by David McLeod
Emotions ran rampant through Nalder’s mind as she waited for the president to see her. Paxton made her mad; she knew he was corrupt and was looking forward to his retirement, but she’d spent years building up a great team and so had her colleagues. There was no way she was going to see any of them follow in his crooked footsteps, It was time to clean house. During her term with the organization, she had met with Ms. Stratford on several occasions and found her advice to be both sound and centering; Nalder was sure her counsel would be good now.
The PA came out of the office.
‘Ms. Stratford will see you now.’
What could be found on the Internet never failed to surprise Malone. Within minutes, Daniel had discovered that Anthony Cain’s only living relative was his mother, and a few more clicks presented Malone with the address and phone number. He immediately picked up his phone to call her.
It rang almost ten times before it was answered.
‘Hello, is that Mrs. Cain?’
‘Yeees,’ came the dubious reply.
‘Hello, Mrs. Cain, my name is Michael Malone. You don’t know me, but I sort of knew your son.’
The phone went silent on the other end.
‘I’m really sorry for your loss.’
Still silence.
‘I know it sounds strange, but I need your help on a small matter…’
‘Malone, you say? I never heard him talk about you,’ Mrs. Cain interrupted, her words were slow and drawn out.
‘We um, we weren’t that close,’ Malone stammered.
‘Where are you from Mr. Malone?’
‘Los Angeles.’
‘Malone from Los Angeles — no, he never said anything about a Malone from Los Angeles.’
Malone didn’t quite know which way to proceed.
They think I don’t know; they think I’m an old woman who doesn’t know anything; but I know — he called me.’
Malone had no idea what the woman was talking about, but he just lied and said ‘yes.’
‘They said he was too sick to see me; they said they were trying out some special experimental drugs, but I knew he was running away from them.’ She started to cry, ‘I was the one who put the idea in his head.’
It was Malone’s turn to remain silent as Mrs. Cain continued to talk.
‘I could see right away that the treatment he was getting wasn’t doing him any good — he knew it too. We talked for hours about him trying different medicines and alternative procedures, but he told me that due to his position it wasn’t an option.’
Malone could hear her voice getting stronger.
‘I wouldn’t let it go though; I kept pushing him to go with his gut. I knew what his beliefs were; he told me many times over the years that his company was hiding the truth about alternative medicine being the real cure…’ She went quiet for a beat. ‘I couldn’t bear to watch him die in a sterile hospital ward. No mother should have to bury her son. I told him to fight, I told him to run. I told him to do whatever he could to live. I said “what would Steve McQueen do”?’
‘Steve McQueen?’ Malone was confused
‘Steve McQueen, the movie star,’ she replied as if it was obvious.
‘I’m sorry – I don’t follow.’
‘He was a big hero to Anthony; he had all his classic old movies and a model Mustang in his room as a kid. He loved his bravery, always on the side of justice and helping out the underdog.’
Malone was still confused, but let the woman talk.
‘McQueen had mesothelioma; it’s cancer in the lungs and according to the doctors — incurable. But being the fighter he was, he went to Dr. Kelley, a man who claimed to have cured his own pancreatic cancer using his own method of alternative treatment. Of course, the AMA and Cancer Society called him a fraud, and suspended his license, but it didn’t stop him from spreading the word. The treatment was relocated to a facility in Rosarito Beach in Mexico and that’s where McQueen went. A few weeks after getting there, he announced through the media that he was cured, and thanked them for saving his life!’
Mrs. Cain went quiet and Malone let her speech sink in; somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt sure he’d heard Steve McQueen had died of cancer, but he also knew that now wasn’t the time to bring that up. Over the years, he’d listened to hundreds of people’s versions of belief and truth; in the end, it all boiled down to the simple fact that perception equaled reality.
‘I wasn’t there when my boy died, and it was all because of his manipulative and conniving boss.’
‘Who are you talking about Mrs. Cain?’
‘My boy wasn’t bad; they made him go that way. He used to come to my house and tell me how it wasn’t right what they were doing, how he was going to make it better, how he wanted to take his boss down…but something was stopping him.’
‘Who was his boss, Mrs. Cain?’
‘Gerard bloody Paxton,’ she swore and broke down.
It took Malone nearly ten minutes to calm her down, and before he rang off, he promised her he would bring Paxton to justice.
‘So Paxton is the boss,’ Malone announced to the group.
‘That figures, I’ve just read a couple of questionable internal e-mails from him,’ Taylor added, passing some sheets over to Malone.
‘Looks like he’s the bastard who’s behind all this then,’ Scott sneered.
‘He’s certainly a good place to start; let’s look for all the paperwork with his name on it,’ Malone said.
Later, armed with all the evidence they needed, Malone announced that it was time to go to Chicago. After a reasonable amount of discussion, they decided that all things considered, one o’clock in the afternoon would be the best and safest time to meet with Elwood; the choice as to where was much easier. Scott jumped on the phone to Elwood and arranged the meet.
‘Shouldn’t you call Erin and tell her what’s going on?’ Taylor asked.
Both Malone and Scott looked at each other.
‘I know it’s a bad thing to say, but she may take fright, call the cops, want to come — any or all of the above. I think it’s best she doesn’t know what we’re up to right now,’ Malone said, and closed the subject.
The earliest flight Scott and Malone could get on was just after six in the evening which got them into Chicago around midnight. They took a motel room near the airport, and knowing they had several things to do early the next day, they chatted briefly and then went to bed.
After breakfast the next morning, they picked up a rental car and headed to Target to get some provisions.
Chapter 52
Standing outside the impressive trapezoid shaped AMA building on the corner of North State and Grand, Malone and Scott went over the plan one more time. Malone was to take the elevator to the twenty-sixth floor to get to Paxton, while Scott was to make for the fourth-floor deck and café where he’d set off the fire alarm.
Malone was to wait by Paxton’s office ready for the expected pandemonium the alarm would bring, and in the confusion he’d grab Paxton. It wasn’t the most elaborate of plans, but they hoped it would be all they’d need. They’d chosen the one o’clock lunchtime rush for maximum disturbance, and hoped the building’s near one thousand staff would all be on the move at once, either coming from or going to lunch.
Malone stood silent and cramped in the busy express elevator as it zoomed him towards Paxton. The floor numbers on the display became a blur as it counted up the levels. From the fifteenth floor it stopped at every other level as it let its passenger’s alight, and then sped off to the next level.
Elwood made his way to the meeting point arranged the night before; he’d almost laughed at how predictable Scott was; it didn’t take a genius to work out that he’d arrange to meet under the giant Ferris wheel at Navy pier; he knew it would be there or the Sears tower — bloody tourists, he thought.
Finding a parking spot in the lot out front, he casually went to the entrance, paid, and mingled with the tourists. He was in no hurry; Sco
tt would be there waiting; he’d inject him with the same drug he’d used on the motel owner, and then look like a good Samaritan assisting a guy having a heart attack. Sure, the Malone guy would be loitering around somewhere, but he would probably run when Scott was taken down. No problem there, he was easy to trace, so he’d be easy to finish. All being well, he’d be back with enough time to grab a discounted lunch at the AMA canteen before it closed at two.
Scott joined the long line of staff waiting for the café to serve their lunch; he checked his watch again — ten minutes to go.
‘Where’s your badge?’ the woman behind the counter asked, causing the people near him to stare.
‘Your staff badge, where is it?’ she repeated.
Scott went red. ‘I uh left it at my desk.’
‘You won’t get the discount,’ the woman tutted.
‘I’m only after a coffee anyway,’ Scott breathed a quiet sigh as everyone went back to their lunch routine. He took a seat and a few sips of coffee before getting up and walking to the wash room.
Malone got off the elevator and the doors closed behind him. He looked around casually as the other people who got off at the same level dispersed.
‘Can I help you, sir?’ One of the guys who had left the elevator with him had turned back to help.
‘I uh, I think this is the floor I’m after, I have an appointment with Gerard Paxton. But I’m a little early.’
‘That’s okay; I can take you through to him if you like.’
‘I’m …uh, I’m here for an interview; what’s he like? Can you give me any tips?’ Malone lied.
The man paused a second, and then began to off-load insider tips to help him.
The alarm was ear-piercing. Behind Malone, the elevator doors clunked and locked and the carriages made their way back to the ground floor. Malone waited a moment for Paxton to appear, and then trailed behind him as he followed the staff into the stairwell for the long walk down to the street.
Unfortunately, as more and more people poured onto the stairs from each floor, Malone was slowly dropping behind and starting to lose sight of Paxton; nobody seemed to be in a hurry to rush out of the building, and the chatter echoing around the stairwell was jovial. Malone couldn’t push past and catch up; he just hoped he’d be able to see Paxton when they got outside.
By the time they got to ground level, the Chicago fire department was already there. Staff mingled with the on-lookers and they all seemed to be facing the building. Malone slipped in between the crowd until he got to Paxton, and then began to maneuver him to the outside of the horde. ‘I’ve got a gun in my pocket; walk slowly over there,’ Malone whispered into Paxton’s ear, as he dug the hidden muzzle aggressively into his ribs.
‘What the hell are you doing?’
‘Shut up and walk.’ Again, Malone stuck the muzzle in his ribs.
They got to the side street, and Scott pulled the rental car up to meet them.
‘Get in,’ Malone growled
Scott drove while Malone sat beside Paxton in the rear keeping his hand on the gun in his pocket.
‘What’s this all about?’ Paxton asked ‘Just take my wallet; there’s more than enough to get you high in there.’
‘Where’s the boy?’ Malone asked.
‘What are you talking about? What boy?’
‘Enough of the bullshit,’ Malone spat. ‘Where’s Joshua?’
‘Who? Who’s Joshua, what are you talking about?’ Paxton feigned ignorance, and for a split second, Malone almost fell for it. A huge wave of doubt came over him.
Horns blared as Scott cut across the traffic to the curb and slammed his brakes on. He turned in his seat and punched Paxton squarely in the face. It wasn’t an earth-shattering hit, but the shock and his inability to take any form of pain made Paxton crumble immediately.
‘How did you find out?’ he whimpered as he grabbed his face.
Scott raised his fist again.
‘Fuck, alright I’ll tell you! He’s in an old facility of ours near McKinley.’
‘Which way? And don’t mess with me, I’m more than happy to kill you right here, right now,’ Malone said menacingly jabbing his pocket at Paxton.
You don’t have to keep doing that; I’ll show you where the boy is. Head southwest out of the city and get on the fifty-five.
Paxton rubbed his face, and then stealthily slipped his hand into his own pocket where his mobile was stashed. He had long since perfected the art of blind texting, and as he kept Scott and Malone busy by directing them to the teaching facility, his fingers sent a message to Elwood to meet them there.
Chapter 53
They pulled up outside the facility. ‘He’s in there,’ Paxton said pointing at the building.
Malone and Scott stared at the rundown old building; the windows were boarded up and graffiti covered the walls.
‘For your sake, he’d better be okay; now get out.’ Malone’s tone left Paxton in no doubt that he meant what he said.
At the main entrance, Paxton fished the keys out of his pocket and fumbled with the lock; he was intentionally stalling. Scott barged him to one side and opened it himself. They entered the dark and dusty building and Scott shoved Paxton from behind.
‘Lead the way.’
It wasn’t a large facility, but it was confusing; the central corridor twisted and turned, and the dim light from the boarded windows made the journey to the rear of the building that much harder. They got to the double doors at the end and entered what looked like the canteen area.
‘He’s in the kitchen,’ Paxton said and again Scott shoved him from behind.
The kitchen was bigger than Malone was expecting for the size of the facility. A couple of the boards in the skylight had been kicked through allowing the early afternoon sun to shine its rays of dust-particled light into the room.
‘Where is he?’ Malone yelled.
He’s in there,’ Paxton said, and pointed at the half opened steel door of the walk in chiller.
Scott raced over to the door and yanked it fully open. There at the back, bound and curled up in a ball was Joshua. He ran over to him desperate to see if he was alive.
Joshua’s eyes struggled with the light, and then focused on Scott. ‘I knew you’d come, Scott,’ he smiled.
‘It’s okay Malone, he’s fine.’
Malone had only taken his eyes off him for a moment, but it was enough time for Paxton to grab one of the fallen planks of wood from the floor and swing it wildly at him. Malone spotted the arc of the swing a fraction too late to move, but instinctively managed to pull his hand out of his pocket with the gun and defend his head from the blow. The gun spun from his hand and smashed hard on the concrete floor, the brittle plastic shattering on impact.
Again Paxton swung the wood, and again it came down heavily on Malone, this time on his shoulder. As Malone dropped to his knees, Paxton yanked open one of the drawers under the counter that he knew housed some of Elwood’s tools and snatched a gun.
‘You stay right there!’ he yelled at Scott who was now at the doorway of the chiller, ‘and you, you get over there with him,’ he shouted at Malone.
Malone stood up, and clutching his arm, moved over next to Scott.
‘A plastic gun!’ Paxton laughed as he kicked at the pieces of the broken toy. ‘Fuck, you’ve got some balls; I’ll give you that.’
He reversed back to the drawer and grabbed some duct tape, throwing it at Scott.
‘Now both of you get in there.’ Paxton nodded towards the chiller.
They reluctantly shuffled inside.
‘Scott, can you do the honors and tie your friend’s arms behind his back.’
‘You’ve already broken one of them; what do you think I’m gonna do?’ Malone protested.
‘Fine, tie them up at the front, and tie his feet up too.’
Malone glared at him. Once Scott had finished, Paxton ordered Scott to lie face down on the floor, then he used the tape to bind his legs and feet. When both m
en were securely tied, Paxton sat them both up and went through their pockets removing wallets, keys, a cell phone, and a flash drive.
‘You should have frisked me; you would have found this,’ Paxton smiled as he pulled out his phone. He dialed the number for Elwood, but only got his message service.
‘Yeah, it’s me, where the hell are you? What am I paying you for? I messaged you ages ago — I was in real trouble there for a moment… Anyway, no matter. I’ve done your job for you and got the files back, so you can say goodbye to the rest of your fee. But don’t worry, I’ve got a another new contract for you, one I’m sure even you can manage. Come and tidy up the mess here, I’ve got all three of them tied up ready for you to finish them off and dispose of them.
‘There’s no hurry, they won’t be going anywhere; you might as well take care of Nalder first; then you can clean them all up at the same time.’ He snapped the phone shut.
‘So, Mr. Malone, how do you fit into all of this?’ Paxton asked removing Malone’s license from his wallet.
‘You’ve got what you wanted, and we’ve got Joshua back, why don’t you just let us go?’
‘Far out, you’re as dumb as he is,’ Paxton said nodding towards Scott.
‘You all know way too much. Fuck, once my man has finished with you three, I’ll probably get him to go and sort out your families. It’s nothing personal, there’s just far too much at stake to let you go free. Don’t blame me though, blame that bastard Cain — it’s all his fault. He was going to be my perfect replacement, he was smart, but corruptible — all the things I like best in a successor. He was going to be as rich as I am, so long as he could keep the secrets of the past like I have — and he would’ve been able to build his own legacy. But the idiot had to go and get cancer.
‘I remember the day he told me; he said he’d just been to the company doctor and the tests had come back positive. I felt sorry for him; must be tough knowing that you’ve got some nasty deadly disease. Anyway, he asked if I minded if he went with an alternative method of therapy — which I obviously vetoed. I mean, how would it look if the guy who has his finger on the pulse as far as curing cancer turns his back on conventional methods and goes to some witch doctor or electronics engineer? ‘So we made sure he did the right thing for the corporation and, of course, for me.’