Blindside (Michael Bennett)

by James Patterson

  As always, Seamus said it. This time it was surprisingly short. “Dear Heavenly Father, all we can say today is thank you.”

  Silently I added, Please have mercy on Ronald Timmons Junior’s soul.

  CHAPTER 9

  ALICE GROFF WAS impressed by New York City. It was everything she’d heard about when growing up in Berlin. Soaring skyscrapers, crowded streets, something to do every minute of the day. And yet she was bored. At least at the moment.

  She and her business partner, Janos Titon, had accepted an assignment from a guy named Endrik “Henry” Laar, based in Tallinn, Estonia. He was some kind of cyber genius and had plenty of money. The issue was his God complex. How she hated to hear him go on and on about his ability to break any computer security system. Her grandmother had always told her that men who bragged were hiding their flaws.

  If he was so damn smart, why did he have to contract out work? She knew he had a couple of Dutchmen who did dirty work for him. But this job called for a little more subtlety.

  They had a list of several New York–based hackers. They had just found where the first one lived. His name was Tommy Payne and he had gone to some school in Massachusetts known for its technology. All they had to do was convince him to come work for Endrik, who liked to go by the Anglicized version of his name, Henry. If that failed, they’d been told to make sure he didn’t talk. That could mean a lot of things. She didn’t have time to decipher what Henry actually wanted. She was built for efficiency. That meant if this nerd wasn’t willing to work for Henry in Estonia, she’d put a bullet in his head.

  Janos said, “Will you recognize him if he walks up the stairs to the apartment?” Janos was from Romania originally and they generally communicated in English. Today was no different.

  Alice said, “You’ve seen the same photo I have. Won’t you recognize him, too?”

  Janos just shrugged. That was his answer to most things. She was tired of trying to make him more professional. He pretty much did what she told him, and he wasn’t afraid of anything. Neither of them were. They both had realized that not many grew old in this kind of profession. That was okay with Alice. She made a lot of money, got to travel, and had no boss leaning over her shoulder. Not bad for a girl who had never known her dad and whose mom had abandoned her as a child. Thank God for Grandma.

  Her grandmother was one of the reasons she worked so hard. She made sure the seventy-nine-year-old woman never had money problems. Her grandmother’s luxury apartment in Rummelsburg was next to a park and only a block from the Spree River. Alice loved seeing her happy. If that meant having to put up with jerks like Henry and watch boring apartments in New York, that’s what Alice would do.

  Janos nudged her and said, “That’s him walking in now.”

  Alice looked at the young man with his long, stringy hair in a ponytail. He also had an unfortunate receding hairline. He needed a woman to show him how to groom. That’s what she always thought about men with ponytails or man buns.

  Janos pulled the Czech-made 9mm and made sure there was a round in the chamber.

  Getting a gun in the US wasn’t too difficult, but Alice preferred a simple folding knife, or a garrote made from heavy-gauge electrical wire and a couple of plastic handles she could buy at any hardware store.

  Janos turned to her and said, “Remember, Henry wants us to get this kid to work for him. No rough stuff unless he completely refuses our generous offer.”

  Alice smiled. She liked Janos. She felt they made an attractive couple, even though they didn’t feel that way about each other. He was the classic lean but muscular, dark-haired Romanian. She felt it was a nice contrast to her curly blond hair. She was the one who could get in anywhere with just an innocent look and a tilt of her head.

  Janos, who was a year younger than her at thirty-four, knew her too well. He may have been a wild partier, but he did catch on to patterns. He was interested in the bonus Henry had promised them.

  Alice was more interested in efficiency. And maybe having a little fun with at least one of the nerds they were supposed to talk to. Maybe it could be this Tommy Payne.

  Just thinking about it gave her a tingle of excitement.

  CHAPTER 10

  ALICE ASSESSED THE apartment building in the West Village. Washington Square was four blocks east. The famed New York University was also just blocks away. It was a nice building. Too nice for a student. Probably too nice for any young person working in Manhattan. That told her Tommy Payne was probably doing things he wasn’t supposed to do with computers.

  She couldn’t have cared less. She just wanted this to move along quickly. She knocked gently on the freshly painted door. Everything about the building showed it was well maintained. She wasn’t sure what rents went for in Greenwich Village, but this was a hell of a lot more than she paid for her grandmother’s apartment.

  She heard a male voice inside say, “Who is it?”

  Alice said, “I have a message for Tommy.” She tried to hide her accent and sound as young as possible.

  The door didn’t budge. Janos stood against the wall so if Tommy opened the door he wouldn’t see him.

  Tommy called through the door, “A message from who?”

  Alice had an inspiration and said, “I’m not sure of her name.” That always worked on men. This time was no different. She heard a chain, and then the door cracked open.

  As soon as Tommy Payne saw the pretty blond woman in jeans and a colorful blouse, he opened the door wide.

  That’s when Janos stepped close and shoved the young man into the apartment.

  Alice stepped inside. The apartment was dark. There was a distinct smell of old marijuana. Two sixty-inch Sony TVs hung side by side on the main wall. An array of computers and monitors sat on a long table on the opposite wall.

  To his credit, Tommy didn’t say a word. He lay on the hard-wood floor and looked up at Janos. Normally Alice would chalk that up to sexism, but Janos held the pistol. Anyone would look at the armed person in the room.

  Alice tried the nice approach first. She kneeled down next to Tommy and traced her finger along his nose and lips. She smiled and said, “I’m sure you realize that Henry sent us.”

  Tommy was silent as he nodded his head. His eyes never left the gun in Janos’s hand.

  She slipped the plane ticket from her back pocket and set it on the coffee table. She leaned in close. “That’s an airline ticket to Tallinn, Estonia, by way of Amsterdam. Your flight leaves tomorrow morning. I really think it would be in your best interest to help Henry out.”

  Now Tommy cut his eyes to Alice. He said, “I, um, I, I—”

  Janos kicked him in the leg. “C’mon, you’re not in a mariachi band.”

  “But I, I—”

  That was enough for Janos. He shoved the pistol into Tommy’s mouth. Alice could hear it crack a tooth on the way in.

  The young computer genius’s eyes opened so wide Alice thought one might pop out onto the floor. A whimper came from deep in his throat.

  This could be messy.

  Janos said, “I can’t imagine what you do with these giant TVs. If you ever want to watch them again your only answer to us should be yes.”

  He slowly slid the pistol out of the young man’s mouth. Before Tommy could answer, Janos jammed the barrel firmly on the young man’s crotch. Janos said, “Maybe I underestimated you. TVs might not be what makes you tick. I saw you looking at Alice’s beautiful breasts. I could teach you a lesson and you’d still be able to do whatever you nerds do on a keyboard.”

  Alice gently pushed the pistol away from the young man’s groin. She replaced it with her hand. She wrapped her other arm around Tommy’s shoulders and could feel him shaking.

  She said in a soft voice in his ear, “Shhhhh, it’s all right.” Closer to his ear, she whispered, “I think you understand everything now. Isn’t that right?”

  Tommy just nodded.

  Alice said, “That’s good.” Then she squeezed her hand on Tommy’s scr
otum. Pulling his loose Dockers tight as she crushed his testicles.

  Tommy squealed. His back arched in agony.

  Alice kept the same seductive voice as she whispered in his ear, “That’s to make sure you don’t get any silly ideas. You’ll be on that plane. You’ll do what you’re told. Or a broken TV set will be all you can pray for. Do you understand me?”

  Tommy nodded his head vigorously.

  She moved her hand before the urine staining his pants touched her. In the rear pocket of his pants she found his thick leather wallet. She playfully pulled it out, then she reached in her own pocket and pulled out a condom in a purple wrapper. Alice slid the condom into the wallet. She gave Tommy Payne a sweet smile and said, “If you’re smart and you go to Estonia for Henry, you might get a chance to use this with me.” She kissed him gently on the ear. Then Alice locked eyes with him to make sure he understood. He was too scared to smile or show any excitement.

  Alice handed him the wallet and waited while he slid it back into his pocket. His hands were still shaking badly. He was clearly embarrassed about peeing in his pants. Who wouldn’t be? Then again, who wouldn’t be terrified if someone like Janos had a pistol against their groin?

  Alice looked up at Janos and winked. They were a good team. They had made their point.

  They might even have some time to sightsee.

  CHAPTER 11

  I FACED A brief wave of condemnation from the older kids when I banned TV for the night. Like a mutiny on a really lazy pirate ship. It’s a fact that people occasionally try to murder police officers, a fact that’s often forgotten when people talk about police shootings. It was something I didn’t necessarily want my kids to see tonight.

  It was bad enough that I was dreading going to bed. I knew what thoughts would be racing through my head as I lay in the dark and stared at the ceiling. I’d showered for twenty minutes and still felt like I could smell gunpowder. I didn’t need to hear people comment on an incident they knew nothing about.

  After the shower, I lay down on my bed in shorts and a T-shirt just to get a few minutes of quiet time. It was less than a few minutes. My youngest, Chrissy, crawled up on my left side, and Juliana, my oldest, flopped onto the bed on my right side. They both had books. Chrissy’s was about kids looking for a treasure. Juliana’s was a chemistry textbook.

  Neither of them needed me to read. But they did realize I liked having my kids around. They didn’t have to talk. They didn’t have to work to make me feel better. They just had to be there.

  When Maeve and I started adopting children at an alarming rate, I’m not sure I realized they were saving me and not the other way around. I admit, ten adopted kids seems a little over-the-top. But once I lost Brian to the state prison system, I realized ten was just the right number. He was still a hole in my life. One day that would be remedied.

  Lying in bed with my two beautiful daughters reinforced my belief about what’s important in life. I was never one of those guys who chased money or promotions at work. I didn’t think it was important that the Giants won every football game. (Although it wouldn’t hurt to win a few more.)

  I knew how precious my family was, from the ever-forgiving and patient Mary Catherine to my surly yet supportive grandfather.

  I felt myself start to relax with the girls next to me and lost track of time. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when Mary Catherine walked in and clapped her hands. She said, “Enough of milking your bedtimes. You’ve got school tomorrow. Chop, chop, let’s go.”

  Juliana didn’t even make her usual argument, that she was a senior in high school and didn’t really have a bedtime. They both gave me a good-night kiss on the cheek and scurried out of the room.

  A few minutes later, Mary Catherine slipped into bed and shut off the light. Frankly, it was the moment I’d been dreading all day. Awake and quiet in the dark.

  Mary Catherine put that fear to rest when she rolled over and snuggled in next to me. All she said was “You doing all right?”

  Without conscious thought, I blurted, “You know, we still need to set a date for our wedding. It’s tough explaining to my grandfather how a good Catholic girl is living with me without the benefits of marriage.”

  “What brought that on?”

  “I have no idea.” Then, after a short silence, I said, “That’s not true. I said it because I love you. I just don’t know why I said it at this moment. Probably has something to do with the events of the day.”

  “Seamus and I think it was just God deciding it wasn’t your time.” Now she was the quiet one for almost a full minute. “Are you going to be in any trouble over this?”

  “A cop who pulls the trigger is always in trouble of some kind. But if there were ever enough circumstances to justify a shooting, I think this one had them.”

  She gave me a squeeze and lifted her head to kiss me on the cheek. Then her lips moved to my mouth. Then I felt her tongue. She whispered something in my ear, but by then I was too far gone.

  It turned out my fears were baseless. Mary Catherine made sure she kept my mind on other things.

  CHAPTER 12

  ALICE GROFF HAD her arm locked with Janos’s arm as they gazed into the different shops of Penn Station. They’d looked at a perfume store and sniffed bouquets of flowers. She also made Janos stop near an all-too-American donut shop. She leaned her head on Janos’s broad shoulder, to give the impression that they were a couple.

  The reason they were shopping was that young Tommy Payne was sitting on a bench not far away, waiting for a train. Janos had been able to figure out that the young man had bought a ticket to some place called Hempstead. Alice wasn’t sure where it was, but she knew it wasn’t on the way to the airport to catch a flight. Like what she thought Tommy had agreed to. Disappointing.

  She broke away from Janos, and he followed her. They casually walked past Tommy, then split up and sat on either side of him. He’d been in a daze, just staring at the floor, until he felt two bodies so close.

  The young man was surprised at first, then hung his head when he realized there was no way out of this. He looked like a lost child who had given up.

  Alice draped an arm across his shoulders and said, “We gave you a choice. I even gave you some incentive. What are you doing here?”

  Tommy seemed to have gained some confidence since their earlier encounter. Maybe it was because they were in public.

  He dropped his face into his hands and said, “Look, can’t you just say you didn’t find me?”

  “We don’t understand. Why don’t you want a good-paying job?”

  “You know why. I don’t want to go to prison. Henry keeps moving out further and further from his original goals. It was fun to unleash government secrets on WikiLeaks. It made me feel like some kind of god, deciding what people could read about government. It was fun when we shut down Home Depot’s credit card system for a day. But then Henry started blackmailing companies to pay him or he’d cut off their internet platforms for days at a time. Shit like that gets you in real trouble.”

  Janos said, “You don’t think ignoring Henry gets you in real trouble?”

  Tommy shook his head. “I can’t believe you guys spent the whole day watching my apartment, then following me here. I’m not that important to Henry’s operation. I’m just a programmer. He knows a dozen guys like me.”

  Alice laughed and patted him on the shoulder. She said, “Give me your wallet.”

  Tommy was beaten. At this point, he just casually reached into his pocket and handed it to her.

  She opened it and pulled out the condom she had given him earlier. She held it up in front of his face.

  Tommy mumbled, “Son of a bitch.”

  Alice chuckled. She said, “Don’t feel bad. Most men fall for it. No one expects a little tracker inside a condom wrapper. They never look to see the thin line of tape holding the wrapper together. When Janos checked his phone forty-five minutes ago we saw you were here and thought we should chat one m
ore time.”

  Tommy said, “I can’t win. If I go to Estonia, I risk getting swept up in a big arrest. Or worse, when Henry is done with me, he’ll have me killed and no one will ever hear from me again. He’s changed so much from when we started. Now he thinks he’s some sort of royalty and can order executions.”

  Alice didn’t say it, but she agreed with Tommy. Henry was an egomaniac. He even tried to conceal his Estonian accent by using a fake English accent when he spoke English. She almost felt sorry for the young programmer. But she wasn’t getting paid to have feelings.

  She said, “You better come with us.”

  “Where?”

  “I think we’ve answered all the questions we’re going to. You need to understand that life’s not fair. Sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to. You’re like all the other Americans I know. Spoiled. Spoiled and entitled. It’s infuriating. You have never known hardship, so you whine about anything that happens.

  “Europeans are more prepared for adversity. We have to work together. You Americans are just brats who haven’t learned any lessons in life.”

  She thought Tommy was about to say something, but after being called a whiner, he held his tongue.

  He slowly rose to his feet and slouched like an old man as they made their way out to 34th Street. She kept window-shopping so they didn’t look like police leading a prisoner.

  For his part, Tommy Payne just shuffled along silently.

  CHAPTER 13

  IT WAS A quiet night, at least for New York. They turned down Seventh Avenue and kept walking. Tommy was still silent.

  Janos didn’t look like he was paying attention, but Alice knew better. His hand rested on the butt of his pistol and he was aware of every step the young programmer took.