by Dean, Jason
‘Right.’ Lomax opened the rear door of the SUV and went about making room.
While he was occupied, Nelson said, ‘Those extra extra items you asked for,’ and handed Bishop a snub-nosed Taurus .38 Special in a horsehide pocket holster, along with two speed loaders.
‘Thanks. This thing traceable?’
Nelson smirked. ‘You need to ask?’
‘Guess not.’ Bishop pocketed the gun and ammo.
‘And you can take this, too.’ Nelson handed Bishop a business card with just Nelson’s name on it and two phone numbers. ‘For future reference. My private private numbers, only available to the chosen few. I’m incommunicado for the next couple of days, but after that either of those numbers will go straight through to me, without fail.’
‘I’m honoured.’ Bishop nodded his thanks and pocketed the card.
Then both men began removing the boxes one at a time and stacking them next to the SUV for Lomax to load. At a hundred and twenty pounds per box, it took a while. It was almost fifteen minutes before the three of them had finished transferring everything over.
Nelson locked his rear doors and said, ‘So who’s paying for all this, Bish? You?’
‘No, Uncle Sam,’ Bishop motioned towards Lomax, ‘in the shape of this guy here. All right, pay the man.’
Lomax pulled out his wallet. ‘You got a total for me?’
Nelson opened the driver’s door and from the passenger seat grabbed an invoice he’d obviously printed out earlier. He handed it to Lomax and said, ‘Including sales tax, the grand total comes to exactly thirty-seven thousand, four hundred dollars.’
Lomax’s eyes went wide. ‘Thirty-seven thou–?’
‘But since Bishop and me go way back,’ Nelson interrupted, ‘I can do you a twenty per cent discount, which brings it down to a nice round thirty thousand. How’s that for customer service?’
Lomax still didn’t look too sure. Bishop said, ‘Just pay the man. Delaney’s already authorized it.’
The deputy mumbled something, then handed Nelson a credit card. Nelson grabbed a portable wireless credit card processor from the passenger seat. He swiped the card and said, ‘So, you keep in touch with any of the other guys at all?’
Bishop knew Nelson was talking specifically about the other members of their old FAST unit. He shook his head. ‘I’m not too good at that kind of thing. One of my many shortcomings. How about you?’
‘A couple.’ Nelson handed the machine over so Lomax could key in the PIN. ‘Burrows, Hastings. Remember them? Oh, yeah, Jeffries, too. Funnily enough, your name often crops up in our conversations.’
‘In a good way or a bad way?’
Nelson took back the machine and said, ‘You never ordered us to do anything you weren’t willing to do yourself, man. And you never left anybody behind. They’ve always been major virtues in my book. And believe it or not, I learned a hell of a lot about leadership from you. I know the others all feel the same way.’
‘I’ll take that as a compliment.’
‘You should.’ Nelson printed off a receipt and handed it to Lomax. ‘Okay, we’re all squared away here. Thanks for your business, Mr G-man. Maybe you could put in a good word in with your boss about the discount, huh? I always say a growing business can never have too many government contracts.’
Lomax gave a vague nod and went round the other side of the SUV and got back in.
Nelson was still smiling. ‘I don’t think he likes me.’
‘I don’t think he likes anyone,’ Bishop said. ‘Well, I better get going, Nels. Thanks for delivering on such short notice. I appreciate it.’
‘Hey, glad to help out. And just between you and me, if I thought the money was coming out of your pocket I would have handed this stuff over gratis. But since the government are paying …’
Bishop nodded. ‘I don’t blame you.’
‘You have a safe drive back, okay, man? And try and stay in touch from here on in.’
Bishop smiled as he opened his door and got in. ‘Maybe I will at that,’ he said.
TEN
Back at the house, it took less than three minutes to transfer all the boxes from the garage to the Stricklands’ room. Five men were doing the carrying this time, though. Strickland and Barney both sat on the main bed, watching the activity. Once the boxes were all stacked against the wall and the deputies had returned to their posts, Bishop glanced at his Seiko diver’s watch and saw it was only 16.27.
Good. They still had plenty of daylight left.
Bishop used a small kitchen knife to cut through the packing tape on the nearest box and then opened the flap. Barney got off the bed and came over to join him.
‘So is this stuff any good?’ he asked.
‘Better than good,’ Bishop said, hauling the rectangular four-by-three bullet-resistant fibreglass panel out and resting it against the box. It was about one and a half inches thick and had a crochet-ribbed design across its rough surface. ‘Since we don’t have a safe room in this house, fortifying this room is the next best thing, and these panels will do that.’
Barney felt along the side of one. ‘Pretty thick,’ he said.
‘It’s got a level eight protection rating, which means it’ll stop anything up to and including a .762 lead core full metal jacket. I’ve tested it myself. It’s serious stuff.’
‘What are these things here?’ Barney asked, feeling the thick, stubby fibreglass rods that protruded all the way down one side of the panel.
‘Built-in dowel joints,’ Bishop said, ‘so each panel can connect up to its brother to form one long unbroken shield. See the corresponding holes in the other side here? Each panel’s the same. Easy to assemble. Even easier to take apart. No drilling necessary.’
‘So what’s your plan, Bishop?’ Strickland said. ‘You going to cover this room from top to bottom and lock the two of us inside?’
Ignoring the sarcasm, Bishop said, ‘Not quite. These plates will cover the bottom four feet. Anything larger, there’s too much danger of the dowel joints coming apart and causing a breach in the defence. For the windows over there, I’ve got three taller panels that’ll cover them up entirely, but that’s it.’
Strickland frowned. ‘Four feet? So we just duck-walk everywhere?’
‘You’ll be either sitting or sleeping in here most of the time anyway. This is just an extra level of defence, that’s all. If the worst happens you all dive to the floor and stay there. This stuff will stop anything short of a frag grenade. And even then it’ll minimize the intensity of the blast by roughly seventy per cent.’
‘So you agree with Delaney?’ Strickland said. ‘You think they’ll try again?’
‘We have to be prepared for the possibility. And to paraphrase Ben Franklin, I’ve always believed an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.’
Delaney entered the room at that point and glanced at the large packages leaning against the wall. ‘Your pal came through for you, then.’
Bishop nodded. ‘He always has done.’
‘Need any help putting it all up?’
‘No, I can probably do this solo. If I can’t, maybe Barney here can lend a hand, right?’
Barney shrugged his shoulders. ‘I guess.’
‘Good,’ Bishop said. ‘In that case, you can make a start by opening these other boxes for me. Want this kitchen knife?’
‘Nah,’ Barney said, and pulled out a miniature multi-tool on a keychain from his front jeans pocket. ‘I’ll use mine.’
ELEVEN
Bishop had almost finished assembling his improvised safe room by 17.55, yet while Nelson had included some panels with dowel corner joints to ensure no gaps, there was still one gap he couldn’t avoid. The door. Despite what he’d told Barney, Bishop had to drill a single panel onto it and hope nothing got through the unprotected spaces on either side. It looked as though he’d have one corner panel left over once he was done, too, which suggested he’d either miscalculated or Nelson had been in something of a rus
h when packing the van.
As he worked on the last two panels, he glanced over at Barney. It was just the two of them now, Strickland having left shortly after he’d started work. Barney had stayed quiet through most of it, occasionally watching Bishop assemble the inner wall while he quietly played a video game on his pocket console.
‘What you playing over there, Barn?’ Bishop asked. ‘A shoot-’em-up or something?’
‘Uh-uh. Tetris.’
‘Tetris?’ Bishop smiled as he worked. ‘They still producing that old thing? I used to love that game.’
The boy looked up at him. ‘You used to play Tetris? But you’re too old.’
‘I’m not that old. Back when I was in uniform, a guy in my squadron would always bring one of the very first Gameboys with him on manoeuvres and any down time we had, we’d take turns on Tetris. Everybody in our squad was addicted to it.’
‘Yeah? So what was your record for clearing lines in a single game?’
‘Five thousand, seven hundred and forty-six.’
‘No way. Seriously?’
‘But I paused the game a lot during that one, and I never played it again afterwards. I’d gotten it out of my system by that point. How about you? What’s your record?’
‘I haven’t got past five thousand lines yet. But, you know, I don’t really care about it too much these days, not after … not after what happened with … you know, Mom.’
Bishop looked over at the boy. His head was down and his shoulders were jerking a little, but if he was crying he was doing it silently.
‘No, I guess you wouldn’t,’ Bishop said. ‘I’m sorry about your mom, Barney. I know what you’re going through, and I know there’s nothing I can say that will—’
‘You don’t know,’ Barney said, glaring at Bishop, his red-rimmed eyes flashing angrily. ‘You don’t know anything.’
‘You’re wrong, Barney,’ Bishop said calmly. ‘When I was about your age I lost both my parents, so I know exactly what you’re going through.’
Barney paused and gaped at him, his anger gone. ‘You did? What happened?’
‘Auto accident one foggy night on the New Jersey Turnpike. It was rush hour and there was a major pile-up and six people died in the wreckage, including my folks. It was my tenth birthday too.’
‘Jeez, your birthday.’ He shook his head. ‘So does it … does it ever stop hurting?’
‘Eventually. Like everything. Your grief’s at its absolute worst right now, but as the weeks and months go by it’ll gradually taper off until it becomes just a dull ache. But that ache’ll always be there and you’ll never want it to completely go away anyway. At least, I don’t. To me, it always acts as a reminder.’
‘Good, ’cause I don’t ever want to forget Mom. She was the greatest mom ever, you know? I really really miss her.’
‘I know you do.’ Bishop suddenly had an idea to take the boy’s mind off the subject for an hour or two. ‘Look, Barney, I’ve been thinking that it might be an idea to run through one or two worst-case scenarios with you, if you’re up for it, that is.’
‘What, you mean like role-playing?’
‘Yeah, kind of. For example, you’ve been taken hostage by unspecified hostiles and somehow you’ve got to find a way of getting word to the outside. Like that.’
Barney nodded, smiling. ‘Yeah, that sounds kind of cool. We could do that.’
‘Good. I’ll work out something for later, then.’
Bishop finally finished connecting the last two fibreglass panels together and stood up and inspected his work. ‘There. So what do you think?’
‘Not bad,’ Barney said, studying all four walls. ‘You do good work, Bishop.’
‘Well, it’s not perfect, but it should hold. Assuming the worst happens. Hopefully, it won’t.’
‘Do you always do that?’ Barney asked.
‘Do what?’
‘Assume the worst.’
Bishop smiled. ‘When I’m on the job. I wouldn’t be much good if I didn’t, would I?’
The boy gave a shrug. ‘I guess.’
‘Well, I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you later, okay?’
‘’Kay,’ Barney said, and went back to his game.
Out in the hallway, Bishop was shutting the bedroom door behind him when he saw Delaney approaching from the living-room area.
‘All finished?’ she asked.
‘I’ve done as much as I can. Now if it’s all right with you I’d like to borrow the Ford and cruise the surrounding streets while there’s still some light left. I always like to get a feel of the area whenever I’m on the job.’
‘Good idea.’ Lowering her voice, she said, ‘Look, Bishop, we haven’t discussed weapons. I can loan you a backup piece, but I’ll have to deputize you first. As a supervisory deputy marshal I have that authority, although I’ve never had a reason to do it before now.’
‘You mean turn me into a cop? You sure know how to scare a guy, Delaney.’ He shook his head. ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.’
‘And what does that mean?’
‘It means what you don’t know can’t hurt you.’
Delaney’s eyebrows came together. ‘I’m not sure I like the sound of that. Are you telling me you’re already armed?’
‘You said I’d be assuming an independent role while I was here. Is that true or not?’
‘To a point.’
‘Well, then, this is me being independent. Ask me no questions, I’ll tell you no lies.’
‘I get it. Rules are fine for other people, just not you?’
‘Nothing wrong with rules if they’re sensible. But sometimes even the sensible ones can get in the way.’ He paused. ‘Look, maybe we should talk about something else.’
She studied him for a moment, then shrugged and said, ‘So what do you think of our principals so far?’
‘They’re better than most. Barney’s a smart kid, and Strickland seems reasonably intelligent, although I imagine he’s hard work in large doses. At least he’s not actively working against you, though, like some people I’ve protected.’
‘Yeah, I know what you mean.’ She stared at him quietly for a few moments then said, ‘Look, Bishop, I’ve been thinking …’ She paused.
‘Yeah?’
She gave an embarrassed shrug. ‘Nothing. I’m just glad you changed your mind is all.’
‘Just don’t forget that favour you promised me.’
‘I won’t forget. Just as long as you don’t use it as a licence to get yourself into hot water unnecessarily.’
‘I never do anything unnecessarily, Delaney. You know that.’
‘There’s a first time for everything,’ she said, smiling. Then she turned away back to the living-room area.
Bishop watched her back, faintly curious as to what she’d really wanted to say, but hadn’t. He still liked her a lot, he knew that. And not just for her looks either. She knew when to bend and when not to, which showed very good judgement for somebody in her position. Yeah, Delaney was all right for a cop. Better than all right, in fact.
Smiling absently to himself, Bishop entered the utility room and made for the garage.
TWELVE
The cell phone on the kitchen table started ringing at 22.17, and Bishop took the call. Delaney and Strickland were also sitting at the table, watching Bishop with interest.
Bishop put the phone on speaker and said, ‘Hello?’
‘We’ve got the boy,’ a slightly muffled male voice said. ‘Do what we say and you’ll get him back unharmed, understand?’
‘I understand. But before we do anything else I need to talk to him.’
‘Naturally,’ the voice said. ‘He’s right here. You’ve got thirty seconds, so don’t make any stupid mistakes.’
After a brief pause Barney’s voice came on the line. ‘Bishop, is that you?’
‘It’s me. Are you all right, Barney? How are they treating you?’
‘Not too bad. I, uh … I just wish I c
ould see you, though. I was real scared a while back, but then I remembered those two breathing exercises you taught me and I’m kind of okay now.’
‘That’s good, Barney. Try not to worry too much. We’ll get you back. Best thing for you right now is to keep your mind occupied as much as possible. You still got your pocket games console with you, I hope.’
‘Yeah, I still got it.’
‘That’s something, at least. Got any decent games on it?’
‘Uh … yeah, the same two as before, Tetris and Dragon Ball. I always keep them on there.’
‘That’s fine. Play one of those, then. Now have they given you anything—’
‘All right,’ the male voice from before said, ‘that’s enough. You’ve had more than enough time to get reacquainted.’
‘That wasn’t thirty seconds,’ Bishop said.
‘So sue me. Next time you’ll hear from us will be exactly one hour from now, so keep that phone handy.’
The line went dead.
Bishop put the phone down on the table and nodded at Delaney, who called out, ‘Okay, you guys can come on out now.’
‘Well, that was pointless,’ Strickland said. ‘They didn’t give you anything like enough time.’
Bishop watched the door to the utility room open and Barney and two of the marshals, Reiseker and Hammond, came out. Both men were wearing bandanas over the bottom parts of their faces to represent ski masks. They could have been villains in an old Western, although the suits kind of ruined the effect. While they removed their minimal stage gear, Barney came over to the table and said, ‘How did I do?’
‘Not bad at all, Barn,’ Bishop said. ‘I’m impressed.’
‘Huh?’ Strickland was frowning. ‘What conversation were you listening to?’
‘The one underneath,’ Bishop said. ‘During those few seconds Barney managed to pass on some useful nuggets of information.’
‘Like what?’
‘Well, first he told me he was being kept in a room with no windows: I wish I could see you. When he mentioned the two breathing exercises, he was telling me there were two exits. That’s what we agreed on before. First talk about the windows, then the doors.’