“Get out of my way, old man.” Cody’s muscles tensed, his fists curling up like ham hocks. “Nobody tells Cody what to do.”
“Do we really need to go through this again? Don’t be stupid. I can’t let you go out. What if something happens to you?”
“Ain’t nothin’ gonna’ happen to me! Now move!”
Leon stayed put, his hands up. “I can’t let you go.”
“Get out of my way.”
A fist snaked up, punching Leon squarely in the chest. Wind-milling his arms, Leon flew back onto the bed. Once his initial shock passed, he shot up, ready to defend himself. Remembering their previous fight, he sat back down. “You feel better? Fine, Cody. Have it your way. You’d better be ready, though. We’re fighting for our lives!”
“Whatever.”
Leon held his hand out, wiggled his fingers. “Give me the gun.”
“Goddamn it. What if those two assholes show up again?”
“They won’t. They have no idea where we are now. It’s impossible for them to find us. The gun, Cody…now.”
“Fine!” Cody threw the gun onto the bed. Leon flinched, half expecting the gun to go off. “Don’t need it anyway.”
“Do not take the car, and do not get drunk.” Leon slipped the weapon under the pillow next to the other gun.
Cody stormed toward the door, hesitated, and turned. “Leon, yo, are you all right? I didn’t mean to hit you.” His apology sounded heart-felt, yet hesitant. “It’s just—”
“I’ll live.” Cody left, this time quietly. As Leon closed his eyes, he wondered just how much longer he did have to live.
* * *
A metallic, snipping sound wrenched Leon out of his sleep. Groaning, he shielded his eyes from the bathroom light and looked at the bedside alarm clock. Four-fifteen, late afternoon; time to go to work.
Cody stood in front of the bathroom mirror, shirtless and trimming his hair. “Yo, check me out. Mr. ‘Corporate America!’”
“Yeah,” Leon said, “you’re ready for Wall Street.” Leon yawned into his hand, hiding his astonishment. Cody appeared sober. Even more surprising, he looked respectable enough to pass for any one of the young, corporate raiders Los Angeles breeds. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Don’t need it. I’m used to goin’ on fumes.”
“How was Los Angeles?”
“Nothin’ goin’ on.”
“I could’ve told you so. They don’t come out until late here.”
“Yeah, whatever. Let’s go kick some LMI ass!” Amped-up, Cody hopped back and forth, pumping a fist into the air.
* * *
Leon and Cody stopped on the downtown sidewalk. Empty briefcases filled their hands, empty hearts threatened to drag them down. Nothing, a highway to nowhere, game over. The address the “Silver Fox” supplied led to an empty lot.
“Goddamn it, Leon! We drove for two straight days. You made me cut my hair! All for nothing.”
“Quiet. Let me think.” His mind wouldn’t cooperate. Their last desperate hurrah fizzled away along with his hopes. He ripped off the fake mustache, letting it flutter to the sidewalk like a displaced caterpillar. His head hammered, nausea sweeping through him.
“I can’t believe this shit. What a huge-ass waste of time.” Cody paced the sidewalk, stiff-legged like a tin soldier, fully wound and tense. “Goddamn it.”
“Shut up. I need to think.”
A red Chevy Malibu hybrid pulled alongside them. The car crept to an agonizingly long, drawn-out stop, brakes squealing like fingers across a chalkboard. Leon swung his hand behind him, fingers trembling over the gun in his waistband. The window slid down. A small, bookish man, wearing a poorly tailored suit leaned out, his round face glum. “Get in if you want to live,” he said.
“What the hell?” Cody dropped his briefcase to the cement.
The man grinned and slashed out a shrill laugh. “Just kidding. I’ve always wanted to say that.” His smile vanished, his beady eyes squinting from behind round, wire-rimmed glasses. “Seriously, get in the car. Mr. Garber, Mr. Spangler, I’m on your side.”
Cody went for his own gun. Leon gripped Cody’s wrist and pulled it down. Unsure what to make of their visitor, Leon took a few tentative steps toward the hybrid. “Who are you? How do you know us?”
“I’m here to help you, Mr. Garber.” He looked about the street, a corner of his mouth ticking up several times. “Please, get in the car before we’re seen.”
The man appeared unarmed, surely not one of LMI’s assassins. And based upon his small build, Leon suspected they could overtake him should it come to a tussle. Leon ran his hand along the passenger door handle as he mentally played through every possible scenario. With nothing to lose, he had everything to gain. “Come on, Cody, let’s go.”
Cody grumbled a bit, then hopped into the back seat.
“Now, who are you? Obviously, you know who we are.” Leon scrutinized the car’s interior, looking for anything broadcasting trouble. Immaculately clean, nothing lay on the car’s floorboard or deck, not even dust.
The man glimpsed into his rearview mirror, catching Cody in his sights. “Seatbelts, please, gentlemen.” Leon and Cody snapped their belts secure. “Now we can go.” Cautiously checking his mirrors, the man edged out into the downtown traffic. “You can call me Albert. I’d shake your hand, but I’m driving. Safety first.” He yipped, a hiccup more than a laugh. His eyes diminished into miniature, brown pennies.
“Okay, ‘Albert’, you still haven’t told us who you are.”
The man glanced at Leon, his lower lip enveloping the top one. “You might know me better by a name some hurtful journalists have taken it upon themselves to christen me…‘The Mad Doctor.’”
“No goddamn way.” Cody slammed the back of the seat. He scooted forward and draped an arm over it. “Dude! You’re like a rock god, yo!”
Albert grimaced as if offended. “Yes, well, despite young Mr. Spangler’s vulgarity, that’s what the rather unpleasant media have called me. A rather unfortunate nickname. I’m hardly ‘mad’ as you can see.” He offered Leon a wan smile. Cody continued to slap the back of the seat, giggling as if privy to an inside joke.
“I’ve heard of you. You were black marked by LMI.”
“Very good, Mr. Garber. I have indeed been black marked, just as you two gentlemen have been.”
“How do you know about us?”
“Money can buy information. Just as LMI has their resources, I have mine as well.”
“Are you trying to get reinstated with LMI? What are you after?”
“Mr. Garber, you might be surprised. I’m not alone. Let’s say there’s an insurgence amongst past and present disgruntled LMI associates. I guess you could call us a growing underground. We’re fully committed to taking down LMI.”
“And how do you intend on doing this? Why are you going to do it?”
“LMI has been exponentially growing over the last several years. At a frighteningly alarming rate. During their growth spurt, they have shown a certain—let’s say, proclivity—for less than scrupulous business practices. They are no longer satisfied with making their financial empire grow. They’ve set their sights on larger targets.”
“Such as…what?”
“Political ambition. I believe they’ll not stop until they have a controlling majority of the country in their pockets. Possibly not stopping at our country’s borders. I’m not exactly certain of their methods yet, Mr. Garber. Just please believe me, I am one hundred percent correct.”
“Albert, you’re not telling me much here.”
“I understand your frustration, but I’m telling you what I can.”
“Why was I black marked?”
“I don’t know. However, if you’re like me, I suspect you’re in possession of potentially damaging information LMI is concerned with getting out. They’ll protect their interests no matter the cost.”
“What did you do to get black marked? You said you have information?”
<
br /> “It’s my best educated guess. I’m not positive what information I possess. I’m looking into it.”
Leon brought up the photo of the old man on his phone. “Do you know this man?”
Albert kept his eyes focused on the downtown traffic. “Can’t look now, Mr. Garber. I’m driving.”
Leon put the phone away with a resigned sigh. Everyone claimed to have information, no one wanted to divulge it. “So where are we going? How’re you going to help us?”
“I’m taking you to LMI’s headquarters on the west side of downtown. You’re not the first one who’s been fooled by their cloak and dagger subterfuge. With a good deal of expenditure and resources, I’ve found where they’re located. They’re in a multi-storied building on the west side, occupying the top three floors. There, they go by the name ‘Ultimate Solutions, Inc.’”
“Cute.”
“I think so.”
“Albert, if you know where they are, why haven’t you done anything about it?”
Albert pinched his lips together, obviously considering his answer. Or buying time. “Mr. Garber, I’m not much of a man of action. Whereas, you and Mr. Spangler, on the other hand…” he inclined his head toward the back seat, “have proven quite resourceful. I understand you’ve even bested ‘Donnie’ and ‘Marie.’ Twice.”
Cody blurted out, “Twice! Yeah, beeyotches.”
Albert winced, gave Leon an exasperated look. Leon nodded discretely, secret solidarity in the “feel-my-pain club.” “Well…we have faith you can get results where we’ve failed.”
“Sounds to me like we’re being used. Pawns doing your dirty work.”
“True as it may be, Mr. Garber, you should be used to it by now. Weren’t you planning on confronting LMI anyway? I’m helping your cause by leading you to them.”
LMI had been manipulating Leon, but it didn’t mean he had to like, or accept, it. And Albert seemed less than forthcoming with him, contrary to his “good intentions.” No clear-cut answers as to whom to trust. Teams were forming, lines being drawn, and he and Cody were the hapless foot soldiers sent into a battle they didn’t understand. Typical wartime.
“So, Albert, yo! How come you’re the ‘Mad Doctor’? Why do you take like…people’s organs and shit?”
Albert glowered at Cody in the mirror, anger burning across his meek features. “Mr. Spangler, it’s not a simple question, nor does it have a simple answer. Let me ask you this, gentlemen. Have you ever been in love? Truly, full-heartedly, life-changingly…in love?”
Leon wanted to say yes. He thought of Rachel. Surely he loved her. Yet he had nothing to compare it to, no past experience. Remaining quiet seemed the most appropriate response.
Cody took up the slack. “Hellz yeah! All the chicks love them some Cody.”
Albert sighed loudly. “Yes, well, regardless…I was once in love—a true, abiding love. A love so overwhelming—so heart-swelling—it was painful.” His eyelids fluttered like tiny hummingbird wings. “My sweet Gretchen. My sweet, lost Gretchen. Gretchen was my beloved wife, you see, for nearly thirty years. She was taken from me prematurely…by cancer.”
“That sucks.”
“Yes, ahem, ‘sucks’ is appropriate in this case, Mr. Spangler. Are you gentlemen familiar with the love lives of swans?”
Leon nodded. “They’re monogamous. They mate for life.”
“Very good, Mr. Garber, but there’s much more to them. You see, swans support each other in everything they do, every chore, and every aspect of their living arrangement. They build their nest together and share the responsibilities of egg sitting so as to give one another much-deserved breaks. The male swan will gladly lay down his life for his beloved family. The truly amazing thing—the astonishing thing—is once one of the partners dies, the survivor remains single the rest of his, or her, life. It’s not uncommon for them to die of a broken heart. Can you imagine the ramifications of this, gentlemen? A love so deeply profound, the tired cliché of dying from a broken heart becomes sad, yet, gloriously true?”
Albert’s lilting, measured voice eased Leon’s headache, lulling him into a serene state of mind.
“People would kill to have swan love, gentlemen. It’s something dreamt about, fantasized about, desired…yet rarely attained. These swans—these so-called simple creatures with small brain capacity—could teach humanity a thing or two about love. Gretchen was my swan, gentlemen. She was my one swan love. A cruel, random bullet of cancer was fired into my swan by that most unjust hunter, fate. The day she died, I died as well.”
Cody made a bold—or stupid—move to voice what Leon wanted to ask. “That’s some messed up sad shit, yo, but what’s it got to do with your being ‘The Mad Doctor’?”
“Patience, my young, impetuous friend.” Cody slumped back in his seat, arms folded. Leon imagined Cody had no idea what “impetuous” meant, but if it quieted Cody, more power to Albert. “The true irony, gentlemen, is—was—my line of work. I was a well-respected research scientist, specializing in cancer. I had made inroads as to what caused certain varieties of cancer yet hadn’t come close to finding a cure. When Gretchen was first diagnosed with cancer, I pushed myself even harder, pushing the boundaries of what scientists do. I was driven to find a cure before time ran out for my swan. Soon, my research drew scrutiny from my superiors. They thought my methods were becoming more…outlandish, more unusual. Gretchen died. Shortly after her death, I lost my funding and the job followed.”
A car screeched to a halt in front of Albert’s hybrid. He rolled down the window, yelled “Move it,” and then tapped the horn once. Even his brief horn bleat sounded civilized. He turned to Leon and muttered a shy apology. “Sorry. I have quite a temper. Where was I? Oh, I lost my job, but I had to continue my work. If I couldn’t do it in my lab with the proper resources and funding…well, there were ‘alternative methods.’ I began with recently cancer-stricken corpses, but they didn’t give me the live tissue I needed for my research. I graduated to seeking out living people with cancer.” He stared at Leon, his eyes taking on a dreamy quality. “They simply donated their bodies to science before they were ready. I’m sure they’d understand.”
Leon didn’t think they would have understood. “So…you killed people to study their body parts? To save lives?”
“Messed up,” said Cody.
He ignored Cody’s less than sensitive comment. “It’s one way of putting it. I do what I do out of necessity. The necessity of finding a cure for cancer—of saving countless other lives—but most importantly, I do it out of love. I thought it a very fitting tribute to my lost love. My lost, swan love… Anyway!” Albert’s voice filled with a renewed vitality. “A-n-n-nd here we are.” Along the crowded street, it took Albert numerous attempts to parallel park. “Let me have a look at your photo now, Mr. Garber.”
Leon showed it to him. “No, I’m afraid I don’t know who this is. Why do you want to know?” He narrowed his eyes at Leon, a mutual distrust established.
“No real reason.”
“Well, it’s been a real pleasure, gentlemen. Good luck and God speed.” Albert smiled, shooed at them with the back of his hand, eager for them to get on with their suicide mission. “Remember, they’re on the top three floors. From what I understand, access to the building is easy, the security being very lax. Until you reach the top three floors, that is. As you may well suspect, LMI has the best security available and quite a few armed guards as well. It will be tough…but good luck with whatever it is you have planned.”
“How can I get in touch with you?” asked Leon.
“Why, Mr. Garber, assuming you do survive your encounter, I’ll be in touch with you.” Leon and Cody exited the car. Albert rolled down his window and smiled at them. “I have my resources as well, you know.”
Albert drove off into the falling dusk, leaving Leon and Cody alone in front of the imposing office building.
Chapter Nineteen
“Are you ready for this, Cody?”
; “Hellz, yeah!” Cody took a step toward the massive row of glass doors. Their reflections looked small, distorted, ants against giants. “How about you?”
“No, not really, but let’s do it anyway.” Leon brushed his jacket, straightened his tie. Memories of his tenure in Corporate America came flooding back, even though this meeting would be unlike any from his past. He pushed through the doors, putting on his determined corporate no-nonsense face.
A little after six o’clock, businessmen and women scuttled by in a hurry, most of them chatting away on their cell phones. Although Cody looked ill at ease in his suit and newly trimmed hair, he easily fit in with the rest of the fleeing drones. Too bad he didn’t shave off his soul-patch, although Leon guessed there were quite a few young hot shots sporting them in L.A. these days anyway.
Leon lowered his voice. “Just follow my lead. Don’t do anything to attract attention. Be the suit.”
“I got this, yo.” His eyes burned with fire, almost too edgy. It unnerved Leon.
As they entered the lobby, the lights upon the green marble floor rippled like water. To the left sat a security desk, a tired looking man in a uniform perched on a stool behind it. Leon spotted the row of elevators in the center of the lobby and hurried toward them.
“Hey. Hey!” The security guard stood, hitching his pants up. He pointed toward the desk. “You’ve got to sign in,” he growled.
“Oh, of course. We have a six o’clock appointment with…ah…” Leon scanned the business registry hanging on the wall, “Brookberg & Associates.” Leon glanced at his watch. “We’re running a little late. Just forgot to sign in.” Leon scribbled a false name in the ledger.
“You gotta’ sign in,” the guard repeated as if he hadn’t heard Leon’s explanation.
“Thank you.” Leon and Cody beat a quick retreat back to the elevators.
“Hey. Hey,” the guard called out again.
Leon turned, anxiety filling his gut. “Yes?”
Secret Society Page 25