by Neal Penn
Chapter Ninety-Five
The three reached the car, and Crane opened it for Noelle. He turned around to face Winslow. “So, are you going back to Maryland to see your sisters?”
The big man nodded. “I’m going to go see Evelyn and Olive and have lunch with them. Catch up on old times, but there are a few things I have to do here first.”
Crane shook his head. “You should just leave, Dennis. There’s nothing here for you except pain and problems. As it is, there’ll be wanted posters all over Minneapolis and eventually the entire United States. If the police catch up with you in Maryland, I can help you. Have your defense team get in touch with me and I’ll advise them.”
“I can’t leave yet, Crane. There are two things left to do.” Winslow looked sad, even wistful.
“Why? What’s so important?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cigarettes. He took one, lit it, and offered one to Winslow, who shook his head.
“I have to go after the company.”
“Let it go, Winslow. Take care of it with your sisters.”
“You don’t understand. What they did to me, the genetic stuff … I can’t abandon a mission. It was one of the big flaws. We could add to mission objectives, but we couldn’t subtract. I’m in mission mode right now, and I can’t alter it. I can’t change it. I have to go after the company.”
“It’s fucking crazy.”
“I can’t help it.” The big man looked sad. He reached into his pocket. “I like you, Crane; you and Ms. Phillips. You got caught up in all this. I’m sorry.” He pulled his hand out of his pocket.
In his grip was a gun. .A big, scary gun.
“What the hell are you doing, Winslow? I’m helping you!”
“I know you are, Crane. I’m sorry. But Phillips there is a mission objective and so are you. You became objectives when you tricked Tommy. I can’t stop myself no matter how hard I try. I’m sorry, Crane. I really do appreciate everything you’ve done for me.”
Crane stood in shock as the man brought the gun up. This can’t be happening. Jesus. Sienna. He shook his head sadly. Sienna was in Heaven, no doubt. Crane doubted he’d end up there. “I’m sorry they did this to you, Dennis.”
“So am I, Crane. So am I.” Crane thought for a moment he saw tears in the big man’s eyes, but he focused on the gun and watched as Winslow thumbed the safety off. “I wish there was another way, but there just isn’t.”
Winslow pulled the gun up until it was pointed squarely at Crane’s face. Crane thought that the barrel looked impossibly large as the super soldier’s finger began to squeeze.
Crane was just in the process of closing his eyes when the big man’s head exploded.
Crane jumped back, his breathing labored, his lungs heaving. Winslow stood for an impossibly long time before the gun fell from his hand and his body fell backwards to the pavement. Crane stared in shock.
His phone rang. He answered with a numb, “Hello.”
“That’s twice, Crane. Do you think you can make it back to Minneapolis without dying?”
“Ray-Ray. What are you doing in … you saved my life, again.”
“I saved Nero’s money, Crane. Pick up the gun, put it in the car, and get out of there before the police arrive.”
Chapter Ninety-Six
Ty smiled. Nero had just called to tell him he wouldn’t have to worry about Crane an hour from now.
Ty was at the office early. He always was. The clock on the wall read just after seven. Big hand’s on the seven, little hand on the eight, Crane. God, he hated that fucker. He got all the girls in college, had all the friends, all the money. Who the fuck was Ty? There goes Rod Crane with his roommate. Hey, Rod, if I find a date for your roommate you want to hang out? Not anymore, asshole.
The prick wanted to take Noelle. Nobody took anything away from Ty. Not anymore.
He looked over the short stack of messages his secretary had left on the table. Nothing important. He busied himself with a couple of files for corporate clients. In all, it took about twenty minutes; he’d bill them at an hour each.
He stood and opened the cabinet of his credenza. It wasn’t champagne, but he still had something there he could toast the end of Crane with. He found the bottle and a glass and poured himself a drink.
“Crane, you shit, this one’s for you. You won’t ever be a thorn in my side again.” He drained the glass and enjoyed the way it felt going down. He poured himself another and sat down again.
His phone beeped and he answered a call from the doorman. He had visitors, a Mr. Chandling and Mr. Orchard. Lewis smiled. It was Nero and one of his guys. He was coming for the second half. Crane was dead. He told the doorman to let them up and finished the second drink.
Nero didn’t waste any time when he came in. He demanded the money, and Lewis opened his desk drawer and handed him the envelope. The other man’s phone rang and he handed it to Nero, whispering, “It’s Ray-Ray.”
“Any problems?” Nero handed the envelope to the other man, who quickly counted the contents and then put it inside his jacket. “No shit? I thought so. Call me when you get back into town.”
He hung up the phone and turned his attention on Lewis. “Why would you hire me to waste Crane and then hire someone else yourself? You don’t trust me?”
Lewis blinked and turned his head a little sideways. “What are you talking about?”
“See, there was a reason Crane handled all this shit for you, at least before you fucked him over. You don’t know a damn thing about respect, Lewis.” He nodded his head at the other man. “Everything there, Chucky?”
“It’s all here, boss. We done with this conversation?”
Nero looked at Lewis and nodded. “Yeah, we’re done.”
Lewis sighed. Crane was dead and they were leaving. It still didn’t make sense, whatever they were talking about with hiring another guy, but fuck ’em. He’d have lunch with a state senator in just a few hours.
“Alright, boss.” The man Nero called Chucky stepped forward, reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun.
Lewis’ eyes opened wide and for the first time noticed that the man wore gloves.
The man fired twice, and Lewis felt a burning pain in his chest as he realized that he never heard the shots. He croaked out, “Fuck … fuck.”
The man stepped forward and pointed the gun at his head. He heard Nero say, “Crane’s gonna live a long, happy life, asshole.” Then Lewis saw a bright flash of light and no more.
Chapter Ninety-Seven
Gladys put Aiken through, who proceeded to inform him that some piece of outside talent had finished the job. “Good. Good job with that, Aiken.” Gladys walked in, put a glass of bourbon on the desk, and left. Jesus, it’s eight o’clock and I’m already drinking.
“Boss, there’s more. The last sniper victim—you’re not gonna believe this—it was Sage. She killed Sage.”
For a moment, he didn’t answer. It was ... well, it was too good to be true. “I know what you’re thinking, but it does make sense. When I sent her the job, I had a picture of Sage and made sure she understood some of what was up. Mostly, when people like Sage and her end up in the same geographic area, they tend to find each other. I wanted to—”
“To make sure she didn’t get killed before she could finish. Good job, Aiken. Now Crane’s all that’s left.” He sipped his bourbon. It was good.
“We have skilled operatives here this afternoon, sir. They’ll make short work. In the meantime, I’ll start analyzing Norwood’s computer.” He told him to carry on and he hung up the phone. Crane would be dead in hours, and he’d be done, done with it all. He was about to buzz Gladys, but his phone buzzed first.
“Just hold my calls, Gladys.”
“Um, sir … Rodney Crane is in the lobby wanting to speak with you.”
Again, that same thought hit him: Who is this guy? He reached for the bourbon and drained it. “Sir?”
He sighed and told her to send him up. A few minutes l
ater, the man himself stood in front of him.
The CEO waved him to a chair, but Crane kept standing. “Um, Mr. Crane? I’m not sure I know you. What can I—”
“If you didn’t know me, I wouldn’t have even gotten to the elevator. I just called two nice, if a little crazy, old ladies to tell them that their long lost brother was shot through the head right in front of me, and by the way can you arrange my plane tickets back home. I’m not in the mood for any of the play acting.”
“What do you want, Crane?”
Crane reached into his pocket and pulled out a few sheets of paper. He put it on the desk in front of him. “That’s my standard investigation contract. I charge fifty-thousand dollars an hour. It’s pre-dated for yesterday, and I’ve already spent the fifty-thousand dollar retainer you’re about to give me.”
“I can’t authorize a fif—”
“You can do whatever the fuck you want. See, I’ve looked at your annual reports. Almost all of your expenses are generalized because of the defense contracts you have. In any case, for a company like yours, fifty thousand isn’t even material. But that’s not why you’re going to do it. You’re going to do it because we have Thomas Norwood’s laptop, and his laptop has all of the files Dennis Winslow gave him to write the books. All of the files. All of the locations. All of the names.”
He paused for a second and watched the CEO’s face, which remained impassive. “All of the names. You know, it’s amazing what the internet can do. You know when you send out a press release now it cross-references ticker symbols? Did you know there’s a whole site called Wikileaks that does nothing but expose scandals?”
He smiled. Crane was as good as they thought he was. “If anything you’re saying was worrisome to me, why wouldn’t I just arrange to eliminate the threat?”
“Because the threat is already in thousands of locations on the internet. You can get data storage anonymously anywhere now. You might eliminate me, but you’d have to take a guess about how many of my friends, acquaintances, lawyers, and other contacts know about accessing the information, should they become concerned about my lack of contact.”
He finished the bourbon and smiled. “Well played, Crane.” He stood and walked to the wall, shifted a painting. Behind it was a safe.
“Isn’t that a little cliché?” Crane asked.
He ignored him, opened the safe, counted out a few stacks and handed them over. Crane nodded and began to leave the office, but he stopped. “You had me released so that I could find him for you. It took a while to figure that out. I need you to get in touch with your contacts and get my dog. You can have it waiting at the airport for me.” Crane put the money in his jacket and started for the office door.
“Crane, don’t you want a drink?” He wasn’t going to pay him fifty-thousand an hour, but the company might actually be able to use a guy like him.
“It wasn’t a sales drill. I really have to get to the airport. I imagine you already have my flight number.” He didn’t, but he bet Aiken did.
“You were a good lawyer, weren’t you, Crane?”
Crane stopped, holding the door open with his hand. “If any of this shit ever comes to light, you’ll want to use all your power to get my license to practice back.”
“Crane, let’s talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about. I’m leaving and you should pray that I don’t get in any accidents or get food poisoning or … you get the point. I’m leaving and I don’t anticipate ever seeing you again.”
“Alright, Crane. Have it your way.”
Crane nodded and stepped out of the office.
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Noelle sat on the waiting chairs at the gate at the airport. Crane walked up and handed her coffee. He’d been a little worried about the dog, but Lolly was safely checked in. The flight was an hour delayed because the pilot had been stuck at a police roadblock set up to catch the sniper that had thrown the city up in arms. Noelle thanked him and smiled.
“So is it all over, now, Roddie?”
He sat down next to her. “It’s just about over, honey.”
“What next?” She sipped her coffee, and Crane felt like a high school kid the way he thrilled at the sight of her lips on the cup.
“I have to go see the sisters when we get in. Did you finish the accounting of the deposit they gave me?”
She turned the laptop to him. He looked it over and nodded. “Good job.” He’d be returning almost four thousand dollars to them, but the money he had from Winslow Defense made it an easy pill to swallow.
“I meant what’s next with us.”
He looked at her. It was nice to see her without worry on her face. “What’s next is we go home, you and I keep Ty from groping you, and I grope the hell out of you.” She chuckled. It was beautiful. “Regularly.”
“Okay.”
For a while they sat in silence. Finally, Noelle looked at him, a sad and faraway expression on her face. “He lost his whole life, Roddie, all of it.”
“Yeah.”
“That was like you, honey. You lost your life for a while there, too.” She reached out and took his hand. It felt wonderful.
“But I’ve got it back now, Elle.”
“We’ve got it back now, Roddie. We do.”
He smiled at her and the announcement came to board the flight. They stood up, still hand in hand, and headed to the plane.
“You know, Elle. You and I make a good team. Maybe you should join the company. We can be Crane and Phillips.”
“I’ll stick with Library Science, Roddie. Besides, you better be thinking about making me Noelle Crane, at least if you really want regular groping.”
Chapter Ninety-Nine
Gladys buzzed him twenty minutes later. Aiken on the line. He told her to put him through but to walk in the office as well. “Yes, Aiken.”
“Nothing on the computer, boss. He had a laptop, but he backed it up a few hours before he died last night, and there’s nothing on there either. We’re clean.” Nothing on the laptop. Well played, indeed, Crane. Well, I have you now.
He thought about that for a moment. He had him. He looked at the bourbon in the glass on his desk. It was inviting and he’d had too much of it lately. He’d had too much of a lot lately, a hell of a lot. He had Crane. He had him.
“Erase all records of all of Sage’s projects. Erase all records of Crane and forget about sending anyone after him. He’s not a threat anymore.” Aiken started to protest. “Let it go, son. Come up here. I need you to help me prepare for tonight’s board meeting. Was there a dog at the hotel?”
“Yeah, it’s at the pound. I’ve never been to a board meeting, sir.”
“Get the dog to Crane at the airport.” You’ve made me soft, Crane. “And Aiken, you’d better get used to the board. I’m planning on recommending you as my replacement.” Maybe I was already soft.
He hung up the phone and buzzed Gladys to come in. She looked at him expectantly. “I’m retiring. At this afternoon’s board meeting, I’ll be tendering my resignation and recommending Aiken as my replacement. Of course, I’ll make sure your position is secure, and you and I both know that Aiken could really use your help, so you don’t have to worry about …” He paused. You’ve ordered the deaths of hundreds of men, you can do this. “Look, Gladys … I’m not used to running any part of my life, and I’m a little bit at a loss. Will you let me hire you, you know, as a personal assistant? Maybe come with me, and help me transition to a regular life?”
She was quiet for too long. In the silence, he wondered if he’d overstepped his bounds and misread their relationship. He decided to backtrack, but before he could say anything, she said, “I’ll come with you and I’ll help you, but I won’t let you pay me for it. I think it’s time for me to retire, sir.”
He stared at her for a long time. She was lovely. She sat there, confident and content, this woman who knew every secret. It was she, always her. She was the one who had dotted all of his is and crossed all o
f his ts. He realized that he hadn’t kept a calendar or a phone book in nearly two decades. He realized that she knew more about him than Marie ever had.
She sat there looking at him, a patient smile on her face. He smiled at her. “Well then, we can have a wedding wherever you want. You can plan anything you want, or we can hire someone. Money doesn’t matter because ... well, you know how much I have.”
She laughed. “I’ll reserve a flight to Vegas and put us at Circus Circus.”
“Circus, Circus?”
“I like clowns, sir, and there are a million little chapels in Vegas. I don’t want to plan a wedding.”
He smiled at her. “I think it’s time to stop calling me ‘sir.” It’s time to start calling me by my name, Gladys.”
She looked up at him and he noticed how her eyes narrowed just a bit when she smiled. “Whatever you’d like, Michael.”
Chapter One Hundred
“So it was all just a cover-up,” Noelle said as they stepped into the terminal. “This whole time they killed people left and right just for a stupid cover-up.”
“Oh, I don’t know, honey.” Crane stopped to ask the lady at the boarding counter where they could pick up the dog. He got the directions. “It seems stupid, but the guy didn’t blink an eye when I said that the laptop had names. That means that there are still people out there with a stake in the missions. There are still people who would be hurt if it came out.”
“People were hurt, Roddie.” She stepped ahead of him as they approached the escalator, and he stared at her ass, felt guilty about it, and looked at the back of her head. He loved the way her hair hung down to the middle of her back, the way it bounced as she walked.
“Stop, Noelle.” She turned around and looked at him. He smiled at her. “You’re still amazing. You know that right?”
She rolled her eyes and stepped onto the escalator. They went down, walked to the baggage claim, and Crane waited while she went into the office. Five minutes later, she came out, Lolly with her.