by L.T. Ryan
9
Jack stood in the shadows, half a block from Clarissa’s apartment building. The briefcase and the documents it held were hidden inside. They were the key to getting Mandy and Clarissa out of the old man’s compound alive.
He knew the old man would have a team watching the apartment building, waiting for him. Like any tactical team, there would be a pattern to their movements. He studied the area to locate the men and dissect their patrol pattern. Two men stood on top of the building. A gap of 15 seconds where neither man monitored the front of the building occurred every two minutes. Ground level appeared easier. Two men patrolled on the ground. They walked around the building together, leaving a large gap of time where the front was unpatrolled. They heard about me. Must be scared to be alone.
Jack inched closer to the building, tight against a brick facade, staying out of the light. When the opportunity presented itself he sprinted to the entrance. He entered the building with the gun he stole from Charles drawn. He made his way to the apartment where he had hidden the briefcase. As he picked the lock again, he thought to himself, Who the hell is dumb enough to not use a deadbolt in this city? The latch clicked.
He pushed the door open and peeked inside. The large man sleeping on the couch was new. Last time the apartment had been completely empty. Jack wished the heavy man was wearing more than a pair of boxers with cartoons of puppies.
Jack slipped to the closet in the back corner of the room. The sleeping man coughed and seemed to be waking up. I’d kill for a suppressor for this gun right now. He held his breath until the man rolled over and went back to sleep.
Jack opened the closet door and moved blankets and sheets around until he had the briefcase in his grasp. He backed out of the closet and turned to see a woman standing there, half naked. She, unlike her sleeping beau, looked good in her skivvies. At first he grinned and winked at her, but when she opened her mouth to scream he held the gun up in one hand and put his other hand to his mouth and gave her the universal signal for, “Shut the fuck up if you don’t want to die!”
She stood there, frozen. Arms held out. Mouth open. Unblinking. Jack fully expected her to urinate on herself.
He made his way back to the door, keeping his back against the wall. He kept the gun pointed up and his finger over his mouth. She turned her body, mirroring his movements. He opened the door and slipped out. Before completely closing the door he popped his head back in and said, “You really should use your deadbolt and get a chain lock as well. Especially with a body like that. This was just too easy.”
The man started to wake.
Jack smiled at the woman and closed the door. He wasn’t one hundred percent sure, but he thought she might have smiled back. She wanted him, he could tell.
Jack’s smile faded as he turned his attention to getting out of the building. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and ran to the back of the building. The hallway was dimly lit. He peered out the window. The dark alley behind the apartment building provided just the kind of cover he needed. He lifted the window and climbed onto the metal fire escape. He stuck a leg over the side of the fire escape. The sound of police cars approaching filled the air. “That son of a bitch,” he muttered, certain it was the fat man that placed the call. They did him a favor by calling the police. The men on the top of the building would have to hunker down so they wouldn’t be spotted, and the team that was patrolling outside would split, running off in two directions. At least, Jack hoped that would happen.
Jack made his way down to the ground, using the gaps between the large bricks that made up the exterior as handles and footholds. He crouched down as he heard the men on patrol approaching. Just as he expected, they each went a different direction after they reached the back of the building. He followed the heavier man, figuring he would quit running sooner. Jack Noble, above all else, considered himself a man of opportunity.
The heavy man impressed him, making it approximately a half mile before he stopped to rest and catch his breath. As Jack approached him, he deliberately stomped his feet on the sidewalk to alert the heavy man to his presence. Jack never got much pleasure out of attacking a man from behind. He’d do it if necessary. However, he liked to look his victim in the eye as he rendered them incapacitated.
The man spun. His eyes widened at the sight of Jack, and he reached for his gun in between labored breaths. Jack closed the distance with a sprint, lunged at the man and delivered a strike to the his throat. The single blow collapsed the man’s windpipe. He fell to his knees and onto his stomach.
Jack searched through his victim’s pockets. He had never been inside the old man’s compound before, but he had heard plenty of tales from his associates. You needed an access card to get in the main gate as well as to enter certain rooms. He found the card tucked in a pocket on the inside of the man’s coat. He decided to keep the jacket and ditch the disgusting trench coat. Lastly, he grabbed the man’s gun and wallet. He slipped into the darkness. He had one more stop to make before going to the compound.