The Long Fall Into Darkness

by Charlie Cottrell

  “Wait, wait, everyone just hold on a second,” I shouted. Vera and Ellen stopped where they were and looked back at me. “If the laptop is being tracked, they already know where we are and are probably getting an assault team together to come get us. If they aren’t tracking it, then we’ve got time to dig into it and figure out what’s on here. Either way, panicking isn’t gonna do us any good.” I pointed at Ellen. “Go wake Maya up. She’ll be able to decide if this thing is being tracked or not.” I pointed at Vera. “Go turn on the security system. I don’t want anyone sneaking up on us.” Both women nodded and set off to fulfill their roles. I collapsed back into my chair and looked at the laptop. “What nonsense bullshit are you going to get me into now, hmm?” I asked it. It didn’t answer, because it’s just a laptop.

  V.

  We all clustered around Maya as she unplugged her personal machine from the laptop.

  “The good news is, it’s not being tracked,” she said. We all heaved a sigh of relief. “The bad news is, the, um, hard drive is corrupted. Sorry, but we can’t get anything off of it.”

  “Damn,” I said, kicking at air. “Oh well. Thanks for trying, Maya.”

  “I might be able to recover a little something, if I have a couple of days to work on it,” Maya said hopefully.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” I said. “I doubt there’s anything of value on that machine.”

  “Now what?” Miss Typewell asked.

  I shrugged. “Damned if I know. We could go after Applied Dynamics, see if they’ve got anything from the old Grammar-Hancock servers.”

  “Grummel-Hammond,” Vera corrected me.

  “Whatever. The point is, I’m not sure we’re not pursuing a dead end here. I doubt Applied Dynamics has much of anything useful that we don’t already have, and getting in will be a giant pain in the ass. I don’t think it’s worth the risk.”

  “You don’t think it’s worth the risk?” Ellen said, flabbergasted. “You?”

  “Hey, I do have the sense God gave a clump of dirt,” I said defensively. “Sometimes the return isn’t worth the investment.”

  “I think I hear a trumpet being blown,” Vera said.

  “Was that the breaking of a seal?” Ellen asked.

  “Sure, laugh it up,” I said. “You’ll all sing a different tune when the Day of Judgment arrives.”

  “Whatever,” Ellen said. “What’s the plan, then?”

  “I say we just sit pretty and wait,” I said.

  “For what?” Vera asked.

  “For the cops to show up,” I replied. “You know it’s only a matter of time before they do. If the Pinkertons know we’re out and about, they’ll alert the police, and the police will come check out the office. From there, it’s just a matter of time before they send in the SWAT team.”

  * * *

  The cops showed up the next morning.

  It was really just Captain – well, Chief, now – O’Mally and a couple of uniformed officers, including my old favorite Higgins, and it seemed like an almost casual visit.

  “Um, what should we do?” Maya asked as we stared at them on our front stoop through the security camera.

  “I mean, let ‘em in, I guess,” I said.

  “They don’t have a warrant,” Vera said from behind us.

  “Yeah, but they’ve got probable cause for suspecting I’m here, so they’ll come in regardless,” I replied. “Might as well not antagonize them if we can avoid it.”

  “You don’t want to antagonize someone? Have all those concussions finally caught up with you?” Vera asked.

  “Eh, I’m trying something new,” I said. I flipped on the intercom and said, “Come on in, Chief O’Mally.” I pushed a button unlocking the door. O’Mally tugged it open and entered, followed closely by his uniformed officers.

  “Ellen, please welcome our guests cordially and offer them, I dunno, coffee or whatever. We’ll meet in my conference room.”

  “We have a conference room?” Ellen asked.

  “My napping room, okay?” I said. What? It has the most comfortable couch. And recliner. And a murphy bed I had installed because I essentially live here now.

  Miss Typewell showed Chief O’Mally and his men and women into the conference room. The chief looked about a thousand years older than normal. Haggard, worn.

  “You look like shit, Edison,” I said as he took a seat on the couch across from me. I had chosen the recliner, both for its position of authority and prominence in the room and because I felt like kicking my feet up. “I mean, no offense. You just look like running the entire department maybe isn’t worth the effort.”

  O’Mally sighed, his walrus jowls wobbling slightly. “Hazzard, I’m here to parlay with you,” he said. He even sounded tired. “I’ve been chasing your tail for months. You need to come with me so we can put an end to all this.”

  I pulled the handle on the side of my chair, leaning back as the footrest popped up. “Y’know, chief, I can definitely see where you’re coming from on that. Really, I can. But I’m gonna have to decline your lovely offer.”

  “It wasn’t really an offer, Eddie,” O’Mally growled. “We can do this peacefully, or I can get the SWAT team down here to deal with you. Your call.”

  “Sorry, hard pass either way. Thanks, though.”

  “Eddie, you’re the head of the damn Organization! We can’t just let this one slide. It’s not like forgetting to fill out your paperwork on time or smoking at a crime scene. You’ve broken several major laws. Felonies. If you work with us, we can probably get you a reduced sentence, but refusing…” He fixed me with a steady, serious look. “This is your only chance, Eddie.”

  “Again, thanks, but that’s a hard pass from me and mine.” I put down the footrest and stood. “Thanks for coming by, though, Edison. It’s been nice catching up.”

  “You’re making a mistake, Eddie,” O’Mally said as he stood.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” I replied. “Probably won’t be the last.”

  O’Mally looked sad, a sight to behold when you’ve got a walrus face complete with tusks. “Eddie, I wish you’d work with me on this. I’m trying to help you.”

  “I appreciate it, O’Mally, I really do,” I said, “but I don’t trust anyone else involved in this piece of business. Sorry, no hard feelings.”

  “The next time I come here won’t be as your friend, Eddie,” O’Mally said, standing in the doorway.

  “Ooh, will it be as frenemies?” I asked. “C’mon, O’Mally. I’ve already got a half dozen nemeses. You’ll have to take a number.”

  “So, you’re okay with making Esperanza your enemy?” he asked. “With making me your enemy?”

  I shrugged. “You wouldn’t believe anything I have to say about any of this,” I said. “I don’t see how we can be anything but enemies now.” O’Mally turned and started through the door. “Wait, wait,” I said, causing him to stop and turn around. “Lemme go get my friendship bracelet so I can give it back to you.” O’Mally whirled around and stormed off.

  “That seemed dumb, even for you,” Vera said from beside me.

  I shrugged. “If he’s angry, he’ll probably make mistakes,” I said. “I’m just working to put him off-balance.”

  “I guess we’ll see how well that worked out,” Vera said.

  “I guess so.”

  VI.

  We spent the rest of the day preparing for the inevitable. Vera and I went over the arsenal, making sure everything was clean and in good working order. “I’d hate to die holding a dirty gun,” I said.

  Ellen and Maya went over the building’s security system, making sure all of the surveillance cameras were running and that the intrusion countermeasures were ready.

  “This place is a fortress,” Ellen said.

  “That was kind of the point,” I replied. “I didn’t want anything bad to happen to any of you ever again, so I made sure this place could withstand a direct hit from a tank. We can stay here for weeks.”


  “What if they cut the power?” Miss Typewell asked.

  “We’ve got generators in the basement and solar panels on the roof.”

  “What about water?”

  “I’ve got stock in Culligan,” I replied. “We’ve got about fifty gallons of clean, fresh water in storage down in the basement.”

  “Food?”

  “Three months’ worth of MREs down there, too. Don’t worry, we’re set.”

  I made everyone stay in the office that night. I wasn’t sure when O’Mally would return with that promised SWAT team, but I didn’t want any of them out and about when it happened. Everyone set up shop in the conference room, but none of them – well, of us – was able to sleep.

  I ended up out on the roof around sunrise, watching the sun top the buildings to the east of us while I smoked my first cigarette in almost three months. Sure, I’d had nicotine gum and patches to tide me through those months, but there was nothing like that first drag on an actual cigarette. The fact that I spent a good minute and a half coughing up something horrible in my lungs afterward was completely unrelated, I’m sure.

  “I thought you might be up here,” came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Vera standing in the doorway that led back down into the building, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders to keep out the early-morning chill.

  “Yeah, needed a bit of fresh air,” I said.

  Vera gestured toward my cigarette. “You mean you wanted to pollute a little fresh air,” she said with a grin.

  “Something like that.” I took another drag and exhaled slowly while Vera came to stand next to me. We stood in silence for almost two full minutes before I felt like talking again.

  “I’m really not sure what’s going to happen when O’Mally shows back up with his SWAT team,” I said. “I’m sure the building can take whatever they can dish out, but I’m not sure Ellen or Maya can.”

  Vera gave me a funny look. “Ellen or Maya? What about me?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “Eh. You seem pretty capable.”

  Vera actually laughed at that. “I’ve been in a fire fight or two, I’ll admit,” she said.

  “Good, ‘cause I’m pretty sure the other two will be essentially useless when things go down.” I stubbed out my cigarette and fished out a second one. “Think we stand a chance?” I asked as I lit the cigarette.

  “Do you want my real opinion?” she asked.

  “Probably not, but give it to me anyway.”

  Vera stood there in silence for a moment. Eventually, she said, “I think we will fail, and I think we will very likely die. Esperanza is not a forgiving individual, and I am sure they will bring Ms. Williams and her Pinkertons along with them. As strong as you think this building of yours is, it is not strong enough. The shield will fail, and we will be captured at best. It would be better if we all just left right now and went somewhere else.”

  “Where?” I asked. “Nowhere in the city is really safe, not anymore. They’ll hunt us and we’ll just die tired. I’d rather face them on my own turf, on my own terms, than keep running.”

  “You know this won’t end well for you,” Vera said. “They’ll just throw more and more men at you until you break. There’s no other way this goes.”

  “I know! Do you think I don’t know that? I know it. But I can’t just roll over and accept my fate. I’m a stubborn asshole, and I don’t wanna just let them stomp all over me and my people.” I flicked my cigarette over the edge of the building. “Anyway, it’s all moot now,” I added.

  “Why?”

  “Because O’Mally is already here.”

  VII.

  O’Mally was wearing a Kevlar vest and helmet and carrying a combat shotgun. He was at the head of a veritable caravan of police vehicles, including armored personnel carriers, vans, and at least one tank. SWAT team members were everywhere, carrying riot gear and wearing helmets and vests similar to O’Mally’s. Overhead, I heard a helicopter whir by, a spotlight sweeping across the rooftop. The wind from its passage nearly blew the hat off my head.

  “Well, looks like we ought to go downstairs and wake Ellen and Maya,” I said.

  “No, let’s raise the shield and let them sleep for as long as they can,” Vera said. “No reason for them to be awake and fretting.”

  We headed for the door, the sound of O’Mally’s team setting up in the street below following us like a lost puppy. I closed the door behind me and hurried down the stairs to my office, where I hit the button under my desk to activate the building’s shield.

  “Well, we’re locked in,” I said. “Hope no one needed to go out for milk or anything.”

  Outside, O’Mally got on a bullhorn and started shouting at me. “Eddie Hazzard, I have a warrant for your immediate arrest. Come out now, or we will be forced to enter the building. I am warning you that I have been authorized to use deadly force if need be.”

  I flipped on the intercom and selected a channel to the outside. “Hey, Edison, nice of you to visit. Sorry, but we gave at the office and have no interest in buying tickets to the Policeman’s Ball this year. Thanks, though.”

  “Eddie, this is your last warning,” O’Mally said. “Come out now, or we will come in.”

  “You’re certainly welcome to try,” I said, flipping the intercom off. “And now, we wait,” I said.

  We didn’t have to wait long. O’Mally sent a team of a half dozen SWAT guys up to the front door with a battering ram. The guy with the ram swung, hard. There was a muffled thunk, and then the screaming started.

  “What the hell just happened?” Vera asked.

  “Intrusion countermeasure,” I said. “The doormat is electrified. Sends several thousand volts through whoever or whatever is standing on the stoop. They won’t be trying that again.”

  “Think again,” Vera said, pointing to the monitor displaying the front door. More SWAT members had moved in, taking the six incapacitated men out of the way and making room for another squad.

  “They don’t seem to learn, do they?” I said. Then I frowned as they threw a thick rubber mat down over the front stoop and prepared to swing a battering ram at my door again.

  “Well, they’re persistent, I’ll give ‘em that,” I muttered. “Time for the next countermeasure.” I tapped a button a vid window and waited for the fun.

  I didn’t have to wait long. The SWAT team swung in with their battering ram, only to have the stoop suddenly change into a steep wedge. The men were thrown from their feet and landed hard on their asses.

  “I didn’t think that would work that well,” I said, grinning. “Guess I owe Ellen five bucks.”

  “Might want to hold off on celebrating,” Vera said. She pointed to the monitor, where the tank was rolling up to the front door. “Looks like O’Mally is done playing around.”

  Sticking out of the tank was not a gun turret, as one would expect. Instead, a hydraulic-powered battering ram with a flat head took the place of prominence, ready to knock down my door like it was tinfoil.

  At least, that was their plan. I had other ideas.

  “Time to detonate the charges,” I said, tapping buttons in my vid window.

  “What charges?” Vera asked.

  “The ones I had planted in the street in case anyone ever tried to lay siege to the building. Charges four and five ought to do it.” I tapped a final button, and the monitor suddenly went bright white. When the image cleared again, the tank was in a sinkhole almost a dozen feet deep. It wasn’t going anywhere, and the added bonus was that it mostly blocked the front door.

  “Now they’ll have to try one of the side entrances,” I said. “Of course, those are all cleverly hidden behind false panels of six-inch steel with a stone façade that identically matches the surrounding stonework, so they’ve more than got their work cut out for them.” I sat back with a contented sigh. “Looks like things are going our way so far.”

  VIII.

  Of course, that couldn’t last forever. Thirty minutes after their disas
trous attempt to breach the front door, the power flickered for a moment. “Looks like they cut the power,” I said. “Generators have kicked in and we’re fine.”

  Around that time, Ellen and Maya came into my office, rubbing sleep out of their eyes. “Eddie, what the hell is going on?” Ellen asked.

  “We’re under siege,” I said, gesturing toward the monitor. Ellen stared at it blankly for a moment, not even blinking.

  “Um, when did this start?” she asked.

  “About an hour ago,” I replied. “Don’t worry, everything is under complete control.”

  “There’s a small army of SWAT cops out there,” Ellen said. “How is that ‘under complete control?’”

  “They’re out there and not in here?”

  Ellen sighed in frustration. “I’ve got a real bad feeling about this,” she said.

  “Hey, relax,” I said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “We’ve got everything in hand, I promise. They can’t get in.”

  “And we can’ get out,” Ellen snapped, shrugging my arm off her shoulder. “This is dangerous and stupid. I should never have let you talk us into this.”

  “As I recall, you were the one who talked me into it,” I countered.

  Ellen stared at me for a beat, then blurted out, “Well, I didn’t think you’d do something this stupid!” She stormed off into the anteroom.

  “She just needs a cup of coffee,” I said. I turned to Miss Janovich. “Maya, I need you to make sure all of our intrusion countermeasures are ready to go. I had to blow a couple of the charges under the street to take care of the tank.”

  “Okay,” she said, wandering off into her corner of the office to get to work.

  “What does that leave for us?” Vera asked.

  “I don’t know about you, but I could use a cup of coffee myself,” I said.

  * * *

  “He’s got someone on the roof,” Ellen said that afternoon.

  “Took him long enough,” I muttered, flipping my monitor to the rooftop camera array. Sure enough, a SWAT team cop was making his way across the roof toward the access door. “Think O’Mally is just following a manual on this stuff?” I asked. “Like, ‘Step One, attempt to enter through the front door. If that fails, Step Two, find an alternate means of ingress. Step Three, enter through alternate ingress.’ It’s all so predictable.” I pulled up the countermeasures vid window and activated a few of the rooftop obstacles. A tripwire popped up right in front of the guy, but he stepped over it and right onto the pressure switch that dropped the sack of sand right on his head. His helmet took the brunt of the damage, but he still went down and was definitely out for the count.