by Terry Persun
“You’re going south,” Renda said. “Before you were going north. Do you think that’ll slow my dad down?”
“That wasn’t my thought at all. My thought was to lay low until the weekend.”
Renda looked at her watch. “It is the weekend.”
“One of the names on the list. I know him. He goes to the marina every weekend.”
“You going to kill him on his boat?”
Ten shrugged.
“You could hardly stand shooting that other man. How are you going to do this in cold blood?”
“I’ll close my eyes.”
“This is not the life for you.”
“Thanks for noticing, but it’s the one I have now.”
“But you’ll just—”
Ten’s cell phone interrupted Renda. They both looked at his backpack.
“Who could that be?” Renda asked.
Ten pushed his knee against the steering wheel and used both hands to open the backpack and to pull out his phone. “Hello?”
“You don’t know me,” the voice said. “I’m Maria Tanner’s friend.”
“Is she okay?”
“I’ve got her hidden, but they’re after me. I haven’t heard from Russell and can’t reach him.”
“Russell’s dead. Car bomb.” Ten drove with one hand and held the phone to his ear with the other. “How do I know to believe you?”
“Maria said that you’d know by this: ‘The crosstalk on the switch has been fixed through a minor change in position.’”
“That was our last communication…before they packed up my stuff.” Ten stared out the windshield, still not sure whether to believe the man on the phone or not.
“Are you still there?”
“Yes,” Ten said. “You said she’s alive.”
“She’s at a cabin outside of Detroit.”
“Isn’t that close to her offices? Shouldn’t you get out of there?”
“Not for now. But we don’t need you being followed here. When you’re ready, pick up a new phone. You’re using your work phone, right?”
“Are they tracking me?”
“I don’t think so. This was a quick decision made by the wrong people. I have no idea what gave them such power, but they obviously don’t know what to do with it. Beside the point,” he said. “Just trash the phone for a new one. Call this number: 508-555-0999. Got that? Call the number and leave your new number. I’ll get back with you.”
“I want to hear her voice,” Ten said. “The next time.”
“I understand.”
Ten hung up. He took a deep breath.
“What are you going to do?” Renda asked.
Ten pushed the window button and when it was down, he threw the phone out. “Yours is probably traceable.” He shook his head. “It’s okay. When I’m through, your dad should be close by. He can have you then.” Ten hesitated. “You said he’s an honest man?”
“Yes.”
“He’ll not shoot me as soon as you’re free?”
“I don’t know now that you double-crossed him. But I don’t think so.”
Ten went back to driving. When he got to I-195, he headed toward Route 6 and the Marina.
Renda removed her phone from her purse and pushed to dial.
“What are you doing?”
“Making sure he won’t shoot you.” She waited. “Daddy, I’m okay. He won’t hurt me. You have to let him do what he needs to do.” She waited while he spoke. “I know. I know. I’ll tell him. Promise me.” She listened some more. “I’ll call you.” She hung up.
“I don’t believe this.”
“You don’t have to. He said there’ll be others looking for you as long as they know you’re alive. He said he’s been reprimanded for failing to take you out. He’s no longer under contract to kill you. You’re the first job he’s ever failed at, but he doesn’t care what you’re up to.”
“He just wants you back, I know,” Ten said.
“You have to protect me from whoever is after you.” There was a waver in her voice. It seemed she believed her dad, but was afraid of whoever else might be after Ten.
“They won’t hurt you. They want me. As long as you don’t know anything about my project.”
“How can they be sure you didn’t blab?”
“Psychological profile. I suspect they know me well enough that they know I won’t put anyone else in jeopardy, especially a young girl.”
“They do their homework.”
“My project was secret. They have to do their homework.”
“Why didn’t they just kill you at work? A raid or something?”
“Too obvious. There are six of us on the project. Someone would put two and two together. Come to think of it, that’s probably why I almost got hit coming out of the gym parking lot. And t-boned at an intersection.”
Renda laughed like a high-school girl. “You’re too quick for them. That’s the trouble with tough guys, they’re slow.”
Ten had to laugh, too, although nothing about what she said was funny. “Too confident,” he said. “I suspect after a while their adrenaline doesn’t peak, they don’t get scared, so there’s no extra oomph, as my mom used to say.”
She turned her head to look out the window. “You are a scientist.”
Ten passed a car at the side of the road and shook his head.
“What?”
“I should have chucked my phone there. Maybe they’d think I’d stolen the car and stop to look for me. Now, if they know anything about Bower, they’ll know where I’m heading.”
“You know where he lives.”
“Never had a reason to know.”
“Then you don’t have a choice. I guess you could always go after someone else on the list, someone who isn’t close by, who isn’t logical. You could always come back.” Renda reached over and poked Ten’s arm. “What do you think?”
“I think you’re scared and are trying to figure out a way to stop me from including you.”
She got serious. “You blame me?”
“I don’t. But I’m going after Bower now, while I’m still alive. Even if I don’t get any further than this, I’ll have taken care of something.”
“Not very optimistic.”
“That comes after this is over.” Ten watched the road signs and selected a turn-off where he saw signs for another cheap hotel. He’d ask for a ground floor this time. He pulled the car into the parking lot.
“Shouldn’t we park somewhere else?”
“This is good.” The two of them went inside and paid for the night. The room lay around the side of the main entrance, the lot a little darker, but it suited Ten. “This will do much better.” Once inside, he dropped his backpack on the bed. “How’s your honesty?”
“Like my dad’s.”
“Good. Promise me that you’ll stay here while I shower.”
“I promise. Where else would I go anyway?”
Ten reached out. “Your phone goes with me.”
She huffed, but gave it to him.
He planned to be fast, but he felt grimy. Even though he had to dress in the same clothes again, the shower felt refreshing. He was tired, but there wasn’t time to sleep just yet. He got out and toweled off, dressed again, trying to rub a little smoothness back into his shirt with no avail. He brushed his hands through his hair. She was right. He didn’t look very good in that color. He picked up her phone from the sink and walked into the main room.
The television was on very low and Renda lay with her feet toward the pillow and her elbows propping her up. “Friends,” she said. “I’ve seen them all about a hundred times.” She flicked the TV off.
“I need you to call your dad to come and pick up the car.” He held out the phone.
“You want him to leave a new one?”
“Would he?”
She laughed and raised her eyebrows. “No,” she said while shaking her head in disbelief.
“On second thought, dial him and hand me the phone.”
Renda found the contact and poked it, then held the phone out to Ten. “All yours.”
“Renda, dear, are you still okay?”
“I have her. She’s fine.”
“Let her go,” Torry said.
“I will. Look I know you don’t know what’s going on much more than I do, but I’m just an engineer.”
“Don’t care. Not my business. Didn’t she tell you, I’m not contracted anymore?”
“She did.”
“Your wife loves you,” Torry said then.
“What?”
“Your wife. She said to tell you she loved you before I killed you. That’s all she seemed to care about. You should know.”
Ten broke down and cried. He let the phone hand in his hand away from his face. He heard Torry talking, but didn’t pull the phone any closer until he got his composure back. “Renda said that you’re an honest man.”
“This is true.”
“I’m sure you know where we are. I want you to come and get your car. Get it out of here so no one else can track me. How long will that take?”
“Ten minutes.” There was a slight pause. “You don’t think you can outrun me, do you?”
Ten shook his head, but didn’t answer Torry’s question. “She’s staying with me until I do what I have to do. You need to stay back. I don’t care what you do after I finish business.” He suspected that Torry had no idea about the list, about Griffin Bower, or the project. He was a hired hand. And, for reasons Ten didn’t even understand, he didn’t blame Torry.
“Keep her safe, or I’ll strip the skin off your body myself.”
Ten looked over at Renda, saw how innocent she looked, no matter whose daughter she was, no matter what her father did for a living. She had her own demons to fight. “She’ll be safe. I promise.” He said it, but didn’t know if it was true. The one thing he did know, though, was that Torry would always be close by. Torry would make sure she wasn’t hurt. He clicked the phone off.
He pulled a few things from his backpack and threw her an apple and a power bar. They landed next to her on the bed. She rolled to her side. “What’d he say?”
“He’s coming for the car. He wants me to keep you safe.”
“Will you?” She picked up the apple and took a bite. “I’m pretty hungry.”
“There’s no room service in a place like this,” Ten said.
“I’ll bet there’s take out somewhere.” She got up and walked over to the desk and opened the drawer. She produced a big fake smile and held up a local magazine. “Pizza good?”
“Sure. Why not.”
In less than ten minutes, Ten peeked out the window and the car was gone. “Didn’t even here them take it away,” he said.
“That’s disheartening.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah.”
Ten cocked his head as he looked at her. “Really?”
“I did. So, how you going to pay the pizza guy?”
Ten flipped open the hotel information pack that lay on the desk and slid an envelope out. He wrote “For the pizza guy” on the front of it, then stuffed thirty dollars inside. “That’ll be plenty.” He looked around and decided to use the Bible from the night stand to hold the envelope down. At the door, he turned.
Renda held out her hand. “I’ll do it.” She went outside and placed the envelope on the sidewalk outside and put the Bible over it. It was right in front of their door.
“Thank you,” Ten said when she stepped back inside.
“You’re pretty smart.”
It was easy to have the pizza kid put the pizza on the ground. He opened the envelope right away, though, as Ten peered from the side of the window, to be sure he wasn’t stiffed. He held the money up toward the door and yelled, “Thank you,” as though Ten might be behind the door. After he left, Renda retrieved the pizza and the Bible.
Chapter 5