned he can have the darn thing, less problems for me to deal with.’
‘True but just be prepared that after this shit storm is over, he’s coming for you. I’ll put in a good word with the FBI or some other agency and get you transferred out of this crappy department’
Seventy Two
Jason is pacing the train’s cabin once more. His eye line never leaving the direction of the hostages. He watches their every move. Processing each of their face’s in an attempt to recognise everyone. He’s sure about this situation. He’s never been surer of anything in his life. He leans against the train’s cabin next to the large window and peers outside. He notices the fast moving landscape. He stares long and hard into the windows view losing focus of his current situation. The hostages are quiet as they watch his every move. Clearly shaken and distraught, most of the hostages dare not look at each other at running the risk of making Jason think they are conspiring. The mangled corpse a few feet away from the grief stricken group is reminder enough of the danger of this situation. One man sits and watches Jason with calculating intent in his eyes. The man has long dirty brown hair, amidst with grease and grey hairs specked throughout his sparse hairdo. He is wearing a black hooded jumper, unbranded. His blue washed denim jeans are of the norm. Overall he is the sort of man you wouldn’t notice in a hurry. The sort of man Jason wouldn’t notice in a hurry. The man staring at Jason is slim and slender. He is notably tall while sitting down. The herd of hostages surrounding Jason disguises the tall hooded man. No one notices him except the pregnant women sitting next to him. She turns her head slightly, slanting her vision from Jason while she addresses the hooded man.
‘I wouldn’t stare at him like that you know.’ states the dark pregnant women. Her deep brown eyes are comforting to the man as he snaps out of his intense surveillance and is welcomed with her melodic tone and safe eyes.
‘I’m not staring’ explains the man
‘You could have fooled me’ she says softly
‘I wasn’t, trust me. I was planning. Situations like this have to be thought out. There’s only one of him. It’s going to take a lot more than an AK to stop me.’
The woman shakes her head in fear as she eyeballs the man., her face telling him not to be a hero, but her heart saying otherwise.
Seventy Three
Officer Mullins is leaning against the wall next to Chief Shaw’s office door. He is staring at the name engraved on the foggy glass. He takes a deep breath in and knocks on the door with two swift heavy thumps. A muffled voice on the other end acknowledges the knock. He opens the door and is met by a bruised Chief Shaw. Shaw is holding a tissue to his bloodied nose. He nods at Mullins, holding his hand out pointing towards the seat facing his desk. Mullins takes the invitation and sits down overlooking the Chief’s brown chair. Shaw plods along the width of the room and pours himself a drink. He looks at Mullins. Mullins shakes his head, declining the two fingers of whisky. Shaw makes his way back behind his desk. He sighs deeply and sits down, chugging heavily on the whisky as he removes the bloodied tissue from his nose.
‘What happened?’ Asks Mullins
&nb
sp; Shaw smiles while taking another sip on his tall glass.
‘We found Frank’
‘Okay, I gathered that. After all that’s why I’m still here and not out on a search party leading my convoy. I mean, what happened to you sir?’
‘We found Frank that’s what happened.’
‘Frank did that to you?’
‘Yes. That’s beside the point though; we need you and your men to form an extraction team. You will be working with Frank. You will follow his lead and go into the M.I.T building and rescue the hostages. Any resistance you encounter must be met with lethal action. You have my permission to use whatever means are necessary at securing the safety of everyone in the building.’
‘So we are a go on this then? Washington agreed to the extraction team?’
‘Not exactly, I’m still working on that. I’m scheduled to have a conference call with the secretary of defence in a few minutes. I will run the plan through with him and see if we have the go ahead. I need you to be ready with your team so if they comply with our plan then we can execute it immediately.’
‘Understood Sir’
‘Good. Meet with Frank down the parking lot. They are setting up another convoy down there.’
‘Okay’
Mullins gets up from his chair. He turns around to walk towards the door. He stops dead and faces Shaw once again.
‘What?’ Asks Shaw
‘So you told him about his brother Adam?’
Shaw pours himself another drink with the spare bottle on his desk. He takes a sip and evens his eyes towards Mullins direction.
‘No I did not. The guy is a loose cannon. He did this to my face for breaking his balls. Imagine what he will do if I break his heart and tell him his brother bit the bullet. Not to mention that it will affect his performance in the coming hours. I don’t want him going on some revenge mission for his brother.’
‘With all due respect sir, I think he’s already set at making Chase pay.’
‘He’ll get over Tasha, he’s just mad because he got found out. McKenzie has only ever loved one woman. She was killed ten years ago, not ten hours.’